Chapter Nine

Flight into Darkness

The forest was no longer silent.

The moment Lucien’s power surged through me, something in the night seemed to shift. The wind carried new scents—fur, sweat, steel. Wolves on the hunt. My father had tried to buy me time, but Derrick was never a man to wait. His hunters were already closing in.

Lucien tilted his head, inhaling. “They’re near.” His voice was calm, almost amused. “The Blood Alpha doesn’t waste time, does he?”

Panic flared in my chest. “If they catch me—”

“They won’t,” Lucien interrupted smoothly. “Not if you stop thinking like prey.” His eyes gleamed as he stepped back into the shadows, as if he were part of them. “Run, little wolf. Let’s see if you’re worth saving.”

His words struck like a whip. My legs moved before my mind caught up, carrying me deeper into the trees. Branches tore at my dress, the forest floor biting into my bare feet, but I ran harder, faster than I ever had. The wolf inside me howled in rhythm with each pounding step.

Voices rose behind me. “This way!” “Don’t let her get far!”

My heart hammered as adrenaline surged. Every instinct screamed to keep running, but the sound of pursuit grew closer. I risked a glance over my shoulder—three men, wolves from Derrick’s pack, their forms shifting between human and half-wolf. Their eyes glowed in the dark, hungry and cruel.

“Stop her!” one barked.

I pushed harder, lungs burning. But fear wasn’t enough fuel. Their footfalls closed in, branches snapping, snarls ripping through the air. I could feel their hot breath at my back.

Too slow, my wolf whispered. You’ll never outrun them.

Then what? I demanded, panic searing.

Fight.

The word rooted me. Fight? Against trained killers? Against Derrick’s chosen? Madness. And yet… my steps faltered, my body skidding to a stop in the clearing ahead. I whirled, chest heaving, fists clenched.

The three hunters grinned as they slowed, circling me like carrion birds. One shifted fully, fur sprouting, body breaking into the shape of a massive wolf with slavering jaws.

“Well, well,” the tallest sneered, half-shifted, claws gleaming in the moonlight. “The Alpha’s cast-off doesn’t even know how to run properly.”

“Pity,” another laughed. “He could’ve kept her as a pet. I hear rejected slaves don’t last long. Too fragile.”

Their words stoked the fire Mona had ignited, the fury that had been building since the night began. My wolf snarled inside me, pressing against my skin. Shadows stirred at the edges of my vision, whispering, coiling.

I raised my chin, forcing steel into my voice. “Touch me, and I’ll tear you apart.”

The tallest laughed. “With what, your broken wolf?”

I didn’t think. I moved.

The shadows surged up my arms like liquid fire. My body obeyed instinct I didn’t understand—ducking as the first lunged, driving my elbow into his ribs with a crack that sent him sprawling.

The second came from behind, claws slashing. I spun, and the darkness around me thickened, forming a shield that deflected the strike. His claws scraped across it with a screech like steel on stone. His eyes widened in shock.

“What—?”

Before he could finish, I struck, shadows lashing out like whips. They wrapped around his throat, yanking him off his feet and slamming him into a tree.

The third hesitated, the arrogance draining from his face. He shifted fully into wolf form, fangs bared. With a snarl, he charged.

For a heartbeat, fear returned. The beast was bigger than me, faster. But then Selene’s voice whispered inside me: You are not broken. You are born of the moon.

I let go.

My wolf surged to the surface—not a full shift, but enough. My eyes burned silver, claws extended, and the shadows answered. As the wolf lunged, I caught him mid-air, twisting with a strength I didn’t know I possessed. His body slammed to the ground with a yelp of pain.

Breath heaving, hands trembling, I stood in the wreckage of what I had just done. Three hunters—Derrick’s chosen killers—lay defeated at my feet. One groaning, one unconscious, one too afraid to move.

The shadows receded, melting back into the forest floor, leaving only the sound of my ragged breathing.

A slow clap echoed from the trees.

Lucien stepped into the clearing, his expression unreadable. “Impressive.”

I whirled on him, chest still heaving. “What… what was that?”

His grin was sharp. “That was you. Finally waking up.”

I looked down at my hands, still trembling. Blood smeared across my knuckles, but beneath the fear, something else burned—exhilaration. For the first time, I hadn’t been helpless. I hadn’t been broken. I had fought back.

Lucien’s eyes gleamed as he studied me. “Do you feel it? The power? The hunger?”

I swallowed hard, heart still racing. “Yes.”

“Good,” he said softly, stepping closer. “You’ll need it. This was only the first test. The Blood Alpha won’t stop sending dogs after you. If you want to survive—if you want revenge—you’ll have to become something more.”

I lifted my gaze to the moon above, its silver light cold and merciless. A new fire pulsed in my veins, stronger than fear, stronger than pain.

“I will,” I whispered. “I’ll become whatever I have to.”

Lucien’s smile curved like a blade. “Then, my dear wolf, your true training begins.

”

And as the defeated hunters groaned at my feet, I knew there was no turning back.