I didn't sleep after that.
Not really.
Every time I shut my eyes, I saw flames. Blood. Her—Mira—falling again and again. And Damian screaming, throat raw, heart breaking in silence.
It wasn't my memory.
But it felt like mine.
Like my wolf had taken the pieces he kept buried and shoved them into my dreams.
When morning came, I sat against the cave wall, blanket over my knees, watching dust swirl through a thin beam of light. My body ached, but not like before. Not from wounds.
From something deeper.
Something… waking.
The door creaked open.
Damian stood there, arms crossed, jaw tight. "You're up."
"Didn't sleep."
He stared at me for a beat too long. "Good. Come on."
"Where?"
He turned. "Training grounds."
I blinked. "What?"
"You said you wanted to repay me. This is how."
I followed, stiff and unsure, down tunnels I hadn't seen yet. Torches lined the walls. Voices echoed from somewhere farther ahead. We stepped out into a clearing surrounded by stone.
A few other rogues waited—grimy, rough, eyes filled with suspicion.
They didn't like me. That much was obvious.
A scarred woman with half her hair shaved snorted. "She doesn't even have a wolf."
"Yet she's still breathing," said a tall guy with a missing eye. "Must be nice having the Alpha's protection."
"I'm not protected," I muttered.
"She's Crescent," the woman spat.
Damian growled low, and they shut up.
"She's training," he said simply.
Then he tossed something at me.
I barely caught it—a wooden staff, worn smooth from use.
"I don't know how to fight, I wasn't taught." I said quietly.
"Then learn."
So I did.
Or tried to.
At first, I couldn't even hold the staff right. My fingers shook. My arms burned. Every swing Damian blocked made my wrists sting. Every step back felt like failure.
"Again," he said.
"I'm trying!"
"Then try harder."
I hated him in that moment. His cold eyes. His hard voice. His refusal to let me rest.
But I also knew—he was right.
If I wanted to survive here, I had to change.
"I've seen deer fight harder than this," muttered the one-eyed guy, laughing.
Rage surged in my chest. I turned toward him, swung the staff—and missed completely, spinning myself to the ground like an idiot.
Laughter echoed around the circle.
My face burned.
Damian's voice cut through it all. "Again."
So I got up.
And again.
And again.
Until sweat dripped from my neck. Until my arms were jelly. Until I wasn't thinking, just moving—duck, swing, block.
And then—it happened.
His hand brushed my wrist in a block.
I gasped.
It felt like lightning shot through me. My knees buckled. My heart lurched.
And my wolf—
She stirred.
No.
More than stirred.
She growled.
"Mine."
I stumbled back, eyes wide.
"What was that?" Damian said, stepping toward me.
I clutched my chest. "I—nothing. Just tired."
He narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."
My whole body trembled. Not from fear. From something worse. From need.
Not romantic. Not yet.
Instinctual.
I looked up, and his pupils were dilated. His scent spiked—like storm winds before lightning.
His wolf had noticed too.
Shit.
We stood there, frozen.
Until the silence broke.
"Alpha!" someone shouted from the cave entrance.
A younger rogue boy sprinted over, panting. "Bad news. There's a bounty. On her."
My heart dropped.
"What?" Damian said, his voice sharp.
The boy nodded. "From Crescent territory. They're calling her a rogue. Jaxon's offering gold to anyone who drags her back alive."
The clearing went dead quiet.
All eyes turned to me.
"That true?" the woman asked, stepping forward. "Your Alpha wants you dead?"
"No," I said. "He—he wants me back. He's trying to control the story. Make me look like I ran."
"You did run," someone growled.
"Because I was rejected," I snapped.
"She's not our problem," said another rogue. "He wants her? Let him come get her."
"No," Damian said, voice like ice. "He doesn't touch her. No one does."
More silence.
Then the one-eyed guy sneered. "You protecting her, Alpha? Or claiming her?"
Damian didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
The air between us said everything.
They felt it.
I felt it.
But I definitely wasn't ready to deal with that.
"Let's keep training," I said quickly.
Damian nodded once, like that was all he needed.
We trained until the sun dipped low.
Until my muscles screamed.
Until I forgot I was supposed to be afraid.
And then—he came at me hard. Testing me. Pushing.
I swung wide. He blocked.
I ducked, jabbed.
He moved to counter—but I was faster.
For once.
I slammed the staff into his side. Not hard, but enough to shock him.
And me.
He dropped his guard for a second.
And that's when it happened.
My body burned.
Pain spiked through my spine.
I gasped, falling to my knees, arms trembling.
"What the hell—"
I screamed.
But it wasn't fear.
It was her.
My wolf.
She pushed forward like she'd been trapped behind a wall for years. Clawing, snarling, roaring into the space between us.
My bones shifted—just slightly. My eyes blurred. My hands shook.
Claws. Just for a second.
Then gone.
I collapsed forward, breathing hard.
Damian knelt beside me. "Lyra—what just happened?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
But I did.
My wolf had almost broken free.
For the first time since childhood.
"She spoke," I whispered.
His eyes widened. "Your wolf?"
I nodded.
Then everything went black.
---
Later
I woke in the cave again.
Damian sat by the wall, arms crossed.
"You passed out," he said.
"No shit."
"She nearly surfaced," he added. "You started to shift."
"I didn't mean to."
He leaned forward. "You've been blocked for years. That doesn't just… change overnight."
"I guess training pissed her off."
He chuckled—actually chuckled.
"I've seen full-blooded warriors cry during my drills. You did better than most."
I looked at him. Really looked.
And he wasn't just a shadow anymore.
He was something else.
Something breaking too.
"I saw Mira," I said quietly. "In my dreams."
His jaw clenched.
"She tried to warn you. That it was a trap. She died protecting you."
He said nothing.
But his eyes changed.
"You couldn't have saved her," I added. "They wanted you to suffer."
He didn't ask how I knew.
Maybe he already felt it.
"I'm not going back," I said. "Even if Jaxon sends the whole damn pack after me."
He nodded. "Good."
Then, softer: "Stay."
I blinked. "What?"
"Stay here. Learn to fight. Awaken your wolf. Become dangerous."
And I—
I didn't say no.
Because for the first time in my life…
I didn't feel weak.
I felt mine.