Chapter 4 Burst of Power
Soraya
I spent the last two hours at the secret place I always visit when it's dark and quiet. A hidden clearing in the woods not far from Bridgestone.. It’s the only place where I can train. I’ve been learning how to fight in secret. Ever since the beatings from my husband started getting too much, I knew I had to find a way to be strong.
This is the only thing that gives me hope.
A twig suddenly snaps to my right. I freeze, and instantly move behind a tree to hold my breath. Shit, someone's out here. A pack guard strolls past my hiding spot with a torchlight as he scans the place.
My pulse roars in my ears. If he catches me out here past curfew, he won’t just report me to Damien, he’ll help him drag me back inside.
I squeeze my eyes shut, willing my golden wolf, Kira, to wake up and somehow help me out. But Kira remains dormant, buried beneath two years of relentless torment.
The guard pauses, sniffing the air for a terrifying second, before turning on his heel and walking toward the eastern perimeter.
I let out a breath of relief. I don't waste another second as I slip through the shadows, taking the hidden servant stairs that lead directly up to the third-floor master suite.
I pick the lock with a thin wire I keep hidden in my purse, then I slip inside and close the door behind me with a faint sigh.
I made it. I’m safe for the night.
I turn around, and every drop of blood drains instantly from my face.
The room is dark, save for the single beam of moonlight spilling through the window. Sitting in the armchair in the center of the room is Damien.
He’s still wearing his formal leather armor from his meeting with the council. A half-empty bottle of whiskey rests in his hand, his eyes are bloodshot, wild, and brimming with rage, and they are fixed directly on me.
I freeze in absolute shock, my hand still resting on the iron door handle as I feel my heart drops into my stomach.
“Damien…” I choke out, forcing my voice to sound light, forcing a pathetic, brittle smile onto my lips. “Honey, You’re… you’re back so fast. Was the meeting with the king’s council over already?”
He doesn't answer immediately. He just sits there, taking a long swig straight from the bottle, his chest heaving up and down like an enraged beast holding back a storm. I know without a doubt that I'm in trouble..
“Where the fuck were you, wife?” he whispers. The voice isn't loud, but it vibrates with a dangerous, deadly promise. Goddess, help me.
My mind races, searching desperately for an excuse. “I—I couldn't sleep. My body was hurting so much from earlier, so I went down to the kitchens to get some warm water from Flora—”
BANG*!*
Damien throws the whiskey bottle across the room. It shatters against the wall right next to my head, splattering glass and alcohol all over my skin. I flinch sharply, my arms flying up to shield my face as a scream rips from my throat.
Before I can lower my arms, Damien is across the room.
His big hand shoots out and grabs me around my throat, slamming me back into the heavy wooden door with enough force to make my teeth rattle. My head snaps back hard, and the impact of the stone wall hits my skull, making stars explode across my vision.
“Lying, useless whore!” he snarls into my face, breath reeking of heavy alcohol. “You think I’m stupid, Soraya?! You think I don’t know what you’re doing?! You weren’t in the fucking kitchen!”
“I was… Damien, please—” I gasp, clawing desperately at his fingers as he lifts me by my windpipe.
“You were out there spreading your legs, weren't you?!” he roars. “Which one of my guards is fucking you?! Is it Victor?! Is that why he looks at you like that?! You can’t bear my heir, but you’ll go out into the dark like a rutting dog to meet your fucking lover?!”
“No! No, I swear on the Moon Goddess, no!” Tears burst from my eyes, hot and scalding, trailing down my bruised cheeks. “I don't have a lover! I was alone! I swear to you, I was alone!”
“You lying bitch! No wonder the moon goddess cursed your womb! You've been cheating on me, your husband and Alpha for how long?!”
I am so sick of this. I am so tired of the accusations, the constant paranoia, the endless, agonizing cycle of his bruised ego being taken out on my body. A sharp, and deadly angry suddenly flickers through the terror suffocating me.
“I wish I cheated actually!” I scream through my crushed throat, glaring into his eyes with every ounce of hatred I possess. “Anything to get away from you!”
For a fraction of a second, his jaw drops. Then, his face contorts into something utterly demonic.
CRACK*.*
His knuckles hit my face with such violent force that my ear instantly starts ringing. Blood fills my mouth as my lip splits open against my teeth. The world spins, tilting sideways as he lets go of my neck, letting me collapse onto the hard floor like a broken rag doll.
Before I can crawl away, his boot comes down hard on my lower back, pinning me to the floor. An agonizing groan escapes me as he leans down to grab the collar of my dress with both hands and rips the fabric completely off me.
