“Mistress, you shouldn’t be up,” Lily said, her voice holding a soft tone of chastisement that reminded me of Elena. “The alpha said you needed rest.”

Lily had to be the only person unaware of the fact that Alexander was no longer the alpha heir of the Nightshade Pack.

“My injury is already healed,” I said, which was mostly true.

The wounds had completely scabbed over, leaving only a dull pain in my muscles. If not for the wolfsbane that was in my system yesterday, I wouldn’t have needed a dressing for my wound.

“Where’s Alexander?” I asked.

“He left the pack on official business,” Lily said, inclining her head slightly, almost apologetically.

I let out a sigh of relief. That was good.

I needed to get my wits about me before Alexander returned. In my weakened state, I’d let myself be vulnerable around him. That couldn’t happen again.

With my resolve strengthened, I ventured out of Alexander’s residence.

The hunt might not have gone according to plan, but I refused to give up on my dream of finding my place and becoming integrated into my new pack.

I was on high alert as I made my way to the Nightshade Pack’s training grounds. After what happened at the hunt, I felt tense and jittery.

I wondered what the repercussions of the previous day’s attack would be.

The Nightshade Pack was known for their conquests, as well as the impregnable nature of not just their own pack but their allies.

If the news that multiple intruders infiltrated and tried to abduct a pack member got out, the effects could be disastrous.

I pushed those thoughts from my head as I reached the training grounds, following curt directions from different members of the pack.

The training ground was massive, several times larger than the one in the Red Moon Pack.

It was also teeming with wolves engaged in different types of combat training, from rapid hand-to-hand that I had a hard time following even with my supernatural vision to one-on-one fights with silver daggers that looked like a crossbreed between a traditional dagger and a short sword.

There were also coordinated group attacks that looked messy up close, but also seemed to have a level of organization and strategy.

Entranced, I moved between wolves, my eyes drawn to the gun range to the far end of the training grounds, then to the wolves rapidly shifting from wolf form to human form, their attacks unceasing even when they shifted. There were even fighting rings with people cheering around them and rooting for their picks.

It was insane.

Did the Nightshade Pack train like this every day? Were they planning a war or something?

A fighting ring caught my attention, but it wasn’t until the shirtless fighter turned, his black hair plastered to his sweaty neck and his hazel eyes clouded over in concentration, that I recognized it was Dylan.

Dylan, who’d seemed like a completely different person as he watched Alexander carry me away yesterday.

I looked away.

It would be best to treat the day before like it had been a fever dream, and leave everything that’d happened in the past, where it rightfully belonged.

I headed over to a friendly-looking group of brunettes who were talking amongst themselves as they watched two of their friends race up a rope wall, making leaps that had me questioning gravity.

I approached the one with her hair slicked back into a bun, who I overheard one of them call Mia. She seemed to be the leader of the group.

“Hi.” I cleared my throat, feeling awkward and out of place, especially when all four of the women looked at me. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you. It’s just…I’m new here, and I was hoping to get some pointers.”

Mia offered me a smile before holding out a hand to me.

“Of course, I—” she began, only for an abrasive voice to cut in.