Sienna didn't sleep that night.
Victor's warning echoed in her mind, dark and sharp like broken glass. But instead of fear, something else grew inside her — fury. The kind that burned slow and deep.
She had nearly died to protect these people.
And someone in this pack still wanted her gone.
Not anymore.
She needed answers.
So she went to Sage.
⸻
"You've known something all along," Sienna said, her voice calm but firm.
Sage didn't deny it.
The old healer looked at her with a steady gaze. "Yes. I've known there was something wrong with you… but not because of a curse."
"What then?"
Sage turned, opening a hidden drawer in the herb shelf. She pulled out a small jar of dried gray herbs.
"This," she said. "Victor has been sneaking this into your food. These herbs block your wolf's connection to your spirit. It's why you haven't been able to shift fully. Why your senses have been dull. Why you've felt… less."
Sienna's hands clenched at her sides.
"He's been poisoning me."
Sage nodded. "Yes. And keeping you weak so no one would believe you were more than a liability."
⸻
That night, Sienna did something she hadn't done since she arrived.
She walked to the training field.
Alone.
And she shifted.
⸻
It was painful at first — like tearing something open that had long been sewn shut. Her skin burned, her bones cracked, but she didn't scream.
She refused to scream.
Her wolf burst from inside her like a storm. Not silver like she imagined — but white. Pure, fierce, and glowing.
She howled.
The forest howled back.
⸻
Daemon heard it.
He stood on his balcony, heart thudding in his chest.
That wasn't a cry of pain.
It was a declaration.
He didn't need to ask who it was.
He knew.
Sienna's wolf had awakened — and it wasn't cursed.
It was glorious.
And for the first time, Daemon felt something stronger than fear.
Hope.