Chapter Thirteen

Weight of Shadows

Dawn broke gray and unforgiving. The forest was quiet, but not with peace—quiet the way prey hides when predators are near. I had barely slept. My arm still throbbed from the shadow beast’s claws, but Lucien hadn’t allowed me rest.

“Again,” he ordered, his voice sharp as steel.

My body hit the ground hard, dust rising around me. Pain radiated from my ribs, but I forced myself back up, gasping for breath. The shadows swirled sluggishly at my command, weak, disobedient.

Lucien’s silver hair gleamed in the thin light as he circled me. “Pathetic. You want revenge, but you can’t even hold the shadows for more than a heartbeat. Do you think Derrick will wait politely while you fumble?”

My wolf snarled at the insult. I clenched my fists. “I’m trying.”

Lucien’s smile was cold. “Trying is what children say when they’ve already decided to fail.” He flicked his fingers, and the shadows around him twisted, forming into jagged spears. They launched at me without warning.

I dove aside, rolling across the ground, the spears slamming into stone where I’d stood. My heart thundered. He wasn’t holding back. He wanted me broken—or forged.

“Again,” he said, relentless.

I pushed to my feet, rage burning through my exhaustion. The shadows answered this time, slower than his but eager, wrapping around my arms like smoke. As the next spear flew, I swung, and my shadows shattered it midair.

A growl of triumph escaped my throat.

Lucien’s eyes glinted. “Better. But still weak.”

He stepped closer, shadows flowing from him like a second skin. “You think pain makes you stronger? Pain is nothing. Control is everything. If you cannot master the shadows, they will master you.”

The words struck deep, because I could feel it—the pull of the darkness. Every time I called it, it whispered promises: power, vengeance, freedom. It wanted more of me.

I gritted my teeth. “Then teach me control.”

Lucien’s smile sharpened. “On your knees.”

For a moment, pride flared hot in my chest. But then I remembered Derrick’s hand striking me. Mona’s laughter. Catherine’s cold eyes. My pride had never saved me.

I dropped to my knees.

Lucien crouched before me, his voice low, almost intimate. “The shadows do not serve the broken. They serve the unyielding. You cannot cling to fear, or pity, or weakness. You must cut them away.”

“How?” My voice cracked, desperation bleeding through.

His coal-dark eyes burned into mine. “By bleeding.”

Before I could react, he drew a dagger from the air itself and slashed it across my arm. Pain seared, hot and sharp, blood spilling onto the dirt. I gasped, but before panic could take hold, the shadows surged to drink it, swirling, tightening, binding deeper into my veins.

My wolf howled inside me, not in agony, but in fury. Power exploded through my body, dark and wild. My vision blurred silver as I rose, shadows snapping around me like wings.

Lucien smiled, satisfied. “Good. Now fight me.”

He didn’t wait. He struck first, shadows whipping forward like chains. Instinct drove me—I blocked, my own darkness clashing with his in a shower of sparks. The impact rattled my bones, but I didn’t fall.

I countered, lashing back, driving him a step sideways. His grin widened, and he pressed harder. Our shadows collided, twisting, snarling like living beasts.

Every strike burned, every clash tore at my body, but I refused to stop. My wolf roared, fueling me. For once, I wasn’t just reacting. I was attacking.

At last, Lucien shoved me back, ending the clash. My chest heaved, sweat dripping down my skin, shadows still flickering around my arms.

He studied me, then gave a single nod. “You learn quickly. Faster than I expected.”

Exhaustion pulled at me, but pride flickered, fragile and bright. For the first time, his approval didn’t feel like mockery.

I wiped blood from my arm, lifting my chin. “You said the shadows would master me. But they didn’t. Not this time.”

Lucien’s eyes gleamed. “No. Not this time.” He leaned closer, his voice like a whisper of smoke. “But do not grow arrogant, Kimberly. The hunt has only just begun.”

The words sent a chill down my spine. Hunt. I didn’t understand what he meant, not yet.

But far away, back in the heart of the Blood Moon Pack, hundreds of wolves were gathering, their howls rising in unison at Derrick’s command.

And though I didn’t know it, dawn had marked me not just as a runaway… but as prey.

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