Chapter 31 Mother's Rage

Chapter 31 Mother's Rage
Sienna's POV

We ran until my legs gave out.

I collapsed against a tree. Lily still in my arms.

Kael stopped beside me. Breathing hard. "We need to keep moving."

"I know." But my body wouldn't cooperate.

Daemon appeared through the trees. "My pack is half a mile ahead. We're almost there."

"Almost" felt like forever.

I looked at Lily. She'd stopped crying. Now she just stared at me with wide eyes.

"You killed those people," she said.

Not a question. A statement.

"I didn't mean to."

"But you did."

"Yes." I couldn't lie to her. Wouldn't lie to her. "I did."

"Why?"

"Because they were going to take you away from me."

"So you killed them?"

The judgment in her voice cut deeper than any weapon.

"I lost control," I whispered. "My power. It was too much. I couldn't stop it."

"You didn't try to stop it."

She was right. In that moment, when the chains broke, when my power exploded, I hadn't tried to control it.

I'd wanted them to hurt. Wanted them to pay for threatening my daughter.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't say sorry to me. Say sorry to them."

"They're dead, baby. I can't."

"Then you have to live with it." Lily touched my face. "Forever."

Five years old and already wiser than I'd ever be.

Footsteps approached. Everyone tensed.

Orion stumbled into view. His face was battered. Bleeding. But alive.

"Luna held them off," he gasped. "Gave us maybe ten minutes. But they're coming."

"Is Luna okay?" I asked.

Orion didn't answer. Didn't meet my eyes.

That was answer enough.

Luna was dead. Or captured. Or dying.

Because of me.

"We have to keep moving," Daemon said. "Grief later. Survival now."

He was right. But guilt sat heavy in my chest.

Three hunters dead by my hand. Luna sacrificed. Everyone I loved running for their lives.

All because I couldn't control my power.

We reached Daemon's pack twenty minutes later.

Fifty wolves waited in a clearing. Some in human form. Some in wolf form. All armed. All ready to fight.

"This is everyone," Daemon said. "Everyone who chose to follow me. To protect you."

"I can't ask them to do this," I said.

"You're not asking. We're offering." A young woman stepped forward. "I'm Claire. Daemon's beta. He told us everything. About you. About the Assembly. About what they're trying to do."

"They're trying to execute me. And they're right to. I killed three people."

"You defended yourself."

"That's not what they'll say. That's not what the evidence shows."

Claire crossed her arms. "Then we make new evidence. We tell the truth. We stand with you."

"You'll die if you do."

"Maybe. But we'll die free. Not on our knees obeying Assembly lies."

The other wolves howled in agreement. The sound sent chills down my spine.

These people didn't know me. Didn't owe me anything.

But they were willing to die for me anyway.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Don't thank us yet." Claire looked at Daemon. "The Assembly is fifteen minutes behind. Maybe less. We need a plan."

"We scatter," Daemon said. "Split into groups. Make them chase multiple targets."

"That just spreads us thin," Kael said. "We need to stay together."

"Together we're easier to track. Easier to kill."

They argued. Voices rising. Everyone had opinions. No one had solutions.

I looked at Lily. She'd fallen asleep in my arms. Exhausted. Terrified. Traumatized.

This was her life now. Running. Hiding. Watching her mother kill people.

What kind of future was that?

Dr. Helena appeared beside me. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm not."

"Understandable." She pulled out her scanner. "May I?"

I nodded.

She ran the scanner over me. Her eyes widened.

"What?" I asked.

"Your power levels. They're through the roof. Higher than I've ever seen."

"Is that bad?"

"I don't know. But it explains why you lost control." She showed me the readings. "When they put those chains on you, your power didn't suppress. It compressed. Built up pressure. When you broke free, it all released at once."

"So I'm a bomb waiting to explode?"

"More like a dam that's cracking. If you keep suppressing, keep fighting your own power, eventually it will break free again. And next time might be worse."

"How do I stop it?"

"You don't suppress it in the first place. You let it flow naturally. Constantly. Like breathing."

"Luna said that would get me killed."

"Luna was teaching you survival in a world that hunts you. But survival isn't the same as living." Dr. Helena put her scanner away. "You have to decide. Keep yourself caged and risk more explosions. Or embrace your power and face the consequences."

Both options were terrible.

But one option let me protect Lily. Let me control when and how my power released.

The other option meant more accidents. More deaths. More guilt.

"I choose control," I said. "Real control. Not suppression."

"Then we need to teach you. Fast."

"How? Luna's gone. She was the only one who knew how to train moon witches."

"Luna taught suppression. That's not what you need." Dr. Helena looked at Kael. "You need someone who understands both magic and science. Someone who can help you find balance."

Kael met my eyes. "I'll help. If you'll let me."

"You're a doctor, not a magic teacher."

"I'm a scientist who studies how supernatural bodies work. That includes yours." He moved closer. "Let me help you. Let me prove I'm not the man who rejected you. Let me be the man who stands beside you."

The words hung between us. Heavy. Important.

"Okay," I whispered. "Help me."

He smiled. Small. Genuine. "We start now."

"The Assembly is coming..."

"Which is why we start now. You need control before they arrive. Or more people die."

He was right.

I handed Lily to Daemon. Stepped into the center of the clearing.

Kael faced me. "Close your eyes. Feel your power. Don't fight it. Don't suppress it. Just feel it."

I closed my eyes. Reached for my power.

It roared. Wild and hungry.

"It wants out," I said.

"Let it out. Slowly. Like opening a valve.

I tried. But the power didn't want slow. It wanted free.

Silver light burst from my hands.

"Too much!" Kael shouted. "Pull it back!"

I couldn't. The power was in control now.

My body started to change. To shift.

Not into wolf form. Into something else. Something bigger.

"Sienna, stop!" Dr. Helena yelled.

I couldn't stop. Couldn't control it.

The transformation was happening whether I wanted it or not.

My bones stretched. My vision changed. My consciousness expanded.

I was becoming something massive. Something terrifying.

Something beyond werewolf. Beyond moon witch.

Something new.

Everyone backed away from me. Even Kael. Even Daemon.

I was alone in my transformation. Alone in my power.

Alone in my rage.

The transformation completed.

I stood on four legs. Massive. Silver. Glowing with otherworldly light.

A wolf. But wrong. Too big. Too powerful. Too much.

I looked at my reflection in a puddle.

My eyes glowed like stars. My fur moved like liquid silver. My teeth could tear through steel.

I was beautiful.

I was terrifying.

I was everything the Assembly feared.

And I couldn't change back.

Word Count: 700