Previously: Sera learned the shocking truth—she carries the blood of the extinct Moon Blessed wolves, and possibly something darker called the Night Cursed. The seal keeping her power locked away is breaking, and Aldric has agreed to train her. But in her dreams, she saw red eyes watching from the shadows...
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Dawn broke over the Forbidden Woods with the subtlety of a slap.
I woke to ice-cold water hitting my face, gasping and flailing as I tumbled out of bed onto the hard wooden floor. Aldric stood over me with an empty bucket, his expression utterly unsympathetic.
"Training starts now," he said flatly. "You have five minutes to get dressed and meet me outside. Four minutes and fifty seconds now."
He left before I could sputter a response.
I scrambled to my feet, my heart still racing from the rude awakening. The nightmare from last night those red eyes in the corner felt distant now, pushed aside by immediate irritation. I'd gotten maybe four hours of sleep, my body ached from yesterday's fight and sleeping on an unfamiliar bed, and apparently my new mentor believed in the "drown first, ask questions later" approach to teaching.
Great. Just great.
I threw on the most practical clothes I had—leggings, a sports bra, and a tank top that had seen better days and stumbled outside barefoot, still towel-drying my face.
The clearing behind Aldric's cabin was larger than I'd realized in the dark. Roughly circular, maybe forty feet across, ringed by ancient trees that seemed to lean inward like spectators around an arena. The ground was packed earth, worn smooth by what must have been centuries of use.
Aldric stood in the center, wearing simple training clothes that showed just how powerfully built he still was despite his age. Scars crisscrossed his exposed arms silver lines that spoke of countless battles survived.
"You're late," he said. "That's twenty push-ups. Now."
"I wasn't you said five minutes."
"Thirty push-ups. Keep arguing and it becomes fifty."
I bit back my retort and dropped to the ground. My arms trembled by push-up fifteen. By twenty, my muscles were screaming. I forced myself through the last ten with gritted teeth, then collapsed face-first in the dirt.
"On your feet."
I groaned but obeyed, pushing myself upright. Every muscle in my arms felt like jelly.
"Listen carefully, because I'm only explaining this once," Aldric said, beginning to pace around me in a slow circle. "You have power. Raw, ancient, potentially devastating power. But power without control is just violence waiting to happen. What you did last night that wasn't skill. That was desperation and instinct. Against those corrupted wolves, it was enough. Against a trained opponent, you'd be dead."
He stopped directly in front of me, his ancient eyes boring into mine.
"My job is to make sure you survive long enough to master what you are. Your job is to shut up, follow instructions, and push past every limit you think you have. Understood?"
"Understood," I managed.
"Good. Now hit me."
I blinked. "What?"
"You heard me. Attack. Use whatever you've got speed, strength, claws if you can manage them. Try to land a single hit."
This had to be a trick. Aldric was old, yes, but he was also clearly a seasoned warrior. And I'd been conscious for maybe ten minutes, still half-drowned from his wake-up call.
But the look on his face said he wasn't joking.
Fine. He wanted a hit? I'd give him one.
I lunged forward, reaching for that silver power I'd felt last night. For a moment, I thought I grasped it—felt that familiar surge beginning to build.
Aldric moved.
One second he was in front of me. The next, he was beside me, and his foot swept my legs out from under me. I hit the ground hard, the impact driving the air from my lungs.
"Too slow," he said calmly. "And too obvious. You telegraphed your attack from a mile away. Again."
I pushed myself up, spitting dirt. Anger flared hot in my chest. I charged again, this time feinting left before striking right.
He caught my wrist mid-swing and twisted. Pain lanced through my shoulder as he used my own momentum to flip me onto my back. The world spun, and then I was staring up at the lightening sky, gasping like a landed fish.
"Predictable," Aldric observed. "You fight like someone who's never been in a real battle. All aggression, no strategy. Again."
"How am I supposed to hit you if you keep."
"Forty push-ups for complaining. Then try again."
The next hour was the longest of my life.
Again and again, I attacked. Again and again, Aldric put me on my back without breaking a sweat. He moved like water, like shadow, like he could read my intentions before I fully formed them. Every mistake earned me push-ups or sit-ups or sprints around the clearing until my legs felt like they'd give out.
By the time he finally called a halt, I was lying in the dirt, covered in sweat and bruises, my entire body one massive ache.
"Pathetic," Aldric said, though his tone had lost some of its earlier harshness. "But you didn't quit. That counts for something."
"Thanks," I wheezed. "I feel so much better now."
He actually smiled at that small, but genuine. "Rest. Five minutes. Then we work on the fundamentals."
