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I stumbled.
The wolves that had flanked it came forward.
I stepped back, hitting the column. Shit. I moved aside.
Oh no.
She hadn’t just activated the shifters directly in front of me. She’d called on her magic to pull in every single one of her shifters. The worst part is she wasn’t wrong—they were almost entirely made of her magic. Her cursed stars ran through them, giving them shape. Her collars controlled them. The only thing she didn’t tamp down on was their pain. I fended off several with my sword. Each’s suffering hit me squarely in the chest.
I had to hurt them to survive. They didn’t deserve the pain I’d caused. But it was them or me.
The sea of creatures grew larger and larger. I tried to keep a circle of space around me, turning rapidly from side to side with my blade to keep the perimeter. I was a sitting duck. Cole couldn’t reach me now, even if he could interfere. And if she wanted to hurl more of those spears, there was nowhere for me to go.
But no spears came. No, she wanted me to suffer.
“Give up,” she called. “Even at your most powerful you could never beat me, and this is far from your most powerful.”
On silent command, five wolves launched at me at once. I stabbed two and kicked one, but the other two landed on me, their translucent fangs drawing blood. I cried out from the pain of the ones I killed and the ones who I’d failed to defend against.
Over and over, I attacked them, but more took their place. I couldn’t tell how long it went on. Even with my shifter stamina, I was flagging. There were too many. I was just one person.
The Moon Goddess laughed, the sound rising above the cacophonyof wolf howls as magic amplified the sound. “These are the creatures you cherished. Look at how they turn on you. They know you’re weak, and they can’t resist.”
I stabbed another straight through the chest. When it dissipated, I faltered, seeing the ones behind it.
“Look. These you know.”
The ghost shifters around me flickered, replaced by ones I recognized. Jett. Maddox. Sabine. Other Moon-Ghost shifters we’d killed in the last trial.
“These ones knew from the start. You’re weak. Unwanted. Unable to shift. And you thought you could challenge me?” She laughed again. “The most powerful creature in all the realms, and some pathetic upstart goddess thought she deserved a piece of the world.”
They lunged at once. My sword clattered to the ground as Jett’s fangs found my forearm. Maddox drew from my thighs.
The pain was so familiar. I hated it. I wanted to run from it. God, it was so familiar. Maybe this was how I ended. Destroyed by the same packmates who had killed me before. It hurt. It hurt so badly. I just wanted it to end, to go away. Hadn’t I suffered it enough times? Should I just accept this death, alone, on my knees? If everyone wanted me dead, what choice did I have?
“Even now, I barely have to control them.” Her voice echoed in my ears. “They hate you. Despise you. Aren’t they right to? You abandoned them all those years ago. Came back weak and useless.”
I fell to my knees, unable to stand. The worst part was, I didn’t think she was lying. Always, they had hated me. All I’d ever wanted was to be free of them, to run away and never come back. But now, here I was, at their mercy again.
They had no mercy. Not in life, not in death.
Another shifter tore into my flesh.
“You are so much more than that.”
There was no way Cole’s words should have reached me without him yelling, but I heard my mate. My husband.
The male who believed in me. Who saw me, all of me, and thought I was enough. I didn’t need a crown or magic or shifter strength in his eyes. Just beingmewas enough.
I fell on my hands and knees. With my left hand, I grabbed the blade and swung in a wild arc. I killed two of the Moon-Ghost shifters, but the rest persisted. I kicked several off, ignoring the bleeding in my legs, and regained my sword.
Somehow, on determination alone, I rebuilt my perimeter. It was only a matter of time before I was overwhelmed again. The marble beneath me was slippery with blood—and I was the only one bleeding.
But I wouldn’t give up.
“Perhaps I’ll offer you a final deal—submit now, while my wolves tear you to shreds, and I’ll spare the other one. Oh, he’ll have to give up the mantle and settle in some forgotten corner, but I can be generous. He likely will decide to join you, but at least he will have a few years to survive. Do you not want that for him?”
Half a dozen wolves hurled themselves at me, aiming for my already weakened limbs.
