Chapter 9 **THE BEAST WITHIN**
CHAPTER NINE
THE BEAST WITHIN
ZARIAH NIGHTBORNE POV
She was fast.
Faster than any wolf I'd ever seen.
Elara's shift was seamless—bones cracking, fur rippling, a white wolf with silver-tipped ears exploding toward me with lethal precision.
I barely had time to phase.
Her claws raked through my flickering form, and I stumbled back, solidifying behind her.
She spun, snarling, and I saw it in her eyes—pure, crystalline hatred.
They'd done their job well.
"Elara, wait—"
She didn't wait.
She lunged again, and this time I didn't phase. I met her head-on, shifting mid-leap.
My wolf emerged—black as midnight, larger than I expected, power thrumming through every muscle.
We collided in mid-air, a tangle of fur and fangs.
I was stronger. But she was trained.
We hit the ground hard, rolling, snapping. Her teeth found my shoulder, tearing through fur and flesh. Pain exploded white-hot, but I twisted, throwing her off.
She landed in a crouch, blood on her muzzle. My blood.
Around us, chaos erupted.
The cathedral doors burst open as Lucien's wolves poured in. Veda and the rogues met them with savage fury, the chamber filling with snarls and screams.
But I couldn't focus on them.
Only her.
Elara circled me, her growl low and menacing. She was smaller than me, leaner, built for speed and precision.
I shifted back to human, my shoulder bleeding, my voice steady.
"Elara, listen to me. They lied to you."
She shifted too, standing naked and unashamed, her eyes burning with conviction.
"You're the liar," she spat. "You killed our mother. Abandoned us. Destroyed everything."
"I was six years old when they took me!" My voice cracked. "I didn't abandon anyone. I was sold. Traded like property."
"Liar!" She screamed it, her voice breaking.
God, she was so young. Seventeen. Just a child.
A child they'd turned into a weapon.
"They showed me the bodies," she continued, tears streaming down her face. "The packs you slaughtered. The wolves you murdered. You're a monster."
"I've killed," I admitted quietly. "But only those who tried to cage me. Only those who—"
"Enough!" Lucien's voice boomed through the chamber.
He stood on the balcony above, dressed in black, his presence commanding every eye.
"How touching," he said, his smile cruel. "The sisters reunited. But Elara, darling, you're wasting time. Kill her. Now."
Elara's jaw clenched. She looked at me, then at Lucien, torn.
"She's your sister," I said desperately. "Blood. Family. Don't let him use you like this."
"Family?" Elara laughed bitterly. "You don't know what family means. Lucien saved me. Raised me. Gave me purpose."
"He gave you lies."
"Prove it," she challenged.
I held up my hand, showing the silver scars on my wrists. "These are from the chains they put on me. The cage they kept me in." I met her eyes. "Look at your wrists, Elara. Really look."
She glanced down.
And froze.
Faint scars. Almost invisible. But there.
"Those are from when you were younger," I said softly. "Before they broke you. Before they made you forget."
"No." Her voice shook. "No, I would remember—"
"They took your memories," I pressed. "Just like they took mine. Just like they take everything from us."
Lucien's expression darkened. "Elara, kill her. That's an order."
The command voice.
Elara's eyes glazed over, her body moving on autopilot. She shifted again, charging.
But this time, I didn't fight back.
I dropped to my knees, arms spread, exposing my throat.
"If you're going to kill me," I said quietly, "then do it. But know that I love you. Even if you don't remember me."
Her wolf stopped inches from my throat, trembling.
Behind those amber eyes, I saw something flicker. Confusion. Pain. Recognition.
"Kill her!" Lucien roared.
Elara's jaws opened.
Then snapped shut.
She stepped back, shifting to human, her face a mask of anguish.
"I... I can't."
"Useless," Lucien snarled. "Fine. I'll do it myself."
He leaped from the balcony, shifting mid-air—a massive brown wolf, easily twice my size.
But before he could land, Damien intercepted him.
They collided with bone-crushing force, tumbling across the stone floor.
"Run!" Damien shouted at me.
But I wasn't running anymore.
I stood, facing Elara. "You don't have to believe me. But you don't have to kill me either."
She stared at me, tears streaming. "What do I do?"
"Choose," I said simply. "Not what they told you. Not what I'm telling you. Choose for yourself."
Around us, the battle raged. Veda was a whirlwind of death, taking down three wolves at once. The rogues fought with desperate fury, but they were outnumbered.
We were losing.
Then the cathedral doors exploded inward.
And the Alpha Don walked in.
He was tall, imposing, silver-haired, his eyes ancient and cold. Power radiated from him like heat from a furnace.
Every wolf in the chamber froze. Even mid-combat.
His presence was absolute.
"Enough," he said quietly.
His voice carried, commanding, undeniable.
Lucien and Damien broke apart, both breathing hard, bleeding.
The Alpha Don's gaze swept the room, landing on me. Then Elara.
"Two daughters," he said, almost amused. "Both alive. Both awakened. Interesting."
My blood ran cold.
Daughters.
Plural.
"What?" I whispered.
He smiled. "Did you think Lucien was your only enemy, Zariah? Did you think this was just about you?"
He gestured to Elara. "She's not just your sister. She's my insurance. My backup Luna. In case you proved... difficult."
Elara's face went white. "You said I was special. That I was—"
"You are special," he said coldly. "You're leverage. Just like your mother. Just like your sister." He turned to me. "Did you really think I'd let you live if you weren't useful?"
Rage exploded inside me, hot and blinding.
But before I could move, Veda's voice cut through the chamber.
"Zariah! Look out!"
I spun.
Too late.
Something slammed into my back—a silver blade, burning, agonizing.
I collapsed, gasping, as poison spread through my bloodstream.
Wolfsbane. Concentrated.
Through blurring vision, I saw my attacker.
Lena.
She stood there, holding the empty syringe, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "They have my brother. I had no choice."
Veda screamed, lunging at her, but Lena was already running, disappearing into the chaos.
I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't work. The poison was spreading fast, shutting down my wolf, my power, everything.
The Alpha Don laughed. "Perfect timing. Now, Elara, prove your loyalty. Finish what you started."
Elara stood frozen, staring at me.
At the sister she'd been raised to hate.
At the monster they'd convinced her I was.
"Do it," the Alpha Don commanded.
Elara's hand trembled as she picked up a blade from the ground.
She walked toward me slowly.
Knelt beside me.
Raised the blade.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
And brought it down.
But not into me.
Into the stone beside my head, shattering the blade.
"No," she said, her voice steady despite the tears. "I won't."
The Alpha Don's expression turned thunderous. "You dare defy me?"
"I dare," Elara said, standing, placing herself between him and me. "She's my sister. And I remember now. I remember everything you stole from me."
The Alpha Don's eyes blazed. "Then you'll die with her."
He shifted.
Not into a wolf.
Into something else.
Something ancient, monstrous, wrong.
A creature of pure shadow and bone, twice the size of any wolf, eyes burning crimson.
The Lunar Curse bloodline.
He was the source of the corruption.
Veda screamed a warning, but it was too late.
The creature lunged at Elara.
And from somewhere deep inside me, past the poison, past the pain, something roared.
The Luna Code exploded outward.
Not just command.
Power.
Pure, primal, unstoppable.
Every wolf in the chamber dropped to their knees, including Lucien, including Damien.
But the creature—the Alpha Don—he resisted.
Barely.
Through gritted teeth, through blood and poison, I whispered one word.
"Mine."
And the cathedral shook.