Chapter 7: Training Under the Moonlight
The first night of training was unlike anything Dante had ever experienced. The air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine and earth, and the moon hung high in the sky, casting an ethereal glow over the forest. Orin stood in the centre of the clearing, his posture relaxed but commanding. Around them, other pack members lingered, watching with interest as the newest member prepared to begin his journey.
“Transformation is only the beginning,” Orin began, his voice steady and authoritative. “The wolf is a part of you now, but it’s not the whole. To survive, you must learn balance—how to embrace the instincts of the wolf without losing your humanity.”
Dante nodded, though his heart raced. He had spent the past few weeks barely holding himself together, struggling to keep his secret from his family, friends, and everyone else in his life. Now, standing among the pack, he felt a flicker of hope. Maybe Orin could help him regain control.
The first lesson was about controlling the transformation. Orin explained that while the full moon made the change inevitable, with practice, Dante could learn to shift at will or suppress the transformation when needed.
“Focus on your breathing,” Orin instructed. “The wolf responds to your emotions. Calm your mind, and you’ll calm the wolf.”
Dante closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. At first, his thoughts scattered, bouncing between worries about school, his family, and the Hunters. But Orin’s voice cut through the noise.
“Focus on the here and now. Feel the ground beneath your feet, the air in your lungs. The wolf is not your enemy; it’s a part of you.”
Slowly, Dante’s racing thoughts began to settle. A warmth spread through his body, and he felt the familiar tingling that signalled a transformation. This time, though, it was different. He wasn’t consumed by the change; he controlled it. His claws extended, and his senses sharpened, but he remained fully aware.
“Good,” Orin said, nodding approvingly. “You’re learning.”
The training continued over the following weeks. Each night, Dante met the pack in the woods, where they taught him how to harness his heightened senses. He learned to track scents across vast distances, to hear the faintest rustle of leaves, and to see clearly in the dark. At first, it was overwhelming, the flood of information leaving him dizzy. But with practice and guidance, he began to understand how to filter and focus his perceptions.
One night, Orin paired Dante with a younger pack member named Lila for a tracking exercise. Lila was sharp and confident, her wolf form sleek and agile. She challenged Dante to keep up with her as they raced through the forest, following a faint trail left by Orin earlier that evening.
“You’re not bad,” Lila admitted as they crouched by a stream, picking up the scent again. “For a newbie.”
Dante grinned, feeling a surge of pride. He was beginning to feel like he belonged—like he was part of something bigger than himself.
But as his connection to the pack grew stronger, his double life became harder to manage. School felt like an afterthought, his focus constantly pulled toward the woods and the pack. His grades began to slip, and his teachers noticed his lack of attention in class. Clara, his best friend, grew increasingly frustrated with his secrecy.
“You’ve been acting so weird lately,” she said one afternoon after hockey practice. “You’re always tired, you barely talk to me anymore, and you’re never around when I need you. What’s going on?”
Dante hesitated, guilt gnawing at him. He wanted to tell her the truth, but how could he explain something so unbelievable? Instead, he muttered an excuse about family problems and hurried away.
At home, things weren’t much better. His parents noticed his frequent late nights and his exhaustion during the day. Mia, his younger sister, grew suspicious of his strange behaviour.
“You’re hiding something,” she said one evening, crossing her arms. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to find out.”
Dante’s chest tightened. The walls of his double life were closing in, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep everything from falling apart.
One night, after a particularly gruelling training session, Dante sat with Orin by the fire. The pack leader’s gaze was steady, his expression calm.
“You’re carrying a heavy burden,” Orin said. “Balancing two lives is never easy, especially at your age. But you don’t have to do it alone. The pack is here for you.”
Dante stared into the flames, the flickering light reflecting his inner turmoil. “It’s just… I feel like I’m losing everything. My friends, my family, school… I don’t know how to make it all work.”
Orin placed a hand on his shoulder. “The wolf is a part of you now, but it doesn’t have to consume you. Find the balance, Dante. Honour both sides of who you are. It won’t happen overnight, but you’re stronger than you think.”
The words offered some comfort, but they didn’t solve Dante’s problems. He knew he had a long road ahead, one filled with challenges and difficult choices. But as he looked around at the pack, he realized he wasn’t alone. For the first time since his transformation, he felt a glimmer of hope that he could find a way to bridge the gap between his two worlds.
The next day, Dante made an effort to reconnect with Clara, apologizing for his distance and promising to be there for her. Though he couldn’t tell her the whole truth, he vowed to find a way to balance his responsibilities to the pack with his old life.
As the weeks went on, Dante’s training continued, each lesson bringing him closer to mastering his abilities and understanding his identity. Under the moonlight, he learned not just to be a werewolf, but to be himself—a boy straddling two worlds, determined to find his place in both.
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