13. In the shadows

(ELYN)

I grabbed the sword in my hand, testing its weight. My fingers felt like it would fall off just from the weight of the sword. I had always enjoyed watching people with their swords, the silvery clang of the steel against steel, the reflection of the golden light as the sun hit the blade in the right angles, but no one in my pack would show me or practice with me.

Why would anyone want to do anything with a bastard girl?! I had heard them say that behind my back one too many times now.

That was all I was in the Turquoise Falls. One night of mistake. The Alpha's biggest shame.

Nobody called me that here. Nobody knew that about me, but yes... I liked it. The freedom of being myself and not tethered to somebody else's mistakes.

I taught myself how to shoot the arrows. My first bow and quiver were a gift from my grandfather just days before he died.

He told me I needed to learn how to survive alone in the pack's wildness. Because I was the only one in my corner. Yes, Reyna wou