Chapter 66 Isolation and Growth
LIRA POV
The northern cabin was small, cold, and exactly what I deserved.
I sat on the floor with my back against the wall, counting the burns on my hands. Fifteen distinct marks where the fire had consumed my own flesh. They'd heal eventually, but the pack members I'd hurt might not be so lucky.
Three days had passed since the blood moon. Three days of silence except for the guards outside who changed shifts every six hours. They never spoke to me, never looked through the small window in the door.
I was dangerous, unstable A weapon that couldn't be trusted.
"Stop wallowing." Selwyn's voice broke through my spiral. "You're wasting time."
"What else should I do?" I asked bitterly. "Practice burning things? I'm so good at that already."
"Practice controlling what you burn." She pressed against my consciousness, insistent. "The power isn't the problem, your fear of it is."
I wanted to argue, but she was right. The fire hadn't hurt anyone until I'd panicked, until I'd tried to force it down instead of directing it.
"Fine." I stood, every muscle protesting. "What do we do?"
"Meditate. Like Dmitri taught us before you decided his lessons weren't good enough."
The criticism stung because it was fair. I'd been so busy proving I was strong enough, capable enough, that I'd skipped the foundation work. The breathing exercises and visualization that seemed boring compared to combat training.
I settled into the meditation pose, cross-legged with my palms up. Closed my eyes and tried to find the calm center Dmitri had described.
The fire stirred immediately.
"Don't fight it." Selwyn's voice was gentle now. "Invite it in. Let it flow through you like water, not fight against you like an enemy."
I breathed in slowly, imagining the silver flames not as a wildfire but as a stream. Flowing from some deep well inside me, through my veins, gentle and controlled.
The energy resisted at first, used to my fear and rejection. But gradually, painfully, it began to follow the pattern I created.
In through my core, out through my hands. A circuit of power that didn't explode outward but circled back, contained.
"Good." Selwyn's approval warmed me. "Again. And again. Until it becomes natural."
Hours passed, the sun moved across the sky. My legs went numb, then my back started cramping, but I didn't stop.
In and out. Flow and return, power without destruction.
By sunset, I could summon small flames to my palms and extinguish them at will. Could feel the moonfire potential without losing myself to it. It wasn't mastery, but it was progress.
A sound at the window made me open my eyes. One of the guards peered in, his expression shocked.
"You're glowing." He backed away quickly. "The silver light, it's all around you."
I looked down at my hands, he was right. A soft luminescence emanated from my skin. Not the wild flame from before, but steady moonlight.
The guard hurried away, probably to report this new development.
Let them report, Selwyn said. Let them see you're learning.
Night fell. I continued practicing, pushing myself to hold the flames longer, shape them into different forms. The door opened without warning.
Dmitri stepped inside, his face shadowed. "Impressive light show."
"How did you get past the guards?" I stood quickly, extinguishing the flames.
"I have my ways." He moved closer, studying me. "You're learning faster than I expected. Good."
"You're not supposed to be here." I glanced at the door. "Kael will kill you if he finds out."
"Kael locked his mate in a cage like an animal." His voice was cold. "I'm not particularly concerned with his opinions."
The words hit harder than they should have. Because he was right. Kael had chosen the pack's safety over me once again.
"He did what he had to do." I defended him anyway. "I hurt people."
"You lost control once." Dmitri pulled out a leather case. "That doesn't make you a monster, it just makes you untrained."
He opened the case, revealing silver daggers and combat gear.
"What are those for?" I asked warily.
"Your real education." He handed me a dagger. "Meditation is fine, but you need to learn to control your power under stress. In combat."
"I'm not supposed to leave the cabin." I held the blade carefully. "And I definitely shouldn't be training to fight."
"Since when do you follow rules that hurt you?" He raised an eyebrow. "The Lira I've been training would tell me to shut up and start the lesson."
He was manipulating me. I could see it clearly. But gods, I was so tired of being locked away, of being treated like I was broken.
"Fine." I moved to the center of the small room. "What first?"
"Attack me." He drew his own blade. "With everything you have. Moonfire included."
"I'll burn you." I shook my head. "I can barely control it standing still, let alone fighting."
"Then you'll burn me." He shrugged. "I heal fast, now attack before I change my mind."
I hesitated for one more second. Then I lunged.
He blocked my strike easily, his blade ringing against mine. "Faster. Use your wolf speed."
