Chapter 233

Author’s POV

The battle did not end when the Demon King vanished. It only changed shape. Instead of screams of war, there were now cries of pain. Instead of clashing steel, there was the low sound of mourning that spread across the field like fog. The Darkmoon pack suddenly became a shadow of itself.

They began with the count. One by one, names were called out.

Each name that did not answer felt like a stone dropped into the chest of everyone listening.

“Jared Blackwood.”

No voice came back.

“Mila Runes.”

Silence.

“Thorne.”

Nothing.

By the time the list ended, forty-seven names had no living bodies to answer for them. Forty-seven wolves who would never run again. Never shift again. Never sit by the fire and laugh again.

Some of the warriors stood stiff, faces blank, because if they allowed themselves to feel it all at once, they would break. Others fell to their knees when they heard a brother’s name. Or a mate