Chapter 10

Chapter 10
The Decision 

The shadows were lengthening and reaching into every nook and cranny of the forest as the night had descended farther than usual. Kade and I stood in a clearing illuminated by the icy glow of the full and bright moon. His steely eyes watched me with the weight of an unasked question, yet he remained silent. a query I was still unsure of how to respond to.

I had experienced an exciting and worrisome change in myself during the last few weeks. My body had become faster, stronger, and more sensitive to the energy I was using. It was more than just physical, though. A deeper, darker aspect of myself that I wasn't sure I could control was starting to emerge.

Kade also saw it. Although he remained silent, his silences were quite telling. The way his eyes lingered longer on my face, probing, asking, the way he examined me when I pushed myself more during our training sessions.

He was aware.

Although he was aware of my changes, he wasn't sure if they were worthwhile.

I no longer felt soft. I didn't feel exposed. The days of me trembling under Jake's brutality and the pressure of rejection were long gone. Someone harder had taken the place of the girl who had once bowed before the pack in shame. Someone more powerful. Someone who wouldn't bat an eyelid when walking through flames.

The weak version of myself the girl who had been rejected and the one who was unable to defend herself was no longer present in my nightmares. No. I saw the woman who had the power to crush anyone who ventured to approach her. I pictured myself standing above them, all of my anger and pain leaking out of me until only ashes remained.

The voice in my mind had become more distinct and louder. In the middle of night, I heard a murky mumble. Initially akin to poison, its words had now taken on the qualities of an addictive substance.

Locate them. They won't anticipate you.

The concealing period was over.

The hour for retaliation had arrived.

I had never experienced such a feeling before. No one was afraid. Without hesitation. Just assurance. The route was established. The betrayal and the pack were irrelevant now. I was no longer obligated to them. Now, I was my own power. Whether they liked it or not, I would leave my stamp on this earth.

My thoughts were shattered by Kade's voice, which pierced the darkness like a razor.

He continued softly, "You're not the same," with a tone that I couldn't identify—one of worry, dread, or perhaps even a trace of regret.

I raised my head and met his eyes. He didn't have to speak aloud. His eyes showed it to me. I had changed. I wasn't going to be, either.

I sensed the weight of the question even though he wasn't asking. Had I changed into something more darker than he could have ever envisioned, or was I still a warrior?

I replied in a steady, quiet voice, "I don't need to be soft anymore." "The gentle side of me is no longer there. She is no longer there.

Between us, the words lingered. I wasn't sure if they were intended to persuade me or to reassure him. But deep within of me, I sensed this darkness, this strength. I wasn't scared of it, even though it was expanding.

Kade remained silent for a while. In an attempt to determine whether this was the same person he had taken in weeks prior, his eyes narrowed as though he were weighing me. That girl was no longer me. The girl who needed to be saved wasn't me.

It was going to be me who saved the day.

With the weight of what I was going to do pressing down on my bones, I stepped back. All of the pack, including my former group, had abandoned me. They were going to pay the price for their error, but they had already broken me.

I had no intention of pleading for their approval. I refused to bow down at their feet.

I intended to take it away from them.

In my head, the whispers became stronger and pushed me on. I could command the power. Every day I was getting more and more control over it. The urge for vengeance only intensified as a result.

I abruptly declared, "I'm leaving tonight," in a forceful voice.

Kade didn't recoil. He had anticipated this. I could see the weight in his eyes, but his demeanor relaxed a little. He was against me leaving. His jaw tensed as his chest constricted, and I could feel it. However, there was also something more profound.

His voice was low and controlled as he continued, "You're not ready."

I shook my head, and my voice had a sharp edge I had never heard before. "I don't have to be prepared. This is something I've been anticipating for a while. They won't ever anticipate me.

After hesitating, he nodded once. “I won’t stop you if you’re determined.”

I shouldn't have been hit so deeply by the words. He had no intention of trying to stop me. He was not going to obstruct me. He had noticed my transformation and the force I was growing into. He was also aware that attempting to manipulate me would simply drive me farther into the shadows.

However, I no longer required his approval. I didn't require anybody's.

I gave Kade a final look before turning to face the wilderness. I could feel the open route ahead of me beckoning to me like a magnet and drawing me in the direction of where it all began. The group. The treachery. The falsehoods.

Jake as well.

I had no intention of hesitating or being afraid before entering the den of wolves. Everything they believed they knew was about to be destroyed by the storm they had produced, and I was going to enter as it.

As if it had a mind of its own, the wind whipped up around me. I was urged to welcome the whispering shadows that danced at the borders of my senses. Now I let myself experience the darkness completely, let it envelop me. It was myself, not only a component of me.

Nobody was going to stop me, either.

The woodland engulfed me as I moved onward, my boots crunching on the cold beneath my feet.

However, something changed in the air while I was walking.

A presence. A smell familiar Jake.

Everything inside of me became motionless, and my heart stopped. Although I had anticipated this moment, I hadn't anticipated it to occur at this very moment. For him, I wasn't prepared. Not quite yet.

The voice then came to me.

Locate them. They won't anticipate you.

I could feel the blackness winding around my fingertips as the power swept through me like wildfire.

I wasn't merely approaching them.

I was headed directly toward them.

And they wouldn't anticipate me.