Kael
The night went still, so still I could hear the blood dripping from my wound into the pine needles. Every rogue melted back into the trees the second he appeared, tails tucked, bodies trembling under the weight of his presence.
Darius hadn't changed. Broad shoulders, scarred jaw, eyes that glowed like molten gold. He carried himself with the same swaggering dominance that once made wolves kneel without question. That same arrogance had been carved into me years ago, sharp enough to slice me clean from my own pack.
My wolf snapped and snarled inside me, desperate to launch across the clearing and rip his throat out. My hands itched for it too. But Elara's limp weight against me kept me rooted.
I shifted back halfway, claws still sliding from my fingers, fur bristling down my arms. I wanted him to see me as I was—wolf and man both, not cowed, not broken.
"What the hell do you want, Darius?" My voice came out raw, half-growl, half-breath.
His smile widened, sharp as a blade. "You've got something of mine, Kael."
I tightened my hold on Elara instinctively, baring my teeth. "She's not yours."
"Oh?" He tilted his head, studying me like a predator studies prey. "An omega doesn't just wander into the woods by chance. And she certainly doesn't end up in the arms of a banished wolf without reason." His gaze flicked to her unconscious face, and something dark curled in his expression. "She belongs with me. Hand her over."
The bond snarled in my chest, fierce and wild. Mine. The word wasn't spoken, but it pulsed through every nerve in my body until I thought I'd choke on it.
"You'll have to kill me first," I growled, voice low and deadly.
Darius laughed. Not loud. Not mocking. Just a soft, satisfied sound that chilled me more than the night air ever could. "That can be arranged."
The rogues stirred again at his command, slipping from the shadows, circling closer. My wolf roared against my skin, demanding blood, demanding I tear him apart where he stood.
But I was already bleeding. Already outnumbered. And Elara—if I lost my grip on her for even a second, she was gone.
Darius knew it. I saw it in the cruel gleam of his eyes.
"You're weak," he said, his voice slicing through me like a blade. "You always were. That's why I cast you out. That's why you'll die tonight."
He raised his hand, fingers snapping once. The rogues lunged.
They came like a flood. Teeth snapping, claws slashing, eyes burning with the blind obedience of dogs bound to an alpha's will.
I dropped Elara behind me, bracing her against the base of a tree, praying she'd stay unconscious long enough not to see the slaughter. My wolf screamed at me for putting her down, but I couldn't fight with her in my arms.
The first wolf lunged, and I caught him midair, twisting hard enough to hear his spine crack before I flung his body into the next. They tumbled into the dirt, yelping, but more filled the gap instantly.
Pain flared white-hot across my shoulder as claws ripped down to the bone. I spun, snapping, teeth sinking deep into fur and flesh, ripping free a mouthful of blood. The copper taste burned my tongue, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
There were too many.
One slammed into my side, driving me into the dirt. I rolled, jaws snapping inches from his throat, but another was already there, teeth sinking into my leg. My vision flared red as my wolf surged, drowning me in rage. I tore the attacker free with one savage rip, but the damage was done—blood poured hot and fast down my calf.
"Pathetic," Darius's voice cut through the chaos, calm and clear. He hadn't moved from the edge of the clearing, watching me like this was sport.
Another rogue dove for Elara.
My wolf detonated. I hit him mid-stride, jaws locking around his neck, and ripped him away from her before he could touch her. She stirred faintly at the sound, a broken whimper escaping her lips. The bond roared through me, violent and unrelenting. Protect her. At any cost.
I stood over her, chest heaving, blood dripping from my wounds and muzzle. The rogues circled, hesitation flickering in their eyes. They were waiting for his command.
Darius smirked, folding his arms across his chest. "See how easily you bleed, Kael? Still think you can play alpha when you can barely protect yourself?"
"I'm not playing," I growled, my voice rumbling low from my chest. "And I don't need a pack to end you."
His eyes glinted with cruel amusement. "Bold words from a dying man."
He raised his hand again. The rogues surged forward. I braced myself, every muscle burning, ready to take as many down with me as I could. But just as the first leapt—
A sound tore through the night. Not a growl. Not a snarl. A howl. Pure, shattering, otherworldly. It didn't come from me. It came from her.
Elara.
Her eyes snapped open, glowing silver in the moonlight.
A sound split the night wide open. Low at first, trembling like the breath of the dying, then swelling, rising, until it wasn't just a howl but a command. A call that made the very air tremble.
