The howl echoed across the territory.
Not a wolf's howl.
Not entirely.
It shook the earth.
Trees bent beneath an invisible pressure.
Birds exploded into the sky.
The moon, though hidden behind daylight clouds, burned silver for a heartbeat.
Every wolf in the pack stopped.
Ronan's head snapped toward the southern forest.
His expression drained of color.
"...He's lost control."
Node.
Not controlled.
Restraint.
Theron ran faster than any wolf had ever run.
His paws barely touched the ground.
The forest blurred around him.
Branches shattered simply from the force of his passing.
His bond screamed.
Aiden.
Fear.
Pain.
Life draining.
Every heartbeat through the bond grew weaker.
"Node..."
The word escaped him before he realized he'd spoken.
Not again.
Please...
Not again.
Behind him, Ronan barked orders.
"Warriors with me!"
"Protect the pups!"
"No one leaves them alone!"
The pack erupted into motion.
Confusion replacing discipline.
Fear replacing certainty.
Eirik stood frozen.
His heart stopped.
Because he knew exactly where Theron was running.
He knew...
before anyone else did.
His stomach twisted violently.
This is my fault.
He took one step forward.
Stopped.
Another.
Stopped again.
Every instinct screamed at him to confess.
To tell Ronan.
To tell Theron.
To tell Aiden everything.
But then—
Nyx's voice echoed inside his mind.
Tell them.
Tell them who betrayed them.
Tell them who opened the path.
Tell them who endangered the pups.
Eirik couldn't breathe.
If he confessed now...
There would be no forgiveness.
No place in the pack.
Not Aiden.
His knees almost gave out.
"...I'm sorry," he whispered.
No one heard him.
Far ahead—
Theron burst through the last line of trees.
"AIDEN!"
The clearing exploded into view.
Aiden was on one knee.
Shadow wrapped around his arms, legs and chest like living chains.
The silver necklace blazed against his skin, fighting desperately against the darkness consuming him.
Grass for meters around him had withered into black ash.
Nyx stood calmly before him.
One hand extended.
Darkness flowing from his fingertips into Aiden.
Theron's world stopped.
"...Let."
One step.
"him."
Another.
"Go."
The air became impossibly heavy.
Nyx turned slowly.
Almost expectantly.
"You came."
Theron's eyes no longer looked human.
Silver flooded both irises completely.
His pupils vanished.
Moonlight spilled from beneath his skin like liquid.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"You wanted me here."
Nyx smiled.
Small.
Satisfied.
"I wanted you to understand."
Theron didn't answer.
Nyx looked back toward Aiden.
Still trapped.
Still resisting.
"The cycle cannot continue."
Theron's voice was dangerously calm.
"...Release my mate."
Nyx shook his head once.
"Node."
Silence.
Then Nyx spoke the words that made the forest itself seem to recoil.
"He is the anchor offering."
The world froze.
Ronan arrived at the edge of the clearing with several warriors.
None of them dared step forward.
Anchor...
Offering...
No one understood.
Except Theron.
His face lost every trace of color.
"...Node."
Barely a whisper.
Nyx continued.
"As long as the anchor exists..."
"...the cycle survives."
His gauze remained fixed on Theron.
"Choose."
The shadows tightened around Aiden.
He gasped, life visibly draining from his face.
"Destroy me."
A pause.
"Or surrender the anchor."
Aiden forced himself to look at Theron despite the pain.
Their eyes met.
For a heartbeat—
The world disappeared.
Theron saw everything.
The fear.
The determination.
The love.
Aiden shook his head once.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
Don't.
Not with words.
With trust.
Behind the warriors—
Eirik arrived.
He saw Aiden restrained.
Saw the shadows stealing his life.
Saw Theron's face.
Everything inside him shattered.
"...You promised," he whispered.
His voice broke.
"...You promised..."
Nyx didn't even look at him.
"You chose this."
Eirik staggered backward.
Node.
Node.
Node.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
He had wanted Aiden safe.
The pups are safe.
Not...
this.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
Tears burned behind his eyes.
But he couldn't speak.
Couldn't confess.
Couldn't move.
Because fear still held him prisoner.
The clearing fell silent.
Then—
Theron took one step forward.
Moonlight erupted from him.
Not gently.
Not beautifully.
Violently.
The clouds above split apart.
The hidden moon shone in broad daylight.
The earth shook.
Ancient stones buried beneath the clearing cracked open.
Every wolf present instinctively dropped to their knees beneath the overwhelming pressure.
Ronan bowed his head.
Not by choice.
By instinct.
Because standing before them...
was no longer simply their Alpha.
No longer simply their leader.
The Moon God had stopped pretending to be only a wolf.
Theron's voice echoed with something older than language itself.
"I have restrained myself..."
Silver light flooded the entire forest.
"...for lifetimes."
He lifted his eyes to Nyx.
They blazed like twin moons.
"No more."
And the world answered its god.