I had learned quickly to practise in the nude. Ripped clothes would be suspicious and only draw questions.

Dane grabs a blanket from the bed and quickly wraps it around me. His crimson eyes give me the once over. “Why?” He asks

“I’ve been practising.” I mutter back, stretching myself out and feeling a few more bones crack. There was no point in lying, he would be paying close attention to my mind now.

“Too fucking right.” He stares at me with his crimson eyes.

“Practising? As in you are letting the darkness in and then pushing it back?” Damien asks.

“No.” I frown, because I still couldn’t fully explain it. “You said it was hard. You told me that once the darkness gets in it’s difficult to get back out. That it’s almost impossible. That’s not true. Mallory did it, Salem did and so did you.”

“With a lot of hard work.” Damien replies in annoyance

“Hard work for you.” I mumble and he glances to Dane. “It’s not for me, not anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Damien, you told me that there is a reason the Rogues have a darkness in them before they turn. You told me that it’s different for everyone. That it was something from their past that made them that way. But me,” I snort, because it has taken me far too long to see it. “I was born with this. It makes me who I am. I am not dark and I am not light either.”

“Neah, that’s Nyx talking.” Dane frowns at me

‘Of course he blames me!’ Nyx mutters

“No, it’s not. I spent so long fighting her. Thinking of ways to free myself from her. But I finally stopped to listen and I learned something.” I shake my head and get to my feet, tugging the blanket around me, I tie a knot to keep it up over my chest. “I’m not supposed to get rid of her.”

“Neah…” The men look at each other like I had lost it.

Dane shakes his head, “Neah, Brax said…”

“Abraxas said a lot of things. He told

you that the darkness fills my

cracks. And he’s right, but his reasoning for why Nyx does is wrong. was trying to block Nyx, She was fitting in the gaps to try and make me whole, make me strong. To help me function better. It has never been about controlling her or her controlling me. I had to accept her. I had to accept what I am.”

“None of us really know what Brax sees,” Dane shakes his head. “But he has enough exper….”

“He’s not dealt with a Lycan Alpha before.” I say in a hurry.

I move in front of my mate, staring

up into his crimson eyes. “There was a reason my parents had me bound as a child. Don’t you see, it all adds up. They were afraid. When the binding’s failed, they pretended that Trey was the next in line, not me. But they created me. The last female Lycan Alpha.”

Nyx cheers as I make it clear who and what I am.

“I’m not scared anymore. I know who I am.”

“Show me.” Dane mutters.

‘You’ve got this.’ Nyx chatters. ‘Clear your head, stand tall, don’t fucking fall over.’

My eyes shift to Damien. “Can you turn around?” I didn’t care if Dane saw me naked, he was my mate and had seen me naked more times than I can count.

Everything cracks, my bones stretch and fur appears again. It’s painful but tolerable and keeps going until I’m standing over him and he stares at me with a smile. “There you are.”