The dagger clattered to the stone floor, its silver blade black with blood.
Silence!
Then—dawn! The first pink rays of sunlight spilled through the shattered stained glass, painting the ruined altar in pale gold. Jake knelt on the cold stone, human again, his hands trembling. The alpha was gone. The curse... broken?
Mark staggered to his feet, clutching his bleeding arm. "Is it over?"
A breeze stirred the dust. The ancient church sighed around them. Jake opened his mouth to answer—when a familiar ache burned beneath his skin. His breath hitched.
No. Not now. Not after—
Snap.
His wrist bent at an impossible angle.
Mark's eyes widened. "Jake?"
The pain came faster this time. Jake gasped as his spine arched, muscles writhing. The woman's dying words echoed in his mind.
"Blood pays the debt... but the moon never forgets."
As the last of the sunlight faded behind gathering storm clouds, Jake's scream became a howl—one last time.
Also Read The Howling Curse: Blood Moon Reckoning
