Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As the evil fire licked across the house's framework, smoke filled my lungs. Kyle was stronger than I in every way—with his wolf, with his magic, and with his will—but our mother had kept us submissive to the wolf's bane ever since the moment she realized our powers could overthrow her. Kyle had developed control over his powers years before mine had even begun to manifest themselves to me.

She used the poison to stifle the magic essence that a witch had given to us centuries earlier, enabling her to exert control over us from within.

My brother, on the other hand, would simply accept her punishments. He was the person who loved me the most in the world, but in those circumstances, he vanished. His physical barrier became emotionless and soundless, yet this time it was different.

My body had been shackled to the table, whereas his was chained to the wall.

Despite the fact that my brother is typically cool-headed, my mother overstepped her bounds in punishing me for what I had done that day.

She used blades that were covered in silver to rip through my flesh as I shouted until my voice broke. My blood was dripping into the ground as my brother watched, his monster nature tugging against his confines. Nobody knew he had a penchant for fire until today, and when he unleashed his unbridled strength across the room, our mother had already left before she could see him burn to death.

She didn't care if she murdered me in the process because she had stolen my magic for her own use. We had never been her children; rather, we had served as tools in her pursuit of greater power, and today I had made an attempt to stop her.

Their blood was still on my hands, and I could still see it.

I had stopped screaming as I felt my brother's arms around me in a guarded manner. My life force was slowly ebbing away, yet even though the pain was searing all the way to my bones, as his fire seared across my skin, I found comfort in his grip.

In this basement, I experienced a lot of death-related dreams. I even prayed for death several times, but each time it disregarded me.

As Kyle proceeded through the fire room, the flames became more protective. Although I hadn't seen him when he had broken his chains, I could picture his condition. Even though we had grown up in a violent environment, Kyle had always tried to protect me from harm. However, he was unable to foresee when my skills would manifest or that they would be all my mother needed.

If you don't control your energy, this house will crumble! Your mother is currently gone, but there is no way of knowing when she will return, so I don't have much time to bring the two of you to safety. Somewhere in front of us, a strange voice rang out.

As she drew near the column of smoke, the woman grabbed me and pull the silver chains from my limbs. I whimpered in my brother's grip as he brought me closer to his chest. I retreated from her touch and struggled to grab hold of him.

"Your mother is not your burden to bear, Kyle—you sought out my power, and now I have come to grant it to you."

The flames around us started to flicker and move away, but I was unable to make out what was happening or who the woman in front of us was.

I was a small wolf even though I was 10 years old because of the years of hunger and neglect. Although my brother and I were just five years apart in age, he had already developed into a wolf, unlike me. His wolf saved him from starvation, but I could feel my body devouring itself. In addition, I was running low on magic because she had absorbed most of it.

I could hardly hear what my brother and the odd woman were saying, but I could feel Kyle's power rush wrap me in a shield of protection. He kneeled in front of me as he gently seated me in a wooden chair.

He pushed my hair away from my face, and I was certain that he was crying, but my vision was foggy at the time. With my angular facial features and my dark eyes, I resembled him greatly. My willpower was weaker, even if my hair resembled his in texture and color.

Can you hear me, Kylie? — You must pay attention because I don't have much time to get you to safety. Do you understand? Even though my head and body were both a jumble of aches, I didn't want him to be angry with me.

Although I could feel myself leaving, something managed to hold me in place. I didn't understand it; I didn't understand anything but the hopeless expression in my brother's eyes. It was like a thread holding me to this place in time.

Even though it seemed like it was going to split in half, I nodded.

"I don't want to leave you, Kyle." He reached for one of my bloodied hands as I was able to go.

I made an effort to smile at him and make other gestures, but all I could think about was how hurt I was. I could tell my mother wanted to kill me by the way she had scolded me without mercy. Despite my best efforts to tell myself otherwise, I knew in my heart that what I had done to enrage her was not a mistake.

"She's just a child." My body stiffened up as the woman continued to speak. She hardly batted an eye at my wrecked state, but her face was loaded with impatience. "You want me to clip the magic of a child just as she is coming into her power; do you not see how insane that is?" As Kyle got up from the ground and proceeded toward the woman, his tone shifted.

He desperately grabbed her hand and held on. I could see that he was pleading for her assistance, but my limited understanding was having trouble processing what she was saying.

What did she mean when she said that she would clip my power?