Sophia's POV
The training ground is empty when Marcus finds me at dawn.
I've been awake for hours. Two days at the compound and I haven't slept properly once. Every time I close my eyes I see that video. My father in the shadows. My father giving orders. My father orchestrating my entire transformation.
Marcus Webb walks toward me like he owns the space. He's tall and built like someone who fights for a living. His face is scarred and his eyes are sharp and calculating. He's Logan's Beta and he moves like he's used to being followed.
"You must be Sophia," Marcus says. He circles me slowly like he's assessing a weapon. "Logan said you need training. He didn't say you'd look like you haven't slept in three days."
"I'm fine," I lie.
"You're exhausted and traumatized," Marcus says bluntly. "Which means you're probably going to do something stupid during training. Don't. I don't have time to deal with your injuries."
He's rough and direct in a way that's actually refreshing. No politeness. No pretense. Just honesty delivered like a punch.
"Show me your shift," Marcus commands.
I don't ask questions. I pull off my clothes and let my body change. The transformation feels easier now. More natural. Like my wolf is eager to come out instead of hiding.
My eyes turn silver. My bones reshape. My muscles expand. I'm taller and stronger and completely different than I was seconds ago.
Marcus walks around me and nods once. "Your form is clean. Natural. Good bloodline structure. Now fight me."
I hesitate for a second. He's bigger than me and he's Logan's second in command. But Marcus doesn't wait for me to make a decision. He shifts and attacks.
The training session is brutal.
Marcus doesn't hold back. He hits hard and fast and teaches me through pain and experience. He shows me how to use my speed instead of just running. How to anticipate movements. How to fight like someone who knows they might not survive if they lose.
By the third hour I'm breathing hard and bleeding from several places. But I'm also starting to understand something. My power isn't just strength. It's instinct. Ancient instinct that knows how to fight.
We shift back to human form and Marcus tosses me a towel.
"Your technique is sloppy but your instinct is incredible," he says. "You fight like someone who's been doing this for centuries. That bloodline of yours is doing heavy lifting."
I wipe sweat from my forehead. "How did you know about my bloodline?"
"I've been around long enough to recognize Alpha Queen power when I feel it," Marcus says. He sits down on a bench and gestures for me to sit beside him. "You're rare, Sophia. Rarer than you probably understand."
We train again that afternoon. And the next day. And the day after that.
Marcus teaches me how to shift properly. How to control my power instead of letting it control me. How to think like a warrior instead of a victim. Each session pushes me further.
And each session I start to feel alive for the first time.
My body gets stronger. My confidence grows. I start to understand that the person I was before the attack is gone. The weak omega waiting tables at a diner is dead. Something else is taking her place.
Something powerful.
On the fourth day of training, Logan appears at the edge of the training ground.
I don't notice him at first. I'm too focused on the combat sequence Marcus is teaching me. But then I feel it. That pull. That rope around my chest tightening.
I turn and he's standing there watching me.
Logan is in tactical gear like he just came from a meeting. His grey eyes are locked on me and the intensity is overwhelming. He's watching me move. Watching me fight. Watching me shift.
The intensity in his eyes makes me nervous. Makes me feel exposed. I've never had his attention before and now he's staring at me like I'm the only thing that matters in the entire world.
Marcus notices and grins. "Keep going," he says. "Don't let him distract you."
But I am distracted. Completely distracted.
I shift back to human form and Marcus tosses me clothes. He tells me to take a break while he goes to deal with something at the compound.
That's when Logan walks over.
He's silent and deliberate. Like every step is calculated. He stops close enough that I can smell him. Cedarwood and something wild and dangerous.
"You're improving," he says.
"Marcus is a good teacher," I say.
"Marcus is an excellent teacher," Logan agrees. "But you're improving because you have something to prove. Because you're angry about your transformation being deliberate."
I don't answer because he's right.
"I know about the video," Logan continues quietly. "I know your father sent those rogues. I know he orchestrated your awakening."
My chest tightens. "How do you know that?"
"Because I have people everywhere," Logan says. His voice is cold and calculated. "Because the moment you arrived at the compound I started gathering information. Because I needed to understand who was moving against you and why."
He steps closer and my heart rate spikes. "Your father thought awakening your bloodline would give him leverage. He thought he could control you. He was wrong."
"Why do you care what my father does?" I ask.
Logan reaches out and touches my face. His fingers are gentle against my cheek but there's nothing gentle about his eyes.
"Because you're under my protection now," he says. "And that means your enemies are my enemies."
He drops his hand and walks away before I can respond.
I stand there shaking. Not from fear but from something else. Something that feels dangerous and exciting and completely out of my control.
That's when Marcus reappears.
He pulls me aside to the far edge of the training ground away from where guards might hear us.
"Your bloodline is strong," Marcus says quietly. His voice is different now. Serious. "Stronger than anything I've seen in years. This isn't random, Sophia. Someone knew exactly what you were."
"My father," I say bitterly. "The video proves it."
"It proves more than that," Marcus says. He glances over his shoulder to make sure we're alone. "The rogues that attacked you weren't just coordinated. They were sent by someone with serious power. Someone who had the resources and the connections to find specialized fighters."
My stomach drops. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying your father didn't orchestrate this alone," Marcus says. His voice gets quieter. "I'm saying whoever coordinated this attack has roots deep in the council. Deep in the pack structure. Your father was just a tool."
"Then who's really behind this?" I ask.
Marcus starts to answer but stops. He looks past me at something. His entire body goes tense.
"We need to talk later," he says. "Somewhere private. Somewhere nobody can hear us."
He walks away and I turn to see what made him stop talking.
Victor Blake is standing at the edge of the training ground watching me.
He's the oldest member of the pack council. Powerful. Wealthy. Connected. And his eyes are cold as ice as he studies me like I'm something to be analyzed.
He smiles. It's not a warm smile.
Then he turns and walks back into the compound.
I realize something in that moment that makes my blood run cold.
Victor Blake knows who I am. Victor Blake knows what I can do. And Victor Blake is not happy about my existence.
And if Marcus is right, if my awakening wasn't just my father's plan but part of something bigger, then the real danger isn't over.
The real danger is just beginning.