The final stretch to the summit is a near-vertical sheet of black ice. Venna's wounded shoulder leaves her increasingly unable to keep pace, so Meryn and Izabel re-rig their tether ropes and haul Venna up through sheer determination. When they reach the plateau at the top of Mount Wolfsbane, all three are utterly spent. The blizzard eases, revealing a long, barren summit already populated by many other climbers and dozens of massive direwolves.

Izabel reminds Meryn of the Bonding protocol—don't approach the wolves directly or make eye contact, because the wolves choose their riders, not the other way around. The twins walk into the crowd, and Venna is quickly chosen by a dark gray direwolf, while Izabel bonds with a light silver one. Each twin gains a new streak of color in her hair—silver for Izabel, deep blue for Venna—marking them as members of two different packs. Meryn also spots Henrey alive and bonded with a brown wolf. When wolves approach Meryn, she mentally blocks them, insisting she is not there to bond, and they move on.

Jonah then crests the summit, injured but determined. A coal-black wolf bonds with him almost immediately, and Jonah gains a blood-red streak in his hair, marking him as part of the Daemos pack—the same pack as Stark Therion. His facial wound heals instantly through the wolves' magic, confirming rumors Meryn had heard about direwolf healing abilities. The other climbers give Jonah a wide berth.

Meryn's attention is then drawn to a singular silver direwolf standing apart from the others—Anassa, who a nearby climber says has existed for hundreds of years and never bonds. Anassa begins walking toward Meryn with calm authority. Despite Meryn's mental resistance, Anassa forces a psychic connection: Meryn's head feels crushed, her vision whites out, and she experiences vivid visions—Anassa running in moonlight, a sunrise, a crown drenched in blood. Meryn's senses expand beyond her body, inhabiting rock, tree, and wolf. The ice-pick wound on her chest heals. Meryn collapses to her knees but never breaks eye contact. She reaches out instinctively and grabs Anassa's fur, pulling herself upright. The pain fades, leaving Meryn stunned and bonded to the legendary wolf she never intended to claim.