Page 127 of The Hyena’s Guardian

The bond settled between them, steady enough that neither needed to think. It was partnership, and the realization hit Matt hard enough that he nearly missed the next attack.

Theron caught it first. “Left.”

Matt turned and slammed his shoulder into the charging wolf, sending it crashing into two others before they could reach the stabilizer team crossing the eastern bridge.

Vale’s rifle cracked repeatedly from behind them. “Keep them off Baptiste!”

“Working on it!” Matt shouted. His voice came out rougher now, shaped by the hyena’s jaws, but the words were still his.

The King noticed that too. Matt saw it in the sudden narrowing of those gold eyes. The First King did not understand how Matt could be this shifted and still himself.

Good. Let him choke on it.

Theron’s hand caught briefly against Matt’s shoulder as they moved past each other in the fight. The contact lasted less than a second, but the bond surged violently between them anyway, bright enough that Matt felt it ripple through the chamber itself.

The reaction was immediate.

Several corrupted wolves faltered mid-charge while the pressure saturating the throne room shifted sharply around them, like the mountain itself had momentarily lost balance.

It was not enough to stop the swarm completely.

But it was enough for Baptiste to reach the eastern anchor. “Second stabilizer going hot!” Baptiste shouted.

Matt saw the realization form behind those ancient gold eyes the moment the stabilizer activated. The hatred aimed at him disappeared instantly, replaced by cold calculation.

The King's gaze moved from Baptiste to Theron before settling on the bridge spanning the heart seal.

Matt knew what he was about to do.

“No.”

The First King drove one hand into the stone.

The entire central bridge buckled violently beneath them.

Theron lost footing.

Matt lunged for him, but the stone split between them as a massive fracture tore across the span. Theron dropped near the edge, claws scraping for purchase as the bridge collapsed beneath him.

Matt threw himself forward.

His jaws closed around Theron’s armored forearm while his front claws tore into the remaining stone.

For one breath, everything stopped.

Theron hung over the broken edge, one clawed hand still embedded in the fractured stone, while red light pulsed far below him like the heartbeat of the mountain itself.

Matt held him carefully despite the enormous force locked through his jaws, teeth pressing through fabric without breaking the flesh beneath it.

Don’t you dare.

The refusal tore through the bond without sound.

The King’s voice filled the chamber. “Let him fall.”

Matt bared his teeth, and the answer surged through the bond with violent clarity.

Go to hell.