The Silver Eye

Elara’s Pov

The hum in the air grew louder, vibrating in my very bones. It sounded like a thousand bees were trapped inside my chest, screaming to get out. The floor beneath my gold heels began to shake, and I saw dust falling from the high ceiling of the ballroom.

My vision began to change. Everything turned into a bright, glowing silver. I could see the flow of life in the room. I could see the pulse in Kaelen’s neck, beating fast like a trapped bird.

The silver light exploded.

It hit the room with the force of a tidal wave. A massive shockwave of silver energy burst out of my body. It hit Kaelen square in the chest, lifting him off his feet. He flew backward through the air, crashing through a table filled with food and slamming into the far wall.

Mirelle screamed as the light hit her. She fell to her knees, clutching her head. Every champagne glass in the room shattered at the same time. Thousands of tiny shards of glass rained down like diamonds. The giant crystal chandelier above us began to swing wildly, the metal groaning until pieces of crystal began to fall like heavy snow.

"My eyes! I can't see! Make it stop!" Mirelle shrieked, her expensive white dress now soaked in spilled wine and covered in cake. 

All the Alphas in the room fell to their knees, bowing to me.

"She is an Origin," an old man whispered. "The first bloodline!"

"Elara? Control the power, don’t let it consume you." Julian whispered. He reached out to touch my shoulder, but the moment his fingers got close, a spark of silver energy jumped from my skin to his. He gasped and pulled back, his eyes wide with shock.

I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't mean to do anything. But twenty years of being trash, a slave, were all rushing to the surface.

I stood in the center of the wreckage, my crimson dress fluttering in a wind that shouldn't have existed. My eyes were no longer blue. They were glowing silver circles that lit up the entire hall. I felt like I was made of lightning. I felt like I could reach out and crush the building if I wanted to.

Kaelen groaned from the floor, his white suit ruined and his face covered in cuts from the flying glass. He looked up at me, "Elara..." he choked out, coughing up blood. "Please... I didn't know... the bond... we can fix this..."

I walked toward him. Every step I took cracked the expensive marble floor. I looked down at him, and I didn't feel love. I didn't even feel hate. I felt nothing but pity.

"The bond didn't fail me, Kaelen," I said, my voice echoing through the silent hall. "You failed the bond. You looked at a girl who was hurting and you chose to kick her. You looked at a girl who was hungry and you chose to starve her. You don't deserve a mate. You don't even deserve a pack."

The silver light began to fade slowly, like a sunset. The weight in the air lifted, and for a moment, the room was deathly quiet. I felt a sudden, massive wave of exhaustion hit me. It was as if someone had pulled a plug and all my energy was draining into the floor. My knees buckled, and my head felt light.

Caspian was there in a second. He caught me before I hit the ground, his strong arms wrapping around me. He didn't care about the shards of glass or the chaos. He just held me.

"I've got you, Little Sis," he whispered. He looked up at the room, his eyes turning back to that cold, lethal blue. He looked at the guards who were frozen in fear and the Alphas who were still on their knees.

"This gala is over," Caspian’s voice was like ice. He picked me up and carried me toward the exit. Dante, Julian, and Silas formed a wall of black suits around us, their hands on their weapons. As we passed Kaelen, he tried to reach out for the hem of my dress, but Dante stepped on his hand, the sound of breaking bone echoing in the hall.

"Don't touch what doesn't belong to you," Dante growled.

We walked out into the cool night air. The flashing lights of the cameras were still there, but the brothers' security team had pushed the reporters back. We got into the armored SUV, and as soon as the door closed, the silence of the car felt like a warm blanket.

"Is it really over?" I whispered, leaning my head against Caspian’s chest.

"The Silver-Moon is over," Silas said from the front seat, his fingers flying across his phone screen. "I’ve already filed the eviction papers. By the time Kaelen gets back to his house, the locks will be changed. Mirelle and her mother are being picked up by our security team for a 'private talk' about the kidnapping."

But Caspian wasn't celebrating. He was looking at a small piece of paper that had been stuck under the windshield wiper of the car. It was a black card with a red-eyed wolf on it.

"We have to move," Caspian said, his voice tense. "The Shadows are back.”

I looked at the card, and for the first time, I felt a new kind of fear. "Who are they?" I asked.

"The Shadows," Caspian said. "They are coming for your heart."