Chapter 36
**JAKE**
"Jake!" I cried out, overjoyed to be safe in his arms again, my heart racing from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. His hold was firm, protective, as though he’d never let me go again. He grabbed my face, his lips crashing onto mine in a desperate kiss, filled with emotion. But as he pulled away, his words shattered my fleeting relief.
“We need to get you out of here. Now,” he said, his voice grim and commanding.
“We? You and who?” I demanded, my heart sinking. I didn't want to leave him, not now.
As if on cue, Chris appeared beside me, his presence reassuring but adding to my growing sense of dread.
“Get her out of here, now,” Jake ordered, his Alpha tone laced with urgency. His transformation was near complete, his entire body now a terrifying shade of dark grey, black veins bulging across his neck, arms, and forehead. He was on the brink of losing control, and we both knew it.
“No! I can’t leave you! What about my dad? And my mom!” I screamed, taking a step back, refusing to abandon him.
Jake growled, his eyes flashing dangerously as he grabbed me tightly, pulling me back into his arms. “Don’t do that. Don’t move away from me. We don’t have time for this! Your mom is safe—Bryan took her. I have to finish this…” His voice cracked, as though even he doubted if we’d come out of this alive.
Before Jake could say anything else, a voice rang through the room, cold and merciless.
“No one is leaving,” Zion sneered, his hand plunged deep into my father’s chest. “Come here, Priscilla, or I’ll rip his heart out right now.”
My world collapsed in that instant. Zion’s hand was inside my father’s body, and blood dripped onto the floor like a crimson waterfall. My father's pained gaze met mine.
“NO!” I screamed, struggling in Jake’s arms, trying to break free. But he wouldn’t let me go. “If you don’t let me go, Jake, I swear, I’ll kill you myself!” My voice trembled with a rage I could barely recognize as my own.
“Prisca… no… don’t…” My father’s voice was weak, blood bubbling from his mouth. “Jake… if you let her go… I’ll never forgive you…”
And then, with a sickening crack, Zion ripped my father's heart from his chest. His lifeless body crumpled to the ground, and I stood frozen, my mind unable to process what had just happened.
My father. He was gone. The man I’d only just begun to know, taken from me in the most brutal way possible. Zion had torn him apart as if he were nothing, reduced to a shell, his blood staining the floor beneath us.
I screamed, the sound primal, as fire seemed to erupt from deep within me. My vision blurred with rage, and suddenly I felt it — the wolf inside me, wild and burning with fury. Flames danced across my skin, licking at my hands, as if I were a living inferno.
“Prisca, no!” Jake cried, but it was too late. Power surged through me, and with just a glance, I flung him across the room with a force I didn’t know I possessed. Chris, who had been standing nearby, was hurled against the wall as well.
This was my fight now.
I strode toward Zion, the monster who had killed my father. He was no longer in his human form. His true form — a demon lycan — had taken over. His horns were massive, larger than I’d ever seen, twisting from his head like the branches of a dark, ancient tree. His obsidian-black claws glinted menacingly, poised to strike.
In any other world, in any other moment, I would’ve been terrified. But not now. This was *my* world, and I was going to ruin him. He charged at me, claws aimed for my face, but I was faster. I hurled a ball of flames into his face, blinding him momentarily.
The beast knelt, snarling in frustration as he clawed at his eyes, trying to regain his vision. I stood over him, my heart racing, every fiber of my being consumed by vengeance.
“Meet your end, demon,” I hissed, ready to strike.
But before I could move, Zion lashed out, faster than I anticipated. His massive hand reached for me, claws ready to tear through my torso. I braced for the impact, but it never came.
A massive black figure appeared between us, ripping Zion’s arm clean off in a spray of blood. I stumbled back in shock, watching as the enormous lycan, sleek and terrifying, tore into Zion with savage ferocity. It was Jake. He had transformed, fully, into the beast from his paintings — the beast I had feared but now understood. His eyes burned red as he ripped through Zion’s flesh, tearing him apart with the strength of a hundred wolves. Zion, the demon, was nothing more than a ragdoll in Jake’s powerful jaws.
But Jake wasn’t stopping. He was lost to his beast.
Chris appeared at my side, his face pale. “Lunar, we have to go. The place is on fire, and it’s falling apart fast!”
I looked around, and he was right. Flames engulfed the walls, and the ceiling groaned as debris began to fall. The whole building was collapsing, but Jake was still tearing into Zion, oblivious to everything around him.
“Jake!” I screamed, my voice raw with panic. “Jake, we have to go!”
But he didn’t hear me. He was lost in his rage, his beast unwilling to let go of the bloodlust. Chris grabbed my arm, trying to pull me away, but I shoved him back.
“No! I am *not* leaving him! Try to stop me again, and I will burn you to ashes!” I snarled, my wolf's power flaring around me.
I sprinted toward Jake, standing directly in his path. “Jake, please!” I cried, desperation filling my voice. “We need to go. You’ll burn with this place if you don’t stop!”
He growled at me, his massive frame towering over mine. But I didn’t back down. Instead, I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Fine,” I whispered against his fur. “Then we’ll burn together. I love you, Jake. I’m not losing you, too.”
For a moment, everything was still. Then, his growls subsided, and I heard his voice, low and broken.
“I love you too,” he whispered, his body trembling. “I’ve loved you since the day I met you.”
Suddenly, the wind picked up around us, swirling violently, and the world tilted. When I opened my eyes, we were no longer inside the burning building. We were outside, in the forest, surrounded by the cool night air.
I gasped, looking at Jake — naked, covered in dirt and blood, but back in his human form, his arms still around me. Relief flooded through me, and I flung myself at him, hugging him tightly.
“You’re back!” I cried, showering him with kisses. “You were that huge beast, and I thought we were going to burn alive! You scared me!”
He laughed, his voice a deep rumble. “Maybe you should’ve told me you loved me earlier.”
I smacked his arm playfully, eyes wide. “You’re such a jerk!”
“And that’s why you love me,” he teased, pulling me in for a deep kiss.
He was right. I did love him. Too much, maybe, but I didn’t care.
“If you two are done abusing the poor forest,” Chris’s voice called out, “the pack would like to see their Alpha and Luna in one piece.”
“Go away, Chris!” Jake and I shouted in unison, laughing as we held onto each other like the world outside didn’t exist.
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