All Chapters of Feral Hearts Book 1: Awakening the Feral: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I woke again, already irritated. Not tired. Not groggy. Irritated. Like my skin didn't fit right. Like something inside me was pacing in a cage too small for it. The dream lingered in fragments — heat, breath against my throat, a hand at my waist — but it dissolved before I could hold onto it. What didn't fade was the aftermath. The hum. Low. Constant. Closer than it had ever been. My wolf wasn't silent anymore. It wasn't loud either. It didn't speak in words. It didn't take control, but it was there. Watching. Waiting. I sat up slowly in the cabin's bed, dragging a hand down my face. Not my bed. I refused to claim it. I refused to allow myself the comfort of believing this was something permanent. My body felt heavy and charged at the same time, like I hadn't rested so much as endured the night. "Calm down," I muttered under my breath. The hum shifted. Not submissive. Not obedient. Just... aware that I was aware. Great. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed a

I woke angry this time. Irritated felt too gentle a word for what I was feeling this morning. Not because of anything specific. Not because of a nightmare. Just... angry. It sat beneath my ribs like something coiled too tight. My skin felt wrong — too sensitive, too thin — like if someone touched me in the wrong place, I might either snap or melt. The cabin was still dim with early morning light when I sat up, jaw clenched. And there it was. That hum. Low. Persistent. Closer than it had ever been. My wolf. Not strong enough to shift. Not loud enough to take over. But present. Aware. Watching. I dragged a hand down my face and exhaled slowly. "Not today," I muttered. The hum didn't retreat. It pressed closer. Training. Right. The moment the word settled in my head, my pulse kicked up. Training meant Ronan. Training meant pack eyes. Training meant Aaron. I didn't know which one made my chest tighten more. ——— The path to the training grounds was busier than usual. I

Training didn't recover. It continued—but it definitely didn't recover. Every spar after mine felt wrong. Overly measured. Overly careful. Like they were testing the air for lightning. Like one wrong move would have Aaron throwing someone off a cliff. No one paired with me aggressively either. Not even Ronan. He rotated when ordered, but he didn't push again. He watched. They all watched. And every time Aaron moved across the grounds, I felt it. Like a pull. Like the air tightened around him and then loosened when he passed. I hated it. I hated that my body tracked him without permission. Hated that when he corrected someone else's stance, irritation spiked through me. Jealousy. At what? He was their Alpha, for fuck's sake. He touched everyone. Commanded everyone. So why did it feel like something had been taken from me the second his hand left my shoulder? By the time training was dismissed, the tension hadn't eased. It had condensed. Aaron gave final instructions, voice calm, c

I didn't remember falling asleep. At some point, the shaking had stopped. At some point, the pain had dulled enough for exhaustion to drag me under. When I woke, sunlight cut across the floor. Across the splintered wood. Across the gouges my hands had carved into the boards. For a long moment, I just stared at it. It hadn't been a dream. The cabin smelled wrong now too. Metallic. Sharp. Like something wild had pressed too close to the surface. My ribs ached when I sat up. Deep. Bruised from the inside. I pressed my palm against them and hissed. There were no visible marks anymore, just my scar—the graze from a hunter's bullet. If my wolf had been cooperating properly, I would've healed within the first two days. But without that connection, my healing was closer to a human's. Faster than average, sure—but nowhere near wolf-fast. A knock hit the door. Too cheerful. Too early. "Xavier?" Elias. I closed my eyes briefly. Of course. "Yeah," I called, voice rough. The door cr

Caterina stepped to the edge of the training circle like she was settling in to watch a performance.The wolves around the yard shifted subtly, creating space without being told. No one wanted to block her view.I could feel her gaze on me.Sharp. Curious. Measuring.Like she was deciding whether I was a problem... or simply entertainment.Aaron noticed it too.I saw the moment his shoulders tightened."Controlled spar," he said quietly, eyes locking on mine. "And you stop if I tell you to.""Relax," I muttered.His jaw flexed."Xavier.""I said relax."He exhaled slowly through his nose.That was the look of a man making a very deliberate choice not to strangle me."Fine," he said at last. "Show me."That was all the invitation I needed.I moved first.Faster this time then the first time we sparred.My fist snapped toward his ribs. Aaron blocked it cleanly and pivoted, redirecting my momentum."Too aggressive," he muttered.I swung again.Harder.Aaron deflected the strike and stepp