Chapter 4

Freya’s POV

The place where Lucian pulled me was as secret a hideout as all the kids I know lust after--trees shutting out all the world and a funny buzzing in the air which I could never tell why. There he stood in the centre, where he crossed his arms and looked at me as though he were playing a game.

"Yo, you want me to fight?" I asked, my voice all shaky. I have never done anything so.

You lived through the rascals, he said. You have more to you than you think. It is time to discover what you can do.

I squeeze my fists, and all the uncertainty is grinding on me. "I'm not strong, Lucian. I'm not like you."

He comes nearer, with eyes blazing silver. "You don't have to be like me. You have to be better. Now, attack me."

"What?" I step back. "I can't just—"

Cutting in, he says, roughly but not contemptuously, "Freya! Don't think too much, believe in yourself. Trust me."

It stops, and runs, and flails upon him. He evades and avoids as an expert.

"Again," he says, voice steady.

I attempt it again and again, and each thrust is more aggravating. Beads of sweat on my forehead and my muscles, like jelly.

It is futile, I say to myself, and slump in a kind of dejection.

No, it is not, it is not, promises Lucian sharply. Each failure will lead to success. Push through it."

I am willing to quit after what seems to be an eternity. My knees shake, with a ragged gasp of breath. I can not, I say, falling on the ground.

Lucian is cowering before me without any visible expression. "Do you feel that?"

I blink at him, confused. "Feel what?"

He takes my hand and puts it against his chest. "Here. That fire inside you. It's there, Freya. You just have to let it out."

I shut my eyes, and I listen to him. I am initially tired, but then something wakes. Such a flicker, as a little light in the black, but it is there.

"Good," Lucian says, softer now. "Now channel it. Focus it outward."

I do not know how, but as I focus, the flicker increases, and I feel my veins becoming hot. There is suddenly an energy explosion, vibrating the ground under me.

Lucian jumps back, eyes wide. "Freya, stop!"

I open my eyes, and my heart is sinking when I notice that the trees are shaking, and the air is crackling. "I don't know how!"

"Breathe," Lucian orders. "Control it. Don't let it control you."

Deep breath, and settle myself. Gradually, the tremors dissipate, and the power goes out in me.

"What was that?" I whisper, voice shaking.

Lucian smiles, but has an element of discomfort. That, Freya, is only the beginning.

In the meantime, Kane, pacing his office, restless, was back at the Blueblood Pack. Something is wrong--as though there were going to be a storm, slightly beyond the horizon.

"Alpha?" His Beta (Marcus) intervenes, solemnly. "You called?"

Yes, yes, yes, Kane says, and pauses to look at him. I want you to increase patrols in the north. And watch Sophia."

Marcus frowns. "Sophia? Her you think she has something on?

Kane hesitates. "Not yet. But something's off with her. She's been... different lately."

Marcus nods. "Got it. Anything else?"

Kane massages his hair, and his frustration is evident. "Find Freya. I need to know she's safe."

Marcus's eyes widen. "After what you did? You reckon she will even care to go back?

I do not care what she wants, Kane snaps. She is still one of this pack, and I have to take care of her.

Kane, in his heart, realises that it is more than duty. Guilt haunts him, and he is always reminded of what he did.

Lucian insists on the training after my outburst of power, but I am too wiped out to pay attention. It is getting late, he makes a little campfire fire and we sit there and listen, and the only sound is the crackling fire.

"What happened back there?" I at last inquire to disturb the silence.

Lucian is considerate, stabbing the fire with a stick. You opened up your full potential. It is crude, uninhibited, yet it exists.

"Why me?" I whisper, barely audible. "Why do I have this—this power?"

Lucian is indecisive in response. The lineage of your blood is unique, Freya. With something old, some mighty thing it brings. But that will get you, too, a target.

The words of his send chills up my spine. "A target for who?"

"Everyone," he says simply. The rascals, Kane, even your pack, if they had known what was right.

I look into the fire, my mind going. I am already about to answer when a sharp pain runs through my head, and all becomes blurred.

"Freya?" The voice of Lucian is so far away, and I am possessed by the sight.

In the vision, I perceive the territory of the Blueblood Pack to be burning. Wolves fight an invisible opponent with howls of anarchy. In the centre of it is Kane, with broken blood and hopeless eyes.

"Kane!" My scream, and I reach, but the sight dissolves with the swiftness of its arrival.

When I return to find that Lucian has my shoulders in his grip with all the concern. "What did you see?"

I gasp out, heart racing. "The pack… It's under attack. Kane… he's in danger."

Lucian’s jaw tightens. "Then we need to move fast. Nothing can prevent what will happen except your power.

His words sink in, and a howl cuts the night, chilling me to the bone. Lucian stands up with his eyes narrowed, his body tensed.

“They’re here,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.

“Who?” I asked, fear creeping into

My voice.

“The hunters,” he replied, pulling me to my feet. “And they won’t stop until you’re dead.”