No one spoke for a full minute after the ancient figure vanished.
The fire had nearly died.
The Blood Moon flickered weakly overhead.
And I stood alone in the center of a circle that no longer felt like home.
Then the whispers started.
"She'll bring war."
"The ancient one said it."
"This is how the Shadow Uprising began."
"We can't risk it."
Each word struck harder than the transformation had.
Alpha Darius rose slowly from his kneel, his expression torn between authority and uncertainty.
"Elara," he said carefully, "until we understand what you are… the safety of the pack must come first."
There it was.
The shift.
Not in my bones.
In loyalty.
"You're afraid," I said quietly.
His jaw tightened. "I am responsible."
"For them," I replied. "But not for me."
Silence again.
And then—
Alpha Corvin stepped forward.
"I will take her."
Every head snapped toward him.
Darius's eyes darkened. "You will do no such thing."
Corvin's gaze never left mine. "The Ironfang Territory studies prophecy. We are prepared for anomalies."
"Anomaly?" I repeated coldly.
He didn't flinch. "Power like yours does not survive in ignorance."
"And you think you can control it?" Darius challenged.
"No," Corvin said calmly.
"I think I can survive it."
That honesty unsettled me more than arrogance would have.
The pack began murmuring louder now. Fear was contagious. I could feel it vibrating through the ground.
Then—
Something inside me reacted.
Not anger.
Not grief.
Pressure.
The shadow side stirred first.
Cold slid along my spine like liquid night. My right eye—obsidian—darkened further.
The air near the trees dimmed unnaturally.
Tessa gasped softly behind me.
"Elara… your hands."
I looked down.
Shadow tendrils were forming around my fingers, curling like living smoke.
I hadn't summoned them.
They moved with my heartbeat.
The silver side responded next—bright threads of moonlight weaving through the darkness, trying to stabilize it.
The two forces didn't clash.
They strained.
Like opposite ends of a rope being pulled too tight.
"Control it," Darius ordered sharply.
I tried.
But fear was feeding it.
Not mine.
Theirs.
The more they recoiled, the stronger the shadow pushed outward.
Cracks spidered across the earth at my feet.
A wolf near the front yelped as his fur began to frost with silver ash.
I staggered.
"I'm not doing this!"
"Yes, you are," Corvin said quietly.
And he stepped forward.
Into the aura.
Gasps erupted.
Any other wolf would have been thrown back.
But Corvin didn't flinch.
His amber eyes locked onto mine—not with fear.
With calculation.
"Breathe," he said evenly.
The command hit differently.
Not dominance.
Focus.
"Shadow responds to emotion. Silver responds to will," he continued calmly. "Balance requires both."
"How do you know that?" I demanded through clenched teeth.
"Because Ironfang once guarded the Veil."
The Veil.
The space between realms.
The thing shadow wolves were tied to.
Understanding flickered through the chaos.
He wasn't guessing.
He'd seen something like me before.
Or studied it deeply.
"Breathe," he repeated.
In.
Out.
I forced my lungs to slow.
Forced my mind to quiet.
The shadow tendrils hesitated.
The silver threads brightened.
The pressure eased.
Slowly—
The cracks in the earth sealed.
The frost melted.
The air lightened.
The energy retreated beneath my skin like a tide pulling back from shore.
Silence fell again.
But this silence was different.
It wasn't fear alone.
It was realization.
I was dangerous.
And I couldn't fully control it.
Yet.
Alpha Darius looked older somehow.
"Elara," he said heavily, "until you master what you are… you cannot remain within the pack's borders."
The words landed like a blade.
Exile.
Tessa let out a sharp protest, but a single look from Darius silenced her.
"This is temporary," he added, though even he didn't sound convinced.
Temporary.
Or permanent.
I searched the faces around me.
Some relieved.
Some conflicted.
Very few supportive.
Home had shifted.
And I could feel it.
Corvin stepped closer.
"My offer stands," he said quietly. "Come to Ironfang. Learn control. Or wander alone and let every territory hunt you out of fear."
The threat wasn't his.
It was reality.
The ancient figure's warning echoed in my mind.
You are born to test them.
I looked toward the forest edge.
Toward the unknown.
Toward danger.
And strangely—
It didn't terrify me.
What terrified me was staying somewhere I was no longer trusted.
I turned back to Corvin.
"What's the cost?" I asked.
His lips curved slightly.
"You train under my command."
"I don't kneel."
"I didn't say you would."
"And if I refuse to be controlled?"
"Then you'll prove you never needed it."
A dangerous bargain.
But better than being hunted without knowledge.
I turned to Darius one last time.
"You're choosing fear," I said softly.
"I'm choosing survival," he replied.
"For now," I answered.
Then I stepped away from the circle.
Away from Blackridge.
Away from the life I had known.
Corvin's warriors fell into step behind us as we entered the darkened tree line.
The Blood Moon finally began to fade.
But as it did—
I felt something shift deep beneath the earth.
Not in the pack.
Not in me.
In the Veil.
Something had awakened fully.
And it was pleased.
Behind us, Blackridge stood divided.
Ahead of us, Ironfang waited.
And somewhere between silver and shadow—
The old war stirred.