Prologue

I burst from the den, wings flaring for balance. Lightning skidded to a halt before me, his black-blue wings tucked tight against heaving flanks, eyes wild. Behind him, the hunting party emerged from the tree line, wings drooping with exhaustion. My gaze swept across them once, twice. My heart seized.

“Where is my mate?”

Lightning’s ears pinned flat. “The Death Pack ambushed us near the northern ridge. We scattered–”

“And you left him?” The words emerged as a snarl. Heat built beneath my skin, my vision tinged red at the edges. Lightning stepped back, and I saw my reflection in his widening eyes–flames dancing in my pupils.

“Go. Retrieve him. Now.”

Lightning vanished into the darkness. I paced, claws scoring lines in the dirt. Each second stretched. Each breath burned.

Movement at the forest’s edge. A familiar golden form staggered into the clearing, golden-tipped wings dragging through the dirt, ribs expanding with labored breaths. I crossed the distance in three bounds, my own wings lifting me into a glide that closed the space between us.

“Golden Emerald–”

He collapsed against me, his weight warm and solid. Real. “Death Pack,” he gasped. “They cornered us. I fought them. Drove them back. Then bucks came–” His eyes glazed, replaying the memory. “Stampede. Hundreds of them. I ran.”

I pressed my muzzle to his neck, feeling his pulse race beneath fur matted with sweat. “Come. Rest.”

I guided him toward the alpha den, his paws dragging through the grass. But something felt wrong–a tension in his shoulders, a tremor that had nothing to do with exhaustion.

Darkness cloaked the territory when I woke to emptiness beside me. I lifted my head. Golden Emerald’s scent trail led toward the border.

My paws found Lightning first, blocking the path ahead where my mate stood frozen between the den and the wild.

“Planning a midnight stroll?” Lightning’s tail remained still–no friendly sway.

Golden Emerald’s gaze fixed on the horizon. “There’s a place. Flash knows it. I wanted to prepare something.”

“In the middle of the night?”

“It’s… special.”

I emerged from the shadows, Nova at my flank. “Where are you really going?”

“Tell me.” I stepped closer, searching his face for the wolf I knew.

His jaw clenched. “Death Pack territory.” The words dropped like stones. “I’m joining them.”

“No.” The forest seemed to hold his breath. “Please.”

Beneath his fur, something writhed. His golden markings pulsed–once, twice–then bled across his coat. The emerald green dimmed, drowning in shadow and scarlet.

I reached for him, but he flinched away. “I’ll bring you back. I promise.”

“I’m already gone.” His voice carried an edge I’d never heard–sharp, jagged. “The wolf you knew doesn’t exist anymore.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“I’m Death Star now.” His eyes held mine, cold and distant as stars. “Golden Emerald died the moment I made my choice.”

The earth tilted beneath my paws. “Then prove it.” My lips curled back. “Fight me. The wolf I loved could never hurt me.”

Death Star’s stance shifted, predatory. “Don’t expect mercy because we shared a den.”

He moved first–a blur of darkness slamming into my ribs. I hit the ground, the taste of copper flooding my mouth. Pain screamed through my side.

“Get up, mutt.”

Lightning crackled through my limbs as I launched myself at him, wings propelling me forward, jaws snapping toward his throat. He twisted mid-air, his own wings creating a gust that knocked me off course. My fangs caught only air.

“Predictable.” He circled me, a dark satellite. “You’re already finished.”

“Flash, don’t let him escape!” Lightning’s cry came from somewhere far away.

I forced myself upright, legs trembling. “I’ll handle this.”

Death Star struck again, claws raking across my shoulder. His wings buffeted me backward, throwing me off balance. Warm blood soaked through my fur and matted the feathers at my wing joint, dripping onto the grass. The world swayed.

“Can barely stand.” He tilted his head, mockingly curious. “Ready to quit?”

“Never.” I lunged, wings spreading wide to give me height before I dove. My teeth found purchase on his foreleg. He roared, throwing me off with a powerful beat of his darkened wings. I crashed into a tree trunk, feathers scattering like ash.

We collided again and again–a violent dance beneath an indifferent moon. My strikes grew slower. Weaker. My vision blurred at the edges, darkness creeping in. The ground rushed up to meet me.

Death Star’s paw steps faded into the forest, the sound of his wings cutting through the night air growing distant until silence swallowed everything.

Light. Too bright. My eyes cracked open, each blink sending spikes of pain through my skull.

“Easy.” Unfamiliar walls surrounded me, the air thick with herbs and salves.

“Where…?”

A white wolf with constellation-like markings materialized beside me, her silver wings folded neatly at her sides. “The healer’s den. I’m Galactic.”

“How did I–”

“Nova and Lightning carried you here. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” Galactic pressed moss against my reopened wounds, the pressure making me gasp. “They’re resting now. You should too.”

I tried to rise. My legs refused. “Golden Emerald. Is he–”

“Lightning told me everything.” Galactic’s expression remained neutral, professional. “He’s Death Star now. Gone.”

‘Yes.” Galactic checked my wing–I hadn’t even noticed the damage there until the healer’s gentle touch made me hiss. Feathers hung at an odd angle, some torn completely free, the membrane beneath bruised purple and black. “Your body needs months to recover. Maybe your heart needs longer.”

“I’ll stay in the territory. I’ll heal.”

“Good.” Galactic stepped back, studying her work. “When you can walk out of here on your own, you’re free to go. But take it slow, Flash. Some injuries don’t show on the surface.”

Days bled together in the healer’s den before I finally returned to my own. I divided my time between the den’s cool darkness and the waterfall’s edge, where mist kissed my healing scars and the water’s roar drowned out the questions I couldn’t answer.

Why did he leave?

Why did he choose them?

Why wasn’t I enough to make him stay?

The waterfall never responded, but it never turned away either. So I kept returning, watching my reflection fracture and reform in the churning pool below, waiting for the day when I’d recognize the wolf staring back.