Page 1 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

Prologue

“Will we see the dragon queen, Grandpa?” I asked, my voice low with reverence.

Grandpa chuckled, glancing down at my bouncing form with a doting smile. “We can call for her, but you never know with the dragon queen. Sometimes she’s shy.”

“Like Anna?”

“Hey! I’m not shy. People and I?—”

“Just don’t get along, I know,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

Anna huffed and crossed her arms, but she was much too old at sixteen to roll her eyes.

“But we’ll get to swim, right?”

“Of course! The waters are cool this time of year, a perfect way to cool down after a long adventure. What more do you see, little Alia? What more can you hear, little Anna?” Grandpa asked.

“Not this again,” I complained, dropping his hand to run forward. Grandpa was always playing games, getting us to explore and see what we could find and name. It was always birds, animals, plants, et cetera, et cetera. And he also wanted us to name what they were good for and if they were poisonous or not. It was boring.

“Don’t go too far. Your ma and pa are close behind us with your little brother,” Grandpa said.

I didn’t listen, because we were close. Grandpa had told us stories of the dragon queen and how she was a gentle ruler of her kind, but a warrior of utmost horror were you to harm one of hers. And she apparently didn’t like humans, but she typically wouldn’t outright eat you.

I didn’t really care. I just wanted to see her.

And it was whispered you could see her at our Special Place, which was a waterfall deep in Wintercrest woods. It was where Mom proposed to Dad. Mom was the daughter of the Red matriarch, who ruled our tribe much as a queen. So when Grandma told Mom to propose, as Dad was the strongest warrior outside of the ruling family, Mom obeyed. And that led to my sister and I, though my older sister wasn’t strong enough for the training. She was pale and sickly, and Mom couldn’t bear her to be heir of the matriarchy. The heirship would pass to one of us since Mom never became First Blade—a title you must obtain to become matriarch. And so I took Anna’s place as heir apparent, meaning I was to train under Grandma until I could go on missions as a Red and earn my right to lead.

Reds were the baddest of the bad when it came to magical assassins. We saw magic, and we killed it. As a kid, I loved that. It gave me an evil to fight. Plus, it was my greatest hope to make Grandma proud.

Unfortunately, Grandma was never really anything except stern. And Grandma didn’t come with us much on ‘frivolous’ activities like today. She wasn’t often interested in anything with us except for what could help the tribe andtraining.

I held in a shudder, recalling my last sparring session. My side still held an ugly purple bruise that ached terribly from being a bit slow and getting a bo staff to the ribs. It was only the first of many bones I would bruise and break in my training.

I broke through the foliage. A sheer cliff rose before me, the stones tinged green with moss and plants. A massive, frothing white waterfall dove into the bright-blue pool of water at the base of the cliff, the gentle, meandering stream beginning to my right. Fairies darted in and out of the leafy undergrowth, touching mushrooms that glowed with emerald and turquoise hues along the water’s edge.

Something moved at the edge of the far side, near the waterfall. My heart pulsed with excitement, but it dwindled as I realized the shape was a lot smaller than a dragon would be. Golden eyes met mine, and a pure black werewolf stepped from between the fronds of leaves and undergrowth and mushrooms to push his paws into the sandy loam at the edge. It was hard to see, but it was almost like the waterfall’s mist gathered on the edges of his fur, giving him an ethereal glow. His eyes expressed his uncertainty, while the rest of his body was broad and strong and sure. On his left hip was a white spot shaped like a heart.

He leaned down, his eyes never leaving mine as he lapped at the water.

It felt like a dream. He was beautiful and wild. I had never seen a live werewolf before. They had all been dead when Grandma had shown me the best way to kill them.

He was alive in a way that defied explanation. Wild. Untamed.

Free.

He jerked his head upright, breaking eye contact to stare behind me. Then he leapt back the way he came. The tip of his tail had a white patch that was the last thing to disappear.

“You go fast, little sis,” Anna said, leaning over and putting her hands on her knees.

I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t.

“You alright, little Alia? See a dragon?” Grandpa asked, ruffling my hair.

I batted him away, mock glaring at the grinning old fart. “Nope. No dragon,” I said. I debated telling him about the werewolf.

But I didn’t. Because I knew if I told him, he’d tell Grandma, who would put out a hunt for the werewolf’s head. And I couldn’t bear to see such a creature dead. Not after seeing him like that.

But that choice… it cost me my grandfather.

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