Chapter 5: First Shift
690 Words
Leticia’s POV
I didn’t dare close my eyes the entire drive. If I did, I was sure I’d wake up in another cage.
Cirrus tried talking to me three times. I ignored him, staring out at the glittering city lights before we plunged back into endless forest.
“Kayden, it’s almost midnight,” Cirrus said, checking his fancy phone.
Kayden pulled over and killed the engine. He tossed a huge black V-neck shirt at me. “Wear this.”
It smelled like him—dark, intoxicating, and strangely comforting. My head spun.
“Why—”
“Once you shift, your clothes will be gone,” he cut me off. “I’m not trying to see you naked.”
I blushed hard. The thought of being bare in front of them made my stomach flip.
“Ease up, Kayden,” Cirrus said. “Maybe she hates your scent.”
“She doesn’t even have her wolf yet,” Kayden muttered.
Wrong. I could smell it just fine.
“Thanks. Now get out so I can change,” I snapped.
To my surprise, they actually listened.
The cold night air bit my skin as I stepped out in nothing but his oversized shirt. It fell to mid-thigh like a dress. The forest smelled cleaner, sharper than Black Fang’s—pure pine and wild freedom.
Miranda… I’ll come back for you.
“Okay, Letty, first shift tips,” Cirrus grinned, yanking off his shirt. Holy hell. Broad chest, carved abs, biceps bigger than my head. I looked away fast.
“Like what you see?” he teased.
“Stop it,” Kayden growled. “She’s about to shift.”
“Take the necklace off,” Kayden ordered.
My hand flew to the blue crystal. “No.”
“It’ll break during the shift,” he said, jaw tight.
The woman from my dreams screamed in my head: Never take it off.
“I said no.”
Cirrus tried to argue, but pain exploded through my bones. I dropped to the ground, biting back a scream as fire ripped through me. The necklace burned hotter against my skin, fighting the shift. Kayden’s scent wrapped around the agony, twisting it into something dark and needy.
Not now, I begged, tears soaking the dirt.
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Third Person POV
Unbeknownst to the Lycans, Letty’s shift had already begun—brutal and unaided. Bones cracked. Skin stretched. She clawed at the earth, tears streaming.
“For f**k’s sake, Kayden. Let her keep the damn necklace!” Cirrus snapped. “You can fix it later.”
Kayden’s headache pounded worse than ever. This girl got under his skin like no one else. Why the hell did she matter so much?
A scream tore through the night.
“s**t!” Cirrus bolted toward her.
Kayden’s chest squeezed. He told himself it was the omium—until he saw Cirrus, half-naked, reaching for her. Something inside him snapped.
He blurred forward, yanking Cirrus back with a vicious growl. Purple eyes flashed gold.
“What the hell, man?!” Cirrus yelled. “I’m trying to help her!”
“Put some clothes on,” Kayden ordered, voice low and dangerous.
Before Cirrus could retort, the forest erupted. Animals fled in panic—squirrels, owls, everything racing away.
“The hell is he doing here?” Kayden growled.
A man stepped from the treeline: deep blue eyes, tanned skin, chocolate hair. Shadows seemed to cling to him.
“You two still act like children,” Kartein Valmonte said coolly. “There’s a she-wolf in agony and you’re bickering?”
Kayden snarled. Cirrus exhaled sharply.
Kartein’s gaze locked on Letty, still writhing mid-shift. “I caught her scent. Couldn’t believe it.”
Kayden’s wolf surged closer to the surface. Kartein—one of the five great Lycan houses—never got involved unless something truly interested him.
And now he was defending her.
What the hell did this girl have that drew three powerful Lycans like moths to a flame?
- Writer
