Chapter 16 Power Revealed
The morning Lena left, the house finally exhaled.
The air felt lighter, though her perfume still lingered faintly in the halls. Servants moved faster now. Their steps were less hesitant. But Amanda couldn't shake the unease that sat in her chest like a stone. Lena had left too quietly. No dramatic goodbye. No teasing words. Just a smile that didn't reach her eyes before she stepped into the car.
Amanda watched from the balcony as the car drove away through the gates. Relief should have followed. Instead, a shiver ran down her spine.
Something told her Lena had something up her sleeves.
Amanda pushed the thought aside and turned from the window. There was no point dwelling on it now.
She spent the morning in the library, thumbing through books she couldn't focus on. Derek had left early for patrol. The house felt empty without his presence, though she hated admitting it. She kept replaying their conversation in the garden. The way he had sat beside her. The honesty in his voice when he said he didn't belong either.
It shouldn't have mattered. But it did.
By midday, the quiet shattered.
Shouts erupted from the training grounds beyond the estate. Amanda's head snapped up. She dropped the book and moved to the window. Figures were running toward the main courtyard. Someone was yelling for the healer.
Her pulse quickened. She grabbed her skirts and ran.
The courtyard was chaos.
Warriors crowded in a tight circle. Their voices overlapped, sharp and urgent. Amanda pushed through, her heart pounding. In the center, a young man lay on the ground. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and spreading fast. His face was pale, twisted in pain. His breathing came in short, ragged gasps.
The pack healer knelt beside him. Her hands pressed against his side. Her face was tight with concentration, but the blood kept coming. It soaked through the cloth she held, dripping between her fingers.
"His wolf isn't healing," someone muttered. "Why isn't it working?"
"The blade was silver," another voice answered grimly. "It's in too deep."
Amanda's stomach turned. Silver. That explained the smell, sharp and metallic, cutting through the air.
Derek stood at the edge of the circle. His jaw was tight. His eyes were fixed on the wounded man. He didn't move, but tension radiated from him like heat.
"Calen." Derek's voice cut through the noise. "Stay with us."
The young warrior's eyes fluttered. He tried to speak, but only a choked sound came out. Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth.
The healer looked up. Her face was stricken. "Alpha heir, I can't stop it. The silver is blocking his healing. If we don't get it out..."
"Then get it out," Derek snapped.
"It's too deep. If I dig for it, he'll bleed out before I find it."
The words hung in the air, heavy and final.
Amanda's hands trembled at her sides. She stared at Calen. At the blood spreading across the stone. At the fear in his eyes. Something inside her twisted, sharp and insistent. She didn't think. She just moved.
"Let me try."
Every head turned. The crowd parted slightly as she stepped forward. The healer blinked at her, confused.
"Luna, this isn't..."
"Let me try," Amanda repeated. Her voice was steadier than she felt.
Derek's eyes locked on hers. For a moment, she thought he would refuse. Then he gave a single, tight nod.
Amanda knelt beside Calen. The blood was warm, sticky against her knees. She ignored it. Up close, she could see the wound more clearly. A jagged tear across his ribs. The edges dark with silver poisoning. His breathing was shallow, weakening.
She placed her hands over the wound.
The moment her palms touched his skin, something inside her stirred. It wasn't like breaking Derek's curse. That had been cold, forceful, like tearing through iron. This was different. Warmth spread from her birthmark down through her arms. It pooled in her hands, gentle but insistent.
Light bloomed between her fingers.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Amanda barely heard them. She focused on the warmth, on the pulse of energy flowing from her into Calen. She could feel the silver, foreign and poisonous, lodged deep in his flesh. She imagined pulling it out, drawing it toward her hands like drawing water from a well.
The light grew brighter. Gold and soft, it spilled over the wound, wrapping around the torn skin. Calen gasped. His back arched. Then, slowly, the bleeding slowed. The edges of the wound began to knit together. The silver shard surfaced, pushed out by the healing flesh, and clattered onto the stone.
Amanda's hands trembled. Sweat dripped down her temple. The warmth faded, and with it, the light.
She pulled her hands back.
The wound was closed. A thin scar remained, pink and fresh, but the bleeding had stopped. Calen's breathing evened out. His eyes fluttered open, wide and disbelieving.
"Luna," he whispered hoarsely. "You... you saved me."
Amanda couldn't speak. Her chest heaved. Exhaustion crashed over her like a wave. She swayed, and a hand caught her elbow. Derek. His grip was firm, steadying her.
The courtyard was silent.
Then someone started clapping. Slowly, others joined in. The sound grew, filling the space, until the entire crowd was applauding. Warriors nodded at her. A few even bowed their heads in respect.
Amanda's throat tightened. She looked up at Derek. His expression was unreadable, but something flickered in his eyes. Pride, maybe. Or something else she couldn't name.
"Get him to the infirmary," Derek ordered. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. "Make sure he rests."
Two warriors lifted Calen carefully and carried him toward the main house. The crowd began to disperse, but the murmurs continued. Amanda caught fragments as people passed.
"Did you see that light?"
"She pulled the silver out without cutting him."
"Maybe she's stronger than we thought."
Amanda's legs felt weak. She wanted to sit down, to close her eyes and let the exhaustion take her. But she forced herself to stand.
Derek's hand was still on her elbow. He looked down at her. His gaze was searching. "You didn't have to do that."
"Yes, I did."
His jaw tightened. For a moment, she thought he would say something more. Instead, he released her arm and stepped back. "Go rest. You've earned it."
He turned and walked away before she could respond.
Far beyond the estate, in a stone tower overlooking the Nightfang territory, a man stood before a large window. His hands were clasped behind his back. His posture was relaxed but alert. Elias Hale watched the horizon. His expression was thoughtful.
Behind him, a younger man entered quietly. He bowed his head. "Alpha."
"Report."
"The spy returned from the estate. The Kingswell girl healed one of their warriors today. Publicly. The wound was fatal, silver-poisoned. She saved him without tools, without effort. The pack is talking about it."
Elias didn't move. His gaze remained fixed on the distant hills. "Interesting."
"She has real power, Alpha. More than we anticipated."
"So it seems." Elias turned slowly. His eyes were cold and calculating. "This complicates things."
"Do we proceed as planned?"
Elias smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "We proceed. But carefully. The girl is more valuable than I thought. If Derek Livingston doesn't see that, then he's even more foolish than his father."
The man nodded and left without another word.
Elias turned back to the window. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of red and gold. He watched the light fade, his expression thoughtful.
Amanda Kingswell. A healer with power strong enough to reverse curses and pull silver from poisoned wounds. She was becoming far more than a complication, she was a variable he hadn’t accounted for.
His smile returned, sharper this time, as new plans began to form in his mind.
That night, Amanda sat in her room, staring at her hands. They looked the same as always. Pale, slender, unremarkable. But she could still feel the warmth that had flowed through them. The light. The power.
She had saved Calen. She had done something real, something that mattered. For the first time since arriving at Nightfang, she felt like more than a ghost haunting the halls.
A knock at the door startled her.
"Come in."
The door opened slowly. Derek stepped inside. His expression was guarded. He didn't move past the threshold. The lamplight cast shadows across his face, making him look older, wearier.
"I wanted to thank you," he said quietly. "For what you did today. You saved Calen. The pack won't forget that."
Amanda stood. Her pulse quickened. "I only did what anyone would do."
"No." His voice was firm. "Not anyone. Most people would have hesitated. You didn't."
She didn't know what to say. The silence stretched between them, heavy but not uncomfortable.
Derek's gaze softened, just slightly. "You're stronger than I thought."
Before she could respond, he turned and left. The door clicked shut behind him.