Chapter 4: This is definitely not just a werewolf!

[Jay's POV]

I have never seen anything like this; the forest is trembling. Not with wind, not with the usual wave of werewolves in our early morning runs.

No

This is something else entirely, something raw and electric that made every hair on my body stand on end.

Olivia is changing. But this? This was no ordinary werewolf transformation ( I mean I would know, as I've witnessed first transformations many times ).

But this is foreign and judging by the mixture of the fear and confusion on every other werewolf's face, they think so too.

My girlfriend is convulsing, muscles rippling beneath skin that seemed to wiggle and breathe with an unearthly energy. Tendrils of what looked like pale blue lightning dancing around her fingertips and scorching the ground where they touched.

Again, I'd seen wolf transformations before; brutal, primal, predictable. But this…. This is something else entirely.

"Liv," I called softly, taking a cautious step forward. "Try to breathe."

Big mistake. The moment my voice reached her, the energy around her spiked. All the trees nearest to her spontaneously combusted, their bark blackening and peeling away in spiraling ribbons of smoke. Several pack members who had been watching from the tree line stumbled backward, their faces a mixture of terror and raw disbelief as most were affected by the flames.

I knew Olivia was different. We all did. But this? This was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Her eyes, usually a warm amber that reminded me of honey in sunlight… were now swirling pools of electric blue and silver.

They didn't just look at me; they saw through me, into something deeper, something ancient. For a moment, I felt like I was nothing more than a slight disturbance in her perception.

"Control," she whispered, but the word came out fractured, like glass breaking. "I can't…"

Another burst of energy erupted. This time, it wasn't just trees. A wave of pure, unfiltered power radiated outward, knocking back wolves who had been creeping closer. I could hear their whimpers, their confusion. Pack dynamics were built on predictability, on knowing exactly how each member would react. Olivia had just shattered every single expectation.

Tobias, was the first to break the stunned silence. "This is unnatural," he growled, his massive wolf form trembling with a combination of fear and barely contained aggression. "She's a threat."

I knew that tone. I'd heard it before;... when the pack decided something was beyond redemption. When they determined a member was too dangerous to be saved.

Kael, our pack's alpha, said nothing. But his silence was worse than Tobias's accusations. Where Tobias was loud and reactionary, Kael was calculated. His eyes never left Olivia, studying her like she was some complex equation he was desperately trying to solve.

"Everyone back!" I shouted, positioning myself between Olivia and the pack. "She needs space. She needs…"

I was violently pushed to the floor by another explosion of energy. This time, I felt it,a scorching heat that felt like it was trying to peel the skin from my bones.

But I stood back up and didn't move.

I wouldn't abandon her.

Lyra took a very slow and calculated step forward. Her hands were raised, palms out…a universal gesture of 'not a threat'.

"Olivia," she said, her voice soft but firm. "You're safe. Whatever's happening, you're safe."

Safe. What a laughable concept right now.

Olivia's body continued to pulse and shift. It wasn't just a transformation anymore. It was like she was caught between worlds… part wolf and part something else entirely. Something different.

Olivia's transformation was nearing completion, but I also saw these crazy flashes in her eyes, like glimpses of some old, witchy power. This was totally new territory, and for her safety's sake, I really hoped not.

The pack was scattering. I could feel their fear, their confusion. Wolves didn't handle the unknown well. We were creatures of instinct, of predictable patterns. Olivia was a living, breathing anomaly.

"We need to help her," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. "Not destroy her."

But I knew what was coming. I could see it in Tobias's eyes. In the way the younger wolves were backing away. In Kael's calculating silence.

This was going to get ugly. And I would do whatever it took to protect her.

Whatever. It. Took.

"Stay back," I growled at the pack members creeping closer with murder in their eyes.

Kael's silence was breaking. I could see the muscles in his jaw clenching, his wolf energy coiling like a spring ready to unleash. Tobias was practically vibrating with rage, his massive wolf form casting a shadow that seemed to swallow everything.

