Chapter 771 Testing a new power
Quinn’s cries turned to growls, a sound that started deep in her chest and clawed its way out, raw and primal and terrifying in a way that made every hair on the back of every neck stand on end.
The clothes on her body began to shred, the fabric tearing away like paper caught in a storm, seams splitting with sharp, wet sounds that filled the quiet gym.
A grey wolf stood on fours, but its shoulders were joined to a beast standing on twos. The beast was bigger than the grey wolf, standing upright like a human but with fur covering its body and face, its claws and paws in place, its eyes burning with something ancient and hungry that seemed to look straight through every person in the room.
The hybrid form was impossible, a living contradiction that should not have existed, and the sight of it left the air thick with disbelief.
“A werewolf and a Lycan?” Voren gasped, his voice barely a whisper, the words dragged out of him by pure shock.
None of them had seen a Lycan’s beast. They had only read about them, had only seen images in books, illustrations that could not capture the horror, the majesty, the sheer impossible power of what stood before them now.
The reality of it was so much heavier than any drawing or description could ever convey.
Both the wolf and the beast were active, joined to one side, their growls overwhelming, filling the gym with a sound that made the walls tremble and the floor feel unsteady underfoot.
They each seemed to be fighting for dominance, the wolf snapping and snarling with desperate energy, the beast roaring with a fury that shook the air and left the scent of ozone sharp in every breath. But Quinn could not hold it for long.
This was the first time she shifted, and it was the most painful thing she had ever experienced, an agony that ripped through her body like fire, like lightning, like the world itself was tearing her apart from the inside.
Every bone, every muscle, every nerve screamed under the pressure of two forces that refused to share the same space.
She shifted back to form unconscious, her body crumpling, her limbs going limp as if the strength had been pulled out of her all at once.
Damon caught her before her shivering body could touch the floor, removing his shirt with one hand as he held her in the other, covering her with it, shielding her from the eyes of everyone in the room with a protectiveness that left no room for argument.
Everyone was too stunned to react, frozen in place, their minds struggling to process what they had just witnessed. The silence that followed the growls felt almost louder than the sounds themselves. But Seraphine reached out first, her hands steady, her voice calm, and resuscitated Quinn with practiced care.
Quinn gasped and woke up, her eyes flying open, her body trembling so hard her teeth nearly chattered. Damon’s oversized shirt was on her, covering her mid thighs, and she clutched at it like a lifeline, the fabric still warm from his body.
“I’ll get her some shorts,” Jasmine said and rushed out, her voice tight with the effort of holding her own shock in check.
She was too stunned by what she had seen, her mind reeling, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat.
She needed fresh air, using the clothing as an excuse to step away from the weight of the moment. However, she arrived soon enough, her hands steady as she helped get the pants on Quinn, making her comfortable with quiet, careful movements.
“Quinn, what happened?” Seraphine asked, her voice gentle but probing, filled with the need to understand what they had all just witnessed.
Quinn took deep breaths, her chest heaving like she had just been drawn out of underwater, like she had been drowning and had only just broken the surface into air that still felt too thin.
“I was shoved behind, and I couldn’t feel my body, but I could hear their voices.” Her voice was shaky, uncertain, carrying the raw edge of someone who had been pushed past every limit she knew. “Nyra kept saying that I should choose her, that these were her kind. But Veyrax also said I should choose her, because she’s stronger.”
She paused, her brow furrowing as she tried to remember details that felt slippery and half lost.
“Then Nyra said that if she joined her strength with Veyrax, then they could drain the powers from other wolves and Lycans and give them to whoever they desired.” Her voice dropped to something almost like a whisper that still managed to fill the gym.
“Veyrax asked for an experiment. Said Sera and Voren’s wolves were the strongest. They were about to drain, but I stopped them. I can’t remember anymore.”
At the moment, everyone was dumbfounded, their minds racing, their expressions moving between shock and fear and something that looked almost like awe. The power Quinn had just described was the kind of thing that could rewrite the balance of their world.
