Chapter Eleven

First Blood

The cave reeked of damp stone and something darker, something older. My palm still burned where the crescent mark glowed faintly, proof that the shadows now lived in me. I could feel them shifting under my skin, restless, eager.

Lucien stood in the center of the cavern, hands clasped behind his back, his expression calm but watchful. His silver hair glowed in the flickering torchlight, his eyes gleaming with quiet amusement.

“You’ve taken the first step,” he said. “But power without control is nothing. Tonight, you’ll learn whether you can command the shadows—or whether they’ll consume you.”

My throat tightened. “How?”

He smiled, and it was not kind. With a flick of his wrist, the shadows around the cavern stirred. They thickened, rising from the walls, from the floor, from the very air, until they coalesced into a shape. Four legs. Fangs. A wolf, but twisted—its body smoke and flame, its eyes burning red.

I stumbled back. “What is that?”

“A shadow beast,” Lucien said casually, as though discussing the weather. “Born from your fear. Fed by your blood. Kill it, and you claim mastery over your shadows. Fail, and…” His smile sharpened. “You die.”

The beast snarled, its form rippling, claws scraping against stone though it wasn’t made of flesh. Its gaze locked onto me with pure hunger.

My wolf bristled inside me, a growl rising in my chest. Stand your ground, she urged.

The beast lunged.

I barely dodged, rolling across the cavern floor as its claws sliced the stone where I had stood. Sparks flew. My heart pounded in my ears. Shadows lashed at the edge of my vision, eager, wild, but when I tried to call them, they slipped away like smoke.

Lucien’s voice echoed, sharp. “You don’t beg shadows for help, girl. You command them. Own them!”

The beast lunged again, and this time I couldn’t dodge fast enough. Its claws raked across my arm, searing pain tearing a cry from my throat. Blood splattered, sizzling as it touched the creature’s smoky body.

The beast howled, surging larger. Lucien’s eyes gleamed. “It grows stronger with your fear. Stop feeding it.”

I forced myself to my feet, clutching my arm. The shadows around me stirred again, coiling, whispering. My fear burned hot in my chest, but beneath it, another fire grew—rage.

Mona’s smug smile. Derrick’s hand striking my face. Catherine’s laughter.

They wanted me weak. They wanted me broken.

Not tonight.

I spread my fingers wide, willing the shadows to hear me—not as a plea, but as a command. “Come.”

They obeyed.

The cavern darkened as shadows surged toward me, wrapping around my arms like living armor. My wolf howled inside me, not in fear, but triumph. When the beast lunged again, I didn’t dodge.

I struck.

The shadows lashed out like spears, piercing the creature’s smoky body. It shrieked, thrashing, but I didn’t let up. I pulled, twisting, forcing the shadows tighter until the beast began to unravel, its body tearing apart in wisps of smoke and ash.

With a final snarl, I drove my fist forward, shadows exploding from my knuckles. The beast shattered, dissolving into nothing but dust and silence.

My chest heaved, every muscle trembling, but I was still standing. Alive. Victorious.

Lucien’s slow clap echoed through the cavern. “Well done, little wolf.”

I turned to him, still gasping. “That… that thing could have killed me.”

“Of course,” he said lightly. “What lesson is worth learning without risk?”

Anger flared. “You threw me to it like bait.”

His smile was sharp. “And you killed it. Your first blood. Remember the feeling, Kimberly. Remember what it means to take control instead of cowering.”

I glanced down at my bloodied arm. The crescent mark on my palm pulsed faintly, glowing brighter with each heartbeat. The shadows around me stirred as though celebrating their victory.

For the first time, I didn’t feel broken. I felt dangerous.

Lucien stepped closer, lowering his voice. “This is only the beginning. The shadows will test you, again and again, until they are convinced you are their master. And when that day comes… not even the Blood Alpha himself will be able to chain you.”

His words struck deep, fanning the ember in my chest into a steady flame. Derrick had rejected me. Mona had destroyed me. Catherine had mocked me. But one day, they would all kneel.

I straightened, blood still dripping down my arm, but my voice steady. “Then I’ll master them. Whatever it takes.”

Lucien’s grin widened, sharp and approving. “Good. Tomorrow, we begin the true lessons. But for tonight…” He gestured toward the cavern floor, where the last wisps of the beast’s smoke drifted. “Rest, little wolf. You’ve earned it.”

I sank to the ground, exhausted but alive, shadows curling protectively around me. The pain in my arm throbbed, but beneath it, triumph pulsed stronger.

The Kimberly Moonstone who had cowered under her sister’s shadow was gone. In her place, something new was rising.

And for the first time, I welcomed the darkness.

---