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Then I hear it—cubs crying.

Three bear warriors have cornered a group of settler children against the meetinghouse. The adults who tried to protect them lie motionless nearby.

Go,I tell Ember.I’ll hold him.

She doesn’t hesitate.

The fire that erupts from her as she races toward the cubs makes her previous display look tame. She becomes a living meteor, streaking across the battlefield. The bear warriors see her coming and brace for impact.

They might as well brace against the sun.

She hits them in a wave of flame and fury. One bear’s fur ignites instantly. Another stumbles back, pawing at eyes seared by her brightness. The third manages one swipe before her jaws find his throat, fire cauterizing even as she tears.

The cubs huddle behind her, eyes wide with terror and awe as she stands between them and danger, wreathed in flames that don’t touch the children but promise death to any who approach.

Even some of Stormcrow’s bears pause, watching her with something like reverence. This is no tame shifter playing at civilization. This is elemental fury given form.

Stormcrow sees it too. For the first time, uncertainty flickers in his eyes.

“What are you?” he growls, circling me but watching her.

“She’s the future,” I tell him, blood dripping from wounds his claws left. “Wild and civilized. Primal and controlled. Everything you’re too stupid to understand.”

He charges again, but halfheartedly. Around us, his forces are fragmenting. Some still fight, but others retreat, unwilling to face the fire panther who makes their chief hesitate.

“This isn’t over,” Stormcrow snarls, backing toward the forest. “You’ve chosen your side, Blackthorn. When I return with the full clan, we’ll see how your pet’s fire fares against true numbers.”

“We’ll be ready,” I promise.

He shifts to human form, that massive scarred body still intimidating despite his retreat. “The old ways are ending, pup. You can’t straddle both worlds forever. Soon you’ll have to choose—be wild or be nothing.”

“I’ve already chosen,” I tell him. “I chose both.”

His laugh is bitter as he melts into the forest, his remaining bears following.

And then silence, broken only by whimpers of wounded and crying of saved children.

I shift back, legs barely holding me. Ember races to my side, her flames dying as she shifts to human form. Through our bond, I feel her exhaustion, her pain from burns pushed too far, her fierce joy that we survived.

“The cubs,” she says, already turning back.

“Safe. You saved them.” I pull her against me, needing the contact. “You were magnificent.”

“We were.” She examines my wounds with gentle fingers. “But Zane?—”

“I know.” I look around at the devastation. Three of my wolves lie still. Seven more bear wounds that will take days to heal. “He’ll be back. With more.”

Marcus approaches, blood matting his gray fur. He shifts, face grim. “We held them, Alpha. But at cost.”

“Our dead?”

“Toren. Sasha. Young Kai.” His voice cracks on the last name—Kai was barely past his first hunt.

Ember makes a soft sound of grief. Through our bond, I feel her pain for wolves she barely knew but fought beside. Already, she mourns as a pack.

“The settlers?” I ask.

“Fifteen dead. More wounded. But...” He looks at Ember with something like respect. “They saw her defend their cubs. Saw us bleed for them. Some are actually grateful.”