**LENA'S POINT OF VIEW**

“Vivo is the preference.”

That's what he said, walking right past my guard's body as if the man didn't even exist.

I looked at the three of them.  

“Preference. That's a very careful word.”

The first one launched itself through the air, one leg outstretched toward me. My arms glowed silver on their own, sending it flying backward. Frost spread across the stone floor as it moved across the room.

I took down the first two before I even finished thinking, then I turned around, only to see the third one just standing there, watching as if I were putting on a show for him.

“Are you finished yet?” I have asked.

“Not yet,” I replied, smiling as I twirled around doing a waltz.  

“Do you want to join?” I asked, smiling.

I saw a small dart coming towards me, with a red feather on the end. I reached out confidently to catch it.

“Damn reflection…”, I muttered as I fell to the ground with a thud.

I had failed.

I need to improve my speed, I thought. My inner wolf retreated somewhere deep inside me, where I couldn't reach her.

He walked slowly towards me.  

“There she is.”

Both doors burst open. Sebastian entered through the left and Caleb through the right.

The man reached out toward Caleb, which was probably the biggest mistake of his life. Caleb's claws sank into his neck, tearing off a chunk of skin and nearly snapping it in two.

Sebastian crouched down in front of me.  

"Are you OK?"

“I'm fine,” I replied weakly.

“You're on the ground, Lena,” Sebastian said, looking at me with concern.

“I know where I am, Sebastian,” I snapped, though my voice lacked strength.

“Can you feel your she-wolf?” he asked, observing closely.

“Not really,” I admitted, my eyes closing for a second.

“The dart had a suppressor,” Caleb said, his eyes fixed on the man he was holding by the neck. The attacker was struggling to breathe, his jugular vein exposed, blood trickling down his neck as he spat more onto the ground. “Marcus warned us they were using those.”

“Did you know and not tell me?” I asked.

“We didn't know they had already broken into the building.”

He helped me up and I left him.

Caleb looked at the man.  

“How many more are coming?”

The man smiled, a painful and broken smile, even with blood running from his mouth.  

“Hundreds… The moment she entered this Summit, she sent a signal across the entire continent… Every operative we have felt it.”

“He's lying,” Sebastian said.

“It isn't,” Caleb countered.

The man looked at me over Caleb's shoulder.  

"You... cannot stop what is coming for you. None of you can."

Sebastian grabbed him by the shirt.  

“Where do they come from?”

“From everywhere.”

“That's not an answer.”

“It's the only one you're going to get,” he smiled.

Sebastian tightened his grip and Caleb touched his arm.  

“We need him alive.”

"Really? It won't last long anyway."

“Sebastian”.

"Alright".

He let go and they both turned towards me.

“We’re leaving tonight,” Sebastian said. “Iron Ridge. I have enough warriors there to withstand whatever they send.”

“We invoke the law of the Summit,” Caleb countered. “We defend this land. Running away tells every pack watching that we’re afraid.”

“Running away keeps her alive,” Sebastian argued, looking at Caleb with contempt.

“Running away gives them exactly what they want,” Caleb said calmly.

“I don’t care about them,” Sebastian snapped, losing his patience.

“You should care. We don’t know who’s behind those three.”

“Yes, we know. The Shadow Collectives.”

“Do you know who’s behind them?” Sebastian’s voice lowered. “Because three years ago you didn’t know your own father well enough to protect her, so don’t ask me to trust your judgment now.”

“That’s not fair.”

“None of this is fair, Caleb.”

“Both of you, that’s enough!” I said brusquely.

They fell silent and looked at me.

“Fighting amongst yourselves is exactly what they want, so stop giving them what they want.”

Neither of them said anything.

I looked at the dart in my hand.  

"How long until the elders reach a conclusion?"

Sebastian looked at Caleb. Caleb looked at the ground.

My stomach sank.

“You can leave.”

“We can’t,” Caleb said.

“He said more men would come. We can’t leave you alone,” Sebastian added.

"Go away, please. Find out what the Council is up to."

They hesitated, reluctantly, but in the end they left.

I sat, gazing out the open window at the birds flying free, and wondered if I could ever truly live like this now that my powers had been exposed.

Was this power a blessing or a curse?

What was I supposed to do with it?

If my parents hadn't died in that fire, would I still have been treated like an orphan? Does she look weak? Rejected by Caleb?

And if I hadn't been rejected, would the trauma have awakened my powers anyway?

Perhaps I would have been like any other girl, wearing silk corsets, with long, flowing hair, dancing in ballrooms. Marrying my destined mate. Living freely.

I laughed, a cold, sharp sound, like ice hitting metal.

Footsteps were heard outside the door; guards replacing those who had died.

I closed my eyes and counted.

Six.

I smiled. Caleb and Sebastian weren't taking any risks.

I immersed myself in my thoughts again.

This is my reality. A power I don't understand, for which they hunt me like an animal.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

I straightened my dress.  

"Forward".

The door creaked just enough for an elderly woman to slip inside, carrying a tray of food.

It smelled faintly of lavender and aconite, a healer.

“I’m Mrs. Elvira,” she said gently, placing the tray on a small table near the fireplace. “The Council assigned me to monitor your condition.”

“Condition?” I repeated dryly.

He gave me a sympathetic look.  

“Eclipse bloodlines are unpredictable when they are emotionally agitated.”

I sighed.  

"That's a polite way of saying dangerous."

“Yes,” he said simply.

I watched her as she moved around the room, switching on flashlights with quiet efficiency. Unlike the guards, she didn't smell of fear. Curiosity, perhaps, but not fear.

“Have you ever seen an eclipse before?” I asked.

“No,” I admitted. “But I have studied the legends.”

"AND?"

She paused, interlacing her fingers.  

"The most recent Eclipse event resulted in the destruction of an entire region, following a forced killing attempt that triggered their powers."

Comforting.

I settled into an armchair near the fire.  

"Charming. So everyone expects me to explode."

“They expect you to choose,” Ella gently corrected.

His words hung in the air.

“Do you believe in destiny?” I asked in a low voice.

She smiled slightly.  

"I believe that destiny presents opportunities. It is our choices that decide the path."

I stared into the fire. Silver sparks danced in the flames each time my emotions intensified.

'So I'm standing in front of two doors,' I whispered.

“And none of them are safe,” she said quietly as she headed for the exit.

Exact.

I paced back and forth for a while, thinking about her words. Then my stomach grew.

I approached the tray.

The aroma hit me immediately, rich, warm, irresistible.

Chicken soup, rice, fruit, cookies, side dishes.

I took the spoon and tasted the soup.

It was heavenly.

Onion, garlic, the sharp sting of pepper spreading across my tongue, rising warmly to the back of my throat. Celery, herbs, and something else I couldn't identify.

I kept eating.

Something was dripping from my nose. I wiped it absentmindedly and carried it on.

It fell again, making me stop. The smell hit me.

Blood?

Then I felt it.

Pain, sharp and violent, twisting through my stomach as if something were tearing me apart from the inside.

I doubled over, panting.

My intestines

They felt knotted, twisting.

I fell to the ground, whimpering as the claws tore through. My bones creaked as my body transformed into my wolf form.

It was painful. I knew it.

I howled weakly.

And everything went black.