Chapter 128: New Ability

Sofia stepped out of the restaurant and began walking briskly, her eyes forward, but every sense she possessed was screaming that she wasn’t alone.

Unbeknownst to her, two heavy black trucks pulled out from the curb a block away, moving silently behind her. They didn’t pass her; they simply hovered behind her, their tinted windows hiding the hungry eyes of the men inside.

​As she neared an alleyway that served as a shortcut to her apartment building, the trucks suddenly roared to life. They swerved, tires screeching against the asphalt, and boxed her in against the brick wall.

​Sofia’s heart dropped.

Rogues.

Six men climbed out.

This was neutral ground—a part of the city where violence was strictly forbidden by the Council—but these men looked like they hadn’t followed a law in years.

​”Come quietly with us, little wolf,” the leader said as he stepped toward her. “The King doesn’t like to be kept waiting, and we don’t want to harm you.”

​”Stay away from me!” Sofia shouted, her back hitting the cold brick.

​The rogues didn’t listen. They laughed, and two of them moved forward to grab her arms. “The King said you were a legend, but you just look like a frightened girl to—”

​”I said LET ME BE!” Sofia screamed.

​As the words left her lips, something snapped inside her chest. A wave of invisible force exploded outward from her body with the force of a bomb. It hit the rogues like a physical wall, sending all six of them flying backward to the hard ground.

​Sofia gasped, her hands shaking as she watched them groan. They tried to scramble back to their feet, but as they pushed against the ground, they froze. They were stuck. It was as if the very air around them had turned to stone, pinning them to the concrete. No matter how much they snarled and struggled, they were glued to the ground by an invisible weight.

​Sofia didn’t wait to see more. Terrified by the raw power she had just unleashed, she turned and bolted. She ran until her lungs burned, her feet flying over the pavement until she reached the lobby of her apartment. She scrambled for her keys, her breath coming in ragged sobs as she finally burst inside her unit and slammed the door, throwing every bolt.

​Safe inside, she sank to the floor, her heart beating a wild rhythm against her ribs.

“What… was that?” she whispered.

Her wolf’s voice answered calmly inside her mind.

“One of your abilities.”

Sofia swallowed hard.

“That was only the beginning,” the wolf continued quietly. “But you are untrained, Sofia. If you do not learn to control this power… it will consume you.”

​Sofia clutched her head, her breath still coming in shallow gasps. “I don’t want to command it! I just wanted to be normal. I wanted to be left alone.”

​”You were never meant for ’normal,’ little wolf,” the wolf whispered. “A spiritualist lives on the edge of the Gray District. I will direct you to her. She is the only one who can teach you how to control your power.”

​Sofia felt a bone-deep exhaustion settle into her limbs. She crawled into her bed, the stack of Alaric’s cash sitting on the nightstand. For a fleeting moment, she wished she was still the invisible girl in Alaric’s factory—unnoticed, unhunted, and ordinary.

​Meanwhile, miles away, the six rogues finally felt the invisible weight lift from their chests. The air snapped back to its natural state, releasing its hold on their broken bodies. Groaning and spitting blood, they dragged themselves back into the two black trucks. The silence during the drive was heavy with fear; they had failed, and the Rogue King did not like failure.

​They pulled into the rogue camp—a sprawling, fortified junkyard lit by flickering oil fires and the glowing eyes of hundreds of lawless wolves. At the center stood a massive, reinforced tent. The lead rogue walked inside, his knees trembling. The air inside smelled of raw meat and expensive bourbon. Behind a heavy oak desk sat a man in his early thirties.

​”Where is she?” the Rogue King asked, already knowing the answer.

​”My King… we had her,” the rogue stammered, dropping to his knees. “But she… she didn’t even shift. She just screamed and we were pinned to the ground like insects. We couldn’t move.”

​The Rogue King stood up slowly. Instead of anger, a dark and twisted smile slowly spread across his face. “It’s time for Plan B.”

​The next day, Sofia followed the voice of her wolf. The wolf led her deep into the city, toward a part called the Gray District. It was a quiet place where the buildings looked old and the streets were narrow. Finally, she stopped in front of a small bookstore. The building was small and the windows were dusty.

Sofia pushed the door open. A little bell rang.

​Behind a high wooden desk sat an old woman with long, silver hair. She was reading a book, but the moment Sofia stepped inside, the woman froze. She looked up, a big smile spreading across her face. She did not ask who Sofia was. She didn’t have to. She could feel the power of the White Wolf coming off Sofia.

​”You are here at last,” the woman whispered, sounding relieved.

​Sofia stood there, feeling tired and confused. “My wolf sent me. I don’t know how to control what is happening to me.”

​The woman stood up slowly. She walked to the front door and flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED. She locked the door and pulled the curtains shut.

​”Come with me, child,” she said, pointing to a small table in the back.

​Sofia sat down. Her heart was still beating fast. The woman brought over a cup of hot tea and sat across from her.

“My name is Marian,” the woman said. “I have waited many years to see a White Wolf with my own eyes.”

​Sofia swallowed hard, waiting for what’s next.

​

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep