Kira's POV
The green light exploded from my hands like a bomb.
It spread across the room in waves, touching every wolf that was lying on the ground. Their bodies jerked. Some of them screamed. I tried to pull my hands back, but I couldn't. The power had a mind of its own.
"Kira, stop!" Dane shouted. "You're going to kill them!"
"I can't stop it!" I screamed back. "I don't know how!"
The light grew brighter. Hotter. It felt like my whole body was on fire. But not a bad fire. It felt like I was burning away something old and rotten, replacing it with something clean and new.
Through the green glow, I could see the wolves changing. Their skin, which had been gray and sick-looking, was turning healthy again. Their breathing, which had been shallow and weak, was getting stronger.
It was working. I was healing them.
But the power kept growing. I could feel it pulling at something deep inside me. Like it was trying to tear a piece of my soul out.
"Kira!" Mei's voice cut through the noise. "You have to let go! If you use too much power, you'll burn yourself out!"
"I don't know how to let go!" I shouted.
Suddenly, strong hands grabbed my shoulders. Dane pulled me backward, away from the wolves. The moment his skin touched mine, the green light flickered.
Then it vanished.
I collapsed into Dane's arms. Every muscle in my body felt like wet paper. I couldn't even lift my head.
"I've got you," Dane said softly. His voice sounded far away. "Just breathe. You're okay."
I tried to breathe, but my lungs didn't want to work. Everything hurt. My hands. My chest. My head.
"Did it work?" I managed to whisper.
"Look," Dane said.
I forced my eyes open.
The wolves were standing up. All of them. They looked confused and shaky, but they were alive. Healthy. The gray color was gone from their skin. Their eyes were bright again.
"You saved them," Dane said. There was something in his voice I couldn't quite name. Wonder, maybe. Or fear.
"I didn't know what I was doing," I said. My voice was so weak I could barely hear it myself.
"That's what makes it so incredible," Mei said. She was standing nearby, watching me with those strange silver eyes. "You have no training. No control. But your instinct to heal was so strong that the magic just... obeyed you."
"It didn't feel like it was obeying me," I said. "It felt like it was using me."
"That's because you're fighting it," Mei said. "The magic is part of you, Kira. It's in your blood. In your bones. When you fight against it, it fights back."
I tried to stand up, but my legs buckled. Dane caught me before I hit the ground.
"Easy," he said. "You need to rest. Using that much power you could have killed yourself."
"But I didn't," I said stubbornly. "The wolves are okay. That's what matters."
"You matter too," Dane said. His gold eyes locked onto mine. "Don't you understand that yet?"
I didn't know what to say to that. Nobody had ever told me I mattered before.
Maya walked over. She looked better than she had in hours. Healthy. Strong.
"Thank you," she said to me. "You didn't have to risk yourself for us. But you did anyway."
"I couldn't just watch you die," I said.
"Most humans would have," Maya said quietly. "The Coalition has been teaching people to fear and hate us for centuries. But you... you saw us as people worth saving."
"Because you are," I said. It seemed obvious to me. But from the way everyone was looking at me, I guess it wasn't obvious to them.
Dane helped me sit down on one of the couches. Someone brought me water. I drank it slowly, trying to make my brain work again.
"Mei," Dane said. "You said Kira's mother discovered a ritual that could cure all werewolves at once. But you also said it would kill the person performing it."
"Yes," Mei said.
"Is there another way?" Dane asked. "A way that doesn't require Kira to die?"
Mei was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, "There might be. But it's dangerous. And it would require something very rare."
"What?" I asked.
"A willing sacrifice from a Kindred pair," Mei said. She looked between me and Dane. "One of you would have to give up part of your life force to power the ritual instead of using all of Kira's. It would make you both weaker. You might lose years off your life. You might lose your powers wolf or magic. But you'd both survive."
"I'll do it," Dane said immediately.
"No," I said just as quickly. "You're the Alpha. Your pack needs you. I'm nobody"
"Stop saying that!" Dane's voice was sharp. "You're not nobody. You're my Kindred. And I won't let you die."
"You barely know me," I said. "We just met tonight. How can you be so sure I'm your... your Kindred?"
Dane knelt down in front of me so we were eye to eye.
"I felt it the moment you touched the chains," he said. "A connection. Like something clicked into place inside my chest. I've lived for thirty years without feeling that. And now that I've felt it, I know I'll never feel whole without you again."
My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode.
"That's crazy," I whispered. "That's not how the real world works."
"The real world has werewolves and magic in it," Dane said with a slight smile. "I think we're past normal."
I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him he was wrong. But I couldn't. Because I'd felt it too. That moment when everything changed. When I stopped being alone.
"Even if you're right," I said slowly, "even if we are... connected... that doesn't mean we have to do this ritual. We could just leave the wolves as they are. They're not sick anymore. I healed them."
