I knew the moment I stepped into the training field that someone wanted me shamed.
I should have turned around the second the whispers began, but something in me tightened instead. Something stubborn. Something powerful. Something already hurt by Axel's cold words the night before.
So I walked onto the field with my head up.
I didn't care if my hands shook a little. I didn't care if my chest felt too tight. I didn't care if every warrior stopped what they were doing and stared at me like I was an invader.
Let them stare.
Let them choke on it.
I was here because my father sent me. I was here because the world was evil. I was here because I refused to bow to anyone again. Not even an Alpha who hated me before he even knew my name.
A man laughed loudly and stepped in my way.
He was one of the Crescent warrior's broad shoulders, smug grin, bare arms moving like he wanted an audience.
"So this is the little wolf they sent?" he said.
I kept walking.
He moved with me, blocking me again. "I asked you a question."
"And I ignored it," I said quietly. "You should try that sometime. It might give your brain a rest."
A few soldiers snorted. Others glared. I could feel their anger rising like heat.
He stepped closer. "Say that again."
"No," I said. "You heard me the first time."
His fist lifted.
I responded without thinking. My hand clamped around his wrist, twisted, and shoved.
He hit the ground with a sharp thud. Silence fell across the field.
Another man shouted, "What the hell"
I didn't wait. I saw the first man get up, angry and careless, and I slammed my elbow into his mouth. He fell before he hit the dirt.
More quiet.
More stares.
More anger.
But I felt nothing except the steady burn inside me. The burn I had lived with for years. The burn that whispered, Don't break again. Don't ever break again.
A person called from behind the crowd.
"Enough."
My heart stopped.
Axel walked forward with slow, measured steps. His face was unreadable, but his eyes, his eyes were a storm I did not yet understand. Cold. Intense. Sharp enough to cut into bone.
Some fighters bowed their heads. Some stepped back.
He didn't look at them.
He looked only at me.
His gaze dragged down my face, down my shoulders, down to my clenched hands. The air around him felt different. Heavy. Charged. Almost dangerous.
"You cause trouble everywhere you go," he said.
"Then stop following me," I answered.
Gasps whispered around us, but I didn't look away.
His jaw ticked. "You think this place is a game?"
"No," I said. "But you seem to think I am."
A long break. A long pause.
Then he moved even closer. Too close.
My heartbeat responded before my mind did. It kicked hard against my ribs, wild and furious.
His voice dropped. "You want to stand here? You want to fight as if you belong?"
He took one more step, closing the gap. "Prove it."
The warriors muttered. They looked confused. Some looked scared.
I stood tall. "To who?"
"To me," he said.
"I don't prove myself to cowards."
The words slipped out like a blade. They cut the air between us. I saw the shock flicker in some warriors' eyes.
Axel didn't flinch at first. But then I saw the smallest change in his face. Not anger. Not surprising.
Hurt.
He masked it quickly, but I caught that small flicker, and it made something inside me twist. I hated that. I hated that I could feel anything for him.
He turned away for a moment, breathing slow, controlled breaths. Then he looked at me again.
"Challenge match," he said. "Against me."
The warriors exploded.
"You can't"
"She'll die"
"Alpha, she's not"
"Quiet," Axel said.
Silence fell again.
My throat tightened. My pulse beat. My wolf pushed against my skin, restless, almost begging.
This was wrong.
This was dangerous.
This was crazy.
But something stronger than fear rose in me.
Pride.
Anger.
And the bond beating like a heartbeat I couldn't quiet.
"I accept," I said.
Axel's stare darkened. "You should not."
"You offered," I said. "I'm not backing down."
The tension between us felt raw. Electric. Sharp enough to make the fighters shift uncomfortably.
Cassian stepped beside Axel. "Alpha, maybe"
"No," Axel said. His tone was cold, short. "She wants to fight. She will fight."
His gaze locked on mine again, and for a second just a heartbeatI thought he looked sorry. Then it vanished.
He stepped back into the center of the field.
"Begin," he said.
The world narrowed to the space between us.
I breathed once.
Then I charged.
He moved faster than I expected, slipping aside and catching my wrist. His grip was strong, immovable, but not meant to hurt. Not yet. He pushed me back gently, almost warily.
"I won't go easy on you," he said.
"I don't want you to," I snapped.
I launched at him again, going higher this time. I spun, using the force to land a kick to his side. I hit.
He didn't fall.
He didn't even move.
He looked at me like the hit meant nothing.
"You're fast," he said quietly. "But you're angry. Anger blinds you."
"I see you clearly," I said.
"Do you?" he murmured.
He moved. Fast.
Before I could respond, he swept my legs out and caught me before I hit the ground. His hands gripped my arms, warm and firm.
Too warm.
Heat shot down my spine. The bond jumped.
I gasped. He breathed sharply. His eyes flashed silverbright, shocking, alien.
I froze.
He froze too.
