Contract Marriage With Alpha Snow - Chapter 357

Chapter 357: Light Blast
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CHAPTER 357

~Zara’s POV~

Mother’s words stung deeper than the attacks, but before I could respond, she vanished.

My eyes darted around, searching. My instincts screamed, but before I could react, a hand gripped the back of my neck, shoving me forward. I crashed onto the ground with a grunt, my palms scraping against the dirt.

“You are weak,” my mother stated, her voice laced with disappointment.

I clenched my jaw, pushing myself up again. “I—”

Another hit.

This time, an energy wave slammed into my chest, sending me flying. I hit the ground hard, coughing as pain exploded through my ribs.

“Arrrrgh fuck!!”

Astrid groaned inside me. She was ready to come out and take over but I pushed her back down, only allowing her to heal me while I tried to force the seal to break.

“Do you think your enemies will pity you?” Mum’s voice was merciless. “Do you think they will hold back?”

I coughed, struggling to rise. My arms trembled from the impact, my body screaming in protest.

“Look at you,” she scoffed, her golden light burning brighter. “Pathetic. You were born from power, yet you cower like a child. Your father would be ashamed.”

I froze, my breath catching.

That struck deeper than anything else. I may not have known my father growing up but to be called a disappointment… that was low even for my mother.

“You disgrace his legacy,” she continued, her voice unwavering. “A weak little girl who ran and hid while others died for her.”

Rage surged in my chest. My fingers curled into the dirt. “I didn’t run. I was kidnapped!”

“Yeah, lucky you. Else you would have been dead or who knows, turned into a dark witch.”

“Seriously, Mum?”

“Still afraid?” she taunted, lifting her hand. Another golden blast formed at her fingertips. “Then let me remind you what it means to be powerless.”

My anger surged, pain, fear, rage; every emotion I could think of came rushing into me all at once. The blast came at me fast, too fast.

But this time, I didn’t move.

I clenched my teeth, something inside me snapping.

A deep, powerful heat surged through my veins, a tingling sensation spreading across my fingertips, my hands and my arms. It wasn’t just fear. It was something greater. Something stronger.

My vision blurred as my breath hitched. I felt… different and then… BOOM!

A shockwave erupted from me, knocking everything back, white blinding lights sparkling everwhere. My mother, the warriors nearby, and even the ground itself trembled beneath the force of my power.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, as the dust settled, I saw my mother lying several feet away, stunned. The warriors who had been watching were sprawled on the ground, some scrambling to their feet with wide, startled eyes. The training dummies had been shattered.

And me?

I stood in the center of the destruction, my body pulsing with energy.

My fingers tingled, glowing faintly with a silvery-white light. My entire body felt… alive. More powerful than ever before.

I lifted my gaze to my mother, whose expression had shifted from cold discipline to something else.

Pride.

“Now that,” she breathed, pushing herself up, “is the power of your bloodline.”

I stared down at my hands, my chest rising and falling rapidly. The light was fading, but I could still feel it humming beneath my skin, waiting.

My mother dusted herself off and approached me, a small smirk tugging at her lips. “That’s more like it.”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. “Did I… did I just unlock my powers?”

“Not fully,” she admitted, her eyes still gleaming with satisfaction. “But you’re getting there. You felt it, didn’t you?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good,” she said. “Because next time, you won’t just be reacting.” She smiled, and this time, there was something almost… fierce in her expression. “Next time, you’ll be the one attacking.”

I exhaled, shaking the lingering tension from my limbs. I smiled at her but just as I did my vision blurred and the next thing I knew, I was falling as the world around me suddenly turned black.

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I didn’t know what had happened, but by the time I came, I was no longer in the field but in my old room in Golden Claw Packhouse.

The first thing I noticed was the pounding in my head, like someone had taken a hammer to it. My limbs felt like lead, my body heavy against the soft mattress beneath me. The next thing I registered was voices—heated, sharp, and familiar.

“She could’ve been killed!” Snow’s voice was unmistakable, rough with anger. “What the hell were you thinking, forcing her powers out like that?”

“She needed to be pushed,” my mother snapped back, her tone icy and unwavering. “Do you think the people hunting her will give her a choice? She needed to experience her strength.”

“At the cost of her life?” Snow retorted, his voice rising. “You think this justifies putting her life in jeopardy? Do you even realize what could’ve happened? What if the blast had been stronger? She could’ve killed herself or everyone around her!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” my mother said, though her voice faltered slightly. “I was there. I knew what I was doing.”

“You knew?” Snow laughed bitterly. “You didn’t have control over her powers, and neither did she! That wasn’t a test—that was reckless!”

I blinked slowly, the haze in my vision clearing as their words drilled into my already aching head.

“She used her powers,” my mother countered firmly, her tone full of pride. “Whether or not the risks were high, she did it. Zara tapped into what she’s capable of. That’s what matters.”

“Without any control!” Snow’s voice was a low growl now, and I could almost picture the tension radiating from him. “Take a look at her!”

There was a pause, and I felt the weight of their gazes shift toward me.

With a groan, I slowly pushed myself up, my head spinning slightly as I locked eyes with them. “I’m… right here,” I muttered, my voice hoarse.

“Zara!”