Chapter 4

 Rayne POV

 "Rayne, stop!"

 Mateo's voice sounded distant, muffled by the relentless pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. My chest tightened as I watched him struggle to his feet, his eyes wide with fear and anxiety. 

 Fear of me.

 The realization sent a jolt of panic through my body at once. I had never wanted this to happen at this time. I didn't ask for this power, this darkness that seemed to have taken root inside me, but now... now I had no idea how to contain it and how to control everything bit of it.

 The ground beneath us trembled again, the cracks widening as the energy inside me grew, pulsing with raw power. I could feel it slipping from my grasp, a storm on the verge of breaking free, threatening to swallow everything in its path. The air around me crackled with electricity, my skin burning with the force of whatever it was that I had awakened.

 "Rayne, listen to me," Mateo shouted, his voice more strained this time.

 "You need to get control of yourself before it's too late for you to do so!"

 "Control what?" I spat, barely able to recognize the anger in my own voice, the trembling mixture of fear and fury.

 "You think I can just turn this off? You don't know what's happening to me! You don't understand what this is and you would never understand!" My hands balled into fists, the energy sparking at my fingertips, as if responding to my rising emotions.

 I took a step back, my eyes flicking to the cracks spreading beneath my feet. What was this? What had the stranger done to me? I didn't just feel powerful—I felt dangerous, like I was teetering on the edge of something I couldn't pull back from.

 Mateo took a cautious step toward me, but his movements were measured, like he was approaching a wild beast.

 "Rayne, you have to stop at once. This isn't you. It's the power. You're letting it control you and allowing it do strange things."

 "I didn't ask for this either," I snapped, my voice breaking.

 "I didn't ask for any of it! You rejected me, Mateo! You left me with nothing. And now..." My breath hitched, anger and despair swirling inside me like river's.

 "Now, I've become something else you Don't want. Something I don't even understand."

 Mateo's gaze softened for a brief moment, and I hated it. Hated the pity I saw in his eyes. He had done this to me—he had been the one to tear me apart in front of the pack, to make me feel like I was worthless. And now, after all that, he was afraid? He should be.

 "You don't have to do this, Rayne," he said quietly. "We can fix this. Together."

 I almost laughed. "Together? After you threw me away like I was nothing? You think we can just—"

 Before I could finish, another howl echoed through the trees, cutting through the tension like a knife. This one was closer, angrier, and it wasn't alone. A chorus of howls followed, the ground shaking beneath us as the pack of rogues closed in. I could feel them—feel their bloodlust, their hunger for violence—and it stirred something deep inside me, something primal.

 Mateo tensed, his eyes narrowing as he turned toward the trees. "They're coming," he muttered, his voice low and dangerous.

 A part of me wanted to run, to leave this place and never look back. But the power inside me wouldn't let me. It surged again, filling me with a strange confidence, a sense of invincibility that was both thrilling and terrifying. I could feel the rogues, every step they took, every breath they inhaled as they stalked through the forest, drawn to the chaos I had unleashed.

 "Let them come," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the growing roar in my ears. "Let them see what happens when they cross me."

 Mateo's head whipped back toward me, his expression a mix of confusion and alarm. "What are you talking about?"

 But before he could say anything more, the first rogue burst through the treeline, its yellow eyes glowing with savage intent. Without thinking, I raised my hand, the energy inside me flaring to life. The rogue leapt at me, its claws outstretched, but before it could reach me, a wave of power shot from my palm, hitting the creature mid-air and sending it crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.

 Mateo's eyes widened in shock. "Rayne… what did you just do?"

 I stared at my hand, trembling. The rogue lay motionless on the ground, its body smoking from the impact of whatever I had unleashed. I didn't even know what I had done. The power had reacted on its own, responding to the threat without me even thinking about it.

 Before either of us could process what had happened, more rogues appeared, their snarls filling the air as they charged toward us. I could feel the panic rising in Mateo, his instinct to protect the pack overriding his shock at what he had just witnessed. But for me, there was no fear. Only a dark, twisted exhilaration.

 "Rayne, we need to work together," Mateo said, his voice strained as he shifted into his wolf form, his massive gray body crouching low, ready to attack. "We can't fight them all on our own."

 "I don't need your help," I said, my voice cold. "I can handle this."

 And I could. I could feel it deep down my jolt and bones—the power coursing through me, stronger than anything I had ever experienced before. These rogues didn't stand a chance.

 The next wave of attackers came at us, but I was ready. I threw out my hand again, and another blast of energy shot from my fingers, hitting two of them at once and sending them flying back into the trees. They didn't get up.

 Mateo was fighting too, tearing through the rogues with a brutal efficiency that made it clear why he was Alpha. But even as he fought, his eyes kept flicking toward me, watching as I wielded the power I didn't understand, as I took down rogue after rogue with a force that was unnatural, unstoppable.

 And then, through the chaos, I felt it—a presence, cold and dark, lurking at the edges of my consciousness. The stranger. I could feel him watching me, his influence creeping into my mind like a shadow. He was waiting, waiting for me to fully embrace the power he had given me, to let it consume me.

 "Rayne!" Mateo's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned just in time to see one of the largest rogues lunging at me, its jaws wide open, ready to tear me apart.

 Instinct took over. I didn't even think. I raised my hand, and with a blinding flash of light, the rogue was gone—disintegrated into nothing but ash.

 I stood there, breathing hard, my heart pounding in my chest. The power was wild, uncontrollable, and for the first time, I wasn't sure if I wanted to fight it.

 Mateo shifted back into his human form, his chest heaving as he stared at me with a mixture of fear and awe. "Rayne… this isn't right. Whatever that power is, it's not you. You need to stop before it's too late."

 But I couldn't stop. Not now. The darkness had already taken hold, and it wasn't going to let me go.

 I took a step toward him, my voice low and trembling. "What if I don't want to stop?"

 His eyes widened, and for the first time, I saw real fear in them. Not just for me, but of me.

 "You don't understand," he said, shaking his head. "That power—it's not yours. It's corrupting you."

 I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say anything, a new voice cut through the night—a voice I recognized all too well.

 "Well done, Rayne."

 I spun around, my heart skipping a beat. There, standing at the edge of the clearing, was the stranger. His eyes glowed with satisfaction, his smile dark and twisted.

 "You've embraced the power," he said, stepping forward, his voice smooth as silk. "Now, there's no going back."