“Do you understand me?” I snarled, tightening my grip until his teeth ground together.
His throat bobbed. Silence stretched, broken only by the drip of water against stone. Then, grudgingly, “Yes.”
“Good.” I released him with a shove, standing tall again. “Get him out of my sight.”
The sound of iron chains echoed as they dragged him from the cell. His curses bounced off the walls, venomous but hollow.
I waited until the last footsteps faded before Gavin stepped from the shadows.
“All set,” Gavin reported, his tone clipped. “Restraint is in place. He won’t know it until he needs it most. I’ve assigned shadows to follow-he won’t take a piss without me knowing”
“Good,” I said. My voice felt like gravel in my throat.
Gavin’s eyes gleamed. “You think he’ll run straight back to the rogues?”
“Let him. He thinks he’s so clever, but he’ll lead us straight to them.”
For a moment, silence stretched, heavy as the stone around us. Then a howl broke the night, distant and mournful, seeping through the barred window high on the wall.
I turned toward it, moonlight slanting across my hands. My claws flexed against my palms, itching for blood.
“I’m tired of cowards who thrive in shadows,” I murmured. “If they’re foolish enough to target me, I’ll drag them into the light myself.”
Gavin’s smirk was sharp. “And when they’re in the light?”
I bared my teeth in a humorless smile. “Then we’ll burn them. Every last one.”
Because I would not-could not-tolerate any threat to the legacy of wolves.
Not to my pack.
Not to Daniel.
Not to Sera.
Never again.
SERAPHINA’S POV
Three straight days of hosting duties had drained me more than I wanted to admit.
Smiling until my jaw ached, bowing, shaking hands, welcoming one self-important Alpha after another-it was exhausting in a way even training wasn’t.
But now, finally, the last of the visiting packs had been settled. Tonight, at least, I had my hours back.
After seeing all my potential competitors, I was determined to pour those hours into training. After throwing that miraculous punch at Maya, I didn’t want to lose my momentum.
She was already stretching when I walked into the private training room, her braided ponytail swinging behind her like a whip.
The floor smelled faintly of resin and leather, mats worn down from hours upon hours of werewolves honing themselves against each other.
My muscles hummed with anticipation, though a heavy weariness still clung to me from all the public courtesies I had been forced to perform.
“Ready?” Maya arched a brow, already dropping into a stance.
I nodded and rolled my shoulders. “More than ready.”
We began-but within minutes our rhythm splintered.
I couldn’t get the maneuver right. Maya wanted me to use my momentum differently-less force, more angle
-but every attempt ended in failure.
She corrected me once, twice, then sighed, frustration leaking through her patience.
“No, Sera, you’re not redirecting. You’re charging. Look-” She moved through the motion herself, smooth and clean. “You let their energy carry over. You don’t fight it head-on.”
“I am trying,” I muttered, stepping back into position. My palms stung from hitting the mat wrong. “You make it sound simple, but my body won’t-“
“Stop fighting the flow,” she cut in, clicking her tongue. Then she flicked my forehead. “You’re overthinking again.”
I scowled at her, rubbing the sore spot. She just smirked. “Again. And this time,”-she tapped the side of her temple-“empty here, goddammit.”
I tried again. Failed again.
The slap of my body against the mat echoed too loudly in the room.
Heat crawled up my neck. For all the progress I had made these past weeks, this small nuance seemed impossible.
The glass door slid open.
Both our heads turned at the same time.
Ethan leaned against the frame, arms crossed, hair flopping lazily over his forehead.
“Having fun?” he asked dryly.
Maya groaned as I bristled. “Don’t start.” She shot me an exasperated look. “She’s refusing to understand basic redirection.”
“I’m not refusing,” I shot back. “I just-” I stopped, pressing my lips together. My bruised pride didn’t need another witness tonight, especially not my older brother’s.
Ethan walked in anyway, ignoring my glare. “Show me.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Do the move,” he said, nodding toward Maya. “Go on.”
Maya shrugged at me. “Might as well. He’s not a half-bad fighter.”
Ethan snorted. “You’ve forgotten how easily I can put you on your back, babe?”
Maya smirked, leaning in to him. “I cleared that memory in favor of all the other…ways you can put me on my back”
Ethan’s teeth sank into his lower lip. “Yeah? How about later tonight-“
“Okay!” I exhaled sharply, shooting to my feet as Ethan’s head began to dip, a suggestive glint in his eyes.
I supported their relationship, but I absolutely did not want a front-row seat to the canoodling.
Maya winked at him and mouthed, ‘Later,’ before turning back to me.
Rolling my eyes, I squared my stance opposite Maya.
We went through the motion again. I pivoted, tried to redirect, and failed just as miserably as before.
The result was me flat on my back, staring up at the fluorescent lights with my hair splayed like a halo.
“See?” Maya muttered.
Ethan crouched beside me before I could scramble up. He shook his head slowly. “You’re resisting at the wrong point. You want to push, not catch. Watch”
Without asking, he pulled me to my feet like I weighed as much as a bag of feathers, then gestured for Maya to lunge at him.
Without hesitation, she did-sharp, precise-but Ethan moved differently.
He caught her momentum fluidly, almost lazily, shifted his stance, and suddenly, Maya was the one with her back on the ground.
“That,” he said, straightening, “is what she’s trying to teach you.”
Maya blinked, gracefully pushing herself to her feet. “You…actually did it better than me.”
“Don’t sound so shocked?” His mouth curved in a brief smirk, then his gaze returned to me.
“You’re trying to meet force with force, Seraphina. That’s not how our instincts work. Lockwood blood doesn’t only hit head-on. It adapts.”
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