Despite the lingering pain spanning my shoulder blades, sides, arms, and stomach, I was surprised I'd lasted this long on my feet. My breathing sounded painful, even to my own ears. Every inhale felt as if I were breathing in small shards of glass that tore into the inner lining of my throat.

"I thought that kick should've knocked you down and kept you down." Ace's distorted voice cackled through the earpiece.

I wiped the sweat over my brow and exercised patience. I was infuriated. I obeyed his demands- right punch, duck, twist to the left- but each manoeuvre was met by a hasty counterattack. It was nice to know Solkolov didn't tone down his strength solely because I was a woman, but it didn't help that he had a subtle ally in Ace who was purposely butchering our performance.

"What's wrong? Tired? Does little Aella Bella want to stop?" Ace's condescending tone lingered in my ear like a broken disc stuck on replay.

I bit down on my tongue to keep my retort to myself and focused on breathing. Yes, breathing. In-out-in-out-in-

"Did Aella Bella finally realise that she doesn't have the skills to be part of the Elite Syndicate?" He snickered like a little boy.

I ignored his words and flexed my fingers, closing and opening them with every inhale and exhale I took.

"Look, you and I both know that the status of an Elite Syndicate Enforcer isn't within your reach. You've made it this far. How about you end this now? I'll make sure that Alpha Bennett will overlook your eagerness to leave the Pack. He knows why you're here and he isn't going to like it at first, but I'll soften him up a bit. What do you think little Aella?" He asked, a tint hopeful. It was truly sad. He even softened his tone, like he believed he could coerce me into doing something I didn't want to.

"I think I'm good where I am Ace. I quite like it here." I replied, before I abruptly ducked, feeling the air stir against me. I knew Solkolov's boot had just swung over my head. It was so close from shattering my head. However, my triumph only lasted a few scant seconds before I felt his fist collide with my diaphragm. My bones rattled as oxygen rushed out from my lungs in a forceful whoosh of air.

"Should've been paying attention." Ace's voice cackled through the earpiece.

I fought the urge to rip the damn earpiece off but I couldn't. Ace only had power if I let him use it on me. Therefore, I ignored his little whispers of mockery and tried to focus on where Solkolov was.

I couldn't see, hear, or smell him but I could feel the air around me stir if I concentrated deeply enough. I was panting hard, and I was sure my nose was bleeding. I could taste the iron in my mouth. There were places on my body I knew would be bruised but right now, that didn't matter.

I focused solely on the air around me, feeling the slight stirs here and there. Solkolov was circling me, that much I could tell. He was good because the wind barely moved. Although Solkolov had managed to beat the hell out of me, he hadn't been paying attention to what I had been doing.

Which was why when I felt the air stir unnaturally behind me, I quickly ducked, grabbing his boot. I didn't wait a second before I tugged hard on his ankle where he lost balance. I took the opportunity to twist back around, grab his arms and throw him down where I quickly leaped onto his stomach and held him down with my weight.

Although I couldn't see or hear him, I knew I took him off-guard. His chest moved erratically beneath me. It took a moment for his body to slacken from shock. "Check. Mate." I grinned.

I moved off him when I counted to three. I quickly took off my blindfold, earpiece, and nose device. My vision was slightly blurry but when they adjusted to the light, I watched Solkolov slowly straighten from his sprawled position. He was still a little surprised and almost wary now as he brushed his sides absently while still staring at me.

Ace wasn't speaking either. He just stood to my side, holding the speaker device in his slack hand.

Around me, the little combat battles were coming to an end. It wasn't a shock that most of the Elite Syndicate members were still standing, and the others were not.

I was pleased to see that Pen managed to fight her weight against Jamison, despite her obvious bleeding lips and bruised up arms. The only thing Jamison earned from the scuffle was a tiny scratch at his temple.

Both still stood.

Seamus, who had been overlooking the whole thing, examined the scene. "Well, it looks like some of you have been improving, some faster than others but improvement, nonetheless. However, there are a few of you who've completely ignored the concept of trust or have failed to understand it. Those who've failed will have their names pinned outside the Pack House by midnight. If your name is on the list and you believe my decision is wrong, I'll allow you a chance to appeal."

When his gaze landed on me, the earlier amusement disappeared. He didn't look away when he spoke again, this time with less finesse "Being a part of the Elite Syndicate isn't a smooth path. You'll suffer. I can guarantee that. You'll shed some blood, sweat and tears but in the end, you'll find something special at the end of the journey- an unbreakable bond between warriors, a family."

I may have resembled a doll who'd just seen the inside of a torture device, bleeding and aching in my joints but his words echoed in my eardrums long after he left.

You'll find something special...

An unbreakable bond between warriors...

A family.

The flare of hope that fluttered low in my cauldron of emotions scared the shit out of me. It was a dangerous feeling.

***

Limping away with blood smeared beneath my nostrils with a swollen eye to match wasn't one of the greatest moments in my life.

