POV: Nyra
The world returned bit by bit, light shone through her closed eyes, a heavy ache filled her head, and she tasted the awful sting of being betrayed, Nyra moved a little, struggling to breathe as she tried to sit up, All her muscles hurt as if a herd of animals had trampled her, Even worse than the pain was the confusion in her mind, the result of whatever drug they had given her,
She blinked to clear her vision, trying to focus her eyes, Fancy curtains, A cold floor made of marble, The smell of strange wolves and blood in the air, She wasn't in the Shadow Pack's land anymore,
Memories came back like sharp arrows, The ritual, The unknown group, The empty-looking Alpha controlled like a doll, The feeling of strange hands on her skin, And Rae, Rae shouting her name, being pulled away before Nyra could help her,
"Rae," Nyra said weakly, her voice rough, Fear gripped her heart, She tried to stand but stumbled, grabbing a chair to stay steady, Her knees felt weak, but she tightened her jaw, She wouldn't let the drugs beat her,
She walked unsteadily toward the closed door of the ritual room, her bare feet touching the cold stone, Each step was a fight, but anger kept her going, They'd tried to make her forget who she was, They'd tried to change her into something else,
A bride who agreed,
A thing to use,
A tool for them,
But Nyra was done being used by anyone,
Her heart beat fast as she got to the strong wooden doors, They weren't locked, That was their first error, She pushed them open with a snarl,
The hallway outside was busy with guards, fighters wearing unfamiliar symbols, They turned when she stepped out, shocked to see her awake, standing, and angry,
One of them reached for her, "You're supposed to be—"
Nyra reacted very fast, Before he finished speaking, her fist hit his jaw hard, He fell down like a heavy bag, The others rushed toward her, pulling out weapons, but something inside her had broken open, Something old, Something evil,
Her body moved faster than she could think, faster than she knew how, She avoided a sword, threw the closest guard onto his back, and broke another's ribs with one kick, A growl came from her throat, low and mean,
Red light appeared in her eyes, As soon as it did, the rest of the guards stopped moving,
"She's, she's glowing," one said, shaking, and stepping back,
"She's the Night Whisper!"
The words affected her deeply, They were the same words Edwin had spat in the Shadow Pack's hallways when she'd been a scared, small girl hiding in the corners, But now? Now she welcomed it,
The hallway became a mess as the fighters ran away, Some tried to stop her, but most fled, too scared to face what they didn't understand, Nyra went forward, following Rae's scent, She could feel Rae's fear, her sadness, somewhere close by, but not clear, Blocked,
Something, or someone, was stopping her cries from reaching Nyra's ears, "Edwin," she said in a rough voice, the name tasting unpleasant to her,
She started moving faster, going through the hallways as smoothly as smoke, She was not familiar with this location, but that was not a problem, Her wolf knew which direction to go, It was pulled toward Rae like a magnet, just like a natural force,
She ran quickly into another hall, and then stopped suddenly,
Rae was way down at the end, leaning against a post, her hands tied, eyes opened wide and confused, Edwin was standing above her, his face showing a lot of pride,
"Stop!" he yelled as Nyra came running forward,
But Nyra did not stop moving,
Edwin lifted his arm up, A burst of dark magic, strong and beating, went flying toward her, planned to push her backwards, Nyra raised her own arm up, The magic touched her skin and disappeared quickly, as if hitting something solid,
Edwin's smile started to disappear,
"You think I have forgotten?" Nyra stated, her tone even and unfeeling like ice, "I can recall everything now, The pills, The untruths, The ritual you made me do, You set this up,"
"I did what I had to do," Edwin argued, his tone quickly turning guarded, "You were going to wreck everything, The Shadow Pack is already falling apart, You and Rae would wipe out what is remaining—"
"You don't care about the pack," she interrupted, "You only care about being in charge,"
She went to Rae, cutting through her ropes with one pointed claw, Rae fell into her arms, struggling to breathe but okay, Her eyes slowly opened, meeting Nyra's eyes with a hint of faint comfort,
"You showed up," Rae murmured,
"Always," Nyra replied, holding her tight,
She stood up, easily picking up Rae in her arms, She faced Edwin, her eyes burning with rage,
"You're finished," she threatened,
But Edwin was not,
With an angry sound, he lunged forward, a knife appearing from his coat, Nyra turned her body, protecting Rae, The knife cut her shoulder, burning and sharp, but she didn't let go,
She kicked Edwin back, with force, He crashed into the wall and fell to the ground,
His eyes were wide with a new feeling, dread,
"You're, the Night Whisper," he choked out, his voice shaking as he pulled himself away,
Nyra's red stare pierced through him, "You should be scared,"
She moved toward him, showing her teeth, Her claws glowed with heat,
But behind her, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway, More soldiers, Backup,
Edwin crawled backward, slipping into a nearby door and disappearing into the shadows just as a group of guards came around the corner,
Nyra turned, still holding Rae,
They were trapped,
POV: Nyra
The hallway instantly became chaotic as Nyra turned, Rae still weak but alive in her arms, There were twelve fighters, They all had weapons, They all stared in shocked disbelief at the bright red glow in Nyra's eyes, They paused briefly, but quickly recovered,
"Grab her!" someone yelled, "She is corrupted!"
