Chapter 2

Dylan

T he room smelled like sweat and power as Dylan circled her opponent on a black mat. The man, standing at six feet and built like a linebacker, was in the room. He had black hair that was cut short, and his gray eyes carefully assessed her every move. The dominance he carried swept through the room, pushing against her to make her submit. He showed off how relaxed he felt by moving his arms around and taking his time. The dude practically begged for it as he beckoned her with his hand to attack. Dylan was a much better judge of character than that. She knew how to watch and study her opponent to expect their movements. He had a reputation within their pack as the best fighter. He was to train the pack to be just as lethal as him on the battlefield. So far, it has worked. Their pack was the most powerful known to man. There was only one problem.

Her.

Every Shadowborn could control their wolves, whether in astral or corporal form, but not her. Dylan had tried a million times since she could shift at ten. There were moments when her wolf listened to her, and they beat their opponent to a pulp. The other times, she would still win, but it took longer than it should have, or she won by the skin of her teeth. If she had more control than she did, there would not be any contest. She was the daughter of the most powerful Alpha of Werewolves. She was an alpha in her own right. However, to make it fair, she toned her power down during sparring matches like this.

Luca was the Beta, and his attitude sometimes needed adjusting. There was no chance Luca would take it easy on her. He didn't when she was a kid, either. Being the beta and the trainer, he had to meet certain expectations. Either make the pack strong or leave to find a different alpha who would tolerate a beta that can't produce results. Since Dylan was his only failing case, he wasn't the problem, so he became much harder on her so he would not have a tainted record.

Dylan already knew Luca would not advance first. He was the one who taught her how to fight, after all, so she needed to throw him off. In all of their spars, she always attacked head-on. That was the last thing she needed to do.

Oh. I got this.

She took off in a flash, rushing at him like always. Luca smirked and lowered himself to the impact. Dylan used that cockiness to belt herself over, using her heightened strength, landed behind him, dropped to the ground, and swung her leg to the back of his knees. Building on that momentum, she stood on her feet. She moved the jump on top of them, but he rolled away. She got to her feet and waited for his move. He advanced quickly on her, swinging a right hook. Dylan evaded, and their dance began. Left hook, evade, right hook, evade. Left hook, right hook, left hook. Dylan was slipping the shots and waited for her opening to change this fight to be in her favor.

Luca moved to the sign and brought up his leg to her chest. Dylan grabbed it and tried to twirl him to throw him across the room. Luca twisted away and went to the floor to swipe at her like she did him. She thought she would be fast enough, but his leg caught her ankle as she jumped away. Her back hit the floor, knocking the wind out of her. When Luca pinned her to the ground, the smirk he wore made her want to punch it right off of him.

"Point to me." Then he got off her and helped her to her feet. "Again."

Dylan grumbled as she got to her feet. Luca looked at her with an amused face. He was enjoying that he still managed to get her to the ground even though she changed her strategy.

I'm going to wipe that smirk off his damn face.

This time, there was no circling. Dylan charged at Luca before he could say the word "begin." He also decided to run at her, which was what she anticipated. Dylan slid to the ground, striking his left knee and bringing him onto the floor. She leaped to jump on top of him, using her speed to ensure she would do this before he got up. Once he was pinned, she gave him a toothy grin and said, "Point to me."

She helped him to his feet and could tell his pride had taken a hit. It wasn't often anyone could get him on the ground. He looked her over as if to assess how she could do it. He sniffed the air to see if her power could be scented. Sometimes, for werewolves, their dominance could be hidden, but their scent's potency could carry its scent. Dylan was a dominant wolf, but she was not using her power to her advantage. She wanted to win this on her own. Luca stretched out his neck, and she heard his bones pop. It was how he told the room he meant business.

Welp, here we go.

He charged at her. Hearing his feet pound into the mat told Dylan he planned to give this his all. He was fed up with the back and forth and meant business. It made her smile knowing she could get under the Beta's skin that way. Luca hated being challenged, even by her father. He should have his own pack but was waiting for his chance to have one that needed an Alpha instead of making his own. She called to her wolf, who immediately perked up and slid into her consciousness. She will never tire of feeling her wolf's power wash over her, calling her to use her power, form, and gifts. They were two halves to a whole that moved as one. Dylan quickly jumped to the side seeing Luca charge at her and pulled onto her power to shift into her wolf.

