...The White Wolf...
The battlefield was no longer a place.
It was a nightmare made real.
Blood darkened the earth beneath their feet, sticky and warm, the scent choking the air. Rogues prowled in broken circles, snapping and snarling through foam-covered jaws. And at the edge of the forest, the tall twisted creatures crept closer, their bodies bending in ways that should not be possible, their burning eyes fixed on one single target....
Her...
Lorenzo stood in the center of the chaos like a god forged for war. His claws were soaked in crimson, his body littered with wounds he didn't even feel anymore. He had crossed the line between man and monster, between Alpha and executioner.
Yet still… they came.
More bodies. More teeth. More death.
And through the bond, Elena felt everything.
His pain. His exhaustion. His fury. And beneath it all ,a raw, suffocating fear.
Not of the enemies.
But of losing her.
Something inside her cracked under the weight of it.
No.
Not again.
Not another person she loved torn away in front of her eyes. Not another night of fire and screaming and darkness swallowing what little light she had left.
A strangled, soundless cry tore from her throat as her body began to shake.
....
Heat spread through her veins like wildfire. But this was not the fever of fear. It was ancient. Primal. Hot as the heart of the moon itself.
"Elena!" Lorenzo roared again, his voice breaking through the noise of battle. Another creature barreled toward her from the trees, its claws extended, mouth split open in a grotesque grin...
She fell to her knees, clutching at her chest as the air burned inside her lungs. Her heartbeat thundered so violently she thought it might tear her apart from the inside.
For years, she had been small.
Silent.
Broken.
But something ancient had been waiting… sleeping… buried beneath her trauma.
And now ...
It was waking up.
A silent scream ripped from her lips as a blinding silver light burst from her skin. Her bones twisted. Her body folded and shattered and rebuilt itself in a storm of raw, searing power.
Pain tore through her.
Then… freedom.
Where Elena had fallen, a massive white wolf now stood upon blood-soaked ground.
Her fur gleamed like moonlight on fresh snow. Her eyes glowed molten silver, filled with a power that was not of this world.
Silence fell like a curse.
Wolves. Rogues. Even the twisted creatures froze mid-attack.
"A… White Wolf…"
A whisper trembled through the night, thick with fear and reverence.
A legend.
A myth.
The Moon Goddess' chosen.
...
The white wolf lifted her head.
And howled.
The sound ripped through the night like a divine command. The earth vibrated. The moon above seemed to pulse in response. Silver light exploded from her paws, racing across the ground in waves of burning purity.
Rogues closest to her shrieked as their bodies ignited, flesh splitting and dissolving under her power. The twisted beings screamed, clawing at their own skin as if trying to tear the light from within them.
Lorenzo stood frozen, blood dripping from his hands.
Awe. Pain. Terror. Love.
All tangled inside his golden eyes.
His mate.
His silent, fragile Elena…
Had become a force even legends bowed to.
But then he saw it...
Her body trembled.
The light around her flickered violently, scorching even the air itself. Her power was too much. Too fast. Too strong for a body only just awakened to it.
"Elena!" He shifted back into human form, racing toward her. "Elena, stop! You'll burn alive!"
But the power wouldn't listen.
The White Wolf gave one final, agonizing howl before the light shattered ,and her body collapsed to the ground in a heap of pale skin and trembling limbs.
Lorenzo caught her before she struck the earth.
She was burning.
Her skin scorched with heat, her pulse wild, her breathing barely there.
He gathered her to his chest, ignoring the blood, the battle, the world.
"Stay with me…" his voice broke. "Please, Elena… I can't lose you too."
Around them, his warriors drove back the rest. The twisted creatures vanished into the darkness, retreating from a power they could not fight.
But he barely saw it.
All he saw was her.
Motionless. Pale. Silent.
For three days, she did not wake.
For three days, Lorenzo did not leave her side.
...
"The Goddess' Realm"
Elena wandered through a world of silver.
A sky with no sun. A breeze that did not touch the skin. White lilies stretched endlessly around her bare feet, glowing like fallen stars.
Then she saw Her.
The Moon Goddess.
She stood tall and radiant, formed of gentle light and untamed power. Her eyes were endless and kind… but carried the weight of centuries.
"My child," the Goddess spoke, her voice echoing through Elena's bones. "You have carried a silence carved by pain. A silence born in fire, sealed by fear."
Tears fell down Elena's cheeks. She opened her mouth. Tried to speak.
But no sound came.
The Goddess stepped closer, her fingers brushing Elena's throat in a touch that was warm and healing.
"Your voice was never gone. It was only buried beneath grief. Tonight, I lift that curse from you."
Silver light poured into her neck, filling cracks that had festered for years. Elena gasped as warmth flooded her body , and something uncoiled inside her chest.
"And your wolf," the Goddess whispered, her eyes shining, "is my chosen vessel. You are the White Wolf,the balance between shadow and light. Through you, darkness will fall. Through you, the packs will rise. And through you… your mate will become more than an Alpha."
The Goddess leaned down, her forehead touching Elena's.
"Speak now, child."
"Speak… and let the world remember you exist."
...
Elena's eyes flew open.
Air rushed into her lungs. Real air. Warm air. The scent of pine… blood… and him.
Her voice , unused, forgotten ,tore out of her like a broken sob.
"…Lorenzo…"
He froze.
Slowly, as if afraid to move too fast and lose her again, his golden eyes lifted to her face. Hope and disbelief and raw emotion broke through his hard Alpha mask.
"Say it again," he whispered, his voice shaking.
Tears streamed down her temples as she touched his cheek ,solid, warm, real.
"Lorenzo… I'm here."
And in that moment…
The strongest Alpha in the realm broke.
He pulled her into his arms, holding her as though the world might tear her away at any second, his breath ragged against her hair.
"You came back to me," he murmured, his voice thick. "My fierce, impossible girl… you came back."
And Elena, the silent girl who had once been nothing but broken shadows and fear…
Finally had a voice.
And a destiny.
...