Chapter 6 The Monster In The Mist

Celeste couldn't breathe.

The thing standing where Ronan had been was no longer just a wolf.

It was something else entirely.

He was still Ronan Duskbane, but his form had shifted beyond recognition. His body was wreathed in shadows, the air around him warping, twisting like the night itself bent to his will. His claws were longer, sharper, not natural.

And his eyes-they weren't just red anymore.

They burned.

Deep, glowing crimson, like embers in the dark, radiating something ancient, something wrong.

The Crescent Pack froze.

The wolf behind Celeste-the one still holding a blade to her throat-shook.

"W-What the hell is he?" the man rasped.

Celeste's heart slammed against her ribs.

She had no idea.

Ronan's gaze snapped to her.

And in that moment, she understood-this wasn't just a Blood Alpha.

This was something else entirely.

The Crescent Pack tried to run.

Ronan let them.

For two seconds.

Then-he moved.

No, moved wasn't the right word. He vanished.

A rush of wind. A blur of black and red.

Then-screams.

Celeste flinched.

It wasn't a fight. It was a massacre.

Ronan didn't just kill them.

He ripped through them like they were nothing.

One moment, the first wolf was running. The next, Ronan's claws tore through his chest, cutting through bone, muscle, soul. The man barely had time to scream before he collapsed, eyes wide, lifeless.

The second wolf raised his sword-too slow.

Ronan was already behind him.

A sickening snap. A strangled gasp.

The body hit the ground.

Celeste stared, horrified.

The Crescent Pack had come expecting a fight.

But this?

This was something else.

One of the last remaining wolves dropped his weapon, falling to his knees.

"Please," he begged, his voice shaking. "Please, I-"

Ronan tilted his head.

Then without a word he ripped the man's throat out.

Celeste choked back a scream.

The last wolf the one still holding her hostage froze.

His grip on her tightened, the blade pressing harder against her skin. Desperate. Panicked.

Ronan's head lifted slowly.

Those burning red eyes locked onto her.

And the air shifted.

Celeste couldn't see what he did. She didn't hear it.

But she felt it.

A wave of raw power rolled through the forest, curling through the mist, settling deep in her chest. Not magic. Not wolf.

Something older.

Something primal.

The wolf behind her screamed.

One second, he was holding her hostage.

The next-he was gone.

Not killed.

Erased.

Celeste staggered forward, suddenly free. Her breathing came in sharp, shallow gasps.

Silence.

The forest was silent.

All of them. Gone.

And only Ronan remained.

Celeste's legs trembled.

Her body screamed at her to run.

But her wolf-her traitorous, treacherous wolf-wanted to go to him.

Ronan exhaled slowly.

Then, before her eyes, his form began to shift again.

The darkness peeled away.

The burning eyes faded.

And in seconds he was just a man again.

A very dangerous man, drenched in blood, staring at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

Celeste shook.

She had never been afraid of an Alpha before.

She had never feared any wolf.

But this?

This was not just a wolf.

This was something else.

Something unstoppable.

Something she was now bound to.

Ronan's lips parted.

"Celeste," he murmured.

She snapped.

She turned and ran.

Not because she thought she could escape.

Not because she was faster than him.

But because she had to try.

She had to get away from the monster she had just bonded herself to.

Even if some part of her already knew the truth.

She would never escape Ronan Duskbane.

Because he had already claimed her.

And monsters didn't let go of what was theirs.