The ground fell silent, the storm's fury outside nothing compared to the beast within it. Dante lay sprawled across the dirt, blood smeared at his lip where Theodore's brutal kick had sent him crashing down. His body strained to rise, but the guards shoved him back with spears, their boots digging into his ribs.
Theodore stood tall on the battlefield below, his golden eyes gleaming with merciless pride. He didn't even glance at Dante anymore—the Alpha's attention was fixed above, on the balcony.
And there she stood. Isabella.
Theodore's smirk carved across his face, sharp and cruel. He tilted his head ever so slightly, locking his eyes with hers. A taunting spark flickered in his gaze, daring her, mocking her.
She didn't hesitate. The air shifted around her as a strange power awakened. Isabella's chest rose sharply, her hand clutching the railing for only a moment. Then, with a sharp inhale, her body shuddered, fur spilling across her skin, bones snapping into place.
Her scream turned into a feral howl as her wolf emerged—majestic, untamed, and unlike any other. White fur gleamed like snow beneath moonlight, her eyes burning violet, a mark of something ancient and rare. She wasn't fragile anymore. She was breathtaking. She was power itself.
With a thunderous leap, Isabella hurled herself from the balcony, landing before Theodore with a crash that shook the ground.
The Alpha only laughed.
His body cracked and split as his own wolf ripped free. What rose from his flesh was no ordinary beast—it was monstrous, vast. Gray fur rippled like steel under firelight, his golden eyes blinding, his frame towering nearly four times Isabella's size.
And then, like a storm swallowing a flame, he lunged.
Her fangs bared, Isabella struck first, her powerful body colliding with his. But his sheer size and strength dwarfed her. In one brutal motion, Theodore's massive jaws clamped around her neck. His claws tore into her shoulders as he forced her down into the dirt, her violet gaze blazing in fury as she thrashed beneath him.
Dante roared from where he lay bound, voice cracking with helpless rage.
"Isabella—NO!"
Theodore's dark laughter vibrated through the night, cruel and thunderous. His muzzle lowered to hers, golden eyes burning with twisted triumph.Isabella thrashed, claws slashing wildly, but Theodore's weight crushed her into the earth. His fangs tightened at her throat, holding her seconds from death. Her violet eyes blazed with fury, yet his golden ones burned brighter—merciless, unyielding, almost amused.
A low growl rumbled from his chest, vibrating against her as he whispered in her ear, his voice both silken and venomous.
"Look at you, my little wolf. So majestic, so rare… yet still trembling beneath me. Do you feel it? The truth? No matter how powerful you are, you'll always be beneath me."
His muzzle brushed against her neck, inhaling her scent slowly, deliberately. Isabella snarled, snapping her fangs at his jaw, but he only laughed—a dark, guttural sound that echoed across the field.
"Mmm… and here I thought Dante had claimed you. His scent clings to you like a desperate shadow, but no mark. No bond. No claim." His golden eyes flicked toward Dante, cruel and mocking. "How pitiful. To steal a mate and never even touch her… Tell me, Dante, did you not dare? Or did she refuse you?"
Dante's roar shook the ground as he fought against the guards, rage twisting his features. "THEODORE—LET HER GO!"
But Theodore only pressed harder, his claws digging into Isabella's shoulders until blood stained her white fur. His lips curled into a smile, equal parts savage and seductive.
"No, Dante. You'll watch. You'll watch as I remind her who truly owns her. You'll die knowing she was never yours. She was always mine… mine to break, mine to claim."
His muzzle hovered just above Isabella's, their breaths colliding, his dominance suffocating. Then his laughter erupted—dark, victorious, a sound that carried into the night like a curse.
Isabella's violet eyes widened, rage and pain burning together, but Theodore's golden gaze only narrowed with wicked delight.