’You will be a luna, but you won’t be my luna now. I’ll stay out of your way.’

It had been weeks since Damon had dropped that bombshell on me and left me wondering what he meant by his words. While he was speaking English, a language I thought I understood, none of the words made sense in my head when I strung them all together.

Nicole had ushered me and Blaise out of the infirmary shortly after, most likely realizing that things had gotten tense. After we were allowed back in, Damon acted as though he had never said such a thing and everything returned to normal.

Except it wasn’t.

Surprisingly, Damon recovered very quickly. While it wasn’t as fast as an average werewolf would, it was certainly an uncomplicated recovery process that was speedier than an average human. In a few days, he was already out of bed and walking around― earning him Nicole’s chiding, of course. But once Nicole realized that all his vitals and checks came back green, he was released from the confines of the infirmary as long as he came back in for daily check-ups.

For the most part, Damon stayed in his room. Once Nicole gave him the green light to proceed with light exercises, he was already up on his feet and on the training grounds. Often, Damon was the first to be there and the last to leave. Now that he no longer had alpha duties to keep him occupied, he was more than free to do everything else he never could. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

On the other hand, Blaise had been named the new alpha of Fangborne. Elijah had been promoted to beta, while Kaine retained his role as the delta of the pack.

As far as I knew, the position of charlie was left open and Blaise wasn’t in a rush to fill that role. Right now, news of Damon’s retirement had already spread across the packs of North America― Blaise had more than plenty of things occupying his time, having to deal with possible dangers that might be eyeing Fangborne.

It was early in the morning. The sun hadn’t even properly risen yet and the skies outside were still dark. A chill was in the air, and I shivered, pulling my cardigan a little closer over my body.

As usual, I woke up to an empty bed. Blaise would now spend his days making trips across the country to secure relations with the neighboring packs. Sleep was often not as restful without him by my side, but with a wolf, it was wonderful to be able to feel him even when he was away.

With Nicole’s help, I quickly got used to the process. I found a secure spot to strip, packing my clothes in a bag before shifting. There came the odd sensation of the transformation from human to wolf― bones cracking, flesh tearing, and the entire body reshaping itself. It no longer felt painful, but there was a discomfort that still came with the shift, accompanied by the thrilling rush of adrenaline.

Picking up the bag between my teeth, I took off, sprinting into the woods.

The flora and fauna blurred past me as I ran, wind nipping in my ears as my fur danced due to the speed. A particular breath of air smelled oddly familiar, and I stopped in my tracks, my ears pricking to attention as I scanned the scene around me.

There was an endless row of trees, and on the occasion, a wild rabbit or two would appear before disappearing behind a bush. But that wasn’t what I was looking for.

My head darted to the left side right as I heard a crack, followed by crisp resonant ice pings. I shifted back right after, quickly slipping on my shirt and sweatpants before making my way over to the source of the sound.

I found Damon in a small grove of trees. Even in the winter weather, Damon was in nothing but a black compression tee and some gray sweats. His arms had turned slightly pinkish due to the cold, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

From a distance away, I watched in silence as he moved, fluid and graceful, yet forceful and strong like the warrior he was. Ice shards and frost followed wherever his arms dragged, and he could materialize icicles with just a flick of his wrist.

Grinning, I stepped forward, eager to have a proper chat with him. He had been avoidant ever since he was discharged from the infirmary― this was the first time in weeks I had caught him alone.

My feet stepped on a twig, the crisp crack resounding through the forest. Instantly, Damon whizzed his head over, instinctively holding out his hand. Shards of ice flew from his fingertips, soaring straight for my face. I barely dodged, swerving out of the way and watching with bated breaths as the shards hit the trunk of the tree behind me.

"Harper," he said after realizing who it was. He frowned. "I didn’t realize it was you."

"I would bet," I said, offering him a small smile. "You seem to have an awfully great time trying to avoid me."

"Avoid you?" Damon echoed. He then rolled his eyes. "Please. Why is there a need for that?"

"I don’t know," I said, shrugging. "You tell me. Were you here all this time practicing your magic?"

I gestured to the icicles that speared through the dirt and snow. Damon turned to look, and a loud scoff escaped his lips, accompanied by a puff of white smoke due to the warmth of his breath mixing with the cold of his surroundings.

He reached for the ice, pulling it out swiftly, his forearm muscles flexing as he did.

"It’s necessary," he cooly replied. "Without a wolf, there is nothing I can do for the pack unless I polish this skill to perfection."

Examining the icicle, I watched as he ran his hand across the length of the ice rod. Frost crept up the length of it, creating a sharp tip and smoothing out the rest of the surface. It looked like an oversized crystal-clear needle.

Pulling his arm back, he then threw the icicle forward. It shot through the air at a speed which my eyes could barely follow, impaling yet another tree as it cut through the wood as though it was butter under a hot knife.

He continued, "I’ve always depended on this more than my wolf. Perhaps it’s time to let the world know that it isn’t a wolf they should fear."