Stronger As One Novels & Stories

I wanted to prove everyone wrong. I walked faster until I was beside him again. “Fine,” I said. “Then I want to get stronger than you.” He stopped walking and turned to me slowly. His brows raised like he couldn’t believe what I just said. Then he gave a small laugh. “That will never happen.” “It will.” “It won’t,” he said calmly, and it annoyed me more than if he had yelled. “You think strength is something you grab overnight? You don’t have the discipline or the drive to make it here.”

“I’m not fragile.” “You’re sick, baby. That’s different. And you’re not alone in this.” She sighed deeply, her stomach still churning faintly. “I hate this. I hate being weak.” “You’re not weak,” he said firmly. “You’re growing life. That’s strength.” She peeked at him with half-lidded eyes, her voice softer. “You make it sound noble.” “It is,” he insisted. “And you’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

“More… invincible. Less afraid.” Jaxon nuzzled the side of my neck gently, his breath warm against my skin, a soft reassurance. “You are different. You are invincible to doubt now, to the whispers of others.” “Stronger,” Caden added, his voice firm, resolute. “More powerful than you could possibly imagine.” “Ours,” Ryder finished, his voice unusually serious, devoid of any teasing, filled with a deep, profound possessiveness that resonated with the very core of my being.

Akin has to be it, right? Yet there’s no denying the strength of what I just felt. River watches me, his expression triumphant, as if he’s already won. “I feel it too,” he says, his tone softer now, more persuasive. “When I’m with you, my power increases. You wouldn’t believe what I’m capable of because of you. Imagine what will happen when we’re actually together.” I shake my head, trying to make sense of it all. “My magic got stronger with Akin,” I shoot back defensively. “You can’t both be my One. I don’t understand what’s going on, River, but you’re obviously mistaken.”

“Agreed.” “And we need to be ready for something stronger than what we have already faced.” Silence. Then— “Define stronger,” Adrian says. I look at him. And I do not soften it. “Not one of them,” I say. “Not even many of them.” “Then what?” “Something that does not need to force its way through.” Silence. Then— “That sounds worse than everything else combined,” he says. “Yes.” The anomaly moves again. Closer. Not aggressively.

he said, stepping closer again, “is exactly the problem.” I stilled. “What does that mean?” His gaze held mine. “It means,” he said slowly, “you are strongest when you are together.” My breath caught slightly. “And weakest,” he continued, “when you are not.” The words settled heavily in the air. I hated how true they felt. “I’m not weak,” I said. “No,” he agreed easily. “You’re unstable.” That stung. More than it should have. I swallowed hard, forcing myself not to react.

Grasp the valorous act, yet still fill it with real humility. Dust off the weakness, and prove your strength as a powerful individual. Do something. Just do something more.

Jon shouts in laughter. “You aren’t f!cking around with us girl. You shouldn’t even dare try fight us because it won’t end in a good way. I have your head, pretty or not.” Rowan is now stood fuming and shouting in front of me. I haven’t even had to look up to block either of their attacks. Every minute they let me recover, I am getting stronger. Healing by the second regaining my confidence I once had.

I say, chuckling a little. “It is,” he says. “And it’s not. But every day you’ll be stronger in a way you never imagined. As young shifters, we spend all this time strengthening our muscles, our fighting skills. And in school, we sharpen our brains. That’s all good and well, especially for an Alpha like you who will rule the pack. But our children strengthen something you never knew you had inside of you. I can’t even put a name on it. Resolve, maybe? Tenacity?” He shook his head. “Nope, none of those words even come close. But you’ll feel it, and you’ll know it's there, and you’ll know it makes you stronger.” “You sound experienced in all this,” I say.

Not in a dramatic, everything-is-different way. Something quieter than that. Stronger. They don’t just know how to hold on anymore. They know when not to. And somehow—that’s what makes it last.