Chapter 13

Zinnia’s POV

I woke up to pain in my chest.

It was sharp and deep, like something inside me was trying to push its way out. I sat up fast on the hard ground. The standing stones around us looked darker than before. The air felt heavy.

June was still asleep beside me, one small hand resting on my arm. I tried to breathe slow so I would not wake him. But the pain grew stronger.

Golden light started to leak from my fingers. It was soft at first, then brighter. I pressed my hands against the dirt and tried to push the power back down.

It did not listen.

The light spread up my arms. My skin felt too hot. Selene stirred hard under my surface, restless and strong. I clenched my teeth and curled forward.

A low sound came from the stones. They began to shake.

Small rocks rolled down the sides of the taller ones. The ground under me trembled. June woke with a scared cry.

“Mama?”

I could not answer right away. The power was rising too fast. My vision blurred with gold.

Joseph was at my side in seconds. He had been on watch. “Zinnia. Look at me.”

I shook my head. “I cannot stop it.”

Christiana ran into the circle. Her eyes went wide when she saw the light pouring from my hands. “The seal is cracking faster than I thought.”

June started crying. He reached for me but pulled his hand back when he felt the heat coming off my skin. “Mama, it hurts to look at you.”

That broke something in me. I tried harder to pull the power in. It only pushed back stronger. The stones shook again. One of the smaller ones cracked down the middle with a loud sound.

Joseph put both hands on my shoulders. “Breathe with me. Slow.”

“I am trying.”

Christiana knelt in front of me. She placed her palms over mine. Silver light came from her skin and pressed against my gold. The two powers met and sparked.

“Listen to my voice,” she said. “You are still in control. Do not let it run wild.”

Tears filled my eyes. “It feels too big. Like it wants to tear me open.”

“That is the old blood waking up,” Christiana said. Her voice stayed steady even though her arms were shaking from the effort. “Your mother sealed most of it when you were little. Now it wants out.”

Joseph kept his hands on my shoulders. His touch was firm but careful. “You are not alone in this. Push it down with us.”

I closed my eyes and focused on their voices. June's scared breathing. On the feeling of the cold ground under my knees.

Slowly the light began to fade. The shaking in the stones stopped. The heat in my skin dropped.

When I opened my eyes again, the circle was quiet. Only the wind moved through the trees.

June was still crying. I pulled him into my arms even though my body felt weak. He buried his face in my neck.

“I am sorry,” I whispered. “I did not mean to scare you.”

He held on tight and did not speak.

Joseph sat back on his heels. Sweat ran down the side of his face. “That was stronger than the last time.”

Christiana looked tired. She rubbed her hands together as if they still burned. “The seal has only days left. Maybe less. Every time she uses power, or feels strong fear, it breaks more.”

I kept rocking June. “What happens when it breaks all the way?”

Christiana met my eyes. “Your full gift will wake. Healing will be only one part of it. You will be able to touch mate bonds. Calm them. Or break them. The old stories say people with your blood could steady a dying Alpha… or unmake one.”

Joseph’s face turned serious. “That kind of power will draw every hungry wolf in the region. Ciro will not be the only one hunting her.”

I felt sick. “And Draven?”

“He will feel it,” Christiana said. “Even with the blocked bond. Something that strong does not stay hidden. When the seal finishes breaking, he will know exactly where you are for a short time.”

June lifted his head. His eyes were red. “Will the bad men come again?”

I wiped his tears with my thumb. “We will be gone before they do.”

Joseph stood and looked around the circle. “This place helped hold the power back tonight. But it will not be enough next time. We need to move farther at first light.”

Christiana nodded. “There is an old forest three days north. Deeper cover. Stronger natural barriers. If we reach it before the seal breaks, we gain more time.”

I looked down at my hands. Small sparks of gold still flickered under the skin and then faded. “I hate this. I never asked for any of it.”

Joseph’s voice was quiet. “I know.”

We sat in silence for a while. June finally fell back asleep against my chest, exhausted from fear. I held him and stared at the cracked stone.

Christiana spoke again. “Your mother did not seal your power because she was ashamed of it. She did it because she loved you. She saw what the Frost Pack would do if they knew. She gave you years of safety the only way she could.”

“It does not feel like safety right now,” I said.

“No,” she answered. “But it bought you time to become strong enough to carry it.”

Joseph walked to the edge of the circle and checked the trees. When he came back he looked at me for a long moment.

“You kept control tonight,” he said. “That matters. Most people would have lost themselves completely.”

I shook my head. “I almost hurt my own son with the heat. That is not control.”

“You pulled it back,” he said. “That is the part that counts.”

I did not know how to answer. Part of me wanted to believe him. Another part was still terrified of what lived under my skin.

Christiana stood up slowly. “I will take watch. Both of you should rest while you can. The next days will be harder.”

Joseph looked like he wanted to say more, but he only nodded. He moved a short distance away and sat with his back against one of the stones.

I lay down again with June in my arms. His small heartbeat was steady against me. I stared up at the dark sky between the stones.

The power was quiet now, but I could still feel it waiting. Like a door that had been pushed half open and would not close again.

Only days left.

I pressed my lips to June’s hair and made the same promise I had made every night since we ran.

I would keep him safe.

Even if the power inside me tried to tear me apart.

Even if every wolf in the region came hunting.

Even if Draven himself felt the moment the seal broke and followed the pull straight to us.

I would not let them take my son.

The stones stood silent around us.

But I knew they had felt what was coming.

And so had I.