Chapter 532

Olivia

My heart pounded in my chest as Freya’s feral eyes blinked at us from the shadows, locked onto us with a burning fury. A large paw stepped forward, illuminated by the moonlight, and I felt my stomach drop as a low, menacing growl rumbled through the forest.

“Nathan,” I breathed, slowly rising from where I kneeled amongst the ritual ingredients. “What should we do?”

Nathan carefully stepped forward, placing himself between me and Freya’s angry form. “Just keep going,” he said slowly and with a lot more confidence than I felt in that moment. “The ritual’s almost over.”

“But—”

“Just do it, Liv!” he growled. “Hurry!”

I wasted no time in following his command, the ancient words tumbling from my lips in a frantic rush. My hands shook as I tossed the remaining ingredients into the small flame of the candle, the acrid smoke stinging my eyes.

With a bone-chilling howl, Freya lunged towards us, her powerful jaws snapping mere inches from Nathan’s face. He shifted in the blink of an eye, his human form giving way to that of a massive, dark wolf, snarling and snapping back at her with an equal amount of fury.

Nathan lunged forward, his razor-sharp teeth aiming for Freya’s throat, but she was too quick. With a twist of her muscular body, she evaded his attack and lashed out with her front paws, raking her claws across Nathan’s shoulder.

He let out a yelp of pain, dark blood seeping from the fresh wounds. I gasped, the ritual’s words catching in my throat. “Nathan!” I cried out, preparing to shift myself.

But, undeterred, Nathan gathered himself and began circling Freya with a low, menacing growl rumbling deep in his chest.

Freya’s yellow eyes were wild, fixed on him with an animalistic intensity. Saliva dripped from her bared teeth as she panted, her massive head swinging from side to side, daring him to make another move.

In a flash, Nathan charged, his powerful haunches propelling him forward. He slammed into Freya’s side with the force of a freight train, his jaws clamping down on her scruff.

She let out a piercing howl of rage and pain, her body twisting and thrashing as she fought to break free of his grip.

The two wolves tumbled across the forest floor, a whirlwind of snapping jaws and slashing claws. Dirt and leaves exploded into the air around them as they grappled for dominance.

Nathan’s growls were matched by Freya’s ear-splitting howls, the sounds reverberating through the trees like rolling thunder.

For a moment, Freya managed to wriggle free, her blood-speckled muzzle inches from Nathan’s face. Her lips curled back, exposing her razor-sharp fangs, as she prepared to strike.

But Nathan was ready. With lightning reflexes, he reared up onto his hind legs and brought his massive front paws crashing down onto Freya’s shoulders, pinning her to the ground. She writhed and snarled, fighting against his weight, but he held firm, his powerful muscles rippling beneath his ebony fur.

I watched in breathless terror and awe as the two beasts fought in front of me, completely unable to tear my eyes away from the primal display of dominance and fury. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the musky scent of their sweat-soaked fur, and I felt frozen to my spot—useless.

Nathan’s growls rumbled deep in his chest as he fought to keep Freya pinned. He whipped his head around then, his eyes flashing with a warning. When those eyes met me where I was frozen in shock and fear, they seemed to speak only one word.

Now.

At that moment, I knew it was time. With a surge of adrenaline, I launched back into the final incantations, my voice trembling. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks, blurring my vision, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I had to finish this.

We had to finish this.

But it seemed, once again, that fate had other plans.

Somehow Freya managed to break away from Nathan, her attention now turning towards me—it almost felt as though the wolf that had taken over her knew what I was doing, and what would happen if I completed this ritual.

With a terrifying howl, she charged, her massive paws thundering against the earth. I gasped, my eyes widening with shock as her enormous wolf form came closer and closer. Reaching up to shield my face, the beginning of a scream began to bubble up in my throat.

But that scream died on my lips as Nathan leapt in front of me, taking the brunt of her attack head-on.

For an eternal, mind-numbing moment, the two wolves careened through the air over my head. The sky became a blur of matted fur and dripping fangs, and everything seemed to move in slow motion during those moments. All I could do was kneel there, entranced by the display.

And then it all came crashing back.

The force of the impact sent them tumbling across the forest floor, a tangle of snapping jaws and thrashing fur on the other side of me now; they had just barely managed to clear my head, coming so close that I could feel a stray strand of Freya’s fur on my cheek.

The fight continued on the forest floor. The flurry of claws and snapping teeth resumed, and I watched, my chest heaving. I know I should have kept chanting, but I couldn’t stop myself from screaming Nathan’s name, my heart in my throat as I watched them grapple.

But I couldn’t stop. Not now, not when we were so close.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed on with the ritual, the words flowing out of me like a dam had burst.

During those moments, it felt as though those foreign words, a language long since lost to time, became second nature to me. I muttered the words as though I had spoken them my entire life, or rather, as though the spirits of my ancestors had taken the wheel.

The air crackled with energy, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. In that moment, only one thing mattered: speaking the words. Completing the ritual.

Out of the corner of my eyes I could see that Nathan had somehow managed to gain the upper hand, pinning Freya to the ground with his massive paws once more. She snapped and snarled, her eyes wild with rage, but he held firm, buying me the precious seconds I needed.

The chanting reached a feverish pitch, the words spilling from my lips in a breathless torrent. I could feel the magic building, coalescing into a palpable force that seemed to vibrate through my very bones.

And then, with a final, guttural incantation, I slammed my hand down onto the earth, releasing the accumulated energy in a blinding flash of lightning.

The world went white, the deafening crack of thunder echoing through the forest. I threw my arms up to shield my eyes, the air around me crackling with residual energy. It was as if energy was pouring from the very earth itself, electrifying everything that stood in its way.

For a moment, everything fell silent, as if the entire world had been frozen in place. Then, slowly, the ringing in my ears subsided, and I dared to open my eyes.

Nathan stood in front of me, his massive wolf form hunched and panting. And there, at his feet, lay a still figure—a woman, naked and unconscious amidst the scattered leaves and dirt.

Freya.

In her human form.