Elias' POV

And there was fire all inside of me.

I didn’t recognize myself.

My vision was black, lungs panting, muscles locked in a feral grimace. I could hear the rumble of my own heartbeat, could feel the crackle of something old awakening inside me. The intensity of it threatened to engulf me.

Marcus was before me, his stance alternating between fear and calculation while his gaze peeked over to Elena.

I bared my teeth. “If you ever touch her I'll make sure you stop breathing.”

I could hardly recognize my own voice. It was deeper and different and when I growled, my body vibrated.

Marcus flinched but recovered quickly, his mask of arrogance falling into place again.

“You’re being played, Elias,” he said, and raised his hands in surrender. “She’s not who you think she is.”

“Really? I have heard that a lot,” I said, breathing harshly as I took a step closer towards him.

Marcus exhaled sharply. “You don’t even remember, do you? What she is? What she’s meant to do.”

“I don't care,” I replied and continued walking. He stepped back just as fast as I walked.

“I do! For fuck sakes. You've been with her before. You both can't remember because you asked for both your memories to be wiped out,” Marcus replied.

I stopped, and slowly turned to look at Elena. She was just as shocked as I was. A moment of doubt fluttered in my head.

“What did you just say?” I asked.

“The witch, Celeste. You asked her to,” Marcus continued.

“I would never,” I replied.

“You did,” Marcus argued.

“You lie,” I spat, and in anger I lunged at him.

Marcus scarcely had a moment to prepare before my hand struck his throat, squeezing him up against the nearest tree. His body bucked from the force of it, fingers raking at my hold, his face contorting in fear.

The air crackled around us. The darkness within me screeched forward, devouring, vicious.

“E-Elias,” Marcus sputtered, eyes bulging. “You—don’t—understand.”

The words meant nothing.

I tightened my grip.

The satisfaction was instant. The way his pulse roared against my palm, his breath hitching, his strength bleeding away.

End him. Then we can get to her.

The whisper curled in my mind, dark and persuasive. End him now.

My fingers squeezed harder. The struggles of Marcus weakened.

It would be so easy.

So effortless.

It was a rush of power, heady in my veins. I wanted more.

“Elena.”

The voice was soft, and familiar.

A hand rested on my wrist. I felt warmth and my entire body seized. I turned to see Elena.

I took in a breath, my vision clearing enough to see her wide, panicked eyes gazing up at me, her fingers trembling against my skin.

“Please,” she whispered. “Let him go.”

The mate bond tugged at me like an anchor.

I hesitated.

Marcus drew a ragged breath, his body slumping against the tree.

Elena wrapped her fingers around me. Not pushing, not insisting… just present.

I let him go.

Marcus fell to the ground, wheezing violently, one hand pressed to his bruised throat. He didn’t speak. He knew better than to tempt fate.

My chest sucked in and out like I’d covered a war path through hell as I focused on Elena. Her hand was still on me. Still grounding me.

The thing inside me snarled in protest, but it faded back.

Marcus climbed up and staggered backward, disappearing from sight except for his muttering as he went, low enough to be dim, but I caught the words.

“You can’t stop the prophecy.”

I stiffened.

Elena tensed with me, her breath hitching.

Marcus looked back and forth between us, a knowing smirk spreading across his lips despite the injuries on his body. “She’s the key, Elias. And when you finally remember, you will wish you’d never picked her.”

The instant my claws pulled back in, and my skin felt cool again, I knew I had overcome my invading thoughts.

I breathed steadily, and my body shifted back to normal. I was in control again.

Elena stood several paces back, her eyes fixed on me as if she couldn’t decide to run or remain. I didn’t blame her. Considering what I had put her through tonight, she had every right to be afraid.

I didn’t say a word, and I walked away.

As I walked through the clearing, the cooler night air kissed my heated skin. The turmoil had dissipated, only the occasional crackle of leaves and my own halting breath remained. It was only when I noticed Elena wasn’t behind me that I looked back.

I stopped, turning slightly. “What are you waiting for?”

She hesitated. Then slowly she began to walk toward me.

But before she could get to me, her legs gave out.

A guttural growl ripped from her lips as she toppled to the ground.

“Elena!” My instincts kicked in and I rushed ahead.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she gazed at her shaking hands, her breath fast and ragged. I could see it, the way her fingers trembled, the way her entire body seemed to revolt against her.

Then she looked up at me, wide-eyed, and said, “Oh no. The vial.”

I froze. “What vial?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she screamed.

The panic surged through my body when I caught her just before she fell to the ground. She shuddered around me, her body bowing as a pained wail erupted from her mouth.

I heard cracking, but it wasn't me. It was from her. Her bones kind of hunched and I looked at her arms. Her nails grew longer.

She couldn't be changing now. Her system wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Elena,” I called. “I need you to concentrate.”

“I can't!” Another bone snapped and she shrieked; screaming at the top of her lungs.

The air crackled with loud, revolting pops as her body contorted itself inappropriately, as if something within her wanted out.

Her skin… it was shifting.

A fine coat of hair started to ripple across her arms, her hands shaking spasmodically. I gasped; my heart raced as I gazed skyward.

The clouds parted, exposing the full moon in all its ominous splendor.

It hit me like a tidal wave and I realized.

I looked down at her, my stomach in knots.

“No,” I breathed. “No, no, no.”

And so her first transformation had begun.