Chapter 3

“What was that?” Adam asked, his voice tight.

“A Shadow Hound,” Gabriel said, his sword still drawn. “They are not native to this world. Someone summoned it here.”

They reached a heavy oak door carved with interlocking circles. Eve pushed it open, and they stepped into a wide hallway lined with torches that burned with blue flame. The door shut behind them with a solid thud.

Adam leaned against the wall, catching his breath. His wolf stirred beneath his skin, restless, alert. He could still smell the creature—damp earth, old blood, and something metallic.

“Samael said they would hunt me,” Adam said.

Eve’s expression was unreadable. “Samael speaks in riddles wrapped in truths. The Shadow Hound may be his doing, or it may be a response to your awakening from another source. Either way, we cannot ignore it.”

Gabriel sheathed his sword but kept his hand on the hilt. “The training grounds are warded, but the wards were designed for wizard threats, not creatures of shadow. We need to reinforce them.”

Eve nodded. “I will see to it. Gabriel, take Adam to the east hall. Begin his first lesson there. It is shielded by older magic.”

Adam pushed off the wall. “I don’t want to hide. I want to learn how to fight that thing.”

Gabriel’s mouth curved into something that was almost a smile. “That is the first lesson, Adam. Knowing when to fight and when to prepare. Come.”

They walked down the hall, past tapestries depicting battles between wizards and creatures Adam did not recognize. The east hall was smaller, with a low ceiling and a circular stone floor etched with runes that glowed faintly.

Gabriel stopped in the center. “Sit.”

Adam sat cross-legged on the cool stone. Gabriel sat across from him, his wings folding neatly behind him.

“You are half werewolf,” Gabriel said. “That means you have two centers of power: your wizard’s core, which channels magic, and your wolf’s heart, which channels instinct and strength. Most wizards train for decades to learn control. You do not have decades. You have days, maybe hours.”

Adam swallowed. “What do I need to do?”

“Close your eyes. Feel the wolf inside you. Do not push it away. Let it rise, but do not let it take control.”

Adam closed his eyes. He felt the wolf immediately—a warm, restless presence in his chest. It wanted to run, to hunt, to protect. He tried to hold it back, but it surged forward, and his hands began to tremble. His nails lengthened, sharpening into claws.

“Breathe,” Gabriel said. “Do not fight it. Guide it.”

Adam forced himself to breathe slowly. The wolf pushed harder, and he felt his jaw ache, his teeth lengthening. Panic flickered through him. He was losing control.

Then he remembered Samael’s voice, the green eyes in the dark, his mother’s tired face. He needed this power. He needed to master it.

Instead of pushing the wolf away, he let it flow into him, but he kept his mind steady, like a hand on the reins of a horse. The wolf’s energy filled him, but he did not let it consume him. His claws retracted. His teeth stopped aching.

He opened his eyes. His vision was sharper, the colors more vivid. He could hear Gabriel’s heartbeat, steady and strong.

“Good,” Gabriel said. “You have taken the first step. The wolf is part of you. You are not two beings sharing one body. You are one being with two aspects.”

Adam looked at his hands. They were human again, but he could feel the wolf just beneath the surface, waiting.

“Now the wizard part,” Gabriel said. “Reach for the magic in the air around you. It is everywhere in this world. Feel it, and draw it into your core.”

Adam closed his eyes again. He felt the air thick with energy, like static before a storm. He reached out with his mind and pulled. Power rushed into him, warm and bright. It filled his chest, his arms, his fingers.

A loud crash made him open his eyes. A stone bench across the room had shattered into pieces.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “You pulled too hard. Magic is not a fist. It is a stream. Gentle, controlled.”

Adam felt heat rise to his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You will learn. Again.”

They practiced for what felt like hours. Adam shattered three more objects before he managed to levitate a small stone without breaking it. By the end, sweat soaked his shirt, but he felt a flicker of confidence.

A knock came at the door. Eve entered, her face pale.

“The wards are holding, but the Shadow Hound is still circling. It is waiting.” She looked at Adam. “Samael’s crystal—has it spoken again?”

Adam touched his pocket. The crystal was warm. “Not since we came inside.”

“It will,” Eve said. “Samael wants you in the Obsidian Vale. He believes you are the key to something. I do not know what, but I do not trust him.”

Gabriel stood. “We cannot keep Adam here forever. The mortal world is still in danger. His family is in danger.”

Adam’s chest tightened. “Then let me go back. I can use the crystal.”

“No,” Eve said. “You are not ready. If you go now, you will be a beacon for every creature that wants to use you or destroy you.”

“Then train me faster,” Adam said. “Teach me what I need to know.”

Eve studied him for a long moment. “There is a way. A bond between the wolf and the wizard that can be forged in a single night. But it is dangerous. If you fail, the wolf will take control permanently. You will become a beast, unable to shift back.”

Adam thought of his sister’s face, his mother’s tired smile. “I’ll risk it.”

Eve nodded slowly. “Then follow me.”

She led him to a chamber deep beneath the main building. The walls were raw stone, glistening with moisture. In the center was a pool of dark water, perfectly still.

“This is the Mirror of the Soul,” Eve said. “Look into it, and you will see your true self. Both halves. You must accept them both, or you will be lost.”

Adam stepped to the edge of the pool. The water reflected his wizard world form: platinum hair, sharp features, strong shoulders. But as he watched, the reflection shifted. His hair darkened, his face softened, his body became heavier. The mortal version of himself.

Two faces. Two lives. Two halves.

He felt the wolf surge inside him, and the wizard core pulsed in response. They were not fighting. They were reaching for each other.

Adam knelt and touched the water. The surface rippled, and a surge of energy shot through him. He felt the wolf’s hunger, the wizard’s calm, the mortal’s fear. But beneath all of it was a single truth: he was Adam. All of it was him.

The water stilled. The two reflections merged into one.

Eve let out a breath. “You did it.”

Adam stood. He felt different—whole. His senses were sharper, his magic closer to the surface, his wolf calm and ready.

Then the crystal in his pocket burned hot. Samael’s voice echoed in his mind, urgent: They have found your family. Come now, or lose them forever.

Adam looked at Eve. “I have to go.”

“I know,” she said. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Use what you have learned. Trust your instincts. And remember: you are never truly alone.”

Gabriel appeared at the chamber entrance. “The portal is ready.”

Adam pulled out the crystal. It glowed with a steady light. He gripped it tight, and the world shifted around him.

He stepped through the portal and into the mortal world, the crystal warm in his hand, the wolf’s senses fully awake.

The first thing he saw was his sister’s terrified face. The second was a shadow looming behind her, with two green eyes that gleamed in the dark.