Love? 🔥

Eva stormed into Elly's house, breathless and furious. With a frustrated growl, she threw her bag to the floor. Journals and parchments scattered everywhere, spreading across the wooden boards.

Her eyes held both fear and curiosity as she stared at the mess she'd made.

Elly came in a few minutes later, closing the door behind her. She glanced first at Eva, then at the papers scattered around.

"Did Nancy come to your house?" she asked carefully.

"Yes," Eva replied flatly.

"What happened exactly?"

Eva took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the couch. Her hands were trembling slightly.

"She told me everything, Elly. About the curse. About how Kael's pack has been trapped in human bodies for centuries. About why everyone in this town hates me because of what my family did."

Elly nodded slowly and sat beside her.

"And?"

"And she said I needed to leave. That there's going to be a war. That Joe will try to protect the territory and me, but Kael won't let me go. She said the pack is waking up, Elly. That the seal is getting stronger."

"Is that all?" Elly asked.

Eva rolled her eyes. "Then she suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road, and this time she said I need to complete the seal and that the people in this town have been living like the half-dead for years, unable to shift. Who is she afraid of? Or which thing she said is true? Who's good, who's bad? I can't make sense of it anymore!" she shouted.

Elly reached out and took Eva's hand.

"What do you want to do?"

Eva looked at her, eyes glistening.

"I don't know. I came here to honor my grandmother's last wish. To spend Christmas in this house. But now everything's falling apart. I don't know what's real anymore."

Elly squeezed her hand.

"It's all real, Eva. And you're stronger than you think."

"Don't be ridiculous, Elly. Everything in this town is supernatural, but you're wrong about one thing. I'm just an ordinary girl!" she shouted, throwing her hands up.

Elly's eyes widened as she stared at her. In shock. She swallowed and said, "You're dazzling, Eva! Look at your hands!"

The moment Eva looked at her hands, she flinched in fear. Purple bright flames were burning from inside her palms, like alcohol flames. But she felt no heat. It was as if she were using a limb. It felt natural and ordinary.

Eva stared at her hands, frozen by the flames dancing across her palms. She swallowed hard.

"Elly, I'm glad my body leveled up, but there's a problem. I don't know how to turn it off."

Elly laughed and came closer. "We'll learn through trial and error," she said, reaching out to touch Eva's palm.

The moment their skin made contact, Elly jerked back with a cry of pain.

Eva pulled away immediately. "Did I burn you? Oh God, I burned you!" she said in a panic.

Elly blew on her hand, muttering. "No, not too badly. At least we learned this is a weapon."

Eva closed her palms, then opened them again. The flames still flickered. "It's not working," she said.

Elly narrowed her eyes, and that bookworm girl awakened. With an intelligent look, she said, "They say magic isn't physical. It comes from the soul. What were you feeling just now?"

Eva answered with a sarcastic laugh. "Right now I'm like an atomic bomb, Elly. What was I feeling? Fear, anger, curiosity, disappointment—want me to keep going?"

"Okay, something must have triggered it. Was there an image in your mind? A person, an object, or a voice?"

Eva's gaze froze in that moment. When she remembered Nancy's words about a war coming, Kael's laugh and his passionate kiss had materialized on her lips.

"Well... I saw Kael. I mean, the Alpha. He was smiling warmly. I thought something would happen to him. That they would kill him..."

Elly smiled with emotion. "I think the feeling you're holding onto is love."

Eva didn't believe she could be in love with a man she'd only truly seen for a few days. But the fact that she'd been seeing him in her dreams for years confused her mind.

Had she been in love with him long before this?

Meanwhile, behind the mountain, in the field of gerbera flowers at the peak, Joe stood with his tall frame and broad shoulders. Crouching down, he traced the large symbol carved into the stone beneath the flowers with his fingers.

It was the Alpha's mark. A large thorned circle with a wolf's head carved inside... He could feel the warmth and vibration beneath his fingers. The cycle had truly begun...

A voice came from behind him. Older, deeper, commanding.

"Has the seal truly awakened?"

Joe rose to his feet and bowed his head respectfully.

"Yes, Father. It's awakened. The Alpha is conscious now."

Caleb stepped forward. He was in his sixties but looked strong, his body still firm and powerful. His hands clasped behind his back as he gazed down at the distant view of the small town below.

"Then the war has begun," he said quietly. "He hasn't gathered his strength yet. His pack still can't shift. We need to end this before he does."

At that moment, Nancy's jeep pulled up. She got out and walked toward them.

"Father," she said, bowing respectfully.

Caleb turned to her, stroking her short black hair with a touch that smelled of both affection and control.

"Did you tell her what needed to be said?"

Nancy's heart was racing. She'd changed her mind at the last second and warned Eva instead. But she kept her expression calm.

"Yes, Father. I scared her as much as I could. I told her to leave."

Caleb narrowed his eyes. He didn't trust anyone, not even his own daughter.

With his index finger, he gestured to Joe.

"Come. Check."

Joe hated using his powers against his sister. But if he didn't obey his father, the consequences would be far worse for both him and Nancy.

Nancy looked at him, fear flickering in her eyes.

Joe's eyes were damp, as if silently apologizing.

He stepped forward and gripped the back of Nancy's neck, his claws sliding into the skin at her nape. In an instant, he was inside her mind, sifting through her memories with Eva.

What he saw wouldn't please their father.

While Caleb's back was turned, Nancy's lips barely moved. "Please don't," they read.

Joe suddenly withdrew his claws. Nancy collapsed to the ground with a gasp of pain.

Joe swallowed and walked over to his father.

Caleb's sharp gaze fixed on him.

"Is she telling the truth?"

Joe had spent years mastering his emotions, hiding what he felt. But his father could see through even their deepest fears. Now he was risking a lie for his little sister.

"She's telling the truth, Father," Joe said carefully. "But Eva's answers weren't satisfying. I think... she's going to choose the Alpha."

Caleb's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding audibly.

"Once, a hunter stole the heart of a Rose woman," he said slowly. "Why shouldn't you do the same today? Perhaps history will repeat itself, my son." A wicked grin spread across his face.

Joe bowed his head with devotion.

"I'll do what's right for our family, Father."

It seemed traps were already being set for Eva.

But the question remained: was Eva strong enough to fight them all?