Luna's chest heaved. Sweat prickled her skin despite the chill of the training yard. Her wolf thrashed inside her mind, claws raking at her sanity, teeth snapping at the edges of control. Every instinct screamed.
Run.
Fight.
Dominate.
"Control it," she whispered to herself, teeth gritted. But the growl inside her didn't obey. It twisted, alive, aware, hungry.
Caius and the other sons stumbled backward, eyes wide with fear. They had seen humans fight before—but nothing like this. Nothing raw. Nothing alive. Nothing that shouldn't exist.
The shadows flickered again, responding to the pulse of power inside her. They bent, stretching, reaching—not just around her, but toward her.
From the darkness, the Lycan King stepped closer. Every stride deliberate. Every movement a claim. His amber eyes locked on her, molten and unflinching. Her wolf felt it, too: drawn, submissive, wild.
"You've awakened," he said, low and dangerous, voice sliding into her chest like a weight she couldn't resist. "And you have no idea what you've just started."
Her throat went dry. Every muscle tensed. Fear and something darker, thrilling, twisted together, coiling around her heart.
Caius lunged again, reckless. Luna's reflexes fired without thought. The air erupted with energy. Shadows swirled, black and alive, twisting around her and him alike.
The Lycan King's hand shot forward. One movement—silent, inevitable—and the boys froze, rooted by a force beyond mortal comprehension.
"Enough," he said, voice low but absolute. His gaze never left hers. "You are mine to protect… for now."
The wolf inside her surged fully, a howl echoing in her mind. She tasted power, dark and intoxicating, and knew she would never go back.
Her senses stretched farther than human perception. Every sound, every shadow, every heartbeat in the yard screamed of danger, and yet… every pulse also hummed with him.
A presence—darker, older—watched from the edges. Waiting. Patient.
And Luna realized, with a clarity that made her shiver, that she had stepped into something far bigger than herself.
Far more dangerous.
Far more… inevitable.