Chapter 53

Chapter 53


Harry's lips curled into a cruel smile as he looked at me, gun still pointed casually in our direction. His confidence was infuriating—the certainty that he had already won.

"What exactly do you think you're going to do?" he asked, his tone dripping with mockery. "Attack me? After all that vampire blood I pumped into your system?" He chuckled, the sound sending ice through my veins. "You can barely stand, much less fight."

He was right about one thing—I wasn't at full strength. The vampire toxin still lingered in my bloodstream, making my movements sluggish. But he had underestimated something crucial: my rage.

It started as a pressure in my chest, a burning sensation that spread outward through my limbs. My heart pounded frantically against my ribcage as if trying to escape. The heat intensified, pooling in my hands until my palms felt like they were being pressed against hot coals.

"You're wrong," I managed to say through clenched teeth, the words emerging as a feral growl.

Harry's expression shifted from amusement to confusion as he watched me. "What the hell is happening to you?"

I didn't answer—couldn't answer. The burning had become unbearable, consuming my thoughts. I looked down at my hands in shock and saw them glowing from within, pulsing with an orange light that grew brighter by the second.

Then, without warning, flames erupted from my palms—not small flickers but massive, roaring columns of fire that shot forward with explosive force. The sudden release was both agonizing and exhilarating, power flowing through me in waves I couldn't control or comprehend.

Harry's mocking smile vanished as the inferno engulfed him. He screamed, a sound of pure animal terror that cut through the roar of the flames. He dropped to the ground, rolling desperately to extinguish the fire that clung to his clothes and skin.

I stared in horror and fascination at my hands, at the flames still dancing across my fingers without burning my flesh. The fire responded to my emotions, growing stronger with my anger, diminishing slightly when shock momentarily overcame my rage.

The commotion had drawn attention. Doors slammed open around the compound as Harry's rogue pack members emerged, shifting into their wolf forms as they assessed the threat.

"We need to run!" Edward shouted, supporting his mother who stared at me with wide, fearful eyes.

But it was too late. The wolves were closing in, forming a circle around us, their teeth bared in vicious snarls. Behind them, Harry had managed to extinguish the flames on his body, though his skin was red and blistered where the fire had touched him. But he was still burning… from within. As if the fire was under his skin.

"Kill them!" he ordered, his voice hoarse from screaming. "Kill them all!"

The wolves lunged forward, and something inside me snapped. The dam broke, and power rushed through me unrestrained. I raised my hands, and this time the flames came willingly, eagerly, as if they'd been waiting all my life to be called forth.

Fire exploded from my palms in all directions, catching the attacking wolves mid-leap. Their howls of pain pierced the night as they retreated, some rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames, others fleeing into the darkness.

But I couldn't stop. The fire had taken on a life of its own, spreading beyond the wolves to ignite the dry wooden structures of the compound. Buildings caught quickly, flames leaping from one to the next. The heat was intense, scorching the air around us, yet Edward and his mother seemed protected, untouched by the inferno that raged all around.

The power was draining me rapidly. Each new burst of flame pulled energy from my core, leaving me weaker. My vision began to blur, the edges darkening as my consciousness started to slip away.

The last thing I saw was the compound engulfed in flames, burning like a beacon in the night. Then darkness claimed me, and I knew nothing more.



I woke to the sound of birds singing and the feel of cool, damp earth beneath me. My eyes fluttered open to see a gray sky above, morning light filtering through the trees surrounding me. For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was or how I'd gotten there.

Then it all came rushing back—Harry, the flames, the destruction. I sat up abruptly, wincing at the soreness that permeated every muscle in my body.

The compound was gone, reduced to smoking ruins in the distance. Blackened timbers stood like skeletal fingers against the dawn sky, and the acrid smell of burnt wood and flesh hung heavy in the air.

Edward sat nearby, keeping watch. His mother lay sleeping under his jacket a few feet away. When he saw me stirring, he approached cautiously, as if afraid I might burst into flames again at any moment.

"You're awake," he said, relief evident in his voice despite his wariness. "I wasn't sure if you would..."

"What happened?" I asked, my voice raspy from smoke inhalation. "After I... after the fire..."

Edward glanced back at the ruins of the compound. "You destroyed everything. The whole place just... burned. Some of the pack died in the flames. Others ran. My father..." He shook his head.

I looked down at my hands—normal hands, no sign of the destructive power they had channeled hours before. "I don't understand. How did I do that?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Edward replied, his expression a mixture of awe and fear. "I've never seen anything like it. You just... erupted. Fire came straight from your hands like you were some kind of living flamethrower. Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

I shook my head slowly, still trying to process what had happened. "I couldn't tell you because I didn't know. This has never happened before, not once in my life." I flexed my fingers, half-expecting flames to appear again. Nothing happened. "I don't know what's happening to me. First the healing, now this..."

Edward's eyes widened. "Healing? What healing?"

"When your father shot me," I explained, "I healed myself. Not normal werewolf healing—something different, something faster. And now this..." I gestured toward the smoldering ruins. "What am I becoming?"