Iris POV
You want to do what to my mate?
Kael's voice is deadly quiet, but through our bond, I feel his rage building like a volcano about to erupt.
The elderly man—Elder Thaddeus, I realize from the whispers around us—doesn't back down. His cruel eyes remain fixed on me.
The girl carries a curse. Dark magic that threatens every wolf in this pack. She must be neutralized before—
She just saved my life! Kael roars. She broke the curse that's been killing me for five years! And now you want to punish her for it?
The curse isn't broken, Alpha. Thaddeus's voice is cold. It's transferred. The witch's corruption now lives inside her. We all felt it—that flicker of darkness in the bond you share. How long before it consumes her the way it consumed you? How long before she becomes the monster instead?
The words hit like physical blows. Because he's right. I felt it too—that shadow lurking in the corners of our connection.
She won't become a monster, Kael says fiercely. The Moon Goddess herself blessed her. Made her Moonborn. That has to mean something
It means she's dangerous. Another elder steps forward—a woman with gray hair and hard eyes. Moonborn wolves are myths, Alpha. Legends. We don't know what she's capable of. What if the curse twists her power? What if she loses control?
Around us, I hear wolves murmuring agreement. Even some of the warriors who fought beside us tonight are looking at me with uncertainty.
I don't blame them. I'm terrified of what's inside me too.
Through the bond, I feel Kael's protective fury intensifying. He pulls me behind him, putting his body between me and the elders.
You want to judge her? Fine. We'll have a proper pack trial. But you're not touching her until—
The trial will happen now, Thaddeus interrupts. Here. Before witnesses. The pack elders have already voted. Three to two in favor of exile.
My stomach drops. Exile?
You'll be stripped of pack protection and cast out into rogue territory, the female elder explains with false sympathy. Alone. With no bond to guide you and a curse eating you from the inside. You'll either master the darkness or be consumed by it. Either way, you won't be Shadowpaw's problem anymore.
That's a death sentence! Rowan protests. She'll be slaughtered by rogues within a day!
Then perhaps she shouldn't have accepted a curse into her soul, Thaddeus says coldly.
Kael's control snaps. His eyes flash gold—not from the curse this time, but from pure alpha fury. Power rolls off him in waves that make even the elders step back.
Let me be very clear, he says, his voice dropping to a lethal growl. Iris is my mate. My soul-bond. The Moon Goddess herself chose us and blessed us. If you exile her, you exile me. If you harm her, you'll have to kill me first. And I promise you—I won't go down easy.
The clearing goes silent. Every wolf feels the weight of an alpha's absolute authority.
Thaddeus's expression hardens. Then you leave us no choice. By pack law, an alpha who defies the council's judgment can be challenged for leadership. I invoke the right of challenge.
Gasps echo through the warriors.
You? Kael's voice is disbelieving. You're seventy years old, Thaddeus. You haven't shifted in a decade. You think you can take me?
Not me. Thaddeus steps aside, and a massive wolf emerges from the shadows behind him.
My heart stops.
He's huge—bigger even than Kael, with black fur shot through with silver. His eyes are cold and calculating. And the power radiating from him marks him as alpha-born.
This is my grandson, Darius, Thaddeus says. Alpha of the Bloodclaw Pack from the Northern Territories. He's been... concerned about Shadowpaw's stability since your curse began. When I sent word that you'd been compromised by dark magic through your mate, he agreed to come and restore proper leadership.
Darius shifts to human form—a man in his early thirties, powerfully built, with a face that might be handsome if it wasn't so cruel.
Alpha Kael, he says formally. I challenge you for leadership of Shadowpaw Pack. If you refuse, the elders will declare you unfit and install me by default. If you accept and lose, I become alpha and your mate's fate is in my hands.
He smiles, showing too many teeth. I think we both know what that fate will be.
Through the bond, I feel Kael's fury warring with cold calculation. He's still recovering from five years of curse-damage. He just fought a battle against Morganna's forces. He's exhausted, wounded, running on fumes.
And Darius is fresh, powerful, and clearly spoiling for a fight.
Kael, don't, I whisper, gripping his arm. You're not strong enough yet—
I don't have a choice. His eyes meet mine, filled with desperate determination. If I refuse, they take you. I won't let that happen.
But if you lose
I won't lose. He cups my face gently. I've spent five years as a monster. I'm not going back to being powerless. Not when I finally have something worth fighting for.
The love in his eyes makes my chest ache.
