Elowen's POV
The rogue wolf I'd somehow thrown across the room got to its feet, shaking off the impact.
I stared at my hands. They looked normal. Felt normal. But I'd just sent a two-hundred-pound wolf flying with my mind.
"How did I do that?" I whispered.
The three rogues looked at each other, then at me. Fear flickered in their glowing red eyes.
One of them spoke, its voice echoing in my head like a nightmare: She's awakening early. We need to take her now, before she's fully transformed.
Cassian—the massive black wolf—snarled so viciously it shook the room. You'll have to go through me.
So be it.
They attacked again.
This time, when one lunged at me, my body moved on its own. I dodged faster than I'd ever moved in my life, so fast the wolf crashed into the wall behind me. Another came from my left, and I grabbed a broken piece of furniture and swung it like a baseball bat, connecting with the rogue's head with a sickening crack.
I was strong. Impossibly, terrifyingly strong.
"What's happening to me?!" I screamed.
Cassian fought the lead rogue viciously while I somehow held off the other two with strength I didn't understand. But I was tiring fast, and they kept coming.
Then Sable burst through the door.
"ELLIE!" She saw the chaos—the wolves, the destruction, Cassian in wolf form—and her face went white. "No, no, no, this can't be happening—"
"Sable, run!" I yelled.
But she didn't run. She closed her eyes, and her body started to change.
My best friend shifted into a honey-colored wolf right in front of me.
"You too?" I felt like my brain was breaking. "You're ALL wolves?"
Sable joined Cassian, and together they drove the three rogues back through the window. The rogues howled in frustration and disappeared into the forest.
Silence fell.
Cassian and Sable shifted back to human form. Cassian immediately pulled on pants while Sable grabbed a robe from the hallway.
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't process.
"Ellie." Sable approached me carefully, like I was a bomb about to explode. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but—"
"Get away from me." My voice didn't sound like mine. "Both of you."
"Elowen, please—" Cassian started.
"I SAID GET AWAY!"
The window behind them shattered outward. Every piece of glass in the room exploded simultaneously. The lights burst. My scream became something else—something primal and powerful that made both of them drop to their knees.
Alpha command. I'd used Alpha command without meaning to.
The power drained out of me all at once. My legs gave out.
Cassian caught me before I hit the floor.
"Don't touch me," I whispered, but I had no strength left to push him away.
"You need rest," he said gently. "That much power all at once—your body can't handle it yet."
"I don't want this. I don't want any of this."
"I know." He carried me to the bed—the only piece of furniture still intact. "But it's who you are. You can't fight it."
Sable hovered nearby, tears streaming down her face. "I should have told you. I'm a terrible friend. I just... I didn't know how."
"Did everyone know but me?" I asked weakly. "Was I the only one stupid enough to think I was normal?"
"You ARE normal," Cassian said fiercely. "You're just not human. There's a difference."
Footsteps thundered down the hallway. Alpha Thaddeus appeared with Merrick and several other men I didn't recognize.
"Report," Thaddeus demanded.
"Three rogues attacked," Cassian said. "We drove them off, but they'll be back. They're specifically hunting Elowen."
Thaddeus's cold eyes fixed on me. "And she displayed Alpha power."
"Yes."
"Impossible. She has no pack lineage. No training. She shouldn't be able to access that kind of power without—" He stopped, his expression darkening. "Unless she's from that bloodline."
"What bloodline?" I asked.
No one answered.
"We'll discuss this later," Thaddeus said. "Merrick, double the guards. No one sleeps until we find out how many rogues are on our territory and what they want with the girl."
"Her name is Elowen," Cassian growled.
"I don't care what her name is. She's a liability." Thaddeus turned to leave, then paused. "Tomorrow night's full moon will force her first shift. If she can't control it, she'll be a danger to everyone in this house. Including Sable."
He left with the others.
Sable sat on the edge of my bed, taking my hand. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
But her hand was shaking.
Cassian stood by the window, tension radiating from every line of his body. He was watching the forest, alert for more danger.
"I want to go home," I said quietly.
"You can't," Cassian said without turning around. "Those rogues will track you wherever you go. At least here, we can protect you."
"Why do they want me?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
Sable squeezed my hand. "You should sleep. You used a lot of energy. Your body needs to recover before tomorrow night."
"I'm not tired." But I was. Exhaustion pulled at me like weights.
"I'll stay with you," Sable offered.
"No." Cassian turned from the window. "I'll stay. You need to help organize the perimeter guards."
Sable looked like she wanted to argue, but something in Cassian's expression made her nod. "Okay. But Ellie, if he does anything weird, you scream. I'll come running."
She left, giving Cassian a warning glare.
Alone with him, the room felt too small.
"You don't have to stay," I said.
"Yes, I do." He sat in the chair by my bed, close but not touching. "Those rogues specifically targeted you. That means someone sent them. Someone knows what you are and wants you for something."
"What am I?" I hated how small my voice sounded. "You said I'm a born Alpha. What does that mean?"
"It means you're rare. Powerful. Normal werewolves are born into packs, learn from their parents. But born Alphas?" He met my eyes. "You're born to lead. To command. Your power doesn't come from a pack—it comes from inside you. From your bloodline."
"My parents abandoned me. What kind of powerful bloodline abandons their kid?"
Pain flashed across his face. "Maybe they were trying to protect you."
"From what?"
"I don't know yet." He leaned forward, his voice intense. "But I swear to you, Elowen—I will figure this out. I'll find out who you really are and why they're after you. And I won't let anyone hurt you. Not the rogues. Not my father. Not anyone."
"Why do you care?" I asked. "You don't even know me."
His jaw clenched. "Because you're—"
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, cutting him off.
Another unknown message.
I grabbed it with shaking hands and read:
Tomorrow night, the full moon rises. When you shift, your true identity will be revealed to everyone. The rogues aren't the only ones hunting you, Elowen. Your real family is coming. And they want their stolen Alpha princess back.
The phone slipped from my numb fingers.
"What does it say?" Cassian demanded.
I couldn't speak. Couldn't breathe.
Cassian grabbed the phone and read the message. His face went white.
"Alpha princess?" he whispered. "That means you're..."
The window exploded inward for the third time that night.
But this time, it wasn't a rogue.
A woman stood in the broken frame—beautiful, terrifying, with silver hair and eyes that glowed pure white. Power radiated from her in waves that made even Cassian step back.
She looked directly at me and smiled.
"Hello, daughter," she said. "I've been searching for you for twenty-two years."