Callum spoke first, his voice measured, clinical, though a thread of disbelief ran beneath the words. “I’ve been a doctor in both the human and our world, have seen strange cases, but nothing like this.” He paused, his gaze fixed on Quinn with intense focus. “What would happen if you chose Nyra?”
Quinn did not answer immediately, her eyes going distant as if she was consulting her wolf, listening to a voice only she could hear. The silence stretched until it felt almost physical.
“Nyra said if I choose her, then she’ll be my wolf. Strong, but not as powerful as having Veyrax.” She paused, her expression changing as the other presence seemed to press forward. “Veyrax is the difficult one. She wants complete control.”
The corner of Voren’s lips twitched, a flicker of dark amusement crossing his features. It was always a Lycan thing to want control, to crave dominance, to refuse to bend, and the familiarity of that hunger was both expected and unsettling.
“So what happens if you choose Veyrax?”
“She said that she would love to be with her kind, but because my mate is a werewolf, she can adjust.” Quinn’s voice was quiet, careful, as if she feared the answer itself. “But I won’t have the special powers.”
“And if they both stay?” Seraphine asked, her voice steady even as the implications settled heavy in the room.
Quinn shook her head, a flicker of pain crossing her features that made Damon’s arm tighten around her. “Then they will drive me crazy. They keep arguing in my head.”
Suddenly, Voren regretted sending Dean and Cleopatra to the outlands. They would have been the perfect vessels for this experiment, and the absence of them left him without the safest options he would have preferred.
“How can they drain powers from wolves?” Voren asked, his voice sharp with curiosity that bordered on urgency.
Quinn paused again, almost thirty seconds passing before she answered, the delay filled with the quiet struggle of two voices negotiating inside her. “Nyra said that the presence of Veyrax is what releases the electrical energy, and as soon as I tell who, they can drain their wolf energy.”
“Will the person die?” Kael asked, his voice tight with fear, fear of what this kind of power could do to their kind if Quinn turned evil, the possibility hanging over the group like a blade.
Quinn went silent again, her brow furrowing, before she shook her head. “Not immediately, but the person will be weak. We can direct the energy anywhere we want it, and if perhaps, the person is pitiful enough, we can give it back.”
Finally, a sigh of relief escaped Seraphine, her shoulders dropping as some of the worst possibilities eased. “Then test it with mine.”
“No,” Voren refused instantly, his voice sharp, brooking no argument, the protective instinct in him rising hard and fast. “Try it with mine. But you should return it back.”
Damon refused, his jaw tightening with a determination that matched the King’s. “No. She’s my mate, and this is a test. She should start with me.”
He wasn’t ready to endanger anyone, wasn’t willing to risk the people he loved. And he was the only one capable of controlling Quinn, the only one who could pull her back if something went wrong, and that responsibility settled on him with absolute clarity.
Quinn froze, her eyes widening with a mix of fear and something close to wonder. “Do you really trust them?”
“You don’t trust your wolf and beast?” Damon asked, before getting the answer to his own question in the look on her face. “It’s alright. All your life, you have always thought yourself to be a human. That’s what I thought too. Our wolves are a very important part of our lives, and we mostly do what they tell us, though not everything.”
Everyone smiled at the last part, a moment of levity breaking through the tension like a crack of light. Indeed, these wolves could be very naughty, and following certain advice could put one into trouble, and the shared understanding of that truth softened the edges of the moment.
“Okay, if you say to trust them, then I will,” Quinn agreed, her voice steadier now, though the decision still felt enormous.
Damon smiled, a warm, encouraging curve of his lips that reached his eyes. “Alright, go on.”
Quinn was about to let her wolf control when Voren interrupted, his voice sharp with a caution that cut through the rising momentum.
“Wait. Assuming you don’t return the power you drain, then what will it be used for?”
Quinn went quiet, her expression changing, her eyes flickering with something that wasn’t quite human. The corner of her lips curled, and this time, her voice sounded playful, almost teasing. Clearly, Nyra had taken control of her, and the change in presence was impossible to miss.
“King Voren, why don’t we experiment with you? If I have your powers, I can do mighty things.”