The alley still reeked. It was a sickening cocktail of wet snow, copper-sharp blood, and a musky, feral scent that made the hair on my arms stand up. My claws—God, I actually had claws—flexed instinctively, digging into the frozen grime of the pavement. My vision was still vibrating in shades of silver and gray, making every brick and every falling snowflake look sharp enough to cut.
Kael's words were still echoing in my head like a threat: Now, we see if the Pack lets you live through the night.
My heart wasn't just beating; it was thundering, a heavy, rhythmic pulse that I could feel in my teeth. On the ground, the creature we'd just fought was still twitching, making these pathetic, huffing sounds as it crawled back into the dark. I wanted to feel relieved, but my skin was humming with a different kind of terror.
Kael wasn't moving. He didn't reach out to grab my hand or ask if I was okay. He just stood there, leaning against a damp wall with his arms crossed, watching me with those unreadable, molten eyes. He was testing me. He was waiting to see if I'd collapse or if I'd stand my ground.
Then, a howl ripped through the air.
It wasn't like a dog barking in the distance. This was deep, soul-shaking, and close. It bounced off the brick walls, vibrating in my very marrow. My chest tightened. I didn't know if they were more of those "created" monsters or the Pack Kael mentioned—the ones who supposedly got to decide if I lived to see tomorrow.
Shadows started to slide along the walls. They moved too fast, blurring like ink dropped in water. My teeth felt itchy—that was the only way to describe it—a primal urge to growl and snap at anything that got too close. Adrenaline was turning my blood into liquid fire.
"Stay behind me," Kael said.
His voice was low, but it had this "do not argue with me" edge to it. He stepped closer, and the heat radiating off him was insane. It was like standing next to a furnace. When his shoulder brushed mine, I felt a jolt of something I couldn't name. It was terrifying, yeah, but there was this weird, dark spark of desire mixed in. It made me feel alive in a way that my boring life at the library never had.
The shadows didn't just move anymore; they erupted.
Five of them. They weren't just wolves; they were massive, muscular powerhouses with eyes that glowed with the same silver fire as Kael's. They moved with this fluid, terrifying precision, circling us like we were the main course at a dinner party. One of them let out a low snarl, its fangs gleaming in the pale moonlight, claws scraping against the brick with a sound that made my skin crawl.
"Elara," Kael murmured, his eyes never leaving the lead wolf. "Show me you're more than a victim."
More than human. The thought made my stomach do a nervous flip. My fingers flexed again, my new nails scoring deep lines into the brick wall behind me. The heat in my veins was roaring now. My vision sharpened until I could see the individual heartbeats pulsing in the necks of the wolves surrounding us.
The wolf to my left lunged first.
It was a blur of gray fur and teeth. My body didn't even wait for my brain to give the order. I twisted out of the way, landing on all fours in the slush. The movement was effortless, graceful in a way I'd never been in my life. I used to trip over my own feet in the kitchen, and now I was hitting the ground like a professional gymnast.
"Control, Elara. Don't let the instinct swallow you," Kael called out. His voice was calm, almost bored, even as he swiped a massive hand out to backhand a wolf that got too close to him.
I swallowed hard, my lungs burning with the freezing air. My teeth snapped together involuntarily. I looked at the wolf circling me—it was testing me, sniffing the air to see if I still smelled like a scared human girl. Its eyes reflected mine, and for a second, I saw myself in them. I didn't look like Elara the librarian. I looked wild. I looked dangerous.
I let out a growl. It was a deep, guttural sound that didn't sound like it could come from a human throat. The wolf actually recoiled, its ears pinning back.
"Good," Kael whispered. He was right behind me now, his presence a heavy, magnetic force. "Now keep it. Don't let them see the fear."
Another one came at me, but I met it head-on this time. We collided in a mess of fur and limbs. Pain flared through my knuckles as my claws caught its shoulder, and for a second, I tasted fur and copper. It was disgusting, but there was this terrifying rush of exhilaration that went with it. I wasn't just surviving; I was fighting back.
Kael moved with me, a shadow of controlled power. He wasn't finishing the fight for me, but he was there—blocking a strike I didn't see coming, redirecting a lunging wolf with a shove that looked like it could break stone. Every time he moved past me, I felt that electric pull again. It was distracting and intoxicating, a hunger that had nothing to do with the fight.
Then, the "big guy" showed up.
A massive wolf, twice the size of the others, stepped into the light. He didn't growl. He didn't snap. He just walked with this arrogant, Alpha confidence that made the air feel thin. His eyes were molten silver, and he looked at me like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve.
Kael stepped slightly in front of me, his body tensing for the first time. "Do not falter," he warned me, his voice dropping an octave into a growl. "This is the test. They want to see the weakness. Don't give it to them."
My heart was thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird. I looked at the Alpha, then at Kael, then at my own clawed hands. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea how to be a werewolf. But as the Alpha crouched, his muscles coiling like steel springs, something inside me snapped.
The last bit of "Human Elara"—the girl who worried about electricity bills and cold sandwiches—finally took a backseat.
I lunged.
The alley exploded into chaos. It was a blur of snarls, the sound of claws scraping against stone, and the hot, heavy scent of breath in the cold night. My vision was pure silver now. Every sense was dialed up to eleven. I could feel the Alpha's weight as we crashed together, my claws digging in, my heart screaming.
"Elara! Survive!" Kael's voice cut through the noise, sharp and commanding. "Show them why the moon chose you!"
And in that moment, buried under a pile of fur and teeth, I realized I didn't want my old life back. I wanted to win.