Chapter 9: First Lessons

Elder Thorne woke me before dawn. The sky was still dark, stars fading as morning approached. My body ached from the rogue attack, but he showed no sympathy.

“Training begins now,” he said simply. “Get dressed. Meet me outside in five minutes.”

I stumbled out of bed, pulling on the simple clothes he’d left for me. Maya was still asleep in the next room. Part of me envied her.

Outside, the air was cold enough to make me shiver. Elder Thorne stood in a clearing behind his cottage, waiting. The trees around us were huge and old, their branches blocking out most of the fading starlight.

“First lesson,” he said when I reached him. “Forget everything you think you know about yourself.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You were raised to believe you’re weak. Small. Powerless. Every day of your life, you were told you didn’t matter.” His voice was hard. “Those lies are poison. They’ve infected every part of you. Before I can teach you to be strong, you have to stop believing you’re weak.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

“Nothing about this will be easy.” He gestured to a large boulder at the edge of the clearing. It was massive, at least twice my size. “Move that rock.”

I stared at him. “What? I can’t move that. It’s huge.”

“There. That’s the poison talking.” He crossed his arms. “You haven’t even tried, but you’ve already decided you’ll fail. Why?”

“Because I’m not strong enough.”

“How do you know?”

The question caught me off guard. “Because I’ve never been strong enough for anything.”

“That was when you were living as an omega. When your true power was locked away.” Elder Thorne walked to the boulder, placing his weathered hand on it. “You are a Silver Moon Alpha, Aria. Your ancestors could move mountains when necessary. A simple rock should be nothing.”

“But I don’t know how to access that power. The silver light only came out when I was dying.”

“Because that’s the only time you truly needed it. When death was certain, when there was no other option, your instincts took over.” He stepped back. “Now you need to learn to call on that power by choice. Not just in emergencies.”

I approached the boulder slowly. It was rough under my hands, solid and immovable. “What do I do?”

“Stop thinking like prey. Start thinking like a predator.” His voice was commanding now. “You are Alpha. That rock exists in your territory. It obeys you. Now make it move.”

I pushed. Nothing happened. The boulder didn’t budge even slightly.

“You’re using only physical strength,” Elder Thorne observed. “Use your will. Your dominance. Command it to move.”

“It’s a rock. It can’t hear commands.”

“Everything in nature responds to true Alpha power. Trees, stones, water, earth. All of it recognises dominance when it’s real.” He moved beside me. “Close your eyes. Feel the power inside you. The silver light. It’s always there, waiting. You just have to reach for it.”

I closed my eyes, trying to sense what he described. At first, there was nothing. Just darkness and doubt.

Then I felt it. A spark deep in my chest. Small but bright. Like a tiny flame waiting to grow.

“Good,” Elder Thorne murmured. “You feel it. Now pull on that feeling. Let it grow. Let it fill you.”

I focused on the spark. It was warm, almost alive. As I paid attention to it, it did grow. Slowly at first, then faster. The warmth spread through my chest, down my arms, into my hands.

“Now push,” Elder Thorne commanded.

I pushed against the boulder. This time, something was different. The warmth in my hands seemed to flow into the stone. And the boulder moved. Just an inch, but it definitely moved.

My eyes flew open in shock. “I did it!”

“Barely.” But Elder Thorne was smiling. “Again. This time, move it three feet.”

We worked for hours. By the time the sun was fully up, I’d managed to move the boulder almost five feet. My whole body was shaking with exhaustion, but I felt amazing. Powerful in a way I’d never experienced.

“Enough,” Elder Thorne finally said. “You need food and rest.”

Inside, Maya had breakfast waiting. Simple food, but it tasted incredible after the hard work.

“How did it go?” she asked eagerly.

“I moved a boulder.” The words sounded impossible even saying them out loud.

“That’s incredible!” Maya grinned. “What else did you learn?”

“That I have a lot more to learn,” I admitted.

Elder Thorne joined us at the table. “Physical training is only part of what you need. You also need to understand pack politics. Strategy. Leadership. Being powerful means nothing if you don’t know how to use that power wisely.”

“Can Maya train too?” I asked. “She’s strong. A good fighter.”

“I’m not Alpha blood,” Maya said quickly. “I shouldn’t..”

“You’re loyal. Brave. Those qualities matter more than bloodlines.” Elder Thorne studied her. “Yes, you can train. Every Alpha needs trustworthy people around them. You could be valuable to Aria’s future.”

Maya’s face lit up. “Really? I can learn too?”

“Starting tomorrow. Today, Aria needs to focus on controlling her shift.”

After breakfast, we returned to the clearing. This time, Elder Thorne wanted me to shift into my wolf form.

“I’ve shifted before,” I said. “During the rogue attack.”

“That was panic shifting. Instinct taking over.” He shook his head. “Now I want you to shift with intention. With control. And I want you to see your true wolf form, not the omega disguise the spell created.”

“My wolf will look different?”

“Very different. The spell made you appear as a small, weak omega wolf. Brown fur, average in every way.” His eyes gleamed. “Your true form is something else entirely.”

I closed my eyes, reaching for that spark of power again. It came easier this time, like it were learning to respond to me. I focused on my wolf, on the change.

The shift hurt less than usual. My bones reformed smoothly, my body reshaping. When it was complete, I opened my eyes.

Everything looked sharper. Clearer. The colours were more vivid. I felt stronger, faster. More alive.

“Look at yourself,” Elder Thorne said, pointing to a nearby stream.

I walked to the water and looked down at my reflection.

The wolf staring back at me was nothing like the small brown creature I remembered. This wolf was larger, powerful and sleek. But most striking was the fur. It was silver. Pure, shining silver like moonlight made solid.

“That’s me?” I breathed, though it came out as a soft whine.

“That’s your true form. A Silver Moon wolf.” Elder Thorne’s voice was filled with pride. “Beautiful and deadly. This is what you really are, Aria. This is what they tried to hide.”

I stared at my reflection, barely able to believe it. This powerful, gorgeous creature was me. Had always been me, just locked away.

For the first time since leaving Kaden, I felt something other than pain.

I felt hope.

We trained until sunset. Elder Thorne pushed me hard, teaching me to control my strength, to use my enhanced senses, to move with the grace and power of a true Alpha.

That night, my body ached everywhere. But it was a good ache. The ache of muscles being used properly for the first time.

“You did well today,” Maya said as we got ready for bed. “Elder Thorne doesn’t praise people easily, but I could tell he was impressed.”

“I have so far to go still,” I said. “Being strong isn’t enough. I need to be smart. Strategic. I need to understand how to lead.”

“You will. We have time.” Maya climbed into her bed. “Aria? Do you ever think about him? About Kaden?”

The question hurt, but less than it would have yesterday. “Sometimes. But less and less.”

It wasn’t entirely true. I thought about him constantly. Wondered what he was doing. If he was looking for me. If he regretted his choices.

But those thoughts didn’t control me anymore.

I was building something new. Something that belonged to me alone.

And whether Kaden realised what he’d lost or not didn’t matter.

I was becoming someone who didn’t need his approval to know her worth.

That was power no one could ever take away.