Chapter 17- Learning the Silver Wolf
Dawn in Blackridge came quietly.
After the chaos of the night before, Emily expected the territory to feel tense, restless, maybe even frightened. Instead, the camp seemed almost eerily calm.
Warriors moved through the clearing in steady patrol rotations. Scouts returned from the outer lines with quiet reports. Smoke curled from the kitchens as breakfast fires were lit.
The pack was preparing.
Not panicking.
Emily stood at the edge of the training grounds watching the sun creep over the trees. The sky was pale gold through the branches, and the cool morning air helped settle the restless energy still buzzing beneath her skin.
She had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes she saw the moment in the hall again-the silver light bursting across her hands, the Bloodfang wolf staring at her like he had just found buried treasure.
Or prey.
Her wolf stirred.
Restless.
Expectant.
"You're thinking too loudly."
Emily turned.
Jay was walking toward her across the field, his dark training shirt already damp with sweat as if he had been up long before sunrise.
Which, knowing him, he probably had.
She crossed her arms.
"Thinking isn't loud."
"For wolves, it can be."
He stopped a few feet away, studying her carefully.
Emily sighed.
"You're checking to see if I exploded overnight."
"Something like that."
She held out her hands.
"Still human."
Jay's gaze flicked to her fingers.
"Mostly."
Emily followed his line of sight.
The faint silver shimmer she had seen the night before wasn't visible anymore, but the memory of it made her chest tighten.
"Are you nervous?" she asked.
Jay raised an eyebrow.
"About training you?"
"Yes."
"No."
She snorted.
"That was way too confident."
Jay's mouth twitched slightly.
"I've trained warriors my entire life."
Emily tilted her head.
"Have you trained silver wolves?"
Jay paused.
"...no."
"Thought so."
Despite the tension, a small smile crept onto her face.
Jay gestured toward the center of the training field.
"Come on."
Emily followed him into the sparring ring.
The packed dirt circle was empty this early in the morning, but she could feel the attention of several nearby warriors watching from the edges of the grounds.
Word had spread quickly.
Everyone knew the silver wolf was training.
Emily muttered under her breath.
"This is embarrassing."
Jay ignored that.
"Last night your wolf pushed forward under stress."
Emily nodded.
"Yes."
"Today we figure out how to control it."
She raised a brow.
"That sounds easier said than done."
Jay stepped into the center of the ring.
"That's why we start simple."
Emily crossed her arms.
"Define simple."
Jay shifted.
The transformation was smooth and controlled, the massive black wolf appearing in seconds where the Alpha had stood.
Emily blinked.
"Oh."
Jay's wolf circled her slowly.
Even though she had seen him shift before, the size of him still stole her breath.
He was enormous.
Powerful.
His golden eyes studied her carefully.
Focus, his voice echoed through the bond.
Emily frowned.
"You're talking in my head again."
Only a little.
"Still weird."
Jay's wolf stopped in front of her.
Call your wolf.
Emily hesitated.
"I don't know how."
You do.
The bond pulsed.
Her wolf stirred immediately in response.
Emily closed her eyes.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the familiar heat began building in her chest again.
Not violent this time.
Just... present.
Her breathing slowed.
The world sharpened.
When she opened her eyes again, Jay's wolf was watching closely.
"Okay," she said slowly.
"That worked."
Now push it further.
Emily frowned.
"How?"
Jay lunged.
Not to attack.
But fast enough to trigger instinct.
Emily's wolf exploded forward in response.
Heat rushed through her body.
Bones shifted slightly.
Her nails lengthened.
Silver flickered across her skin.
Emily gasped.
"Jay!"
But he didn't stop circling.
Control it.
Her wolf snarled inside her chest.
Emily forced herself to breathe.
Slow.
Steady.
The silver glow flickered again.
Then steadied.
Jay stopped moving.
His wolf lowered its head slightly.
Approval.
Emily looked down at her hands.
Silver claws.
Not fully shifted.
But stronger than before.
She laughed breathlessly.
"Okay... that's new."
Jay shifted back instantly.
"You held it."
Emily stared at her hands.
"I actually did."
The silver slowly faded again as she relaxed.
Jay watched carefully.
"That's the first step."
Emily wiped sweat from her forehead.
"What's the second step?"
Jay's expression darkened slightly.
"Learning to fight with it."
Emily groaned.
"I was afraid you were going to say that."
Before Jay could respond, a runner burst onto the training grounds.
"Alpha!"
Jay turned.
The young scout skidded to a stop.
"We found another message."
Jay's expression hardened immediately.
"Where?"
"Outer border stone."
Emily felt her stomach drop.
Bloodfang again.
Jay took the folded parchment the scout handed him.
He opened it slowly.
Read.
Then went very still.
Emily stepped closer.
"What does it say?"
Jay handed her the note.
The message was written in dark ink.
But the handwriting was sharp.
Confident.
Dangerously calm.
Emily Vale.
You belong to Bloodfang.
Come willingly, and your pack survives.
Hide behind the Blackridge Alpha... and I will take you anyway.
Emily felt cold.
Not because of the threat.
Because Marcus knew her name.
Jay took the note back slowly.
"Marcus is done waiting."
Emily met his gaze.
"Good."
Jay blinked.
"That's not the reaction I expected."
Emily folded her arms.
"Because now we know exactly what he wants."
Jay studied her carefully.
"And?"
Emily's wolf stirred again.
Silver energy flickered beneath her skin.
"Now we stop him."