Chapter 36: Part Three: Shade - l

Ian thought about that as the two of them got in the car. Conor got into the back and she saw him just watch his daughter, his face still filled with awe that he was a father. She looked back over at Ian and saw him just shake his head no.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I honestly couldn’t tell.”

“The answer is no,” Gwen suddenly said from behind Kendra. She just zoomed in and if they had been ordinary humans, it might’ve given them a heart attack. But they were werewolves. Both Kendra and Ian heard and smelled her coming back.

“But I don’t have a choice in the matter.” There was a hitch in her voice as she spoke, like it was thick with emotion.

Kendra went to her and gave her a hug. As she did, Gwen started crying again.

“I’m so sorry,” Kendra told her, squeezing her a little bit tighter. “I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay,” Gwen replied as emotions whirled inside her. She hated what she had been forced to become but hated the fact that it caused such a huge rift between herself and her friends.

Especially Kendra.

All she felt now was a creeping loneliness that swelled up inside her like a tsunami and threatened to drown her.

Every second.

Of every day.

“I wanted to come back and say...”

She couldn’t finish though. Instead, she broke down into harsh sobs. Kendra tried to console her but she shook her head sadly.

“I came to say g-goodbye,” Gwen told her. “And that I’m sorry.”

“Maybe there’s something we can do,” Kendra told her. “Maybe we can reverse what he did to you.”

She shook her head no.

“There’s nothing you can do,” she replied. “There’s nothing anyone can do.”

She gave Kendra one last hug, both of them crying now, and then she turned and ran away, so fast that no one could even see her. She didn’t bother trying to wipe her tears away as dark thoughts circled inside her head. Bendis had taken so much from her. Her parents. The only man she ever loved. Her pack. Her friends. When was it going to be enough? She might not have an answer for that but Kendra knew one thing for sure. She was done letting Bendis take from her. She was done letting that bitch ruin her life.

It was time to act.

It was time to fight.

She felt her resolve strengthen inside her, newly forged and iron-hard. She focused on that and let it fill every last part of her. Slowly, the power inside her started to rise as well and she felt that overtake her. The sheer size and mass of it always scared her before but now, she welcomed it. She drank in its power.

As she kept her gaze on where Gwen had been, her eyes went completely white and started glowing softly. Just out of the corner, she could see Conor. There was a look of relief on his face. He even had one of his trademarked, half-smiles on it. Seeing it made her want to cry but she didn’t let that happen. Instead, she folded the love that still burned for him into that power as well.

“Go on. Keep going,” Conor said. He came to a stop directly in front of her and looked deeply into her eyes. “You know what to do.”

“I want to but how?” she asked, the white glow from her eyes pulsing now. “She took the alpha power from me. I’m too weak to take her on.”

Conor chuckled at that and started shaking his head.

“You’re wrong,” he told her. “She did try to take it back but she couldn’t. You’re too strong for her Kendra and because of that she fears you. She fears what you are. I’ve been trapped inside your mind for a while now. I’ve kind of picked up some things. One of which is what really happened when Bendis took your alpha power away. It is true that she tried to take it back but she couldn't and when she failed, she blocked it off instead. I can feel that, being trapped in here. That power is entwined with the very essence of who you are. One cannot exist without the other.”

The glow suddenly stopped at that, the power receding under the onslaught of uncertainty that started to bear down on her. She held up her desiccated arm and showed it to Conor. He stepped closer and raised a hand to her cheek, brushing the skin there gently. Her eyes widened with shock.

She had felt him! She felt his fingers on her face. His skin against hers.

“You are special, Kendra. You are more than a human. More than even a werewolf. You are vastly more powerful than either your father, your mother, or Bendis herself. And that terrifies her.” He leaned his head toward hers and gently kissed her on the lips.

She felt them against hers and as soon as she did, something inside her she hadn’t even been aware of started to crack. She could feel it weakening inside her, whatever it was. She found her own power, closed her eyes, and then sent most of it rushing at the wall. It took less than a second for the weakened barrier to completely shatter. Once it did, the full power she commanded rushed back in.

She brought up the arm that had desiccated and saw the real truth. It had all been an elaborate ruse. An illusion. It had been such a powerful bit of magic that everyone else who looked at her arm saw the same dead, gray-black flesh.

But not anymore.

Her arm was healthy and normal again. She breathed in through her nose, letting the cool night air fill her whole body. She let it out in a slow, controlled exhale. Then her eyes opened and exploded with intense, white light again as the alpha mark flared to life on her palm.