The moment the silver light faded, the forest erupted.
Every possessed wolf in the clearing turned toward Kella at the same time.
Their black eyes burned like dark flames.
They had stopped attacking the warriors.
Stopped attacking Damon.
Now they wanted her.
Kella felt the shift instantly.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
"They're coming for me," she whispered.
Damon's expression hardened with deadly intensity.
"No one touches her."
But the shadow had already made its move.
The possessed wolves lunged.
All at once.
"RUN!" Damon roared.
Kella didn't hesitate.
She turned and sprinted toward the tree line, her boots barely touching the ground as adrenaline surged through her body.
Behind her, the clearing exploded with snarls and thunderous footsteps.
Damon shifted instantly, his massive black wolf tearing through the attacking wolves to reach her.
But the possessed wolves were faster than before.
The shadow controlling them had adapted.
Three wolves broke away from Damon and chased Kella into the forest.
Branches snapped beneath their weight as they pursued her through the darkness.
Kella ran harder.
Her lungs burned.
Her mind raced.
Think.
She had pushed the corruption out of one wolf earlier.
But she hadn't understood how.
It had just happened.
Another snarl echoed behind her.
Closer now.
Kella glanced back just in time to see one of the wolves leap.
She dropped low instinctively.
The wolf sailed over her and crashed into a tree.
But two more wolves were already closing in.
Their black eyes glowed in the moonlight.
Kella stumbled back against a large stone, her breathing ragged.
"I can't fight three wolves," she muttered.
The first wolf circled her slowly.
Foam dripped from its jaws.
The shadow inside it twisted the creature's movements into something unnatural.
"You're not yourselves," she whispered sadly.
But the wolves didn't hear her.
They attacked.
The first wolf lunged straight for her throat.
Kella threw up her arms instinctively.
And something inside her broke open.
Silver light exploded from her body again.
But this time it didn't just flash.
It spread.
Moonlight spilled outward in a wide circle, illuminating the forest like dawn.
The attacking wolf froze mid-air.
The other two wolves staggered as if something had struck them.
Kella gasped.
"What…?"
The silver energy pulsed again.
But now she could feel it.
It wasn't just power.
It was connection.
Her mind suddenly touched the wolves' minds.
She felt their fear.
Their confusion.
Their pain.
And beneath it all…
The cold shadow controlling them.
Kella's eyes widened.
"I can reach them…"
The shadow inside the wolves reacted violently.
The wolves howled in agony as black smoke-like energy writhed inside their bodies.
It was trying to fight her.
Kella clenched her fists.
"No."
The silver light brightened.
Her voice changed slightly — deeper, echoing with something ancient.
"Release them."
The moonlight poured into the wolves like water.
The first wolf collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Its black eyes faded back to their natural gold.
The second wolf staggered, whimpering softly.
The third one resisted harder.
The shadow pushed back violently.
The wolf's body convulsed as the darkness fought to stay.
Kella's head throbbed painfully.
The connection strained.
Then suddenly—
A massive black wolf burst through the trees.
Damon.
He slammed into the resisting wolf with brutal force, pinning it to the ground.
But he didn't kill it.
Instead he held it still.
"Do it!" Damon growled.
Kella understood instantly.
She stepped forward slowly.
Her silver aura flickered like living moonlight.
She knelt beside the struggling wolf.
The shadow hissed inside the creature's mind.
Kella placed her hand on its head.
Her eyes glowed bright silver.
"You don't belong here."
The lunar power surged again.
This time it flowed directly through her hand.
The black smoke burst out of the wolf's eyes and mouth like a scream.
Then vanished into the air.
The wolf collapsed unconscious.
The forest fell silent.
Kella stared down at the three freed wolves in shock.
"I… did it."
Damon shifted back into human form beside her.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
His golden eyes were filled with something new.
A mixture of awe…
And pride.
"You didn't just free them," he said quietly.
"You purified them."
Kella blinked.
"What does that mean?"
Before Damon could answer—
A chilling whisper slid through the forest.
Not from any wolf.
Not from the wind.
From beneath the earth.
Lunar child…
Kella froze.
Damon's expression darkened instantly.
The voice continued.
You interfere…
The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
You delay what must come…
Kella gripped Damon's arm.
"You heard that too, right?"
"Yes."
His voice was dangerously calm.
The shadow had spoken directly to them.
Which meant one thing.
It was growing stronger.
Damon looked down at the freed wolves.
"They're safe now."
Kella nodded slowly.
"But the shadow isn't done."
"No."
Damon looked toward the deeper forest where the darkness thickened.
"It's learning."
Kella's silver aura flickered faintly.
"And so am I."
For the first time since the ritual…
Damon smiled slightly.
Because the shadow had made one mistake.
It thought Kella was just Damon's mate.
But now they knew the truth.
She wasn't just a Luna.
She was something far more dangerous to the darkness.
A Lunar purifier.
And the war beneath the land had just begun.