Moonfall didn't sleep that night.
Not after the forest shook.Not after the moon bled red.Not after Evelyn rose from the ground carrying power that made even the shadows bow.
Every wolf felt it.
A surge of magic ripping through the pack bonds, rattling spines and igniting instincts. Warriors flooded out of the packhouse with weapons drawn, scanning the treeline for threats that hadn't arrived yet.
Because the threat wasn't outside.
It was walking toward Moonfall.
Ronan carried Evelyn the entire way back—even though she insisted she could walk—because her legs trembled with every step. Not from weakness, but from the strain of containing something vast, ancient, and newly awakened under her skin.
Her head rested against his shoulder.
She wasn't unconscious, but close.
He refused to let her fall again.
Ash led the way, muttering under his breath.
"Every time you two take a stroll, something catastrophic happens."
Ronan ignored him.
He pushed through the crowded courtyard as wolves fell silent, parting to let their Alpha through. Their eyes widened when they saw Evelyn—and the faint glow still pulsing along her veins.
Someone whispered:
"Is that the… Shadowborn?"
Another voice said:
"No… she's something else."
Ronan growled softly, tightening his hold on her.
"Anyone touches her without my permission," he warned, "loses a hand."
The whispering died instantly.
**************************************************************
Inside the packhouse, the moment the door shut, Evelyn stirred.
"Ronan… put me down."
He did, but slowly, making sure her feet were steady before he released her. She grabbed his wrist anyway, breath shaky.
"I can't control it."
"You don't have to. Not yet."
Her eyes glimmered—silver and violet intertwined.
"It hurts."
His chest tightened painfully.
"Then let me take some of it."
She blinked up at him.
"…You can't."
"Try me."
For the first time since the awakening, something like a smile tugged at her lips.
He brushed a thumb over her cheek.
"You scared me," he murmured.
She swallowed. "I scared myself."
They might've stood there longer—pressing against the moment, clinging to each other—But a violent coughing sound echoed behind them.
They turned.
Ash leaned against the wall, pale, breathing hard—and bleeding.
"Ash?" Evelyn gasped.
He waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine—"
"You're not," Ronan snapped, stepping toward him. "You shouldn't even be standing. You hit a tree—hard."
Ash glared."You're one to talk, Alpha. You literally got your soul stabbed."
Ronan gritted his teeth. "I'm still standing."
"Yeah," Ash muttered, "because you're an idiot."
Evelyn moved closer, worry tightening her expression.
"Ash, sit."
He tried to argue—Then winced and slid down the wall anyway.
Ronan growled in frustration.
"Someone get the healers."
"Already here," a voice said from the hall.
The healers approached cautiously, bowing their heads.
Ronan snapped:
"Check him. Now."
While they worked on Ash, Evelyn swayed again.
Ronan caught her instantly.
"Evie—hey—stay with me."
"I'm fine—"But her knees buckled.
He lifted her before she could protest.
"Bed. Now."
"You don't get to order me."
"You faint every five minutes—yes, I do."
She glared weakly at him, but her head dropped onto his shoulder anyway.
Ash mumbled from the floor:
"Just mate already… you're exhausting…"
Ronan nearly threw a pillow at him.
**************************************************************
Back in Ronan's room, Evelyn sat on the edge of his bed, gripping his hand tightly.
"Something's wrong."
He knelt in front of her instantly.
"What hurts?"
"Not my body… my mind."She pressed a hand to her temple."It's like something is calling me. Pulling at me."
His jaw clenched."The Shadow Father."
Her breath hitched.
"I don't want to go to him."
"Good. Because you're not going anywhere near him."
"But what if I… what if I change again?"Her voice cracked."What if next time, I can't come back?"
"You will," Ronan said firmly. "Because I'll drag you back myself."
She stared at him.
Vulnerable. Terrified. Trusting.
Her voice trembled.
"Why do you keep fighting for me like this?"
Ronan's answer was immediate.
"Because you're mine."
Evelyn froze—not in fear, but in something deeper. Something that echoed through her chest, her bones, her very power.
Her lips parted.
"Say it again."
He cupped her face, voice low and shaking:
"You. Are. Mine."
Power shimmered along her skin.
Her eyes darkened—not with shadow, but with emotion so intense Ronan felt it in his spine.
"And I," she whispered, breath trembling,"am yours."
The bond snapped tight between them—Not a claim.Not a mark.
A truth.
Pure. Raw. Unbreakable.
Ronan leaned in—slow, deliberate—as if giving her every chance to pull away.
She didn't.
But just as their lips brushed—
A siren wailed through the pack.
Ronan's eyes snapped open.
Ash burst through the door, breathless.
"Alpha—Moonfall's northern border—"
Ronan stood immediately.
"What happened?"
Ash swallowed hard.
"They're here."
"Who?"
Ash looked toward Evelyn…
Then back at Ronan.
"Bloodmoon. With an army."
Evelyn felt her power surge—
Not in fear.
In anger.
Ronan turned slowly toward her.
"Evie," he said quietly, "stay with the healers."
She rose to her feet instead, eyes glowing faintly.
"No."
Ronan's wolf stirred.
"Evie—"
She stepped closer, lifting her chin.
"I'm fighting too."
Ash whispered under his breath:
"Here we go…"
Ronan grabbed her wrist gently.
"You're barely holding yourself together."
"I don't care."
"I care."
Silence.
Thick.
Sharp.
Charged.
Then Evelyn looked up at him with a calm he couldn't understand.
"Ronan… they're coming for me."
His jaw flexed.
"And they'll die for it."
She squeezed his hand.
"No. This time…"Her power rippled through the room."…I'm done running."
Ronan stared at her—
At the girl who walked into his life by accident—
At the force who was now ready to tear down an entire army.
His voice softened.
"Then we fight together."
Evelyn nodded once.Strong. Steady. Unbreakable.
Outside, the war drums began.
Inside, the Shadowborn stirred.
And as Evelyn stepped out into the moonlight at Ronan's side—
Every wolf felt it:
The girl they once feared…Was becoming the weapon they needed.