I wanted to ask what the hell we'd just been doing if not fundamentals, but I was too tired to form words. I just lay there, watching clouds drift across the morning sky, trying to remember why I'd thought this was a good idea.
Because the alternative is dying, I reminded myself. Or worse, hurting someone when the power surges out of control.
When the five minutes ended—and Aldric's internal clock was apparently perfect, he hauled me to my feet.
"Your power comes from two sources," he said, his tone shifting into lecture mode. "Moon and shadow. Light and dark. Right now, they're both sealed, but the seal is cracking. Last night, you accessed the moon power, speed, strength, healing. Those are the gifts of the Moon Blessed."
He gestured to the sun, now fully risen above the trees. "But that power is tied to the moon itself. During the day, especially under direct sunlight, it'll be weaker. Not gone, but diminished. At night, under moonlight, you'll be exponentially stronger."
"So I'm useless during the day?"
"Not useless. Just... less terrifying." His lips twitched. "We'll focus on what you can do without relying on the moon power. Raw speed, precision, tactical thinking. Skills that work regardless of the time of day."
He moved to the edge of the clearing and retrieved two wooden staffs, tossing one to me. I caught it clumsily.
"Combat is about reading your opponent," Aldric said, taking a fighting stance. "Every body has tells. The way someone shifts their weight before they strike. The direction of their gaze. The tension in their shoulders. Your moon-blessed speed will let you react faster than normal wolves but only if you know what to react to."
He attacked.
This time, instead of dodging or blocking, I forced myself to watch. To really see the way his body moved. His right shoulder dipped slightly before his staff swung toward my head.
I ducked, and the staff whistled over me.
"Better!" Aldric didn't slow down. He came at me again, and again I watched for the tell. His weight shifted to his left foot, I jumped right, and his low sweep missed.
"Good! Now counterattack!"
I swung my staff at his midsection. He blocked easily, but I saw how his eyes tracked the movement, how his body prepared to parry.
I pulled the strike and swept at his legs instead.
My staff connected with his ankle. Barely a tap, but it connected.
Aldric stepped back, lowering his staff. For a moment, I thought I'd made a mistake. Then he nodded, something like approval in his ancient eyes.
"Four hours of getting your ass handed to you, and you finally land a hit. Not bad, Seraphina. Not bad at all."
The praise shouldn't have mattered. It was just one tiny success after countless failures. But warmth bloomed in my chest anyway the first genuine approval I'd felt from anyone in longer than I could remember.
"Don't let it go to your head," Aldric added. "You got lucky, and I was going easy on you. But it's a start."
---
We trained until noon, when Aldric declared a break for food. My stomach had been growling for the past hour, so I didn't argue.
Inside the cabin, he produced simple fare dried meat, hard cheese, bread that was fresh enough to prove he'd baked it recently. We ate in silence, and I was too exhausted to make conversation anyway.
"This afternoon," Aldric said as I swallowed the last of my water, "we work on sensing."
"Sensing what?"
"Life. Energy. Movement." He gestured vaguely. "Moon Blessed wolves could feel other living things around them. not minds, exactly, but presence. It's how they hunted, how they avoided ambushes. It's a crucial skill, and one you'll need to develop if you want to survive."
"How do I."
"You'll figure it out. Come on."
He led me back outside, but this time we walked past the training clearing and deeper into the woods. The forest here felt different from the area where I'd been attacked last night older, wilder, but not malevolent. Just... ancient.
We stopped in a small grove where sunlight filtered through the canopy in golden shafts. Aldric positioned me in the center and backed away about twenty feet.
"Close your eyes," he instructed.
I obeyed, feeling ridiculous.
"Now, forget about your normal senses. Don't listen for sounds or smell for scents. Look inward, to that place where your power lives. That silver light you felt last night. Find it."
I reached inside myself, searching. It took longer in the daylight the silver light was dimmer now, harder to grasp. But it was there, pulsing gently in time with my heartbeat.
"Got it," I murmured.
"Good. Now expand it. Push it outward, like ripples on water. Let it touch the world around you."
I tried. The silver light resisted at first, wanting to stay coiled tight inside me. But gradually, with effort that made my head ache, I managed to extend it beyond my skin.
The sensation was indescribable.
Suddenly, I was aware of everything in the grove. Not seeing it, exactly, but feeling it. The ancient trees pulsed with slow, deep life. Small creatures moved through the underbrush rabbits, birds, something larger lurking at the edge of my awareness. And Aldric, standing to my left, his presence sharp and defined, like a wolf-shaped beacon.
"I can feel you," I said, wonder coloring my voice.
"Of course you can. I'm not hiding. Now"
He moved. Even with my eyes closed, I sensed his presence shifting position, circling around behind me.
