Chapter 2 – The Monster Awakens

SERENA

My new wings kept beating slowly, lifting me higher above the burning stake.

I looked down at the thousands of werewolves on their knees as they bowed to me.

"Stay back," Alpha kael growled to his men, but they did not listen. They stayed on the ground.

I tried to move my wings on purpose. They responded, sending a gust of wind across the square that made some of the werewolves shiver.

I felt power rushing through my veins like fire in my blood.

Then it happened.

A loud boom shook the ground. The execution platform exploded in a blast of purple and black magic.

Wood and stones flew everywhere. People screamed. I felt strong arms grab me from behind before I could fall. Cold shadows wrapped around my body like a blanket.

"Easy, my lady," a deep voice said close to my ear. "We have you now."

I tried to turn my head to see who it was, but everything was blurry. Three or four figures in dark cloaks moved like smoke around me.

Shadow warriors. I had never seen anything like them.

"Get her out of here," another one barked. "The King is still alive. He will come for her."

The explosion kept growing. I heard Kael shouting orders. "Find her! Do not let the witch escape!"

His voice was full of rage. I caught a glimpse of him pushing through the dust and smoke, his clothes torn but his body still strong.

One of the shadow warriors pressed a hand over my mouth gently. "Do not speak. The magic is still waking up inside you. It will hurt if you fight it."

Pain exploded in my back where the wings had come out. I gasped and grabbed onto the warrior holding me. My vision went in and out. One second I saw the red moon. The next I saw nothing but darkness and moving shadows.

"Why are you helping me?" I managed to ask between breaths.

"Because you are the one we have waited for," the warrior said. His voice was calm but urgent.

"The Forbidden Witch. The one who carries the old blood. Now hold on. This next part will not be gentle."

Another explosion rocked the grounds. This one was bigger. I felt the heat and the magic hit me like a wall.

My wings folded against my back on their own, protecting me. The shadow warriors moved us fast through the chaos.

I heard werewolves shouting and fighting. Some tried to stop us but didn't succeed.

My body felt like it was tearing apart and coming back together at the same time.

I wanted to ask more questions. Who were these people? How did they know about me? But the pain was too strong. My eyes started to close.

Before everything went black, I heard Kael's voice cut through the noise.

"I will hunt you down, Serena!" he roared. "You will not destroy what is left of my people. I swear it on my Luna's grave. I will end you myself before you bring more death!"

His words hit me harder than the fire had. Even after everything, the hate in his voice made my chest ache.

I had not killed his Luna. I knew it in my bones. But he would never believe me now. Not after what just happened.

The shadow warriors carried me away. I felt us moving through some kind of portal.

"Rest now," one of them whispered. "You are safe for the moment. The real fight starts when you wake up."

Darkness took me completely.

I do not know how long I was out. When I finally started coming back, I was lying on something soft.

My back still hurts like hell. The wings were gone, or at least they had folded away inside me. But I could still feel them there.

My eyes opened slowly. I was in some kind of cave or hidden room. Old magic hung thick in the air.

An old woman sat near a small fire, watching me. She looked like she had seen too many hard years.

Before I could speak, I remembered Kael's promise to hunt me. The way the whole crowd had dropped to their knees. The power that had burst out of me.

What kind of monster had I just become?

Then I heard it. A soft voice in the shadows, almost like it was inside my own head.

"The Forbidden Witch has finally awakened."