THE ROGUE QUEEN

Chapter 16

The forest was completely different at night.

Darker, yes, but also more alive. Every sound seemed louder. Every scent sharper. The moon hung heavy and bright above the trees, painting everything in silver and shadow.

I stood at the den entrance in my wolf form, shadows rippling through my dark fur. Beside me, Kael's russet wolf was alert and patient.

“Ready?” his voice asked through the pack link, the mind connection between wolves that I was still learning to use.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied.

“Remember,” he said, “use your nose. Follow the smell. And when you find the prey, wait for my signal before you attack.”

I nodded, lowering my big head in agreement.

We walked into the forest together, quietly.

Kael was right, being in wolf form made everything clearer. My senses felt stronger than ever. I could smell everything, the pine trees, the wet soil, the faint scent of a fox that had been there hours earlier, and something else…

A rabbit.

“There,” Kael’s voice said. “To the northeast. Follow it.”

I followed the smell, my paws making no sound on the forest. The shadows around me grew darker, helping me hide in the night.

The rabbit was about thirty yards away, eating grass in a small open area.

“Move in from downwind,” Kael said. “Stay low and go slow. I’ll tell you when to attack.”

I moved carefully forward, my heart beating fast with both excitement and nervousness.

The rabbit’s ears twitched—it could feel that something was nearby.

Now! Attack now!

I jumped

And missed.

The rabbit ran away, disappearing into the bushes.

I stood there, breathing hard and feeling useless.

It’s okay, Kael said kindly. First hunts are always a bit awkward. Let’s find another one.

We tracked three more rabbits over the next hour.

I missed every single one.

Each time, I was either too slow, too noisy, or too easy for them to spot. With every miss, I got more and more frustrated.

“I’m really bad at this,” I thought sadly.

“You’re learning. That’s different,” Kael said in a calm voice in my mind. “One last try. But this time, stop thinking so much. Let your instincts lead you.”

We spotted another rabbit near a stream. It was bigger and slower than the others.

I moved closer carefully, remembering everything Kael had taught me, to move downwind, stay low, and be silent.

The rabbit didn’t see me until I was almost right behind it.

This time, when I attacked, my teeth closed around its neck.

The kill was fast and clean.

And I felt… nothing.

No guilt. No fear.

Just a sense of satisfaction

“Good job, Kael said. Now we—”

He suddenly stopped.

“What is it?” I asked, still holding the rabbit.

“Something’s wrong,” he said, his body going stiff. “Do you smell that?”

I lifted my nose to sniff—

And I stayed stilled.

Wolf.

Not a rogue. Not a wild one.

A pack wolf.

And the smell was fresh very fresh.

“Drop the rabbit,” Kael ordered. “We have to leave. Now.”

I let the rabbit drop and followed Kael as he ran back toward the den.

But we'd only gone maybe fifty yards when figures emerged from the trees around us.

Five wolves. All in wolf form. All bearing the marks of pack warriors—scarred, battle-hardened, massive.

We were surrounded.

“Run when I tell you,” Kael’s voice was tense. “Don’t look back. Get to the den and close the entrance.”

“I’m not leaving you—”

“That’s an order, Selene!”

The biggest wolf, a gray one with cold yellow eyes stepped forward. When he spoke, his voice was deep and powerful.

“Kael Draven. We meet again.”

Kael’s body went stiff. “Garrett.”

“It’s been a long time. Six years? The gray wolf slowly walked around us. I have to say, I’m disappointed. I expected more from the son of the great warrior Vance Draven.”

“What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Garrett laughed a horrible sound. “I want what I was sent to get. The Shadow Wolf.” His yellow eyes fixed on me. “And it seems you've delivered her right to me.”

Fear gripped me.

“How did you find us?” Kael growled.

“You’re not as good at hiding as you think. We’ve been tracking you for two days,” Garrett said, never taking his eyes off me. “The Council is very interested in you, little Shadow Wolf. They’re offering a big reward.”

“She’s under my protection,” Kael said firmly.

“Your protection?” Garrett laughed, his voice echoing through the forest. “You’re a rogue, Draven. You have no authority, no pack, no power. You’re nothing.”

“I'm enough to kill you.”

“Brave words from someone outnumbered five to one.”

The other wolves moved closer, blocking every way out.

My mind raced. We couldn’t fight five trained warriors. We couldn’t run—they’d catch us.

But I couldn’t let them take me. I couldn’t let Kael die protecting me.

Selene, don’t— Kael began.

It was too late.

The shadows erupted.

They came out from my fur with force, darker and more solid than I'd ever managed before. The wolves yelped as the darkness slammed into them, throwing two of them backward.

“RUN!” I shouted to Kael through our mind link.

“Not without you!” he replied.

Garrett quickly attacked, his teeth aiming for me. I barely dodged, his teeth grazed my shoulder, cutting me.

The pain was sudden and sharp.

It made me furious.

The shadows reacted to my anger, turning almost solid. They wrapped around Garrett’s legs, dragging him down.

“What the—” His voice in my mind was full of shock and fear.

I didn’t hesitate. I lunged for his throat

Something huge hit me from the side, pushing me away from Garrett.

Another wolf bigger than Garrett bit down hard on my ribs.

I yelped as the shadows around me flickered.

Selene! Kael’s voice was full of worry.

I saw him fighting two wolves at the same time, his reddish fur stained with blood. He was outnumbered and overpowered.

We were going to die here.

Unless—

“Let me take control,” my wolf growled. “Completely.”

“What?”

“Stop fighting me. Stop trying to control. Just let go.”

I had no other choice.

So, I gave in completely.

And my wolf roared.

The sound coming from my throat wasn’t normal. It was raw and frightening. The shadows came out in a huge wave, and for a moment just a moment I felt something else.

Power.

Real, strong, total power.

The wolves attacking us stumbled back, their eyes wide with fear.

Even Garrett looked shaken.

“What are you?” he whispered.

My wolf didn’t answer with words.

She answered with attack.

We moved faster than I'd ever moved before. We hit one wolf so hard I heard bones c***k. Turned and caught another by the throat, throwing him into a tree.

Kael was fighting beside us now, energized by our sudden surge of strength.

Together, we were terrifying.

Garrett made a decision.

“RETREAT!” he commanded his wolves. “Fall back! NOW!”

They ran.

All five of them, vanishing into the forest.

We stood in the sudden quiet, both of us bleeding and breathing hard.

Are you okay? Kael asked, his voice rough with pain and worry.

I… I think so, I said, letting my wolf calm down and control slowly return. You?

I’ll be fine, he said, limping a little. We need to get back to the den. They might come back with more wolves.

We ran.

My ribs hurt, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

When we finally reached the den, we both shifted back into human form and collapsed just inside the entrance.

Kael had cuts and wounds all over. I had a deep bite on my shoulder and sore ribs.

But we were alive.

“What… what was that?” I gasped. “At the end… that power…”

Kael looked at me, his amber eyes serious. "That was you. The real you—Shadow Wolf in full fury." He winced as he sat up. "I’ve never seen anything like it."

"I scared them away," I said.

"You didn’t just scare them—you terrified them. Including me." He smiled, even though he was in pain. "You saved both our lives."

I should have felt proud.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I felt scared.

Because I had felt that power. I had tasted it. And part of me had loved it.

What did that make me?