"Point to where I am."
I raised my hand, tracking that sharp wolf-shaped beacon, and pointed. "There."
"Good. Now the hard part. Keep tracking me."
He moved again, faster this time. My awareness followed him, clumsy and delayed, but following nonetheless. He circled the grove twice, sometimes stopping, sometimes changing direction abruptly.
My head began to pound. Maintaining this expanded awareness took concentration and energy I didn't have after this morning's beating. Sweat dripped down my temple.
"Don't lose me," Aldric called. "If you drop the sense, we start over."
I gritted my teeth and held on. The silver light wanted to snap back into myself, wanted to rest. I forced it to stay extended, to keep searching, to track Aldric's movements even as my skull felt like it was splitting.
Something changed.
The silver light... shifted. Instead of me pushing it outward through sheer will, it began to flow naturally, like water finding its level. The pounding in my head eased slightly. My awareness expanded further, and suddenly I wasn't just sensing Aldric, I could feel the rabbits in their burrow thirty feet away, could sense the hawk perched high in an oak tree, could even distinguish between the different types of life around me.
Trees felt slow and ancient. Animals felt quick and bright. And Aldric felt like concentrated moonlight wrapped in wolf-shape.
"Better," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "Much better. You can open your eyes now."
I did, and the expanded awareness didn't fade. If anything, it strengthened, the visual information layering on top of what I was sensing. I could see Aldric standing ten feet to my right and simultaneously feel his presence like a warm pressure against my expanded consciousness.
"This is..." I searched for words and failed. "This is incredible."
"This is survival," Aldric corrected, but not unkindly. "With this sense active, no one can sneak up on you. You'll feel them coming long before they attack. At night, under a full moon, you'll be able to sense every living thing within a hundred yards. Maybe more, once you're fully awakened."
"How do I turn it off? My head is killing me."
"Let the light flow back inside. Don't force it just... allow it to return."
I tried, and the silver light responded immediately, withdrawing like a breath released. The expanded awareness faded, and suddenly I was just me again, seeing only with my eyes, hearing only with my ears.
The loss felt profound. I hadn't realized how limited my normal senses were until I'd experienced something more.
"You'll build stamina," Aldric assured me. "Eventually, you'll be able to maintain that awareness for hours without strain. For now, fifteen minutes is impressive for a first attempt."
Fifteen minutes. It had felt like fifteen seconds.
"Come on," he said, turning back toward the cabin. "That's enough for today. You did well."
"Wait that's it? It's barely past noon."
Aldric looked back at me, one eyebrow raised. "You want more? Fine. Another hour of staff work, then fifty laps around the clearing, then we'll try the sensing exercise again until you pass out from the strain. That sound good?"
I thought about my bruised body, my pounding head, my muscles that already felt like overcooked noodles.
"Actually, stopping now sounds perfect."
"Smart girl."
---
That night, I collapsed into bed before the sun had fully set, too exhausted even to eat the dinner Aldric had prepared. My last thought before unconsciousness claimed me was that if this was day one of training, I might not survive to day two.
But I did survive.
Day two brought more staff work, more sensing exercises, and a new torture Aldric called "reflex training," which involved him throwing rocks at me while I tried to dodge. By day three, I could track his movements for twenty minutes before my head started pounding. By day five, I landed three hits during our morning sparring session.
Small victories. Tiny progress.
But progress nonetheless.
Each day, I felt myself changing. My body grew harder, leaner. My reflexes sharpened. The silver light inside me became easier to access, more responsive to my will. And each night, I slept the dreamless sleep of the thoroughly exhausted, too tired even for nightmares.
On the seventh day, Aldric changed the routine.
"No training this morning," he announced over breakfast.
I looked up from my porridge, suspicious. "Why not?"
"Because you're about to take a test." He stood, moving to retrieve something from a cabinet. When he returned, he was holding a leather pouch that clinked with the sound of coins. "There's a town about ten miles south of here. Small place, mostly humans with a few wolves passing through. You're going to go there, buy supplies we need, and come back."
"That's the test? Shopping?"
"The test is doing it without attracting attention." Aldric's expression was serious. "Your power is still leaking out in small ways your eyes occasionally flash silver, your movements are too fast for a normal human, and you give off a presence that makes people nervous. You need to learn to suppress it, to seem ordinary. That's a survival skill just as important as fighting."
He handed me the pouch and a list of supplies basic things like flour, salt, dried herbs.
"Blend in. Don't use your sensing ability unless absolutely necessary. Don't let your eyes change. Don't move faster than a normal human. If you can manage that for a full day, you pass."
"And if I can't?"
