Chapter 56

Chapter 56
Elara’s POV

The rogue lunged, teeth snapping, and I barely threw myself aside in time. Its claws raked the dirt where my chest had been. My heart slammed against my ribs. I scrambled up, breath sharp in my throat.

Marcus didn’t hesitate. He shifted mid-leap, his wolf form colliding with another rogue bursting from the trees. Snarls and the crack of bone filled the air.

I was frozen for half a second, useless. Then the second rogue came at me, and I had no choice.

I grabbed a branch from the ground, the wood rough under my hands, and swung with all the strength I had. It caught the rogue across the muzzle. He stumbled, growled, and came again.

Fear pressed down on me, heavy, suffocating. My knees shook. My arms burned. But then I remembered Damian’s voice in the council chamber, the way he had begged me to come back. I remembered the way the pack had stared down at me as I walked away this morning, waiting for me to fail.

I couldn’t. Not here. Not now.

The rogue lunged again. I shifted my grip on the branch and drove it into his side as hard as I could. His yelp tore through the trees. He staggered back, eyes wild.

Heat flared under my skin, the same burning I had felt before. My palms tingled. My vision sharpened. The rogue looked suddenly slower, like every move he made was just a fraction too late.

I pushed forward, surprising even myself, and shoved him off balance. His head cracked against a rock. He didn’t get back up.

I was gasping for air, my chest heaving, but there was no time to think. Another rogue was circling Marcus, snapping at his flanks. Blood matted his fur but he was still standing, still fighting.

“Move!” he barked between growls, and I stumbled to his side, grabbing another branch. My hands were slick with sweat and blood, but I held on.

The rogue darted for me. I swung low, catching him across the legs. Marcus took the opening, lunging at his throat. The sound was awful — bone, tearing, silence.

Marcus lifted his head, blood dripping from his muzzle. His eyes burned into mine. “You’re not dead yet. Keep it that way.”

Before I could answer, two more rogues burst from the brush. My stomach dropped. Four against two — maybe more hidden in the trees.

Marcus snarled, but his legs shook as he planted himself in front of me. He was bleeding too much. If he went down, it was over.

I stepped up beside him, my whole body trembling. My hands burned hotter, like fire under my skin. I didn’t know if it was the gift Sarah had spoken of or just sheer terror, but I gritted my teeth and refused to step back.

The first rogue lunged. Marcus met him head-on. The second came for me.

I ducked, rolled, felt claws slice across my back. Pain ripped through me, sharp and hot. I screamed, but I didn’t stop moving. I came up behind him and shoved the branch into his ribs.

He turned on me, growling, drool dripping from his jaws. My arms shook as I held the branch like a spear.

“Come on,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “Try me.”

He lunged.

I braced myself — and heat exploded from my palms, searing into the wood. The rogue jerked like he’d been shocked. His body convulsed. He collapsed, twitching, and then lay still.

I stared at my hands, my chest heaving. The branch was glowing faintly where I’d touched it, the wood charred black.

Marcus slammed the last rogue to the ground and crushed its throat. The forest went quiet except for my gasps and the drip of blood onto leaves.

Slowly, Marcus shifted back, his body trembling, covered in cuts. He looked at the bodies, then at me. His eyes were hard, calculating.

“You killed them,” he said flatly.

I swallowed. My throat was raw. “I didn’t have a choice.”

He stared at my hands, still glowing faintly. “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. And I didn’t. All I knew was that I was still standing, and the rogues weren’t.

Marcus’s jaw tightened. He grabbed my arm, too rough, and dragged me toward the ridge. “The council needs to see this.”

I stumbled after him, every step sending fire up my back where the rogue had clawed me. My blood was dripping into the dirt, leaving a trail behind.

When we broke out of the trees, pack members were already gathered at the edge, waiting. Their eyes widened at the sight of Marcus covered in blood, me barely upright, the rogues’ bodies behind us.

“She killed them,” Marcus called out, his grip on me tight. His voice carried across the crowd. “With her hands.”

Gasps rippled through the pack. Whispers rose, sharp and quick. Dangerous. Blessed. Unnatural. Monster.

I swayed on my feet, the words spinning around me. I tried to meet their eyes, but the weight of their stares pressed me down.

Then I saw him. Damian, shoving his way through the crowd, his face pale and furious. His hands caught me before I could fall.

“What did you do to her?” His voice shook with rage as he rounded on Marcus.

“She showed them what she is,” Marcus snapped back. “Now the council has no choice but to decide.”

Damian pulled me against his chest, his hand cradling the back of my head. His heart was hammering hard enough for me to feel it.

The whispers grew louder, rising into shouts. Half the pack sounded afraid. The other half sounded ready to worship.

And all I could think, as the world tilted and the pain in my back spread like fire, was that whatever happened next would decide if I still had a place here.