Chapter Four

~ Seraphine ~

I have spent years in the Shadowmere Forest training, learning basic combat and how to bring down wolves stronger than we are. We fed on hunted beasts and stray animals that wandered into Shadowmere. I grew stronger, ready to unleash on anyone foolish enough to challenge the Shadowmere pack.

I opened our territory to stray wolves; betrayed, discarded, and hunted out of their lands just as I had been. Within three years, Shadowmere was no longer a refuge for outcasts but a formidable force, a growing pack of loyal wolves who followed my command without question.

…..

The day began like any other. We had been training for hours, my body moving fluidly through attacks and counters, learning the rhythm of blades, the angles of momentum, and the lethal geometry of combat. Thalor and Kaelis flanked me, each movement synchronized as if our silent communication were instinct. Even without a wolf of my own, I felt the pack respond to my direction.

Our training and drills had just ended, and we were yet to wash off our sweat when we saw a band of armed and merciless humans pour through the forest towards us.

Before we could question their presence, weapons flashed between the trees. Their eyes burned with greed and malice. Their intention was clear: they had come to kill us.

“Stay calm,” I instructed with a sharp, silent gesture, pointing to positions. Thalor understood immediately, slipping into a cover stance, teeth bared. Kaelis crouched, ready to intercept. Rorek, large and intimidating, crouched near the flank. Each of the remaining wolves responded to my presence rather than words. I had learned long ago that silence could command as effectively as speech if the pack trusted your intent.

The battle erupted like fire. The bandits charged at us first, misjudging our strength. I moved with precision, sidestepping a spear and twisting to use the attacker’s momentum against him.

My training in disarming, joint locks, and redirection skills came from years of observing predator and prey, which allowed me to fight wolves stronger than myself.

The bandits had strength, weapons, and numbers, but they lacked cohesion, intuition, and the unity of a pack that moved as one.

Finally, the leader fell. Thalor sank his teeth into the bandit who had hurled a knife at me, dragging him down. Kaelis and Rorek subdued the remaining threats.

Silence returned to Shadowmere. The forest seemed to breathe with us, leaves rustling gently as we stood among the aftermath. No words passed, yet I sensed acknowledgment, respect, and relief. My pack had witnessed not only my skill but my leadership, my ability to orchestrate their strength. They would follow me anywhere.

We chanted songs of victory as training resumed immediately, almost as if battle were another drill. I moved through sequences with my pack, honing reflexes, practicing counters, and drilling evasions.

Thalor sparred with Kaelis while I guided other Wolves through defensive maneuvers, showing them how to read intent in movement, how to anticipate strikes without hearing them, and without needing commands.

The day was hectic. By the time night fell, my body felt heavy, worn down by endless drills, patrols, and silent commands. I crawled into the small hut we had built with our own hands, the place where we laid our heads when darkness swallowed Shadowmere.

I had barely closed my eyes when I had a terrible dream. I saw myself standing in a vast, silver-lit space booming with silver light. A woman with long hair slid across the floor toward me. Her eyes burned like living flames, fierce and ancient, staring straight into my soul.

“It’s time to embrace your destiny, Seraphine,” she yelled in a very loud tone.

The moment she said that, a surge crashed through my body like a violent wave. Something deep inside me shattered and woke at the same time; my wolf rose with a brutal force. Heat ripped through my veins. My chest tightened as pain exploded in every direction, sharp and overwhelming. It felt as though my bones were being reforged. I dropped to my knees, shaking.

The agony grew unbearable. My muscles convulsed, and my breath tore out of me, and then I screamed. The sound echoed around me.

I was shocked to hear that scream. “Was it mine?” I said silently.

For three years, silence had been my curse, no sound had ever escaped my throat. Yet there I was, crying out in pain and disbelief, hearing my own voice for the first time since the rejection made me tear up.

“I can hear myself.” The word slipped out, broken and hoarse.

Tears burned my eyes as the transformation continued. My wolf pushed forward, fully awake now, no longer suppressed. Power flooded me, raw and untamed, and beneath the pain was something else: strength.

Then her voice returned.

“The war you fought was your final test,” the goddess said. “You have proven yourself brave, intelligent, and worthy. You are fit to be Luna of the Night Fang Pack.”

My heart thundered as her words sank in.

“Moon Goddess,” I called out desperately.

Her answer came immediately, louder than before, shaking the very air around me.

“Go, Seraphine. Go and embrace your destiny.”

The sound crashed into my ears, so powerful that I screamed and woke up. I shot upright in the hut, gasping, and my heart pounded wildly. The scream still rang in the air, real this time, tearing through the quiet of Shadowmere.

Footsteps erupted outside, and the door burst open. Wolves led by Thalor rushed into my hut, eyes wide, weapons half-raised, panic sharp on their faces. They stopped short the moment they saw me awake, shaking, staring back at them.

Their shock was immediate because I had screamed. Noise rippled through the hut as they whispered among themselves.

“She spoke,” someone said.

“She screamed,” said another.

“She has a voice?”

Disbelief flickered across every face. For three years, they had only known me as the Silent Luna, the leader who commanded without sound. And tonight, they heard me cry out.

I pressed a trembling hand to my throat, still feeling the echo of my voice there and sensing my wolf fully alive inside me, and right there, I knew I was ready to storm Night fang pack with my Wolves.