The SUV skidded sideways, mud spraying in all directions as Adrian fought to control the wheel. The Alpha's claws ripped deep furrows in the roof, each screech of tearing metal jolting Elara's nerves.
Wolves closed in, a blur of fur and fangs in the fog. One slammed against the driver's side door; another leapt onto the hood, snarling into the glass.
Adrian's eyes flicked to her for the briefest second. "Elara—hold on to something."
But she wasn't holding on.
Her body was on fire — not from fear, but from something older, heavier, more primal. The heat surged from her chest into her veins, pulsing at her fingertips. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't not let it out.
The Alpha's hand punched through the metal above her, clawed fingers reaching down for her shoulder. His touch burned, not with heat but with an icy pull, like he was trying to drag her soul from her skin.
She grabbed his wrist.
The world exploded.
Light — pure, silver light — erupted from her palm, flooding the SUV's interior and blasting upward. The Alpha roared, yanking his hand back as the beam engulfed him. The smell of scorched fur and ozone filled the air.
The wolves in the fog froze mid-leap, whining in confusion. The one on the hood yelped and tumbled off, rolling into the ditch.
Adrian swerved to avoid a tree, eyes wide with disbelief. "Elara… what the hell was that?"
She couldn't answer. The light didn't stop — it poured from her like a living thing, dancing over her skin, twisting into ghostly shapes that shimmered before vanishing.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, it faded. Her body went cold, and the exhaustion hit her like a punch to the ribs.
The Alpha stood in the road ahead now, his chest heaving, the skin along his arm blistered where she had touched him. His molten eyes were wide — not with rage, but with recognition.
"The Moon's light…" he whispered, as if speaking to himself. "The Lunar Queen lives."
Adrian gunned the engine. "Not for you, she doesn't."
The SUV shot forward. The Alpha lunged, but the vehicle roared past him, and before the wolves could reorganize, they were gone — swallowed by the fog and darkness.
Elara slumped against the seat, shivering. Her pulse was still racing, her mind struggling to catch up with what had just happened.
Adrian's knuckles were white on the wheel. "You're going to tell me everything," he said, voice like steel. "Because that… that wasn't human."
She met his gaze, and for the first time since the night began, she wasn't entirely sure she was human.