Chapter 5
1102 Words
ELARA'S POV
The testing room was cold and smelled like metal and old blood and I hated everything about this already.
Three pack elders I'd never seen before stood around me in a circle and none of them looked friendly.
"Strip," one of them said.
"Excuse me," I said.
"We need to examine the transformation marks," the elder said like it was obvious. "Silver Alphas develop patterns on their skin, we need to verify they're authentic."
"I'm not taking my clothes off," I said.
"Then you forfeit your right to the children," Marcus said from the door.
Of course he was still here.
"You said neutral parties only," I said.
"I'm observing to ensure protocol is followed," he said with that smug smile I wanted to punch off his face.
"Fine," I said and started pulling off my shirt but kept my bra on. "This is as far as I go."
The elders moved closer and my new wolf surged forward, she didn't like this at all, didn't like being surrounded and touched by wolves she didn't trust.
"Hold still," one elder said and pressed his hand to my shoulder blade.
My wolf snarled and silver light just exploded out of me and all three elders went flying backward into the walls with a loud sound.
"Interesting," Marcus said. "She can't control it at all."
"I'm fine," I snapped even though I was shaking. "They surprised me."
"Silver Alphas who can't control their power are considered dangerous," Marcus said. "Dangerous wolves can't be guardians."
"That's not in any pack law I know," I said.
"It's in the ancient laws," he said. "The ones that govern Lycan heirs."
Of course it was.
The elders got up looking pissed and one had blood running from his nose.
"The transformation is authentic," the bleeding one said. "She's definitely a Silver Alpha."
"Excellent," Marcus said. "Now we test her power levels."
"That wasn't part of the deal," I said.
"The testing includes power assessment," Marcus pulled out that paper again. "It's mandatory."
I looked at the door and wondered if I could just run but then they'd use that against me at the hearing.
"What do I have to do," I asked.
"Shift," Marcus said simply.
"I've never shifted," I said. "I was wolfless remember?"
"Not anymore," he said. "So shift."
"I don't know how."
"Then figure it out," Marcus said. "You have five minutes or we mark you as unable to complete assessment."
Five minutes to do something I'd literally never done in my entire life, great, just great.
I closed my eyes and reached for my wolf and she was right there, huge and pissed off.
"I need your help," I told her in my head.
She pushed forward so hard I gasped and suddenly my bones started breaking and oh god this hurt, this hurt so bad, shifts weren't supposed to feel like this.
I screamed and fell to my knees as my body tried to reshape itself and nothing was working right.
"She's fighting it," one elder said.
"She'll kill herself if she keeps resisting," another added.
"Let go," Marcus said and he actually sounded worried which was weird for him.
"Elara you need to let the wolf take over."
But I couldn't because my wolf was too strong and too wild and if I let her out I didn't know if I could pull her back in.
The pain got worse and I felt something in my spine snap and I couldn't breathe couldn't think couldn't do anything and it hurt badly.
And then I felt it through the bond, Kade pulling at me from far away, trying to send me strength even though he wasn't supposed to be able to reach me from this distance.
I grabbed onto that feeling and pulled hard.
The shift completed all at once and suddenly I was on four legs looking at everything different, smelling different, hearing heartbeats from three rooms away.
"Magnificent," Marcus said. "A true Silver Alpha wolf."
I looked down and saw silver fur covering my body, pure silver like fresh snow, and I'd never seen a wolf this color before.
"Now show us your power," Marcus pointed to this wooden dummy in the corner shaped like a wolf. "Attack that."
My wolf moved without me thinking and power just exploded out and the dummy didn't just break, it turned into dust and the wall behind it cracked straight through.
"Incredible," one elder said.
"Even stronger than the legends," another added.
"Strong enough to be dangerous," Marcus said quietly and something in his tone made my wolf's ears go back.
That's when I heard it.
Screaming.
Luna.
I could hear Luna screaming from miles away and it was wrong, something was so wrong with how she sounded.
I shifted back without meaning to and someone threw a blanket at me.
"My daughter," I said. "Something's wrong I can hear her."
"You're hearing things," Marcus said. "This facility is soundproofed."
"I can hear her screaming," I said and wrapped the blanket around myself fast.
"Silver Alphas experience auditory hallucinations after first shift," Marcus said. "It's normal."
"That's not a hallucination," I said and ran for the door.
Marcus tried to block me but I shoved him and he actually flew backward because I was stronger than him now, way stronger.
I ran through the halls following Luna's screams that only I could hear, out of the building, across the territory, toward where I'd left my babies.
And then I saw it and my heart just stopped.
The medical wing was on fire, actual flames shooting out the windows, people running everywhere screaming.
And I couldn't feel Kade through the bond anymore, couldn't feel anything except pure terror.
I ran faster than I'd ever run and burst through the smoke filled entrance.
"LUNA," I screamed. "KAI."
No answer, just smoke and fire and my daughter's screams getting louder in my head.
I followed the sound up the stairs to where we'd left them and the door was blown completely off its hinges.
Inside the room was destroyed, chairs broken, walls cracked, blood splattered everywhere.
Raine was on the floor unconscious.
Damon was slumped against the wall not moving.
And Kade was lying in a pool of blood with a knife in his chest.
But my children were gone.
Just gone.
I felt my wolf rise up and when I screamed it came out as this horrible howl that shattered every window in the building.
Someone had taken my babies.
And I was going to burn the whole world down to get them back.
- Writer