He was fuming.

Since Dylan was not exactly a master over her abilities as a Shadowborn, people seemed to underestimate her entirely. They never seemed to remember she could shift into her wolf faster than anyone else. What took everyone else a few minutes, it took less than sixty seconds usually. This always ticked off the other dominant wolves. They feel they should be able to shift as fast as her, but no one knows what exactly determines the shift time. Dominance was a factor, but not the determining piece. Even her father took longer to shift unless he pulled on the pack bonds to help him. It always infuriated those Dylan sparred with because she could shift so fast.

Luca was before her instantly, swinging his fists and twisting his body to use his legs. Luca was throwing everything he had in his arsenal to win now. Dylan kept up with him at first but was slowly losing ground. Luca's punches landed in her chest and abdomen, and then a swift kick to her back sent her sprawling on the mat. She got up, and he advanced on her so quickly that she didn't have time to adjust before his foot caught her in her jaw. She spun until she hit the mat, a metallic taste in her mouth. She spit out the blood and got to her feet.

The wolf inside of her grew angry at her losing the fight. Dylan felt her power wash over her again, pulling on the magic they shared to bring on the shift. It wasn't a pretty sight to see a person's bones pop out of place, hair covering their skin, and muscles moving around to form their wolf shape. Once she started her shift, Luca did the same.

Werewolves were given the ability to shift into their wolf forms no matter what phase of the moon it was that day. The human and wolf were one, sharing the same soul. This gave the human half supernatural strength, speed, and hyper-heightened senses. It was the wolf's job to protect their human half, their pack members, and, of course, their mates when or if they had one. During a full moon, the moon gave the wolves the power to shift a little quicker than they could outside of it. Under the moon's beams was always the best way to practically have an instantaneous shift like they do in their astral form if the wolf happened to be a Shadowborn.

Luca's wolf was a gorgeous one. He had white on his belly, a mixture of grays on his sides, and black running down his back. There was white on his muzzle and gray patches just under his eyes. Sharing the color of his human form, his eyes were gray. Dylan looked over at the mirror that lined the wall, seeing herself reflecting back at her. The dark gray on her belly and legs that mixed on the edges with her black body gave her a devilish look. With her eyes being teal, it almost looked freaky on her wolf. It was a very uncommon color to have. And it had been said that her wolf tended to give people nightmares, especially when her eyes glowed with her high emotions.

Her head swung back to Luca, lowering herself to brace for the attack that was to come. She heard footsteps approaching the room but needed to focus on the task. Luca began to circle her, and Dylan mimicked the same thing as she studied her opponent again. The wolves were more predatory than their human halves. Sometimes, the lines blurred when it came to sparring. The upside was Luca's eyes weren't glowing, which meant Luca was in the driver's seat.

Soon enough, Luca advanced on her once again. He lunged and snapped his jaws at her feet, but she moved in time. Dylan looked for an opportunity to do the same to Luca, but none was given. Each time he moved, he did so with pristine speed and kept himself from being open. It would take her a minute to think of a way to attack that he wouldn't see coming like she did when they first started.

The only thing that came to mind was her going astral. It pained her to think about it since she could not control that side of her well in her human form, but she had even less control in her wolf form because her wolf had a tendency to do whatever she wanted and not listen.

Well, that's the point of these sparring matches, right? It will help train me, and I need the training if I am to find and take a mate.

Her stomach twisted at the thought of finding her mate, but she shoved the thoughts deep into her mind so she could focus. Luca took this as seriously as he could, and this was not the time to live inside her head.

Luca charged at her, using his speed to his advantage. He knocked into Dylan's side, sending her tumbling, and he tried to pounce on top of her once she got her bearings straight. Dylan pulled on her shadow wolf's power and went astral, giving her the advantage of Luca not being able to land any blow with his fangs or claws. Luca swiped at her, roaring in her ears as he let out his frustration. Dylan moved out from under him, circled for a few seconds, and ran at him. While focusing on her target, she pushed herself to go corporal to land a swipe across Luca's face. She noticed she had not become solid when she leaped into the air. Dylan fell through Luca's body and slightly through the floor before she yanked herself upwards. Once her paws were on the ground, she willed herself to go solid again. When she remained astral, Dylan let out a whine.

