Chapter 8: The Burning Inside

The first light of morning brought the renegade camp to life gradually. From their tents, wolves roused groggly and wary, preparing for the day. The camp seemed to me now less like a place of strangers and more like a place where I may find strength. Here I was something other, something strong, something in-between; I was not a pack member.

Days, maybe weeks, I had trained with Luca, although the sense of time seemed to blur as each day was marked with effort and tiredness. Though slowly, my development has been consistent. Though I had started to identify such emotions and know how to bring them under control, there were still times when the fire within me appeared to flare wildly, threatening to swallow everything.

Today Luca had promised me something different.

Luca had told me the night before, "Today, we're going to test how far you're willing to go," his eyes focused gravely. "Ariana, you have done well; nonetheless, there is a little of you holding back. You have to give go of