Chapter Two: The Shadows That Follow

The rumble in the earth grew stronger, vibrating up through Elara’s legs, making her knees shake. The shadows in the woods moved faster now, their shapes indistinct but predatory. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, every instinct screaming at her to run, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the figures closing in.

“Get behind me,” Ronan ordered, stepping in front of her. His voice had dropped an octave, a growl threading through his words.

Before she could process what was happening, Ronan’s body began to change. His muscles tensed, expanding beneath his clothes as his bones shifted with an audible crack. His eyes glowed bright silver, and a low snarl rumbled from his chest. His transformation was brutal, raw, and terrifying. In seconds, Ronan was no longer the man she had met just moments ago—he was a massive black wolf, towering over her, his fur rippling under the moonlight.

Elara gasped, stumbling backward as fear jolted through her.

Kael chuckled softly, completely unfazed by the transformation. “Show-off,” he muttered, stepping forward with graceful ease. Unlike Ronan’s violent shift, Kael didn’t need to transform to exude power. With a flick of his wrist, the air around him shimmered, and a burst of light shot from his hand, arcing toward the shadows in the woods.

The light hit the nearest figure, and for the first time, Elara saw what they were up against. The creature let out a blood-curdling screech as the light hit it, its body twisting unnaturally as it fell to the ground. It was humanoid but distorted—its skin pale and thin, stretched too tightly over sharp bones. Its eyes were hollow, glowing faintly with an eerie green light.

“Nightlings,” Kael said calmly, as if discussing the weather. “Lovely creatures, aren’t they?”

Elara’s breath hitched in her throat. She had never seen anything like this. Monsters. Actual monsters, right in front of her. Her mind couldn’t keep up, couldn’t make sense of it. This couldn’t be real.

The other Nightlings advanced, undeterred by the loss of their companion. Ronan leapt forward, his massive jaws snapping as he tore into the closest one, while Kael continued to hurl bursts of light at them with practiced precision.

But even as they fought, more Nightlings emerged from the shadows, crawling out of the darkness like something from a nightmare. There were too many of them, and they were closing in fast.

“Elara!” Kael called out, his voice slicing through the chaos. “You need to go. Now.”

“But—” she started, her voice trembling.

“No time!” he snapped, his eyes locking onto hers with urgency. “Run!”

Elara’s legs finally obeyed, and she turned, sprinting toward the manor. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her heart hammering in her chest as she stumbled up the steps to the front door. Her hands shook so violently that she fumbled with the keys, dropping them on the ground.

Cursing under her breath, she crouched to pick them up, her fingers numb from fear. Just as she grabbed the keys, a loud snarl echoed behind her, followed by a scream. Elara spun around, her back pressed against the door, her eyes wide as she saw Ronan, still in his wolf form, take down another Nightling. His teeth sank into its neck, and he shook the creature with a violent snap, sending its lifeless body flying into the woods.

Kael was still standing further down the path, his hands glowing as he summoned more light. But even he seemed strained, his usually composed expression slipping as he fought to keep the Nightlings at bay.

Elara’s blood ran cold. There were too many. They wouldn’t last much longer.

Something inside her—something primal, something deep—stirred.

Without thinking, Elara took a step forward, her body moving on its own. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she felt a strange pull, like something inside her was waking up, responding to the danger around her.

Her pulse slowed, and everything seemed to sharpen—the wind, the sounds of the battle, the silver light of the moon bathing the night in its eerie glow.

And then it happened.

The air around her shimmered, and a low hum filled her ears. She raised her hand, her palm outstretched. A soft glow, barely visible at first, flickered at her fingertips, like the light of a distant star.

“Elara! No!” Ronan’s voice—human again—roared from the battlefield, but she couldn’t stop. Something inside her had snapped, and the power that had been lying dormant her whole life surged forward, wild and untamed.

The glow around her hand grew brighter, and with a wave of her arm, a blast of energy shot from her palm, slamming into the nearest Nightling. The creature disintegrated on impact, leaving only a faint wisp of smoke where it once stood.

Kael turned, his eyes wide with surprise. “Interesting…”

Ronan, back in human form, sprinted toward her, grabbing her by the arm. “You don’t know what you’re doing!” he growled, his face twisted with a mix of anger and concern.

Elara shook her head, pulling away from him. “I—I didn’t mean to,” she stammered, her voice trembling. Her hand still glowed faintly, the remnants of the power she had just unleashed.

But before Ronan could respond, a piercing howl echoed through the woods—a sound so chilling that it made Elara’s blood freeze in her veins.

More Nightlings, dozens of them, were closing in from all sides.

“There’s too many,” Ronan muttered under his breath, his fists clenching. “We need to get out of here.”

Kael approached them, his usual smirk replaced with a look of grim determination. “We’re outnumbered,” he said, his voice low. “Even I can’t hold them off for much longer.”

Elara’s heart sank. She had barely tapped into whatever strange power she possessed, but even that had drained her. She felt weak, shaky, like she was standing on the edge of something dangerous and vast. She didn’t know how to control it, didn’t understand it. But she had felt it—power unlike anything she had ever known.

“Come on,” Ronan said, grabbing her hand. His grip was firm, but there was a gentleness to it now. “We need to go. Now.”

Kael stepped in front of them, his hand glowing once more. “I’ll create a distraction. Run to the manor. Don’t look back.”

Elara hesitated, her gaze flickering between Ronan and Kael. The pull between them was almost unbearable—Ronan, fierce and protective, and Kael, mysterious and seductive. Both of them, in their own ways, were tied to her fate.

But there was no time to decide. The Nightlings were closing in, their hollow eyes glowing with hunger.

Kael turned, his body radiating with light. With a single word, he released a wave of energy, sending the Nightlings scattering into the trees.

Ronan pulled her forward, and together they ran toward the manor, the cold wind whipping against their faces. Elara’s mind was spinning, her body moving on instinct as they reached the front door.

As they crossed the threshold, the door slamming shut behind them, Elara collapsed to the floor, her chest heaving with exertion.

“What was that?” she gasped, looking up at Ronan.

He knelt beside her, his eyes dark with worry. “That was the first taste of what you are,” he said quietly. “But it’s just the beginning.”

Elara swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she looked at the faint glow still lingering on her skin. What had she done? What had she become?

And what was going to happen next?

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