The night stretched into forever.
Elara sat in her crumbling cabin, knees drawn to her chest, staring at the door. Waiting. Listening. Feeling.
The bond pulsed in her chest like a second heartbeat—stronger now than ever before, alive with Kael's presence. She could sense him moving, fighting, existing somewhere in the darkness beyond her walls. The taste of his kiss still lingered on her lips.
He kissed me.
The thought should have been impossible. The Alpha who'd rejected her. The cold wolf who'd called her nothing. He'd held her like she was precious, kissed her like she was air, looked at her like she was everything.
And now he was out there, fighting, while she sat here useless.
Not useless, her wolf whispered. Waiting. Surviving. That's enough for now.
But it didn't feel like enough.
It felt like agony.
---
Dawn came slowly, bleeding pink and gold across the sky.
Elara hadn't slept. Couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Kael's face in the moment before the kiss—the desperate wanting, the raw vulnerability, the terrifying need.
She touched her lips again.
Still warm.
Focus, she told herself. Survive. That's what he'd want.
She checked the knife he'd given her—still sharp, still close. She checked the gaps in the walls—still stuffed with moss and fabric. She checked the woodpile—nearly gone, which meant more nights of cold.
And she waited.
For news. For Kael. For the other shoe to drop.
It dropped at midday.
---
Footsteps outside.
Elara's hand closed around the knife. She pressed herself against the wall beside the door, heart hammering, every lesson Kael had taught her screaming through her veins.
Don't be where the attack is. Stay calm. Survive.
The door creaked open.
Dace's head appeared.
"Whoa—" He ducked back as the knife flashed toward his face. "Friendly! I'm friendly!"
Elara didn't lower the weapon. "What are you doing here?"
"Bringing news. And food." He held up a bundle, eyes wide. "Put the knife down. Please. I'm not here to hurt you."
Slowly, Elara lowered the blade. Her hands shook.
Dace studied her with new respect. "The Alpha's been training you. Good. You'll need it."
"What news?"
He stepped inside, looking around the crumbling cabin with obvious distaste. "This is worse than I heard. Marlena really wants you dead."
"The news, Dace."
"Right." He set down the food bundle. "The border attack last night—it was bigger than we thought. Not just probing. A full assault. The Alpha's fine, by the way. Wounded but healing. He'd kill me if I didn't tell you that first."
Elara's knees nearly gave out with relief.
He's alive. He's okay.
But Dace wasn't finished.
"The attack wasn't random. The rogues were organized. Disciplined. They hit three different points simultaneously, drew our warriors in multiple directions, and then—" He paused. "Then a small group broke off and headed toward the outer cabins."
Elara's blood chilled. "Here?"
"You." His hazel eyes were serious for once. "They were coming for you. The only reason they didn't make it is because the Alpha went insane when he realized what was happening. Tore through a dozen rogues single-handedly to cut them off."
He felt it. Through the bond. He knew I was in danger.
"The council's not happy," Dace continued. "Marlena's using it as proof that you're a liability. She's demanding you be moved again—further out, to the old hunter's shack near the wasteland border."
"No."
The word came from the doorway.
Kael filled the frame.
---
He looked terrible.
Blood soaked his shirt—some his, some not. A fresh gash crossed his cheekbone, still healing. His silver eyes were wild, desperate, fixed on Elara like she was the only real thing in the world.
Dace raised his hands. "I was just leaving."
He slipped past Kael and disappeared.
Kael crossed the cabin in three strides. Pulled Elara into his arms. Held her so tight she could barely breathe.
"You're alive." His voice was rough. Broken. "You're alive."
"I'm alive." Her hands fisted in his blood-soaked shirt. "You're hurt."
"Doesn't matter." He pulled back just enough to look at her. "When I felt them heading toward you—when I realized what was happening—I thought I'd lose my mind. I've never—" He stopped. Swallowed. "I can't lose you. I can't."
You won't, she wanted to say. I'm yours. I've always been yours.
But the seal held.
"Kael." She touched his face. "I'm here. I'm okay. You stopped them."
He leaned into her touch like a starving man finding food. Closed his eyes. Breathed.
For a long moment, they simply existed—together, alive, safe.
Then Kael's eyes opened. Hardened.
"Marlena's calling for a council vote tomorrow." His voice was grim. "She wants you moved to the hunter's shack. It's beyond the patrol routes, practically in rogue territory. If she succeeds—"
"I won't survive the night."
The words hung between them.
"No." Kael's jaw tightened. "You won't. Which is why I'm not letting it happen."
"How? You said she has the votes."
"She does. But votes can be challenged." His silver eyes met hers. "If an Alpha challenges a council decision, it goes to trial by combat. Me against her champion."
"No." Elara grabbed his arms. "No, Kael. You're already wounded. If you fight—"
"I'll win."
"You don't know that."
"I know I'll die before I let them send you to that shack." His voice was quiet. Fierce. "I know you're more important than any council, any vote, any challenge. I know—" He stopped. Touched her face. "I know I can't lose you. So I won't."
He's choosing me, Elara thought wildly. Publicly. Completely. At the risk of everything.
Please let it be enough.
"When?" she asked.
"Tomorrow. Noon. The council grounds." He pressed his forehead to hers. "Whatever happens—if I win, you stay. If I lose—" He stopped.
"If you lose?"
"Then Cassian will get you out. Before they can move you. He knows where to go, who to find. You won't be alone."
Tears burned Elara's eyes. "You've planned for your death."
"I've planned for every possibility. That's what Alphas do." He pulled back, looked at her. "But I don't plan to lose. I plan to win. I plan to keep you safe. I plan to figure out what this is between us, whatever it takes, however long."
Tomorrow, Elara thought. Tomorrow everything changes.