I let Selwyn's strength flow through me, attacking again. This time I forced him back a step.
"Better." He circled me. "Now add the fire, just a little. Coat your blade."
"That's insane." I blocked his counter-strike. "I could lose control again."
"You won't." His eyes met mine. "Because this time you're not afraid but you angry."
He was right. Anger burned through me, hot and clean. Anger at Kael for locking me away. At the pack for fearing me, at myself for losing control.
I channeled that anger into the moonfire, let it flow down my arm to the blade. Silver flames erupted along the edge.
Dmitri smiled. "There she is, the true Moonblood Luna."
We fought for an hour. He pushed me harder than anyone ever had, forcing me to maintain the flames while attacking, defending, moving. Every time I started to lose control, he'd strike fast enough to make me focus.
By the end, I was exhausted but exhilarated. The moonfire felt like an extension of myself now, not a foreign entity trying to consume me.
"Good work." He sheathed his blade, examining a small burn on his forearm. "You're ready for the next phase."
"Which is what?" I asked, breathing hard.
"Hunting." His expression turned serious. "There are rogues still lingering in the forest from the attack, let’s see how you do against real enemies."
"Dmitri, I can't just leave." I gestured at the locked door. "The guards"
"Are loyal to Kael, who's abandoned you." He moved to the door. "Or they're loyal to you, their Luna, who's being imprisoned unjustly. Either way, they won't stop us."
He was right again. When he opened the door, the two guards stood frozen, uncertain.
"Your Luna needs to patrol the territory." Dmitri's voice carried absolute authority. "Will you stop her?"
They looked at each other, then stepped aside. I walked past them, into the night air.
"This is a mistake." I told Dmitri quietly. "Kael will see it as betrayal."
"Kael sees everything you do as either submission or betrayal." He handed me combat gear. "It's time you stopped caring which one he chooses to believe."
We moved into the forest, my senses sharp and clear. I could smell rogue markers, could hear movement in the underbrush.
Three rogues emerged from the shadows, their eyes wild and hungry.
"Remember," Dmitri said softly. "Controlled burns not wildfire."
I shifted, letting Selwyn take over. The moonfire came naturally now, coating my fur like armor.
The first rogue charged. I met him head-on, my flames searing his shoulder. Enough to wound, not to kill.
The second and third attacked together. I moved like Dmitri had taught me. Burned one's leg, slashed the other's flank with flaming claws.
They retreated, limping and afraid.
I stood in the clearing, silver flames dancing across my fur, completely in control.
Selwyn's pride flooded through me. This is what we are. Not a monster but a weapon with purpose.
"Perfect." Dmitri shifted back to human form. "That's exactly what I wanted to see."
A branch snapped behind us.
I spun, flames ready, to find Kael standing at the edge of the clearing. His face was a mask of fury and betrayal.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" His voice was deadly quiet.
Dmitri stepped between us. "Teaching your mate what you should have taught her weeks ago. Control."
"You're banished." Kael's command presence pressed against us both. "I told you to stay away from her."
"And you told her to stay locked in a cabin like a prisoner." Dmitri didn't back down. "Which command do you think matters more?"
Kael's eyes found mine. "Is this what you want? To sneak around with him? To disobey direct orders?"
"I want to stop being treated like I'm broken." My voice shook with anger and hurt. "I want my mate to fight for me instead of locking me away."
"I'm protecting you." He moved closer. "Protecting the pack from."
"From me." I finished. "Say it. You're protecting them from the monster you think I am."
"That's not" He reached for me.
"Don't touch me." I backed away, flames rising. "You lost that right when you chose them over me. Again."
"Lira, please." His voice cracked. "I can't lose you."
"Then stop pushing me away." Tears mixed with the silver light glowing from my skin. "Stop making me choose between being your mate and being myself."
Kael looked between Dmitri and me, his expression agonized. "If I find him on pack lands again, I will kill him. No warnings. No mercy."
He shifted and disappeared into the forest, leaving me standing in the clearing with my uncle and my broken heart.
"He's afraid of losing control," Dmitri said quietly. "Of losing you. Of losing everything."
"Then maybe he should try holding on instead of pushing away." I extinguished my flames, suddenly exhausted. "I'm done begging for scraps of his trust."
"Good." Dmitri squeezed my shoulder. "Because you deserve so much more than that."
We walked back to the cabin in silence.