Chapter 8 THE GLOW

I couldn’t shake the dream.

Even after I dragged myself out of the cot and splashed cold water on my face, the silver light on my hands kept flashing behind my eyes. It felt too real. Like my skin remembered it even if my brain didn’t want to. My wolf was quiet again this morning, but I could feel her there, resting, like she’d used up everything she had whispering to me last night. The loneliness was still heavy in my chest, but it wasn’t quite as crushing. That tiny change scared me almost as much as the nightmare did.

Mira didn’t give me time to think about it. She banged on the door like always. “Field. Now. And try not to look like you’re about to puke this time.”

I pulled on the same baggy clothes and followed her out. The camp was busy, wolves moving around like they had real lives and real places to be. I kept my head down, but I still felt the stares. They were getting familiar now. The same mix of suspicion and disgust. Jax was waiting at the edge of the training field again, staff in his hand, that ugly smirk on his face.

“Back for more, stray?” he called out. “Or you gonna run to Alpha again and cry about how mean we are?”

A couple of the others laughed. My face burned hot. The shame hit me so hard my stomach twisted. I wanted to snap at him, tell him to fuck off, but the words stuck in my throat. Instead I just picked up a staff and stepped into the circle. My arms still ached from yesterday, but I swung first this time. The crack of wood on wood echoed across the field. Jax laughed and came back harder, catching me in the side. Pain flared, but I didn’t fall. I stayed on my feet.

My wolf whispered, faint but there. "Left. Block left."

I blocked left. The hit glanced off. Jax’s eyes narrowed. “Lucky again.”

It wasn’t luck. It was her. Every time she spoke, she sounded a little stronger. A little more like the wolf I used to have before Lucifer ripped everything apart. It made my chest feel warm for half a second, but the warmth scared me too. What if she came back all the way and I still couldn’t protect us from any of this?

We kept going. I took more hits than I landed, but I landed some. The pack watched in silence now. No laughter this time. Just quiet stares. Mira called the break after a while and I dropped onto the log at the edge, breathing hard, sweat mixing with the mud on my face. My ribs hurt. My pride hurt. But I didn’t feel quite as small as yesterday.

Ronan showed up a few minutes later. He walked straight across the field like he’d been waiting for the right moment. He stopped in front of me, close enough that I could smell the pine and frost on him. His green eyes flicked over the new bruise on my side, then back to my face. His jaw tightened for a second, like he didn’t like what he saw, but he didn’t say anything about it.

“You’re moving better,” he said, voice low so only I could hear. “Wolf talking to you more?”

I nodded, throat tight. “Yeah. She told me how to block. Twice. It felt… real. Like she’s actually here again.”

He didn’t look surprised. He just nodded once, like he’d expected it. “I’ve heard stories about that happening after a bad rejection. Power starts pushing through. Dreams get loud. Wolf gets louder. It’s not always easy, but it’s a start.”

He didn’t explain more. He never did. He just stood there, shoulders tense, like being close to me pulled at something he was trying not to show. I felt it too — that faint tug in my chest, quiet but stubborn. It wasn’t strong like Lucifer’s had been at the beginning. It didn’t feel like chains. It felt like… steady. Like someone standing in the same storm as me and not running away. It scared the hell out of me.

“I don’t know what any of it means,” I said, voice cracking a little. “The dream last night… it felt like they knew something about me. Like they’ve been waiting for it. And the light on my hands… it was silver. Like the moon was inside my skin. I’m scared, Ronan. What if it’s not just me being crazy? What if it’s something worse?”

He looked at me for a long moment. His green eyes were serious, but there was something careful in them, like he was choosing every word. “I’ve heard of things like that before. Old stories in the pack. Wolves who got rejected hard and something… changed. I don’t have answers. But you’re safe here while we figure it out. That’s all I can give you right now.”

His words didn’t fix anything, but they didn’t dismiss me either. He was just… there. Steady. No big promises. No lies. It made the fear in my chest loosen a little, but it also made the loneliness feel sharper. I wanted to believe this place could be different. I wanted it so bad it hurt. But the last time I believed somewhere was safe, I ended up on my knees in the gravel while the whole pack watched me get thrown away.

Before I could say anything else, a sharp cramp hit my stomach. Harder than before. I pressed my hand there without thinking, breath catching. It wasn’t hunger. It wasn’t the training. It felt deeper. Like something small and insistent was trying to get my attention. I rubbed it, confused and scared, but the cramp eased after a second. I dropped my hand fast before Ronan could notice.

He did anyway. His eyes flicked down to my stomach for half a second, but he didn’t ask. He just nodded once. “Rest today if you need to. The pack is still watching, but they’re starting to see you’re not running. That counts for something.”

He walked away then, shoulders still tense, like every step away from me cost him. I watched him go, the faint tug in my chest pulling harder for a moment before it settled. My wolf whispered again, almost gentle. "He sees… more than he says."

I almost smiled. Almost.

The rest of the day dragged. I stacked firewood until my arms burned. I helped carry supplies until my back ached. The whispers were still there, but a couple of wolves nodded at me when I passed. Not friendly. Not yet. But not hateful either. It was tiny. Stupidly tiny. But it felt like the first crack in the wall they’d built around me.

That night I lay on the cot again, staring at the ceiling. The dream kept flashing behind my eyes... the silver light, my wolf screaming, Serena’s sharp smile. The cramp in my stomach came back once, low and pulling, but I ignored it. I couldn’t think about that right now. Not when everything else was already too much.

My wolf whispered one last time before I fell asleep.

"We are more than they think."

I closed my eyes and held onto it.

The dream didn’t come back that night.

But I knew it would.

And when it did, I would be ready.

Or at least I hoped I would.