LYCAN QUEEN REBORN

CHASING SHADOW

Celine’s pov

*A week later*

I stood before my father’s grave, the headstone gleaming pale in the fading light. Tears slipped freely down my cheeks, which I didn't bother to wipe away, I feel completely broken. Grief is a quiet kind of madness.

"I'll miss you so much, Father". I muttered as my gaze drifted to the gold ring on my finger. It once belonged to my father, and I wore it on the same finger he had worn it.

“I should’ve been there, I should have saved him from being killed,” I whispered, the words trembled out from my lips before I could stop them.

“You were”. Damien’s voice came softly, he stood beside me, a low thread of warmth against the chill. “But thank goodness you didn’t step out. It would’ve killed you too.”

He settled his hands on my shoulder as a way of comfort, but I didn’t move.

My eyes remained on the mound of earth before me, as if I could will it to part and it would return my father to me, alive. But no matter how long I stood here staring at it, no matter how hard I wished, the truth was carved as deep as the letters on that stone. Lord Marco Moretti was gone.

“Celine, we need to go. It’s getting late.” Damien said gently, breaking my trance.

I finally looked at him, then let my gaze sweep across the shadowed rows of gravestones, he was right.

We walked in silence toward the parking lot with our footsteps slow, almost reluctant.

As Damien drove, I found myself staring outside the window like a stranger seeing my own city for the first time.

We were nearing the Moretti estate when the evening fractured with rowdy voices.

From the sound alone, I knew they belonged to Moretti men, not the old ones but the recruits; they sounded loud and untested.

“What the hell is wrong with these newbies?”. The irritation in my voice came out sharper than I intended.

“Ignore them”. Damien muttered, with his eyes still fixed on the road ahead.

Before I could respond, something slammed onto the hood of the car with a weighty thud.

I looked up and froze at what I saw; It was a werewolf.

It crouched for a single tense heartbeat, its glowing eyes locking with mine through the windshield. In the harsh glare of the headlights, its fur seemed almost metallic, every muscle taut, ready to spring. Then, with an unnatural burst of speed, it leapt away, vanishing.

“Oh my goodness”. Damien breathed, his voice laced with disbelief.

Now he knew they were real.

“After it! Now!” I barked.

Damien didn’t hesitate as he floored the accelerator, the engine roaring and we swerved into pursuit. Up ahead, the new Moretti recruits were also in motion, chasing the werewolf.

The werewolf darted into a narrow side path, which was too tight for the car. Damien slammed on the brakes, and before he could protest, I was already out, sprinting after it.

The path spilled onto a beach, crowded with people laughing and walking along the shore. I searched and scanned around but couldn't find the werewolf; it had escaped.

“s**t”. I hissed, my frustration sharp as glass.

Defeated, I made my way back to the car where Damien waited, his grip on the steering wheel.

“What happened? Where’s the b***h?” he demanded, his tone twisting the knife of my failure deeper.

“I lost him,” I admitted, leaning against the car door, breath still ragged.

“He can’t run forever. We’ll get him, maybe sooner than you think. I honestly still didn’t believe they existed… until now”. Damien said, stepping down from the car.

His words dragged me back to that night. The night my father’s empire had been torn apart.

“This one… it was the real and actual size of a werewolf”. I murmured. “But the one that attacked that night, it was… huge. Almost beast-like.”

Damien frowned. “Celine, we just saw a werewolf, and the thing you saw that night was still a werewolf. They’re basically the same.”

I shook my head. “No. That thing… it didn’t feel like just a werewolf…”.

“Stop.” His voice sliced through mine like a blade. “Don’t say that.”

I raked my fingers through my hair, my thoughts a storm. “Damien, I’m confused as hell.”

“They’re all werewolves, and they all need to be dealt with, severely”. He said, with his tone cold and certain.

“Maybe, but this doesn’t add up”. I muttered.

Before we could continue, the new Moretti recruits approached.

“Celine”. They greeted casually.

I frowned. “It’s Celina Moretti, your new leader. And you can do better than aimlessly roaming the streets.”

They exchanged glances, then a low mocking laughter broke out among them. One of them called Sam, stepped forward, his eyes glinting with challenge.

“Who the hell are you to order us around? You should be grateful we just killed a werewolf. Instead, you think you can give us orders?” His voice dripped with contempt, and he leaned in, close enough that I could feel his breath.

I felt my heart drop. Did he just say they killed a werewolf? Was it the same one I’d been chasing after?

Sam stepped back, and the others followed, still grinning. I wanted to demand answers, but I knew if I pushed further by asking him, things would escalate and not in my favor.

“Damien, we should look into this”. I said quickly. “If they really caught him, we need to get there in time. I need to speak to the werewolf. I need to see it.”

He met my gaze. “What are you saying? You wanted revenge, but now you caught one of them and you want to talk to it? Celine, I hate to say this, but you’ve changed. Where’s the sharp, ruthless Celine I knew?”.

His words came out like a slap but I had to get a hold of myself.“Damien, I’m holding myself together here. Don’t push me." I yelled, louder than I intended.

He quietly slid into the driver’s seat and started the car.

We drove in silence until I spotted a crowd gathered ahead.

“Stop”.

Damien pulled over, and I was out of the car before the tires had fully stopped. I shoved my way through the ring of onlookers until I reached the center.

And there, I saw a werewolf lying on the ground.