Nyx's POV
"Oh no, I am not prepared! I'm not ready for this!" The words tore from my throat, raw and jagged. My heart was a trapped bird, hammering against my ribs so hard I thought it might shatter them.
"Don't worry, Nyx. I will protect you," Kael said, his voice steady. But I could feel his terror beneath the stillness.
He stood with his back to me, his shoulders set in a rigid line of false bravado. In his grip, he held a simple stick with a sharpened edge. It looked pathetic, a splinter of wood against the encroaching shadows. He held it as if it were a legendary blade, as if it could actually keep the world from ending.
"How can you protect me?" I choked out, the air in my lungs turning to lead. "Kael, you haven't bonded to a wolf yet! You're... you're just human out here!"
"Stay back, Nyx!" he barked, his voice dropping an octave as I stumbled toward him. "I said stay back!"
