Dawn came too early.
Nora dragged herself out of bed when Kael knocked on her door. Every muscle in her body still ached from the broken mate bond. The pain had gotten worse overnight, not better.
"I'm up," she called out.
"Training yard in ten minutes," Kael's voice came through the door. "Don't make me come back."
Nora groaned but forced herself to move. She found training clothes laid out on a chair—black leggings, a sports bra, and a tank top. Everything fit perfectly. How did Kael know her size?
She tried not to think about it.
When she got to the training yard, the sun was just starting to rise. The Blackwood forest was beautiful in the early morning light, all mist and shadows and golden rays breaking through the trees.
Kael was waiting for her, arms crossed. He looked like he'd been awake for hours.
"You're late," he said.
"By two minutes!"
"Late is late." He gestured to the training yard. It was huge, with weapons racks, combat rings, and obstacle courses that looked impossible. "We'll start with basics. I need to see what we're working with."
"I know how to fight," Nora said defensively. "I trained at Silver Moon—"
"Silver Moon trained you to be submissive," Kael interrupted. "They trained you to support your Alpha, not to be powerful yourself. Everything you learned there? Forget it. We're starting over."
Nora wanted to argue, but something in his tone made her stay quiet.
"Shift," Kael commanded.
"What?"
"Shift into your wolf. Let me see her."
Nora hesitated. Her wolf had always been small. Smaller than other wolves in the pack. It was one of the things Damien's mother had criticized about her. "Not very impressive for a Luna," she'd said once.
"Now, Nora," Kael said firmly.
She closed her eyes and reached for her wolf. Usually, shifting was easy. But this time, something felt different. Her wolf felt... bigger. Angrier. Like she'd been waiting for this moment.
The shift took her by surprise.
It hurt more than usual. Her bones cracked and reformed. Her skin burned as fur pushed through. She fell to her hands and knees, gasping.
When it was over, Nora stood on four legs and looked down at herself.
She froze.
Her paws were twice the size they used to be. Her fur, which had always been plain brown, now had streaks of silver running through it like lightning. And when she caught her reflection in a nearby water bucket, her eyes glowed amber instead of their usual hazel.
"What..." she tried to say, but it came out as a confused whine.
Kael was staring at her with an expression she couldn't read. "By the Moon Goddess," he whispered.
"What's wrong with me?" Nora asked through the mind link. All wolves in a pack could speak to each other this way, but she'd never connected to Kael before. Yet somehow, it felt natural.
"Nothing's wrong," Kael said. He walked around her slowly, studying her from every angle. "Nora, you're not a regular wolf. You're a Luna wolf."
"What's a Luna wolf?"
"A female wolf with Alpha power," Kael explained. "They're extremely rare. Maybe one is born every hundred years. They're powerful enough to lead packs on their own, without an Alpha mate."
Nora's mind reeled. "But... I've always been weak. Small. Everyone said—"
"Everyone was wrong," Kael cut her off. "You weren't weak. You were suppressed. The Silver Moon Pack, whether they knew it or not, was holding you back. Your wolf knew she didn't belong there, so she stayed small to survive."
"And now?"
"Now that you're free of them, she's showing her true form." Kael smiled. "This is just the beginning, Nora. Trust me."
Nora looked down at her new body. She felt powerful. Strong. For the first time in her life, she felt like she could take on the world.
"Shall we test what you can do?" Kael asked.
Before Nora could respond, he shifted. His transformation was smooth, practiced. One moment he was a man, the next he was a massive black wolf with eyes like burning coals. He was easily twice Nora's size.
He lunged at her without warning.
Instinct kicked in. Nora dodged to the side, faster than she'd ever moved before. Kael came at her again, and this time she met him head-on. They collided in a clash of fur and teeth, but it wasn't a real fight. It was training.
Kael was testing her speed, her strength, her reflexes.
And Nora was keeping up.
They circled each other, growling, snapping, lunging. Nora found herself moving in ways she never had before. Her body knew what to do even when her mind didn't. Duck, dodge, strike, retreat. Over and over.
Finally, Kael backed off and shifted back to human form. Nora did the same, breathing hard.
"Impressive," Kael said. He wasn't even winded. "Very impressive for a first real fight."
Nora bent over, hands on her knees. "You call that a first fight? You almost killed me five times!"
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead." He said it matter-of-factly. "But you held your own. Better than I expected, actually. Your instincts are good. Raw, but good."
"So what now?"
"Now we work on control." Kael walked over to a weapons rack and pulled out two long staffs. He tossed one to Nora. "Combat training in human form. You need to be deadly in both shapes."
They trained for hours.
Kael didn't go easy on her. Every time Nora thought she was getting the hang of something, he'd switch tactics. Every time she got comfortable, he'd push harder.
She fell. A lot. Hit the ground so many times she lost count. Her body screamed at her to stop, to rest, to give up.
But she didn't.
Because every time she fell, she saw Damien's face. Saw him choosing Sienna. Saw the entire pack watching her humiliation.
And she got back up.
"Good," Kael said after knocking her down for what felt like the hundredth time. "Use that anger. Channel it."
"I'm not angry," Nora panted.
"You're furious," Kael corrected. "And that's good. Anger can be a weapon if you control it. But if you let it control you, you'll lose every fight."
He was right. Nora was angry. Angrier than she'd ever been in her life.
But underneath the anger was something else. Fear.
Fear that she'd never be good enough. Fear that Damien was right to reject her. Fear that even with all this training, she'd still end up broken.
"What are you afraid of?" Kael asked suddenly.
Nora looked up, startled. "How did you—"
"I can smell fear," Kael said. "And yours is overwhelming right now. So tell me. What scares you?"
Nora wanted to lie. To pretend she was fine. But something about Kael made her want to tell the truth.
"I'm afraid," she said quietly, "that no matter how strong I get, I'll always be the girl who wasn't good enough for Damien Cross."
Kael was silent for a long moment. Then he stepped closer, his dark eyes intense.
"Listen to me carefully," he said. "Damien Cross is a fool. He rejected a Luna wolf—a mate that any Alpha in the world would kill to have. That's not a reflection on you. That's a reflection on him."
"But—"
"No buts," Kael interrupted. "You're going to be powerful, Nora. More powerful than Damien could ever imagine. And when you are, he's going to regret every moment he spent with that blonde replacement."
Nora wanted to believe him. God, she wanted to believe him.
"How do you know?" she asked.
Kael smiled. It was a dark smile. A dangerous smile.
"Because I know what it's like to lose someone powerful and spend the rest of your life regretting it," he said.
Before Nora could ask what he meant, a howl echoed through the forest. Long, loud, and coming from the direction of the pack border.
Kael's expression changed instantly. "Get inside. Now."
"What's wrong?"
"That's a Silver Moon wolf," Kael said, already heading toward the sound. "And they're on my territory without permission."
Nora's heart stopped. "Damien?"
"Probably," Kael said. "He's coming for you."
Nora should have been scared. Should have run inside like Kael said.
Instead, she smiled.
Let him come.
She was ready to show him exactly what he'd thrown away.