"Focus," Lumberling said, his tone sharp. "Do not fight with rage. Control it. Own it. You are not prey. You are the master of this essence."
Grokk was locked in battle, not with claw and fang, but within himself. The Alpha Bear's essence surged like a raging river, its memories clawing at his mind, trying to tear his body and will apart. Shadows of snarls and broken images pressed against him, blood, fangs, the endless hunt. And then, through the roar, came words.
'Submit.'
The voice wasn't spoken but carved into his mind.
'You are prey. Die.'
His muscles spasmed, his breath came ragged, and for a moment it seemed he would break.
But then, through the haze of pain, he remembered.
The long hours of meditation practice. The vow he made when he first swore loyalty to his lord. The reason he sought strength, not for himself alone, but for the clan, for the future Lumberling promised.
