"So, this is it? You're a werewolf, Damien?"
His jaw clenched, his gray eyes stormy with emotions he tried to hide.
He didn’t deny it. Instead, he stared at the flickering flames of the bonfire before us, the shadows of the rogue pack moving restlessly around it.
"You act surprised, Evanna. As if the blood and claws weren’t enough clues." His tone was sharp, but beneath the sarcasm, I caught a hint of unease.
I folded my arms across my chest, the crisp night air biting at my skin. The dense forest loomed around us, a stark contrast to the urban chaos I was used to.
Damien had led me here after the bloody confrontation in the alley, promising answers. What he’d delivered instead was a revelation that made my blood run cold.
"You’ve dragged me into this mess without even a warning," I snapped, my voice rising despite the presence of the others. "Werewolves? Rogue packs? And now you want me to trust you?"
"Trust me, or don’t. It won’t change the fact that Lucien is playing you like a pawn." His words were a slap in the face, yet they rang with a truth I couldn’t ignore.
Around the bonfire, the rogue werewolves watched us with predatory curiosity. Their leader, a woman with silver hair and a scar running across her cheek, stepped forward.
"Damien, does this human know what she’s walked into?" she asked, her voice laced with disdain.
Her eyes flicked to me, cold and calculating, as if deciding whether I was worth the air I breathed.
"She’s not just any human," Damien replied, his voice firm. "Evanna has something Lucien wants—badly. And we’re going to use that to bring him down."
My heart pounded as his words sank in. I was a tool, a bargaining chip in a war I didn’t fully understand.
The silver-haired leader narrowed her eyes, her lips curling into a sneer. "You’re risking all of us for her?" she spat. "Do you even know if she’s strong enough to survive this?"
"She’s stronger than she looks," Damien said, his gaze never leaving mine. "But that’s not the point. Lucien betrayed all of us—werewolves, rogues, and humans alike. If we don’t stand together, we’ll all fall apart."
The tension crackled like the flames between us. I felt their eyes on me, their judgment heavy and unrelenting.
I wanted to scream, to demand why my life had turned into this twisted nightmare. But instead, I swallowed my fear and stepped closer to Damien.
"If you think I’m just going to be your bait, think again," I said, my voice steady despite the chaos in my chest. "If I’m in this, I want answers. All of them."
He smiled then, a rare, fleeting expression that softened the hard lines of his face. "That’s the spirit," he said.
Before I could respond, the wind shifted, carrying a scent that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The others stiffened, their noses twitching as they caught it too.
"Lucien’s close," the silver-haired woman growled. "You’ve led him straight to us, Damien."
Panic surged through me, but Damien grabbed my wrist, his grip grounding me. "Run," he ordered, his voice low and urgent.
"No!" I snapped back. "I’m not leaving you again."
A deep, guttural howl pierced the night, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps crashing through the underbrush.
"You don’t have a choice," he said, pulling me toward the shadows.
But before we could move, a searing pain shot through my body. I cried out, clutching my sides as my vision blurred.
"Evanna!" Damien’s voice broke through the haze, frantic and disbelieving.
My knees hit the ground, and I doubled over as the pain intensified. It was as if my very bones were shifting, my skin burning from the inside out.
Around me, the rogue werewolves murmured in astonishment, their hostility replaced by something resembling awe.
"What’s happening to her?" one of them asked.
"It can’t be," another whispered.
Through the agony, I caught Damien’s horrified expression. "Evanna," he said, his voice trembling. "You’re… changing."
The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was the reflection of the fire in Damien’s eyes—filled with fear and something else I couldn’t name.
And then, silence.
