Chapter 7: Breaking Point
1628 Words
Selina’s POV
The training grounds were more intimidating than I’d imagined.
I stood at the edge of the massive outdoor arena, my fingers twisted nervously in the hem of my training shirt. Around me, dozens of wolves from our pack had gathered—some to train, others were clearly here just to watch the spectacle.
To watch me fail.
“She’s really going to try?” someone whispered loudly enough for me to hear.
“Alpha Rowan must be out of his mind,” another voice added. “She just shifted four days ago.”
I kept my eyes forward, trying to ignore the stares and whispers. My wolf stirred restlessly inside me, we were still getting to know each other.
She wanted to prove herself, she wanted to show all these wolves that we belonged here.
I wasn’t so sure.
“Selina.” Ashran’s voice cut through the murmurs like a blade. He stood in the centre of the arena, with his arms crossed over his chest, looking every inch the future alpha he was born to be. “You’re late.”
I wasn’t late. I was exactly on time. But I’d learned over the past few days that contradicting Ashran only made things worse.
“Sorry,” I muttered, stepping onto the packed earth of the training ground.
Alex lounged against the equipment shed, that trademark smirk playing at his lips. Aaron stood slightly apart from his brothers, his dark eyes tracking my every movement with an intensity that made my skin prickle.
“Today we’re working on basic combat,” Ashran announced, his voice carrying across the arena. Several wolves had stopped their own training to watch. “Since our newest pack member is… behind in her education.”
Heat crept up my neck. Behind. Like I’d chosen to be wolfless for eighteen years.
“We’ll start simple,” Ashran continued, circling me slowly. I could feel his eyes cataloguing my every sign of weakness. “Show me your stance.”
I shifted into what I thought was a fighting position, knees bent, hands raised. It felt awkward and wrong, but I had no idea how to fix it. I was just copying everything I had seen in the past.
Ashran’s lip curled. “Did you learn that from a children’s book?”
Laughter rippled through the watching crowd. My face burned hotter.
“Wider stance,” he said, moving closer. Without warning, he roughly kicked my feet apart. “Lower. You’re too high. An actual opponent would knock you on your ass in seconds.”
I adjusted, trying to ignore how close he was standing. His scent, pine and winter storms, wrapped around me, making my wolf stir with longing.
“Better,” he said, though his tone suggested it was anything but. “Now. Come at me.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Attack me.” His pale blue eyes glinted with something dangerous. “Or are you too scared?”
My wolf bristled at the challenge. Before I could think better of it, I lunged.
It was clumsy and pathetic. Ashran sidestepped easily, and I stumbled past him, barely catching myself before I face-planted in the dirt.
There was more laughter from the crowd.
“Pathetic,” Alex called out, his voice dripping with amusement. “My grandmother moves faster than that.”
I straightened, breathing hard, humiliation burning in my chest. My wolf whined, confused why our mates were treating us this way.
They’re not really our mates, I told her firmly.
“Again,” Ashran ordered.
I tried again. And again. Each time, he evaded me effortlessly, making me look like a complete fool in front of everyone. By the fifth attempt, I was breathing hard, sweat dripping down my back.
“You’re telegraphing every move,” Ashran said, not even winded. He moved like water, fluid and precise.
“Your shoulders drop before you strike. Your eyes give away your target. You might as well announce your intentions with a f*****g megaphone.”
“Then teach me,” I snapped before I could stop myself.
The words hung in the air like a challenge. The crowd went silent.
Ashran’s expression darkened. In three long strides, he closed the distance between us, towering over me. “What did you just say?”
I should have backed down. Should have apologized. But my wolf was pushing at my control.
“You said you were training me,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady even though my heart was hammering. “So train me. Instead of just humiliating me in front of everyone.”
For a moment, I thought he might actually hit me. His jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek. Then, slowly, a cold smile spread across his face.
“You want proper training?” he asked softly. Dangerously. “Fine. Aaron.”
