Unleashed

Sana's heart pounded like a war drum.

She lunged without thinking, her body moving faster, sharper, like she wasn't even human anymore.

Because she wasn't.

The wolf closest to her attacked first, its golden eyes burning with hunger. Its fangs snapped inches from her throat.

But she was faster.

Sana twisted, her body reacting on pure instinct. She slammed her palm into the wolf's ribs with inhuman strength—sending it flying into the splintered remains of a table.

It shouldn't have been possible.

But as soon as she saw the silver sparks dance along her fingertips, she knew.

Something inside her had woken up.

Kael swore. "Sana, stop!"

But she couldn't.

Because her bones were shifting.

A flash of pain burned through her spine. Not human. Not anymore.

The next wolf lunged. This time, Sana didn't dodge.

She met it head-on.

The moment her feet hit the ground, they weren't feet anymore.

They were paws.

A raw, feral snarl ripped from her throat. The walls trembled with the force of it.

She landed hard, claws digging into the floor. The entire room seemed smaller than before. The scent of damp wood and blood filled her nose. She could hear everything. The sharp hitch in Kael's breath. The steady, submissive heartbeat of the wolves around her.

Then—

Silence.

The wolves froze.

Not in fear.

In submission.

One by one, they lowered their heads.

Sana's chest rose and fell, her breath a low, heavy growl.

And then—

The air changed.

The moment he stepped inside, she felt it.

A wave of pressure, suffocating and ancient. The kind of presence that made the whole world hold its breath.

The wolves stepped back, bowing deeper.

Sana's heart slammed against her ribs as he appeared.

Tall. Dark. Commanding.

The light of the broken moon framed him from behind, casting long shadows across the floor. His power filled the room like a storm.

His golden eyes—exactly like the wolves who had been chasing her—locked onto hers.

Lucien.

Sana didn't know him.

And yet—somewhere deep in her bones, she did.

The space between them crackled.

Lucien stepped forward slowly, his lips curving into a smile that sent ice down her spine.

"Hello again, little wolf."

Sana's mind screamed at her to run. To fight.

But she couldn't move.

Because in that moment, in the darkest corner of her memory, something stirred.

A name. A whisper. A promise made in another lifetime.

Lucien.

Sana's pulse thundered.

She could feel it—something vast and uncontrollable rising inside her, something that had been buried for lifetimes. It burned like fire in her veins, a silver inferno, wild and untamed.

Lucien's golden eyes locked onto hers.

"You feel it, don't you?" he murmured, stepping forward, his voice like velvet and steel. "It's waking up."

Sana's claws scraped against the wooden floor, her breaths coming in short, frantic bursts.

The power wasn't just inside her.

It was becoming her.

The walls of the cabin felt too small, the air too thick.

She tried to push it down.

But it didn't want to be contained.

Lucien's lips curled. "Don't fight it, little wolf. You were never meant to."

Her vision blurred.

Silver. Fire. Blood.

A memory that wasn't a memory. A life she didn't remember—but one that refused to stay forgotten.

Kael's growl cut through the haze.

"Stay back." His voice was sharp, dangerous. He had positioned himself between them, muscles coiled, his golden eyes glowing with warning.

Lucien didn't even acknowledge him.

"You have no idea what you're protecting," he said smoothly.

Sana couldn't focus on them.

Because the fire inside her had turned into a storm.

The air trembled.

And then—her control snapped.

A pulse of raw, blinding silver light exploded from her chest.

The walls shook. The wolves who had been bowing to her yelped and stumbled backward.

Kael gritted his teeth as the force hit him, his boots sliding back against the wooden floor.

But Lucien—Lucien dropped to one knee.

His jaw clenched, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the energy pressed him down.

For the first time, Lucien looked surprised.

Sana barely registered it.

Because she couldn't stop it.

The power kept growing, kept breaking free.

She could feel her bones shifting, her body changing again but not into something she recognized. This wasn't like shifting into a wolf.

This was something else.

Something older.

The silver fire in her veins erupted outward.

A howl tore from her throat, but it wasn't just a sound—it was a force.

The wooden beams of the cabin splintered.

The air rippled, warped.

The ground cracked beneath her.

Kael's voice cut through the chaos, desperate.

"Sana! You have to stop—"

But she couldn't.

The silver light expanded, swallowing everything, turning the night into day.

And deep down—somewhere in the depths of her soul—

She understood why Lucien feared her.

She was not just a wolf.

She was something more.

Something that should have stayed buried.

Something that had just been unleashed.

Sana was losing herself.

She could feel it—the silver fire raging inside her, pulsing like a second heartbeat.

Her mind was splitting, her body no longer her own.

The world had become too bright, too loud. Every scent, every sound, every flicker of movement burned in her senses.

And deep inside, something older than her human self—**older than her wolf—**was clawing its way to the surface.

She was shifting.

But not into something mortal.

The power inside her was ancient. Untouched. Unclaimed.

And it didn't care if it destroyed everything around her.

Kael moved first.

He wasn't thinking—he just acted.

Sana's light was blinding now, waves of raw power pulsing from her like a living thing. The force of it cracked the wooden floor, sent furniture crashing into the walls.

Lucien was still on one knee, jaw tight, barely holding himself upright against the storm. His golden eyes flicked toward Kael as if to warn him—don't be a fool.

Kael ignored him.

Because Sana needed him.

He lunged through the searing light.

The moment his hand closed around her wrist, his world exploded.

A rush of heat slammed into his chest.

His mind was ripped open, filled with flashes of silver and fire and blood—memories that weren't his, emotions that weren't his.

Sana's past—her true past—unraveled before him.

A battle under the full moon.

A kingdom lost to betrayal.

A silver wolf standing at the edge of a battlefield, her fur streaked with blood as she turned toward her killer—

Lucien.

Kael gasped, his breath shattering in his lungs as the vision tore through him.

And then—

Sana screamed.

The light cracked apart, flickering—unstable.

Kael tightened his grip.

"Sana," he growled, pulling her closer. "Look at me."

Her glowing silver eyes snapped to his.

For a split second, he saw her.

Not the raging power. Not the force trying to break free. Just her.

His Sana.

The one he had spent a lifetime waiting for.

Kael cupped her face, his hands trembling from the power still raging around them.

"You are not this," he whispered. "You are not a weapon."

Sana's breath hitched.

"You are not his."

Her body shuddered.

The power flared—then cracked.

And then, like a breath of wind through the trees—

It collapsed.

The silver glow vanished.

Sana stumbled. Kael caught her before she could fall, pulling her against his chest as her whole body shook.

The silence that followed was deafening.

The wolves still knelt, stunned, their eyes wide with fear.

Lucien exhaled slowly, rising to his feet.

And then—he smiled.

Not in amusement.

In knowing.

He dusted off his coat, his golden eyes burning with something unreadable.

"Well," Lucien murmured, his voice dripping with dark amusement. "That was unexpected."

Sana's breath hitched against Kael's chest.

Because she knew.

This wasn't over.

It was just the beginning.