Aurelia's POV
The forest held its breath.
Nightfall wolves burst into the clearing—massive, black-furred beasts with glowing red eyes. Their snarls tore through the cold night air, fangs glinting under fractured moonlight. My pulse hammered as they encircled us, growling low, hungry, certain.
Talon shifted his stance, water coiling around his arms like living serpents. "Aurelia, stay behind us."
Raffyn stepped forward, flames rising around him in a bright, furious arc. "Let them try."
Lucien's wings flickered into full celestial form—shimmering light feathered with shadows—as he positioned himself just behind me, ready to strike the moment anyone got too close.
But the wolves weren't looking at them.
They were looking at me.
My stomach twisted. I could feel something tugging in my chest—something ancient and electric, something that wanted to surge forward like a breaking dam.
"Aurelia," Talon said, voice sharp but calm, "look at me."
I tore my gaze from the wolves and met his. His blue eyes reflected moonlight and fear—not fear for himself, but for me.
"What you feel rising inside you," he said, "that's your magic responding to danger. Don't let it explode uncontrolled. Focus on one thing."
"One thing?" I breathed.
"Yes," Talon whispered. "Survive."
Before I could answer, a Nightfall wolf lunged at Raffyn.
Raffyn reacted instantly—fire roared from his fists, slamming into the wolf and sending it skidding across the dirt, howling in pain. Two others darted forward, jaws snapping.
Talon's water lashed out like blades, slicing through the air with deadly precision.
Lucien stepped around me, wings snapping open as he kicked a third wolf backward with supernatural force. His usually gentle eyes were now bright green fire—angelic fury rising.
"Aurelia!" Lucien called over the chaos, "your power is trying to protect you. Let it!"
"I don't know how!" I cried as another wolf bounded toward me.
Raffyn caught it mid-air, flames erupting violently. "You will," he growled. "Because if you don't—"
A massive wolf broke through the line and sprinted straight for me.
"—we can't hold them forever!"
Instinct screamed through my blood. Fear clawed at my lungs.
But beneath it—
something deeper thrummed.
Hot. Cold. Electric. Ancient.
A hum vibrated under my skin, building fast, too fast. "Talon!" I gasped. "Something's happening!"
He turned toward me, eyes widening. "Aurelia—don't fight it!"
But I was fighting it. I didn't know what it was. I didn't know if it would hurt them. I didn't know if it would hurt me.
The wolf leapt.
I screamed.
The power inside me snapped.
For a heartbeat, the world went silent.
And then everything exploded.
A shockwave burst from my body—blinding white light mixed with silver sparks, a force so strong it sent leaves swirling like a cyclone.
The impact hit the wolf mid-air, throwing it backwards with bone-cracking speed. Every Nightfall wolf surrounding us was blasted off their feet, crashing into trees, rocks, and the forest floor.
The ground vibrated under my boots. Trees shuddered. A ring of light pulsed outward from where I stood, shimmering across the ground like ripples on water.
I collapsed to my knees, gasping.
Raffyn was the first to run to me, crouching low, fire dimming on his skin. "Aurelia! Talk to me. What happened?"
"I—I don't know…" I panted. My fingertips glowed faintly, silver-white sparks flicking off them. "I didn't mean to—"
Lucien knelt beside me, voice trembling with awe. "You manifested magic."
Talon stood slowly, water swirling behind him as he scanned the blown-back wolves in disbelief. "Not just witch magic. Something… stronger."
I wrapped my arms around myself. "Did I hurt any of you?"
Raffyn cupped my jaw gently, forcing my eyes to meet his molten gold stare. "Sweetheart, if you were going to hurt us, that explosion would've done it."
Lucien nodded, brushing his thumb across my cheek. "Your magic knows us. It protected us."
Talon's voice dropped. "And it attacked everything else."
My breath shook. "That wasn't controlled. It felt like—like something inside me panicked."
Talon knelt beside me, placing his cool hand over mine. "Your instincts reacted because you're a hybrid. Witch magic doesn't like being suppressed. Wolf instinct doesn't like danger. You're both."
"And neither side knows how to behave yet," Lucien added softly.
A low groan echoed from one of the fallen Nightfall wolves. Another tried to stand but collapsed again. None were dead—but all were injured or unconscious.
Raffyn rose to his feet, scanning the treeline. "This was a scouting party. Small. They sent these wolves to grab her or test her power."
Lucien's wings flickered, dimming slowly as he folded them back. "Which means Jarek's still close."
Talon helped me stand. "We need to reach the safehouse before he realizes she's awakened."
My vision blurred at the edges. Exhaustion collapsed over me like a heavy cloak. "I don't… I don't know if I can walk."
Lucien slid an arm under my knees and another around my back. "Then I'll carry you."
My breath caught as he lifted me effortlessly, holding me against his chest. Angel-light flickered faintly above his shoulders again.
"I've got you," he murmured.
Raffyn rolled his eyes but didn't bother hiding the worry in his gaze. "Don't get used to it. I'm carrying her next time."
"You mean if she doesn't blast you through a tree first," Talon muttered.
Raffyn shot him a look. "She'll only blast me if I deserve it."
"You usually do," Talon replied.
Despite my fear, a tiny laugh escaped me.
But the moment didn't last.
The forest wind shifted—cold, sharp, unnatural.
Lucien stiffened. "He's near."
Talon's water froze mid-air. "I feel him too."
Raffyn's flames ignited at his feet. "Then move."
Lucien held me tighter as the three of them formed a protective formation—the angel-born, the water Alpha, and the fire Alpha guarding every direction.
Branches snapped somewhere behind us.
A low, chilling laugh drifted on the wind.
And a voice whispered—
"Aurelia…"
Lucien muttered a curse under his breath. "Run."
He sprinted forward through the trees, Talon and Raffyn flanking him like twin forces of nature.
My heart pounded as the shadows behind us grew thicker, faster, hunting us through the forest.
For the first time
in my life, I understood something terrifying:
I wasn't running from danger.
Danger was chasing me.
And it wouldn't stop until it claimed me.