Aaron pushed off from where he’d been leaning against the fence. Where Ashran was all controlled aggression and Alex was casual cruelty, Aaron moved with quiet precision.
He was the smallest of the triplets, though still easily six feet tall, and somehow that made him more intimidating.
“Spar with her,” Ashran ordered. “Show her what real combat looks like.”
Aaron’s dark eyes met mine, and for just a second, I thought I saw something like an apology there. Then it was gone, replaced by the same neutral mask he always wore.
“Shift,” Ashran said.
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“You heard me. Shift. Or did you think you’d only ever fight in human form?”
I’d shifted exactly once since my wolf awakened, that first chaotic night when everything changed. The memory of it was still fuzzy, more instinct than conscious choice.
“I don’t… I’m not sure I can control—”
“Then you’d better learn fast.” Ashran’s smile widened. “Aaron won’t wait for you to figure it out.”
Around us, the crowd pressed closer, eager for the show.
We can do this, my wolf said, more confident than I felt. Let me out.
I closed my eyes, reaching for that wild, feral part of myself. It was still so new, so strange. Like trying to use a limb I’d never known I had.
The shift, when it came, was brutal.
My bones cracked and reformed, muscles tearing and rebuilding. Pain lanced through every nerve ending. I heard myself cry out, couldn’t stop it, and the sound echoed across the suddenly silent training ground.
When it was over, I stood on four legs instead of two, panting hard. The world looked different through wolf eyes— the fact that I have been missing this sent a pang of sadness through me.
Across from me, Aaron had shifted smoothly, his wolf massive and midnight black. He was easily twice my size.
This was going to hurt.
He moved first, faster than I could track. One second, he was across the arena, the next, he was on me. His shoulder slammed into mine and I went flying, hitting the ground hard enough to drive the air from my lungs.
“Ohhhhh,” the crowd breathed in unison, the sound hovering between sympathy and satisfaction.
I scrambled to my feet, legs shaking. Aaron circled me slowly, deliberately, giving me time to recover. Was he going easy on me? The thought made shame burn hotter than the pain.
I lunged at him, trying to use the anger to fuel my movement. He dodged, but not quite as easily this time. I felt a small surge of satisfaction.
Then his teeth found my scruff and the world spun. He threw me like I weighed nothing, and I crashed into the fence hard enough to rattle the wooden posts.
There were gasps from the watchers. Someone even laughed.
“Get up,” Ashran called out. He didn’t sound concerned at all.“You think an enemy will give you time to recover? Get. Up.”
The realisation settled over me like ice water. This wasn’t training. This was punishment. A reminder of our place.
Aaron came at me again, and this time I didn’t even try to fight back. I just braced for impact.
But it never came.
“Enough.” The single word from Aaron was quiet but absolute.
He shifted back to human form in a ripple of muscle and bone, standing naked in the centre of the arena like it was nothing. Wolves rarely cared about nudity, since our clothes always got destroyed during shifts.
“She’s not ready for this level,” Aaron said, looking directly at Ashran.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Ashran’s expression went carefully blank. “Are you questioning my methods?”
For a long moment, the brothers stared at each other. Some silent communication passed between them that I couldn’t read.
Finally, Ashran’s jaw tightened. “Training’s over for today,” he announced to the crowd. “Everyone back to your drills.”
The watchers dispersed slowly, disappointed that the show had ended early.
I shifted back to human form, grateful that someone had the foresight to leave training clothes at the edge of the arena. My body ached everywhere, with bruises already forming across my ribs and shoulders.
“Tomorrow, six AM,” Ashran said, not looking at me. “Don’t be late.”
He walked away without another word. Alex followed, shooting me one last smirk over his shoulder.
Only Aaron remained, standing a few feet away, his expression unreadable.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
His dark eyes met mine, then he too was gone, leaving me alone in the empty arena with nothing but pain and questions I had no answers for
- Writer