“Stop… Damien, stop!” My voice breaking into pathetic sobs as the cool air hits my bruised skin. “Please… don’t do this again… please!”
“Shut up!” he growls, reaching down to grab me by my hair and yanking my head back until my neck is stretched, forcing me to look up at him. “I’m leaving for the war tomorrow morning, Soraya. The Malrek has summoned us to the front lines. Do you know what that means?”
“It means I might die out there on the battlefield,” he whispers in my ear. “And there is no fucking way in hell I’m leaving my golden wolf wife behind for another man to claim. If I’m going to war, I’m taking you with me to the grave. I’m going to use your cunt one last time, and then I’m going to choke the life out of your pathetic body.”
He flips me onto my back and drops his knees on either side of my shoulders, pinning my arms.
He reaches down and suddenly slams his heavy hand on my bare breast, squeezing it with a crushing force.
A sharp scream of agony tears out of my throat as his fingers dig into my skin, bruising the tender flesh, threatening to crush the bone beneath. Agonizing pain floods every nerve in my body. Tears trail down my face as I struggle beneath him, but he only laughs, leaning his full weight into the pain he’s inflicting.
“Wow, look at you, he sneers with a crazy grin on his face. “So special. So rare. A golden wolf, reduced to a crying, bleeding piece of meat beneath my knees.”
He releases my breast, leaving behind deep, purpling marks, and shifts his hand up to my throat and squeezes hard.
I can't breathe anymore.
I claw at his arms but he doesn't even flinch. He just stares down at me with wide, unhinged eyes, watching the life drain out of me.
My lungs are on fire. My chest heaves wildly, just trying to get some air. I can already feel the dark shadows creeping in from the corners of my vision, moving to the slow, painful beat of my slowing heart.
This is it, my mind whispers through the darkness. I’m dying. I’m finally going to die.
A strange peace begins to wash over my mind. The pain in my ribs starts to fade. The crushing pressure on my neck feels distant, almost numb. I stop clawing at his hands. My arms drop limply to the floorboards. I close my eyes, ready to surrender, ready to embrace the quiet, peaceful void where Damien Callum can never, ever hurt me again.
And then… deep in the darkest corner of my soul… something shifts.
A spark.
A sudden, blinding, fiery ember blazes to life in the freezing cold silence of my mind. It isn't a trickle—it is a roaring, deafening explosion of ancient, raw power.
‘ENOUGH!’
A voice echoes through my skull, so loud and primal, and utterly fierce that my entire body trembles. It isn't my voice.
It’s Kira.
My golden wolf that has been dormant and silent for years, roars back to life. The energy that erupts from me is like one I've never seen before. Not even from powerful wolves.
Damien’s eyes widen in utter terror as the sheer force of my wolf’s energy slams into him, loosening his grip on my throat.
Air rushes back into my lungs, burning like liquid fire, but I don't cry out. The pain is gone. The fear is gone.
There is only rage. Pure, unadulterated rage.
I open my eyes, and I know without looking in a mirror that they are no longer human. They are glowing a fierce gold color.
‘I'll kill him!!’ Kira snarls in my head, I can feel her strength flooding through my veins. Where did all this energy come from?
Before Damien can pull his hand back or scream for help, a surge of power shoots down my right arm, transforming it until it becomes a wolf’s paw with long claws that looks sharper than a blade.
I don't hesitate as I swing my right hand upward with everything I have.
My wolf claws slice across his neck and the wet sound of skin tearing fills the room.
Damien freezes instantly.
His hands fly up to his throat as his eyes widen in absolute shock. Blood gushes out of his neck between his fingers, spraying across my face, my exposed chest, and the torn sheets of the bed.
He tries to speak, tries to cry out, but only a wet, gurgling gasp escapes his lips.
I stare at him in shock, unable to move from the spot I'm rooted to. What… what did I just do??
I watch as Damien struggles to breathe, stretching his hands towards me as if asking for help. But deep down, he knows he's never going to get one. Not from me.
He continues to gurgle, and I stare at him silently. I just killed my husband. The Alpha of Bridgestone pack. The man who is expected to go for war in a few hours.
I just killed him.
My hands begin to tremble as I realize the gravity of my situation. I'm in deep trouble.
‘We have to leave, Soraya.’ Kira says in my mind. ‘NOW!’
She's right. I have to run away before anyone comes and finds me here. I quickly look for a shirt and pants to put on, then I grab a small bag, stacking some of my saved cash in it.
I pause to stare at the unmoving body of my husband for a second before moving.
Just as the door swings open at that exact moment. I freeze on the spot.
Oh no…
