Page 167

"Do it."

She grabs Sayer's hand. The entity sees them. Panic flashes through its form. Real panic. It understands. It is losing. I use that. I push harder. Every muscle. Every instinct. Every ounce of strength. The creature drives back. I hold. My claws tear trenches through the dirt. My shoulders shake. My vision blurs. But I stay.

The entity strikes again. And again. Each hit feels like being crushed beneath a building.

I remember every emergency call I've ever answered. Every person trapped. Every moment someone needed me to keep standing. This is no different. Except this time…

The people behind me are mine.

"Carys!"

Her voice answers.

"Almost!"

The entity changes tactics. It stops attacking me. Instead, it reaches around. Toward Sayer. I move faster. Intercept. The darkness cuts across my chest. Pain explodes. I drop to one knee. The creature leans closer.

"You cannot protect everything."

Maybe not. Maybe that's true. But I don't need to protect everything. Just this. Just them.

I force myself upright.

"You don't understand."

The entity pauses.

"This isn't protection."

My wolf snarls.

"This is family."

The ground erupts. Carys and Sayer have reached the anchor. The dark pulse beneath the Hollow begins collapsing. The entity screams. Not with rage. With fear. Its body fractures. Pieces of darkness peel away into the air.

"No."

The word echoes through the forest. Carys steps forward.

"You don't get to decide what happens to us anymore."

The anchor cracks. The entity begins falling apart. But it makes one final attempt. One last surge. Straight toward Sayer. I move. Too slow. For one terrifying second, I think I failed.

Then Sayer steps forward. Not away. Forward. The same way his mother did.

"I choose."

The words stop everything. The entity freezes.

"I choose my family."

The darkness trembles.

"I choose my life."

The Hollow cracks open. The anchor shatters. And the entity…

Finally loses its hold.