C1- Learning to Breathe
Long before history was written, shifters and humans walked side by side, their worlds intertwined beneath the same moon. They hunted, built, and loved as one people—until fear split them apart. Forced into the shadows, the shifters vanished from human memory, fading into myths and bedtime stories.
Now they walk unseen among the world—lawyers, doctors, teachers, celebrities, and magnates. To the human eye, they are ordinary. To each other, they are the remnants of an ancient legacy, of wolves who run beneath the midnight sky by night.
The world believes they are gone.
The shadows knows some secrets were never meant to stay buried.
C1 –Learning to Breathe
The first thing Ivory Fox noticed every morning wasn’t the sunrise.
It was the silence.
No footsteps outside her bedroom.
No locks clicking into place.
No voices ordering her where to go.
No cameras following every movement she made.
Only birds flying high with the wind brushing through towering pines and somewhere in the distance the cheerful laughter of children running across Crimsonhowl Pack.
It still felt unreal.
Sometimes she woke convinced she was back in Switzerland.
That the boarding school had simply been another carefully decorated prison.
Other mornings she expected cold laboratory walls.
The metallic smell of disinfectant.
The sting of another needle.
Instead there was sunlight.
Warm blankets.
And a room whose door had never once been locked from the outside.
She still wasn’t entirely sure what freedom was supposed to feel like.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
Helena smiled as Ivory stepped into the Pack Clinic.
The physician had long since stopped wearing the formal expression she’d first greeted her with after the rescue.
Now she smiled the way family smiled.
“Morning.” Ivory returned it shyly.
Robin was already sitting near the examination table, a steaming cup of tea resting between her hands.
Beside her sat Valerie, gently rocking baby Vanessa in her arms.
The infant immediately reached toward Ivory the moment she entered.
Ivory couldn’t help laughing.
“I think she likes you,” Valerie said.
“I think she likes everyone.”
“No.” Valerie smiled knowingly. “She definitely has favorites.”
Ivory gently tickled the baby’s tiny hand making Vanessa giggle. Something inside Ivory’s chest warmed.
Little moments like this still surprised her.
Simple affection had once seemed impossible.
Now it surrounded her every day.
“How have you been feeling?” Helena reviewed several pages on her tablet before looking up.
“My headaches are almost gone.” Ivory thought about it.
“Good.”
“My nightmares...” She hesitated. “...not every night anymore.”
“Progress.” Robin quietly smiled.
“And physically?” Helena nodded.
“I don’t feel tired all the time anymore.” Ivory stretched her fingers thoughtfully. “I’ve been hungry.”
“Tina says you’ve doubled your appetite.” Robin laughed.
“I think she notices every cookie that disappears.” Ivory looked embarrassed.
“Tina notices everything.” Valerie laughed. “Especially desserts.”
Helena finished typing another note.
“Excellent.” She looked directly at Ivory. “I have your newest blood work.”
Ivory instinctively stiffened as the memory oof all the years of hospitals had taught her to expect bad news.
Helena noticed immediately.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore.” She gently rested a hand over Ivory’s.
Ivory slowly relaxed.
“The suppressants are almost completely gone.”
“...Really?” Her green eyes widened.
“Your body has worked incredibly hard these last few months.” Helena nodded. “The chemicals your father administered...” Her expression grew more serious. “were designed to suppress much more than your wolf, in fact they slowed hormonal development that closely interfered with your instincts and even affected normal neurological pathways.”
Robin quietly lowered her eyes.
She knew exactly what suppressants could do.
Helena continued.
“But your body is recovering beautifully.” She smiled warmly. “I honestly couldn’t ask for better progress.”
“So...” Ivory looked down at her own hands. “My wolf...”
“She’s there.” Helena nodded. “Very much so, she’s simply...” She searched for the right comparison. “...waking up after sleeping for many years.”
Valerie smiled softly.
“Just like you.”
The room became comfortably quiet.
“I actually have a prescription.” Finally Helena set her tablet aside.
“Medicine?” Ivory looked surprised.
“The opposite.” Helena laughed.
“I think I know where this is going.” Robin immediately smiled.
“School begins next week.” Helena folded her arms. “You have several days before classes start.”
“So?” Ivory nodded.
“My medical recommendation...” She smiled. “...is that you stop behaving like a patient.”
