Elowen's POV
"MOVE!"
Corwin's fist stops an inch from my face. I froze again—just stood there like a frightened deer instead of blocking.
"Dead," he says flatly, dropping his hand. "That's the third time this morning I could have killed you."
I want to argue, but he's right. We've been training for an hour, and I haven't landed a single hit. Worse, I keep hesitating, flinching, protecting myself instead of attacking.
After we drove off Vesper's sister Nyx and her rogues two weeks ago—barely, and only because Ironclaw warriors outnumbered them—Corwin insisted on daily combat training. "Next time, you won't have a whole pack to hide behind," he'd said.
He was right about that too. I hate that he's always right.
"Again," Corwin orders, taking his fighting stance.
"I need a break—"
"The enemy won't give you breaks!" His Alpha voice cuts through my excuse, making my wolf snap to attention. "When Vesper comes for you—and she will come—she won't stop because you're tired. She'll rip your throat out while you're catching your breath."
The image is brutal. Effective.
I raise my fists, trying to remember everything he's taught me. Weight on the balls of my feet. Guard up. Watch his eyes, not his hands—eyes show intent.
Corwin attacks. This time, instead of freezing, I duck. His fist whistles over my head. Victory surges through me for half a second.
Then his leg sweeps mine out from under me, and I hit the ground hard.
"Better," Corwin says, offering his hand. "You dodged. That's progress. But you're still only defending. You need to attack back, or you'll just die slower."
I take his hand and let him pull me up. My whole body aches. We've been doing this every morning for two weeks, and I have bruises on my bruises.
"I'm a healer," I pant. "Not a fighter. Maybe I'm just not built for this—"
"Stop." Corwin's voice is sharp. He grips my shoulders, forcing me to meet his intense golden eyes. "You're not just a healer anymore. You're an Alpha. That means you have instincts—hunting instincts, fighting instincts, killing instincts. They're in there. You just have to stop being afraid of them."
"I'm not afraid—"
"Yes, you are. You're afraid of being aggressive. Afraid of hurting people. Afraid of becoming the monster Silvercrest claimed you were." His hands tighten slightly. "But there's a difference between being a monster and being strong enough to protect yourself. Learn that difference."
His words hit deeper than any punch.
He's right. Again. I've spent two weeks pulling my punches, holding back, trying to be gentle even in combat practice. Because some part of me still believes what Silvercrest said—that I'm dangerous, unstable, wrong.
"I don't know how to let go," I admit quietly.
"Then I'll teach you." Corwin steps back, shifting into his massive golden wolf. His voice enters my mind through the pack link: Shift. We're done playing human. Time to embrace the predator.
I shift, my silver wolf emerging smoothly now after weeks of practice. My wolf is eager, restless. She wants to fight.
Attack me, Corwin commands. For real this time. No holding back.
I hesitate. He's bigger, stronger, more experienced—
NOW!
The Alpha command snaps something inside me. My wolf snarls and lunges.
We collide midair, teeth and claws flashing. Corwin rolls with the impact, using my momentum to throw me off. I land hard but bounce back immediately, instinct taking over.
This time, I don't think. I just move.
I feint left, then strike right, my teeth catching Corwin's shoulder—not hard enough to truly hurt, but enough to draw a surprised growl. He counters, pinning me with his weight. I twist, rake my claws across his flank, force him to release me.
We circle each other, both breathing hard.
Good! Corwin's approval floods through the link. Again!
We fight for another twenty minutes—real fighting, no holding back. I lose most of the exchanges, but I land hits too. Real ones. And more importantly, I stop hesitating.
My wolf loves this. She's fierce, aggressive, powerful. Everything I spent seven years suppressing in Silvercrest because Lunas were supposed to be gentle and nurturing.
But I'm not just a Luna anymore.
Finally, Corwin pins me one last time, his jaws around my throat in the universal sign of surrender. But he's panting hard, and there are scratches across his shoulder where I got him.
You fought well, he says, releasing me. Like a true Alpha.
We shift back to human form, both exhausted and bloody but grinning.
"You finally let go," Corwin says, wiping blood from his shoulder. "How did it feel?"
"Terrifying," I admit. "And amazing. My wolf—she's so much fiercer than I ever let her be."
"That's because Vesper kept her suppressed. Now she's free, and she's angry. Channel that." He tosses me a water canteen. "Tomorrow, we work on your Alpha voice. You need to be able to command others in battle."
"Others won't listen to me. I'm not their Alpha—"
"You're A alpha," he corrects. "And lower-ranked wolves respond to dominance instinctively. Watch."
He turns to where several young Ironclaw warriors are training nearby. "Marcus! Come here!"
A young wolf immediately breaks from his sparring and trots over, head slightly bowed in respect. Corwin didn't use Alpha command—just natural authority.
"That's what you need to learn," Corwin says. "Elowen, tell Marcus to sit."
I look at the warrior uncertainly. "Um... sit?"
Marcus glances at Corwin, confused whether to obey.
"Use your Alpha voice," Corwin instructs. "Feel your wolf's dominance. Project it. Make it a command, not a request."
I take a breath, reaching for that fierce part of my wolf—the part that just fought Corwin without fear.
"Sit," I say again, and this time something shifts in my voice. It's deeper, more powerful, carrying weight that wasn't there before.
Marcus drops immediately, sitting without conscious choice. His eyes widen in surprise.
"I... I didn't mean to," he stammers. "It just happened—"
"That's Alpha dominance," Corwin says, satisfied. "Your wolf commanded his. He had no choice but to obey. Practice that. Perfect it. In battle, you can freeze enemies mid-attack if your command is strong enough."
The power is intoxicating and terrifying. I made a grown warrior obey me without even trying hard.
"What if I abuse it?" I whisper.
"You won't. Because you're not Vesper." Corwin's faith in me is absolute. "Now go. Rest. Tonight you're working in the healing ward, and you need your strength for both sides of your nature."
That night, I work in Ironclaw's medical ward, using my Luna gifts to heal wounded warriors. After weeks of being useless in Silvercrest, unable to access my healing power because of the poison, having it back feels like coming home.
I heal a young girl's broken arm, the bones knitting together under my glowing hands. Her mother watches with tears of gratitude.
"Thank you, Luna Elowen," she breathes.
Luna Elowen. They've started calling me that here—not as Silvercrest's exiled Luna, but as Ironclaw's adopted healer.
It feels right in a way my old title never did.
By midnight, I've treated a dozen wolves. My energy is drained, my body exhausted from both morning combat and evening healing. This dual nature—warrior and healer, Alpha and Luna—is harder than anything I've ever done.
But I've never felt more alive.
I'm walking back to my room when I sense something wrong. The hallway feels too quiet. Too empty. My wolf stirs uneasily.
Then I smell it. Wolfsbane. Fresh wolfsbane.
Someone brought poison into the pack house.
I follow the scent to my bedroom door. It's cracked open—I know I locked it. Heart pounding, I push it open slowly.
My room looks normal at first. Then I see it.
On my pillow, there's a dead silver rose—the kind that only grows in Silvercrest territory. And beneath it, a note in elegant handwriting I recognize instantly.
Vesper's handwriting.
"Enjoying your new life, little Luna? Don't get too comfortable. We're coming to take back what you stole. And this time, there won't be any Alpha to save you. Sleep well... while you still can. -V"
My hands shake as I grab the note. How did she get this inside Ironclaw territory? Past the guards? Into my locked room?
Unless...
Someone here is helping her.
There's a traitor in Ironclaw Pack.