Chapter 17

I don’t even bother to answer Honora. Instead, I use my wolf speed to dash past her, heading straight for the front door.

The moment I step outside, the scent of fire and charred flesh hits me, making me fight the urge to gag. The air is thick with the unmistakable smoke of a large fire.

The painful howls of wolves and the sounds of battle echo around me. One howl in particular stands out, and I sprint towards it.

Between the trees, I spot a young wolf from my pack being attacked by two rogues. My magic surges up from deep within me, and I release two whips of fire from my hands, hitting both rogues in one shot.

One of them lets out a howl of pain before turning tail and running. The young wolf from my pack looks at me with gratitude in her eyes, seeking shelter behind me. The second rogue, however, glares at me defiantly.

He bares his yellow teeth in a growl, and I return his gaze with a wicked smile. He starts to approach me, and I let him. When he’s about five steps away, I set the ground beneath him ablaze. The smell of his burning paws fills the air.

His expression shifts from anger to pain as he tries to leap away. But before he can land, the ground beneath him is already aflame.

I use my wind magic to slam him into a tree, which I promptly set on fire. The sounds of the burning wolf tug at my pity, but I don’t relent until he’s silent.

“Go inside the prince's house,” I instruct the young wolf. “If you find anyone or hear anyone, take them with you. The Luna Queen is there too.”

She nods at me and runs off, while I head back into the fray.

When I reach an open clearing I’ve never seen before, I stop dead in my tracks. Bodies are strewn across the ground, some from our pack, some unfamiliar. Wolves are fighting everywhere, and a small house in the clearing is engulfed in flames.

I pull on the fire, using all my strength to bend it to my will. The fire dies down a little, but before I can extinguish it completely, I’m knocked off my feet.

Pain shoots through my arm as a large wolf sinks his teeth into it. I set my body on fire, my magic working faster now, fueled by the fire from the house.

His whimpers reach my ears, and I knock him off with a gust of wind. He falls several feet back.

I extend my hand towards him, a massive fireball erupting from it. His skin catches fire as he rolls on the ground, trying to put out the flames. I keep feeding the fire until he stops rolling and slowly reverts to his human form.

I know what a burned body looks like, so I quickly look away.

The fight between me and the wolf has drawn attention, and four more rogues glare at me angrily. One of them growls, his huge gray body seeming to command the others.

They charge at me, but I create a wide circle of fire around myself. One of the wolves jumps through, but the fire clings to his body. Before he can even reach me, he’s already on the ground, whimpering in pain.

The other three wolves circle around the wall of fire. I stand completely still, tuning out all other sounds until all I can hear is them.

I hear the sound of bones cracking from one of them, signaling his return to human form. He stands within my line of sight, and even though he shouldn’t be able to see through the fire, it feels like he’s looking right at me.

A genuine smile is on his face, and his eyes are filled with curiosity. He has dark brown hair and blue eyes. His jaw is square, and a large scar runs across his face from his left eyebrow to the right side of his jaw.

For a moment, I’m confused. Have I seen this man before?

“One day, little Devil. One day you will be mine,” he says, and a pit of fear forms in my stomach. My magic seems to respond to it, drawing closer to the man. He lets out a hollow, loud laugh before he turns around.

In the blink of an eye, he’s back in his wolf form. He howls at the sky and then turns to run away. I’m left standing there, struck by the strange feelings churning in my stomach.

The other two wolves have also disappeared. I let down my wall of fire to get a clearer view. Some of the wolves have stopped fighting, while others are on the verge of killing each other.

I close my eyes and reach out for Roman. It’s as if my magic works in tandem with our bond, and I hold onto it tightly.

I use him and his connection to the pack to locate them all and create a wall of fire around them. Drawing from the house, I can feel my body starting to give out under the strain of the power I’m using.

The other wolves start to retreat, while some of the pack members howl in confusion. Before I can let go of my powers, I’m already collapsing to the ground.

Lying there on the cool grass, I’m sweating as if I’m the fire itself. I can hardly breathe, and the sky seems to dance in front of my eyes, as if mocking me.

I hope I don’t die, Roman will be so pissed. I hear a distant voice, but I can’t make out what it’s saying.

I try to focus on it, but the harder I try, the more the sky dances. Two cold hands grab me, but before I can turn my head, everything goes black.