Cold stone pressed against Aria's cheek as awareness slowly returned. Her head pounded like someone had hit her with a hammer. Every muscle in her body ached.
She tried to move but couldn't. Heavy silver chains wrapped around her arms and ankles, burning her skin wherever they touched. Silver was poison to werewolves it weakened them and stopped their healing.
"Finally awake, I see."
Aria's eyes snapped open. She was in a vast underground room carved from black stone. Purple torches flickered along the walls, leaving dancing shadows everywhere. Ancient symbols covered every surface, glowing with evil energy.
Mara stood in the center of the room, no longer hiding behind Elena's face. The witch looked exactly as she had at the pack house silver hair, violet eyes, and a smile that promised pain.
"Welcome to my home," Mara said happily. "I do hope you'll enjoy your stay. Though it won't be very long."
Aria strained against the chains. "Where's Elena?"
"Right here, darling."
Elena walked out from behind a stone pillar. But something was terribly wrong. Half of her face looked normal blue eyes, pale skin, familiar features. The other half was twisted and dark, with yellow eyes and black veins pumping beneath gray skin.
"Elena?" Aria whispered in horror.
"I'm still here," Elena said, but her voice sounded strange. Like two people talking at the same time. "I'm fighting her, but she's getting stronger."
"How touching," Mara laughed. "The little sister trying so hard to resist. But it's useless, dear. Soon you'll be completely mine."
Elena's body jerked, and for a moment, the dark half took control. "Yes," she said in Mara's voice. "And then we'll have everything we need."
"Let her go!" Aria shouted, pulling so hard against the chains that blood ran down her arms. "Take me instead!"
"Oh, but I am taking you," Mara purred. "Both of you, actually. Elena's body will be my new home, and your spirit wolf power will make me unstoppable."
She motioned to the symbols carved into the floor around Aria. They began shining brighter, making the air itself hum with dark magic.
"The ritual is quite simple," Mara explained. "I drain your power while your sister watches, helpless to stop it. The emotional pain will make the magic even more potent."
"You're insane," Aria spat.
"I'm practical," Mara corrected. "Werewolves have run this world for too long. It's time for witches to take our proper place." A faraway rumbling sound echoed through the chamber. Mara frowned, tilting her head to listen.
"What was that?" Elena asked the real Elena, fighting for control of her own words.
The rumble grew louder. Then came the sound of howling dozens of voices raised in a battle cry that shook the very foundations of the castle.
"Impossible," Mara breathed. "How did they find us so quickly?"
CRASH!
The first blast rocked the chamber. Dust rained from the roof as something massive struck the fortress above.
"Rowan," Aria whispered, hope burning in her chest.
Another blast, closer this time. The purple torches flickered as the magical barriers around the castle began to crack.
"Those mangy mutts!" Mara snarled. "I'll crush them all!"
She raised her hands, and the symbols on the walls blazed with power. Dark magic flowed upward through the stone, strengthening the fortress's defenses. But the threats kept coming. Each blast was stronger than the last.
Elena suddenly grabbed her head, screaming. The battle between her awareness and Mara's was tearing her apart.
"It hurts!" Elena cried. "She's trying to take complete control!"
"Fight her!" Aria shouted. "Don't let her win!"
"I can't!" Elena fell to her knees. "She's too strong!"
The dark half of Elena's face was growing, consuming more of her features. Soon there would be nothing left of the real Elena.
Outside, the battle raged fiercer. Rowan's voice cut through the chaos, commanding his men.
"Break through the north wall! Caleb, take your team through the lower tunnels!"
More blasts. The chamber shook so violently that cracks showed in the stone walls.
"Persistent little pests," Mara grumbled. She turned to the crazed Elena. "Quickly now. We need to begin the rite before they break through."
Elena's body moved against her will, walking to an altar covered in silver knives and dark crystals. Her good eye looked at Aria with desperate apology.
"I'm sorry," Elena whispered. "I can't stop my hands from moving."
"It's not your fault," Aria said strongly. "Keep fighting. I know you're stronger than her magic."
Mara began chanting in the old language. The symbols around Aria burned brighter, and she felt something inside her chest begin to burn. Her spirit wolf was fighting against unseen chains, trying to break free.
Pain shot through every nerve in her body. Mara was trying to rip the wolf right out of her soul.
"Stop!" Elena suddenly screamed, throwing herself against the altar. The silver knives spread across the floor. "I won't let you hurt my sister!"
For a moment, Elena was fully herself again. The dark half of her face flickered and faded.
"Foolish child!" Mara's spirit appeared beside Elena, glowing with purple fire. "You cannot resist me forever!"
"Maybe not," Elena panted. "But I can slow you down."
She grabbed one of the dropped silver knives and pressed it against her own throat. Silver burned her skin, but she didn't let go.
"If you kill Aria, I kill myself," Elena said through hard teeth. "And you lose your new body."
Mara's face twisted with rage. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me," Elena answered. "I've been dead once already. I'm not afraid to do it again."
The witch paused, and in that moment of distraction, something incredible happened.
The chamber wall burst inward.
Rowan burst through the hole in his massive wolf form, his silver eyes blazing with fury. Behind him came Caleb and a dozen other wolves from different packs.
"Get away from her!" Rowan roared, charging straight at Mara.
The witch threw a bolt of purple lightning at him. Rowan dodged, the magic burning the stone where he'd been standing.
More wolves poured through the gap. The chamber filled with snarls and howls as werewolves fought with Mara's shadow creatures.
"Caleb!" Aria shouted. "The chains!"
He was already moving, changing to human form and grabbing one of the silver knives. The metal burned his hands, but he didn't stop. With three quick hits, he shattered the chains holding Aria's wrists.
She fell forward, her legs too weak to hold her after hours in silver bonds. But her spirit wolf was stirring, smelling freedom.
"Elena!" Aria called to her sister, who was still holding the knife to her throat. "The sacred circle! Can you break it?"
Elena looked down at the old symbols carved into the floor. "I think so, but"
Mara's scream of rage cut her off. The witch had realized what they were planning.
"If I cannot have your power willingly," Mara shrieked, "then I'll take it by force!"
She raised both hands, collecting every ounce of her magic. Dark energy swirled around her like a tornado, getting bigger and more dangerous by the second.
"Everyone out!" Rowan led. "She's going to bring down the whole fortress!"
But Elena shook her head. "If we run now, she'll just try again later. This has to end here."
She looked at Aria with love and drive. "I know what I have to do."
"Elena, no"
"I love you, big sister," Elena said with a sad smile. "I always have."
Before anyone could stop her, Elena plunged the silver knife into the middle of the ritual circle.
The magical symbols burst with blinding light. The entire fortress began to fall.
And in the chaos, as stone rained down around them, Aria saw something that made her blood run cold.
Mara wasn't trying to run. She was happy.
Because this had been her plan all along