The flames in the council chamber crackled with a strange kind of hunger.
Lira stood in front of the pack elders, her boots planted firmly in the stone floor, arms crossed tightly against her chest. The flickering light cast shadows over her sharp cheekbones, her cold blue eyes glittering like ice about to crack.
"She's a human," she hissed. "We don't mark humans. We don't mate with them."
Elder Rowan sat silently, his age-withered face unreadable. "She's been marked. The bond is sealed."
"She doesn't belong," Lira spat. "He's letting his cock rule the bloodline."
Rowan tilted his head. "Or perhaps the moon gave him a gift."
Lira's eyes flashed with something deeper than envy—rage.
"She's changing," Rowan added, not unkindly. "Can't you smell it?"
Lira turned sharply away, the truth cutting deeper than claws.
She could smell it. And it made her sick.
Selene no longer smelled entirely human.
The bond had begun to transform her.
---
Selene, unaware of the storm brewing, stood in the mirror of Kael's room—naked but unashamed. Her body bore light bruises from where Kael had gripped her thighs, where his mouth had left trails of fire. But it was the mark above her heart that pulsed softly, a living, breathing brand of connection.
She didn't regret it.
If anything, she craved more.
Kael stepped behind her, shirtless, eyes heavy with heat as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder.
"How do you feel?" he murmured.
"Like I've stepped into a world I was always meant to belong to," she whispered.
Kael's hands slid lower. "You were born for this. I can feel it. Your power's waking."
"My power?"
He paused. "The bond isn't just about lust or loyalty. It unlocks what you've kept buried. Something ancient. Something wild."
She turned in his arms. "What am I?"
Kael looked down at her, eyes filled with something close to reverence. "I don't know. But you're not just human. And I'm going to protect you until we find the truth."
---
Lira didn't knock when she stormed into Kael's den.
She didn't need to.
Kael growled before she opened her mouth.
"Leave."
"Not until you tell me what's happening to her," she snapped. "She's shifting."
Kael stiffened. "She hasn't changed."
"Not yet. But it's coming. The bond is accelerating her. She's becoming something… else."
Kael stepped forward. "And you'd rather see her hunted? Killed? You were next in line, Lira. But I didn't choose you."
Lira's eyes gleamed with wounded pride. "You didn't even give me the chance."
Kael's voice was ice. "The moon gave me Selene. I follow its will."
Lira's voice dropped dangerously low. "Then you'll face the consequences of disobeying the pack's law."
He growled, the room trembling around them. "You threaten me?"
"I challenge her."
Silence.
Kael's jaw locked. "You can't."
"I can," Lira said, eyes blazing. "By rite of blood. If she's truly your mate, she must prove she's worthy."
---
That night, Selene stood in the circle of fire again—but this time, not in passion.
In challenge.
Lira circled her like a lioness. The pack watched in tense silence. Kael stood at the edge, fists clenched, heart pounding.
"I don't fight for men," Selene said calmly.
"You fight for survival," Lira snarled. "And if you lose, you forfeit the bond."
Kael stepped forward, fury in his voice. "This isn't the way."
Rowan raised a hand. "It is tradition. If she's your mate, the moon will protect her."
Selene pulled the knife from her belt—the one Kael had given her. Silver etched with runes. Her fingers trembled, but her spine stayed straight.
She looked at Kael.
And he nodded once.
She would not be coddled.
She would earn her place.
---
Lira struck first, a blur of claws and snarls. Selene dodged, barely, the blade slicing a shallow line across her arm. Blood dripped, but she didn't cry out.
Instead, something inside her snapped.
Heat exploded in her veins. Her eyes burned gold. Her senses exploded.
She saw the strike coming before Lira moved.
And this time, she blocked it.
With inhuman strength.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Selene launched forward, blade flashing, catching Lira across the cheek with a hiss of silver on flesh. The she-wolf reeled back, eyes wide.
Selene panted, chest heaving. Her muscles burned. Her skin felt too tight. Her senses swirled.
Then—she dropped the knife.
And raised her hands.
"I won't kill you," she said, voice echoing with something not entirely hers. "You lost. But I'm not here to spill your blood. I'm here to protect this pack."
The fire roared around her.
Rowan stood. "The moon has chosen."
Kael moved through the crowd like thunder and wrapped his arms around Selene.
"You were magnificent," he whispered into her ear.
She collapsed into him, shivering.
"I don't know what's happening to me."
Kael kissed her brow. "You're becoming who you were always meant to be."
---
But in the darkness beyond the flames, something else had seen.
Something older than Kael. Older than the pack.
And it was stirring.
Because Selene wasn't just changing.
She was awakening.
---