CHAPTER 18
The fortress trembled as a sudden crash rolled across the courtyard... not the measured strike of a patrol's weapon, but the raw, splintering sound of stone giving way beneath savage force.
Mia stiffened, every instinct flaring.
The scent of blood drifted in with the rain, metallic and sharp, threading through the cold night air until it scraped against the back of her throat.
Daniel's head snapped toward the sound.
The golden light in his eyes flared, molten and dangerous.
With a soft, lethal click his claws slid free, catching the torchlight like curved blades.
Before he could move, Mia doubled over with a sudden jolt. The twins kicked harder than ever before, a sharp, urgent pulse that knocked the breath from her lungs.
It wasn't random movement.
It was a rhythm.
A warning.
"They feel it," she whispered, one hand clutching the swell of her belly.
Her voice trembled, half-awe, half-terror.
"They know the fight has begun."
Daniel turned back to her, the storm of battle burning through the mate bond so fiercely it nearly stole her breath.
Heat radiated from him in waves, his presence a wall of power that filled every inch of the chamber.
He stepped closer, wrapping around her like a shield.
"Then let them know this," he said, voice low and edged with a predator's promise.
"No one takes what is ours."
His gaze held hers, fierce and unyielding, until the next crash shook the fortress to its bones.
Outside, the night erupted with howls - dozens of voices twisting into one murderous chorus.
The Black Bloods were no longer testing the walls.
They were inside.
Daniel shifted, the ripple of muscle and power in his body a silent vow of violence.
"Stay behind me," he murmured, though his eyes never left the door.
"They'll reach this room only if they step over my corpse."
Another howl split the storm, closer now - so close, it seemed to echo in Mia's bones.
The twins kicked again, strong and defiant, as if answering their father's call.
"They want my babies," he said, his voice a promise and a threat.
"They'll have to get through me first."