CHAPTER3
1489 Words
The road twisted like a serpent through the mountains, blanketed in mist and flanked by towering pines. Kaia leaned against the passenger seat window of Jace’s black Jeep, her breath fogging up the glass. She watched as the world passed by in a blur—trees, shadows, miles of silence.
She hadn’t spoken much since they left the cabin.
There hadn’t been anything to say.
She’d almost died. Again. And somehow, she had saved Jace with a power she couldn’t explain, let alone control. Her whole body still thrummed with leftover energy, like her veins carried starlight instead of blood.
“Are you okay?” Jace asked without looking away from the road.
She hesitated. “Define okay.”
“That bad?”
Kaia gave a half-hearted shrug. “Well, I watched my life get flipped upside down, found out I’m some kind of werewolf royalty, got attacked by a monster, and now I’m riding shotgun with a guy who turns furry when he’s pissed. So… yeah. Pretty ‘not okay.’”
Jace chuckled under his breath, and the sound surprised her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him laugh before.
“You’re handling it better than most,” he said.
Kaia turned to him. “Most girls would be crying right now.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Most girls aren’t Silver Wolves.”
Kaia paused, her fingers brushing her wrist, the mark still faintly warm beneath her sleeve. “Where are we going?”
“Safehouse,” Jace replied. “About fifty miles out of Silverhollow. It’s old territory. Not marked anymore. Off-grid. There’s someone there I want you to meet.”
“Another wolf?”
He hesitated. “Sort of. She was your mother’s second-in-command. When the packs scattered, she went underground. She’s the only one left who can train you.”
Kaia stared at him. “Train me for what?”
Jace’s expression darkened. “To survive what’s coming.”
The safehouse was a stone fortress built into the side of a hill, nearly invisible from the road. Moss clung to the exterior, and a heavy iron door barred entry like a bunker from a forgotten war.
Jace knocked in a strange pattern—three fast, two slow—and the door creaked open from within.
A woman stood there, tall and lean with streaks of silver in her dark braid. Her amber eyes were sharp as blades, and she wore a long coat made of weathered leather. Her gaze snapped to Kaia immediately.
“So,” the woman said, voice low and rough like gravel, “this is the girl.”
Kaia swallowed hard. “Um… hi.”
The woman stepped aside without another word, letting them in.
Inside, the air smelled of old wood, herbs, and faint traces of smoke. Weapons lined one wall—blades, crossbows, iron-tipped arrows. A fire crackled in the hearth. It didn’t feel like a home. It felt like a war room.
“She’s rough,” Jace whispered, nudging Kaia gently as they walked inside. “But loyal.”
“Like a pit bull with a sword?” Kaia muttered.
The woman turned toward them again. “Name’s Liora. I knew your mother well.”
Kaia tilted her head. “What was she like?”
Liora’s gaze softened, just barely. “Smart. Fearless. Stubborn as hell. Just like you, I imagine.”
Kaia felt a strange knot tighten in her chest. She barely remembered her mother’s face. Hearing someone else speak of her like she was more than a memory… it hit harder than expected.
“We don’t have much time,” Liora continued, “The Blackfangs will be hunting again by nightfall. If they found the cabin, they’re already close.”
“Then we start now,” Jace said. “She needs to learn fast.”
Kaia glanced between them. “Learn what, exactly?”
“To shift,” Liora said bluntly. “And to fight.”
Kaia blinked. “Shift? As in… turn into a wolf?”
“You won’t survive without it,” Liora said, “The wolf is part of you. You’ve suppressed it for too long. It’s going to rip through eventually. Better to meet it on your terms.”
Kaia took a shaky breath. “And how exactly do I do that?”
Liora stepped forward, reaching out—and before Kaia could move, she slapped her hand down over the silver mark on Kaia’s wrist.
Pain exploded through her like a lightning bolt.
Kaia gasped and stumbled back, eyes wide. Her skin burned, but not from the touch—it was coming from within. Like fire under her bones.
Liora nodded. “The mark is the key. It’s not just a symbol. It’s a binding. A tether to your wolf side. Your parents had it etched at birth to delay your transformation. It was meant to keep you hidden.”
“Then why is it glowing now?” Kaia asked, panting.
“Because you’re not hidden anymore,” Liora said. “And it knows. Your wolf knows.”
Training began that night.
The forest was cold, even beneath the canopy, and the full moon filtered down in soft beams of silver light. Kaia stood barefoot in the dirt, her arms crossed over her chest as Liora circled her like a drill sergeant.
“You need to stop thinking like a girl,” Liora barked. “Start thinking like a predator.”
Kaia huffed. “You don’t have to yell.”
“You want to survive, don’t you?”
She did.
But she also wanted answers.
“What happens when I shift?” she asked.
“You become what you were born to be,” Liora said. “Faster. Stronger. Deadlier. But it comes with a price. The wolf doesn’t always agree with the girl. You’ll have to learn to control it. Or it will control you.”
Kaia clenched her fists. “And if I can’t?”
Liora’s gaze was hard. “Then you’re a danger to everyone around you—including yourself.”
A howl echoed in the distance. Not close, but not far enough to ignore.
Kaia felt a chill crawl down her spine.
“I can feel it,” she whispered. “Something’s out there.”
“Good,” Liora said. “Use it. Let it fuel the shift.”
Jace appeared then, his eyes flashing in the moonlight.
“Kaia,” he said, voice calm but firm. “Look at me.”
She turned to him.
“I know it hurts. But you’re not alone. We’re right here.”
Her breath came faster. Her pulse roared in her ears. Her mark burned like fire. She dropped to her knees, gasping.
It was like something inside her wanted out—clawing, howling, desperate to be free.
Her bones felt like they were breaking.
Kaia screamed.
Silver light burst from her chest, and her skin began to shimmer, to shift. Her hands contorted, her spine cracked, her eyes glowed like twin moons.
Then—
Silence.
The pain stopped.
Kaia stood up slowly.
But she wasn’t Kaia anymore.
She was taller, leaner, her skin covered in sleek silver fur, her claws extended, her senses alive in every direction. The world was sharper—smells, sounds, movement. She could hear the heartbeat of a rabbit a hundred yards away. She could smell Jace’s blood still healing from the earlier attack.
She had shifted.
And it felt like coming home.
Later, as the moon hung high in the sky, Kaia sat near the fire in her human form, wrapped in a blanket, her entire body trembling.
Jace sat beside her.
“You did it,” he said softly.
Kaia gave a weak smile. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”
“You get used to it.”
“Does it ever get easier?”
He nodded. “But the first time is always the hardest.”
Kaia looked into the flames. “I saw something. When I shifted. It wasn’t just instincts. I remembered things.”
Jace tilted his head. “Like what?”
“My mother’s voice. She was singing. A lullaby… in a language I didn’t understand. And I saw her face. She was holding me. Smiling.”
Jace’s gaze softened. “It’s the wolf. It holds memories your human mind can’t access.”
Kaia swallowed hard. “I don’t want to lose her again.”
“You won’t,” he said. “She’s in you. Always.”
Kaia looked up at him, eyes shimmering. “Thank you.”
He didn’t say anything. Just reached out and took her hand.
The touch was warm. Real. And for the first time in years, Kaia didn’t feel alone.
But even as she sat by the fire, heart steady, soul shaken, she knew peace wouldn’t last.
Something was coming.
And now… she was ready to face it.
- Writer