“What?” Ivory blinked.
“I want you outside.” The doctor stated firmly but with a soft smile. “Walk the Pack, the trails, the training grounds, the pack village, visit the lakes, read beneath the trees, eat ice cream, watch movies with Rebekah, help Tina bake, spend time in the gardens.”
“Simply...” She smiled gently. “...be sixteen.”
The words settled quietly inside Ivory.
Be sixteen.
She wasn’t entirely sure she knew how.
After a long silence she admitted something she’d never said aloud.
“I think...” Her fingers nervously twisted together. “...my body knows I’m free.”
Everyone listened.
“But...” She placed one hand over her chest. “...my head still feels trapped.”
Nobody interrupted.
“It still feels like...” She searched for words. “I’m waiting for someone to tell me what I’m allowed to do.”
“I know.” Robin’s eyes filled with understanding.
Ivory looked toward her.
“I’ll be walking somewhere beautiful and suddenly I stop because part of me thinks...I’m not supposed to keep walking.” Robin slowly nodded. “I used to count doors.”
“What?” Ivory frowned.
“When I first came home.” Robin smiled sadly. “I counted every door, every window, every hallway, I had to convince myself every day...” Silence followed. “...that nobody was coming to lock them.”
Another silence.
Not uncomfortable.
Simply honest.
“You don’t have to heal all at once.” Valerie reached over and gently squeezed Ivory’s hand. “You’ve only been safe for a little while.”
“Trauma doesn’t disappear because danger does.” Helena nodded. “It simply takes time to teach your mind that the danger is gone.”
Ivory looked out the clinic window.
Beyond it, the forest stretched endlessly beneath the summer sky.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Free.
“...I don’t know how to be normal.”
“Perfect.” Helena smiled.
“Why perfect?” Ivory looked confused.
“Because nobody here expects you to.” She stood, closing Ivory’s medical file. “We simply expect you to become yourself.”
As they stepped outside the clinic together, a cool breeze carried the scent of pine, wildflowers, and distant rain.
Somewhere nearby, young wolves laughed as they played on the pack fields. Somewhere far, she could listen some enforcers training harder.
Ivory watched them.
Teenagers.
Running.
Shouting.
Living.
Soon that would be her world too.
School.
Friends.
Classes.
A life she’d never imagined possible.
She drew a slow breath.
The air smelled different today.
Cleaner.
Warmer.
For just the briefest moment she thought she heard something.
A soft feminine voice carried gently upon the wind.
Not frightening.
Not demanding.
Only patient.
“I’m still here.”
Ivory turned quickly.
The courtyard was empty.
No one stood behind her.
No one had spoken.
Yet somehow deep inside her heart something stirred.
Not fully awake. Not yet. But no longer asleep.
Her wolf had heard it too.
“For someone whose wolf has finally been allowed to live.”
The words settled quietly inside the room.
For someone whose wolf has finally been allowed to live.
Ivory lowered her gaze.
For sixteen years, her father Cronus Fox had convinced her that whatever lived inside her was something evil.
Something dangerous.
Something that needed to stay asleep forever.
Now every day she discovered the exact opposite.
Her wolf wasn’t frightening.
She was gentle.
Patient.
Almost lonely.
Waiting all those years for Ivory to notice she had never truly been alone.
“You only have a few days before classes begin at Crimsonhowl Academy.” Robin leaned forward.
“I know.” Robin’s comment made her leave her fogginess.
“So...” She smiled knowingly. “I think it’s time you enjoy those days.”
Ivory tilted her head.
“Enjoy them?”
“You’ve spent the last few months recovering inside the house.” Robin nodded. “You’ve been incredibly brave. You’ve worked harder than anyone could have expected. But healing isn’t only physical.”
She gestured toward the large windows overlooking the territory.
“Crimsonhowl isn’t just the Pack House.”
“There are forests that stretch for miles.”
“Lakes.”
“Waterfalls.”
“Trails.”
“Flower meadows.”
“A small village with cafés, a bookstore and a bakery that has nearly started civil wars because of its cinnamon rolls.”
“She’s not exaggerating.” Valerie laughed.
“I think these next few days should be about discovering what normal feels like.” Robin smiled.
Ivory looked toward the window.
Normal.
