I still sat in the passenger seat of Kade's truck, still dripping rainwater. The towel on my chest was damp and clinging.
My jaw clenched, arms crossed tight over my chest. The silence between us was a battleground of things we weren't saying.
He hadn't spoken since throwing me into the truck, which was good. Because if he had, I might've torn his throat out with anger.
Outside the window, familiar trees blurred past.
The road twisted through pack lands I hadn't set foot on in over two years... not since Kade had rejected me in front of the Elders, not since the pack had turned their backs on the "unworthy, unbonded girl" I'd been declared.
My claws itched just being here again.
"How long do you plan on playing the martyr?" Kade finally asked, eyes locked on the road.
I turned my head slowly.
"You're the last person who gets to ask me that."
"I rejected you to protect you..."
"No, you rejected me because you're a coward!"
The silence that followed crackled like lightning.
I turned back to the window before I did something stupid... like lunge across the truck and punch my so-called ex-mate in the face.
He didn't speak again. Very smart of him.
When the iron gates of the Crescent Hollow Packhouse came into view, my stomach twisted.
The massive stone-and-glass fortress loomed over the forest like a prison. The same one I used to clean as part of my punishment duty.
The same place where his fiancee waited. The same place where everyone would now know... I hadn't died.
Kade didn't wait for me to move. He threw the truck into park and opened my door.
"Let's go." He commanded but I didn't budge.
"I said—"
"You want me inside so badly? Right? Carry me again, Alpha," I sneered.
His jaw ticked, but he didn't rise to the bait. Instead, he stepped aside. I rolled my eyes and climbed out on my own, barefoot and still furious.
The moment we entered the building, heads turned. Gasps and whispers followed behind us.
Some stepped back like I was contagious, while others just stared.
"Is that...?"
"Impossible! She's not marked but still alive?"
"Should've died in the shift…"
I ignored them, and all their rumbles.
But I didn't miss Evelyn standing at the top of the grand staircase in a crimson silk robe, her hair curled and perfect, lips parted in disbelief.
Her eyes locked on me, then narrowed at Kade.
"You brought her here?" Her voice rang out.
"She survived the shift," Kade answered flatly. "The Elders are assembling now."
Evelyn descended like a queen, ignoring me completely, her attention fixed on Kade. "You should've let her run."
"She's not a rogue," Kade replied coolly. "She's still ours."
I hated how that word made something in my chest tighten.
"I want her out of here," Evelyn snapped, finally acknowledging me. "She's a threat. Everyone knows it."
"You're not Luna yet," I intervened sweetly. "So maybe shut up!"
"Huh?" She scoffed as her face twisted. "You don't belong here, you mutt."
I stepped closer, letting my eyes shift just enough for the golden glint of my wolf to show.
"Then come make me leave."
Evelyn recoiled. Just slightly, but I saw it. Then Kade moved between us before claws came out.
"That's enough. Both of you!"
"Oh, now you want to play peacemaker?" I pout in disdain. "You going to Alpha-command me again?"
But he didn't respond. Just turned and started walking toward the council chamber doors.
"Coward," I let out as I followed his lead and after a few strides, we arrived at the chamber.
The Elder chamber hadn't changed.
Tall stone columns. Carved wolves in every direction and a crescent moon engraved above the fireplace.
Seven Elders sat in their thrones, each one older than the mountains, each one more judgmental than the last. Their eyes snapped to me the moment I walked in behind Kade.
"This is not possible!" One of them, a female named Elder Mari said as she actually stood up.
"She is unmarked," another Elder said. "No mate, no tether... she should've died."
"Well, she didn't," Kade cut in, simply. "She survived."
They all turned to stare at me, like I'm a cursed creature. A mistake and a problem to them all.
"I heard her scream when the shift started," Kade added, eyes flicking to mine. "And I felt the bond spark again."
His last statement made my stomach twisted.
You weren't supposed to admit that. Not in front of the Elders. Not while Evelyn waited outside with her claws sharpened.
"She awakened a bloodline we believed extinct," Elder Mari whispered. "The Moonfire."
Then, all heads turned...
"What did you...just say?" I asked as my eyes popped out, clearly taken aback.
"Your blood..." Mari hesitated. "It carries ancient magic. It is volatile and unstable. Long ago, it was said that those with Moonfire in their veins could shift without a mate, but they often succumbed to madness."
"Or power," another Elder muttered.
"So what, you're scared of me now?" I asked, stepping forward but Kade suddenly placed a hand on my arm, warning.
"No, Lyra—"
"Don't touch me!"
I yanked my arm back. My wolf was rising, fast and furious.
"She is unstable," Elder Bran said. "We cannot have her roaming freely. She must be tested."
"Caged, you mean," I snapped at him.
"No," Kade muttered and everyone turned, including me. "For the next seven days, she'll train under supervision." His voice was calm, measured but it carried authority.
"Hmm," Elder Mari nodded slowly. "With whom? One of our guards? The Beta?"
"None," Kade's eyes met mine. "With me."
After his response, the chamber went dead silent. Even the fire in the hearth seemed to stop flickering.
Elder Bran immediately leaned forward. "But you've never trained with anyone but your Beta... Not even your warriors."
"She's different," Kade replied. "If she's a threat to the pack, I need to know firsthand. If she's not—"
"If I'm not?" I cut in, voice rising. "You think spending a week with you will determine that?"
"You want to prove you belong?" Kade asked, his tone even colder. "Then earn it with me!"
A low growl rumbled in my chest... Seven days alone with the Alpha who broke me.
Seven days of forced training. Watching each other, and fighting. Trying not to rip each other's throats out from past incidents.
Or worse... remembering the bond that never really died.
"For the record, I'm not your little project," I reminded him.
"But you're mine to protect," he answered instantly. "Or to destroy if you're a threat!"