The roar made the ground tremble beneath us. It didn't come from Sac – it came from Will.

  His body trembled as he stood over me, his eyes transforming, glowing gold that seared into memory. His voice no longer sounded human. It was something else, something ancient, awakening inside him.

  "Don't ever touch her again," he hissed – but it was as if a thousand voices spoke through him at once.

  Sac stepped back, confused, as though he sensed something greater had awakened. The darkness around him recoiled, fluttering like shadows in the wind. Even the villagers stepped back, silence falling over them like a blanket.

  I tried to rise, but the pain in my side was too much. The blood was warm against my fingers. Will turned, and when he saw me lying on the ground, something broke inside him.

  "Tracy," he whispered. His whole being tensed, as if what he had fought to contain could no longer be held in.

  His body began to change. His clothes tore apart, muscles tensed, and black, glimmering fur emerged from his skin. A powerful howl filled the air – a wolf's howl – but it was more than that. It was ancient. Mighty.

  "Vaelmark..." someone whispered in the crowd.

  Will – or what had once been Will – now stood before us, fully risen, a being of man and wolf, eyes glowing with both light and shadow. But I knew it was still him. He was protecting me.

  Sac stared, frozen. The darkness around him pulsed, twitching as if it was no longer fully under his control.

  "You should never have awakened him," Will – Vaelmark – growled, his voice shaking the trees surrounding the camp.

  Sac staggered backward, uncertain for the first time. He glanced toward the villagers, but no one moved. They all stood spellbound by the sight before them.

  "She... she deserved it," he gasped. "She's the root of all this."

  "No," Will growled. "It's you who let the darkness take hold of you. But you're not beyond saving. Not yet."

  He took a step forward, the ground thundering beneath him. Sac raised the dagger again—shaking—but he never got the chance to use it.

  With a leap, Will knocked him to the ground but held back. His claw pinned Sac to the earth, but he didn't kill him.

  "Fight it!" he roared. "Come back to us!"

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  Sac writhed under the pressure, screaming—but it was as if two voices fought within him. His eyes flickered between black and clear brown.

  I was still on the ground, but I reached out my hand, weakly. "Sac... you're our friend. We never gave up on you. I know you're still in there..."

  Tears mixed with the pain in my voice.

  Will looked down at him, hesitating—his claw trembling against Sac's chest.

  And then... something happened.

  Sac stopped struggling. The darkness began to melt away from his body, not completely, but enough for his face to suddenly look like it once had—softer, human.

  "Tracy...?" he whispered, his voice weak. "What have I done...?"

  Will stepped back and let him rise—still on shaky legs, but something inside him had shifted. The battle wasn't over, but we had caught a glimpse of the Sac we once knew.

  Will stood for a moment, staring at him—then closed his eyes and let a breath shudder through his body. His form began to shrink, fur retreating into skin, claws and jaws pulling back. When he opened his eyes again, he was Will—just Will—sweaty, breathless, and with bloodstains across his chest.

  Then everything went black for me. I barely saw Will throw himself down at my side, his voice filled with panic:

  "Tracy! Stay with me!" he cried, the panic clear in every syllable. His hands searched me quickly until they found the wound. His eyes filled with horror.

  "No, no... you're not leaving me now. Not you."

  I wanted to say something, but the words stuck. Everything felt warm, then cold. The sounds faded. I only felt his hands against my skin and heard his voice like a distant echo.

  "Tracy... I can't do this without you..."

  Everything was blurry. I heard voices like through water, shadows moving across a flickering light. Sometimes Will. Sometimes... something else.

  I floated in something soft, almost like mist, and in front of me stood someone. A figure of light, with eyes that carried the weight of time itself. Vaelmark.

  "There is a choice, Tracy," he said. The voice was both my own thought and something greater. "Your strength brought him here, but it's your heart that keeps him."

  "Will?" I asked, though my lips didn't move.

  "Yes. And you. You are bound. Through darkness. Through light. Through love. It is your love that will determine what he becomes."

  "But I'm bleeding... I'm dying..."

  "Not yet."

  And then—pain. A strike to my chest, as if my heart was being torn out to be forced back to life.

  "Tracy!" Will's voice broke through everything. It was shaky, angry, and afraid. "Please come back. I know you can hear me."

  I opened my eyes. Light. Darkness. Stars. Will was holding my hand. His face was streaked with blood and tears.

  "I'm here," I whispered, barely audible.

  He burst into a smile so fragile it looked like it could break if I blinked.

  "You almost left me," he said hoarsely. "I thought I lost you."

  "I was never far," I whispered. "You... pulled me back."

  He leaned forward, let his forehead rest against mine. Breathed with me.

  "I love you, Tracy."

  I smiled faintly despite the pain spreading through my body. "I know. And I love you."

  Silence settled like a blanket around us. Around our hearts, our words, our love—amid the darkness, a light.