CHAPTER 5

Rayne POV

Mateo stepped back a bit, his gaze flickering between me and the stranger, a mixture of fear and fury visible in his eyes. I could see the calculations racing through his mind—every instinct screaming at him to run, yet something held him rooted in place, watching as the darkness crept closer.

"Rayne," he whispered, almost pleading to me. 

"You don't have to do all of this. You don't have to let him control you and have full access towards you."

I tore my eyes from Mateo and looked at the stranger who stood, with his eyes hitting mine.

 His shadowed figure radiated power, something dark, dangerous, and utterly mesmerizing. His smile was smug, almost daring me to take the plunge.

"What did you give me?" My voice was already shaking, not from fear but from the uncontrollable surge of power churning inside of my inner self.

"A gift you would always need" he said, stepping forward with his hands raised in mock surrender. 

"A gift I knew you'd appreciate once you tasted it and have control of it."

"This... this isn't any gift," Mateo growled, his voice low and threatening and trembling.

 "It's poison. You're manipulating her, twisting her mind and soul!"

The stranger's smile only widened, a lazy sort of amusement glinting in his eyes. 

"Manipulating? Oh, Alpha Matteo, you flatter me so much. Rayne has always had this strength inside of her, hidden over the few years. I merely… just unlocked it, so don't be scared."

A sick thrill pulsed through me at his words, mingling with the steady thrum of power in my veins. For so long, I'd been cast aside, labeled as weak, as unworthy. But now, I felt invincible. They could no longer control me. Not Mateo. Not anyone.

"Rayne, don't listen to him," Mateo urged, his tone desperate and harsh at almost same time. 

"This isn't you, Rayne. He's trying to turn you into something you're not and you'd regret that!"

"Something I'm not you say?" The words fell from my lips in a bitter whisper, the taste of betrayal still fresh like a wound.

"You were the one who called me weak and rejected me, Mateo. You threw me away like I was nothing to you. So, why now? Why do you care what happens to me now?"

Mateo's face crumpled, and for a moment, the icy mask of the Alpha fell, revealing a flicker of regret.

 "Because... because I made a mistake , Rayne. But this... this darkness isn't the answer for you."

The stranger laughed, a low, mocking sound from him.

"Ah, how sweet of you, Alpha. But we're past apologies, aren't we, Rayne?"

I didn't respond at all, my mind caught in the violent storm brewing inside me.

 The power, that addictive surge, urged me forward, drowning out the whispers of doubt, the tiny voice inside me that still remembered who I was and where I really belong. 

"Show him," the stranger murmured, his words seeping into my mind like silk.

 "Show him the strength he overlooked."

Mateo's eyes widened, sensing the shift.

 "Rayne, please."

I clenched my fists, feeling the energy coil inside me like a living entity, begging to be unleashed as soon as possible.

 It was as if I was trapped in a thick fog, a thick, intoxicating haze of rage and power.

Without another word, I lifted my hand, and a pulse of dark energy shot from my palm, aimed directly at Mateo, without a second thought. He barely dodged my attack, the force of it tearing through the ground where he'd stood, leaving a smoking crater there for him.

The stranger laughed, a twisted satisfaction lighting up his eyes.

 "Yes, that's it, Rayne! Embrace what you are and not what others think about you!"

I felt a twisted thrill in his own approval, the satisfaction of seeing Mateo stumble, of watching his confidence waver for once. This was the strength I had craved for over the years, the power I'd dreamed of. But as I took in his terrified expression, a strange feeling twisted in my chest—an echo of the old Rayne, the one who had once loved him and Always wanted him to be mine.

"Rayne!" Mateo shouted, his voice raw and cold, laced with a fear I had never seen in him over the years of staying admiring him.

 "Don't let him use you or take you for granted! I know you're still in there."

His words were like a blade slicing through the darkness within of me, stirring something deep within me. For a fleeting moment, I felt the fog lift, the power recede just a bit, as if some part of me was fighting to break free.

But the stranger's grip on me tightened.

 "Ignore him, Rayne," he hissed, his voice cold and commanding. "You're beyond his lies to you. You're stronger than he ever imagined of you. Don't let him make you weak again and make you go back to the pain you were in."

I hesitated, the two voices battling inside my mind, the darkness pulling me deeper while a faint light tried desperately to break through.

"Rayne, you are not alone in this," Mateo said, his tone softer now, his gaze filled with something I hadn't seen in him before—a glimmer of remorse, a hint of vulnerability. 

"Please, come back to your old self."

My hand trembled, the energy fading as I took a shaky step back, the haze thinning. But the stranger moved closer to myself, his shadow enveloping me, his words slipping through my mind like poison. 

"You don't need him, Rayne. He left you broken, discarded. He actually rejected you in front of all the whole pack member, making you a laughing stuck. I gave you the strength to rise from the ashes he already buried you in."

But then, a searing pain shot through my head, and I gasped, clutching my temple. 

Images flashed before my eyes like a vision -- memories of Mateo, of the laughter we'd shared over the times, the quiet moments, the dreams we'd once dared to imagine together. The pain grew sharper, as if some part of me was tearing away, clawing to the surface.

"Stop fighting it," the stranger growled, his voice harsh and commanding.

I dropped to my knees, the battle raging inside me, my vision blurring as I struggled to breathe. The darkness surged, but so did the memories—the light, the warmth. It was like being torn in two.

And then, I felt a hand on my shoulder, strong, steady.

"Rayne," Mateo whispered, his voice close, grounding with sorrow lacing his voice.

"I know I already failed you. I know I hurt you. But please… come back to me."

His touch shattered something inside me, the darkness retreating for just a moment, enough to let me feel the raw, aching emptiness I'd tried to drown in power.

But the stranger's hold tightened, and his voice, dark and venomous, echoed in my mind.

 "If you walk away now, you'll lose everything you have awakened. The power. The strength. You'll go back to being weak, rejected,pathetic… just like before."

The fog closed in, thicker than ever, suffocating and annoying. I could feel the darkness clutching at me, pulling me deeper, promising power, vengeance and revenge, which was all I wanted. 

But as I looked into Mateo's eyes, something shifted—a spark, faint but undeniable, flickering to life within me. A choice.

The stranger's eyes narrowed, sensing the change within me. "If you leave now, Rayne, you'll regret it all and that's a promise."

I took a shaky breath, the haze beginning to fade. But just as I began to pull away, he whispered one last thing, his words freezing me in place.

"Because I'll come for you and make you suffer. And when I do, nothing in this world will save you from the darkness that I bring to you."