Chapter 3: The White Shadow

The glass shards fell with Elidra like a rain of diamonds, cutting through the night air.

Gravity clawed at her stomach as the stone in the courtyard rushed up to meet her. In that heart-stopping second of freefall, the antidote she had swallowed finally hit her marrow. The internal dam holding back her power shattered.

A roar that was not human ripped from her throat. Her skeleton snapped and reformed in midair. For as white as a mountain peak erupted from her skin, and her muscles expanded with the force of a coiled spring.

Instead of a broken woman hitting the floor, a massive, snow-white wolf slammed into the stones on four powerful paws. The impact cracked the pavement beneath her, but she felt no pain, only an explosive, predatory energy.

She did not wait for the guards to recover from their shock.

Upper windows in the pack house flew open. Silas appeared at the jagged hole she had just made, his face contorted in a mask of pure hatred.

Kill her! Silas screamed, his voice echoing across the grounds. Do not let that beast leave the gates!

The courtyard flooded with light as warriors shifted in the darkness. Gray and brown wolves emerged from the barracks, their eyes glowing with the amber light of subordinates.

They moved with a pack mentality, circling Elidra, their lips pulled back to reveal yellowed fangs.

Elidra did not feel like a victim anymore. Her senses were dialed to a deadly degree. She could hear the frantic heartbeat of the guard to her left and smell the sour sweat of fear coming from the one on her right.

She was the White Shadow, a legend born of ice and blood, and these wolves were nothing compared to the storm brewing in her chest.

The first guard leaped, a blur of gray fur aiming for her throat.

Elidra moved faster than his eyes could follow. She pivoted on her hind legs and swiped her massive paw.

Her claws, sharp as razors, caught the wolf midair and sent him crashing into a stone fountain. The water turned a dark, muddy color as he whined and collapsed.

Two more closed in. Elidra did not retreat. She met them head-on, a blur of white fur and white teeth. She snapped her jaws shut on the shoulder of a larger brute, the sound of bone crunching under her pressure filling the air. She tossed him aside like a rag doll and spun to face the next.

Every move she made felt like a memory returning to her muscles. She was a dancer of death. She ducked under a lunge and ripped into the flank of a warrior who had tried to get behind her.

The taste of salt and iron filled her mouth, fueling the fire in her soul.

But she was outnumbered. For every wolf she downed, three more appeared from the shadows of the estate.

She needed to get to the dungeons. She needed Cassian.

She broke into a sprint, her paws thundering against the ground. She ignored the teeth snapping at her heels, her focus locked on the heavy iron doors that led to the lower levels.

A massive warrior, the Beta of the pack, shifted in front of the door, his form nearly as large as hers. He let out a low, menacing growl, his hackles raised.

Elidra did not slow down. She lowered her head and rammed into him with the force of a battering ram.

The impact sent them both tumbling into the dirt. The Beta snapped at her face, his teeth grazing her ear, but Elidra was faster.

She pinned him down with her weight and let out a snarl so primal it made the other wolves hesitate.

She didn't kill him. Instead, she used his head to heave the heavy iron bolt of the cellar door upward. With a powerful kick of her hind legs, she sent the door swinging open and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels.

The air in the dungeon was cold and stagnant.

Elidra shifted back into her human form as she ran, her skin prickling as the fur retreated. She was naked, covered in dirt and the blood of Silas’s men, but she didn't care.

She reached the cell where Cassian was kept and threw herself against the bars.

Cassian! she gasped, her lungs burning.

He was still chained, his head hanging low. At the sound of her voice, he looked up.

His eyes went wide as he saw her bloody, wild, and glowing with the residual light of her shift.

“You came back,” he whispered, his voice a ghost of a sound.

“I am getting you out of here”, she said, searching for the keys.

She saw them hanging on a hook near the guard’s desk. She grabbed them, her hands shaking so hard she nearly dropped the ring. She fumbled with the lock until the heavy door creaked open.

She rushed to his side, fitting the small keys into the silver shackles. The moment the metal fell away from his wrists, Cassian collapsed into her arms.

