Bella staggered backward, chest heaving, golden sparks still flickering from her fingertips. The strange man—no, werewolf, she realized—stood before her like a living statue. Towering. Muscular. Wild.
His bare chest gleamed with sweat under the pale moonlight. Tribal markings ran down his arms in black ink. His hair was shoulder-length, dark and tousled by the wind. His amber eyes weren't just wolfish—they were ancient.
"You're the one who lit up the forest," he said. "You woke something that should've stayed dead."
Bella's voice was barely a whisper.
"Who are you?"
"Call me Kael."He didn't offer a smile. Didn't blink."I'm with the Lykari Pack. We're the ones that clean up magical mistakes."
Bella's jaw clenched. "Is that what I am to you? A mistake?"
Kael's eyes narrowed. He took a step forward—and she instinctively raised a glowing hand, golden light crackling between her fingers.
"Back off," she hissed. "I'm not some helpless girl in the woods anymore."
Kael froze mid-step, his gaze flickering to her magic.
"That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered. "The Queen's power… you don't even understand what you've inherited."
"Try me."
He studied her, then slowly—deliberately—lowered his posture, crouching slightly, eyes scanning the tree line like a predator scenting danger.
"There's no time. The Volturi are already on their way. I caught the scent of two scouts about a mile from here. If they see what you did to this forest…"
He glanced at the circle of burnt trees still smoldering behind her.
"They'll kill you before you even know how to protect yourself."
Bella's pulse spiked. "Then teach me. Don't drag me away like some lost cub. I'm not running."
Kael growled. Literally. The sound rumbled from deep in his chest, like a wolf restrained by a leash of barely-contained frustration.
"You think this is about you?" he snapped. "You just reactivated a blood oath older than Forks itself. You burned the Veil. That's not just magic—that's forbidden magic. Every vampire coven, witch clan, and creature hiding in the cracks of this world will feel that ripple."
Bella's breath caught.
"What do they want from me?"
Kael stared into her eyes.
"They want your crown. Or your corpse."
Before she could respond, the air split with a scream.
Not a human scream.
Not an animal.
Something in-between.
Something ancient.
Bella's head jerked toward the sound—and her heart dropped.
A ripple of silver light broke through the forest, warping the trees like a heatwave. Mist poured in, unnaturally thick, crawling across the forest floor with purpose.
Kael's head snapped to the side.
"Too late."
From the fog, two shapes emerged—tall, ghostly figures draped in flowing black cloaks. Their faces were hidden beneath silver masks, their eyes glowing red like burning coals.
Bella stepped back.
"Volturi?" she whispered.
Kael didn't answer. He shifted forward, his muscles tensing.
"Run," he said.
"What—?"
"RUN!"
He lunged—not at Bella, but at the cloaked figures, transforming mid-air into a massive black wolf. Bones cracked. Flesh twisted. In an instant, Kael was fur and fury, fangs bared and claws gleaming under the moonlight.
Bella turned and bolted.
Her feet pounded the forest floor, every breath sharp and shallow. Branches tore at her clothes. Trees blurred past. The mist chased her, curling at her heels like it was alive.
Her power pulsed inside her like a second heartbeat, wild and hungry. She didn't know how to aim it. Didn't know how to control it. But it begged to be unleashed.
Behind her, she heard a roar.
Kael's roar.
Then a cry of pain.
No.
She skidded to a stop. Spun around. Her chest heaved as she looked back at the veil of fog.
Silence.
No growls. No footsteps. No light.
Just the whisper of mist curling around the edge of her boots like fingers beckoning her back.
Did they kill him?
Is he gone?
Her hands began to glow again.
And then—
A third figure emerged from the fog.
But it wasn't a Volturi. It wasn't Kael.
It was a woman.
She was tall, elegant, and barefoot. Her hair was silver-white, cascading down to her waist like strands of starlight. Her skin was porcelain, untouched by time. And her eyes—her eyes burned with a violet glow that pierced through Bella like knives made of memory.
The woman smiled.
"You don't remember me yet, do you… Isadora?"
Bella's mouth fell open.
"Who are you?"
The woman stepped closer.
"Your sister."