“More riddles.” Frustration surged through me.

He raised a hand and smacked me backward again. The same invisible force slammed me into the wall, and my head cracked against the stone.

Once more, I heard Lachlan roar, his rage vibrating through me.

I staggered away from the wall, blinking to clear my vision.

The Maker pointed to the center of the round chamber, where an unfamiliar symbol had been etched into the dirt floor. “You will stand there to begin the transition.”

“No, I won’t.”

“You will.” The command in his voice shook the room, anger reverberating at the edges. “Do it. Now.”

Why didn’t he just make me?

An Alpha might command a sign of submission, but this monster wasn’t a shifter. He didn’t care about that. He’d had no trouble slamming me into the wall, so he could certainly force me into the middle.

“I have to go willingly, don’t I?”

He growled, rage lighting his eyes as he raised his hand once more and made a sweeping gesture toward Lachlan.

My mate slammed against the wall behind him, his head knocking into the stone. The wolf within me howled, anguish shooting through my soul.

The Maker did it again, slamming Lachlan even harder.

“Stop!” I screamed.

“You know how to stop it.”

Despair tore through me. My backup wasn’t here. I wasn't strong enough to fight the Maker on my own, and Lachlan’s life was at risk. One more hit against the wall, and he could suffer permanent brain damage, if he hadn’t already.

I couldn't let that happen.

Anger surged through me, powerless rage, and the Maker stared at me with triumph in his eyes. “Bastard,” I hissed.

“No,” Lachlan said, his voice tortured. “Don’t do it, Eve.”

“I have to.” Not just to save Lachlan, but because I needed to be powerful enough to fight the Maker. I needed to fix my broken magic.

We’d wanted to do it on our terms, away from the Maker and whatever he planned to do to me once the ceremony was over. But that plan was impossible now.

The only way for me to get the strength to defeat the Maker was to transition. I had to embrace what I was to stand up to him.

I walked toward the center of the circle, my heart pounding. This had to happen. It was the only way.

Relief battled with fear inside me.

The Maker smiled and watched me stop in the middle of the room. I could feel Lachlan’s tortured gaze on my back, but I focused on the feeling of the Moon Stones. I could feel them more strongly as their magic flowed through me.

“Why now?” I asked.

“It is time.”

Oh, that bastard, that wasn’t an answer.

His damned riddles would drive me mad. Before I could ask again, he began to chant. The air filled with light and sound, a low roar like the ocean. A sense of inevitability filled me.

Whatever he was chanting, I didn’t recognize it. Something told me that only he could perform this ceremony, and it made me desperate to understand his role in this.

He was more than a minor villain, that was for sure.

We were connected somehow, and the feeling of it tainted my soul.

The Moon Stones glowed more brightly. The runes on the wall glowed along with them, filling me with power as they began to sing. It was an ancient melody, something I’d never heard before, but familiar all the same.

As the noise reached a crescendo, pain ripped through me, nearly blinding me, and magic exploded throughout the room.

20

Eve

 

* * *

 

While the Maker chanted and the Moon Stones and runes sang, my body was torn apart and put back together again. I couldn’t see it happen, but I could feel it, bones and sinews rending as my vision stayed black.

The power and pain threatened to consume me as I lay on the ground. Part of me just wanted to die. I could never survive this. No one could.

No.

There was too much relying on me.

Lachlan.

The Maker.

He wouldn’t let me die. And if I gave up, he’d just use me for his purposes. I had to fight. I had to be stronger than him, more determined.

I struggled past the pain, forcing myself upright, but instead of two feet, I rose on four. Furry white wolf feet filled my vision, which was different than it had been. Sharper. More focused.

A growl reverberated in my chest. My whole body felt different. More alive. More primal. Fiercer.

“Down,” the Maker commanded, his tone that of an Alpha. I felt it in my soul, trying to force me back down into a position of submission.

Rage lit inside my chest.

Never.

I threw off the shackles of pain and let the power of the Moon Stones flow through me. They were part of me now, their magic lighting up my veins like rocket fuel.

Anger lit the Maker’s face as he stalked toward me. I growled, feeling my lips pull back from my fangs as my hackles went up.

“Watch out for the guards!” Lachlan shouted.

Of course.

The guards that stood around the perimeter were prowling closer to me, their blades raised as they watched me.

I was obsessed with the Maker, but there were other things to take care of first. I could feel the power of the moon more strongly than ever. Even though it was likely past dawn and the moon had set, the moon’s influence flowed through me like a battery.

Envisioning Lachlan’s chains breaking apart, I used the pull of gravity to tear them away from his body. When I looked behind me, the chains lay at Lachlan’s side.

It had worked—and no pain crippled me.

Immediately, Lachlan shifted.

Get the guards. Instinct made me speak to him with my mind.

Done, his voice came back.

That had worked, too. The pleasure of the hunt raced through me. The pleasure of all of this raced through me. Finally, I was a wolf.

It felt so right. So amazing.

Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Lachlan rampaging through the guards, taking them out one at a time. He gave me space to work on my own goal.

The Maker.

I was stronger than he’d expected.

I prowled in his direction, blood lust rising in me. He stalked toward me, determined to make me submit to him as the Alpha.

I would take him down.

We collided in a crash. I snapped at his neck, but my teeth went right through him. The bastard was corporeal enough to hold on to me, but he managed to make part of himself disappear before I could land my blow.

Asshole.

I tried again, managing to bite part of his shoulder before it disappeared. His blood tasted tainted and dark, and I nearly gagged.

“You’re coming with me,” he growled. As the words left his lips, I felt the ether pulling at me.

No!

How was he doing this? He hadn’t used a transport charm.

He must have the power himself, I realized. I fought him, trying to push away. I couldn’t let him take me. Frantic, I snapped at him, trying to get ahold of him and deliver a killing blow, but he was too fast and too powerful.

The ether kept pulling, and I fought it, yanking away from him, trying to stay grounded.

Eve! I heard Lachlan’s voice in my head.

He’s trying to take me!

Desperate, I snapped and struggled, using all my power to stay where I was and resist the pull of his teleportation.