Richard’s axe came down.

Then the world exploded.

A shockwave tore through the battlefield hard enough to flatten entire rows of rogue wolves instantly.

Mud erupted skyward.

Trees snapped in half.

The silver nets binding Killian detonated outward like paper caught in a bomb blast.

Every wolf on the battlefield froze.

Because that wasn’t Alpha force.

That wasn’t magic.

That felt older.

Deadlier.

The Blood Moon above Blackwood suddenly turned darker.

Not red.

Crimson.

Pure crimson.

Richard staggered backward violently as invisible force ripped the axe from his hands.

“What the fuck—”

Then the pressure hit.

Every rogue wolf dropped to one knee instantly.

Some started choking.

Others clawed at their throats in panic.

Like the air itself had become too heavy to breathe.

Killian pushed himself halfway up through the mud slowly.

Silver burns smoking across his skin.

Blood dripping from his mouth.

His wolf had gone completely still.

Not calm.

Listening.

The storm above the battlefield suddenly shifted direction.

Wind howled across the dead forest.

And through the rain—

A figure appeared at the top of the ridge.

Long black hair whipping violently through the storm.

A blood-red gown moving like liquid darkness.

Crimson eyes glowing beneath the Blood Moon.

Every wolf on the battlefield stopped breathing.

Eva.

No.

Not Eva anymore.

Something worse.

Something ancient.

The pressure rolling off her made even Blackwood soldiers lower their heads instinctively.

Richard’s remaining eye widened slowly.

“Well…”

His voice came out rougher now.

“There she fucking is.”

Eva walked down the ridge in complete silence.

One step.

Then another.

Rain evaporated before touching her skin.

The earth beneath her heels cracked black with frost and blood magic.

No one moved.

No one dared.

The rogue wolves closest to her started backing away automatically.

Animals recognizing a predator above them in the food chain.

Killian stared at her through rain and blood.

His chest tightened violently.

Two years.

Two years dreaming about this face.

This voice.

This scent.

And somehow—

Reality looked even crueler.

Eva never looked at him.

Not once.

Her eyes stayed locked on Richard.

The rogue Alpha slowly smiled again despite the pressure crushing the battlefield.

“You’re prettier than Tanya described.”

Wrong thing to say.

Very wrong.

The air suddenly distorted around Eva.

Then—

Half the rogue front line exploded.

Bodies launched backward like rag dolls.

Blood sprayed across the forest.

Screams ripped through the battlefield.

Richard’s smile disappeared instantly.

Eva kept walking.

Calm.

Elegant.

Terrifying.

The surviving rogues scrambled backward in panic now.

“What IS she?!”

“MOVE!”

“GET AWAY FROM HER!”

Too late.

One rogue lunged at her desperately from the side.

Eva didn’t even turn.

The wolf’s entire body folded inward midair.

Bones shattered.

Blood burst from his mouth.

Then he hit the mud already dead.

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Wrong.

Richard finally understood.

This wasn’t some vampire queen.

This was a fucking catastrophe wearing a woman’s face.

Killian slowly rose to one knee behind her.

Silver burns tearing across his chest.

His wolf practically shaking beneath his skin now.

Not fear.

Recognition.

Mate.

Mine.

Alive.

Eva stopped fifteen feet away from Richard.

Still expressionless.

Still not looking at Killian.

“You touched my property.”

Her voice cut through the battlefield softly.

That was the terrifying part.

She didn’t need to scream.

Richard’s jaw tightened.

“You’re calling the Alpha King property?”

Eva tilted her head slightly.

“Did I stutter?”

Several rogue wolves visibly panicked.

Richard looked toward Killian briefly.

Then back to her.

Something ugly flickered across his scarred face.

Understanding.

“Oh…”

His smile slowly returned.

“You’re obsessed with him too.”

The battlefield temperature dropped instantly.

Killian saw it happen.

Saw the exact second her control cracked.

Tiny.

Fast.

But real.

Richard laughed harshly.

“That’s adorable.”

Bad decision.

Eva disappeared.

Not moved.

Disappeared.

One second she stood twenty feet away.

The next—

Richard crashed through three dead trees with blood exploding from his mouth.

The battlefield shook.

Every rogue wolf recoiled in terror.

Killian’s breath caught violently.

Fast.

Too fast.

Even his wolf barely tracked her movement.

