The Lycan's Hidden Flame

Elsa

The cold stone beneath me was like ice against my skin, but I barely felt it. My mind was foggy, my body numb. I couldn't move, couldn't scream. The cultists were everywhere, surrounding me like a swarm of vultures. My arms and legs were bound, the ropes biting into my skin, cutting off all movement. The pressure in my chest was suffocating, like the weight of the world was pressing down on me.

Zoran stood in front of me, his eyes gleaming with that unsettling confidence. His presence felt like a shadow hovering over me, suffocating me with its dark pull. His chanting filled the air, the words foreign and ancient, vibrating through the stone walls of the lair. The symbols around me seemed to pulse, glowing with an unnatural light, and I could feel the pull in my blood, a tugging sensation that gnawed at my insides.

The prophecy.

It wasn't just some old legend. It wasn't just some tale passed down to scare children. It was real. I was the prophecy. The blood that ran through my veins was a key to something ancient, something terrible. Malik was coming.

And I could feel it.

Zoran's chant grew louder, the words a rhythmic cadence, like a drumbeat in my ears. My head was spinning, my body shaking, and I couldn't stop it. The power in my blood surged in response, awakening something deep inside me. It was like my very soul was being pulled toward something dark, something monstrous.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. All I could do was feel the power coursing through me, like fire burning through my veins. It felt too big. Too powerful. I wanted to run from it, but my body wouldn't listen. I was trapped. Bound.

And then, through the fog of my mind, I heard him. Kieran.

His voice. His growl.

"Elsa!"

It was distant, but it was enough to spark something in me. Something that refused to be controlled. I didn't know where the strength came from, but in that moment, I gathered every ounce of willpower I had left and pulled. I yanked against the ropes, the bonds that held me, and the force inside me pushed back. I could feel my heartbeat hammering in my chest, blood roaring in my ears.

The chains snapped.

Zoran's chanting faltered, his eyes narrowing as he realized what was happening. "No. You cannot resist this. You are mine."

His voice was cold, but it was also desperate. There was fear beneath his calm exterior. Fear of me.

The power surged again, and I pushed myself off the altar, my body trembling with the strain. But there was something else now—an instinct. An urge. Something animalistic.

I could feel it. I could sense it.

The sound of boots pounding on stone reached my ears, and the scent of familiar wolves filled the air. Kieran was here. He was fighting his way through, his warriors at his side. But even with the battle raging, all I could focus on was the surge of power, the sharp, vicious hunger that coursed through me.

Zoran's gaze flicked to the doorway. "Too late," he sneered, turning back to me. "You belong to me now."

I should have been terrified. I should have felt helpless. But instead, all I could feel was rage. A deep, primal rage that burned through me, awakening something that I couldn't control.

I was no longer just a human. I wasn't just a girl caught in the middle of a prophecy. I was something else. Something stronger. Something dangerous.

"Get away from her!" Kieran's voice rang out, cutting through the tension like a blade. He was here, his presence a fierce wave of energy, crashing into the cultists who stood in his way. The fight was brutal. I could hear the sounds of fists connecting, of bodies hitting the ground. But none of it mattered. All that mattered was the battle between me and Zoran.

He stepped closer, his hand raised as if to finish the ritual, to bind me to Malik. To make me a vessel for the demon.

I was done being the pawn.

I pushed against the dark energy inside me, ignoring the searing pain as my body shifted, changing. My skin burned as it stretched and warped. My fingers elongated, claws sprouting from my nails. I felt the shift in my bones, my body contorting into something new, something feral.

"No!" Zoran screamed as my transformation took shape, but it was too late. I wasn't the girl who had walked into this place. I wasn't the girl who had been afraid of this power. I was something else. Something more.

A white wolf stood before him, fur gleaming in the dim light, eyes glowing with the fire of defiance.

I growled, a deep, primal sound that rumbled in my chest. Zoran stumbled back, his face twisted with disbelief.

"You can't control it," he hissed.

But I wasn't about to let him control anything.

I lunged.

The fight that ensued was a blur of movement, claws and fangs flashing in the dim light. Zoran tried to fight back, but he wasn't prepared for the ferocity I had unleashed. I sank my teeth into his arm, pulling him to the ground, but he twisted, his dark magic surging as he tried to pull me off.

"You will submit!" he roared.

But then, Kieran was there. His massive wolf form crashed into Zoran, sending the cult leader sprawling. The two of them rolled across the floor, a whirlwind of snarls and teeth. Zoran's power surged, but Kieran's strength was unmatched.

With a final, brutal twist, Kieran tore into Zoran's side. The cult leader screamed in pain, his body going limp beneath Kieran's weight.

But it wasn't over. It couldn't be.

I could feel the darkness retreating as Zoran's life force bled out, but the air was still thick with danger. The prophecy still loomed over me like a shadow I couldn't escape. And as I stood, panting, my eyes locked with Kieran's—his gaze burning with intensity.

"You did it," Kieran said, his voice thick with emotion. He was back to his human form now, his clothes torn, blood streaked across his skin. But it didn't matter. We were alive. We had won.

But I wasn't free.

I wasn't safe.

Behind us, the moonlight shifted. There was a sound, faint but unmistakable—a whisper, like the rustling of leaves in the wind.

And then I heard it. A voice, dark and distant, curling around me like smoke.

The awakening has only just begun.

My breath caught in my throat.

Malik was coming.

The prophecy had only begun to unfold.