Prince of the night

Three

Chapter Three: Letting the Beast Out

Days passed by like an entity of the wind to Jessica. With Lucian by her side to guide her, she had started to realize just how much new power surged through her veins. Each training in the garden was a discovery, piece by piece, that all concealed power would seep out. For each stepping stone forward, a little more of the fear and weakness that defined her past dropped away.

But today, something was different on Lucian's plan. Real different.

"Today you're going to face your first real challenge," he said with a tingle of promise in the air. They were to the very edge of the huge mansion grounds. Great forest, veiled by the fog, but standing out with great clarity. "It's high time we learned what your real strength and skills are.".

A wave of anxiety crested over Jessica, but she tamped it down. She had come so far; she wasn't going to let doubt stop her now. "What do I have to do?" she asked, her voice trembling, though the resolve in it was betrayed.

Lucian's eyes shimmered with pride. "There is this creature in these woods," he explained. "A renegade werewolf that's been preying on the surrounding villages. It's vicious, unpredictable, and it would stop at nothing to kill just about anything on its way. You are going to hunt it down and kill it."

It sent chills down her spine. The thought of fighting such a beast was dreadful, but she knew he meant for her to be tested, to see if she could really control the power she had awoken. She looked up to Lucian; his presence was strength. "I will.".

Lucian nodded along with grimly serious eyes. "Just remember you ain't that weak little girl anymore. Firm in our bond and good instinct. I will be there. I will keep close, but I know you can do this."

Jessica breathed in deep to ready herself for all that was to come. She barged into the forest; the shadows fell on her like cages, with thick trees blotting the sunlight out. Weighted tension lay in the air, and every sound seemed amplified by the proximity of an entrance further into the unknown.

The farther she trekked, the more often the rogue's feeling reached out to her; it was near, simmering with that wild energy that made her spine crawl. Jessica tuned her senses into high alert until she could even feel the soft brushing of leaves or the snapping of twigs from far away. It was stalking her, this beast, waiting for its kill.

Suddenly, there was a growl which had almost seemed to echo in the trees, and Jessica halted. Her heart was pounding as the thing, huge by comparison, stepped from the shadows, the light in his eyes glimmering like savage hunger, its fur matted, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. One look showed that this was no mere ordinary werewolf; this one was driven from a place of pure, absolute, primeval anger.

Jessica's survival instincts clicked in so that, without thought, she fell back into a final, last-ditch defensive stance, her mind racing. She could not stand paralyzed. If she was going to live, she had to trust the power inside.

The rogue lunged at her with the speed of lightning, its claws slashing across. Barely evading, Jessica could feel its warmed, almost steaming breath on her skin, missing her only by inches. She crashed down and spun, looking into a pair of frustrated eyes as the rogue snarled back, circling her like a predator.

Jessica swam on an ocean of power, which poured through her being as if he had called through the guide Lucian to awake what he had helped her to do. Her eyes blurred, and somewhere in the back of her thoughts, she could feel his pounding link, which held her in check, safe and secure, because it was a constant reminder that she was not alone.

The rogue charged once more, and this time Jessica had prepared herself. She easily sidestepped the attack, her motions almost fluid in nature. As the rogue passed, she lashed out with her hand, the now blazing blue appendage connecting solidly with the side of the beast.

The beast yowled in pain but continued on, still strong in its momentum. Jessica was faster and more deadly than she ever could experience, moving in for the kill. Every strike that flew had been with power she found newfound. Every strike, though pushing the rogue back, tried to fight her off.

But the creature wasn't finished yet.

Then it sprang its last desperate attack, raking its claws about, and Jessica felt one of them graze her arm in a line of deep red. The pain was searing, but only made her even more determined. She couldn't let this creature win. She wouldn't let it win.

Strength surged within her, and suddenly she was propelled forward, body moving on instinct, grappling the rogue beast by the throat with the fist of iron, forcing it down. The rogue struggled and flailed to get free, but Jessica's grip was iron, her eyes glowing with the same blue light as hers.

"Enough!" she screamed; the sound would echo through the whole forest. Magic boiled inside her, and with one last push, she drove her surged-off magic into the rogue, unwillingly making it subdue. The struggles of the rogue grew weary, its wild eyes becoming dimmed in their ferocity until, at last, it went limp beneath her grip.

With a nod and a soft exhale, Jessica released the rogue and stepped away while it lay there defeated. Her heart raced, breathing heavily, but she felt an upsurge of triumph; she had done it. She'd looked the beast in the eye and won.

The light showed that expression on Lucian: scrutable, though he wore it in the solemn parade toward her. For a split second, Jessica feared she was not enough; somehow, she had failed the test. But then Lucian smiled; the golden eyes that watched her were full of pride.

"You did it, Jessica," he whispered huskily, his voice thick with adoration. "You really have proven your strength, proved that you are truly my mate."

This was a relief to her, for she had definitely felt the doubt wavering on her ability to leash the power within her; but now, she knew she wasn't the reprobate girl whom life had chastised. She was strong and very competent. With Lucian at her side, she was unbeatable.

Lucian took a step in advance, reached out, and enclosed her into his arms. He breathed his voice into her. "I'm proud of you. You're changing into a strong woman. I couldn't have done it without you," she said, snuggling into his chest.

"Thank you, Lucian.

He pulled back a bit and tipped her chin up so that she could see the love and pride in his eyes. "This is but the first of such wins, Jessica," he said, and smiled. "Together we'll conquer anything that's cast our way—you and me—side by side.".

As they faced there in the center of the rogue werewolf, tamed and helpless before them, Jess knew one thing without a doubt: there was nothing she couldn't face with Lucian at her side. It was the dawning of a totally new life, where she would be held not by the chains of her past but by the measure of strength and power found within her.

And she was ready for whatever came next.