Chapter 3 CHAPTER 3

The next morning, they gathered at the clearing, the training ground for dragons, ready for a training session. Jed stood at the front with Asher; he was leading the session as he usually did. 

Elara stood between Ana and Lyra; she wasn't feeling confident already, and the session hadn't even begun yet. 

“Focus, control. Push yourselves beyond comfort. That’s where strength is built,” Jed shouted.

Asher moved among them as Jed stayed at the front, helping adjust stances and offering gentle encouragement. Asher's approach was much softer than Jed's.

Elara flexed her fingers, feeling desperation prickling beneath her skin. “Maia,” she whispered inwardly, reaching for the dragon inside her. “Please. I need you. I need to shift. Just once. Show them I can.”

The answer came instantly, tinged with sadness and regret. “I’m sorry, Elara. I cannot. Not yet. Our bond is incomplete. You are not ready.” 

Her chest tightened. “Not ready? Everyone else has shifted. Lyra and even Ana, who is younger than us. Why not me?” 

“Because your path is different,” Maia murmured. “Patience, little flame. The time will come.” 

Elara clenched her jaw, frustration bubbling within her; this was the same story at every training session.

Jed’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Elara. Push further. Don’t hold back, feel the shift.” 

She exhaled as she tried focusing, and her nails grew into sharp claws. But it was all she could manage, the same as every session before this one.

Jed circled her, his eyes narrowing. “That’s it? You’re twenty. You should be shifting by now. Push harder.” 

Asher stepped closer. “She’s trying, Jed. Sometimes forcing it only makes it worse.” 

Jed ignored him. “Again, and really focus. Feel the change, let it take you.” 

Elara strained, her body starting to tremble. She was trying to force something that wasn't possible. Only the claws remained, a reminder of what she couldn’t do. Lyra shot her a worried glance, while Ana whispered, “It’s enough, Elara. Don’t hurt yourself.” 

Before Elara could reply, the air shifted. A heavier presence filled the clearing. Nikolas, her father. His aura was commanding and impossible to ignore. He walked forward; his eyes fixed on her. 

“Your training is not optional,” he said firmly. “You are my heir, and therefore you must shift. The pack needs to see you master this.” 

Elara’s stomach twisted. “I’m trying.” 

“Not hard enough, it seems,” Nikolas said, stepping closer. “Push harder, to the point you can feel it, then you claim it. You cannot lead if you cannot shift.” 

Her claws dug into her palms as she tried to remain calm. “I said I’m trying.” 

Nikolas’s tone sharpened. “Then try harder. Again. Now.” 

“I am trying!” Elara snapped as her anger rose.

Nikolas’s voice thundered over hers. “Then prove it. Push until it breaks you. Push until you shift. Do not stop until you succeed!” 

“You don’t understand...” Elara tried to explain.

“Make me understand!” Nikolas interrupted her. He moved closer so he was towering over her. “Show me you are worthy of this pack. Show me you are worthy of being my heir!” 

Something inside her snapped. Her voice broke free, louder than she had ever spoken to him before. “I can’t! Do you hear me? I can’t! My dragon cannot fully shift. Stop pushing me!” 

The clearing fell silent. Jed froze mid-step as Asher’s eyes widened, and Lyra and Ana stared in shock. They had never heard her speak to her father like that. 

Elara’s claws retracted, her hands shaking as tears threatened to fall. She was angry but ashamed for speaking to her father like that, so she turned on her heel, her voice breaking. “Stop pushing me to be something I’m not!” 

She stormed from the clearing, the path back to her room blurring as tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t stop until she slammed the door behind her, collapsing against it. 

Inside her mind, Maia whispered once more. “You are not broken, Elara. You are becoming. Please trust me.”

Elara buried her face in her hands, her voice cracking as she answered out loud. “Then why does it feel like I’m failing?” 

Elara moved to her bed and pulled her knees up, breathing heavily, with her palms pressed against her eyes. She would never live up to the image her parents had created of her; they expected perfection, and she wasn't perfect. No one is. 

A soft knock disrupted the silence. “Elara?” Ana’s voice came through the door.

Elara didn’t respond, but the door creaked open anyway, and Ana slipped inside. She looked at Elara with warmth and no judgment. Lyra followed closely behind.

They crossed the room and sat on the bed next to Elara. Lyra sat closest, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You shouldn’t have to go through that,” she said. “Not like this.”

Elara shook her head, her voice breaking. “They don’t understand. I try every day, and it’s never enough. I can’t shift. I can’t give them what they want.”

Ana moved and knelt in front of her, taking her hands gently. “You gave them honesty today. That matters. You’re not failing, Elara, you’re fighting. And fighting is strength.”

Lyra squeezed her tighter. “And if your father thinks he can push you until you break, he’ll have to deal with me. You’re your own person, not just his heir.”

Elara managed a laugh, though she was still hurting. “You make it sound easy. But what if I don’t want to take over? How am I supposed to tell him? He won’t understand.”

Ana's brown eyes softened. “As Lyra said, you are your own person. Have you ever just talked to your parents about this?”

Elara met Ana’s gaze. “No. They won’t understand. They want this perfect daughter who takes after them, no matter what it costs me.”

“I think you should talk to them when things are calm. They need to know how you feel about all this,” Lyra said, placing her hand gently over Elara’s.

Elara let out a small laugh. “Sure. Like they will understand my feelings, they don’t see me. I just wish I could shift.”

Lyra tilted her head, a grin returning to her face. “They will see one day. When you do shift, and you will, it’ll be spectacular. You’ll make the rest of us look boring, and you will show them who you really are.”

Elara’s lips curved slightly, the knot in her chest loosening a bit. “You really think so?”

Ana squeezed her hands. “I know so.”

Lyra nudged her shoulder. Her voice was softer now. “Until then, we’ll remind you every day. You’re not broken, Elara. You’re our best friend, and you’re stronger than you think.”

Elara exhaled, the weight of the training session lifting, and she was calming down.

For the first time since the clearing, she allowed herself to believe Maia's words. Not broken, becoming.