Cassian's POV
I was halfway to Elowen's room when every instinct I had started screaming danger.
Through the mate bond, I felt her terror spike. Felt her bones beginning to break as the shift started. Felt something else—a foreign presence in her room.
Elowen! I shouted through the bond.
Nothing. The connection went silent, like someone had slammed a door between us.
Impossible. The mate bond couldn't be blocked unless—
Wolfsbane.
I shifted mid-run, my wolf form crashing through the hallway. Pack members scattered out of my way as I raced toward her room.
I hit the door with my full weight, splintering it off its hinges.
Isolde Crowe stood over Elowen with a syringe, her hand already depressing the plunger.
Silver liquid—wolfsbane extract—was flowing into Elowen's arm.
I saw red.
I shifted back to human and grabbed Isolde by the throat, slamming her against the wall so hard the plaster cracked. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
She smiled even as I choked her. "Gave her... a gift. Wolfsbane... won't kill her. Just make her... lose control."
On the bed, Elowen's body convulsed. Her bones were breaking faster now, the shift accelerating. But instead of a controlled transformation, this was agony. Her screams turned into howls, then into something worse—a sound of pure pain and rage.
"She'll kill everyone," Isolde gasped. "Including you. The Crimson Fang... will pick up... what's left."
I threw her aside and dove for Elowen.
Her eyes opened—pure amber, no recognition in them. Her half-shifted form lashed out, claws raking across my chest. The pain was excruciating, but I didn't let go.
"Elowen, it's me! Fight it! You're stronger than the wolfsbane!"
She didn't hear me. The drug had taken over completely.
Her body finished shifting into a wolf—but not a normal wolf. She was massive, nearly as big as an Alpha, with silver fur that seemed to glow. Beautiful and terrifying.
And completely feral.
She lunged at my throat.
I barely dodged, rolling away. "MERRICK! GET MY FATHER! NOW!"
Elowen—or the creature she'd become—stalked toward me, snarling. I could see the wolfsbane's effects in her eyes: madness, bloodlust, no control.
"I won't fight you," I said, staying in human form even though every instinct screamed to shift. "Come on, little wolf. It's me. Your mate. Remember?"
She pounced.
I let her tackle me, pinning me to the ground. Her jaws went for my throat, and I tilted my head back, exposing it.
Offering submission.
Offering trust.
Her teeth touched my skin—then stopped.
Somewhere deep in those amber eyes, I saw a flicker of recognition.
Cassian? Her voice in my mind was weak, confused. What's happening? I can't control—
I know. The wolfsbane is making you lose control. But you're stronger than it. Fight it, Elowen. Come back to me.
I want to kill. Everything. Everyone. The bloodlust—
I know. But you won't. Because you're not a monster. You're my mate. You're Elowen Nightshade, and you're the strongest person I know.
Her wolf whined, conflicted. The wolfsbane pushed her to kill. But the mate bond pulled her back.
"Fight it," I whispered aloud. "Please. Fight it."
Her jaws opened wider.
Then Seraphina burst into the room, her eyes glowing white with power. "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!"
She threw her hand out, and silver light slammed into Elowen, knocking her off me. Elowen yelped in pain.
"NO!" I shouted. "Don't hurt her!"
"That's not your mate anymore," Seraphina said grimly. "That's a rabid wolf who needs to be contained before she kills someone."
She was right. Elowen was already getting up, her eyes locked on Seraphina now. Fresh prey.
"Merrick!" I yelled. "Where the hell is the silver cage?!"
"Coming!" Merrick appeared with four pack warriors carrying a massive cage made of silver-reinforced bars. "But boss, getting her inside without anyone dying is going to be—"
Elowen lunged at Seraphina.
I shifted and intercepted her mid-air. We crashed into the wall, both of us snarling and snapping. Through the bond, I felt her confusion, her terror at what she was doing but being unable to stop.
I'm sorry, she whimpered. I don't want to hurt you.
I know. It's not your fault.
I managed to wrestle her toward the cage. She fought every step, incredibly strong even for a newly shifted wolf. The Nightshade bloodline made her powerful.
Too powerful.
She broke free and went for Merrick.
