Chapter 2: The Awakening

Nyla’s POV

The dungeon was quiet, icy, and dead. My laboured breathing was the only sound. Something inside of me felt different, even if the golden warmth that had engulfed me was gone now.

More powerful.

Abruptly, a voice, quiet yet strong, broke the gloom.

"Child, you are not supposed to die here."

I tensed as I gasped. A towering, silver-robed woman with piercing eyes that glowed like the moon stood in front of me. Despite her age, she exuded a timeless, ancient, and powerful presence.

"Who—who are you?" I fell.

She took a step forward, knowing in her eyes. "The Moon Goddess herself sent me, and I am only a messenger."

I felt a sharp pain in my ribs as I attempted to sit up. "The Goddess of the Moon?" I said. "Why would she send you, exactly?"

The woman had a serene, obscure expression. "Because, Nyla, you're not just any wolf. It was believed that your bloodline had been gone. You will be stronger than any Alpha thanks to this bloodline.

I went cold.

More powerful than an Alpha? Me?

I was nothing. A slave. A mate who was turned down. A battered and shattered girl left in a dungeon to perish.

I shook my head and said, "You're lying." "I am nothing."

The woman grinned, a smile full of strength and secrets. "Oh, kid," she said. "You don't know who you are."

Then everything was different.

The dungeon had no windows, but a brisk breeze blasted through it. Around me, a glittering mist swirled, and then.

I was no longer in the dungeon.

On a mountain of bodies, I stood. At my feet were warriors, their eyes dead. The ground was wet with blood, yet none of it belonged to me.

And there was Killian before me, on his knees, broken and trembling.

His face went white with terror, and his once-strong body shuddered. He regarded me as though I were a death goddess.

"P-please." He stumbled. "Pardon me."

With my fingers balled into a fist, I took a step closer. I felt a burning strength within.

I said, "I pleaded with you once." "And you chuckled."

With my claws gleaming in the moonlight, I raised my hand.

Then—it was all black.

I jerked back to reality with a gasp. With a knowing look on her face, the elderly woman observed me.

"What was that, exactly?" I gasped.

She described it as "a glimpse of what could be." "A future in which you assume control and become unstoppable."

I took a deep breath. I had shaking hands.

"What happens if I don't?" I inquired.

Her gaze grew gloomy. Then you pass away here. Feeble. Forgotten.

My heart was racing as I gazed at her.

I'd been weak all my life. Powerless. Useless and helpless.

I had been laughed at, tossed away, spit on, and abused.

However, I now had an option.

Show weakness. Or have strength.

I balled my fists up. "Power is what I choose."

The woman grinned. "Then accept it."

A wave of vitality swept through me. My deep, vicious, and lethal wounds started to heal. Something fresh took the place of the agony.

Strength.

My muscles tensed. My senses became more acute. My claws grew longer and more deadly. Though it wasn't the same wolf I had known, my inner wolf snarled.

She was more powerful. Hungrier and more intense.

I wasn't just Nyla anymore.

I was more than that.

The elderly woman took a step back, pride shining in her eyes. "It's finished," she declared. "You've been reborn."

Then she was gone, gone, gone.

Footsteps reverberated through the dungeon hallway.

Two fighters. I'm laughing. Speaking.

One of them snarled, "Alpha says we finish her off tonight."

The other laughed and said, "She's probably already dead." "Weak little thing."

I got to my feet. The chains that had bound me broke like sticks.

I was no longer feeble.

I wasn't defenseless.

I was power.

The door to the dungeon squeaked open. The warriors entered the building—

I also made a move.

Quicker than I've ever been.

There wasn't even time for the first warrior to yell. I twisted—SNAP—and seized his throat.

His body fell apart.

The fear in the second warrior's eyes grew. "W-what the devil—"

With my claws slicing, I lunged. The stone walls were splattered with blood.

Calmly, I stepped over their bodies. Unfazed.

Nyla was no longer alive.

What about the new one?

She was a nightmare.

I breathed in the cool night air as I turned toward the dungeon door.

In my life, for the first time

I had freedom.