She wasn’t sure she even knew what that meant.
“I know I should.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “But...” She looked down at her hands. “My head still makes me feel caged.”
The room became completely silent.
“I keep thinking that if I walk too far someone will take me back or if I touch something I’ll get punished even if I sleep too long someone will wake me. If I laugh too loudly someone will hear.” A tear escaped before she even noticed. “But nobody ever does.”
“And somehow that’s the hardest part.” She laughed softly through her tears. “My body knows I’m free.” She placed a hand against her chest. “But my mind still waits for permission to live.”
Robin quietly stood.
She walked over and wrapped Ivory in a gentle embrace.
Never tight.
Never confining.
Just enough for the young girl to know she wasn’t alone.
“You know what healing really looks like?”
Ivory slowly shook her head.
“It looks exactly like this. It isn’t waking up one morning and magically forgetting everything. It’s questioning every freedom because you’ve never had one. It’s standing outside and realizing nobody is going to stop you. It’s laughing...and discovering you’re allowed to.”
“The cage is gone, sweetheart.” Robin smiled warmly. “Now your heart just needs time to believe it.” She gently brushed a strand of blonde hair behind Ivory’s ear.
Ivory closed her eyes.
For the first time the warmth inside her chest answered. Soft. Gentle.
Like warm fur brushing against her soul.
There were no words.
Only comfort.
Only peace.
Only one simple feeling.
I’m safe.
A tear rolled down Ivory’s cheek as the smallest smile appeared on her lips.
For the first time in sixteen years the wolf inside her no longer felt like a monster.
She felt like family.
Ivory stepped out of the clinic with a lighter heart than she had carried in months.
Robin held little Vanessa against her shoulder while Valerie adjusted the baby’s tiny sunhat before smiling at her.
“So...” Robin asked. “Where to first?”
Ivory looked beyond the Pack House, toward the endless forests stretching beneath the Aspen mountains.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s the best part.” Valerie smiled knowingly.
“Do you want one of us to come with you?” Robin reached over, gently squeezing Ivory’s shoulder.
Ivory hesitated.
For so long, the answer would have been yes.
Not because she wanted company.
Because she had been afraid.
Afraid to be alone, to make a wrong turn, of someone would be waiting.
But today she looked toward the winding stone paths disappearing beneath towering pine trees.
“I think...” She smiled shyly. “...I’d like to explore by myself.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.” Robin’s expression softened with pride.
“If you get lost...” Valerie grinned. “...follow your nose.”
“My nose?” Ivory blinked.
“The bakery.” Robin laughed. “You’ll smell it before you see it.”
Vanessa giggled in her mother’s arms as if agreeing.
Ivory couldn’t help laughing herself.
“I’ll remember that.” With one last wave, she turned toward the village nestled within Crimsonhowl territory.
For the first time she walked without anyone leading the way.
The pack territory was far more alive than she had imagined.
People greeted one another with easy smiles.
Children chased each other through grassy fields.
A pair of elderly wolves played chess beneath the shade of an ancient oak while arguing over whose granddaughter was the stronger fighter.
Nobody looked frightened.
Nobody looked over their shoulder.
It felt normal.
Her pace slowed naturally as she reached the village square.
A cozy café stood on one corner, its outdoor tables filled with students laughing over iced coffees despite summer break.
The rich aroma of roasted coffee beans drifted into the street.
Across from it sat another café painted in warm cream colors, overflowing with flowers hanging from every window.
Just beyond she found the bookstore.
Its wooden sign creaked gently in the mountain breeze.
Wolves & Fables.
Ivory smiled to herself.
She made a mental note to come back later.
Books had always been one of her few escapes.
Perhaps now they could become something more than an escape.
Perhaps they could simply be...
Enjoyment.
The further she walked, the quieter the village became until laughter gave way to rhythmic impacts echoing through the air.
Thud.
Crack.
Thump.
Curiosity pulled her forward to the training grounds.
Several enormous arenas spread across the clearing, each serving a different purpose.
Combat rings.
Obstacle courses.
Weapon ranges.
Transformation fields.
Dozens of wolves trained despite the summer holidays.
On one side, Serena stood with her arms crossed while supervising several senior girls.
“No.” The Tracker Captain shook her head. “Again.”
