Page 162 of A Sunwoven Ascent

She broke from the line without thinking and ran straight for them. Aurelia changed course at once, falling in behind her as though the decision had passed between them without a word. Evelyne wove through the battle, drawing closer to the Noskari surrounding her wolves. When their black eyes turned toward her, she struck fast and pulled away before they could catch her. Then she struck again. Each attack drew them a little farther from the others, breaking their formation piece by piece.

Mist swirled in front of her. It reached for her foreleg like a hand, but she twisted clear and kept moving. They would not outmaneuver her. Not here. Not with her pack on the ground.

She snarled loud enough to draw more of them toward her. Then she darted between them, changing direction each time they thought they had found her rhythm. Evelyne had always been good at games. At wit. At making others look where she wanted them to look. Now she used that same sharpness with teeth and claws. She pulled the Noskari away from Oathroot, spreading them thin until the circle finally weakened. The pack surged forward, reclaiming ground and tearing into the creatures she had displaced. Aurelia moved with them, a storm of fur and fury.

But Evelyne was not done.

Zade was still on his back, and one of the Noskari had him pinned. Its razor teeth were buried in his hind leg. His cry of pain tore through her, awakening something primal and absolute. She circled once, searching for an opening, then lunged. Her teeth sank into the creature’s unguarded shoulder. She shook her head viciously, ripping gray skin from its back and arm until the Noskari shrieked and staggered.

Another wolf slammed into it from the side and drove it to the ground.

Obren.

Evelyne gave him a nod before rushing to Zade. He was breathing. Hurt, but breathing. Relief hit her hard, but she did not move away. She planted herself over him instead, a barrier of bloodied fur and bared teeth. Every Noskari that came near the fallen wolf met her claws first.

Then Zade’s snout bumped her side.

She turned and found him standing.

For one breath, relief steadied her. Then something burned through her arm, up her neck, and deep into her chest. Evelyne staggered as the sensation took hold beneath her skin. It did not feel like pain. It felt like recognition. Like something inside her had opened and made room for all of them.

The connection snapped wider.

Deeper.

Suddenly, she felt them. Every Oathroot wolf. Every heartbeat. Every breath. Every flicker of instinct, trust, fear, pain, and fierce devotion. They were no longer separate presences near her. They were part of her awareness now, pressing close, and alive.

Howls rose into the night.

Evelyne looked around as the Oathroot wolves reacted one by one. Their bodies stilled. Their eyes turned toward her. The bond settled into place.

They were not scattered survivors anymore. Not borrowed allies. Not wolves held together by necessity alone.

They were a true pack.

Her pack.

Aurelia felt it too. Evelyne knew she did, because her sister went still as the mark burned beneath Evelyne’s fur and into her skin. The bond stretched wider, binding her not only to Zade, Kaura, Wren, and every Oathroot wolf, but to Aurelia as well.

Chapter 65

There was no time to acknowledge the new mark burning beneath Evelyne’s fur. No time to understand what it meant or what it had made of her. The battle still raged around her, but her attention was fixed on the large male standing at the edge of the field, untouched by blood, untouched by fear, watching the slaughter as though it had been arranged for his amusement.

Kaldrek.

Or whatever wore his face now.

He became the only thing she could see. Adrenaline burned through her, sharpening grief into something hotter, something far more useful. She broke from the fight and charged toward him, stopping only when she was close enough to see the smile curve across his mouth.

“Hello, love,” he said, his voice smooth and intimate in a way that made her stomach turn.

Evelyne lowered into a crouch and bared her teeth.

His gaze drifted over her, slowly. “I do hope you enjoyed your brief reign. It would be a pity if you and that pathetic little pack of yours vanished before you learned what true power feels like.” His smile widened. “It is extraordinary, Evelyne. I cannot imagine why I ever settled for less.”

She did not flinch. She would not give him that.

This was not him. Not truly. The man she loved would never look at her with such empty delight, never speak as though cruelty were a pleasure to be savored. And yet hearing his voice shape those words made something inside her twist dangerously close to breaking.