Every rogue froze mid-lunge. Their ears flattened, whines spilling from their throats as they stumbled back. One collapsed outright, body shaking as though the howl had torn something vital out of him.
I spun, chest heaving, to where she lay.
Elara was no longer the broken, unconscious girl I'd carried through the woods. Her body arched against the tree, hair whipping around her face as though caught in a storm. Her eyes glowed like molten silver, searing in the darkness, locking straight on me.
The bond surged between us, no longer a whisper but a wildfire, raging, uncontainable. My wolf dropped to its knees inside me, not in submission but in recognition.
Alpha-blood.
The word pulsed through me, carried on instinct deeper than thought. My skin prickled, every nerve sparking. That wasn't possible. Omegas didn't carry that kind of power. They were meant to be nurtured, protected—not to bring entire packs of rogues to their knees with a single howl.
But there she was. And every wolf in the clearing felt it.
Darius's smirk faltered, just for a heartbeat. His eyes narrowed, flicking from her to me, then back to her again. For the first time, his voice lost that easy calm. "What… are you?"
Elara's lips parted, breath ragged. She blinked as though waking from a nightmare, her glow dimming but not fading completely. "I… I don't know," she whispered, and the sound was soft, human again. But her gaze snapped to Darius, sharp with terror, and she pressed back against the tree like it might swallow her whole.
The rogues whimpered, confused, caught between two pulls—Darius's dominance and whatever the hell Elara had just unleashed.
My body moved before my mind could catch up. I stepped in front of her, shielding her with my bloodied frame, claws flexing. My wolf howled in answer to hers, and the sound tore through the forest, raw and furious.
The rogues dropped lower, pinned under the weight of two forces now.
Darius's face hardened. He masked it quick, but I saw the shift. He was rattled. And if Darius was rattled, then this girl… this omega… was something far more dangerous than either of us understood.
He leaned forward slightly, eyes locked on her, his voice low and sharp. "She's mine."
I bared my teeth, every muscle burning, blood dripping into the dirt. "Not tonight."
His smile returned, cruel and thin. "Then let's see if you can keep her."
He snapped his fingers and the rogues launched forward again.
The clearing erupted again, claws and teeth flashing under the moon. The rogues came harder this time, rage sparking in their eyes as Darius's command dragged them forward.
I tore into the first before he could reach us, my jaws locking down on his shoulder, crushing bone. He yelped and went limp, but three more surged past me.
"No!" I spun, slashing one across the muzzle before his teeth could sink into Elara. Another slammed into my back, claws ripping deep. Pain exploded down my spine, but I refused to fall. I couldn't—not with her behind me.
Her voice cracked through the chaos, soft but trembling with that same strange pull. "Kael!"
The sound of my name from her lips poured strength into my veins like fire. My wolf surged, snapping chains I didn't know I'd been carrying. I let it flood me fully, no restraint, no hesitation.
I became the storm.
I ripped one wolf off my back and hurled him into another, both bodies tumbling into the dirt. Blood slicked my hands, fur bristling down my arms, vision blazing bright red. Every strike, every kill, was for her.
Still, there were too many. They circled tighter, driving us back, their teeth inches from Elara. She pressed against the tree, her eyes glowing faintly again, fear and something else—power—burning in them.
Darius hadn't moved. He just stood there, watching, lips curved in that cruel, patient smile. He didn't want to kill me yet. He wanted to watch me bleed.
A rogue slipped past me, faster than the rest. He lunged for her throat— And Elara screamed. Not fear. Not pain. Power.
The sound ripped through the clearing like a blade. The wolf froze mid-leap, legs locking, eyes rolling back as he collapsed into the dirt, whimpering. The others staggered, shaken, but not broken.
Her body sagged against the tree, the glow fading as fast as it came. Too much, too soon. I didn't think. I just moved. I grabbed her, hauling her into my arms, and bolted into the trees.
The forest blurred around us, branches whipping against my skin, my blood hot and sticky down my side. I didn't care. All I cared about was the fragile weight in my arms, the sound of her breathing, the bond roaring through me like fire.
Behind us, the rogues gave chase, their howls ripping through the night. Darius's voice carried above them all, calm, cruel, promising.
"Run as far as you like, Kael. She's already mine."
His laugh echoed through the trees, chasing me into the darkness.