"Then we'll know you need more work on control before we progress to unlocking the next layer of your seal."
The next layer. My heart rate picked up at the thought. I'd gotten used to the trickle of power I could access now, the enhanced speed, the sensing ability. But that was just the beginning, according to Aldric. There were levels of power still locked away, waiting to be freed.
"Okay," I said. "I can do this."
"We'll see. Oh, and Seraphina?" He caught my eyes. "If you run into anyone from your old pack, walk away. You're not ready for that confrontation yet."
The reminder stung, but he was right. A week of training didn't erase eighteen years of being powerless. I was stronger than I'd been, faster than I'd been, but not strong enough. Not yet.
"I'll avoid them," I promised.
"Good. Now go. And try not to accidentally terrify any humans."
---
The walk to town took two hours at a normal human pace—agonizingly slow after a week of moving at enhanced speed. But I forced myself to maintain the leisurely stride, to breathe at a normal rate, to suppress the silver light that wanted to extend outward and sense everything around me.
The town, when I finally reached it, was exactly as Aldric had described. Small, quiet, the kind of place where everyone knew everyone and strangers stood out. A handful of buildings lined a single main street general store, diner, post office, and not much else.
I headed for the general store, keeping my eyes down, my presence as small and unremarkable as I could manage.
The bell above the door chimed as I entered. Inside, the store was dim and cramped, shelves packed with everything from canned goods to fishing supplies. An elderly woman stood behind the counter, reading a paperback novel. She glanced up as I approached.
"Help you, dear?"
"Just need a few things." I handed her Aldric's list, careful to keep my hands steady and normal. No silver glow. No enhanced speed.
She studied the list, then me, and something shifted in her expression. "You're not from around here."
"Just passing through," I said, which wasn't entirely a lie.
"Mmm." She didn't look convinced, but she started gathering the items anyway. "Been a lot of strangers lately. Wolves, mostly, heading into the Forbidden Woods. Looking for something, though they won't say what."
My pulse jumped, but I kept my expression neutral. "Is that so?"
"Yep. Started about a week ago. Can't imagine what's so interesting in those cursed woods, but " She paused, really looking at me now. "You got unusual eyes, girl. Pretty, but unusual. They almost look like they're glowing."
Damn it.
I blinked rapidly, forcing the silver back down. "Just the light in here. I'm a little sensitive to brightness."
"Uh-huh." She didn't believe me, I could tell. But she finished bagging the supplies and named a price. I paid from Aldric's pouch and turned to leave.
The bell chimed again.
I didn't need to turn around to know who had just entered. The familiar scent hit me like a physical blow pine and leather and home.
No. Not home anymore.
"Well, well," Marcus Blackthorn's voice said from behind me. "Seraphina Ashwood. I didn't think you'd have the nerve to show your face around other wolves."
I turned slowly, keeping my expression blank.
He looked exactly as I remembered golden hair, amber eyes, the kind of handsome that made humans stop and stare. He wasn't alone; two other young wolves flanked him, both wearing Blackthorn pack colors.
They were blocking the door.
"Marcus," I said evenly. "What a surprise."
"Is it?" He moved closer, and I fought the urge to back away. To show fear would be fatal. "Word spreads fast in wolf circles. The Ashwood disappointment fled into the Forbidden Woods. Everyone assumed you'd died. Guess they were wrong."
"Guess so."
His eyes narrowed, studying me. I could see the moment he noticed the changes the harder edge to my body, the confidence in my stance that hadn't been there before, the way I met his gaze without flinching.
"You look... different," he said slowly.
"People change."
"Not in a week, they don't." He circled me like a predator assessing prey. "What are you doing out here, Sera? Living rough in the woods? Scraping by on human charity?"
I could feel the silver light stirring inside me, responding to the threat, wanting to surge forth and show him exactly how much I'd changed. It would be so easy. So satisfying. One burst of speed, one hand at his throat, and I could make him feel a fraction of the humiliation he'd put me through.
You're not ready for this confrontation yet, Aldric's words echoed in my mind.
He was right. Marcus was an Alpha fully trained, fully awakened, surrounded by pack support. I was strong, yes. Faster than I'd been. But not strong enough. Not yet.
"Goodbye, Marcus," I said, gathering my supplies and moving toward the door.
"I'm not done talking to you."
His hand shot out to grab my arm.
I moved without thinking pulled away, twisted, used his own grip to throw him off balance. Not with enhanced speed, just with the technique Aldric had drilled into me for a week. Marcus stumbled, shock flickering across his face.
For a moment, we all froze.
Then one of Marcus's companions laughed. "Dude, did you just get dodged by the pack reject?"
