CHAPTER 7 — Where Monsters Begin
1157 Words
I wasn’t taken back to my room.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Kael didn’t slow down. Didn’t explain. Didn’t even look back to see if I was keeping up.
He just walked.
And somehow
I followed.
---
We moved past the pack grounds…
past the borders I’d never been allowed near…
and deeper into the forest.
Too deep.
The air changed the further we went.
Colder.
Heavier.
Wrong.
“Where are we going?” I finally asked.
“Somewhere they won’t interfere,” Kael replied.
“They?”
He didn’t answer.
Of course.
---
We stopped in a clearing unlike the others.
No sound.
No birds.
No movement.
Even the wind felt… absent.
“This place” I hesitated. “It feels strange.”
“It’s warded,” he said.
My brows pulled together. “Warded?”
“Protected,” he clarified. “Hidden from the pack. From outsiders.”
A pause.
Then
“From things that hunt power.”
My chest tightened.
“Like what?”
This time
He looked at me.
Really looked.
“Things that would kill you if they knew what you are becoming.”
That wasn’t comforting.
At all.
---
“Stand there,” he instructed again.
I didn’t argue this time.
Didn’t resist.
Because after what happened earlier
I knew.
This wasn’t optional anymore.
---
Training was different now.
Harder.
Faster.
More precise.
Kael didn’t hold back.
At all.
He pushed me until my body burned, until my lungs screamed, until my legs felt like they would give out.
“Again,” he said.
“I can’t” I started.
“You can.”
“I’m tired!”
“Good. That means you’ll stop thinking and start reacting.”
Before I could respond
He came at me.
Fast.
I moved.
Barely.
Still hit but not fully.
Progress.
“Again.”
---
It kept going.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until
Something shifted.
Not outside.
Inside.
That energy
It came back.
But this time
It wasn’t wild.
It wasn’t panicking.
It was…
Waiting.
Watching.
My breath slowed.
My senses sharpened.
“I feel it,” I whispered.
Kael stopped.
“Good,” he said. “Now control it.”
“I don’t know how.”
“You do.”
I frowned. “How would you know that?”
“Because it’s not new,” he said quietly.
My heart skipped.
“What does that mean?”
But before he could answer
The air changed.
---
Cold.
Sharp.
Wrong.
Again.
But worse this time.
Kael went still.
Completely still.
“Stay behind me,” he said.
My stomach dropped.
That tone
It wasn’t training anymore.
It was real.
“What is it?” I asked, stepping back.
He didn’t answer.
His eyes scanned the trees.
Focused.
Alert.
Dangerous.
Then
A voice.
Soft.
Whispering.
Right behind me.
“You shouldn’t be here…”
I spun around
But no one was there.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Kael”
“I heard it,” he said.
His jaw tightened.
“They found you faster than I expected.”
My chest tightened. “Who?”
“Witches,” he said.
The word sent a chill down my spine.
“No,” I whispered. “That’s not possible”
“Everything is possible,” he cut in.
The whisper came again.
Closer this time.
Curled around my ear like breath I couldn’t feel.
“She’s waking…”
My head snapped to the side.
Nothing.
Still nothing.
But the presence
It was there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.
---
“Show yourself,” Kael said coldly.
Silence.
Then
A figure stepped out from the trees.
Slow.
Deliberate.
A woman.
But not… normal.
Her eyes
Too dark.
Too knowing.
“You’ve been hiding her,” she said, her voice smooth, almost amused.
Kael stepped forward slightly, blocking me.
“She’s not yours.”
The woman smiled.
“Not yet.”
My chest tightened.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
Her gaze snapped to me.
And the moment it did
That energy inside me surged again.
Stronger than before.
Violent.
Hungry.
Her smile widened.
“There it is,” she whispered. “The power.”
I stepped back instinctively.
“What are you talking about?”
But deep down
I already knew.
She tilted her head slightly.
“You don’t even know what you are,” she said softly. “That makes this even more interesting.”
“Leave,” Kael warned.
“And miss this?” she laughed lightly. “Not a chance.”
---
The energy inside me
It started spiraling again.
Not out of fear this time.
But reaction.
Like it recognized her.
Like it didn’t like her.
My hands trembled.
“I don’t like this,” I said.
“Good,” Kael replied. “Don’t lose control.”
Too late.
The witch lifted her hand
And something invisible pressed against my chest.
I gasped.
It wasn’t physical.
It was
Inside.
Pulling.
Dragging.
Like she was trying to reach into me.
“Stop” I choked.
“Lyra!” Kael moved instantly.
But the pressure increased.
My vision blurred.
“She belongs to something older than you,” the witch murmured. “Stronger than your kind.”
My wolf surged.
Violent.
Furious.
And this time
I didn’t stop it.
---
The energy exploded outward.
Not wild.
Not chaotic.
Controlled.
Sharp.
The witch stumbled back.
Surprised.
Actually surprised.
“Well…” she whispered. “That’s new.”
I stood there, breathing hard.
But not panicking.
Not breaking.
Holding it.
Controlling it.
Kael looked at me
And for the first time
There was something like approval in his eyes.
“Good,” he said quietly.
---
The witch smiled again.
But this time
There was caution in it.
“We’ll meet again,” she said. “And next time… you’ll want answers.”
Then
She was gone.
Just like that.
Like she had never been there.
---
Silence returned.
But it didn’t feel safe anymore.
“What did she mean?” I asked.
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
When he did
His voice was darker.
More serious.
“You’re not just a wolf.”
My heart pounded.
“Then what am I?”
His gaze locked onto mine.
“I don’t know yet,” he admitted.
That scared me more than anything.
---
DAMON POV
Something’s wrong.
I feel it again.
Stronger this time.
Darker.
Not just her.
Something else.
I move without thinking.
Through the forest.
Fast.
Until I reach the edge
And stop.
Because I can’t cross it.
The air shifts.
Blocks me.
“What the hell…” I mutter.
Kael.
He’s hiding her.
From me.
My jaw tightens.
My wolf growls low.
Mate.
No.
Not anymore.
But still
Mine.
I step forward again.
The barrier holds.
And something inside me
Snaps.
“If you think you can keep her from me…” I mutter darkly.
You’re wrong.
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