Alpha Kael, Thaddeus prompts. What is your answer?
Kael turns to face Darius, his shoulders squared despite his exhaustion. I accept your challenge. We fight at dawn
No. Darius's smile widens. We fight now. While the moon is still high. While witnesses are gathered. Unless you need time to prepare? To say goodbye to your mate before I tear out your throat?
The mockery in his voice makes my wolf snarl.
Kael's expression hardens. Now is fine.
The warriors quickly form a circle—the traditional challenge ring. Rowan tries to protest, but Kael silences him with a look.
This is pack law, Kael says quietly. I have to do this.
He starts to move toward the circle, but I grab his hand.
Wait. I pull him close, standing on my toes to whisper in his ear. The bond works both ways, remember? You gave me your strength during the battle. Let me give you mine now.
His eyes widen. Iris, the curse inside you
Is dormant. Sera said so. And right now, you need power more than I do. I press my hand over his heart. Take it. Take everything I have. Win this fight. Then we'll figure out the curse together.
Through the bond, I feel his protest. But he also feels my determination.
You're insane, he murmurs.
You've mentioned that. I smile despite my terror. Now stop arguing and let me help you.
For one heartbeat, he hesitates. Then he covers my hand with his and opens the bond fully.
Power flows from me to him—my Moonborn strength, my blessed connection to the goddess, everything the transformation gave me. I feel it draining out like water, leaving me weak and dizzy.
But Kael straightens, his eyes brightening. The exhaustion fades from his face. When he releases my hand and walks toward the challenge ring, he moves with the grace and power of a fully healed alpha
Darius's confident smile falters slightly. What
I'm ready, Kael says. Let's finish this.
They face each other across the circle. Thaddeus raises his hand.
This is a challenge to the death, he announces. The victor becomes alpha of Shadowpaw Pack. The defeated... He doesn't finish, but everyone knows. The defeated dies.
Begin!
Both alphas shift simultaneously.
Kael's wolf is magnificent—massive and black, with eyes that burn with determination. No curse-twisted form. No trapped transformation. Just pure, powerful alpha.
They collide in the center with bone-shaking force.
The fight is brutal. Claws tear flesh. Fangs find throats and barely miss. They're evenly matched—Kael with borrowed Moonborn power, Darius with fresh strength and cruel efficiency.
Blood stains the ground. Warriors watch in tense silence.
Through the bond, I feel every hit Kael takes, every moment his strength wavers. I've given him everything I can, but it might not be enough.
Then Darius gets the upper hand. His jaws close around Kael's throat, and I feel my mate's panic spike through our connection.
NO! I scream.
Something inside me breaks. Not the curse, something else. Something deeper.
Silver light explodes from my body, flooding through the bond into Kael with such force that both wolves are thrown apart.
When they scramble to their feet, Kael is glowing. Literally glowing with Moonborn power that makes him look like an avenging angel
Darius takes one look and his confidence shatters. That's not possible
Kael doesn't give him time to finish. He attacks with speed and strength that shouldn't exist, driving Darius back across the circle. Within seconds, it's over.
Kael's jaws close around Darius's throat—not killing, but establishing dominance. The challenge position. Submit or die.
Darius goes limp, whimpering. Submission.
Kael releases him and shifts back to human, standing over his defeated opponent.
I am alpha of this pack, he says, his voice carrying to every wolf present. By right of challenge and by blessing of the Moon Goddess. Does anyone else wish to dispute my claim?
Silence.
Even Thaddeus looks shaken.
And my mate, Kael continues, his eyes finding mine across the circle, is Luna of Shadowpaw. Anyone who threatens her threatens me. Is that understood?
The warriors drop to one knee. One by one, even the elders bow their heads in submission.
Except Thaddeus. His face is twisted with rage and something else. Something that looks like desperation.
You think you've won? he hisses. You think defeating one challenger makes you safe? The curse in her will grow stronger every day. It will consume her. Twist her. Turn her into the monster you used to be. And when that happens, when she finally loses control...
He points at me with a shaking finger.
She'll destroy everything you love. Everyone in this pack. And you'll have to watch it happen, knowing you could have stopped it by casting her out tonight.
His words hang in the air like poison.
Through the bond, I feel Kael's certainty waver. Because deep down, he fears the same thing.
And so do I.
Before anyone can respond, Sera gasps. The curse! It's activating!
I look down at my hands. They're turning black—darkness spreading up my arms like ink in water.
And from deep inside me, something ancient and terrible begins to wake.