Serena was frozen, turned away from Elias, tearsstill streaking down her face. She didn’t hear him go, didn’t notice when hewithdrew, but she felt the retreat that accompanied his leaving — the stillness following him like a tail. The air around her turned stagnant and heavy in her chest; there wasa weight on her heart.

Lucian had appeared nextto her, as imposing as before. Therewas a glint in his eyes, a combination of contentment and interest as he regarded her. “You did the rightthing,” he said in a low, somehow indifferent-sounding voice. “You belong to me, under my protectionnow.”

Before she could even respond, Lucianwalked off without another word, leaving Serena drowning in the cold silence of the room, feeling more lost than she'd been moments ago. She stood torn between the life she had chosen and the life that could have been, the path she had taken and the gnawing sorrow that had caught the place in her mindwhere hope toed the line between optimism and despair. After that, the rest of the day flewby. Serena did not leave her room,feeling a hollow ghoul, still alive in an apparition lived. She couldn’t help but feel like she’d made a terrible mistake—that rejecting Elias and the Silver Ridge pack hadcut off a part of her.

With a heavy heart and aturbulent mind, she lulled herself to a fitful sleep, emotionally fried and drained.

The following morning, Serena stirred witha dull thrum through her body. Her eyes fluttered open and the pain was instant,immediate and sharp. She looked at her upper arm, and the mark that had been a small faded thing had swelled in size, now vivid, and the edgeswere a deep red. It radiated pain from there, astark reminder of all her choices. Her bones were leaden; she couldn’t get out ofthe bed.

She made herself sit up, her limbs shakingwith the exertion. Her eyes moved aroundthe room and spotted a note lying on the bedside table. It wasfrom Lucian, calling her for training.

A heavy sigh escaped heras she got herself back up. She had no option butto comply, still dazed from the events of the day before.

As Serena reached the training grounds,Lucian and the pack's inner circle were already present. The air was heavy with tension and Serena couldfeel the weight of their expectations in her bones. She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling tiny beneaththeir watchful eyes.

“Welcome, today we're going to work on your combat skills,” Lucian said, his eyes glimmering like sharpened blades,making her skin crawl. “You have have to learn how to defend yourself,Serena.”

He spoke witha firmness that left little space for doubt. "Shift," Lucian commanded. “You’re going to be fightingwith some of our greatest warriors. If you can defeat them all, then you’re ready.”

The training was brutal, more so than Serenahad expected. Her entire body screamed with pain after every move, every strike, but shepushed past all of it. She learned quickly,with sharp instincts — but she was raw inside, and it clouded her concentration.

“Focus, Onyx Wolf,” Dorian growled when Serena found herself on the defensive again fromDorian’s merciless onslaught. She had already vanquished the other warriors, and now it was Dorian’sturn. His scent, sharp and earthy and devastatinglyintoxicating, overwhelmed her senses, blurred her ability to think.

And whenthe training dragged on, Serena noticed she was slowing down, her action becoming cumbersome and uncoordinated. Her responses were slow, andshe could feel the pack’s disappointment bearing down on her. She could feel the skepticism in their eyes — that she would never be able to meet theirexpectations.

“Serena, setyour sights on your target!” Lucian called out from thesidelines, his tone sharp and snappish. Dorian tossed her tothe ground yet again, his iron grip easily over powering her. She struggled to breathe,her limbs twitching with effort to rise.

"ENOUGH!" When she was breathing less and less, when her body couldn’tkeep up, Lucian’s voice was sharp and absolute. “How will she everprove herself to the Council if she can’t defend herself?” Dorian growled with an exasperated tone ashe returned to human form in his place.

“I am the Alpha, Dorian,” Lucian said,low but filled with authority. "And I said stand down. Well, that's alltraining for today."

“Yes, Alpha,” Dorian gritted through his teeth before he morphedinto his human form and bolted out of the training ground.

Serena strained against the corner of the room; shekneeled and shuddered. All she felt she could do was stare hunched down to the floor asif the statements running through her head would return to her one by one, innumerable as they were — confusion, to be sure, and then, regret.

“Leave the room, all of you,” Lucian saidsharply. The members of the inner circle filtered out, one by one, and soon, it was just him and Serena,facing each other across the empty training grounds.

Lucian stared at her for a long moment, eyes measuring, as ifreading her soul. Then, with slow and measuredsteps, he walked up to her. When he caught up to her, he squatted in front of her, bringing himself downto her level.

“Look at me, littlewolf,” he said, his voice low and firm. Serena didn’t respond. She was not really there, her eyesfocused on something in a distant place.

"I said look at me, Serena!" Lucian’svoice became sharper, more demanding. This time, Serena listened, her eyes rising tomeet his.

She spokewith a cracking voice. “I can’t do this,” she said, shaking her head back and forthrapidly, tears welling again.

“Have you forgottenthe agreement we made? Lucian’s voice was severe, butthere was a note of something else, maybe frustration, maybe something deeper. “Youprotect me, and I help you take out the Silver Ridge pack. You knewwhat you were signing up to.”

“They were my family,” Serena said,her voice bitter with pain.

“Notnow,” Lucian snapped. “Are you forgetting how they hunted youlike game? How they betrayed you? I SAVED YOU!" His voice was a shout into silence, an urgent effort to pull her back intohis world.

Serena recoiled at his outburst, yet the cold hollowness in her chest onlyswelled. “Icannot go in front of the Council. They will neveraccept me," she whispered, doubt drenching her voice.

"Then just focus on summoning and reigning in your power," Luciansaid, his tone softer yet surely flooded with confidence. "Leave the Council to me."

Back home, however, allwas not well at the Silver Ridge pack. Elias also sat at his desk,fingers pressed into the edges as he thought of Serena. One personhe had promised to protect — Serena — and that was almost unbearably heavy.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by a knock onthe door. It washis beta, Owen, entered and sat before he was invited.

"You sent for me?" And then Owen asked with a heartfull of curiosity.

“I have to see Isolde again,” Elias said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, his eyes blurredwith uncertainty. "Serena refused to come back. There might be a way toreverse it, and Isolde might know how.”

“I knew this was going tohappen,” Owen whispered, his eyes going big as he understood its significance. “You can’t bring her back,Elias. She's made her choice."

"Can you take me to Isolde?" Elias said with growing desperation inhis voice.

The smile onOwen’s face faded. "She can’t help you, Elias. This is Serena’s fate."

Elias’s hands tightened intofists. "How is that even possible? She ismeant to be here with us, in Silver Ridge.”

Owen’s gaze hardened. "No. Shewas never yours to take, Omega. Long before you,the darkness picked her.” Elias blinked and confusionset in. “I… I don’t understand.”

His voice lowered,laced with equal parts pity and anger. "She is not just a werewolf. She is the direct descendant ofthe ancient ones. The darknessis not a curse — it’s a gift.

The words landed onElias like a physical blow. His anger and frustration only grew as he understood what Owenwas saying. Doomwas falling upon Silver Ridge, and all the werewolf world. He wasn’t about to let Serena go—notnow that he understood the truth.

AsElias tried to digest Owen’s words, another knock on the door broke the silence.

“Come in,” Elias said, his voice taut withtension.

The dooropened, and there stood his beta, again.

“Elias,” thebeta said with urgency in his voice. “There’s a meeting of the Council, the Night Fang pack is getting ready to gosee them. They’re seeking Serena."

Owen andElias’s eyes met. The gravity of the momentloomed large in the air.

“Doom awaits,” Owen muttered darkly.