Sable appeared in the doorway. "ELLIE, STOP!"
Elowen's head whipped toward Sable, and I saw the predator focus on new prey. Weaker prey.
"Sable, RUN!" I screamed.
But Sable didn't run. She shifted into her honey-colored wolf and placed herself between Elowen and the door.
I won't let you hurt anyone, Sable's voice was firm in the pack mind-link. You're my best friend. Fight this. I know you're still in there.
Elowen hesitated.
That one second of hesitation was all I needed. I slammed into her from behind, driving her toward the open cage. Merrick and the warriors helped, all of us pushing the massive silver wolf inside.
The door clanged shut.
Silver bars sizzled against Elowen's fur wherever she touched them, making her yelp and pull back. She paced the cage, snarling, throwing herself against the bars over and over.
Each impact sent pain through the mate bond that nearly drove me to my knees.
"How long will the wolfsbane last?" my father demanded, appearing in the doorway.
"Six to eight hours," Seraphina said quietly. "Maybe more with her first shift. The combination is... unstable."
My father's eyes found Isolde, who was trying to sneak out. "Grab her. She's not going anywhere."
Two warriors seized Isolde roughly.
"I want her in silver chains," my father ordered. "She poisoned a mated female. That's a death sentence under pack law."
"My father will start a war over this!" Isolde shrieked.
"Let him try." My father's voice was ice. "You attacked my son's mate in my house. Your father will understand justice when I send him your head."
Isolde went white.
But I barely heard any of it. I was focused on Elowen, who had finally stopped throwing herself against the cage. She lay in the center, whimpering, her silver fur matted with blood where the bars had burned her.
I'm here, I told her through the bond. I'm not leaving you.
Kill me, she whispered back. Please. I can't control it. What if I hurt someone? What if I hurt you?
Never. I'll stay right here until the wolfsbane wears off. You're going to be okay.
You don't know that.
I do. Because you're the strongest person I've ever met. And we're bonded now. We face everything together.
She whined again, her wolf form curling into a ball.
I shifted back to human and sat against the wall nearest her cage, ignoring my father's orders to see the pack doctor about my wounds.
Hours crawled by.
Elowen would be calm for a while, then the wolfsbane would spike and she'd go feral again, attacking the bars until she collapsed from exhaustion.
Each time, I felt her pain. Her shame. Her fear.
This is what I am, she thought during a lucid moment. A monster.
You're not a monster. You're perfect. This is Isolde's fault, not yours.
But what if it happens again? What if I can't control my wolf even without the wolfsbane?
Then I'll help you learn. That's what mates do.
Dawn was breaking when Elowen finally shifted back to human form.
She lay naked and shaking on the cage floor, covered in burns and cuts. Her eyes—finally green again—found mine.
"Cassian," she whispered.
I was at the cage in an instant. "I'm here. You're okay. It's over."
"I tried to kill you. I tried to kill Sable."
"The wolfsbane tried. Not you."
Tears streamed down her face. "I felt everything. The hunger to hurt people I love. It was so strong. What if—"
"No what ifs." I reached through the bars, ignoring the silver burning my skin, and wiped her tears. "You fought it. You won. That's all that matters."
Merrick appeared with a key and blankets. "The wolfsbane should be clear from her system now. She's safe to release."
He unlocked the cage, and I immediately wrapped Elowen in a blanket and pulled her into my arms.
She buried her face in my chest and sobbed.
Through our bond, I felt her breaking. The trauma of the night, the fear, the guilt—it was too much.
"I've got you," I murmured. "I've got you."
My father cleared his throat. "When she's recovered, we need to discuss—"
"Later," I growled. "She needs rest."
For once, he didn't argue.
I carried Elowen to my room—safer than hers—and laid her in my bed. She clung to me like a lifeline.
"Don't leave," she whispered.
"Never."
I climbed in beside her, holding her until her breathing evened out and she finally slept.
But I couldn't sleep.
Because through the window, I saw movement in the trees.
A figure watching the house.
They stepped into a patch of moonlight, and I saw their face clearly.
The Crimson Fang Alpha.
He smiled and drew a finger across his throat in a clear message.
Then he vanished into the forest.
The war had just begun.