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“Alaric!” Tavik roared. “They are going to rupture! Do something!”

I inhaled three short breaths, unable to think clearly. What the hell was I supposed to do? I had never seen a Wolven Mage survive when they were this close to rupturing.

“Move!” Tavik bellowed.

I sprinted forward, not thinking, not considering the consequences. I was driven by a wild, desperate need to protect the woman I loved. The golden aura enveloped me, and the air suddenly grew hot as I drew closer to Sasha’s twitching form. She lay on the floor, eyes closed and fur billowing from the force of the chaotic energy surrounding her.

“Sasha!” I shouted, but she gave no indication she could hear me.

“Please, Alaric,” Tavik begged, his voice tainted with sobs. “Please save her. Save both of them. Oh gods, please save them.”

I gritted my teeth, sweat pouring down my face and neck from the blistering heat. The gold light burned hotter, and I was sure I was going to melt from it at any second. I crouched low and placed my hand over Sasha’s paw. Her fur was damp with sweat. I squeezed hard, and her eyes fluttered open.

They were gold mixed with flecks of red.

She was almost out of time.

“Don’t give in,” I begged. “Please.”

Sasha turned her head slightly, but her eyes closed again, as if that small motion was too much for her.

“No,” I growled, leaning closer and placing both my hands on her face. “You don’t get to give up that easily. Now, open your eyes.”

Sasha obeyed, looking at me with a spark of clarity. The gold of her irises shone brightly.

I had to take advantage of this lucid moment before the rupture claimed her. “Cerise!” I called out. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but you have to fight this. You are stronger than the rupture!”

Sasha let out a low groan, her eyes rolling back until they were all white. I clutched harder at her face, holding her steady despite the violent tremors that wracked her body.

“Stay with me!” I cried, my voice loud and commanding. “Please, Cerise! I know you can do this.”

“Alaric!” she sobbed in my mind. “Alaric, it hurts!” She broke off with an anguished moan. An echo of her pain lanced through my chest, and I hunched over with a groan.

Gods’ breath, it was excruciating. Like a burst of white-hot flames burrowing through me.

“You are strong,” I panted, chest heaving with my wheezing breaths. “You’re strong enough to get through this, Cerise. Stronger than any other Mage I know.”

“She killed her,” Cerise wept. “She killed my grandmother.”

My brow furrowed, and I shook my head. “Who did?”

“Sasha.”

Cold horror chilled me to the bone. I stared at the wolf in numb disbelief. Her eyes were half-closed, but the look she fixed on me was grim acceptance.

Sasha had killed Elvira.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Holy shit, no wonder Cerise was about to rupture. To face the truth of such a revelation would have broken even the fiercest of warriors.

“Elvira deserved to die,” I said firmly. “You know that.”

“My wolf is a murderer,” she moaned. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“You can!” I shouted. “Cerise, I promise you can. Because… because I’m a murderer, too.” My throat tightened with the admission. “I have killed many times. And I will probably kill again.”

Cerise said nothing, which I took as a good sign. Plowing forward, I went on, “Sasha was protecting you. She did it for you.” I didn’t know the circumstances of Sasha’s attack or what had been going through her mind, but I did know that the wolf would have done anything to keep Cerise safe.

“I—I can’t be bonded to a wolf who would do something like that,” Cerise whispered. “Someone who would destroy the only family I had. Someone who would keep such a secret from me for so long.”