Chapter 3 Power Outburst

I didn't care for their awe, my gaze was on her. Since the beginning of the ceremony she never looked up or moved.

I signaled for Kael to come closer, "I saw her."

Kael looked at me surprised, he was my beta and right hand man, it wasn't news to him that I had been trying to find the girl in my dreams.

"You mean that you found your dream girl?" He said teasingly.

"Why can't you be serious for once in your life kal?" I smiled a little.

"With you? I don't think there's a moment of seriousness." Kal said smiling.

I looked up from Kal to Alina, she was looking at me, the moment our eyes met, she shifted her gaze.

"The shy type? I like shy" I thought to myself as a smirk curled up my lips.

Kal followed my gaze "she's beautiful." Was what I heard next.

My wolf growled protectively, ready to jump on Kael. Immediately sensing the danger, he bowed and fled, smiling.

The girl kept her head down throughout the rest of the ceremony. Not when her pack was called, not even when people started murmuring. She stood alone, distant from the others, refusing to meet my eyes again.

But I saw the tension in her shoulders. The way her fists clenched at her sides. She was holding something back.

When the ceremony ended, she turned and left without a word.

Not once did she look back. But I watched her retreating figure till I couldn't see her anymore.

ALINA'S POV

I didn't stop to breathe. I didn't stop to think. I just walked fast with my head down, not caring who moved out of my way or who stared.

My heart was beating so loudly that I could barely hear the chatter around me.

As soon as I crossed into the woods that led back to our home, I broke into a jog.

What the hell just happened?

That man, no, not just a man. Lucan. The king. The one no one had ever seen before. The one who ruled everything and answered to no one.

That was the same man I kept saving in my dreams?

It didn't make any sense. But I knew that face, bloodied or not.

I reached the house, stormed through the door, and made straight for my room, slamming it shut behind me.

My thoughts were spinning, colliding into one another until I didn't know what to believe anymore.

I sat on my bed, rubbing my hands over my face, trying to calm the rising panic.

Night crept in slowly, and though I lay in bed, I couldn't sleep.

I kept replaying the way his eyes locked on mine, like he was searching for something. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to sleep, just to get a break from this maddening day.

But the peace didn't last.

A sudden scream tore through the air. I jumped up at the sound.

I stumbled to the window and yanked it open. What I saw knocked the breath right out of me. Women were running, Some with children clutched to their chests.

One woman tripped and fell, before she could rise, a man caught up to her, snarling with his claws stuck out. In one brutal swipe, he rammed them straight into her stomach.

The man seemed to be enjoying himself, he smiled and turned to face her daughter.

The daughter looked like my age mate, she screamed and bolted, disappearing into the trees, my blood turned to ice.

Then it occurred to me, we were under attack by the rogue werewolves.

I didn't think, I threw open my door. I searched the house for Douglass to warn him of the attack, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Did he leave me here to die? My heart tightened at the mere thought of it, but now wasn't the time to accommodate such thoughts. Safety first.

I ran as fast as I could into the woods, branches scratched at my arms, but I didn't care.

As I ran, my eye caught sight of the girl from earlier, the one whose mother had just been killed, she had been rounded in a corner.

The rogue wolf stood over her with claws out and its teeth bared.

She stood there frozen, crying, her body shaking. How could he kill a girl? I needed to do something

"Hey!" I shouted.

The wolf snapped his head toward me, growled, and came straight at me.

I barely had time to react before he slammed into me.

His claws raked across my side and I was thrown hard against a tree.

My head hit the trunk. The pain from the collision shot through my skull and everything spun, I dropped to the ground.

My vision blurred and I felt like I couldn't move, through the haze, I saw him turn back to the girl.

She backed away, slowly, she looked extremely terrified. I knew that fear. I knew what it felt like to be helpless.

I'd felt it every time my pack ignored me. Every time Douglass looked right through me like I didn't exist. Every time I was bullied and hated for something I couldn't control.

And even right now, I still felt it, I was weak and couldn't even save the girl's life. The pent up frustration and anger boiled in me.

With every ounce of strength I had left, I pushed myself up, even though my body screamed and my legs shook.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted.

Something inside me cracked open, power rushed out of me like a dam that had broken.

It wasn't gentle or controlled. It was wild and violent, the ground shook, wind exploded around me.

The rogue wolf was thrown off his feet and slammed into the ground, he didn't move again.

But the blast didn't stop there.

It spread fast, knocking down every rogue in the area. They dropped one after another, the ground shook uncontrollably like there was going to be an earthquake.

No pack member got hurt, Just the rogues, it was as if the blast knew who the enemy was, just like I did.

Just like it started, everywhere went quiet, the girl was still standing, alive and staring at me. My body felt exhausted and my legs gave way, I hit the ground and blacked out.

LUCAN'S POV

I sat in the dimly lit chamber they'd prepared for me, the Highstone Lodge, an old royal outpost used during ceremonial visits. I didn't plan on staying long.

As I sat there going over the written reports from all over the realm, two guards stepped in.

They bowed.

"Lord Lucan," one of them said, eyes lowered. "A message from the Ashgrave border arrived an hour ago."

I looked up, giving a curt nod for him to continue.

"Ashgrave was attacked last night by ogues," he said. "It wasn't random, we believe it was planned."

The second guard stepped forward, more hesitant. "But, Your Majesty... that's not the strange part."

I narrowed my eyes.

He swallowed trying not to show his fear and he spoke. "It was one girl, she wiped out nearly all the attackers on her own."

"Ten of the rogue werewolves are confirmed dead," he said. "Some fled. Around twenty were captured, but badly injured."

The first guard added quickly, "They say the girl was born on a cursed night. Her pack members hate her for it, as a result, they treat her like an outcast."

That made me stop, my first suspicion was the girl I saw yesterday in the common gathering. I remembered the way she stood separate from her pack.

I stood from the chair. "Kael," I called out. He stepped in instantly, like he had been waiting.

"Find the girl and bring her to me," I said.

I smiled slightly, this was going to be fun.