Chapter 125

Lucas POV

The drive back home from Professor Black's office was a quiet one, the weight of our newfound knowledge and the implications of Shana's abilities heavy on both our minds.

I couldn't help but glance over at her, worry etched into her features.

I could only imagine the turmoil that was currently taking place in her head. There was so much resting on her shoulders now. So many expectations and uncertainty.

I thought Professor Black would be able to give us more information than he did, but at least he was able to acknowledge that Shana was the white wolf that we learned about as children.

It sounded insane, telling myself that in my head. I still couldn't quite believe it.

However, I had always sensed that there was something peculiar about Shana and the symptoms she had faced. The most interesting symptom had been the red glow of her eyes.

I should've known from that alone. Instead, I kept pushing it to the side, blaming it on possible stress or anxiety.

Shana had been awfully silent the whole ride, and this time, she let me drive. Her eyes were glued to the passenger window as she watched the world pass us by.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice gentle as I kept my eyes on the road.

She sighed, her voice trembling slightly. "I'm not sure, Lucas. It's just... I feel like I don't know anything about myself anymore."

I reached out to take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I had come to realize that Shana calmed down the most when I'd hold her hand like this.

"I know. I bet that's a really scary feeling, but now we have the professor's expertise to guide us."

She nodded, finding some comfort in my words. "Do you really think we can trust the professor?"

I thought for a moment before answering, "I think so. He's been willing to help us so far. But even if we couldn't, nobody else has as much knowledge or expertise as he does."

"You're right," she said, but her frustration was palpable. I could see it in her eyes. "Why does everything in our society have to be such a mystery?"

"Maybe you're just the mystery," I reasoned. "There's a lot of things you've yet to uncover about yourself."

"I hate that." Shana shook her head as if she was disgusted with herself. "One second, I want to burst into tears because I'm afraid I'll be perceived as this weak being for my whole life, and now, I'm supposedly one of the most powerful wolves in our history. According to some legend?"

"Shana, there's nothing to be ashamed of there—"

"I'm not ashamed! I'm just confused... and I hate that I have to drag you into all of this mess."

"You're not a mess, Shana," I said firmly, stopping her from saying anything negative about herself. "You couldn't have predicted this."

"But you don't need to try to protect me. I can't even protect myself."

"Shana, if you think I'm just going to let you fend for yourself now, you're crazy!" My voice raised, but I wasn't trying to yell at her.

Why was she feeling this way?

"Lucas, you can't prevent anything. You didn't even know what I really was. What if I hurt you?"

Suddenly, it all made sense. At the end of it all, Shana was afraid of inflicting harm upon me.

I met her gaze, my own unwavering. "But you didn't hurt me, Shana. I'm fine. Unharmed. See?" I gestured to myself. "Right now, this might all be scary to you. But we'll learn to control your new wolf. We'll train at home in private."

"Training again?" A glimmer of hope seemed to flicker in her eyes. "You really think we can do that?"

I smiled, my determination unwavering. "I know we can, Shana. The only reason we stopped before was because I was afraid it was too straining for your wolfless body. You were fainting and experiencing dizziness. We had no idea what was going on."

"Little did we know that my body was actually preparing to shift into the white wolf." Shana snorted obnoxiously. It was cute.

"Exactly. And once you can harness your full strength and control it, you'll be more powerful than anyone can imagine."0hn

Pulling into Grandma Jo's driveway, I couldn't help but feel relieved as we stepped out of the car. Recently, Grandma Jo's house has become our sanctuary. Even though this wasn't Shana's true home, it had become one.

She needed this place now more than ever to like herself. To feel safe.

As we entered Grandma Jo's cozy living room, I settled onto the couch, and Shana joined me. She leaned into my embrace, and I wrapped an arm around her, offering warmth and reassurance.

"I want to learn, Lucas," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I want to control this new part of me. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'd love to start training again."

"We will if that's what you want," I nodded, my fingers gently tracing circles on her shoulder. "We'll start small, Shana. It won't happen overnight, but I'll be here every step of the way. I don't want to push you too far."

"I can handle it if we do."

"No," I said. "Our training can be different... I still remember the drills I went through when I first shifted. We can do that if you'd like?"

She nodded, gratitude welling up within her as she stared at me. "I'd really like that, Lucas. I think it'll make me more confident and comfortable with everything that's going on."

I smiled at her, memories of our past flooding through my brain. Shana had been there for me when I needed her most, and now it was my turn to support her.

I could only imagine how powerful Shana would be once she learned to fully harness all of her abilities. I didn't know too much about white wolves, and I supposed now was the time for me to dive deeper into the legend.

But I knew she was already much larger than other female wolves. When I realized she had shifted, I was impressed. Shocked, but impressed.

I was a large wolf when I shifted myself, but she had almost been my same size.

I wondered why that was. Did it have anything to do with the white wolf? Or was it just Shana's strength in general?

Suddenly, all of our earlier training made sense to me. Shana had seemed to fall into training so easily. If she really applied herself, I knew that she would be one of the most powerful wolves in our society. If not, the most powerful.

Once she learned to control her wolf, she would become an unstoppable source.

That both excited me and made me nervous.

It was exciting because I was happy that Shana had found a piece of who she really was. But I was also fearful of what this could mean once others found out.

I was sure that people wouldn't be kind to her. They would try to take advantage of her, and that was the last thing I wanted.

I held Shana closer to my chest, trying to remember this moment because I didn't know how many more moments, we would have like this in the days or weeks to come.