Mira suddenly jumped up from her deep sleep. She tried to catch her breath, expecting her ribs to hurt her afterward, her arms, her legs, anywhere the rogues had struck her. But there was nothing. Just the steady up and down of her breath and the warmth she got from her heavy blanket wrapped around her.
She blinked against the small light entering the room. It wasn't hers. The air smelled lovely, fresh, and filled with the small scent of leather and flowers—Dane's quarters. The realization that it was Dane's house made her quickly jump to her feet.
Why was she here?
Memories rushed back. The fight. The blood. The moment she had collapsed in Dane's arms after the rogue attack. She had been hurt, badly. She had felt the big claw wounds, the unbearable pain of broken ribs. She had tasted blood on her lips.
But now… nothing.
Mira threw the blanket off her body and touched her side where she had been struck. She felt nothing but her smooth skin. No bruises. No wound mark. Not even a scratch.
Her heart started beating fast. This wasn't normal.
Before she could organize her thoughts from the surprise and shock, the heavy door sounded as it opened, and Dane walked in. His sharp eyes went straight to her and remained, he met her with the blanket flung away and she was checking herself.
"You're awake," he said, voice low but filled with something she couldn't comprehend.
"I—" Mira stuttered. "I was hurt. Badly."
Dane said nothing initially while his eyes still fixed on her. He walked around the room, his movements careful. He wasn't looking at her like he normally did. There was something different—hesitation, maybe even fear.
"You were," he said finally, his voice quieter now. "But you're not anymore."
Mira shook her head. "That's not possible."
Dane sighed, moving his hand through his dark hair. "We don't know what's happening to you, Mira."
She was still trying to understand what he said then another presence filled the doorway. Silas.
The Beta stepped inside, his face unreadable, but his sharp eyes filled with something Mira recognized very well, distrust.
"She healed overnight," Silas mentioned bluntly. "No normal human could recover that fast."
Mira was scared and surprised. "I don't know what's happening," she said with a calm voice.
Silas scoffed. "That's the problem."
"Enough," Dane shouted, stepping in the middle of them. "She's not a threat."
Silas gave a humorless chuckle. "Not yet."
Mira held her fists tightly. A sharp scent hit her nose—anger. Dane's anger. She shouldn't have been able to smell that. The realization made her stomach turn.
What was she becoming?
Mira became restless and couldn't just sit. Not with Silas watching her like she was the most dangerous thing she had ever encountered. Not with Dane looking at her like he was seeing a ghost which he killed by himself.
She needed answers. And she wasn't going to find them while staying in Dane's room.
So during the night, she left.
The compound was quiet, but Mira moved faster than she expected, her steps were light like it was without any stress. She had no plan, only her feelings. And right now, she felt like walking around the city towards where it all happened.
The people disappearing were not just random. There was a pattern. Mira was going to find out what it was.
Mira made her way through Luna Heights, she stayed in the shadows, her senses unusually sharp. She is an observant type when she moves but this time it felt different, she was hearing people discussing even when they seemed pretty far from her location, and she perceived the scent of freshly baked bread even when the bakery was closed. She even moved away from an accident that happened pretty far that wasn't seen from her location.
She was changing.
Trying to forget the thought, she focused on her goal. She had studied the missing person cases before, but now, standing outside one of the locations where someone had disappeared, a shiver went through her body.
There was no sign of a struggle. No blood. No evidence that anything violent happened. Just…emptiness. Like they had vanished without any form of trace.
Mira moved closer. Then she smelled it.
Something metallic. Rusty. The scent was small but undeniable.
Blood.
Her heart kept beating fast as she followed the scent down a small alleyway. The deeper she went, the stronger the scent became. Something was here.
She heard a small sound behind her.
Mira turned just as a dark figure jumped from the shadows. Instinct took over.
Mira dodged, her body moving faster than she expected with her face filled with surprise at her attack. The attacker's claws missed her throat which was the target and instead went through the air. Too fast. Too precise.
Rogues.
She turned and slammed her elbow into the attacker's chest. The force sent him flying to the nearby wall. But before she could strike again, another rogue appeared from the darkness.
Two. No, three.
They had been waiting for her.
Mira's heart seized in her chest. She was outnumbered. Outmatched.
Or at least… she should have been.
The first rogue jumped again, but Mira was ready. She moved her body to the side, grabbed his arm, and—without thinking—threw him into the alley wall again.
The impact was fatal.
The second rogue looked around and waited. Mira barely had time to understand his reason before another attack came, a blade shining in the small light. She should have been too slow.
She wasn't.
She dodged and struck with a speed that didn't make sense to her. Her strength was unnatural. Her movements weren't only fast; they were done based on calculation, it was accurate like she had done this a hundred times before.
But she hadn't.
The last rogue smiled, eyes shining in the dark. Then he turned and disappeared into the shadows of the night, they all disappeared before she could decide to chase after them.
Mira stood there, her breath was coming in a serious gasp while she looked at herself critically while her hands were shaking.
She had beaten them. Three fully grown, trained werewolves. And she didn't even feel fatigued or stressed doing it.
Her eyes went straight to her hands, fingers still in fist form. Something was happening to her. Something scary.
She wasn't normal.
And now… she had proof.
What is she becoming?