Chapter 16 : A Bit Of What I Am Capable Of…

Marks on my arm still pulses with each heartbeat, an unwanted reminder of my time in the spirit realm. Though it's the least of my worries right now.

What matters is the map spread across a table that's barely standing, marking the territory of the BloodfanPack...where they might be keeping Jay.

"You're not thinking clearly," Thalia says, her fingers tracing the boundary lines. "Your magic control might have improved, but your magic itself is still unstable after what happened in the spirit realm. If we rush in…"

"If we don't rush in, they could kill him." My voice comes out harder than intended, and the lights flicker in response.

Great.

Just what I need… more proof that my powers are about as stable as a chemistry experiment led by a 3 year old.

I force myself to take a deep breath, trying to center myself like Thalia taught me. The mark throbs again, and for a moment, I swear I can feel Jay's pain echoing through it. That's new. And terrifying.

"At least let me teach you a basic cloaking spell," Thalia insists, pulling out her grimoire. "Something to help mask your... unique energy signature."

She means my hybrid nature. The thing that makes me stick out like a magical sore thumb to anyone with supernatural senses. I want to argue that we don't have time, but she's right. Going in blind would be suicide.

"Fine. Show me."

The next twenty minutes are torture. Every second we spend practicing feels like another second Jay's suffering. But I force myself to focus as Thalia demonstrates the hand movements, the way magic should flow and not crash.

"Again," she says after my third failed attempt sends a vase flying across the room. "You're pushing too hard. Let it come naturally."

"Naturally?" I laugh, and it sounds slightly hysterical. "Nothing about me is natural. That's kind of the whole problem, isn't it?"

The lights flicker again, and this time one of the bulbs explodes. Thalia doesn't flinch, but I see the concern in her eyes.

" As you might have observed, your emotions are amplifying your magic," she says quietly. "The spirit realm changed something in you, Olivia. Made you stronger, yes, but also more volatile. If you go in like this..."

"They have Jay." I cut her off, my voice breaking. "They're using him as bait because they know I'll come. Because they know what he means to me." My hands clench into fists. "So yeah, I'm emotional. Wouldn't you be?"

Thalia's expression softens slightly. "Of course. But emotion without control.."

"Will get us both killed. I know." I close my eyes, trying again to center myself. This time, when I reach for the magic, I don't try to force it. Instead, I let it rise naturally, like mist off water. When I open my eyes, my reflection in the window is blurred, indistinct.

"Better," Thalia nods. "Now hold it."

I manage to maintain the cloaking spell for five minutes before it slips. Not great, but it'll have to do. Dawn's approaching, and with it, our window of opportunity.

"The Bloodfang territory is heavily guarded," Thalia says, returning to the map. "Lyra, patrols the outskirts. She's..." Thalia hesitates. "She's dangerous, Olivia. More than you know."

"So am I." The words come out with more confidence than I feel, but something's changed in me since the spirit realm. The mark pulses again, and with it comes a surge of power that makes the air hum.

Thalia gives me a long look. "Yes," she says finally. "You are. That's what worries me."

As we gather our supplies; herbs for emergency healing, crystals for power focusing, a silver dagger that makes my wolf side uneasy.

I catch my reflection again. My eyes are glowing slightly.

The spirits warned me I'd never find peace. Looking at myself now, I think that I'm starting to understand why.

But peace isn't what I'm after.

I'm getting Jay back, no matter what it takes. And if Kael's pack wants to see what a hybrid is really capable of?

Well, they're about to find out.

"Ready?" Thalia asks, her own magic gathering around her like a cloak.

I touch the mark on my arm, feeling Jay's presence like a distant heartbeat. "Let's go get my wolf back."

---

The forest at dawn wasn't 'FOREST_ING' if you get my drift. Every shadow seems to hide a threat, and my magic keeps surging in response to my anxiety, making stealth about as easy as tap dancing through a minefield.

"Focus," Thalia whispers beside me, her own cloaking spell perfect and steady. Show-off. "Your aura's flickering."

I grit my teeth, trying to maintain control. But it's hard when every fiber of my being wants to tear through these woods screaming Jay's name. The mark on my arm pulses stronger the deeper we go into Bloodfang territory, like some twisted compass pointing me toward him.

A twig snaps somewhere ahead. We freeze.

A figure emerges from the trees; tall, athletic, with the kind of grace that screams 'predator.'

Lyra.

I've only met her briefly, hearing enough stories. Kael's most loyal park member, known for tracking down pack traitors.

Great.

Thalia pulls me behind a massive oak, her magic weaving tighter around us. I try to match her control, but my powers are having none of it. They surge and crackle beneath my skin, wanting to lash out, wanting to fight.

'NOT YET', I tell myself. 'SOON, BUT NOT YET.'

Lyra pauses, her head tilting like she's caught a scent. My heart pounds so loud I'm sure she can hear it. But after what feels like forever, she moves on, disappearing into the morning mist.

"That was too close," Thalia breathes. "Your magic.."

"I know." I clench my fists, watching sparks dance between my fingers. "It's like it has a mind of its own since the spirit realm. Like it's..."

"indeed of being used properly," she finishes, and the worry in her voice makes my stomach twist.

Before I can respond, pain shoots through the mark on my arm… sharp and sudden enough to make me gasp. With it comes a flash of... something. A vision? A memory? Jay, chained with glowing links that pulse with sickly green light. He's hurt. Badly.

The surge of rage that follows makes every leaf around us tremble.

"Olivia." Thalia's voice is sharp with warning. "Control it. Now."

