Chapter 05

Shocked would be an understatement. I couldn't even process what was happening, and part of me still thought I was dreaming.

It had to be a dream because there was no way anyone would actually do something like this for me.

“Happy birthday, Tesia.” Amara, who was standing next to me, said as Kai and Drake came toward us.

“Happy birthday, cousin.” Kai said, taking me into a hug. Now, like I had mentioned, Kai had always been nice to me, but he had never been crazy enough to actually wish me a happy birthday. He couldn't even whisper it because his father had forbidden it.

“Thank you…?” It came out as a question because it was. I was still trying to understand what was happening.

Drake didn't say anything. He just stood there awkwardly, and I wasn't even surprised. Why would he wish me a happy birthday? I mean, if he actually did, I might lose it completely.

“Most of them are humans, so you're safe.” Kai said when he noticed the way I was staring at the crowd. He must have realized I was scared.

I mean, it was a huge population. Sure, this was a small town, but it had plenty of visitors, and it wasn't like we all knew each other. Being mixed with humans helped the werewolves blend in easily.

“Let's go cut the cake.” Amara held my hand. “You did buy a cake, right?” She looked at her brother, who nodded, and then she smiled before dragging me through the crowd toward the cake.

Amara asked everyone to sing for me, and they did.

I stood there holding back tears as everyone sang, trying my best not to completely break down in front of all these people. Then I cut the cake, and Amara and Kai fed me before the party officially started.

Music filled the backyard. People started dancing, laughing, drinking, and enjoying themselves.

It was strange seeing everyone having such a good time at a party that was supposed to be for me.

I eventually excused myself for a moment. Well, not entirely. No one was really focused on me anymore. Everyone was busy doing their own thing, and Drake had disappeared. Amara and Kai were dancing so closely that I figured they probably needed some space.

I stayed somewhere toward the far end of the party. It seemed like everyone else was enjoying themselves at my own birthday party more than I was. Like always, I made myself small.

I faded into the background without even trying. It was something I had become good at over the years. I didn't know what people were supposed to do at parties anyway, especially for a twenty-eight-year-old woman. I felt too old for all of this.

Besides, I had too many things to worry about. Hanna had made it clear that she wasn't done with me, and I knew Hanna well. If there was one thing she was good at, it was making her enemies' lives miserable.

I don't even know how much time passed. One moment, I was standing at the edge of the party, and the next, I had somehow wandered away from the crowd.

I found myself by the riverside, staring at the dark water, completely lost in my thoughts.

The sounds of the party were faint from where I stood. Then I heard a howl. At first, I ignored it. I thought it was in my head. But then I saw something in the reflection of the water. My body immediately went still.

The sun had already set, but there were lights planted all around the resort, bright enough for me to see the reflection clearly.

My heart started beating faster. I held my breath. The wolf. The same grey wolf with golden eyes I had seen in the mirror earlier. It was standing behind me.

My stomach dropped. I slowly turned around. This time, it wasn't a reflection.

The grey wolf stood several feet away, its golden eyes fixed directly on me. Its lips curled back, exposing its teeth as a low growl vibrated through its chest.

It looked murderous. Like it was ready to tear me into pieces.

“What did I do?” I asked, my voice shaking. The wolf took a step toward me. “Please, leave me alone. You are the one who betrayed me!” I shouted, my voice breaking.

Instead of backing away, the wolf sneered. Then, in a second, its body shifted.

Bones cracked and rearranged themselves as fur disappeared, limbs stretched, and the wolf transformed into a full-grown man.

My chest rose and fell rapidly. Maverick – my ex-husband.

“You have to die, Tesia.” He said it without a single emotion in his voice. “Trust me, I'm doing you a favor.”

“What favor, Rick? I don't want you to do me any favor.” I spoke so quickly that the words nearly tripped over each other. “Please, just go. I don't want to die.”

“I'm sorry.” That was the last thing he said before his body shifted again. The grey wolf returned. For a second, I couldn't move.

My ex-husband had just told me that killing me was a favor. I didn't understand why. I didn't understand what I had done.

I only knew that he was coming for me. I tried to scream for help, but it was too late. The wolf launched itself at me.

And something inside me reacted before my mind could even understand what was happening. I threw my hand forward and a violent force exploded from my palm.

Maverick's wolf was suddenly ripped away from me and sent flying through the air as though an invisible force had slammed into his body. He crashed hard against the ground, but before he could recover, his entire body jerked upward.

His paws left the ground. He was floating. My eyes widened. I stared at him in horror.

I wasn't touching him. I wasn't even close to him. Yet somehow, something was holding him there.

His body twisted violently in the air as he struggled to shift back into his human form, his claws scraping against nothing as though he was trying to fight an invisible wall.

Maverick's body jerked again. I should have stopped. I wanted to stop. But I couldn't. The harder he struggled, the stronger I became. His body remained suspended above the ground, completely helpless, while I stood there staring at him with my hand still raised.

“Stop!” A woman's scream came from behind me. I turned my head slightly. A woman was standing several feet away, staring at me in terror. She looked human. “Stop, or I'll—” She pulled out a gun. My body reacted before my brain could process what she was about to do.

I raised my other hand toward her. At the same time, the force holding Maverick suddenly released. His wolf dropped heavily to the ground. But I barely noticed.

The woman was now the one being affected. Her body lifted from the ground. Her eyes widened in terror. She tried to scream, but I tightened my fingers instinctively, and the force tightened around her neck.

“No stop…” I whispered to myself, trying so hard to make it stop. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know how to stop.

Her body jerked violently. Then there was a sickening snap. I finally released, her body collapsed, and a head rolled across the ground until it stopped directly at my feet. My eyes dropped to it. Then I looked at the body lying several feet away.

My entire body began trembling. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I couldn't even understand what I had just done.

My soul felt like it had left my body. I slowly dropped to my knees, staring at the blood on the ground as horror consumed every part of me.