His hands shook around my arms. His chest rose sharply. His jaw stiffened as something inside him slipped out of control.
His voice was hoarse. "Stop. Move away."
"I can't," I whispered.
"Move," he said again, strained this time. "Now."
But I didn't move. And he didn't let go.
The world narrowed to his feelings. The sound of his breath. The stress is quivering between us like a live wire.
His gaze dropped to my mouth for one dangerous second.
Then he shoved me back as if the touch burned him.
The fighters stared, stunned.
Cassian looked scared.
Axel stood still, eyes still glowing slightly, chest rising too quickly.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand even though nothing had touched it. I tried to control my breathing.
"What was that?" I asked quietly.
His jaw clenched. "Nothing."
"You're lying."
"Nothing," he repeated, sharper this time.
The warriors muttered again, confused and antsy.
He stepped closer close enough that his scent hit me hard, close enough that I felt his breath against my cheek.
And then
His hand lifted.
Slow.
Uncertain.
Almost like he didn't realize he was doing it.
He brushed his fingers against my neck. A soft touch. Barely there.
I gasped.
Heat crashed through me. The link snapped like a whip.
His eyes widened. His own breath hitched.
He felt it too.
He felt everything.
He snatched his hand back quickly, almost violently. He looked as if he'd burned himself. His expression twisted anger, fear, confusion, maybe even longing.
He stepped back.
Then another step.
Then another.
"Alpha?" Cassian said.
Axel didn't answer.
He only stared at me like I was the worst mistake the universe had ever given him.
His voice came out low, almost broken.
"Stay away from me."
I blinked. My chest tightened.
He took one more step back. His eyes were no longer silver, but they were darker than before.
"Stay away from me," he repeated. "Or I'll destroy you."
Every fighter fell silent.
Every breath left my body.
My heart sank hard in my chest, but something stubborn rose again. Something strong. Something unbreakable.
I lifted my chin. "You can't destroy what you already feel."
He stiffened.
That was my first mistake.
I saw the shift in his eyes. The anger. The fear. The fear. He turned sharply, voice cutting through the air.
"This match is over," he said. "Nobody speaks of what happened. Nobody."
Cassian tried to step toward him, but Axel stopped him with a look.
Then he walked away fast, tense, almost desperate.
But he kept looking back.
Three times.
Three painful times.
Each look was a fight he was losing.
The troops slowly scattered. Some stared at me with shock. Others with fear. A few with something stronger.
Cassian stayed behind. He looked at me with narrowed eyes. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing," I said.
He stepped closer. "You touched him. He reacted. That never happens."
"Then maybe you don't know him as well as you think."
Cassian's jaw tightened. Something cold flickered in his gaze. "Be careful, little wolf. You're not safe here."
"I wasn't safe anywhere before this," I said. "Why start now?"
Cassian looked like he wanted to say more, but something behind me drew both our attention.
A warrior rushed toward us, panting.
"There's a dead rogue at the border," he said. "You need to see it."
Cassian stressed. "Why?"
"There's something… odd."
The warrior paused. "You should come."
Cassian shot me a warning look. "Stay here."
"No," I said.
He stared at me for a long moment and then sighed. "Fine. Don't slow me down."
We walked together.
The rogue lay on the ground, dead, twisted at an angle that made my stomach roll. But what caught my attention wasn't the body.
It was the mark on the rogue's face.
A burn.
A sign burned deep into the skin like someone pressed a hot brand against him. The warriors whispered, confused, scared.
Cassian stared at the mark and mumbled, "What is that?"
But I couldn't talk.
My breath hitched.
My hands shook.
Because I knew that mark.
I had seen it before.
On my mother's skin the night she died.
I swallowed hard. "I've seen that mark before."
Cassian turned sharply. "Where?"
I couldn't answer. The memory hit too hard. Too fast. Too sharp.
My voice came out shaky. "It doesn't matter."
"Oh, it matters," Cassian said. "You need to tell me"
A howl ripped through the trees.
Loud.
Angry.
Alpha-level.
Axel.
Cassian stiffened. "That's"
"I know."
Then we heard Axel's voice echo through the trees, rough and angry.
"Whoever touched her stepped forward."
Cassian's face was drained of color.
"Why is he"
Another roar shook the air.
"Now!"
My heart beat.
Cassian turned to me slowly, face unreadable.
"What exactly are you to him?" he whispered.
I swallowed.
I had no answer.
But the bond pulsed againdeep, fierce, frightening.
And then Axel's voice repeated one more time, darker, sharper, filled with something I didn't dare name:
"Bring her to me."
The fighters around us stared in fear and confusion.
Cassian looked at me.
His throat bobbed.
"Lola… what did you do?"
I looked into the dark forest where Axel's words had come from, and a cold truth settled in my chest.
Whatever waited for me there…love, hate, danger, or destiny
There was no going back.
Not anymore.