His skin was burning with fever, and the silver burns on his wrists were deep and weeping.

“We have to go,” Elidra said, pulling his arm over her shoulder. Silas is right behind me.

Cassian looked at her, his gaze intense even through his exhaustion.

“Why are you doing this, Elidra?” You could have escaped. You could have been halfway to the border by now.

“The bond, she said, her voice breaking. I can feel you, Cassian. I can't leave my heart in a cage.”

A cold laugh echoed down the stone hallway.

“How touching,” Silas said.

He stepped into the light of the torches at the end of the corridor. He was not alone. He had six armed men with him, all holding crossbows loaded with silver-tipped bolts. Silas himself held a long, curved sword that glowed with a faint, blue magic.

“I must admit, Elidra, you have more spirit than I gave you credit for, Silas said, walking slowly toward them. But you are a fool. “

You brought yourself right back into the trap.

He gestured to his men. The crossbows clicked as the warriors aimed.

“Move away from him, Elidra,” Silas commanded. If you come back to me now, I might let him die quickly. If you stay, I will make him watch while I peel the skin from your bones.

Elidra felt Cassian stiffen beside her. He tried to stand, his muscles trembling with the effort.

“Leave, Elidra,” Cassian hissed. Save yourself.

Elidra didn't move. She stepped in front of Cassian, shielding his battered body with her own. She looked at Silas, her eyes turning that lethal, glowing white once again.

“You think I am the same woman who woke up in that bed this morning,” Elidra said, her voice echoing with the power of the White Wolf.

But I remember who I am now, Silas. I remember what you did. And I remember how to kill you.

Silas sneered. You are one wolf against a pack. You are nothing.

Fire! Silas shouted.

The world went into slow motion. Elidra saw the fingers tighten on the triggers. She felt the air move as the silver bolts flew toward them.

She didn't shift. She reached deep into the core of her power, pulling at the shadow magic that lived in the blood of her line.

A wall of white, shimmering mist erupted from the ground in front of her. The silver bolts hit the mist and stopped dead, suspended in the air like insects in amber.

Silas’s face went pale. That is impossible. That power was lost centuries ago.

“It wasn't lost, Elidra said, her voice sounding like a chorus of spirits. It was just waiting for a reason to wake up.”

With a flick of her wrist, she sent the bolts flying back toward the guards. They scrambled for cover, screams echoing as the silver found its mark.

In the chaos, Elidra grabbed Cassian and pulled him toward a narrow ventilation shaft she had seen in her memories. It was a tight fit, but it led to the forest outside the estate walls.

Go! she urged, helping him into the hole.

Cassian scrambled up, his strength returning as the mate bond fed him her energy. Elidra followed, her heart hammering against her ribs.

She could hear Silas screaming orders behind them, the sound of boots running on the stone getting closer.

They burst out of the shaft and into the cool, damp grass of the forest. The trees were thick, providing cover from the spotlights of the pack house.

They ran. They ran until their lungs felt like they were filled with broken glass and their legs were numb. They didn't stop until they reached the edge of a deep ravine where a river roared below.

Cassian stopped, gasping for air. He turned to Elidra, his hand reaching out to touch her face.

“We made it,” he said, a small, genuine smile breaking through the grime on his face.

Elidra opened her mouth to speak, but the words died in her throat. She looked down at her chest.

A silver bolt was protruding from her shoulder. It hadn't hit the mist. It had come from a different angle.

She looked back at the treeline. Silas stood there, his crossbow lowered, a look of triumph on his face.

“If I can't have you, no one will”, Silas yelled across the clearing.

The silver began to burn through Elidra’s veins. It was a specialized poison, designed to stop a heart in seconds. Her vision began to blur, the world tilting on its axis.

“Elidra! Cassian screamed, catching her as she fell.

She looked into his eyes, the gold fading into gray. She wanted to tell him she loved him.

She wanted to tell him to run. But the darkness was pulling at her, heavy and cold.

As her eyes closed, she felt Cassian pull her closer to the edge of the ravine.

We stay together, he whispered.

And then, they were falling again.