Chapter 5- The Mirror
Sahiyra POV
The next morning..
The sun had barely started bleeding through the trees when the camp began stirring, but I’d been awake long before that. Old habit. Beasts didn’t sleep in. And neither did I. The others moved with practiced precision, packing up, checking weapons, muttering soft greetings, but they all paused the moment they noticed me watching.
It was like that now. Everywhere I looked, eyes followed. Kylen and Jaxen were never far from me. The others… hovered. Orbiting. Like I was some gravitational force they couldn’t resist. We headed out shortly after sunrise, the forest mist still clinging low to the undergrowth. I didn’t ask where we were going...they’d told me enough. The city. Civilization. Whatever was left of it.
I should’ve been excited. But my stomach was a tight knot, twisting around nerves I couldn’t name. It had been nine years since I’d been around anyone who walked on two legs and spoke with their mouth instead of their mind. Nine years of beast song, of growls and purrs and silent understanding.
People? They were unpredictable. Noisy. Complicated. Still, I followed.
Kylen walked ahead, talking into a scratchy little communication device clipped to his vest. “She’s with us. No injuries. No signs of trauma. I said she’s fine,” he snapped, voice tense. “And no, she’s not to be touched. Not until we get clearance from the top.”
He glanced back at me and gave me a small nod. I didn’t return it. Instead, I let my attention drift to the forest behind us.The shadows moved. Silent paws. Heavy breaths. The Dire Wolves.They were following. Of course they were. I didn’t say anything. Didn’t need to.
They were mine. My family. My protection and my history all wrapped into one massive, snarling pack. And if these males tried anything stupid... they’d find out exactly how wild I could still be.
The path narrowed as we moved deeper through the forest. Vines had overtaken most of the old road, cracked stone and broken ruins swallowed whole by nature’s hunger.
Cities, they’d said. Long gone. Now it was just territories and tribes. The bones of humanity buried beneath moss and time. The males bantered as we walked, snark and shit talking back and forth like brothers too proud to be soft.
“Bet she shifts faster than you do,” one said to another.
“Bet she hits harder, too,” the other replied.
“She could probably take all of us in a fight.”
“She already did, you idiot.”
I didn’t laugh, but I smiled to myself. They kept trying to walk close. One after another, like they thought maybe, just maybe, I’d pick them. Their energy buzzed like bees. Too much. Too eager. Too loud.
So I let out a ripple of my aura. Just a whisper of calm. It rolled through the group like a soft wind. Shoulders dropped. Breaths evened out. The noise died to a comfortable hum.
“Thank you,” someone murmured behind me.
“Yeah… thanks, Myrren.”
“Feels like breathing again,” another added.
I didn’t answer. Just kept walking. I didn’t do it for them. I did it for me.Too much noise gave me headaches.
Kylen dropped back beside me eventually, having finished barking orders into his comm. He didn’t say anything for a while, just walked beside me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Then he said, quiet as a heartbeat,“You’re nervous.”
I glanced at him. “Is it that obvious?”
“To me? Yeah. You’re damn good at hiding it, though.”
I didn’t respond.
“You don’t have to be scared,” he added, like that fixed anything.
I stopped. He did too. “I’m not scared,” I said softly, meeting his gaze. “I’m just not sure who I am outside of the wild.”
That silenced him. The others paused behind us, sensing the shift in the air. But I didn’t release my aura this time. I held it close. Let the edge of my emotion hum there, just beneath my skin. The Dire Wolves howled faintly in the distance, as if answering my heart’s question.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready. But I was going anyway.
Two hours later...
I knew the second we stepped through the outer gates that everything was about to change.
The city smelled like steel, sweat, and testosterone. The air was thick with shifting magic and territorial pheromones. Buildings weren’t the kind I remembered from old books or ruins, they were carved from the earth itself, fortified stone wrapped in vines and bone tiled rooftops, alive in a way that felt ancient and wild.
There were males everywhere. All kinds, massive brutes and lean warriors, tattooed, marked, clawed. Some lounged on the steps of dens, others sparred in open arenas, but all of them stopped when they saw me.
Some jaws dropped. Some growled low in their throats. A few pressed fists to their chests in reverence, and others simply stared like I was a fucking myth made flesh.
“Ignore them,” Jaxen muttered, stepping closer like a shield. “They’ve never seen anything like you.”
“No one has,” Kylen added. That didn’t help.
We moved through the crowds, the buzz of whispering and heat following me like a cloak. I didn’t hide. I didn’t lower my eyes. I owned it.
Silver hair to my waist, glowing like moonlight. Bare skin kissed by the sun. Every step I took radiated something ancient and untamed....something they couldn’t name, but every instinct they had screamed to submit to.
The registration center was carved into a large obsidian structure near the heart of the city. Massive pillars lined the entrance, covered in etched symbols of old beast gods and divine shifter crests. Inside, the air shifted, cooler, quieter, but pulsing with magic.
Kylen led the way up to the desk. Jaxen stood close, one hand resting on the hilt of his blade, the other flexing like he wanted to punch anyone who even looked at me too long.
“She needs to be registered and Power tested,” Kylen said flatly to the male behind the counter.
The guy opened his mouth. Closed it. Blinked up at me like I wasn’t real. “...Right away,” he stammered.
I followed them down a long hall, stone and bone underfoot, candles burning in the walls. Then I saw it. A mirror. An actual mirror. Not water. Not vague reflections or shadows or beast eyes describing me. A real, silver backed, full length mirror.
I stopped. The others didn’t notice at first, but I stepped closer, fingertips brushing the edge of the frame. I stared. And for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Long waves of silver curls spilled over my shoulders and down my back like starlight. Golden green eyes that glowed like molten forest fire. High cheekbones dusted with freckles. Full lips. Sun kissed skin stretched over soft curves and lean muscle. Heavy, round breasts and wide, strong hips. My thighs, thick, powerful and capable.
I didn’t look broken. I didn’t look wild. I looked… radiant. Power shimmered under my skin like it wanted to erupt.I smiled. Not a soft, polite thing. A real smile. The kind that said I know what I am now. And fuck… I was beautiful.
“Sahriya?” Kylen’s voice was soft, almost reverent behind me.
I turned slowly. “It’s been a long time since I saw myself,” I murmured.
Jaxen tilted his head. “You didn’t know?”
“I had an idea,” I said with a shrug. “Beasts don’t care much for vanity. But now I see what all the fuss is about.”
They didn’t argue. Their eyes were on me like they were praying. Worshipping. Wanting. I stepped past them, aura trailing in my wake like smoke and thunder. Let them test me.
Let them try to measure me.