The Wolf Within

The blood had barely dried on the floor when the whispers began.

I could still feel it—the copper tang heavy in my throat, the way my hands had trembled after tearing into the man who came for me. Only it hadn’t been me. Not Lena Carter, the woman who once thought monsters were the stuff of folklore and nightmares. It was something else. Something buried deep that had clawed its way out, snarling and hungry, leaving me shaking in its aftermath.

The assassin’s corpse had been dragged away, but the memory clung like a brand. His wide, terrified eyes when I’d lunged. The way his scream cut off as my claws—my claws—sank into his chest.

Now the Blackwood pack gathered in the great hall, some openly staring at me, others refusing to meet my eyes as if looking at me too long might summon the wolf within me again. Fear rippled in the air like a current. I wasn’t sure if it belonged to them… or me.

Kade stood beside me, every inch the Alpha—broad shoulders tense, his golden eyes sharp as blades, his presence filling the room like fire and shadow. His hand brushed mine, steadying, but I caught the flicker of something in his gaze when he looked at me. Not doubt exactly. But wariness.

“She defended herself,” Kade growled, his voice low and lethal as it echoed through the hall. “Any wolf who dares to raise a blade against my mate will meet the same fate. Let that be clear.”

A murmur spread through the pack—agreement from some, resentment from others. The word mate was both shield and spark. To some it legitimized me. To others, it made me a threat.

I swallowed hard, forcing my voice steady. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Don’t apologize.” Kade’s tone cut me off, sharp enough to sting. His gaze pinned me, as if daring me to shrink away. “You did what instinct demanded. That’s what survival looks like.”

But was it survival… or something darker?

Because I could still taste it. The thrill. The power that rushed through me when the wolf within took over. My body had burned, my veins alive with fire and hunger, my senses sharper than they’d ever been. I’d liked it, and that terrified me more than anything.

Across the room, one of the elders stepped forward. Tall, gray-haired, his wolf aura still strong despite age. His eyes fixed on me with a mixture of suspicion and awe.

“The bond has changed her,” he said slowly. “More than any human should be changed.”

The words rippled through the pack like a thrown stone.

Changed.

Not human anymore.

The whispers sharpened into jagged edges. She’s dangerous. She’s cursed. She’ll destroy us all.

Kade’s hand pressed firmly against the small of my back, a silent command for strength. His growl vibrated through the hall. “She is mine. Bloodmarked. Chosen. Any who question her place question me.”

For a heartbeat, silence held. His dominance was absolute, heavy as stone. But underneath, I could feel it—fractures forming, wolves who bowed out of fear rather than loyalty. Wolves who would sooner die than follow a Luna with claws.

Later, when the hall emptied and the heavy doors closed behind us, Kade didn’t speak at first. He led me to our chamber, his grip tight around my wrist, not painful but unyielding. His silence weighed more than his growl.

When the door shut, he turned, his gaze burning. “You felt it, didn’t you?”

I froze. He didn’t have to explain. We both knew what he meant.

“The power,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “It wasn’t me, Kade. It was—”

“It is you.” He stepped closer, golden eyes blazing, his voice harsh with conviction. “Don’t you see? The bond doesn’t give you something foreign. It awakens what’s already inside you.”

I shook my head. “I’m not a wolf.”

His hand caught my chin, forcing me to meet his stare. His grip was rough, but his touch burned like a tether, keeping me grounded. “You are mine. And that means you are more than human now. The wolf in you is real. Deny it, and it will consume you. Accept it, and you’ll learn to control it.”

Control. The word felt fragile, like glass that might shatter in my hands.

My throat tightened. “What if I can’t?”

For the first time, something flickered in Kade’s expression. Not anger. Not dominance. Something rawer. Fear.

“Then it will destroy you,” he said quietly.

Silence settled between us, heavy and suffocating.

I backed away from him, needing air, needing space. My reflection caught in the tall mirror by the bed—and for a split second, I swore I saw eyes staring back that weren’t mine. A gleam of gold, a glint of something wild and ancient, snarling just beneath the surface of my skin.

I stumbled back, clutching my stomach. “Kade…”

He was already there, arms wrapping around me, strong enough to cage the storm inside me. His scent wrapped around me too—smoke and pine, the grounding tether I craved.

“You’re not alone in this,” he murmured against my hair, his voice softer now, rough with a rare tenderness. “I’ll teach you. I’ll help you master it. But you have to trust me. Even when it terrifies you.”

I wanted to believe him. God, I wanted to. But the whispers from the pack, the memory of blood on my claws, the reflection of golden eyes that weren’t my own—they all echoed inside me, a single truth I couldn’t escape.

The wolf within me was awake.

And it was hungry.

The next morning, Kade dragged me out of bed before dawn.

