Chapter 5 The darkness within

Elena's pov

My head throbbed like a war drum, each pulse dragging me closer to the edge of death. Darkness clung to me like a second skin, heavy and cold. I could barely breathe. My body was numb, but the pain-it was still there, deep and raw.

Then I felt it. A touch. Gentle, yet powerful.

She tapped my shoulder, her voice cutting through the void like a blade of light.

"Elena," she said again, firmer this time, "do you want to survive?"

My lips trembled as I whispered, "W-Who are you?"

She knelt beside me, her eyes glowing like embers in the night.

"I am the only one who can help you," she said. "Your family... your bloodline has been cursed for generations. You, Elena, are the last of them."

She leaned in closer, her voice low and haunting.

"To survive, to reclaim your destiny, you must agree to the bond. To me."

Her words echoed in my skull, louder than the beating of my weakening heart.

A cursed bloodline. A dying breath. A choice.

And in that moment, I realized-survival came at a price.

"I... I don't get it," I whispered weakly, my voice barely audible, like the last flicker of a dying flame.

The woman-no, the force before me-sighed, her eyes dark and ancient, filled with secrets I couldn't begin to understand.

"Of course, you wouldn't," she said softly. "How could you?" Her voice was like silk wrapped around steel. "I am Evelyn, and I've been waiting for you, Elena. I'm not here to hurt you-I'm here to save you. But there's no time to waste."

She leaned closer, her hand hovering over my chest where the blood still poured.

"You're dying, Elena. The life you know is slipping away. If you want to live-if you want revenge, power, truth-then you must agree to the deal."

My heart was pounding now, weak but frantic. The word "deal" echoed in my mind like a curse and a promise all at once.

A stranger. A curse. A chance to live... or die forgotten.

"W-What is the deal?" I asked, my voice a breathless whisper, barely hanging on the edge of consciousness.

Evelyn leaned in, her face half-shadowed, eyes glowing with an eerie light that pierced through the darkness. Her presence felt ancient... otherworldly.

She didn't speak at first. Instead, she stared deep into my soul, as if peeling back the layers of my past, my pain, my bloodline.

Then she whispered-soft, slow, and cold as ice:

"I will awaken the power buried deep inside you... the strength your ancestors sealed away. The wolf you were always meant to be."

Her fingers brushed the air above my heart, and suddenly it felt like fire danced under my skin.

"But in return," she continued, her tone darkening, "you must finish what your bloodline began-what they failed to complete centuries ago. Your family was chosen, Elena... and they ran from their destiny."

I could feel the ground tremble beneath me. The wind howled like spirits screaming.

"If you fail-" she paused, her lips now inches from my ear, "the punishment will be worse than death. Your soul will belong to the shadows. You will burn for eternity in silence, forgotten by the moon itself."

My breath hitched. My blood turned to ice.

And then she asked, calmly, cruelly:

"So... do you accept, little wolf?"

My body was slipping... fading into the cold grip of death. I could feel my soul tearing at the seams, falling into a darkness I couldn't crawl out of. My limbs were numb, and even breathing felt like drowning.

I looked up at Evelyn, her expression unreadable, her presence both terrifying and strangely comforting. My lips trembled as I whispered the question that haunted my soul:

"What... what will happen if I don't succeed?"

A slow, almost wicked smile spread across Evelyn's lips. Her eyes darkened like a brewing storm as she knelt beside me.

"You don't want to know," she said softly.

And yet, her silence screamed louder than any words could. I could see it in her face-the horrors that lay in wait. Eternal torment. Agony beyond death. A fate carved in pain and fire. She wasn't just warning me.

She was begging me.

Suddenly, Evelyn's entire body shuddered, her eyes glowing as if sensing something. "Danger is near!" she hissed. "You're out of time. Choose, Elena!"

I couldn't let this be the end. Not here. Not like this. Not in the dirt, not at the hands of a monster like Jason, not forgotten by the pack that tossed me aside.

My heart thudded-one final burst of defiance.

I coughed, blood staining my lips, and whispered with every ounce of will left in me:

"I... agree."

Evelyn's smile widened. Not kind. Not cruel. Powerful.

"Then it is done."

"Deal."

And in that moment... everything went black.

But not empty.

Something was awakening.

Something ancient.

Something mine.

But not the kind that frightened me. No... this silence was powerful. Still. Expectant.

I wasn't dead.

Warmth surged through every corner of my body, wrapping around me like an unseen cloak. It pulsed beneath my skin, humming in my veins, and I could feel it-raw, ancient power awakening within me.

I sat up slowly, my breath steady, my wounds... gone.

The night still cloaked the world in darkness, but somehow, I could see everything. Every shadow. Every movement of the wind. The rustling leaves danced like whispers to my new senses. The trees were no longer just trees-they breathed. Lived. And I could feel them.

Something was different.

I was different.

She appeared before me, emerging from the shadows as if she had been waiting all along.

"Oh... you're awake," she said, her face unreadable, eyes cold and sharp. There was no warmth in her tone-only boredom, as if bringing me back from the brink of death was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

I pushed myself up. Surprisingly, my legs held firm-stronger than ever before. Power surged through me like a steady current. My breaths were deeper, calmer, more aware.

"I feel... different," I whispered, my voice laced with awe.

"Of course you do," she replied dryly. "I just awakened your bloodline power. Your wolf is no longer the same. She has evolved-stronger, fiercer. But don't let it get to your head. This is only the beginning. Arrogance will be your downfall."

Her words were sharp, but I could feel the truth in them. I closed my eyes and reached inward, calling out with everything I had.

"Sofia! Are you okay?" I yelled in my mind, desperate for the voice I had always known.

There was a pause-long enough to make my heart tighten.

Then, like thunder rolling through my soul, her voice came-clearer, louder, more powerful than ever.

"I'm here, Elena," Sofia growled, her tone steady but fierce. "Stronger than before. I feel it too. We're not who we were... we are something greater now."

My eyes snapped open.

And I knew.

This was the rebirth of something deadly.

Something unstoppable.

And the world would soon learn the name Elena in a way it never had before.