Richard staggered upright again with genuine shock across his face.

Eva stood in front of him now.

One pale hand wrapped around his throat.

Lifting.

Actually lifting him off the ground.

The giant rogue Alpha clawed at her wrist.

Nothing happened.

“You talk too much,” Eva murmured.

Richard snarled through crushed breathing.

“You think… I’m scared of you?”

Eva’s mismatched eyes glowed brighter beneath the crimson moon.

“No.”

Her grip tightened slowly.

“I think you’re already dead.”

Richard roared violently.

His entire body suddenly shifted partially feral beneath her grip.

Claws.

Fangs.

Massive wolf muscle exploding outward.

Several rogue Alphas charged her at once.

Killian’s wolf snapped instantly.

“EVA—”

The name ripped out of him before he could stop it.

Eva froze for half a second.

Just half.

Enough.

Richard slammed both feet into her stomach hard enough to break concrete.

The impact finally forced her backward.

The rogue Alpha crashed into the mud gasping for air.

“NETS!” he roared instantly.

Silver launchers fired from the trees.

Killian’s eyes widened.

“MOVE!”

Eva looked up calmly.

Then smiled.

Not kindly.

Not humanly.

The silver nets hit an invisible wall around her—

And vaporized.

Every rogue holding the launch chains screamed as kinetic force reversed straight back into them.

Bodies exploded across the battlefield.

Richard actually took a step back now.

Real fear.

Finally.

Eva walked toward him again slowly.

The red gown dragged through blood-soaked mud without staining.

“How…” Richard breathed.

Eva’s gaze stayed empty.

“You should’ve stayed in your forest.”

The rogue Alpha grabbed his axe desperately.

“This war isn’t over.”

“No.”

Eva’s eyes finally sharpened.

“It’s just becoming unfair.”

The pressure around her intensified violently.

Rogue wolves started collapsing unconscious now.

Others choked outright.

Several Blackwood soldiers dropped to one knee too.

Only Killian stayed standing.

Barely.

His wolf refused to submit.

Not to her.

Never to her.

Only for her.

Eva finally turned.

For the first time since arriving—

She looked directly at him.

The battlefield disappeared.

The war disappeared.

Everything disappeared.

Killian stopped breathing.

God.

She was real.

Rain slid down her pale face.

The crimson moon behind her made her look almost divine.

Or demonic.

Maybe both.

Her eyes moved across the silver burns covering his body.

Across the blood.

Across the wounds.

Something dark flickered beneath her expression.

Possessiveness.

Cold.

Violent.

Mine.

Killian saw it immediately.

And his wolf nearly tore through his ribs because of it.

Richard noticed too.

The rogue Alpha slowly smiled again through blood.

“There it is.”

Eva never looked away from Killian.

Richard wiped blood from his mouth roughly.

“You really came all this way…”

His grin widened.

“…for him.”

Silence.

Then Eva answered quietly:

“No one touches my broken toy but me.”

Killian actually laughed.

Low.

Ruined.

Blood still running from his mouth.

Because somehow—

That sounded more beautiful than forgiveness ever could.

Eva’s eyes snapped toward him sharply.

“Stop laughing.”

He couldn’t.

Not really.

Not when she came for him.

Not when she crossed an entire battlefield just to kill anyone who touched him.

Richard suddenly roared and charged again.

Battle-axe raised high.

Eva didn’t even turn fully this time.

She simply lifted one hand—

And every bone in Richard’s left arm exploded.

The rogue Alpha screamed horribly.

The axe dropped into the mud.

Eva walked past him immediately.

Like he no longer mattered.

Like he never mattered.

Richard collapsed to one knee choking on pain and blood.

Paralyzed.

Unable to move.

Unable to stop her.

The battlefield stayed frozen as Eva crossed the mud slowly toward Killian.

One predator walking toward another.

Killian’s wolf had gone completely insane now.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

Eva stopped directly in front of him.

Close enough to smell rain on her skin.

Close enough to hear his heartbeat trying to tear through his chest.

Killian slowly lifted his eyes toward her.

And for the first time in years—

The Alpha King looked genuinely vulnerable.

Eva stared down at him coldly.

But her fingers twitched once at the sight of the silver burns across his throat.

Then her gaze darkened.

Because someone else put those wounds there first.

And that—

That made her furious.