I couldn't breathe.
Two words. The same word. Spoken by two Alphas, both with voices that made the forest tremble.
Mate.
My wolf whimpered inside me, torn, her cries echoing against the walls of my chest. The bond wasn't supposed to feel this way. It was supposed to be clear. One pull. One chosen soul. One destiny.
But there were two.
And they were staring at each other like predators circling prey.
The air between them pulsed with raw power. It pressed against my skin, hot and cold all at once, making every hair on my body stand on end. Their growls rumbled like thunder, vibrating through the ground beneath my feet.
Alpha Kael took a step forward, his fiery gaze locked on Darius. His lips pulled back just enough to bare his teeth. "Step aside. She's mine."
Alpha Darius matched the movement, his icy eyes flashing with steel. "The bond doesn't lie, Kael. I felt it the moment I saw her. The Moon Goddess gave her to me."
A muscle ticked in Kael's jaw. His entire body radiated danger. "The Moon Goddess gave her to me. I will not repeat myself."
I stumbled back, my back pressing against the rough bark of a tree. My lungs burned, desperate for air that wouldn't come. The weight of their voices pressed down on me, making it impossible to think.
"I…" My voice came out broken, shaking. "I don't… I don't understand."
Two pairs of Alpha eyes snapped to me at once. The heat of Kael's stare burned into my skin, while Darius's gaze pulled at me like a rope around my chest. Both demanding. Both unyielding.
My knees wobbled, and I slid down the tree until I was crouched against it, clutching at the dirt like it could ground me.
This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening.
The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes, I told myself. But this—this was impossible.
"Stay back," Kael snarled, his voice slicing through the silence. His body shifted subtly, blocking me from Darius as if I were already his possession.
Darius let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Already guarding what isn't yours? Typical Kael. You think everything belongs to you."
"She does," Kael growled, his voice rough with certainty. "I felt it first. I claimed her first."
My heart slammed painfully against my ribs. Claimed.
I wanted to scream that I wasn't a prize to be fought over, but the words tangled in my throat. Because the truth was, part of me wanted both of them. The pull was unbearable, a need that burned and froze me at once.
Darius's eyes softened just slightly as he glanced at me. His voice lowered, though it still carried the weight of an Alpha. "Look at her, Kael. Do you think she can withstand your fire? She doesn't need a tyrant. She needs protection."
Kael turned on him with a glare so sharp it could cut. "And you think you can protect her? You, who live by rules and treaties? She doesn't need soft hands. She needs strength. She needs me."
The words slammed into me. My breath caught.
How could they both speak with such certainty? How could they both believe I belonged to them?
The forest seemed smaller, darker, as their power filled it. Wolves didn't just stumble across two bonds. It was unheard of. Dangerous. A curse whispered about in old stories told to frighten pups.
I pressed my forehead against my knees, trying to shut it all out, but the bond tugged at me mercilessly. Kael's fire pulled me forward; Darius's ice anchored me back. My body trembled, my mind a whirlwind of fear and longing.
"I can't—" My voice broke as I lifted my head, tears stinging my eyes. "I can't be both of yours."
The forest went still.
Neither Alpha moved.
Then Kael spoke, low and deadly. "You are mine."
"No," Darius countered instantly, his eyes never leaving mine. "You are ours."
The word sent a shiver down my spine. Ours.
I shook my head violently. "That's not possible! The bond doesn't work like that. It can't—"
"Then the Moon Goddess has changed her rules," Kael cut in, his voice hard as stone.
Darius nodded once, his jaw tight. "Or She has cursed us. Either way, I won't let you go."
Their gazes collided again, clashing like swords. I could almost see the war brewing between them, a war with me at the center.
Fear clawed at my chest, but beneath it was something far more dangerous. Desire. The pull toward both of them made my skin ache, my lips burn, my body restless with need.
I hated myself for it. I hated the Goddess for it.
The tension broke like a snapped bowstring. Kael moved first, his body a blur of power as he lunged forward. Darius met him halfway, their clash shaking the ground, growls splitting the night air.
I screamed.
They were going to kill each other.
I stumbled forward, hands outstretched, but the wave of their power shoved me back against the tree like I was nothing but a leaf caught in a storm. Claws slashed, teeth bared, growls thundered. Every strike was lethal, every blow meant to destroy.
"Stop!" My voice tore from my throat, raw and desperate. "Please!"
For a moment, they didn't hear me. Or maybe they didn't care. They were lost in the frenzy, in their obsession.
Then—Kael froze. His head snapped toward me, his fiery eyes locking on my tear-streaked face.
Darius followed, his chest heaving, his fists clenched at his sides.
I didn't realize until then that I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered. My nails dug into the bark behind me.
"Please," I whispered again, softer now, broken. "Don't."
Something flickered in Kael's eyes. Fury, still burning—but also something else. Possession. Obsession.
Darius's gaze softened, his body lowering just slightly, though tension still coiled in every muscle.
They hadn't stopped for each other. They had stopped for me.
The realization made my stomach twist.
Kael stepped toward me first, his voice low, his eyes locked on mine. "I won't hurt you. But I won't let him take you from me."
Darius moved in too, his tone sharp with warning. "And I won't let you burn her alive with your fire. She deserves more than your hunger."
I pressed harder into the tree, my hands trembling. They were too close—too much. Their scents surrounded me, filling my lungs, making me dizzy. One sharp and smoky like burning wood. The other crisp and cool, like winter air.
Two scents. Two pulls. Two bonds.
And me, breaking apart in the middle.
"Stop," I whispered again, though this time it wasn't for their fight. It was for the bond. For the war raging inside me. For the cruel twist of fate that had given me two souls when I only had one heart.
Neither Alpha listened.
Kael's hand lifted, his fingers brushing dangerously close to mine. "You'll understand soon. You were made for me."
Darius's voice came like a blade. "No. She was made for me."
Their words cut into me, deep and sharp, until I could hardly tell where my own thoughts ended and theirs began.
The night was no longer quiet. It was alive—with power, with fire, with ice. With destiny.
And as the moon blazed overhead, I realized something that made my blood run cold.
This was only the beginning.