Chapter Five

"Hayes," Lucian repeats,and I tried my best not to react. The surnname sparked histories I did not want to revisit.  Vaughan-Hayes, Darius's half-brother. And apparently the orchestrator of everything that has been happening.

The pieces click into place. The familiar scent that bothered me, the way his green eyes reminded me of Darius, the rogues who attacked me carrying traces of his scent. It wasn't a coincidence. It was all planned.

"You," I breathe, pulling my hand from his grip. "You sent them. The rogues who…"

"Who awakened your true power?" Lucian's mask finally slips, revealing the predator. His charming smile remains but this time it looked more sinister. "You should thank me, little silver wolf. Without that... encouragement, you'd still be scrubbing floors and dreaming of a mate who would never want you."

Rage builds in my chest, not the hot youthful fury but something colder, more dangerous. Silver light begins to dance beneath my skin as my wolf stirs. Around us, my pack senses the shift in atmosphere. I hear my pack taking defensive measures, they had seen me furious before and it wasn’t nice.

"You want to know why I courted you?" Lucian continues, circling me like the predator he is. "Your power, little silver wolf. Your bloodline. The Lunahale legacy flows through your veins, and with it, I can break every Alpha's hold on their packs and rule them all." His fingers dig into my wrist as he tries to reclaim his hold on me. "You were always meant to be conquered."

The rage that builds in me isn't hot. It’s cold, menacing. I've been hunted, rejected, used. But I am not prey anymore.

When I tear free from his grip,shadows from the surrounding gathered around obediently. The temperature in the warehouse drops twenty degrees in an instant. Every wolf in the clearing drops to their knees as my aura washes over them in waves of ancient authority.

Even Lucian's eyes widen with fear, and the admiration.

"You made one mistake," I say, my voice carrying absolute command. "You thought I was still that broken girl you could manipulate. But she died the night your rogues left me bleeding in the forest. What rose from her ashes is not something you can control anymore"

My power rolls off me in visible waves now, my wolf basically pleading to come out and have a piece of Lucian, silver light crackling around my body like lightning. The shadows danced around, excited by my anger. My pack watches in awe as their Alpha shows her true strength for the first time.

Lucian recovers quickly, his own power flaring in response. "You think you're the only one with ancient blood? The only one with secrets?" His eyes flash gold as his wolf surfaces. "I am Vaughan-Hayes, descendant of the bloodline that laid the curse on Darius's line. For generations, his family has been doomed to reject their true mates, to weaken themselves through broken bonds. All according to my ancestors' design."

So you mean Darius’s rejection was also orchestrated?

"And now," Lucian snarls, his power clashing against mine, "I'll take what's mine. Your power, your pack, your very soul. You'll serve me willingly, or I'll break you and take it anyway."

The warehouse erupts into chaos. My rogues leap to defend me while Lucian's hidden allies reveal themselves, wolves who'd been masquerading as curious visitors, scouts and potential recruits. The air fills with snarls and the sound of shifting as bodies change from human to wolf.

But through the chaos of snarling wolves and rising tensions, a familiar scent catches my attention.. My heart stutters as a figure emerges from the entrance, battle-scarred and hollow-eyed.

Darius.

His green eyes caught mine across the clearing, and I see the same recognition, the same impossible pull that once destroyed me. The severed bond tries to spark back to life, sending phantom pain through my chest.

He's thinner than I remember, his face is still cold, like he wasn’t affected by our broken bond. The scar along his left eye seems deeper now, and  though he tried to hide it, there's something desperate in his gaze that wasn't there before. But beside him stands Seraphine, her hand possessively on his arm, and the sight ignites something feral in my chest.

She's as perfect as ever. The same blonde hair flowing like silk, curves that went on for days, her very appearace spoke beauty and grace. But there's something different about her too. A hardness around her eyes. 

The fighting continues around us, but for a moment, the three of us exist in a space the others couldn’t reach. It was a bubble of tension and it could burst depending on what happened next. Darius stares at me, eyes unreadable. Seraphine's grip on his arm tightens possessively.

And I feel the weight of destiny settling on my shoulders like a cloak.

"Hello, mate," I whisper, letting my power roll off me in waves, "miss me?”