I hadn’t slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flashes of last night—blood dripping from my claws, gold flickering in my reflection, the hollow look in the elder’s eyes when he called me changed. But Kade wasn’t the type to wait for me to make peace with my demons. He wanted me to face them. Now.

The forest mist curled thick around us, damp earth clinging to my boots. Kade strode ahead, shirtless despite the cold, his body a ripple of scars and muscle. He looked like the embodiment of the wild, and in the shadows of the trees, I couldn’t tell if I was following a man… or a predator.

“Training?” I asked, hugging my arms around myself. My voice came out brittle, fragile.

His head turned, golden eyes catching the faint light. “Survival.”

We stopped in a clearing ringed with ancient oaks, their roots gnarled like claws digging into the soil. Kade’s wolves lingered at the edges, silent witnesses. A dozen pairs of eyes watching me. Judging me.

My stomach knotted. “You brought an audience?”

“They need to see you,” Kade said simply. “They need to know you’re not prey.”

Prey. The word hit like a slap.

I wanted to argue, to say this wasn’t fair, that I wasn’t ready. But Kade was already circling me, his bare feet silent on the earth, his gaze sharp as blades.

“Last night, you didn’t think. You didn’t hesitate. You let the wolf act.” His voice was low, commanding. “Today, you learn to do it without losing yourself.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he moved so fast I barely saw it coming. His hand shot out, claws flashing as he swiped at me.

I yelped, stumbling back. “What the hell—?”

“Defend yourself.” His growl rumbled through the clearing.

“You’re insane!” I snapped, heat rushing to my face.

Kade lunged again, faster, his claws grazing the fabric of my sleeve. “Stop thinking. Stop doubting. Move.”

Fear spiked hot and sharp in my chest. Instinct took over. I ducked low, rolling across the dirt as his claws sliced air where my head had been. My heart pounded, breath ragged.

When I came up, something shifted in me. The thrum in my veins, the burn in my blood. My nails lengthened, sharp and curved. My vision sharpened until I could see the twitch of every muscle in Kade’s body.

The wolf within me stirred.

Kade’s lips curved in the faintest, most dangerous smile. “There she is.”

He struck again, but this time I didn’t flinch. I met him head-on, claws slashing up. Sparks of pain shot through my arm when his claws caught mine, the impact rattling my bones. But instead of collapsing, I pushed harder, my body moving with a strength that wasn’t mine alone.

For a moment, we were locked there—Alpha and mate, predator and prey, though I no longer knew which I was.

Heat rose from our clash, our breaths ragged, our bodies close enough that his scent filled me—smoke, pine, blood, him. My pulse thrummed, half terror, half something dangerously close to exhilaration.

Kade’s eyes burned gold. “You feel it, don’t you?” he rasped. “The wolf inside you. It’s begging to be unleashed.”

I shoved him back with a snarl I didn’t recognize as my own. My voice came out raw, edged with something feral. “I don’t want to lose myself to it.”

“You won’t,” he said, circling again. His chest gleamed with sweat, every muscle taut, controlled. “You’ll master it—or it will master you. There’s no middle ground.”

The training didn’t stop. Again and again, he forced me to the edge, driving me to call on the wolf without letting it consume me. My lungs burned, my skin ached, and yet I couldn’t stop. The deeper I leaned into it, the sharper I became—faster, stronger, more alive than I had ever been.

By the time Kade finally lowered his claws, the sun had climbed high, burning away the mist. My body trembled, slick with sweat, blood streaking my arms where his strikes had landed. But my wounds were already closing, healing before my eyes.

Gasps rippled through the watching wolves. Fear. Awe. Maybe both.

Kade looked at me with something unreadable. Not pride, not exactly. But something that made my stomach twist.

“You’re changing faster than I expected,” he murmured, too low for the others to hear. “The bond is deepening.”

I didn’t know what to say. My body still hummed with power, my veins alive with fire. The wolf inside me purred like a beast fed but not satisfied. And I—God help me—I wanted more.

That night, exhaustion dragged me into uneasy sleep. But dreams found me anyway.

Not dreams. Visions.

I stood in a forest drowned in silver light, the trees whispering secrets I couldn’t hear. Shadows writhed between the trunks, taking shape—wolves with hollow eyes, their bodies made of smoke and blood. They circled me, silent, waiting.

Then one broke away. A figure stepped from the shadows.

Not Kade.

Another Alpha, his eyes a cold, merciless silver. His voice slid into me like a blade. The bond will devour you. When it does, he will kill you himself.

I tried to move, to speak, but the shadows surged, dragging me down into darkness.

I woke gasping, sweat cold on my skin.

Kade’s arm was around me, his body heat anchoring me to reality. His breath stirred my hair. “Another nightmare?”

I didn’t answer. Because I wasn’t sure it was just a nightmare.

And deep inside me, the wolf stirred again, restless, as if it recognized the voice in the dream.