Angelina’s POVThe ruins felt colder now. As if the moment I made my choice, something unseen had shifted.Elara’s silver eyes held mine, searching, waiting. Luca’s grip on my arm was firm, grounding me, but I could feel the tension radiating off him.I had chosen.And yet—nothing had happened.The air was thick with anticipation, as if the ruins themselves were waiting for something.Luca’s voice was low, cautious. “What now?”Elara smiled faintly. “Now? You step forward.”I swallowed hard, my pulse hammering against my ribs. My feet felt heavy, almost as if the ground itself was resisting my movement.But I forced myself to move.One step.Another.And then—The ground trembled.Luca’s grip tightened, but I barely registered it. My focus was on the space before me, where the air shimmered and warped, like heat rising from a summer road.A door appeared.Ancient. Towering.Etched with symbols I didn’t recognize but somehow understood.Luca swore under his breath. “That wasn’t there b
Angelina’s POV The ruins had never felt so quiet.I could hear my own heartbeat, steady yet foreign, as if it belonged to someone else.Luca’s hands gripped my shoulders, his warmth grounding me, but he looked at me like I had become something unrecognizable.And maybe I had.I inhaled deeply, trying to steady myself. The air tasted different—sharper, charged with energy that hadn’t been there before.“Angelina.” Luca’s voice was low, cautious. “What happened?”I met his gaze.How could I explain it?How could I put into words the feeling of standing before my ancestors, of awakening something within me that had been buried for centuries?I swallowed hard. “I… remembered.”Luca’s eyes darkened. “Remembered what?”Everything.The bloodline. The power.The truth of who I was.I didn’t know how I knew, but it pulsed through me like a second heartbeat.I pulled away from Luca’s hold, stepping back. His fingers twitched as if he wanted to reach for me again, but he didn’t.Elara watched f
Angelina’s POV The silence after they left was thick, suffocating. The night air pressed against my skin, heavy with the weight of unspoken words.Luca hadn’t moved. His posture remained rigid, his breathing controlled but sharp.I could feel the tension rolling off him, but more than that—I could feel his worry.Elara was the first to break the silence. “They’ll return sooner than you think.”Luca exhaled harshly, dragging a hand through his hair before turning to face her. “Who the hell were they?”Elara didn’t look at him. She looked at me.“They were sent for her.”I swallowed, my pulse steady even though a storm was raging inside me. “Why?”Elara tilted her head slightly. “Because they felt your awakening.”I clenched my fingers. The power hummed beneath my skin, familiar now, but still new enough that I didn’t fully understand it.Luca’s gaze burned into me. “You said you remembered. What does that mean?”I hesitated. Not because I didn’t want to answer, but because I didn’t kn
Angelina’s POV The weight of Zane’s words lingered in the air long after he spoke.The Elders are alive.My fingers curled into fists at my sides. I could still feel the residual energy in my veins, the power thrumming beneath my skin. It was no longer a question of if they would come for me. It was only a matter of when.Luca’s voice cut through the tense silence. “How many of them are left?”Zane exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t have an exact number, but from what I gathered, at least six.”Elara’s expression darkened. “Six Elders?”Zane nodded. “And each one of them is more powerful than the last.”I swallowed down the unease creeping up my spine. My instincts were screaming that this was bigger than I had initially realized.Luca crossed his arms over his chest. “How do you know all this?”Zane met his gaze evenly. “I’ve been tracking them for years. Ever since I started noticing movements in the shadows—whispers of something rising from the ashes.”I narrowed my e
Angelina’s POV The fire crackled softly, casting shadows along the trees as I sat in silence. The night air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth, a grounding contrast to the storm raging inside me.Training had drained me physically, but my mind refused to rest. Every movement, every pulse of power, every flicker of doubt haunted me. I needed to be stronger. I needed to be faster.But most of all, I needed to be ready.Luca sat beside me, his presence steady. I could feel his warmth even without touching him. It should have been comforting. Instead, it made my chest tighten in ways I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.“You’re overthinking again.”His voice was low, edged with amusement, but I didn’t smile.“I don’t have time for mistakes,” I muttered, staring into the flames.Luca shifted, resting his forearms on his knees. “No one said you did. But pushing yourself to the breaking point isn’t going to help either.”I exhaled sharply, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. “Y
Angelina’s POV The wind still carried the scent of blood and battle as we stood in the clearing, our breaths coming in ragged gasps. The forest had gone eerily silent, the enemies either dead, retreated, or watching from the shadows.But I could still feel the Elder’s presence lingering in the air, like an imprint on my skin.He had seen me.Not just as another wolf in the pack. Not as Luca’s mate. Not as an omega.No, he had looked at me like I was something more.Something dangerous.The thought sent a chill down my spine.Luca turned to me, his dark eyes scanning me for injuries. His chest was still rising and falling with exertion, his body tense with lingering aggression. “Are you hurt?”“No,” I said, though my muscles ached from the fight. “I’m fine.”Elara ran a hand through her tangled hair, her eyes sharp. “That was an Elder,” she said, her voice low. “That wasn’t just a scout or a rogue testing our defenses. That was a warning.”Zane wiped blood from his jaw and nodded. “Or
