CHAPTER 5 : The Night He Became the Monster

Ella's POV 

“Hybrid trespasser. Kill on sight.”

The words slice through the night like knives. My head snaps up . The biggest wolf-man steps forward , claws out, eyes glowing amber . “Step away from the human, girl.”

“He’s not human,” I snap, voice breaking, kneeling over Adrian’s bleeding body. “And you are not touching him.”

Barion snarls, teeth glinting. “Step back, hybrid. Or we’ll make you.”

“My name isn’t hybrid!” I yell, pressing both hands against Adrian’s chest, golden light searing my skin. “And you will not touch him. Do you hear me? Not one of you!”

“Barion, wait,” a woman’s voice cuts through the tension. Silver-streaked hair flowing, hand raised. “She’s shifting.”

My bones crack, my skin ignites in fire, fur ripples under my arms. My vision fractures—gold and crimson, both bleeding into each other. My voice rises, raw and primal. “Stay back!”

The wolf men hesitate, but the biggest, Barion, crouches, ready to strike. “Move, hybrid. Don’t test me.”

I growl low , my fangs dropping, claws slashing the air . “Try it. I will rip every single one of you apart before you even touch him.”

A younger wolf trembles. “Lucira, she’s… protecting the hunter.”

Adrian coughs weakly , blood spilling from his lips . I press harder. “He just saved my life! And he’s dying! Can’t you see that?!”

“Adrian Vale killed thirty of our kind last year ,” Barion spits, venom dripping from each word .

I shake my head, sobbing . “You don’t get it! You don’t know him! You don’t know what he’s done for me!”

Adrian’s fingers twitch toward me. “Ella… run…”

I press harder, tears falling, golden light flaring. “Shut up! You don’t get to leave me like this. Not now. Not ever!”

Lucira steps closer, hands raised in cautious negotiation. “Let us help him.”

“Touch him and you lose the hand,” I hiss, golden sparks arcing between us.

The light explodes, searing the ground, blinding everyone. Wolf men recoil, shielding their eyes. “Goddess above… the bond,” Barion mutters, voice trembling.

I choke on my own sob. “Bond?”

Lucira whispers, “You’re… mated. To a hunter. That’s… impossible.”

I glance at my wrists , glowing cuffs biting into my skin . “Tell that to these. They’re burning me alive, and you’re telling me it’s impossible?”

Adrian’s pulse is slow under my palms. “No, no, no......” I sob, shaking. “Not today. Not you. Stay with me!”

Shadows tear open behind us, thick and alive . My stomach clenches . A voice, deep and silky, cuts through the chaos .

“Evening ,” Valerius says, stepping out of the darkness . He moves like he owns the forest. Beautiful, ancient , terrifying. “I believe you have something that belongs to me .”

Every wolf drops to their knees . I raise my head, claws still out. “Get away from us.”

He tilts his head, watching me, amused . “Such fire. I can see why my brother chose you.”

“Your brother?” I spit, venomous. “You’ve got some nerve.”

He gestures at Adrian’s unconscious body. “Meet Adrian Drakov. My blood. My failure. And now… my weapon.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” His fangs glint in the torchlight . “Ask him when he wakes. If he wakes.”

With a flick of his wrist, Omaras and Sorrel appear, lifting Adrian like he weighs nothing. My claws slash the air. “No!”

Shadows wrap around my wrists, ankles, neck—magic gone wrong. I struggle. “Get off me! I am not your toy!”

Valerius walks in circles, slow, predatory. “You’re coming too, little queen. I need you to watch.”

He snaps his fingers. The world vanishes beneath my feet.

Stone walls rise. Torches flicker. Chains bite into my skin. Adrian is opposite, his shirt ripped, barely breathing. Silver burns through the chains, searing, raw.

“Wake him,” Valerius orders, voice silk over steel.

Omaras slaps Adrian awake. He jerks, eyes fluttering open , silver and terrified . “Ella......”

“Shh,” Valerius purrs , cupping Adrian’s face like a lover . “Watch closely , little queen. This is how you break a hunter.”

I scream, yanking at chains. My nails scrape stone. “Stop! You can’t! Don’t touch him!”

Valerius leans in, biting Adrian’s throat slow, intimate. He drinks , and Adrian screams my name until his throat is raw .

Tears blur my vision . “I won’t let you do this! I won’t !”

Valerius pulls back. Lips red, eyes glowing. “Open wide, brother.”

He slices his own wrist, pressing it against Adrian’s lips. Blood flows. Golden marks flare, blackening. The light dies in his eyes.

I sob, trying to pull him close through the chains. “Fight it! Fight him! Fight me! Stay with me!”

Adrian convulses , bones cracking, fangs punching through gums . His eyes bleed silver into crimson .

Valerius whispers against his ear, silk and venom. “Kill the girl whose heart beats with yours. Bring me her head, brother.”

Adrian collapses, shaking, reborn. Feral. Eyes glowing crimson. I cup his face, tears streaming. “I don’t care what you are now . You’re still mine. And I won’t let him win!”

Golden light flares, searing us both. Sparks leap. Adrian roars, fighting the hunger, fighting his mind. I feel his human memories clash with monster instincts.

“I—will—not—lose—you!” I scream, gripping his face.

He collapses against me, shaking. Fangs bared, yet he whispers, voice raw: “Run…”

Chains fall. I crawl through glass and blood, holding him. “No. I’m not leaving you . Never .”

He clutches my wrists , claws digging into his own skin . “Ella… it’s inside me… it’s everywhere …”

“Then we face it. Together!” I shout, holding him tight. “We are not broken. Not by him. Not by this!”

The dungeon trembles . Shadows twist and writhe. My chest heaves . My arms burn. My fangs sink into my bottom lip . Fear, rage, love—every emotion, raw and untamed .

Adrian’s hands tremble against mine . “I… can’t… stop …”

I cup his face , thumb wiping blood from his cheek . “Then I’ll hold you. I’ll anchor you. I’m your tether, Adrian. You don’t go alone. Not ever.”

His crimson eyes lock on mine, wild, monstrous, human—everything at once. “Ella… I… I…”

The dungeon doors slam open. Light spills, yet no one enters. Only the echoes of Valerius’s laughter. “Enjoy the show, little queen. I own every heartbeat. Every choice. Every fear.”

The blackened mate mark flares one last time. Golden , burning, searing into our chests , screaming with power . Sparks jump. Shadows scatter. Adrian roars again , shaking off the final remnants of human hesitation .

I hold him , refusing to let go. “I don’t care what you are now . You’re still mine . And I’m not letting him win .”

He whispers my name , almost a plea , almost a growl , collapsing against me. Fangs still bared , his breath hot on my neck, trembling against me. “Run,” he murmurs, broken, torn .

I shake my head. “No. Never. We fight. We survive. Together.”

And somewhere in the night, across miles of twisted power and blood, I feel it—the thread of Valerius’s influence. A leash, tight, unyielding. But we are not done. Not yet.

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VALERIUS’S POV

Wind whips across the castle balcony.

Valerius sips from a glass of blood, tasting the chaos he set in motion. He smiles slow, satisfied, savoring the bond twisting and screaming across the miles.

“Tick-tock, little queen,” he murmurs to the night. “Your mate’s leash is very, very short .”

His silver eyes glint with cruel amusement. He raises the glass to the moon . “See you at the next moon .”

Shadows dance across the stone, whispering promises of pain and power . He leans back , letting the wind carry the scent of fear, power , and submission.

The game is far from over, and the queen does not yet know the cost .