The scream didn’t fade.
It spread.
It rolled across the valley like a sickness carried on the wind, sinking into bone and instinct. Wolves cried out as they staggered, clutching their chests, some dropping to their knees as the sound tore through the pack bonds that tied them together.
Kael was no longer just suffering.
He was broadcasting.
I braced myself as another wave hit—pain, fury, terror—none of it mine, yet all of it forced through the ruined remains of the mate bond like a blade dragged through my ribs.
I gasped, knees buckling.
Ronan caught me instantly. “Stay with me,” he said sharply. “Don’t let it pull you under.”
“I’m not letting it,” I rasped. “It’s forcing its way out.”
The ground to the west split violently, a shockwave racing outward as silver-black energy erupte
