Chapter 91
Chapter 91
C
31
5 vouchers
I didn’t think. I just attacked.
My wolf body moved on its own, lunging straight at the nearest elder. Everything felt too sharp. Too loud. Too much. I could hear hearts thudding around me, smell fear in the room, feel the stone under my paws like every crack in the floor had a voice. I slammed into Victor, teeth snapping at his arm. He screamed and fell back, knocking over a candle. The silver dust scattered everywhere, glittering across the floor like broken glass. I spun and went for Clara next, claws raking across her robe. She yelled and stumbled into the wall.
“Get off him!” I snarled, even though it came out as a growl.
Marcus tried to run for the stairs. I cut him off, snapping at his legs until he backed up against the elders. They all scrambled away from Damien, hands up like they were surrendering. My chest rose hard, and I kept baring my teeth at them, not fully understanding how I knew what to do. My body knew anger before my brain could even process fear.
Damien shoved the last guard off him and stood up fast. His eyes were wide, staring at me like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His lips parted, and he looked at me with blood on his shirt, shock in his face, and something softer under it that made my wolf freeze for half a second.
I felt the shift start again. My bones cracked and pulled back. Fur disappeared. Skin came through. Pain tore through me so fast I couldn’t even scream properly. It came out broken, half gasp and half sob. I dropped to my knees on the cold floor, naked and shaking. My hands went to my chest like I could hold myself together. My fingers looked normal again, but they didn’t feel like mine. Nothing felt like mine. My breath came out too fast, and I stared down at my body like it had betrayed me.
Damien ran to me and dropped down, pulling me into his arms tight. He hugged me so hard it hurt, but I didn’t care. I buried my face in his neck, breathing him in. His skin smelled like blood, smoke, and him, and that was the only thing keeping me from losing it completely. One of his arms locked around my back while the other covered me from everyone’s eyes.
“What the hell just happened?” I whispered, voice cracking. “I was a wolf. I was actually a wolf.”
He held me closer, one hand in my hair. His fingers moved through it slowly, like he was trying to remind me I was real. “I don’t know. But you’re okay. You’re back.”
I pulled back just enough to look at him. My eyes were stinging. My throat hurt from the scream that still felt trapped inside me. “I attacked them. I didn’t even think. I just… did it.”
He cupped my face with both hands. His thumbs pressed under my eyes, catching tears before they could fall properly. “You saved me. That’s what you did.”
The elders were still on the ground, breathing hard. Clara clutched her torn sleeve against her chest. Victor held his arm, face pale. Marcus slowly stood up, brushing dust off his robe. He looked older now. Smaller. Like the ritual had stripped the fake power right off him.
Damien looked at them, voice cold. “Explain. Now.”
31
Chapter 91
5 vouchers
Marcus swallowed. His eyes kept flicking to me, then to the glowing mark near my collarbone. “Long ago… the pack betrayed a human woman chosen by the Moon Goddess. She was meant to be Luna. They rejected her. Killed her. The Goddess cursed us. No peace until another human Luna is accepted willingly by the whole pack.”
Clara nodded, still on the floor. Her voice had lost all that smug confidence from before. “Sienna may be the second human Luna.”
I stared at them, my stomach twisting. My fingers curled around Damien’s torn shirt. “What?”
Victor spoke up. He looked like he hated every word leaving his mouth. “But if she dies before being accepted… the pack dies with her.”
The words hit me like a slap. For a second, I just stared. Then I pushed away from Damien a little, shaking my head. My knees scraped against the stone, and Damien tried to keep me covered, but I barely even cared. “No. No way. I’m not some chosen savior. You all treated me like dirt. You locked me up. You called me a curse. And now suddenly I’m the only thing keeping you alive? Fuck that.”
Damien pulled me back against his chest. His arm tightened around me, but not in a controlling way. More like he was scared the room would swallow me if he loosened his grip. “You don’t owe them anything. You hear me? Nothing.”
I looked up at him, tears spilling over. My lips trembled, and I hated that the elders could see me break, but I couldn’t stop it. “I’m so tired of this. I’m tired of being dragged into destinies I never asked for. First the pregnancy, then the kidnapping, now this? I just wanted to be with you. That’s it. Why does everything have to be this big cosmic thing?”
He wiped my tears with his thumb. His forehead dipped closer to mine, and his voice cracked in a way I had never heard before. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
I leaned into him, crying harder. The adrenaline was fading now, and everything hit at once. The silver circle. The elders chanting. My body breaking into something impossible. The way my paws had hit the floor like I had been born for it. I pressed my face to his chest and gripped him like he was the only solid thing left in my life. “I don’t want to be their savior. I don’t want any of this.”
He held me tight, rocking me a little. His chin brushed the top of my head while his fingers moved up and down my back. “You don’t have to be. We’ll figure it out. Together.”
The elders stayed quiet, watching us. I could feel their eyes on me but I didn’t care. I just stayed in Damien’s arms, trying to breathe through the mess in my head. My body still felt strange, like something wild was sitting under my skin, waiting.
Outside the chamber, a loud rogue horn suddenly blared through the pack borders.
11:47 Thu, May 21
