Light Unleashed,Darkness Drawn.
991 Words
Smoke filled the sky as the trees behind the Kwenzi estate groaned under a sudden blaze. Eliana clutched Lucas’s arm as black figures darted between the shadows.
“They’re coming fast,” Lucas growled, eyes golden and glowing. “I need you to stay behind me.”
“No,” Eliana said, her voice steady despite the tremble in her hands. “I’m staying with you. I felt this moment in my dreams—I’m supposed to be here.”
Lucas turned to face her, conflict ripping through him. “If anything happens to you, I’ll never—”
A sharp screech cut through the trees.
They both looked up.
From the smoke emerged a creature—half-shadow, half-human—its face hidden by a cracked wolf mask. The Shadowbound leader.
It didn’t speak. It simply pointed at Eliana.
> “The light belongs to the Void.”
Lucas pushed her behind him. “Over my dead body.”
Inside the Mansion
Mrs. Kwenzi stared out the window, alarmed. Mr. Kwenzi stood calmly behind her.
“It’s started,” she said, fingers gripping the curtain.
“It was always going to,” he replied.
“Should we intervene?”
“No. Lucas must face this alone. If he can’t protect her now… the prophecy was a lie.”
Back in the Forest – Seconds Later
Two Shadowbound jumped from the bushes, blades drawn—strange black smoke coiling around their arms. Lucas moved fast, his body half-shifting, claws forming, canines bared.
He met the first attacker mid-air, slamming him into a tree with supernatural force.
Eliana gasped.
Lucas turned to her, voice rough. “Run!”
“No!” she screamed—and just then, the second attacker came charging toward her.
Instinct took over.
Eliana raised her hands—not to block, but to push.
A flash of white light burst from her chest, forming a wave that knocked the attacker clean off his feet and into a tree.
Everything went still.
Lucas blinked, stunned.
Eliana looked at her hands. “What… was that?”
Lucas’s voice was hoarse. “Your light. It’s waking.”
The Shadowbound Leader Growled
“Too soon…” the creature hissed, stepping forward. “She wasn’t supposed to ignite yet.”
Lucas stepped between them. “Then you planned this.”
“We plan everything, Alpha,” the masked figure replied. “Your rise… her awakening… the merge of light and wolf. We only came to delay it.”
Lucas lunged before the last word finished, fury exploding through him. He tackled the leader, claws slashing, snarling with fury. But the creature vanished in smoke, reappearing behind him with a smirk.
“You’re strong,” it hissed, “but she’s stronger. And that’s why she must be taken.”
Back at the Mansion – Reinforcements Arrive
Mr. Kwenzi spoke into a sleek communicator. “Initiate sweep protocol. No one touches the girl.”
A hidden team of guards—half-human, half-enhanced—emerged from the estate, charging toward the woods.
Eliana stood behind a tree, heart pounding.
Then she heard it.
> “Eliana…”
A voice. Inside her head. Soft. Female.
> “The wolf will break or become your shield. Choose him.”
She shook her head, confused.
Then screamed as another shadow appeared—only to be grabbed by Lucas mid-leap and thrown aside like paper.
He turned to her, panting.
“You’re not safe here.”
“I’m not leaving you!” she shouted, tears in her eyes.
A blade flew toward her chest.
Lucas dove between her and the weapon, catching it with his bare hand—blood spilling instantly.
His body trembled.
He couldn’t hold back the change anymore.
Transformation
Bones cracked.
Claws extended.
His back arched as the beast tore through.
His body grew taller, more muscular, more monstrous—yet still… him.
Eliana watched with wide, breathless eyes as fur sprouted, fangs glinted, and Lucas became something ancient and primal.
Still bleeding, he turned—now fully shifted.
Yet his golden eyes still recognized her.
“Lucas…” she whispered.
He growled low, not at her—but at the attackers.
In one swipe, he sent three Shadowbound flying.
His roar shook the trees.
Eliana’s heart broke and bloomed at once.
He wasn’t a monster.
He was protecting her.
The Shadowbound Leader Growled
“I see now… she tames you.”
Lucas stepped closer, fur bristling.
“You can’t kill her, and you’ll never control her,” he growled.
“I don’t need to control her,” the masked one said, retreating. “I only need her to complete the Eclipse.”
With that, the Shadowbound leader vanished in a spiral of smoke.
The remaining attackers melted into the shadows.
Silence returned.
Lucas stood still, chest heaving.
Eliana stepped forward slowly. “Can you… shift back?”
He looked at her for a moment—then his body shrank, bones snapping back into place until he dropped to his knees, panting, back in human form.
Naked, wounded, but alive.
She rushed to him, covering him with her shawl.
“Why did you shield me?” she asked through tears.
He touched her face gently. “Because if anything happened to you… the light in me would die.”
Later – In the Recovery Room
Lucas lay bandaged, bruised, but resting.
Eliana sat beside him, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest.
Then she looked at her hands again.
The power hadn’t left her.
It was still there—soft but waiting.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she whispered.
Lucas stirred. “Good. Because you might be the only one who isn’t.”
Somewhere Else – Ancient Temple
The Shadowbound leader knelt before a glowing altar.
“She’s awakening faster than expected,” he said.
A deeper voice replied.
> “Then bring her to us before the full moon. Or everything dies.”
- Writer
