Chapter 8

The Dark Awakens

The Dark Awakens, which begins immediately after Lily feels the start of something bigger than she could have ever imagined after receiving the wordless message from the shadowy figure:

I didn't get any sleep that evening. Not even after the forest became quiet once more. Even when the shadow vanished like a puff of smoke, it did not.

With my back to the wall, I sat on the cave floor with my legs tucked beneath me and my palms pushed to my breast to stop the uncontrollable trembling. Instead of rushing, my heart was too steady. As if it had accepted something that my intellect was still trying desperately to deny.

The creature's words stuck to me like ice, even though I had no idea what it was or why Kade bowed.

You're prepared.

What are you prepared for?

I wasn't. I was shattered. Turned down. Throw out. The instant Jake abandoned me, my wolf broke, and whatever I had become now wasn't her. Not entirely. No more.

The darkness was part of me, not just within me.

I looked at Kade on the other side of the cave. With his arms folded across his chest, he stood at the entrance, gazing into the trees as though he was waiting for the monster to come back.

"Who was that?" My voice was hoarse as I whispered.

He didn't respond.

Didn't even flinch.

And that was worse somehow.

Slowly, daybreak arrived. The birds did not sing, and a grey light filtered through the trees. With unsteady but compliant legs, I got to my feet. It was as if my body had undergone an overnight rewiring. I moved more silently and with greater precision. It wasn't until I let out a breath and saw the mist float away in front of me that I realized I was holding my breath.

Kade had not yet relocated.

However, he finally turned to face me when I went outside.

I said, "You saw it."

He gave one nod.

"You anticipated it."

On this occasion, he did not respond.

I moved in his direction. "Kade, what was it?"

His voice was calm and low as he added, "You already know."

I gave a headshake. "I don't."

"You'd prefer not to."

As though the previous night hadn't abruptly changed the course of events, he strolled by me and into the clearing. As if I hadn't almost ruined the forest. As though a creature of shadows hadn't made a home for itself in my soul by whispering there.

I had watched it, though.

And I had recognized it in some way.

It had not been a completely strange voice.

It reminded me of... myself. If I were deprived of suffering. of frailty. Of benevolence.

I took another look at my hands. Mine yet. Still wounded. But... able to do more.

Too much more.

With his back still turned, Kade came to a stop a few feet in front.

He remarked, "Lily, you're more than just a wolf anymore." "You're changing into someone else. Something old. Something for which we have no name.

I gazed at the location where the person had been. Like a fingerprint left by the shadow, the energy still pulsed weakly in the air there.

"This is not what I asked for."

"Nobody does." There was a touch of remorse in his voice.

I muttered, "I just wanted to survive."

At last, Kade turned, his eyes sharp. "Your purpose is not to live. Your purpose is to become.

When the training resumed later, it was different.

My form wasn't corrected by Kade. He didn't test my speed or change my grip.

Rather, he remarked, "Control the voice," while standing in the middle of the clearing. Or it will take possession of you.

That was it.

I was responsible for the rest.

I lowered myself into a position, took a breath, and concentrated.

The voice became bolder and faster. There was a roar beneath my skin, not a whisper.

Attack. More difficult. Shatter him. He is concealing something. He is afraid of you. Stop him.

I didn't pay attention. Not quite yet.

I did, however, use it.

When I moved, the blackness surged. My blows became harsher and heavier. My legs moved with uncanny accuracy. All the senses were sharpened. I could hear Kade's muscles twitching, the sound of a raven's wings beating overhead, and the wind blowing through trees half a mile away.

But there was a cost to the power.

Every time I sketched on it, my thoughts drifted farther away from my true self. I caught glimpses of fire flickers. A woodland on fire. Snow drenched with blood. A crown of darkness.

And myself, right in the middle of it all.

Not bothered.

Unforgiving.

Unstoppable.

After several hours, I passed off, my skin drenched in sweat and my pulse racing. Kade threw a flask of water at me. I didn't even look, but I caught it in midair.

He arched an eyebrow. "Quicker."

I didn't respond. When I opened my mouth, I was terrified of what would come out.

I had lost my anger.

I was hungry.

Not for consumption. Not to exact revenge.

For another reason.

Something to bring the people who hurt me to their knees.

Even Jake would seem insignificant in comparison.

Then the environment changed as the light started to disappear behind the trees once more.

The wind gave a deep, unnatural wail.

Kade tensed up next to me.

A figure appeared from the trees.

However, it was different from the previous one.

This individual wore flesh.

Wearing the frayed remains of an ancient Alpha's coat, he was tall. His eyes were completely dark. No whites. No students.

Nothing but nothingness.

He gave me a sharp look and grinned.

My inner voice yelled with realization.

Kade moved forward with his weapon out. However, the figure remained still.

Kade cautioned, "She's not ready."

The man responded, "She will be." His voice had the sound of gravel being pulled across the ice.

I slowly got to my feet.

"Who are you?" Even though I already knew, I asked.

No name. But apart.

He didn't respond to me. Simply dumped something onto the dirt between us after reaching into his coat.

A pendant.

I hadn't seen the emblem since I was a kid.

My mom's.

My blood turned to ice.

With sparkling eyes, the figure declared, "She was one of us." "You are, too."

He then disappeared into the smoke.

With trembling palms, I stood there gazing at the pendant.

I was a girl when my mother passed away.

That's what I was told, anyway.

However, if she was among them...

What was I then?

What was causing me to feel as though I was just awakening?