Chapter 26 · No More Moonlight Debts

The silver blade goes in clean.

I feel it punch through fur and muscle, feel the wet heat of his blood on my hands. Ethan's weight crashes into me and we go down hard, my back slamming against stone. His wolf form pins me, claws digging into my shoulders, and for a second I think he's still coming for my throat.

Then he goes still.

His eyes—gold, wild, nothing human left in them—lock on mine. There's no recognition. Just pain. The kind that cuts deeper than any blade.

"Ethan," I whisper. My hands are still on the knife handle, buried in his side. "Ethan, please."

Nothing. Just that animal stare and the ragged sound of his breathing.

Behind us, Viktor laughs. It's a wet, choking sound. "There it is. The hunter instinct. Told you, little bride. You were always going to kill him."

I want to scream at him but I can't look away from Ethan. His fur is matted with blood—his, Viktor's, maybe mine. The moon eclipse is still burning overhead, that sickly red light making everything look like a crime scene. Which I guess it is now.

Mara's hand lands on my shoulder. "Charlie. The blade.