A frustrated sigh came from the corner, and Dylan snapped her neck to see who it was. Her father stood in the doorway, showing her that he had been watching, his arms were across his chest and a stonewalled look on his face. He shook his head before turning on his heel and walking away from the room. Dylan tried not to let her father's disappointment in her bother her. She wasn't exactly sure why her wolf didn't always want to listen during these sparring matches and not allow her to have control over her astral ability. It was a question she asked herself and her wolf on more than one occasion. No one had an answer for it either. Everyone else, even at her age, had control over it except her.

The air became thick with magic, and Dylan saw Luca shifting back. Dylan focused on pulling on the magic to shift back herself. She felt a pause in her magic, almost as if it was fighting to give her the power to shift back. Dylan growled at herself before the hint of fear settled it. Now was not the time for her magic from her shadow wolf to falter. She pushed her power into the bond between her and her wolf, and then she felt it trickle through her body, and her body went through the transformation. Her muscles ached from switching back and forth in that short amount of time. She started stretching when Luca threw her a pair of pants and a shirt to cover herself. Modesty went away a long time ago since changing into her animal form meant her clothes were torn off her body. It made her feel better than the simple pants and tank top she was putting on, which she chose to wear to this sparring. She hated losing her cute clothes for things like this.

Luca looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You really need to control your wolf. She's the reason you can't use your astral form well."

Dylan huffed at him. "It's not my fault she has an attitude problem."

The scoff she heard had Dylan growling. Luca ignored her. "That's your problem. You think she is separate from you. Some of her personality is there because of you. Even your fears and insecurities. You need to get over yourself to become one with your wolf. You are to be a Luna someday. No mate will want you if you can't control your damn wolf. That makes you dangerous."

The growling in her mind told Dylan her wolf didn't really agree with that. We are not dangerous. The magic does not want to work with us.

Try telling him that.

"You think you know everything, but you don't, Luca. I have tried to use that magic, and even when I focus, it won't listen to me."

Luca looked at her, pity in his eyes. She hated that look. So many of the pack members gave her that look because they knew she couldn't control her astral form. Her hatred for that look made a growl rise up her throat.

"Don't give me that shit. It's because the magic knows the fear in your heart about your power."

Dylan sneered at him. "I do not fear this magic. I've grown up with it! There are days it works flawlessly, then days it doesn't work at all. Days where I can use it but can't control it, then days where I have full control. It is so damn inconsistent. No one can give me an answer as to why it is happening like this to me, either! So, unless you have information on how to make it where I can use it without an issue, keep your damn thoughts to yourself. I don't need to hear how I'm not at one with my wolf or don't know how to control my wolf. That's not what happens at all!"

By the time she finished her speech, she was fuming and panting. No one understood what she was going through, and it made it worse that they couldn't help her either. Everyone thought they knew the answer, but it was clear to her that they didn't. No amount of training, exercises, meditation, or speeches would help her at this point.

Luca walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Dylan stifled a growl at him touching her. She wasn't one for touching. The idea of hugs annoyed her, and she refrained from even allowing her parents to give her any. Luca knew this but still did it anyway. To annoy her? She didn't know.

"That's the point, Dylan. Nothing is working for you to control your shadow wolf. That isn't normal. I don't know what is happening with you and your wolf, but you need to figure it out."

"What if I never figure it out?" Dylan said before she caught herself.

This wasn't the first time she thought those words. Other wolves could control their wolves and power within the first year of shifting for the first time. Yet here she was, twenty-one years old, had had her wolf for a decade, and yet she still didn't have a handle on it. Her parents said she could have been a late bloomer, but that didn't seem to be the right answer to her.

"You will. You don't have a choice. If you don't, we will have to kill you or banish you. Neither are exactly pleasant options, and it would kill our Alpha and Luna if that happened. Remind your wolf of her place and importance."

Something is wrong, and I am determined to figure it out.