Chapter Sixteen

Pulled from the Fire

The pack surged like a tidal wave, fangs bared, claws slashing. I barely had time to rise before the first wolf was on me, jaws snapping for my throat. The shadows flared instinctively, wrapping around my arm and slamming him into the ground.

Another lunged from behind. I twisted, pain screaming in my ribs, and lashed out. Shadows struck like a whip, sending the beast sprawling. For every one I threw back, two more pressed in, snarling, relentless.

The forest echoed with their howls, the thunder of paws, the crash of bodies. My chest heaved, shadows writhing, wild and untamed.

But there were too many.

One broke through, claws raking across my side. I screamed, stumbling, blood soaking my torn dress. Another slammed into me, teeth sinking into my shoulder. Agony blazed. The shadows flared in response, hurling him off, but the damage was done.

My vision blurred. My body shook. I was losing.

Above the chaos, Derrick’s voice cut like a blade. “Don’t kill her!” he commanded, his amber eyes locked on me with cruel hunger. “Break her. She is mine.”

The words wrapped around me like chains, dragging me back into every moment of humiliation, every scar carved into my heart. My wolf howled inside me, fierce and desperate, but even she faltered under the weight of his dominance.

I fell to my knees, shadows flickering. The pack closed in, circling, ready to drag me down.

Then the world split open.

Darkness poured into the clearing, thicker, heavier, swallowing the wolves’ growls. A cold wind whipped through the trees, snuffing torches, silencing howls.

And from the heart of the shadows, Lucien stepped forth.

His silver hair gleamed like a blade in the moonlight, his coal-dark eyes burning with a fury I had never seen. Shadows poured from him in waves, devouring light, wrapping the clearing in suffocating black.

The wolves froze, whimpering, their snarls dying in their throats. Even Derrick stiffened, his jaw tightening.

Lucien’s voice was calm, deadly. “You’re playing with what doesn’t belong to you, Blood Alpha.”

Derrick snarled, stepping forward. “She is mine. You dare interfere in pack matters?”

Lucien’s smile was sharp and merciless. “She was yours. Now she is mine.”

The words struck like thunder. The shadows surged, lashing out with lethal force, scattering wolves like leaves in a storm. Snarls turned to yelps as Derrick’s pack was flung back, slammed against trees, pinned by coils of darkness they couldn’t break.

I gasped, my body trembling, torn between relief and terror. Lucien moved like a god of shadows, untouchable, unstoppable. Where Derrick’s strength was brute force, Lucien’s was something older, something the wolves couldn’t comprehend.

Derrick’s eyes blazed. “You think you can steal from me? She is bound to me by blood.”

Lucien’s shadows coiled tighter around him, forcing him back a step. “No. She is bound to the Blood Moon—and that power is older than your petty reign.” His gaze flicked toward me, sharp and commanding. “Get up, little wolf.”

I staggered to my feet, blood dripping down my side, shadows flickering weakly around me. My body screamed to collapse, but his voice anchored me.

Derrick snarled again, breaking free of the shadows with sheer force. He lunged for me, eyes blazing with fury. But Lucien moved faster, shadows striking like a wall, slamming into Derrick’s chest and hurling him back.

The ground cracked beneath the impact. The Alpha staggered, but he did not fall. His amber eyes burned with rage and humiliation.

“This isn’t over,” Derrick spat. His voice carried like thunder through the clearing. “She will crawl back to me. And when she does, I will break her so completely even the shadows won’t remember her name.”

With a sharp gesture, he called his wolves. They retreated, growling, their eyes still burning with hunger, but none dared disobey. The clearing emptied, leaving only Derrick’s promise echoing in the silence.

Lucien stood unmoving, shadows still writhing around him until the last wolf vanished. Only then did he turn to me.

I swayed, every muscle trembling, wounds burning. “I… I couldn’t stop them.” My voice cracked with the admission.

Lucien’s eyes softened for the first time. “You survived. That is enough—for now.”

Tears stung my eyes, hot and furious. “I was weak.”

He stepped closer, lifting my chin with one shadow-wrapped finger. “No. You were untrained.” His voice lowered, dangerous and tender at once. “And I do not train those who plan to lose.”

I swallowed hard, my breath shaking. “Then make me stronger.”

Lucien’s grin curved, sharp and certain. “Stronger than Derrick. Stronger than any Alpha. But strength demands sacrifice. Are you ready for that?”

I thought of my father’s warning. Of Hannah’s tears. Of Louis’s pendant pressed into my hand. Of Mona’s venomous smile and Derrick’s cruel voice declaring me nothing.

And I whispered, hoarse but certain: “Yes.”

Lucien’s shadows wrapped around me, pulling me into the dark. “Then, little wolf… the real training begins.”

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