Chapter 19 · First Mark, Last Breath

"She's breaking."

I hear Cain say it before I feel it—before my ribs crack open from the inside and something claws its way up through my chest.

I'm on Aiden's kitchen floor. Choking. Air tastes like blood and smoke.

"Ivy—" Aiden's hands are on my shoulders but I can't hear him past the roaring in my ears.

Then the scents hit.

Three of them. All at once. Pine and frost. Wild leather and rain. Cinnamon and burnt sugar. They're not just smells—they're hooks buried in my ribs, yanking me in three directions.

My wolf wakes up screaming.

Three years of silence and now she's loud. So loud I can't think. She's not confused. She's hunting.

"Get back." My voice comes out wrong. Lower. Rougher. "Aiden, get the hell back."

He doesn't move.

The door slams open. Cain's already halfway shifted, eyes full gold. He takes one look at me and stops. "The seal's gone."

"No shit." Rex is on the windowsill, crouched like he can't decide whether to jump in or run. His grin's too sharp. "Smells like Christmas morning in here."

I try to stand. My legs won't work.