"She's unstable," Tobias snarled. "Look at her. She's a danger to everyone."

Olivia heard him. Of course she did. Her body seized, another burst of electric blue energy crackling around her like a living thunderstorm. I could see the pain in her eyes… she wasn't doing this on purpose. Whatever was happening was happening 'to' her, not 'because' of her.

Lyra's voice cut through the tension. "We need to understand what she really is for now. Not punishment."

"Understand?" Kael finally spoke, his voice low and dangerous. "There is nothing to understand. That's a fucking nuclear reactor without containment."

I knew what was coming. Pack protocol was clear; 'Anything that threatened the collective got eliminated. Quickly. Efficiently. No questions asked'.

"I think I can help her," Lyra insisted, her calming aura creating emerald waves that tried to weave around Olivia's chaotic energy.

For a moment…just a moment, the blue lightning seemed to pause. To listen. Then it lashed out, sending Lyra tumbling backward.

Things took a turn from bad to worse when the symbols started appearing and latching onto her skin.

'It was witch symbols'.

"Nobody touch her!" I shouted. But it was too late.

Kael's patience was wearing thin. I could see it in the way his hands clenched and unclenched. In the predatory way he watched Olivia, like she was both a fascinating experiment and a threat that needed immediate elimination.

"She is a witch, We have protocols for situations like this," Tobias was saying, almost smiling.

"Protocols?" I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "She's not a problem to be solved. She's a person. She's…"

Another explosion of energy. This time, though closer to me there was no force. I could feel the heat, the raw potential crackling just inches from my skin.

Olivia was fighting to sterilize something internal. I could see it in the way her body twisted, whatever was happening wasn't just a transformation. It was a battle.

A battle for control.

And we were all just witnesses.

Lyra caught my eye, and Something passed between us; a shared understanding. Whatever was happening to Olivia, she needed protection. Not destruction.

But the pack was closing in. And time was running out.

Everything happened fast after that.

Kael's voice cut through the chaos like a knife. "She dies."

Two simple words. A death sentence.

I moved before I could think. Before anyone could react. My body positioned itself between Olivia and the pack, her wild energy crackling against my skin like static electricity.

"Over my dead body," I snarled.

Olivia's body was now done transforming, still surrounded by unstable magic.

"Jay," she whispered. Her voice sounded fractured, like broken glass. "I'm sorry but I can't control it."

"You will," I promised. No hesitation.

Tobias stepped forward, his massive wolf form blocking the sunlight. "The pack's safety…"

"Means protecting ALL of us," I interrupted. "Even those who are a bit different."

Kael's patience snapped. I saw it in his eyes, a predatory look that meant nothing good. "You're choosing her over the pack? Over your FAMILY?"

The word 'family' hung in the air, heavy with threat.

Lyra's distraction worked. A sudden rustling in the surrounding trees. Wolves looking momentarily confused. Just enough chaos for what needed to happen next.

I tried to grab Olivia's hand. But she was already running into the dense forest.

"Run," I whispered.

Of Course I ran after her. She was fast.

Grabbing her hands, Her skin was electric, literally. Sparks danced between our fingers.

The forest blurred around us. Olivia's uncontrolled magic left scorched trails, burning leaves, breaking branches. But we didn't stop.

We couldn't stop.

Behind us, Kael's roar shook the entire forest. "HUNT THEM BOTH!"

Olivia's fear amplified her power. Trees combusted. Ground cracked. The very air seemed to tremble with her emotional storm.

"We're not stopping," I promised her. "We'll figure this out."

But deep down, I had no idea what was coming. There were a few things I knew for sure: Kael would hunt us. The pack would never stop. And Olivia's mysterious power was just starting to wake up.

Something told me we were heading into a storm far bigger than anything we'd ever faced.

And because I love this girl, I am all in.