There was a lot, but this had to be in the top five slots alongside the time I failed to sneak out of the flat when I was fourteen. The plan was simple. At sunset, I'd be out of the apartment and out of sight by the time Ma would return from work. I had one real obstacle. Our fence. It wasn't high but the sharp tips on the top scared me. I didn't want a single spike piercing a single butt cheek of mine.

Unfortunately, the escape was a complete fail. As soon as I was straddling the fence, I made the final move to manoeuvre my other leg over the fence but failed. As soon as I jumped down, my descent abruptly halted as a loud ripping noise cut through the air.

Ma had a perfect view of my fail when she drove into the driveway an hour later.

I ended up with my skirt caught in the wire fence and my pink panties exposed for the whole neighbourhood to ogle at.

She took one long look at me and laughed herself into tears. She didn't even punish me, claiming my humiliation was punishment enough. That was the first and last time I attempted to sneak out.

***

Call me twisted or whatever but I chose the same field I'd slaughtered the possessed changeling to unleash my wolf. The tree where the changeling died against still carried the deep, jagged marks of my stars as a stark reminder of that night.

I struggled to breath as I flopped unceremoniously upon a large rock protruding from the discoloured patch of grass. My ass hurt from the contact but so did everything else on my body. Sure, the minor cuts had begun to disappear but the aches along my limbs would take a little longer to heal. The few bone fractures would take a few days to completely heal.

Hence, why I needed to let my wolf out.

I rarely unleashed her because when she took control of our body, it was difficult to stop her from doing things she insisted on. Also, my wolf counterpart was uniquely large for a female. It made me a little self-conscious because all the other she-wolves I had seen were smaller and dainty. She was a light silver shade with a white patch that covered her right ear. Her scruff was a darker grey and her eyes the same as mine- blue-green.

This had been the longest time I'd kept her chained and I was beginning to feel her desperation to be let loose.

She had burrowed further into hiding after the Full Moon event. She hadn't made any real attempt to ensure me that she was okay. She felt distant and out of reach until she felt the distress in my body, wanting to heal.

I felt her sudden appearance like a maternal touch. She wanted to come out.

I closed my eyes and felt the change in me. The familiar sensation as if you're falling from a high peak where butterflies blossomed in your belly came. Tingles danced across my skin as I felt my bone realign and change. The noise around me intensified alongside my vision. I could now see the pores in the flower buds, the fine veins in the wings of insects, the microscopic hairs on the yellow plant beside my paw and the smells.... they were overpowering.

There was that earthy fragrance of the dirt.

The fresh, citric scent of the dewy grass.

The poignant sweet allure of the flowers.

My wolf didn't dart off like usual when I surrendered the last strands of control. Whenever she surfaced, I took the backseat in our consciousness. I was aware of what she did, but she held the reins now. She was strangely relaxed as she laid on her belly and took in the rustling trees.

By now, she would've chased after the nearest moving creature. Although she was big, she was like a puppy. Curious and a troublemaker to the core.

In combat, she was different.

Brutal and merciless- another reason I didn't unleash her, especially in combat. Once she got a whiff of danger, she'd be off in a battle frenzy, and it'd take a while to finally pull in the reins from her control.

I needed to hear her voice. It'd been way too long. Sure, I got a gist of her emotions when I had control, but I never could speak with her.

She explained it to me once. In our human form, she'd be tucked away. I knew she'd be there, but she'd be dormant. A spectator only, with no words. I could sense her feelings but never hear her words. It was only when she took control, she could speak since more control was in her grasp.

Why are waiting here?

I forgot we were injured.

I'm sorry. I didn't take care of us.

I also forgot how competitive my wolf was.

Okay, I'll let you have them next time.

I chuckled at her feisty response.

No, you'll behave.

No!

I was full on laughing now.

There was no way to stop her from sounding like a psychopath. She was making me laugh like a lunatic until it hurt from doing it. It'd been so long that I let myself go like this. It was just what I needed.

Thank you for making me laugh.

With you, I do.

Yes. You're funny.

As my body healed, I watched the sun set until the last streams of amber light disappeared behind the crooked mountains in the distance. It was incredible the view the Shadow Hunters had. Their land was beautiful, both in the light of the sun and moon.

When night fell, I felt much better.

No aches, broken bones, or cuts.

It didn't take long before we were off like a bullet between the trees.

I felt sorry for the poor racoon as we chased after it. We followed it between two trees, over a muddy patch of terrain and over a few fallen logs. The little thing was tiring as it desperately scratched on the trunk of a tree. The excitement in my wolf was blinding as she cornered it.

Let him go.

C'mon, let's play with something else.

Although her response was reluctant, we did go chasing after other poor targets. When there was nothing left to chase, we made work of sharpening our claws against the bark. It wasn't long before we were darting through the trees again, chasing something new.

It was only when the sun rose the next morning, she finally relented control into my hands. I was aching all over from our night-time play, but it was worth it when I spied the wide grin on my lips in the bathroom mirror.

The girl is the mirror looked happy.