But I can't. The magic rises like a tide, feeding off my anger, my fear, my desperate need to reach Jay. The air crackles with power, and nearby branches start to twist and crack.

"They're hurting him," I manage through clenched teeth. "I can feel it."

"And you'll feel him die if you give away our position," Thalia snaps. "Is that what you want?"

The words hit like a slap. I force myself to breathe, to focus on anything but the pain echoing through my mark.

Slowly, painfully, the magic recedes.

But it doesn't settle, just coils tighter, like a spring waiting to release.

That's when we hear the voices.

"...sure the hybrid will come?" Someone asks; male, gruff, uncertain.

"Of course she will." That voice I recognize. Tobias, Kael's brother. "She's too stupid not to. And when she does..."

They're too far away to catch the rest, but the implication is clear. They're counting on me coming for Jay. This whole thing is a trap, designed to draw me out.

"Olivia." Thalia touches my arm, and I realize I'm trembling. "We need to be smart about this. If they're expecting you.."

"Then let's give them exactly what they're expecting." The words come out calm, but there's an edge to them that makes Thalia flinch. "Just... not in the way they think."

Because that's the thing about being a hybrid… everyone assumes they know what you're capable of. They see the witch magic, the wolf strength, and think they understand the threat.

They don't.

The spirits showed me something in their realm. Something about what I truly am, what I could become. The mark on my arm isn't just a scar – it's a reminder. A warning.

And maybe... maybe it's time to prove them right.

"I can sense him," I tell Thalia, letting my magic reach out like tendrils through the forest. "He's close. And he's guarded, but..."

"But?"

I smile, and I know it's not a nice expression. "But they don't know what the spirit realm taught me. What it changed in me."

The mark pulses again, but this time I welcome the pain. Let it fuel what's coming.

Because Kael wants to see what a hybrid can do?

I'll show him.

I'll show them all.

"Just..." Thalia hesitates. "Remember who you are. Don't let this change you into something you'll regret."

Too late, I think. But I don't say it aloud.

Instead, I take a step forward, letting my cloaking spell fall away.

Time to spring their trap.

---

Everything happens fast after that. One moment we're hidden in the shadows, the next we're surrounded by Kael's elite wolves, their eyes glowing gold in the dim morning light. So much for the element of surprise.

But I don't care anymore. Because there, in the center of their makeshift camp, is Jay.

The chains binding him glowing with that sickly green light I saw in my vision.

His skin is marked with wounds that aren't healing;magical suppression, probably.

But he's alive.

The relief that floods through me almost makes my knees buckle.

"Right on schedule." Kael steps out from behind his guards, looking infuriatingly smug. "Though I must admit, I expected more... dramatics. The spirits said you'd be quite changed after your little visit to their realm."

My mark burns at his words.

Wait a goddamn minute… how the hell... How much does he know about what happened there?

"Let him go," I say, and my voice sounds strange even to me. like there's something else speaking underneath it. "This is between us."

Kael laughs, the sound sharp and cold. "Oh, but it's not. See, Jay made his choice when he chose to protect you. When he turned his back on his own kind for a... what did she say that the spirits call you? An anomaly?"

Each word hits like a physical blow, but I force myself to stay still. Beside me, I feel Thalia gathering her power, preparing something. I just need to keep him talking.

"You don't know anything about me," I tell him, even as my magic rises, wanting to lash out. "Or what I'm capable of."

"Don't I?" He takes a step closer, and his guards tense. "I know exactly what you are, Olivia. A mistake. A glitch in the natural order. The spirits showed you that, didn't they? Showed you what happened to the last of your kind?"

Jay stirs at that, trying to say something through whatever's gagging him. One of the guards kicks him, and my control slips.

The ground cracks beneath my feet. Trees groan, their branches twisting like living things. My magic surges, and this time I don't try to stop it.

"Careful," Kael warns, though his smile doesn't fade. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would you?"

He gestures, and one of his wolves presses a silver blade to Jay's throat.

"I'll make you a deal," Kael continues. "Walk away. Leave him. Go live whatever life you want, far from here. I won't stop you."

"Olivia.." Thalia starts, but Kael cuts her off.

"Stay out of this, witch. This is a pack business now. She might not fully look it, but she is part of the pack"

"Pack business?" I laugh, and the sound makes several wolves step back. "You kidnapped my mate, tortured him, and now you're offering me what? Freedom? Safety?" The mark on my arm blazes, and with it comes a rush of power that makes the air itself seem to vibrate. "I already tried running from what I am. The spirits showed me that doesn't work."

Kael's smile finally falters. "Then what.."

"I choose me," I say, echoing the words I spoke in the spirit realm. "I choose what I am. And right now?" Power crackles not only between my fingers but all across my body. "I choose to show you exactly what that means."

Thalia's illusion hits at the perfect moment, making it seem like shadows come alive around us. The wolves hesitate, confused, but Kael sees through it instantly.

"Enough games!" he snarls. "Take them!"

His wolves surge forward, but they're too late. Because the mark on my arm isn't just burning now… it's blazing, channeling everything the spirits tried to warn me about. Every bit of power they feared.

I feel it, it's completely built-up, wanting to break free. And for the first time, I don't fight it.

I let go.

The last thing I see before my power explodes outward is Kael's smirk turning off, replaced by something like tension.

"Let's see what you're really capable of, little hybrid," he says, but his voice wavers.

And you know what?

I'm about to show him.

Hold on, Jay, I think as the magic takes over. This will definitely get messy.