The forest grew darker as the sky dimmed, the air thick with anticipation. Aliyah's fingers clenched the edge of the wagon seat, eyes darting with fear.
Garrick's voice cut through the stillness, low and mocking. "Hiding in the wagon, Aliyah?"
Aliyah's heart pounded. Her jaw tightened.
She stepped out of the cart, fury rising in her chest. "You planned this... all of you."
Garrick shrugged. "You were never meant to leave with him. And now? Leo dies here. No pack. No witnesses. Just a tragic rogue ambush."
The rogues howled in agreement, circling tighter.
Leo stepped protectively in front of Aliyah, his voice low and lethal. "You'll regret this."
Bayle chuckled darkly facing Leo. "We'll see about that. But before you die here, let me reintroduce myself." He stepped forward, a cruel grin spreading. "The one standing before you is the future Alpha Bayle. Heh heh heh."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "You should do that only if you survive."
The woods erupted into chaotic fury teeth clashed, claws tore through fur, and snarls echoed like war cries. Leo's pack fought with deadly precision and fierce loyalty, ready to die for their Alpha.
And in the middle of it all, Aliyah stood trembling not from fear, but from a deep, rising rage.
Because they had underestimated her.
And that would be their last mistake.
Aliyah stood beside the wagon, her heart slamming against her ribs. The air stank of violence. Her hands trembled at her sides, powerless until she saw Leo.
He was fighting two at once, claws slashing, fur streaked with blood. Rylan leapt beside him, fending off a rogue trying to flank them. But even with their strength, they were outnumbered.
Then came Bayle and Garrick.
Together.
Bayle lunged, knocking Leo to the ground. Garrick followed with a snarl, driving his claws deep into Leo's side. Leo roared in pain, kicking off Bayle, only to be hit again. The pack was too far, too scattered to help.
Aliyah, unable to watch Leo's life hang in the balance any longer, screamed a sound raw, primal, and torn from the depths of her soul.
Everything slowed. Her pulse pounded like a war drum, and something ancient stirred inside her.
A snap. A shift. A scream that wasn't entirely human.
She dropped to her knees, back arching as bone ground and reshaped. A scream tore through the night, echoing off the trees, as her body surrendered to the Lycan she had hidden for far too long.
Fur black as midnight erupted across her skin, her limbs lengthening, sharpening. Her eyes glowed silver as her fangs bared. The rogues hesitated.
Even Leo, bloodied and stunned, went still.
Dara.
The name echoed in his mind as he watched her his mate, no longer just Aliyah, but the warrior spirit inside her unleashed.
With a snarl that shook the trees, she launched herself into the fray. Garrick turned, too late. Her claws tore into him, ripping through skin and muscle. He screamed but it didn't last long.
She didn't stop.
The rogues tried to flee, but Aliyah was fury incarnate. She tore through them with the strength of ten wolves, her rage unrelenting. Blood soaked the leaves, bones snapped beneath her claws. One rogue after another fell, their snarls silenced.
Bayle backed away, eyes wide, trembling.
Aliyah turned on him, her lips curling.
She lunged
But a voice stopped her mid-air.
"Stop Aliyah!"
Leo, panting, bleeding, but still standing.
"Stop."
She skidded to a halt, breath ragged, claws inches from Bayle's throat.
"He shouldn't die this easily," Leo said, his voice hoarse but firm.
Aliyah growled, low and furious, her body trembling with the weight of unleashed power caught between vengeance and restraint.
"He'll face punishment," Leo said. "But not like this."
Her chest heaved. For a long moment, she didn't move.
Then slowly, reluctantly, she stepped back.
Bayle collapsed to the ground, still trembling.
Around them, the clearing fell silent.
Garrick's body lay lifeless, torn beyond recognition. The rogue threat was over but not without cost.
Two of Leo's wolves lay still, their bodies bloodied and broken. The remaining wolves stood quietly around them, mourning in silence, a low, mournful growl rumbling through the clearing.
Aliyah's form shifted back, her body collapsing into Leo's arms. He caught her, despite the blood seeping from his wounds, and gently wrapped his coat around her trembling frame.
For a moment, he just held her, his chest rising with uneven breaths, his jaw clenched against pain and disbelief. The forest was quiet now, broken and bloodstained, but they were alive.
He looked down at her, brushing damp hair from her face.
"All this time…" he murmured. "You carried that power alone."
His voice dropped lower. "Is that why you kept your wolf hidden?"
She nodded, voice soft. "I was scared… of what others would think. What they'd say."
She paused, then added, her voice barely above a whisper, "Remember when I told you I escaped when a beast killed Austin and Luke? I didn't just escape. I killed them. That was the first time she came out my wolf."
Leo's expression didn't change he had wondered, deep down, how she truly escaped the so called beast. But hearing it from her lips now brought the weight of that moment crashing back between them.
Still, his hand rose, cupping her cheek with quiet reverence.
"You survived," he said softly. "Not because you ran… but because you fought."
"It's not something to hide," he said gently. "You should be proud, my love. You're a Lycan one of the strongest beings of our kind."
Their gazes lingered, raw with everything unspoken.
Unbeknownst to them, a group of rogues hidden deep in the trees had watched the entire battle from afar. And when Aliyah had transformed when her Lycan form tore through Garrick's forces like a force of nature they had turned and fled in silence, vanishing into the forest shadows.
Word would spread. Of the she-wolf with silver fire in her veins.
Then Leo turned to the others. "Thank you for your strength. For surviving."
The remaining wolves bowed in silent respect.
With care, the fallen were laid in the wagon where Aliyah had once sat honored in silence.
Before Bayle was chained, Leo stepped toward him, his voice low but lethal.
"You were my father's most trusted wolf," Leo said. "Yet you chose betrayal over loyalty. I remember him warning me to be wary of you. Just before he died, he said the trust was gone he'd begun to doubt you."
His eyes darkened. "Whatever punishment awaits you… it won't compare to what you've already lost."
Bayle didn't speak. He couldn't.
Bound in chains and muzzled, he was dragged through the dirt, a traitor among wolves.
They resumed their journey in silence, the air heavy with blood and loss yet charged with something new.
Respect. Awe. Fear.
Aliyah was no longer just a girl caught between packs.
She was the Lycan reborn.