The forest exploded into chaos.
Rogue wolves lunged from every direction, their eyes glowing with unnatural darkness. Their claws tore at the air, teeth snapping, bodies hitting the ground with thunderous force.
Kael shifted again mid-air, his Alpha aura bursting like a shockwave. His silver fur blazed with power as he threw himself into the front lines, meeting the first rogue head-on. Their bodies collided with a sickening thud.
"Arin, stay behind me!" Kael barked through their mental link.
Arin tried — she really did — but something inside her chest was no longer quiet. Something old, something angry, something awakening.
The Eclipse Beast slammed into a group of rogues, tossing them aside like broken branches. Its roar shook the sky, but even it looked tense — as if sensing what was about to happen to Arin.
A rogue broke through the front line and came straight for her.
Arin stumbled backward.
Before she could scream, the rogue wolf lunged for her throat, jaws wide—
A burst of white light erupted from Arin's hands.
The rogue was thrown backward, crashing into a tree so hard the trunk split.
The clearing fell silent.
Even Kael froze.
Arin stared at her hands — glowing softly like moonlit fire.
"What… what is happening to me?" she whispered, voice shaking.
Kael's wolf turned sharply toward her, eyes wide in shock.
"You awakened," he growled through their link.
"But awakened what?!"
There was no time for answers.
Another rogue rushed her. Arin raised her hands again instinctively, and the energy inside her pulsed. But this time the light didn't fire outward — instead, it wrapped around her like a shield.
The rogue's claws hit her barrier and sparked violently, the wolf thrown back with a yelp.
Kael stepped protectively in front of her, teeth bared.
"No wolf can create that kind of shield," he snarled. "Not even Alphas."
The rogue leader strode forward, his grin twisted and evil.
"So it's true," he hissed. "The Bloodline is awakening."
Arin's voice trembled. "Why are you after me? What am I to you?"
"You," the rogue leader growled, "are the last heir to the Blood Moon Throne. The only one who can command the Eclipse Beasts… and the only one who can destroy us."
Arin's heart dropped.
Destroy them? She didn't even know how she survived her childhood.
Kael shifted back into human form beside her, placing himself between her and the rogues. His voice was deadly calm.
"She's under my protection."
The rogue leader laughed. "Your protection ends tonight, Alpha Kael."
He lifted his hand.
The rogues rushed forward in one massive wave.
Kael's body glowed with silver light as he prepared to fight them all. "Arin, stay behind—"
But Arin didn't.
The energy inside her burst uncontrollably. She screamed as the power spread through her chest, down her arms, into the ground.
A ring of brilliant white moonlight erupted beneath her feet.
It expanded outward in every direction like a shockwave.
Rogue wolves were thrown back violently — hitting trees, rocks, the ground. Some shifted back into human form, groaning in pain. Others whimpered, unable to stand.
Kael shielded his eyes from the blinding light. "Arin! Stop! You'll burn out your body!"
"I—I can't!" Arin cried.
The Eclipse Beast crouched beside her, curling its massive body around her like a guardian shield.
Her power surged again, the ground cracking beneath her feet.
"Arin! Listen to me!" Kael's voice broke through the noise. "Look at me!"
She lifted trembling eyes toward him.
Kael stepped closer, ignoring the sparks ripping through the air. His voice softened, steady, grounding.
"You're not alone. You're not a weapon. You're not something to be hunted."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"Just breathe. Focus on me."
Arin took a shaking breath.
The light wavered.
Again.
The glow dimmed.
And finally—
It dissolved.
Arin collapsed forward, exhausted. Kael caught her before she hit the ground, his arms warm and strong around her.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I don't… understand any of this."
Kael held her carefully, eyes filled with something between fear and determination.
"You're not just some runaway girl, Arin," he murmured.
"You're something dangerous. Something rare. Something powerful."
Arin weakly shook her head. "But I don't want to be any of that."
Kael's grip tightened.
"You don't have a choice. Because after tonight…"
He looked around the clearing — the unconscious rogues, the trembling trees, the shattered earth.
"…every supernatural creature in this world will come looking for you."