Chapter 51
(Zion’s POV)
My hand was still clenched around Dev’s throat when Zelda screamed “Zion, stop!”
I didn’t stop.
I dropped Dev to the ground with a hard thud and turned to grab Zelda’s wrist. “You’re coming with me—”
“Don’t!” she cried, trying to yank away.
But before I could drag her off the floor and away from this entire mess, I felt it— a movement behind me.
Dev was back on his feet, and he had shifted.
His beast snapped through his skin like a whip. His claws flexed with silver–streaked fur, and his growl deep and wild.
He was challenging me.
Ragnar stirred with a wicked grin. “Finally. It’s been too long, he said, eager for a fight.
I didn’t wait. I let the shift rip through me.
Thick black fur tore down my spine, my limbs stretching and cracking as I transformed. Ragnar towered Dev’s, twice his
size.
We lunged at the same time, claws scraping and fangs snapping… The courtyard shook under our weight as we clashed.
Zelda screamed again “Stop! Please! Zion, Dev, Please!”
But her voice only made it worse. Why was she screaming at me?
Why wasn’t she yelling at this little mutt with silver streaks in his fur?
It burned deep.
Dev’s beast moved quickly, slipping past Ragnar’s swings and landing blows that surprised me. He was smaller, but cunning. His bites were precise, his leaps sharp. He had trained.
I hated that I had to admit it, but he was good… just not good enough.
Ragnar caught him mid–lunge and slammed him into the stone floor. I heard something crack. Maybe a rib.
The crowd was growing now; voices rose and screams echoed. The night was no longer a celebration, it was a war zone.
Zelda was crying on her knees, her hands trembling as she begged both of us to stop.
I hesitated, but that was all it took.
Dev’s beast lunged again, blood dripping from his mouth, his eyes wild- inhuman. There was something else in him now. Something dark.
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Chapter 51
“He smells wrong,” Ragnar growled.
He feels wrong too.
This wasn’t just a fight anymore. It was with something darker.
He fought like a beast that didn’t know when to quit, like someone who had already crossed a line and didn’t care if he lost everything. I wondered if that was how I was whenever Ragnar and I lost control… He was almost demonic. Possessed.
I shoved him back, trying to gain space.
And that’s when I saw them; my parents. My heart raced fearfully.
The Queen’s gown billowed as she rushed forward with guards behind her. The King strode in with the elders trailing close; their expressions tight and wary.
“Zion!” my father barked, and I made to stop but Dev’s beast lunged again.
I ducked quickly, clawing at his side but he didn’t flinch. It was like pain didn’t register for him anymore.
Then out of nowhere, someone appeared behind Dev. The lean boy with a scar across his
eye.
Tobe.
“Come on, Vorren,” he grinned like he was approaching a mischievous wolf, not a bloodthirsty beast. And Dev’s beast, who had been snarling seconds ago paused.
Then he wagged his tail and Tobe moved playfully, calculatedly leaping over the palace fence with ease.
As though in a game, Dev’s beast followed and jumped excitedly.
The courtyard immediately fell silent.
I stood still, Ragnar still breathing heavily, his black fur heaving with each breath… Then I heard a gasp followed by a thud.
My head whipped around. It was Lily.
She dropped to the floor like a broken doll, her limbs crumpling beneath her. My heart roared, and I took one massive step toward her but then stopped… Steam hissed from her skin.
Dark, thick smoke.
It shrouded her, and horrified gasps echoed from the crowd. The air around her rippled, heavy with power… and when it cleared, Lily was no longer lying down.
In her place was a mix of a wolf and demon standing tall, cloaked in a soft, eerie glow. Her fur was dark like shadow, her eyes blazing red. Two horns curled from her head, wicked and sharp. Her claws flexed at her sides, but her expression was blank… almost like she was in a trance.
No one moved. No one breathed.
She turned slightly toward me- toward Ragnar.
Ragnar howled in curiosity, he was meeting his mate for the first time.
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