INICIAR SESIÓNBy the time they reached the edge of the city, the sun had fully risen—but the warmth it brought did little to ease the tension settling in Amber’s chest.She could feel it before she even saw it.Power.Not the wild, unstable kind she carried within herself—but something structured. Controlled. Organized. The kind that came from hierarchy, from rules, from people who understood exactly where they stood and where everyone else was expected to stand.“This isn’t just a city,” she said quietly, her eyes scanning the distant skyline.Raymond slowed slightly beside her. “No. It’s territory.”The difference mattered.Amber could see it now—the subtle signs woven into everything. The positioning of buildings, the guarded entry points, the way movement seemed deliberate even from a distance. This wasn’t just a place where people lived. It was a place that was watched.Selene let out a quiet breath behind them. “Let me guess… not exactly a welcoming committee waiting for us?”Raymond’s expres
The chamber did not feel the same as they prepared to leave it.What had once felt like a hidden place, buried and forgotten, now carried the weight of something awakened. The air lingered with the echo of power, of voices that did not belong to their world, and of truths that had only just begun to unfold. Amber stood for a moment longer than the others, her gaze fixed on the glowing core at the center. It pulsed steadily now, calm but watchful, as if it had accepted her presence—and marked her as something it would never forget.She didn’t know if she should feel comforted by that or afraid. “We need to go,” Selene said quietly from behind her.Amber nodded, though her feet did not move immediately. Her mind was still catching up to everything that had happened—the fight, the power, her father’s words, and most of all, the final instruction he had left behind.Find your mother. The words had not left her since he disappeared. Raymond stepped closer, not touching her this time, but n
The first thing Amber felt was the silence breaking.It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t violent. It was subtle—like a thread snapping somewhere deep beneath the surface of reality. But the moment it happened, her entire body reacted. Her chest tightened, her breath shortened, and something instinctive, something ancient inside her, rose in quiet alarm.“They’re close,” she said, her voice low but certain.Raymond didn’t ask how she knew. He had already moved, positioning himself slightly in front of her, his senses stretching far beyond the chamber walls. Selene stepped to Amber’s other side, her posture sharp, alert, ready. Across from them, her father did not move at all. That stillness—calm, measured, almost expectant—felt more dangerous than anything else in the room.Then the air shifted.It wasn’t wind. It wasn’t sound. It was presence.A pressure built slowly, pressing against the chamber like something vast was leaning into the world, testing its edges, searching for an opening. The gl
The chamber was finally still. No shaking.No cracking. No power tearing through the air. Just silence. But not peace. Because something had changed and now everyone could feel it.Amber sat on the cold stone floor. Back against one of the pillars. Her body ached.Not just from the impact.But from what she had held inside her. What she had almost lost control of. Her hands rested in her lap, still trembling slightly. “I felt it slipping,” she said quietly. No one answered immediately. Because they knew.They had seen it. Raymond stood a few steps away. Watching her too closely likr he was still making sure she was there. Still herself. “You didn’t lose it,” he said finally.Amber let out a slow breath. “I was close.” A pause.“Closer than I want to be.” Silence settled again. Heavy. Raymond moved. Closing the distance between them. This time, not slow. Not careful.Intentional.He crouched in front of her. Close. Too close. But neither of them moved away.“You shouldn’t have been push
The second day of training didn’t begin gently. It began with impact. Amber barely had time to breathe before her father moved again. Faster than yesterday. Harder. This time he wasn't testing. He was pushing.“Again.” Amber blocked But the force behind his strike drove her back. Her boots scraped against stone. Her balance is nearly gone. She recovered. Barely. “I said again,” he repeated.Cold. Unyielding. Amber’s chest rose sharply. “I’m not fully recovered—” “That’s the point.” The words hit harder than the strike.Because now there was no pretending. No soft edges. This was war preparation. Not training.Across the chamber— Raymond’s jaw tightened. His arms no longer crossed. His body no longer relaxed. Because he could feel it. Amber’s energy—It wasn’t steady anymore. It was straining. Pushing against something inside her. Something that didn’t want to be forced. “Stop,” he said.Low. Controlled. But edged with warning. Her father didn’t even look at him. “She hasn’t reached he
The chamber didn’t feel like a place of secrets anymore. It felt like a battlefield. Not one filled with enemies—But one preparing for war. Amber stood at the center again.Same place. Same core. But this time, she wasn’t reacting.She was waiting.Her father stood across from her. Composed. Watching. Evaluating.Raymond leaned against one of the cracked stone pillars. Arms crossed.Silent. But his presence filled the space. Selene stood a few steps behind Amber. Alert. Careful. Ready. Because no one trusted this completely. Not even Amber.“Power is not something you use,” her father said. His voice is steady. “It’s something you understand.”Amber didn’t respond immediately. She held his gaze. “And if I don’t understand it yet?” A pause. “Then you’ll lose control again.”The words were calm. But sharp. Deliberate. Amber’s jaw tightened slightly. “I didn’t lose control.”Her father stepped closer. “You almost did.” Because that was true. Even if she didn’t want to admit it.“Show me,”
The war room had never felt this heavy. It wasn’t just the number of people inside.It was who they were. Alphas. Commanders. Trusted lieutenants. Every one of them seated around the long table carried power and none of them looked comfortable.Because for the first time in years— They weren’t in c
The night did not end. It stretched. Heavy. Unforgiving. After Selene was taken back to the infirmary, the mansion did not return to rest. Lights remained on. Voices moved in hushed urgency. Guards doubled at every entrance. Something had changed. Everyone could feel it.Amber stood alone again.But
Selene should not have been standing. Not after the amount of blood she had lost. Not after the poison.Not after everything. And yet,there she was.At the entrance of the training ground. Pale. Unsteady. But standing.Amber’s body reacted before her mind did. She stepped forward instantly.“You sho
Sleep did not come easily that night. Not for Amber. Not for anyone.The mansion had quieted, but it was not the kind of quiet that brought peace. It was the kind that came after chaos—the kind that waited, tense and watchful, for whatever would come next.Amber stood by the window in her room, arm