"Night Whisper or not, take her down!"
Nyra didn't wait at all, She carefully set Rae down behind a nearby pillar and moved forward, claws out and ready, her body tight, The power rushing through her felt like nothing she had felt before, She could feel every heartbeat of the men getting closer, every breath they took, every intention before it happened,
The first two fighters charged together, thinking their numbers would overwhelm her, Nyra bent down low, tripped one of them, and sent him crashing into the wall with a sickening sound, The second fighter attacked, his blade raised, but she twisted with strange grace, hitting his throat with the side of her hand, He fell, struggling to breathe,
"Get behind me!" she yelled to Rae,
Rae, still unsteady but becoming more alert, nodded and crawled to safety,
Another came from behind, Nyra sensed him before she saw him, She turned, her red eyes catching his fear just before she smashed her elbow into his jaw, The man spun in the air, landed hard, and didn't move at all,
The others hesitated now, They moved in a circle but didn't attack, Her strength, her accuracy, it wasn't normal at all, Even the best fighters in the pack couldn't move like this,
"She's a monster," one whispered,
"No," Nyra said coldly, "I'm just done being someone's victim,"
Another fighter shouted an order, and the others charged forward, Nyra's body moved without thinking, no longer slowed down by the drugs, no longer the quiet, obedient sister hiding in the shadows,
She was pure anger, She wanted revenge, She was the secret they never wanted revealed,
She ducked under a sword, grabbed the handle, and pulled it from her attacker's hand, With a single spin, she knocked three of them off balance, Blood ran from a cut on her cheek, but she didn't stop at all, Couldn't stop at all,
Rae called her name,
That single cry cut through the chaos,
Nyra turned and saw that Rae was now standing, though unsteadily, leaning against the wall, Her eyes met Nyra's and widened with awe, with something more, pride, Nyra's heart raced, her chest tightening in a different way,
But the distraction hurt her, A sharp blow hit her side, and Nyra fell to the ground, teeth showing,
Three fighters pinned her down, One tried to push a blade with silver edges through her shoulder,
"NO!" Rae screamed, and something inside Nyra broke,
A burst of raw power exploded from her body,
A wave of heat and light threw the fighters back like dolls, They hit the walls, groaning and twitching, Some didn't get up at all,
Nyra stood, breathing heavily, her red eyes burning like hot coals, The hallway lights flickered above her,
Silence came, The final three fighters stood still, weapons shaking in their grips, But they stayed put, Nobody was brave enough to get near her again,
Next there was a noise, the sound of boots getting louder from down the hall,
Nyra quickly lifted her head, her muscles tight, her sharp nails still wet with blood,
Rae shouted, "It is him,"
Edwin,
She didn't have to be told what was happening, She could feel his presence in the air, like the smell of fire before seeing flames,
He came from the darkness, his coat ripped, and his face showed shock and rising anger, He looked right at Rae, alive, awake, and okay, Then he looked at Nyra, hurt but full of energy,
"You, you weren't supposed to wake up," he mumbled, surprised,
"You gave me drugs, You tried to trap me with that, thing in some kind of ritual," Nyra said angrily, "But it didn't work,"
"It wasn't about you," Edwin said, but it didn't sound true, "It was about politics, Power, You and Rae would have messed everything up,"
"You took her!" Nyra shouted, "You tried to get rid of me!"
"I was trying to protect the group!" he yelled back, "You're a Night Whisper, They would never accept you, not as the partner of the warrior who turned down the Alpha, Did you think I had a choice?"
"There's always a choice," Nyra said fiercely, moving toward him,
Edwin took a step back,
Rae got closer, moving slowly but on purpose, "What are you scared of, Edwin? That I'll tell everyone the truth? That she's stronger than you?"
"She's a monster," Edwin said sharply, his voice shaking,
"You keep saying that," Rae said quietly, "But I just see power, I see someone you could never control,"
Edwin frowned, "The council will know about this, They'll never let this happen,"
"Let them come," Nyra said angrily,
But even as she spoke, more sounds of warriors' boots echoed from a distance, Too many this time, Edwin wasn't lying, Backup was on its way,
He knew he couldn't beat them by himself,
A coward,
He looked one last time, his eyes shaking, at Nyra's glowing eyes, then he turned and ran, back through the side hallway he had come from, his coat flapping behind him like a coward running away,
Nyra made a low growling sound,
She wanted to run after him, She wanted to finish this, But more people were already coming into the hallway, blocking the way out,
She looked at Rae, who was leaning against the wall to stay steady,
They were trapped,
And this time, it wasn't just a fight, they were both in trouble, Criminals, Betrayers,
Rae looked at her, "What should we do?"
Nyra stepped in front of her, her claws out,
"We fight,"