That night, as the pack scrambled into emergency patrols and Darian escorted her up the stairs to her room, a cold wind rattled the windows.
And far off, deep in the dark woods—
Darian's hand hovered near her shoulder, protective.
"It's getting closer," she whispered.
He nodded once, eyes glowing faintly.
"Let it come."
His voice was low and steady.
"Because this time, it won't touch you."
Faye didn't sleep.
Not even for a second.
She sat on the edge of her bed with her knees pulled to her chest, staring at the window where the scream had echoed from the forest hours earlier. Darian sat in a chair near the door, clearly awake despite his closed eyes.
Faye exhaled. "Can you not do that right now?"
Her wolf only huffed.
Darian's voice broke the silence. "I can hear you pacing in your head."
She jumped slightly. "How—?"
He opened one eye. "Your wolf is loud."
Faye glared. "Tell her that."
"I'm not stupid," he replied. "She'd rip my throat out."
"Try to sleep," Darian said, leaning his head back against the wall.
"I can't."
"Because of the scream?"
"Because of everything."
He didn't push her to explain.
She appreciated that more than she expected.
After a moment, he said quietly, "I won't let anything happen to you."
Faye tightened her grip around her knees. "You don't even like me."
"That doesn't matter right now."
"But it matters to me," Faye whispered.
Darian looked at her then—really looked at her. His expression wasn't cruel or dismissive like it used to be. It was complicated. Tense. Something he didn't seem to know how to deal with.
"Faye…" he began.
But before he could finish—
A sharp knock rattled the door.
Both of them shot to their feet immediately.
Darian stepped in front of her without hesitation.
"Who is it?" he demanded.
"Beta Rowan," a voice answered. "You need to come downstairs. Both of you."
The packhouse was buzzing with activity when they reached the ground floor. Wolves hurried past with weapons, maps, and communication radios. Rowan gathered them with a grim expression.
"It's back."
The room fell silent.
Darian's voice hardened. "Where?"
Rowan gestured toward the front of the packhouse. "Near the eastern gate. It didn't cross the border… but it got close enough to trigger alarms."
Faye's pulse quickened. "Did it leave another message?"
"No," Rowan said. "It left something else."
Faye's stomach twisted. "What kind of something?"
Rowan hesitated, then motioned for them to follow.
As they walked through the main courtyard, warriors parted to let them through, glancing nervously at Faye. She kept her gaze straight ahead, refusing to shrink.
They reached the gate.
And then she saw it.
A thin branch had been driven into the ground like a spear.
On its end hung a strip of fabric—
Faye's shirt.
The one she had torn yesterday when her wolf tried to shift.
Her breath caught.
Darian's hand went instantly to her back, steadying her. His wolf surged.
"Faye," he murmured, "it touched your clothes. It was close enough to reach the house."
She shook her head slowly. "No… not the house."
Her wolf growled, low and warning.
"Close to us."
Rowan folded his arms. "There's more."
He handed them a sealed evidence bag.
Inside it was a symbol—drawn in some kind of dark ash. A circle with jagged lines splitting outward.
Faye stared at it, something cold and familiar pricking the back of her mind.
"I've seen that before," she whispered.
Darian's head snapped toward her. "Where?"
She closed her eyes, searching her memory.
Then it hit her—
The old library.
The forgotten book of wolf lore.
The page Elder Mira told her not to read too closely.
"It's a mark," Faye whispered. "A sigil tied to wolves who awakened late."
Rowan stiffened. "Meaning?"
Faye opened her eyes, voice trembling.
"It means whatever is hunting me… knows exactly what I am."
Back inside, Elder Mira flipped through ancient scrolls and books with shaking hands. Darian paced, nearly tearing grooves into the carpet. Faye stood by the window, unable to shake the feeling of being watched.
Finally, Mira found the page.
She tapped it gently. "Here. The sigil you saw."
Faye leaned closer.
Rows of old runes surrounded the symbol. Mira translated slowly.
"Born in silence.
Awakened in shadow.
Hunted by what walks without a name."
Faye shivered. "What walks without a name… that thing in the woods?"
Mira nodded. "A creature older than our pack. Something that senses power before it fully awakens."
Darian stiffened. "So you're saying Faye is some kind of target because her wolf is different?"
"No," Mira said. "She's a target because her wolf is rare."
Faye blinked. "Rare how?"
Mira looked straight into her eyes.
"Your wolf is one of the Shadowborn."
