POV: Soraya
By dawn the courtyard was alive again—not with war, but with training drills sharp enough to slice through the tension hanging over Ashra. Wolves moved in formation like blades of a single weapon, every step loud, deliberate, disciplined. The scent of sand, sweat, and steel clung to the morning air.
I stood at the center of the training ring, heart pounding as Kaide circled me like a shadow.
“Focus,” he said, lifting his staff. “You stopped a raider yesterday with raw instinct. Today you’ll do it with control.”
“I still don’t know how,” I muttered, adjusting my stance.
“You will,” Tazir called from the sidelines, leaning against the wall with arms crossed. “Or Kaide will break your legs trying to teach you.”
Kaide didn’t smile. “Stance.”
I lowered my weight. My fingers curled. My breath steadied.
“Again,” Kaide said, and swung the staff toward my shoulder.
I dodged—barely.
The staff cracked against the ground so close sand sprayed my ankle.
“Too slow,” he said. “Again.”
He swung. Harder.
I ducked. Slipped. Rolled.
My body reacted faster than my mind—a blur of instinct and panic. My pulse raced. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless, rising, knocking against my bones with sharp warnings I didn’t understand.
“Stop thinking,” Kaide said. “Move.”
Another strike. I blocked with my forearm on instinct—
A shimmer of light flared across my skin.
Both men froze.
Tazir straightened from the wall. “There it is again.”
I stared at my arm as faint silver patterns glowed beneath the surface—thin, shimmering lines like moonlit veins.
“No, no—stop that,” I whispered, shaking my hand as if I could push the magic back inside. “Not now.”
Kaide approached slowly, lowering his staff. “Your wolf is trying to emerge.”
“I don’t want her to.”
“She doesn’t care what you want,” he said gently.
My breath hitched.
The last time I shifted, the creature that came out of me had looked nothing like the wolves here—larger, darker, more monstrous. A demon pulled from Zehrael myths. A beast the elders feared. A beast I feared.
A shiver rippled through me.
Kaide must have felt it, because he stepped closer, voice softer. “Soraya. Look at me.”
I forced my eyes up.
He held my gaze. Calm. Steady. Unshaken. “You are not a monster. You are gifted. And that gift is ours to shape, not fear.”
Tazir nodded. “If you lose control, we’ll pull you back.”
“You?” I snorted nervously. “You’ll run the second my teeth show.”
Tazir grinned. “True. But Kaide won’t.”
I rolled my eyes, but a small, anxious smile tugged at my lips.
“Again,” Kaide said, stepping back.
This time he attacked with speed—testing me. Sand burst beneath our feet. His strikes were precise, controlled, forcing me to move faster, sharper. My body reacted without thought—ducking, sliding, twisting away like wind cutting through dunes.
Magic prickled under my skin again.
“No—”
“Let it,” Kaide said.
He swung—
And I felt it.
A surge—hot and cold all at once—through my spine, my lungs, my fingertips. My vision blurred, sharpened, then transformed. Colors shifted. The world brightened. Every grain of sand glowed.
Kaide’s staff swung toward my face.
I didn’t dodge. I caught it. With my bare hand.
Gasps erupted from the wolves around the courtyard who had stopped their own training to watch.
Tazir whistled. “Well… damn.”
The wood shook under my grip.
Kaide’s eyes widened. “There she is.”
My breath turned uneven. My pupils dilated. My hands trembled as silver light flared beneath my skin—brighter this time, stronger, pulsing like a heartbeat.
“Soraya,” Kaide said carefully. “Look at me.”
When I turned my head toward him, he inhaled sharply.
“What?” I whispered.
“Your eyes,” he said. “They’re glowing.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
I felt it—like moonlight filling my vision. The courtyard reflected silver in every direction. My wolf pushed harder, clawing up my throat, whispering at the edges of my mind.
Shift. Shift. Shift.
“No,” I whispered harshly, stepping back. “Not here. Not in front of everyone.”
“Easy,” Kaide murmured, raising his hands. “Breathe.”
Tazir frowned. “Her wolf—something’s off.”
Kaide shook his head. “Not off. Different.”
The pressure in my head intensified. My teeth clenched, jaw aching as if my bones were rearranging beneath the skin.
Not fully shifting—
Just the threat of it.
Panic shot through me. “Kaide—
“Look at me,” he said again, voice steady. “You’re safe.”
“I’m not safe.” My voice cracked. “I’m dangerous.”
“You’re powerful,” he corrected. “There’s a difference.”
The glow burst brighter around my hands. Silver light spilled onto the sand, swirling like mist. Wolves stepped back, unease rippling through the crowd.
I felt myself losing grip.
“I can’t—”
Kaide grabbed my hands, ignoring the shock of heat. “Yes, you can.”
His voice—rough, grounding—cut through the panic. He stepped closer, lowering his forehead to mine.
“Breathe, Soraya. You have control. You’re not the creature in your nightmares.”
My breath trembled.
The wolf pressed harder.
Kaide didn’t flinch.
“I’m here,” he murmured. “Come back.”
His presence anchored me—solid, unshakable. The silver glow flickered… then dimmed. My racing heartbeat slowed. The pressure behind my eyes eased, and the heat beneath my skin cooled like dying embers.
My knees buckled.
Kaide caught me before I hit the sand, lowering me gently to sit. His hands stayed on my shoulders to keep me steady.
Tazir crouched beside us, eyes wide. “That was… gods. That was terrifying and impressive.”
I buried my face in my hands. “I almost shifted.”
“Yes,” Kaide said. “And you stopped it.”
“No. You stopped it.”
He shook his head. “I only steadied you. You controlled it.”
I swallowed hard. “Did everyone see?”
“Everyone saw,” Tazir said honestly. “The silver eyes. The markings. The strength. And the part where you nearly ripped Kaide’s staff in half.”
Heat flushed through my neck. “Great.”
Kaide squeezed my shoulder. “Soraya.”
I looked up.
He wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t disturbed.
He looked… proud.
“The moon-marked wolf is real,” he said. “And she's waking.”
A ripple went through my chest—fear, yes—but something else too. Something like possibility. Something like destiny.