Chapter 3: Training for Vengeance

Nyla’s POV

I feared he was going to murder me when I first met him.

The King of Rogue. A terrified murmur of a name.

My mind was broken and my body was weak from running for days. My partner had turned me down. I had been betrayed by my pack. All I had left was anger.

Then, somewhere in the rogue regions, I passed out and woke up to him.

As I attempted to get up, his golden, keen eyes watched me. "You ought to be dead," he declared.

My throat was dry as I gazed at him. "Perhaps I should be."

He laughed. "But you're not." That indicates that you are either fortunate or strong.

I sneered. "I don't feel powerful."

His eyes grew gloomy. "Girl, strength isn't about emotion. It all comes down to survival.

Something shifted within me. Living. I had only been doing that. However, it was insufficient.

I desired more.

He said, "You have fire in your eyes." "That's useful to me."

I scowled. "For what purpose?"

He smiled. "For retribution."

Suddenly, my new existence had begun.

The Rogue King trained me for months—broke me, built me. He made me into a weapon and ripped away the helpless, pathetic girl Killian had thrown aside.

His teachings were merciless. No goodwill. Just pain.

However, I was happy about it.

I was bleeding. I got into a fight. I turned into something dreadful.

And I vowed to make Killian regret ever letting me go one day.

Two years went by.

I was no longer the girl I had been.

I was now referred to as the Crimson Shadow.

A name that made Alphas shudder in terror.

I commanded an army of roguess, fighters who, like me, had been betrayed and deserted.

We refrained from attacking the weak. We went after the crooked. Alphas who believed that power made them gods, and packs that mistreated their own.

We set them on fire.

At every battle, I stood at the front, my opponents pleading for mercy as my blades dripped blood.

I didn't give it.

Since I hadn't received it from anyone.

And soon, people will remember my name.

Even to Killian.

It was time to break the bond.

I shouldn't have felt sorry for Killian after everything he had done, the rejection, and the suffering.

However, something continued to pull at me even after two years. An odd, enduring thread of kinship that is thinning but never completely broken.

I detested it.

I sensed him late at night when everything was quiet.

His restlessness. His struggle.

It was a curse rather than a comfort.

I forced my mind to concentrate while I honed my dagger. I had long since hidden my weakness of emotions. My past was Killian. And I no longer had a past. Just a future—a future in which I would inflict the same pain on him that he had inflicted on me.

I was startled out of my reverie by a rustling sound. There was one of my spies back.

He knelt in front of me, and I looked up. "News?"

The man's eyes darted to the blade in my palm as he gulped forcefully. Crimson Shadow, indeed. There has been a conversation.

I raised an eyebrow. "Speak?"

"Killian," he secretly said. There's a problem with him. He's nervous and restless. His wolf is behaving oddly.

I kept a neutral expression on my face. "And?"

"You are in his dreams."

I let out a slow exhale.

Thus, the tie continued to pain him.

Excellent.

I spoke coldly as I leaned forward. He ought to be agitated. He ought to be uncomfortable. Since soon... I'll give him a legitimate reason to be afraid.

With a hasty nod, the spy walked away.

I was alone myself once more, gazing at my image in the blade of my dagger.

Killian had lost the girl she had once loved.

The Crimson Shadow was all that was left.

He would soon discover it.

I listened while sitting in a dimly lighted room.

The voice of my source was hurried and low. "Jareth, an Alpha, is preparing an assault on Silver Dawn. He desires Killian's death.

I didn't respond. I just cocked my head. "Why?"

"Power." He seeks to conquer Silver Dawn's territory and exterminate its warriors.

I ran my finger along my dagger's edge. "And what's preventing him?"

The man took a swallow. "Nothing'. The next full moon is when the attack is scheduled to occur.

A slow, evil smile curved my lips.

Fate was unkind.

Another person desired to defeat Killian. to destroy him.

However, they had no right to do such.

I owned that.

My heart was racing with a sinister excitement as I stood.

"It's time," I said in a steely whisper.

In the candlelight, my blade shone brightly.

"Killian, I'm coming for you."

I listened while sitting in a dimly lighted room.

The voice of my source was hurried and low. "Jareth, an Alpha, is preparing an assault on Silver Dawn. He desires Killian's death.

I didn't respond. I just cocked my head. "Why?"

"Power." He seeks to conquer Silver Dawn's territory and exterminate its warriors.

I ran my finger along my dagger's edge. "And what's preventing him?"

The man took a swallow. "Nothing'. The next full moon is when the attack is scheduled to occur.

A slow, evil smile curved my lips.

Fate was unkind.

Another person desired to defeat Killian. to destroy him.

However, they had no right to do such.

I owned that.

My heart was racing with a sinister excitement as I stood.

"It's time," I said in a steely whisper.

In the candlelight, my blade shone brightly.

"Killian, I'm coming for you."