One way or another.
---
Kael left before dusk—had to, before anyone noticed him missing. But he made Elara promise: stay inside, keep the knife close, trust that he'd come back.
She promised.
And then she waited.
---
The night was the longest yet.
Elara sat in the darkness, knife in hand, marks blazing beneath her clothes. The bond pulsed steadily—Kael, alive, thinking of her—and she clung to it like a lifeline.
Tomorrow, she told herself. Tomorrow he fights for me.
And if he loses—
She couldn't finish the thought.
Instead, she reached through the bond. Not with words—she still couldn't do that. But with feeling. With everything she had.
I'm here, she pushed toward him. I'm waiting. I believe in you.
A pulse of warmth answered.
I know. I feel you.
I'll come back.
I promise.
Elara closed her eyes.
And for the first time in days, she slept.
---
She dreamed of silver wolves.
Hundreds of them, running through a forest bathed in Blood Moon light. Leading them—a wolf larger than all the rest, silver fur gleaming, eyes like moonlight on snow.
Kael.
But not Kael. Herself.
You, the wolf said. You lead them. You always have.
I don't know how.
You will. When the time comes.
The dream shifted.
A cave. Chains. The silver wolf from her earlier dreams, still trapped, still waiting.
Soon, it whispered. Soon you'll free us both.
But first—he must prove himself.
Tomorrow.
Elara woke with the marks on her chest burning like fire.
---
Dawn came too fast.
Elara dressed in the warmest clothes she had—the ones Kael had brought. She strapped the knife to her belt. She ate the last of the dried meat.
And she waited.
The bond pulsed with tension. Kael was preparing. She could feel it—the focus, the determination, the undercurrent of fear he'd never admit to.
Please, she prayed to the Moon Goddess she'd never believed in. Please let him win. Please let him be worthy. Please—
Footsteps.
Elara grabbed the knife.
The door opened.
Cassian stood there, face grim. "Come with me. The Alpha wants you at the council grounds."
"He wants me there?"
"He wants you to see." Cassian's amber eyes held something she couldn't read. "He wants you to know he's fighting for you. Whatever happens."
Elara sheathed the knife. Followed.
---
The council grounds were packed.
Hundreds of wolves filled the clearing—warriors, elders, omegas, families. The air hummed with tension. At the center, a circle had been marked in the snow. Combat ring.
And in the center of that ring, waiting, stood Kael.
He'd changed. Fresh leathers. Sword at his hip. His dark hair pushed back from his face, revealing the silver eyes that found her immediately the moment she entered the clearing.
Across from him, Marlena spoke with a wolf Elara didn't recognize—massive, scarred, easily twice Kael's weight. Her champion.
Cassian guided Elara to the edge of the crowd. "Stay here. Watch. Don't interfere."
"How can I—"
"You can't. No one can. This is his fight." Cassian's voice was quiet. "But he wanted you here. Wanted you to see."
See what? Elara wondered. See him win? Or see him fall?
Marlena's voice cut through the crowd.
"Alpha Kael has challenged the council's decision regarding the human female. By ancient law, the challenge must be settled by combat. If the Alpha wins, the human stays. If my champion wins, the human is moved to the hunter's shack—and the council's authority is reaffirmed."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Kael stepped forward. His silver eyes swept the crowd, found Elara again, held.
"I fight," he said simply, "for what's mine."
The words hit Elara like a physical blow.
Mine.
The crowd roared.
The champion stepped into the ring.
---
The fight was brutal.
The champion was massive—easily three hundred pounds of muscle and scar tissue. He moved with the kind of slow, deliberate power that came from decades of combat. His first swing would have taken Kael's head off if he hadn't dodged.
But Kael was faster.
He moved like water—like smoke—like something not quite wolf, not quite human. His sword flashed in the pale sunlight, drawing blood from the champion's arm, his leg, his side.
The champion roared. Shifted.
Massive grey wolf, teeth like daggers, lunging for Kael's throat.
Kael shifted mid-leap.
Black fur. Silver paw. Wolf against wolf.
They crashed together in a tangle of fangs and fury. The crowd surged forward, then back, then forward again—screaming, howling, lost to primal instinct.
Elara couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything except watch the silver-pawed wolf fight for his life—for her—and pray.
Please. Please. Please.
The grey wolf got Kael's leg in its jaws. Crunched down. Blood sprayed.
Elara screamed.
But Kael didn't stop. Didn't slow. He twisted, tore free, and sank his teeth into the grey wolf's throat.
The champion went down.
Kael stood over him—bloody, victorious, magnificent—and howled.
The crowd answered.
---
Kael shifted back to human form. Naked, wounded, glorious. His silver eyes found Elara immediately.
He walked toward her.
The crowd parted.
He stopped before her, chest heaving, blood streaming down his leg. Reached out. Touched her face with shaking fingers.
"You stay." His voice was rough. Broken. "You're not going anywhere."
Elara couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Couldn't do anything except stand there, tears streaming down her face, as the Alpha who'd rejected her—who'd fought for her—who'd chosen her—looked at her like she was the entire world.
Then Marlena's voice cut through the moment.
"This changes nothing." The elder's eyes were flint. "She's still human. Still a liability. Still nothing. You won today, Alpha. But the council will keep watching. And the moment she proves dangerous—"
"She won't." Kael's voice was ice. "Because she's under my protection. My personal protection. Anyone who threatens her threatens me. Anyone who moves against her moves against their Alpha."
The crowd went silent.
Marlena's eyes narrowed. "You'd risk everything for a human?"
Kael looked at Elara. Held her gaze.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I would."
And for the first time, in front of the entire pack, he took her hand.
---
End of Chapter 10🐺