Angelina’s POV The cold night air clung to my skin as I stood on the balcony, Luca’s words still echoing in my mind.“I know you will.”His confidence in me should have been reassuring. But instead, it left me feeling more burdened than ever.Because if I failed—if I wasn’t strong enough—it wouldn’t just be my life at stake.It would be his.The pack’s.Everything.I clenched my fists, exhaling slowly. Fear wouldn’t help me now. The only thing that would save me was preparation. Strength. Strategy.I turned on my heel and headed back inside, determined to start now.⸻The Training BeginsDawn came too quickly. The moment the first rays of sunlight touched the sky, I was already outside in the training yard. The dirt beneath my bare feet was cold, grounding me as I stretched, rolling my shoulders.Luca hadn’t arrived yet, but I didn’t wait for him. I started with the basics—footwork drills, strength exercises, sharpening every movement I had learned over the past few months.I wouldn’
Angelina’s POV The words echoed in my mind, each syllable carving itself into my bones.“You were never meant to exist.”I stared at the man across the table, my heart thudding in my chest. A chill ran down my spine, but I forced myself to stand tall, to meet his gaze without flinching.“What do you mean?” My voice was steady, but my fingers curled into fists at my sides.The man leaned back, watching me with an unsettling curiosity. “You think you’re just some omega who defied her fate? That your strength is a lucky anomaly?” He let out a quiet chuckle. “You are so much more.”Luca stepped forward, his presence radiating tension. “Enough riddles. Say what you know.”The man’s smirk didn’t waver, but there was something sharp in his eyes. “Your little mate here is an abomination in the eyes of the Elders. A mistake. Something that should have been wiped out before she ever took her first breath.”A lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed it down. “Why?”The man steepled his fingers
The wind howled through the ruined temple as we stood at the precipice of the final battle. The sky churned with dark clouds, unnatural in their movements, as if the world itself knew what was coming. A storm was brewing—not just in the heavens, but in our souls.I could feel it. The darkness. The raw, unrestrained energy that had been sealed away for centuries, now clawing its way back into existence.And at the heart of it all, him.The one who had orchestrated it from the shadows.The one who had betrayed Lunara all those years ago.And the one who now stood before me, watching with eyes that glowed like molten fire.Malakai.I took a slow step forward, my pulse steady even as my body braced for what was to come. Luca and Damien flanked me, their presence grounding me, but I knew—this was my fight.Malakai smiled, his voice like silk laced with poison. “So, you finally remember.”I clenched my fists, power humming beneath my skin. “I do.”His smile widened. “Then you know why this
The weight of the revelation pressed down on me like a crushing tide. My breath came in short, shallow gasps as I stared at the altar, the symbols etched into its stone glowing with an eerie light.The last of my kind. A forgotten bloodline. A ritual that would unlock the truth.Every nerve in my body screamed at me to stop—to turn away before I unleashed something I couldn’t control.But I had come too far to stop now.I forced myself to stand, my legs trembling beneath me. Luca’s hand shot out to steady me, his touch firm yet careful.“Angelina,” he said, his voice low, controlled. “Are you sure about this?”I looked up at him, into those dark eyes that had seen too much, endured too much because of me. I could see the war raging inside him—his need to protect me battling against the understanding that I needed to do this.I nodded. “I have to be.”Damien exhaled sharply behind me. “Well, this is either going to be a breakthrough or an absolute disaster.”I ignored him and stepped t
The figure’s silver eyes burned into mine, their glow the only source of illumination in the endless void around us. My breath hitched, my heart hammering as I struggled to process their words.“Who are you?”It was such a simple question, yet it sent a shiver down my spine.Because I didn’t know the answer.I had been an omega—weak, unwanted, discarded. Then, I had been a wife—betrayed, used, thrown away. Now, I was something else entirely.Something more.The figure took a step forward, their form shifting as if they weren’t entirely bound to this plane. I instinctively tensed, ready to run if I had to, but something about them held me in place.“You don’t know yet, do you?” the voice mused, a strange mixture of amusement and something… deeper. Something ancient.My hands curled into fists at my sides. “I don’t know what you mean.”They tilted their head, as if observing me more closely. “You stand at the edge of two worlds, yet you belong to neither. The blood in your veins remembe