“I’ve done it thirty times.” One young woman groaned dramatically.
“You’ll do it thirty-one.”
“But—”
“If your opponent is stronger than you...” Serena calmly folded her arms. “...do you think they’ll stop after thirty?”
“...No, ma’am.” The girl sighed.
“Then again.”
Ivory watched in fascination.
The girls moved with astonishing speed.
Every correction Serena gave was precise.
Every mistake immediately addressed.
Strict yet somehow encouraging.
Not once did Serena raise her voice.
She simply expected excellence.
Ivory found herself smiling.
Maybe...
One day she could train there too.
A louder crash echoed from the neighboring field.
She turned.
Andros Ackerman.
The Beta of Crimsonhowl stood in the center of another arena while nearly a dozen teenage boys struggled to remain standing.
Most were breathing heavily.
“I can’t feel my legs.” One had collapsed dramatically onto the grass.
“They’re still attached.” Andros barely looked at him.
“Unfortunately.” The surrounding boys laughed.
“Up.”
“But Beta—” The teenager groaned.
“I said...” Andros folded his arms. “...up.”
The boy somehow found the strength to stand.
Ivory giggled quietly.
Despite joking with the boys Andros’ eyes never stopped moving.
He noticed every misplaced foot.
Every dropped guard.
Every hesitation.
“Again.” The humor disappeared the instant someone became careless.
The entire group immediately reset.
No complaints this time.
Ivory watched for another minute.
He wasn’t intimidating because he yelled.
He was intimidating because everyone wanted to impress him.
She smiled.
Maybe combat training wouldn’t be as terrifying as she’d imagined.
Continuing along the stone path, the sounds of training gradually faded.
Birdsong returned.
The scent of wildflowers drifted through the breeze.
Eventually the path opened into a peaceful circular clearing.
At its center stood a breathtaking white marble statue.
A young woman.
Long flowing hair.
Kind eyes.
One hand resting over her heart.
The other extended toward the heavens as though offering the moon itself to anyone willing to reach for it.
Maya.
Ivory immediately recognized her.
The Moon Goddess.
The woman whose sacrifice had shaped generations of wolves.
Fresh flowers rested at the statue’s feet.
Candles burned quietly despite the daylight.
Someone had left a small handwritten note beneath one bouquet.
Thank you for bringing my mate home.
Ivory swallowed.
Without thinking she stepped closer.
The clearing seemed different.
Quieter.
The constant noise inside her mind faded until only the gentle rustling of leaves remained.
Peace.
Real peace.
She closed her eyes for just a moment.
And smiled.
The sound of wooden practice swords colliding broke the silence.
Clack!
Clack!
Clack!
Ivory turned toward another nearby training circle.
Unlike the students these were adults.
Pack elite enforcers.
She immediately recognized the crimson uniforms worn by Crimsonhowl’s elite divisions.
A woman with dark braided hair danced effortlessly around a much larger man wielding twin practice knives.
She was impossibly quick.
Every attack slipped harmlessly past her.
Every dodge flowed into another movement.
The man lunged.
She vanished.
His momentum carried him forward— and suddenly he was flat on his back.
Dust exploded around him.
Several nearby enforcers burst into laughter.
“You telegraphed that one.” The woman offered him a hand with a playful grin.
“I hate fighting Trackers.” Frank accepted the help, laughing as he climbed to his feet.
“You hate losing.”
“That too.”
Someone behind Ivory chuckled.
“Told you.” She turned just in time to see Serena walking over from the students’ arena.
Across from her, Andros reached into his pocket with an exaggerated sigh before handing Serena several folded bills.
“I still think Frank had her.”
“You’ve been saying that for three years.”
“He almost had her.”
Layla—the agile female enforcer—crossed her arms with a smug smile.
“Almost only counts in horseshoes.”
“Traitor.” Frank groaned dramatically.
“You lost.”
“I slipped.”
“You flew.”
“I strategically repositioned.”
“You kissed the dirt.” The surrounding enforcers erupted into laughter.
Even Andros couldn’t suppress the corner of a smile.
“Told you.” Serena tucked the money into her pocket with satisfaction.
Ivory couldn’t stop smiling.
For the first time... she wasn’t watching warriors.
She was watching family.
And somehow she was beginning to wonder if one day she might become part of it.C