"For now," Mei said. "But the Coalition will keep coming. They'll keep making weapons. Keep hunting. As long as werewolves exist, the Coalition will try to wipe them out. The only way to truly save them is to break the curse. Make them human again. Then the Coalition will have no reason to hunt them."
"Except they'll still hunt me," I said bitterly. "Because I'm Jade Court."
"Yes," Mei admitted. "They will. But without werewolves to focus on, the Coalition will be weaker. Smaller. Easier to fight."
I looked around at all the wolves watching me. They were people. Men and women who'd been cursed through no fault of their own. Who'd been hunted and killed for centuries just because of what they were.
"If we do this ritual," I said to Mei, "and it works... what happens to them? Do they just become human overnight?"
"Not overnight," Mei said. "It takes about a week for the curse to fully break. During that time, they'll start to lose their wolf abilities. Their strength. Their healing. Their ability to shift. By the end of the week, they'll be completely human."
"And they can never turn back?" Maya asked. She sounded scared.
"Never," Mei said. "Once the curse is broken, it's broken forever."
Maya looked at her brother. "Dane, I know you want to save everyone. But this is a huge decision. We should let the pack vote on it. Some wolves might want to stay the way they are."
"She's right," Dane said. He stood up and addressed the room. "Everyone listen. Kira has the power to break the curse that made us into werewolves. But doing so will make us all human. Permanently. Those who want to stay wolves can leave now. No judgment. No hard feelings. This is your choice."
Nobody moved.
Then a young man stepped forward. "I vote yes. I'm tired of hiding. Tired of being hunted. I just want to be normal."
"Me too," a woman said.
"And me."
One by one, the wolves spoke up. Every single one voted yes.
Dane looked surprised. "You're all sure? You understand what you're giving up?"
"We understand," Maya said. "Being a wolf has given us strength and speed and long life. But it's also made us targets. I'd rather be a normal human who can walk down the street without fear than a powerful wolf who has to hide in the shadows."
The others nodded in agreement.
Dane turned to me. "Then it's decided. We'll do the ritual."
"Wait," I said. "When? How? Mei said I need training first."
"You do," Mei said. "The ritual is complex. If you make even one mistake, it could kill everyone in the room instead of just breaking the curse. You'll need at least a month to prepare."
"A month?" Dane said. "The Coalition could attack again any day now. We might not have a month."
"Then we'll have to make time," Mei said firmly. "I can teach Kira during the day. At night, you'll need to keep guard. Make sure the Coalition doesn't find us."
"Where will we do the training?" I asked.
"There's a place," Mei said. "Deep in the mountains. An old Jade Court temple. It's been abandoned for a century, but the magic there is still strong. It will help amplify Kira's power while she learns to control it."
"Then we leave tomorrow," Dane said. "Everyone pack light. We travel fast."
The wolves scattered to get ready. Within minutes, the room was empty except for me, Dane, Mei, and Maya.
"You should rest," Maya said to me. "You look like you're about to fall over."
She was right. I could barely keep my eyes open.
"Come on," Dane said. "I'll take you back to the guest room."
I let him help me up the stairs. My legs felt like jelly.
When we reached the room, I sat down on the bed.
"Dane," I said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"This Kindred bond," I said. "Does it mean we're... together? Like, romantically?"
Dane smiled. "It can mean that. But it doesn't have to. The bond is about connection. Trust. Protection. Some Kindreds fall in love. Others are just partners. Friends. It's different for everyone."
"What do you want it to be?" I asked.
Dane was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "I want you to decide that for yourself. Without pressure. Without the bond influencing you. Because you deserve to choose your own path."
I didn't know what to say to that.
"Get some sleep," Dane said. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
He turned to leave.
"Dane?" I called after him.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For protecting me. For believing in me."
Dane smiled. "Thank you for saving my life. Twice."
Then he left.
I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. Within seconds, I was asleep.
I dreamed of green light and silver chains. Of wolves running through forests and hunters with guns. Of a woman with kind eyes who looked just like me.
Mom, I thought. I wish I could have met you.
Then the dream changed.
I was standing in a temple made of jade. In front of me was a circle of silver. And in the center of the circle was Dane, screaming.
I tried to run to him, but I couldn't move. I was frozen.
A voice whispered in my ear: "The ritual requires a sacrifice. Not just of life. But of love. Can you pay the price?"
I woke up gasping.
It was still dark outside. But I could hear voices downstairs. Urgent voices.
I got up and opened the door.
Maya was running up the stairs.
"Kira!" she said. "You need to come down. Now."
"What's wrong?"
"It's Dane," Maya said. Her face was pale. "Something's wrong with him. The Kindred bond it's killing him."