Chapter 21

VALERIA’S POV It was my first day of training, and I could already feel my nerves fraying. I knew it was going to hurt—physically, mentally, and emotionally. But I had no choice. I am glad that Elijah already decided that I needed training, and I do need it. I can’t even defend myself. I arrived at the training ground, which was more of a clearing in the forest than any organized training space. The ground was uneven, littered with roots and patches of grass that had been trampled into dirt. Unlike the pristine training arenas I’d imagined, this was wild, raw, and unstructured—much like the wolves who called this place home. The others were already there, sparring. But it wasn’t the orderly, one-on-one matches I’d heard about in structured packs. This was chaos. Five or six wolves at a time clashed in the center, fists and feet flying in what looked more like a brawl than a training session. It was a flurry of dodges, punches, and grapples, with no clear rules or structure. They were f