Chapter 75

Full moon celebration.

Elara’s POV

Training every day has become our new normal. The routine was brutal and unrelenting, and Kieran made sure none of us got away with slacking, not even me. Mornings were for human form, evenings for our wolf forms. We ran in both forms till our lungs burned, and we lifted tires and sparred until our bodies ached. He pushed us past the point of comfort, past even what I thought my body could handle.

In the mornings, it didn’t matter how Kieran organized the groups; Rourke always found a way to pair and spar with Astrid. And every time, it ended in fire.

“Maybe if you weren’t all brute force and no brain, you’d land a hit that actually mattered,” Astrid shot at him one day after rolling out of his grip. Her braid was half undone, and her cheeks flushed.

Rourke smirked, unbothered with sweat dripping down his jaw. “Funny, considering you’ve been on your back three times already this morning. Want me to make it four?