I felt it before it happened.
Not a sound.
Not a movement.
A shift.
Subtle.
Wrong.
The palace was too quiet.
Too still.
Even the guards outside my door—
Their breathing had changed.
Slower.
Heavier.
Like something was coming.
I stood in the center of the room, unmoving.
Listening.
Waiting.
"You're learning."
The voice.
Calm.
Satisfied.
"I feel it," I whispered.
"Of course you do."
A pause.
Then—
"They're coming."
My pulse quickened.
Not fear.
Preparation.
"How many?"
A soft laugh.
"Enough."
The lights flickered.
The fire in the fireplace dimmed—
Then went out completely.
Darkness swallowed the room.
And then—
The door exploded open.
Wood shattered.
Splinters flew.
Three figures rushed in.
Fast.
Silent.
Deadly.
Not guards.
Not normal wolves.
Assassins.
Of course.
The Council didn't waste time.
"End her."
The command was cold.
Efficient.
Final.
They moved instantly.
One lunged.
I reacted.
Not thinking.
Just moving.
My body shifted to the side—
Too fast.
Faster than I should have been.
The first attack missed.
Barely.
I grabbed his arm.
Instinct.
And something inside me—
Snapped.
Power surged.
Wild.
Uncontrolled.
The moment I touched him—
He screamed.
A raw, broken sound.
His body convulsed—
Then he was thrown back.
Hard.
Crashing into the wall.
Silence.
One down.
The other two didn't hesitate.
Good.
I didn't want them to.
"Better," the voice whispered.
"Now don't hold back."
I didn't plan to.
The second attacker came from the left.
Fast.
Precise.
Trained.
But I was faster now.
Stronger.
Different.
I turned.
Caught his wrist.
Twisted—
Too easily.
Bone cracked.
He hissed.
Tried to recover—
Too late.
My other hand slammed into his chest.
And the moment it did—
The mark flared.
Violently.
Dark veins spread under my skin.
The power surged—
Not outward.
Into him.
He froze.
Eyes wide.
Terrified.
Because he felt it.
Whatever I was—
He felt it.
"What—"
His voice broke.
Then—
He dropped.
Lifeless.
Silence.
Heavy.
The last one hesitated.
Just for a second.
Enough.
Because now—
They understood.
I wasn't prey.
I wasn't weak.
I wasn't what they expected.
I stepped forward.
Slow.
Controlled.
"You came to kill me."
My voice wasn't fully mine.
Not anymore.
The last assassin tightened his grip on his weapon.
Desperate.
"Monster."
The word landed.
But it didn't hurt.
Not anymore.
"Maybe."
I tilted my head slightly.
"But you still came."
He attacked.
Fast.
Desperate.
Wrong.
I didn't move.
Not immediately.
I let him come closer.
Closer.
Closer—
Then—
I caught the blade.
Barehanded.
The metal cut into my skin.
But I didn't feel it.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Nothing.
The mark burned.
The power surged.
And his eyes widened.
Because he saw it.
Because he understood.
Too late.
I tightened my grip.
The blade shattered.
Like glass.
Silence.
Absolute.
I stepped closer.
One step.
Then another.
Until I stood right in front of him.
Close enough to see the fear.
Real fear.
Good.
Because now—
They knew.
"You should have stayed away," I said quietly.
Then—
I touched him.
And everything ended.
Silence.
Heavy.
Breathing.
Mine.
Only mine.
The room was destroyed.
Again.
Bodies on the ground.
Broken.
Still.
Dead.
I stood in the center of it.
Unmoving.
Unshaken.
Unrecognizable.
"What… am I becoming…?"
"You're not becoming," the voice said softly.
"You're remembering."
My chest tightened.
Remembering?
Before I could ask—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Heavy.
Familiar.
Kael.
He entered the room like a storm.
Stopped instantly.
Took everything in.
The destruction.
The bodies.
Me.
His eyes locked onto mine.
Sharp.
Assessing.
Dangerous.
"You were attacked."
Not a question.
A statement.
I didn't respond.
Didn't move.
Didn't explain.
Because I didn't need to.
He saw it.
All of it.
The power still lingering in the air.
The aftermath.
The truth.
"They sent assassins into my palace."
His voice dropped.
Cold.
Deadly.
That wasn't anger.
That was something worse.
War.
"They didn't come for you," I said.
"They came for me."
A pause.
Then—
He stepped closer.
Slow.
Controlled.
But I felt it.
That shift.
That tension.
That something darker.
"They touched what belongs to me."
The words hit.
Hard.
Possessive.
Dangerous.
Wrong.
My jaw tightened.
"I don't belong to you."
He didn't react the way I expected.
Didn't argue.
Didn't deny.
Instead—
He stepped even closer.
Too close.
Always too close.
"You're in my territory," he said quietly.
"And now…"
A pause.
Heavy.
Final.
"You're under my protection."
My pulse quickened.
That wasn't control.
Not fully.
Not anymore.
That was something else.
Something deeper.
Something dangerous.
"I didn't ask for it."
"You don't have to."
Silence.
Again.
But this time—
Different.
Because now—
Everything had changed.
This wasn't just about power.
Or control.
Or survival.
This was war.
And I was at the center of it.
Kael's gaze dropped briefly to the bodies.
Then back to me.
And for the first time—
There was no doubt.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Only one thing.
Decision.
"They made their move."
His voice was low.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"Now I make mine."
My breath hitched.
Because whatever came next—
Would change everything.