The clearing was silent, the air thick with tension. My pulse pounded in my ears as I tried to steady my breath, my body still tingling from the power that had surged through me. The creatures lay scattered, their twisted forms crumpled against the trees. But the silence wasn’t reassuring. It felt like the calm before a storm.Luca’s grip on my arm was firm but not painful, grounding me as I wobbled slightly on my feet. His eyes bore into mine, dark and unreadable. “Angelina,” he said, his voice low but urgent, “what did you feel?”I swallowed hard, my throat dry.How could I explain something I didn’t even understand?“It was like…” I hesitated, searching for the right words. “For a moment, when my power touched them, I could hear something. Not words, exactly, but—” I stopped, frustrated.“A connection?” Damien guessed, his gaze sharp.I nodded slowly. “Yes. It felt… ancient. And familiar, somehow. Like a whisper in the back of my mind.”Luca exchanged a glance with Damien, somethin
The forest remained eerily quiet as we moved forward, the only sound coming from the rustling leaves beneath our feet. The adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, making my fingers tremble slightly, but I forced myself to stay focused. Whatever had just happened—whatever power I had used—I needed to understand it. Control it. Because if I didn’t, it could consume me.Luca’s gaze flickered to me every few seconds, as if he was assessing me, trying to make sense of what I had done. He wasn’t the only one. Damien, who had been tense and sharp through every battle, was unusually quiet. He kept his distance, but I could feel his eyes on me too, wary and calculating.I didn’t blame them.Even I wasn’t sure what I had become.I clenched my fists at my sides and focused on the path ahead. The trees had started to thin, the density of the forest giving way to a faint, silvery mist. It curled around our legs, making it feel like the ground itself was shifting beneath us.“We’re close,”
The darkness of the forest pressed in on all sides, the shadows seeming to stretch further with each passing minute. The air was thick with the smell of wet earth, and the distant rustle of leaves only heightened the sensation of being followed. Every step felt heavier, as though the forest itself was conspiring against us, drawing us deeper into its labyrinth of twisted trees and tangled underbrush. The weight of the unknown pressed down on my chest, suffocating me.I had always known that power came at a cost, but I had never fully understood it until now. The force that surged within me—this strange, dangerous energy—was both a gift and a curse. Each time I used it, I felt like I was losing a part of myself. I wasn’t just tapping into some external source of power; I was becoming something else. Something more dangerous.And the worst part? I didn’t know if I could control it.Luca’s presence beside me was a steadying force, though. His calm, unshakable demeanor seemed to balance o
The forest was suffocating. Even though the cool night air should have offered some relief, it felt oppressive, heavy with the weight of danger that lurked just beyond the shadows. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we weren’t alone, that the darkness was closing in around us. Every crack of a branch, every rustle of leaves sent my pulse racing.Luca’s grip on my arm was firm but gentle, as if sensing my anxiety. He didn’t speak, but I could feel the quiet strength radiating off him, steady and unwavering. Despite everything that had happened, I found comfort in his presence. There was a calm in him that I didn’t have, a peace that somehow anchored me in the chaos.We moved quickly, following Damien as he led us through the dense trees. His eyes darted from side to side, scanning for any movement, any sign of a threat. I could see the exhaustion on his face, the way his breath came in shallow gasps. We had all been through so much already, and it felt like there was no end in sight.“A
The air was thick with tension, the stench of earth and decay mixing with the sharp scent of danger that was creeping in on all sides. My heart raced, and my chest tightened as the power within me surged once more, a raw, untamed force that I struggled to keep at bay. I could feel it, like an electric pulse beneath my skin, urging me to unleash it, to let it consume everything around me. But I fought it. I had to. I couldn’t let it take control. Not again.The creatures—there were more of them now—surrounded us, their glowing eyes flickering like embers in the darkness. Each one was larger than the last, their bodies sleek and muscled, their claws scraping the ground with a sound that sent shivers down my spine. They were closing in, their low growls vibrating through the ground beneath my feet. It was only a matter of time before they attacked.Luca stood beside me, his presence a calming force amidst the chaos. His hand was on my arm, grounding me, but even he couldn’t hide the tens
The forest stretched endlessly before me, its towering trees standing like silent sentinels, casting long shadows across the ground. The air was thick with the scent of pine and earth, the stillness of the morning broken only by the rustling of leaves beneath our feet. My heart beat steadily in my chest, though every step felt heavier than the last, weighed down by the unease gnawing at me.Luca walked beside me, his presence like a steady anchor, grounding me in a world that seemed to be spinning out of control. His gaze was fixed ahead, but every so often, his dark eyes would flicker to me, searching for something. I didn’t know what he was looking for—maybe reassurance, maybe fear—but I didn’t have the answers he wanted. Not yet.We had made it through the night, but the danger was far from over. The creatures that had attacked us in the forest, the ones that had been stalking us from the shadows, were still out there. And whatever power was stirring inside me, whatever it was that