"They're here to kill you."
The words echoed in my mind, cold and impossible.
"No…" I shook my head, stumbling back. "That's not true. They wouldn't—"
A deafening howl cut through the night.
Closer.
Too close.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
"They think you're a threat now," he continued calmly, as if we were discussing something trivial. "A rejected wolf who survived… and ran into forbidden territory?"
Another howl.
Then another.
Surrounding us.
My breath quickened.
"They wouldn't kill their own," I insisted, though my voice tremble. "I'm still part of the pack—"
"Not anymore."
His voice was sharp this time.
Final.
"You lost that the moment your Alpha rejected you."
The truth hit harder than I wanted to admit.
Before I could respond—
Branches snapped.
Shadows moved between the trees.
And then they emerged.
Four wolves.
Massive.
Familiar.
My chest tightened painfully.
"I know them…" I whispered.
They shifted.
One by one, their wolf forms twisted and reshaped into human bodies.
And I wished they hadn't.
Because I recognized every face.
"Lira."
The voice was cold.
Emotionless.
It belonged to Rylan—the Beta.
The same man who used to train me.
The same man who once told me I had potential.
Now, his eyes held nothing but disgust.
"You shouldn't have run," he said.
My throat went dry.
"Rylan… please," I stepped forward slightly. "I didn't do anything wrong. I just—"
"Enough."
The word snapped like a whip.
"You were rejected," he continued. "That alone weakens the pack. But then you ran into the forbidden land?"
His gaze flickered briefly to the man behind me.
And for the first time—
I saw fear.
Real fear.
"…you've brought shame to us," he finished.
My chest tightened.
"I didn't bring anything—"
"You brought risk."
The other wolves shifted uneasily, their attention darting toward the Cursed King.
None of them moved closer.
None of them dared.
Good.
Because neither did I.
"Orders are clear," Rylan said coldly. "You don't return."
My heart pounded.
"…what orders?"
He didn't hesitate.
"To eliminate the threat."
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
The world tilted slightly as the words sank in.
They weren't here to bring me back.
They weren't here to talk.
They were here to kill me.
"Rylan…" my voice broke. "You can't mean that. You know me."
"I knew you," he corrected.
That hurt more than the rejection.
More than the bond breaking.
Because this—
This was final.
I took a step back, my body trembling.
"I won't go with you," I said, forcing strength into my voice.
A mistake.
Because something in his expression hardened.
"Then you die here."
The words fell like a sentence.
Final.
Irreversible.
The wolves behind him began to shift again, bones cracking, muscles expanding as they returned to their wolf forms.
Massive.
Deadly.
Their eyes locked onto me.
Hunting.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't think.
My body felt frozen—
Until suddenly—
A hand wrapped around my wrist.
Warm.
Firm.
Pulling me back.
"Stay behind me."
His voice.
Low.
Commanding.
The Cursed King, stepped forward, placing himself between me and them.
My heart shuttered.
"You shouldn't interfere," Rylan warned, his voice tight with tension. "This is pack business."
A soft, dangerous chuckle escaped him.
"Pack business?" the Cursed King repeated. "You entered my territory."
His voice dropped.
Cold.
Deadly.
"That makes it my business."
The air shifted.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Even the wolves hesitated.
Rylan's jaw tightened.
"…we don't want conflict with you."
"Then leave."
Simple.
Direct.
But no one moved.
Because we all knew—
It wouldn't be that easy.
Rylan's gaze flicked to me.
Then back to him.
"…she comes with us," he said finally.
The Cursed King didn't even look back at me.
But his grip on my wrist tightened slightly.
"No."
One word.
Absolute.
A growl ripped through the clearing.
The wolves lunged.
Everything happened at once.
A blur of movement.
A flash of claws.
And then—
Blood.
I gasped as the Cursed King moved faster than I could follow, his body colliding with the first wolf mid-air. The impact alone sent it crashing into a tree with a sickening crack.
The others didn't hesitate.
They attacked.
But he—
He was something else entirely.
Stronger.
Faster.
Unstoppable.
Within seconds, the forest erupted into chaos.
Snarls.
Crashes.
Pain.
I stumbled back, my heart racing as I watched the fight unfold.
He was winning.
Easily.
Too easily.
And that terrified me more than anything.
Because if he could do this to them…
What could he do to me?
"Focus."
The voice wasn't his.
It was inside me.
Soft.
Familiar.
My wolf.
For the first time…
I hear her clearly.
"Don't just stand there."
My breath caught.
"I—I don't know how—"
"Feel it."
A sudden urge of heat spread through my chest.
Stronger than before.
Wild.
Uncontrolled.
My hands trembled as energy built inside me, pulsing through my veins like fire.
"What is this…?" I whispered.
A wolf broke through the fight.
Charging straight at me.
I froze.
Too slow.
Too weak—
"Now."
The voice snapped inside me.
Something inside me snapped too.
The fear.
The hesitation.
Gone.
Replaced by something else.
Power.
Raw.
Explosive.
My eyes widened as the energy surged outward—
And the wolf—
Was thrown back mid-air, as if hit by an invisible force.
It crashed hard into the ground, sliding several feet before going still.
Silence fell.
Even the Cursed King stopped.
All eyes turned to me.
My chest rose and fell rapidly.
"What… did I just do…?"
No one answered.
But I felt it.
Deep inside me.
Something had awakened.
Something dangerous.
And judging by the look in his crimson eyes—
He knew exactly what it was.