Riley’s POV


    The moment Kael grabbed my arm, <b>yelling </b>at me to stop, something inside me snapped.


    All the anger, the betrayal, the years of silent suffering–everything exploded at once.


    I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate.


    I hurled the ashtray with all the rage I’d bottled inside for years.


    It struck Kael square in the forehead.


    A dull crack.


    A ssh of blood.


    He staggered backward, clutching his face, blood streaming down between his fingers. The look in his eyes wasn’t just shock-


    it <b>was </b>fear.


    Good. He should be afraid.


    But I wasn’t done. Not even close.


    I turned my gaze to Scarlett.


    She was cowering on the floor, blood already matting her golden hair, smearing across her jaw where I’dnded the first


    blows.


    But the sight didn’t satisfy me.


    It infuriated me.


    She was still breathing,


    I <b>lunged</b>.


    mmed into her. My fists rained down like a storm unleashed–left, right, left–each strike more <b>vicious </b>than thest. I didn’t care about the blood, the sound of bone beneath skin, the gasps from the others.


    She shrieked, tried to curl into a ball, but I grabbed her by the hair and mmed her head against the marble floor.


    “You think you can ruin me and get away with it?” I snarled, not even sure if it was my voice or Nyra’s anymore. “You drugged me. You framed me. <b>You </b>took everything.”


    “Riley, stop! You’ll kill her!”


    That was Luna Zara’s voice. Distant, Powerless.


    I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.


    I wasn’t Riley anymore


    Nyra had risen.


    I felt here to the surface like a tidal wave, crashing through my bones.


    My body stretched unnaturally, bones cracking, fur erupting across my skin, my fingers lengthening into ws. Painnced through me, but I weed it. It felt right.


    I felt <b>like </b>freedom.


    Casps exploded all around the room.


    She’s–oh Goddess–she’s shifting!”


    +8 Pearls


    “No one told me she was <b>a</b>–wait, is <b>that- </b>


    “She’s a white wolf!”


    I could hear them. I wanted them to <b>hear</b><b>. </b>


    Because I wasn’t just any wolf.


    I was the forbidden <b>kind</b><b>. </b>The <b>kind </b>whispered about <b>in </b>old scrolls and elders’ fireside tales. The white–furred omen-


    Pure–blooded. Cursed. Untamed.


    And now they <b>had </b>awakened me.


    I turned to them, letting my words echo through the <b>mind</b>–link.


    “Dark magic potions don’t turn anyone into <b>a </b>white wolf.”


    –


    Nyra howled a sound <b>that </b>split the <b>air </b>and made the very walls tremble. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ss chandelier above us. The lights flickered.


    Everyone froze.


    Even Alpha ric–stone–faced and alwaysposed–<b>took </b><b>an </b>unconscious step back. Luna Zara’s lips parted in disbelief. Warriors around the hall stiffened, their hands halfway to their weapons but <b>unable </b>to move.


    I turned on Scarlett.


    She whimpered beneath me, trembling like prey sensing death. Her golden wolf should have burst through her skin by now -any true–blooded she wolf would’ve transformed in the face of danger. But Scarlett justy there.


    Still human.


    Pitiful. Weak.


    And that <b>was </b>when I realized it.


    “She can’t shift,” Nyra sneered through me. “She <b>never </b>could,”


    Scarlett shook her head, sobbing. “No–no, 1-1 can–<b>just </b>not now, not here-


    Lies.


    All lies.


    Maybe her wolf was stunted. Maybe her bloodline <b>was </b>impure. Maybe she’d sold her soul for magic that suppressed her true


    form


    But she was <b>no </b>warrior<b>. </b>She <b>wasn’t </b>even a wolf. Just a spoiled little girl who thought power was inherited like jewelry.


    I raised my <b>ws</b>, curved and glowing faintly in the chandelier light.


    One final <b>strike</b>. A <b>kill </b>blow. Justice for the years she stole from me.


    “Don’t do this!” someone screamed.


    But I was already longing


    Then–pain


    White–hot


    Something pierced <b>my </b>side with <b>a </b>sickening thunk. A sharp sting spr


    I stumbled, my vision blurring


    <b>like </b>wildfire through my bloodstream.


    My head snapped toward the source. Luna Zara. Standing there, arm extended, a silver injector in hand. Her fingers trembled, her lips moving silently in some prayer or curse,


    The <b>suppressant</b>.


    I felt it immediately.


    Like ice flooding my <b>veins</b>. Like Nyra being ripped from my body. She snarled, thrashing inside me, refusing to go down without a light..


    But even she couldn’t resist the venomced in silver.


    My transformation reversed. My bones cracked again–this time in agony. Fur receded. Strength fled. My body copsed. Naked. Vulnerable. Trembling.


    The floor beneath me <b>was </b>slick with blood–hers, mine, maybe both.


    Scarlett crawled away, barely <b>able </b>to move, leaving a trail behind her like <b>a </b>wounded animal.


    No one reached for ine


    Not ric. Not Kael. Not Zara,


    They stared at <b>me </b>like I was some abomination.


    Only Mia ran forward, clutching a nket, tears streaking her face. She knelt beside me, her small hands shaking as she <b>covered </b>my bare <b>body</b>.


    “Riley she whispered, but I couldn’t answer. I was shaking too hard. Cold. Empty. Weak.


    But even in that darkness, one truth burned brighter than the pain.


    They had seen her.


    They had <b>all </b>seen Nyra.


    They saw what we could do when pushed.


    They wanted to treat me like a monster?


    Finc.


    Next time, I wouldn’t stop.


    Next time, not even a <b>Luna’s </b>syringe <b>would </b>save them.


    Send Gifts