Chapter 3
1189 Words
CHAPTER 3: THE WOLF WITHIN ME
Cold earth pressed against my skin.
The scent of wet soil and crushed leaves filled my lungs as consciousness slowly returned. My head throbbed violently, and my body felt as if it had been torn apart and stitched back together.
For several long moments, I didn’t move.
I was afraid to.
Afraid that if I did, the pain would return.
Afraid that what happened last night had been real.
Afraid that I was changing into something I didn’t understand.
The moon hung low in the sky when I finally opened my eyes. Pale silver light spilled across the forest clearing where I lay.
For a moment, I simply stared upward, trying to remember.
The voice.
The vision.
The wolf.
“I am you.”
My breath caught sharply.
It hadn’t been a dream.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright. My muscles trembled, but beneath the weakness I felt something new, something alive and restless.
Power.
It pulsed quietly beneath my skin like a hidden flame.
I clenched my fists.
My strength felt different. Heavier. Sharper. More controlled.
And my senses,
They were overwhelming.
I could hear insects moving beneath the leaves.
Water flowing through the distant river.
Even the wind shifting through the trees miles away.
It was impossible.
No normal wolf could hear like this.
No wolfless girl should feel like this.
Fear curled in my chest.
“What am I becoming?” I whispered.
For a moment, nothing answered.
Then,
A faint warmth brushed against my mind.
Soft.
Gentle.
Present.
My breath stopped.
“Hello?” I whispered.
Silence lingered… but it was no longer empty.
Something lived inside me.
Something ancient.
Something powerful.
By the time I returned to the Silver Claw Pack, the sun had begun to rise.
The guards barely glanced at me as I passed through the gates. To them, I was invisible, a servant, a nobody, the rejected girl.
But today felt different.
For the first time in my life… I didn’t feel weak.
I walked toward the servant quarters when suddenly,
“Lira.”
My heart stopped.
That voice.
I turned slowly.
Alpha Kael stood a few yards away.
Even in simple training clothes, he looked powerful, broad shoulders, sharp jawline, golden eyes that seemed to see everything.
My mate.
No.
Not my mate anymore.
Pain flickered briefly in my chest, but it was weaker than before.
Strange.
The bond was fading.
Or maybe…
Something stronger was replacing it.
“You were in the forest,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You shouldn’t wander alone.”
I almost laughed.
“I’ve always been alone.”
Something shifted in his expression.
Guilt.
Regret.
But he masked it quickly.
“There was a surge of power last night,” he said quietly.
My stomach tightened.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His gaze locked onto mine.
My heart pounded.
For a moment, the air between us felt charged, alive with tension.
His wolf stirred, I could feel it.
And for the first time,
Something inside me stirred back.
Not submission.
Not fear.
Power.
Equal.
Opposite.
Kael’s eyes widened slightly.
He stepped closer.
Too close.
“You feel different,” he said.
My breath caught.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could answer,
A sharp female voice cut through the air.
“Kael.”
We both turned.
Selena stood nearby, dressed in elegant training gear, her long hair tied neatly behind her head.
Future Luna.
The one he chose.
Her eyes locked onto me with thinly disguised hatred.
“There you are,” she said sweetly to Kael. “Training is about to begin.”
Her gaze flicked toward me.
Cold.
Sharp.
“You shouldn’t waste time talking to servants.”
The words burned.
Kael said nothing.
That silence hurt more than her insult.
I lowered my head and walked away.
But this time,
I didn’t feel broken.
I felt something else.
Rising.
Waiting.
That afternoon, I was assigned to carry supplies to the training grounds.
Heavy wooden crates filled with weapons and equipment dug painfully into my arms.
Normally, I would struggle.
Today,
It felt strangely easy.
Too easy.
Halfway across the yard, one of the older wolves blocked my path.
Darren.
One of Selena’s loyal followers.
He smirked when he saw me.
“Careful, wolfless girl. Wouldn’t want you collapsing.”
I said nothing and tried to move past him.
He shoved the crate suddenly.
Hard.
Normally, I would have fallen.
But this time,
My body reacted instantly.
My hand shot out, gripping the crate firmly.
I didn’t stumble.
I didn’t fall.
The crate didn’t even move.
Darren froze.
His eyes widened.
That crate weighed nearly a hundred pounds.
Slowly, I lifted it again and walked past him.
His stunned gaze burned into my back.
“What the hell…” he muttered.
My heart pounded.
That shouldn’t have been possible.
That night, the moon rose bright and full once more.
I couldn’t sleep.
Energy surged restlessly through my body.
Calling me.
Pulling me.
I slipped quietly from the servant quarters and returned to the forest.
The moment I stepped beneath the trees,
The feeling intensified.
Warmth spread through my chest.
My heartbeat quickened.
Then,
The voice returned.
Stronger than before.
“It is time.”
My breath shook.
“Time for what?”
The answer came like thunder inside my mind.
“To awaken.”
Pain exploded through my body.
I screamed as my bones burned, muscles twisting violently beneath my skin.
I fell to my knees.
The forest spun around me.
My heart pounded like a war drum.
My vision blurred.
Then,
I felt it.
Fur.
Claws.
Teeth.
Power beyond anything I had ever known.
Silver light erupted around me.
And suddenly,
The pain stopped.
Silence fell over the clearing.
I stood slowly.
But something was different.
The world looked sharper.
Clearer.
Lower.
I stepped forward cautiously.
My paws pressed into the earth.
Paws.
Shock surged through me.
I looked down.
Silver fur shimmered in the moonlight.
My wolf.
Huge.
Powerful.
Beautiful.
Far larger than any normal she-wolf.
I took a shaky step forward.
Then another.
Strength flowed through my body like liquid fire.
Freedom.
Power.
Life.
A joyful howl rose from deep within me before I could stop it.
The sound echoed across the mountains.
Primal.
Ancient.
Royal.
And far away,
Alpha Kael froze.
His wolf surged violently inside him.
Recognition.
Shock.
Instinct.
Mate.
Impossible.
He shifted instantly and raced toward the forest.
I stood in the clearing, my silver fur glowing beneath the moon.
Then,
A presence approached.
Fast.
Powerful.
Dangerous.
I turned just as a massive black wolf burst through the trees.
Kael.
His golden eyes locked onto mine.
Shock radiated from him.
Disbelief.
Confusion.
Recognition.
I stood my ground.
Something deep inside me refused to submit.
His wolf slowed.
Then stopped.
For the first time in his life,
Alpha Kael lowered his head.
Not in dominance.
But in instinctive respect.
Because somehow…
The rejected girl had become something greater than an Alpha.
And neither of us understood why.
- Writer
