The Lycan's Hidden Flame

Elsa

The air was thick with tension as I stood across from Garrick, trying to center myself. Sweat trickled down my forehead, but it wasn't from exertion. No, this was something else—a pulsing, restless energy that seemed to be growing inside me, clawing to get out. My hands shook slightly, not from fear but from the intensity of the force that thrummed just beneath the surface.

"You're doing better today," Garrick said, his voice a little too calm. He'd been training me relentlessly over the past few days, trying to help me control this… thing inside me. The thing I didn't fully understand, but that I knew was dangerous. Very dangerous.

"Let's try again," he added, his stance defensive but not threatening. "Focus, Elsa. Don't let your emotions control you."

Emotions? If only it were that simple. Everything inside me felt like it was teetering on the edge of something—something wild and primal—and I had no idea how to rein it in.

I nodded curtly, taking a deep breath and trying to push away the thoughts that crowded my mind. But the more I focused, the more the anger bubbled up. Anger at the pack for treating me like an outsider, anger at Kieran for keeping me here when all I wanted was to leave, and anger at myself for not being able to control whatever this was.

"You need to breathe, Elsa," Garrick warned, his tone soft but firm.

But it was too late.

I lunged at him, not thinking, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. I was faster than I should have been, stronger than I had any right to be. The force of my strike sent Garrick flying back, his feet losing contact with the ground for a brief moment before he crashed into a training post. He let out a grunt of pain as the air whooshed out of his lungs.

Something in me snapped when I saw the blood trickling from his lip. My vision blurred, the world narrowing to just him—just this. My heart hammered in my chest, and for a split second, I didn't recognize myself.

"Elsa!" Garrick's voice cut through the haze, but it was like hearing it from underwater.

I took another step forward, ready to strike again, but something held me back. The feeling was almost physical—a weight pressing down on me, telling me to stop.

I froze, breathing heavily, my body trembling with the urge to destroy. I could feel my teeth starting to ache, a strange pressure building in my jaw, and then there was that voice again—the one I had come to dread.

Let go. Embrace it.

"Enough!" Kieran's voice, sharp and commanding, shattered the silence.

I snapped my head toward him, my body still shaking with the adrenaline coursing through my veins. His eyes were black, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might break. The shift was so sudden that it was almost impossible to reconcile the cold Alpha I'd been dealing with for days with the animal that lurked beneath. He was a storm contained in a body.

"Elsa," he said again, quieter this time, but with an edge of something deeper. "Step back. Now."

But my legs didn't listen. They felt like they were rooted to the ground, unwilling to obey his command.

Garrick, still on the ground, slowly started to push himself up, his breath shallow but steady. "Kieran," he rasped, his eyes locked on me. "She's too dangerous. You have to tell her the truth."

For a moment, Kieran didn't respond. His gaze flicked to Garrick, then to me. His eyes softened, just barely, before the cold mask returned.

"No," Kieran said firmly, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "Not yet."

"Not yet?" Riley, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, now stepped forward, his expression hard and unforgiving. "How much longer are you going to keep this from her, Kieran? She's too dangerous—she needs to know what she is, or she's going to destroy us all."

Kieran's jaw tightened, the muscles working under his skin as he clenched his fists. I could see the strain in his posture, the conflict warring inside him. He was battling something far darker than I could understand.

"I said no," Kieran repeated, his voice cold as ice. "She's not ready."

"Ready for what?" Riley spat, his eyes blazing with frustration. "You think keeping her in the dark will protect her? Or us? She has a part to play in this, and we all know it. You've known from the beginning."

The silence that followed was thick, oppressive. My mind was reeling, trying to process everything. What was going on? What was I? Why was Kieran so determined to keep me in the dark? What wasn't he telling me?

But before I could ask, Kieran turned on his heel, his back rigid with barely-contained rage. "We're done here," he said, his voice final.

He walked away without a single glance back, the sound of his boots echoing in the silence that followed.

I stood there, my body still trembling with the aftermath of whatever had just happened. I didn't even know how to feel about it. My pulse was erratic, my mind spinning in a thousand different directions.

"You're not the only one who's been left in the dark," Garrick muttered, brushing dirt off his clothes and slowly standing. "But I can't let you lose control like that again, Elsa. It's not just dangerous for you—it's dangerous for everyone."

"I didn't mean to—" I started, but the words caught in my throat.

"You need to control it," he said, his voice harsh but not unkind. "Or someone might not be around to stop you next time."

Before I could respond, there was a sound from behind us—a soft rustle, like something shifting in the trees. My senses were on high alert in an instant, every nerve in my body tingling as if a storm was coming.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, my voice low.

Garrick's eyes narrowed, and he motioned for me to stay silent. Slowly, cautiously, he reached for the knife at his belt.

"Stay here," he murmured, stepping forward to investigate. "I'll check it out."

I didn't wait. I followed him, my instincts screaming at me to move, to do something. As we approached the edge of the training yard, I saw it—a symbol etched into the dirt, faint but unmistakable.

A crescent moon, surrounded by runes I didn't recognize.

"What is this?" I whispered, crouching down to touch the ground.

Garrick cursed under his breath, his expression darkening.

"Zoran," he muttered, as if the name was a curse. "They're here."

Before I could ask him what he meant, the sound of footsteps echoed in the distance. I froze, my heart hammering in my chest.

And then I saw him—a figure in the distance, cloaked in shadows.

Zoran.

And he was coming closer.