Silver Moon pack house looked smaller than I remembered. Or maybe it was just that I was no longer the girl who had to scrub its floors.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in bruises of purple and orange, I stood at the edge of the clearing. Beside me, Malachi was a silent, lethal shadow. His new white-violet aura was so intense that the grass at his feet seemed to crystallize. Behind us, Silas trailed like a beaten dog, his head bowed in shame.
"The perimeter is guarded by University mercenaries now," Silas whispered, his voice trembling. "Tanya traded the pack's autonomy for silver-tech. She's turned the Great Hall into a command center."
"Let her have her toys," I said, my voice cold as a winter morning. "They won't save her from me."
I didn't sneak in. I walked straight down the main path, my silver gown flowing behind me like a battle flag.
The first mercenary to spot us didn't even have time to raise his rifle. With a flick of my wrist, a pulse of white kinetic energy sent him flying through the air, crashing into the stone well in the center of the village.
"Elara Vance!"
The scream came from the balcony of the pack house. Tanya stood there, draped in expensive furs that looked ridiculous on her. Beside her stood a man in a lab coat a University observer.
"You dare come back here?" Tanya shrieked, her face twisting with a mixture of terror and jealousy. "After you brought a monster into our lands? After you ruined Silas? Guards! Kill her! Kill the traitor!"
A dozen mercenaries emerged from the shadows, their silver-tipped weapons gleaming.
"Malachi," I said softly. "Clear the path. But leave my sister to me."
"With pleasure, my Queen," Malachi growled.
He didn't even shift. He moved like a blur of dark lightning. One moment the mercenaries were standing; the next, they were a heap of broken armor and groaning men. He moved with a precision that was terrifying to behold, his hands glowing with that new, hybrid power.
I walked up the stairs of the pack house, the wood creaking under my feet. The Great Hall was filled with expensive furniture and University monitors all bought with the blood of the pack.
Tanya backed away as I entered, her hands fumbling for a silver dagger hidden in her belt. "Stay back! I am the Luna of this pack! You are nothing but a defective Omega!"
"A Luna?" I laughed, the sound echoing through the hollow hall. I looked at the monitors, then back at her. "A Luna protects her people, Tanya. You sold them. You sold me."
"I did what I had to do to survive!" Tanya screamed, lunging at me with the dagger.
I didn't even move. The white light erupted from my skin in a protective shield, the silver blade shattering against it like glass. I reached out and caught her by the throat, lifting her off the ground with a strength that made her eyes bulge.
"You wanted to be a Queen, Tanya," I whispered, my eyes glowing a blinding white. "But you forgot one thing. A crown isn't something you buy. It's something you earn."
I turned my gaze to the University observer, who was frantically typing into a handheld device. "Tell your Board that the Silver Moon is officially under new management."
I squeezed my hand, and a surge of power flowed into the walls of the house. The wood began to smoke. The tapestries caught fire. The monitors exploded in a shower of sparks.
"Elara, stop!" my father's voice rang out from the back of the room. Alpha Vance stood there, looking older, weaker. "You'll kill us all!"
"You were already dead to me the day you let Silas reject me," I said, looking at him with a coldness that made him flinch. "Take Tanya and get out. If I ever see either of you again, I won't be so merciful."
I dropped Tanya to the floor. she scrambled toward our father, sobbing and broken. They fled through the back exit as the flames began to roar, consuming the symbols of their greed.
I stood in the center of the burning hall, the fire dancing in my eyes. I felt the "White Origin" spirit inside me finally settle. The past was ash.
Malachi stepped into the room, the fire reflecting in his violet eyes. He stood behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders.
"It's done," he said.
"No," I replied, watching the Silver Moon sign melt in the heat. "It's just starting. The University still has the cure for the Lycan race. And they still have my mother's records."
I turned to him, the light of the fire illuminating the bond between us.
"We're going to London, Malachi. We're going to the University of Arts. And we're g
oing to burn that down, too."