Standing face to face with my other half.
Draxis. My hellhound.
He's furious. Drowning in wild, hot rage.
And it's not just the red, glowing leash around his neck anymore.
Now, thick glowing threads — like burning ropes — coil around his limbs, his torso, even his chest. They pulse, alive and tightening, magic seething between each layer.
I can't move, I can't say a word. I'm frozen in horror, panic slithering inside my veins.
I can only watch as my hellhound thrashes in chains I didn't even know existed. Growling. Snarling. Biting at the ropes until blood drips from his jaws.
If both my hellhound and I are here, inside my mind, who is with Kass?
Chapter 12
Kassira
Something’s wrong with Draven.
I knew it last night, when we came back to our room. He didn’t kiss me. Didn’t touch me. His answers were short, clipped. Cold in a way they never were before. When I asked what was wrong, he just muttered that he was tired. Needed sleep.
So I let him.
Now, watching him get dressed for Alpha Parrin’s funeral, a slow, icy dread slides down my spine, twisting tighter with every second.
I don’t remember anything strange at the dinner. No one acting suspicious. Even Amira kept her distance — glaring daggers, sure, but not approaching. And yet... my instincts are screaming.
Something’s wrong.
“Draven,” I whisper, my fingers tapping an anxious rhythm against my thigh. “Are you alright?”
He sighs, dragging a hand down his face like he’s exhausted and I’m being unreasonable. “Why do you keep asking me that, Kassira? I’m fine. Just... on edge.”
When he speaks next, every word feels like a claw slicing my skin.
“How can you expect to stand by my side if you panic at every little thing?” he says, voice flat. Measured. Brutal. “You need to train. Get stronger. This isn’t just about us. You’re supposed to be the Luna of all shifters. And right now... I’m sorry to say it, Kassira, but you’re lacking.”
The words slam into me so hard I actually stagger a step back.
Pain flares inside my chest. My breath catches.
He would never — He wouldneversay that.
“Kass,” Neris whines inside my head, ears flattened. “Look at his eyes. Please. Look closer.”
I force myself to meet his gaze fully. And it’s like falling through ice.
Cold. Distant. Unreachable. No warmth. No light. Like staring into a hollowed-out shell, wearing Draven’s face.
Terror claws up my throat. I swallow it down, forcing my voice steady.
“I understand. I’m sorry.”
But inside me, a storm is raging.
I don’t know how or when exactly it happened, but he’s gone.