Marcus's face flushed red. His pride, always his weakest point, flared hot and dangerous.
"You think you can embarrass me?" His voice dropped low, threatening. "You think a week of playing survivor makes you anything other than the defective waste of space you've always been?"
"I think," I said quietly, meeting his eyes with all the cold certainty I could muster, "that you should move out of my way before one of us does something we regret."
"Is that a threat?"
The silver light was pressing against my control now, demanding to be released. My eyes must have flickered because Marcus's expression shifted from anger to uncertainty.
"What?"
I pushed past him, shouldering through the gap between him and the doorframe. Behind me, I heard him start to follow, heard his companions moving to block my escape,
"Let her go."
The elderly shopkeeper's voice cut through the tension. We all turned to look at her. She'd put down her paperback and was watching us with sharp, knowing eyes.
"This is pack business, human," one of Marcus's wolves growled.
"This is my store," she corrected. "And I don't allow fighting in it. You want to settle whatever testosterone-fueled nonsense you've got going on, you do it outside. Otherwise, get out. All of you."
For a moment, I thought Marcus would ignore her. But something in the old woman's expression a steeliness that suggested she was more than she appeared made him hesitate.
"This isn't over, Seraphina," he said instead.
"It never was," I agreed.
And then I walked out into the afternoon sunlight, forcing myself not to run, not to look back, not to show any of the fear and rage churning in my gut.
I made it three blocks before my legs started shaking. Five blocks before I had to stop and lean against a building, breathing hard.
Not ready. Not nearly ready.
But I would be.
The walk back to Aldric's cabin took half the time it should have. I didn't care about maintaining human speeds anymore, I just ran, pushing my enhanced body to its limits, the supplies bouncing in my pack.
When I burst into the clearing, Aldric took one look at my face and set down the knife he'd been sharpening.
"What happened?"
"I ran into Marcus." The words tumbled out. "He tried to grab me, and I dodged him, and my eyes must have changed because he looked scared for a second, and I almost I wanted to."
"But you didn't." Aldric's voice was calm, grounding. "You walked away."
"Barely."
"Barely is enough." He stood, moving to place a steady hand on my shoulder. "Control isn't about never feeling the urge to fight. It's about choosing when to act on that urge. You weren't ready. You knew it. You chose survival over pride. That's wisdom, Seraphina."
"It felt like cowardice."
"It felt like patience. There's a difference." He guided me to sit on the cabin steps. "Tell me everything."
I did, leaving nothing out. The shopkeeper's observation about my eyes. Marcus's taunts. The way my power had strained against my control, desperate to be unleashed.
When I finished, Aldric was quiet for a long moment.
"The fact that other wolves are searching the Forbidden Woods concerns me," he said finally. "If they're looking for you specifically, that means someone knows you're alive. Someone who might suspect what you really are."
"Or they're just searching because the pack reject disappeared into cursed territory and they want to make sure I'm really dead."
"Perhaps." But he didn't sound convinced. "Either way, it means we accelerate your training. No more holding back. Tomorrow, we push harder. And if we're lucky, by the next full moon. " He paused, calculating. "Three weeks from now you'll be ready for your second awakening."
"Second awakening?"
"The first layer of your seal cracked when you fought those corrupted wolves. That gave you access to basic enhanced abilities speed, strength, sensing. The second layer will give you something more." His expression grew serious. "It will also hurt significantly more than the first."
"How much more?"
"Imagine every bone in your body breaking and reforming. Then multiply that by ten."
I stared at him. "You're joking."
"I wish I were." He stood, offering me a hand up. "But pain is the price of power, child. And if you want to be strong enough to face Marcus and everyone else who wronged you if you want to be strong enough to survive what's coming you'll pay it gladly."
I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. Through the trees, I could see the sun beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and red.
Soon, the moon would rise. And under its light, I'd feel my power grow stronger, more responsive.
Three weeks until the full moon. Three weeks until my second awakening.
Three weeks to become something Marcus Blackthorn and everyone else who'd dismissed me would learn to fear.
"Okay," I said, squaring my shoulders. "Let's get started."
Aldric smiled fierce and proud. "That's what I like to hear."
---
💜 Thank you for reading Chapter 4!
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💬 COMMENT: Marcus showed up! Do you think he's searching for Sera specifically, or is it just bad luck? And what do you think the second awakening will give her? I'm thinking something EPIC... 👀
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Next Chapter: "Blood and Moonlight" - Three weeks of brutal training push Sera to her absolute limits. And when the full moon rises, her second awakening brings powers and pain beyond anything she imagined. Plus, a dangerous test that will prove whether she's truly ready to return to the world that rejected her...
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End of Chapter 4