Darian froze.
Faye did too.
"Shadowborn?" Faye repeated. "What does that mean?"
Mira hesitated before answering.
"It means your wolf doesn't just control shadows."
She took a slow breath.
"It commands them."
As Mira's words settled, the lights flickered.
The shadows on the walls shivered.
Darian's wolf surged protectively.
And Faye's wolf whispered with absolute certainty:
"We are awakening."
Faye staggered backward, gripping the table.
Darian reached her side instantly. "Faye—!"
"I'm fine," she gasped—even though both of them knew she wasn't.
Her wolf roared through her veins, pushing, shifting, trying to rise—
The shadows in the room stretched toward her like they recognized her.
Mira backed away. "The creature will come faster now."
Rowan tightened his grip on his weapon. "Then we prepare."
Darian stepped in front of Faye again, his voice firm and unyielding.
"No. We protect her."
He turned to Faye.
"You are not alone in this."
His wolf echoed through the bond, strong and warm.
For the first time in hours, the shadows quieted.
Faye caught her breath.
Her wolf whispered:
"Mate stands with us."
Faye whispered back:
"For how long?"
Neither of them said it out loud.
Faye woke to pain.
felt like fire beneath her skin.
Like every bone in her body ached at the same time.
Her wolf's voice was strained:
"It is beginning…"
Faye gasped and clutched her stomach as another wave of heat washed through her.
She barely registered the sound of a chair scraping across the floor.
"Faye?" Darian's voice cut through the haze, sharp with panic. "What's wrong?"
"I—I don't know." She doubled forward with a groan. "It—hurts."
Darian dropped to his knees beside her.
"This feels like shifting," he said, voice tight, "but it's too soon. Your wolf isn't stable yet."
Darian's hands hovered near her shoulders, ready but cautious.
He wasn't touching her without permission—
not even now, with her shaking on the floor.
That alone surprised her.
"I'm taking you to Elder Mira," he said firmly.
"I… can't move."
"Then I'll carry you."
She tensed at that.
Darian immediately paused.
"Faye," he said carefully. "This isn't about the bond. You're in pain. You need help."
She swallowed hard.
The fire spread to her spine. Her vision blurred.
Darian moved in one fluid motion—lifting her with surprising gentleness. Her breath hitched, but not from the pain this time.
He held her like she might break.
"Hang on," he whispered.
Elder Mira nearly dropped her herbs when they burst through her door.
"What happened?!"
"She's shifting early," Darian said, voice strained.
"That shouldn't be possible," Mira muttered—then, seeing Faye's pale, shaking form, she ran forward. "Lay her down. Quickly."
Darian set her on a padded cot, his hands reluctantly pulling away.
Mira pressed her palms to Faye's forehead and chest.
The shadows around the room fluttered—responding to Faye's wolf, stirring like restless smoke.
Mira sucked in a breath. "Her wolf is pushing too hard. It's trying to break through."
Darian's jaw clenched. "Can we stop it?"
"No. But we can ease it."
Mira gathered herbs and a small bowl, mixing quickly.
"Faye," Mira said gently, "your first shift is coming sooner than expected. You'll need to stay calm."
"That's—" Faye gasped as another wave of heat rippled through her, "—really hard right now."
Mira gave her a sympathetic look. "I know, child."
The pain swelled again, but this time—
Something else came with it.
Pressure.
Like something inside her chest wanted out.
Like a second heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Faye whimpered, curling in on herself.
Her wolf's voice suddenly boomed inside her mind—
stronger than ever, louder than she'd ever heard.
"LET ME RISE."
Faye cried out, her back arching.
Darian moved instantly, kneeling at her side.
"Faye! Stay with me!"
"I—I don't know how—!" she gasped.
"You do," he insisted. "Listen to your wolf. Don't fight her—guide her."
Her wolf growled:
"We do this together."
The shadows thickened again, swirling and pulling toward her like a cyclone.
Mira steadied her. "Faye, you must breathe with your wolf. Match her rhythm."
Faye tried.
In.
Out.
But the pressure kept building—
her bones vibrating, her blood burning.
Another surge of pain hit—
Her vision flashed black—
And something inside her snapped free.
Not physically.
Spiritually.
Powerfully.
The shadows in the room lunged toward her—
then spread out in a wave.
Mira gasped.
Darian shielded his eyes.
When the shadows settled, Faye lay panting on the cot—
her skin glowing faintly with an eerie silvery sheen.