###Chapter Seven: The Power Within

I pulled my wrist back, my heart racing. "What the hell was that?"

Amara smiled, her silver pupils glistening. "That, young one, was just a taste.

"A glimpse of what?" I demanded.

Ronan stepped to stand between us, his golden eyes keen. "Enough games, Amara. Tell us what you know."

Amara sighed and tilted her head. "Why are you so impatient, Ronan.

He didn't respond but crossed his arms.

She gazed back at me, eyes piercing. "You're connected to the moon, Arden. But you knew that already amiright?"

I swallowed hard. I had felt it — that strange pulling at my heart, that heat under my skin. But I didn't understand it.

Amara leaned closer and dropped her voice. "Kael isn't coming after you because you are special. He's going after you because you're his keystone."

My stomach twisted. "Key to what?"

Amara smiled, slowly, knowingly. "To break the curse."

Silence stretched between us.

I shook my head. "What curse?"

Ronan tensed.

Amara's silver eyes gleamed. "The curse binding the wolves. The one that keeps them in the in-between of man and beast. "You, Arden, are the one who can release them."

I stared at her. My mouth opened, then closed.

That couldn't be true.

"Y — you do," I stammered, "and I don't have powers."

Amara chuckled. "Oh, little one. You do. "They just don't know how to use them.

I turned to Ronan. "Is this true?"

His jaw tightened. "There's a legend. A prophecy. It's all about a girl who possesses the power of the moon. The Lunar Rebirth."

The ground had been ripped out from underneath me.

"No," I whispered. "That's not me."

Amara's gaze softened. "No amount of denial will erase the truth."

I stepped back, wobbly; my breath was coming too fast.

This was too much.

Too big.

Kael didn't want me just for power but to break a curse?

I clenched my fists. "So why don't you just kill me then?"

Amara's smile faded. "Because you have to consciously relinquish your power to him. He can't take it by force."

My pulse pounded.

Kael wanted me alive.

Because he had wanted me to choose him.

I exhaled shakily, my head spinning. "So what do I do?"

Amara stepped back. "You learn."

I frowned. "Learn what?"

She smirked. "How to fight. How to use what's inside you. And how to win."

I swallowed hard. "And if I don't?"

Ronan's voice was quiet. "Then Kael wins."

A shiver ran through me.

I didn't know what I was.

I just didn't know what to do.

But I did know one thing.

I couldn't let that happen.

I straightened my shoulders. "Then let's start."

Amara grinned. "Good girl."

Hitting the ground running, with big-action moments

Arden finds out the real deal with her power

Raise the stakes — Kael wants her voluntary choice

Awakening

Ronan had been training like a dog.

Training with Amara? It was worse.

Without hesitation, she led us deeper into the woods toward a clearing framed by towering trees. The atmosphere here felt different — electrified, as if a storm were ready to break.

Amara stood in front of me, arms crossed. "Show me what you can do."

I exhaled sharply. "I told you I can't do anything.

She raised an eyebrow. "You bombed Kael's wolves, right?"

"Barely," I muttered.

"Then you can fight," she continued. "You can't create with what is within you."

I swallowed. "And what in the fuck is within me?"

Amara smirked. "Power."

I crossed my arms. "That's vague."

Ronan chuckled behind me. "Welcome to Amara working with you."

She looked at him but looked back to me. "Fine. Let's make this simple."

She raised her hand.

It was as though a wave crashed over me with a burst of energy.

I retreated, panting as heat tingled through my veins. It wasn't painful, but it was intense — like fire and lightning spreading through my body all at once.

My vision blurred. It was too heavy, too hot—my body.

And then it ended, as quickly as it started.

I went down on my knees, gasping.

Ronan took a step nearer to me but Amara held up a hand. "She's fine."

He paused and then retreated.

I gulped and looked up at her. "What the hell was that?"

Amara tilted her head. "I woke you up."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

She crouched before me, silver eyes bright. "Your power has been present in you all along. "It was just not what you were hearing."

My body still aflame, I clenched my fists. "That's not how it works."

Amara smirked. "Isn't it?"

I looked down at my hands.

There was a gentle glow pulsing under my skin.

I sucked in a sharp breath. "What—"

"Breathe," Amara instructed. "Feel it. Don't fight it."

I tried. I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth humming through my blood.

It felt like I had the moonlight inside of me — primitive and raw.

I didn't know what it meant.

But for the first time, I actually felt it.

Amara stood, satisfied. "Good. Now we can begin."

I exhaled shakily. "That wasn't beginning?"

She grinned. "Oh, little one. That was only part one."

I groaned.

This was going to be hell.

Fast pacing with action

Arden letting it rip

More chemistry (but little romantic tension) since Ronan and Amara were technically mentor & mentee

Control or Chaos

I was going to pass out.

Or explode.

Maybe both.

It was wildfire burning in my gut, buzzing under my skin, begging for release. But no one showed me how to release it.

The wraith Amara stalked the length of me, her silver eyes blade-sharp. "Stop fighting it."

I gritted my teeth. "I'm not fighting it."

She arched a brow. "Then why the hell do you look like you're going to faint?"

Ugh, I said, putting my hands to my knees. "Because you're asking me to do impossible stuff."

Amara sighed. "It only doesn't work if you say it don't work."

I glared at her. "Oh, great. A motivational speech. That'll fix everything."

Behind me, Ronan chuckled. "She's got a point."

I shot him a look. "You're not helping."

He smirked. "I never do."

Amara ignored both of us. "Again," she ordered.

I clenched my fists, attempting to feel whatever she needed me to. To take energy that is in me and carry it forth.

The ground shook beneath my feet. A faint light shone around my hands.

My chest tightened. It was working.

Then—

The impact hit me -- I was thrown back.

I collapsed on the pavement, gasping.

Ronan was right there with me. "You okay?"

I groaned. "Define okay."

Amara loomed over me, undaunted. "You let it control you. That's why you failed."

I scowled. "I wasn't about to let anything happen."

She tilted her head. "Then who was in charge? You… or the power?"

I swallowed hard, gazing at my hands. They tingled still, the warmth faded.

She was right.

I wasn't controlling it.

It was controlling me.

Ronan tugged me up, his grip firm. "You're going to get it," he whispered.

I exhaled. "What if I don't?"

Amara's silver eyes gleamed. "Then Kael wins."

The words hit like ice water.

No. I couldn't let that happen.

I took a breath, preparing myself. "Again."

Amara smirked. "Good girl."

Tales and tales, and tales too.

Arden getting more powerful, but not in control yet

Ronan and Amara's antagonistic dynamic and tough loved one