The hall emptied in a rush, wolves thundering past me as Kael's command dragged them toward the border. The sound of claws on stone echoed like war drums. My body shook, caught between fear and the pull of the bond.
I shouldn't have followed. Every voice inside me screamed to stay where it was safe. But the other bond—the one tied to Darius—pulled harder, tugging me out into the night. I couldn't fight it. My feet carried me into the storm whether I wanted to or not.
The air outside was sharp, filled with the scent of smoke and tension. Wolves crowded the cliffs, their growls vibrating through the ground. And there, just beyond the border stones, stood Darius.
He wasn't alone. A line of his wolves flanked him, their forms sharp and still as blades. They didn't bristle or snap like Kael's wolves. They simply stood, waiting, their calm more threatening than rage.
Darius himself was steady, tall and unshaken, his eyes locking onto mine the instant I appeared. The bond sang inside me, desperate, hungry. My knees almost buckled from the force of it.
Kael moved to the front, his body taut with fury. His wolves pressed closer, feeding on his anger like fire licking at dry wood. His voice was low, dangerous, when he spoke.
"You've crossed my land, Darius."
Darius's tone was calm, but it carried through the night like steel. "I came for her."
The crowd roared, Kael's wolves snarling, spitting threats, their rage spilling into the air. Kael silenced them with a single growl, his eyes never leaving Darius.
"She is under my roof. My protection. My claim." His words cracked like lightning.
"She is not yours to keep," Darius replied, his calmness only fueling Kael's fury. His gaze shifted briefly to me, softer now. "She deserves more than fire and chains."
The words hit me like a blade. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. The bond with him throbbed, aching, as if begging me to step toward him.
Kael noticed. His growl rumbled through the ground. He turned, his eyes blazing red as they locked on me. "Do not move," he ordered, the command of an Alpha vibrating in my bones.
And still, my wolf inside me whined, restless, torn. Two pulls. Two voices. Two halves of my soul battling inside me.
The crowd pressed closer, power building like a storm ready to split the sky. I could taste it in the air—blood. If I didn't stop them, this would end in war.
"Enough!" My voice cracked through the night before I could think.
The growls quieted, though they didn't vanish. Dozens of eyes swung to me—Kael's wolves, Darius's, both Alphas. My hands shook, but I forced myself to stand taller.
"You're going to tear each other apart," I said, my voice trembling but louder now. "Over me. Over something none of us asked for."
Kael's jaw clenched, his eyes burning. "You are mine."
Darius's voice was firm. "You are ours."
The words tangled inside me, pulling me in opposite directions until I thought I'd shatter.
The elder's warning from nights ago whispered in my head: If you choose wrongly… blood will follow.
My chest heaved. "If you kill each other, then what am I left with?"
The silence that followed was heavier than the growls had been. Kael's fire dimmed slightly, though his gaze stayed locked on Darius like a blade ready to strike. Darius's stance softened, just barely, as if my words had cut through the steel.
For a moment, I thought it was over.
Then Kael stepped forward, his voice low, dangerous. "Leave, Darius. Before I tear you apart."
Darius's wolves shifted, bracing, but he lifted a hand to still them. His icy gaze never wavered as it swept back to me.
"You don't belong here," he said quietly, as if it were just for me. "Not in this fire. Not under his chains. When the time comes, you'll see."
The bond pulled hard, making my heart ache, my lungs tighten. For a moment, I wanted to step forward, to run into that calm strength. But Kael's power burned at my back, holding me in place.
Darius gave one last look, sharp and piercing, before turning away. His wolves followed, vanishing into the night like ghosts.
Only when they were gone did the tension break, though it didn't vanish. Kael's wolves growled low, restless, and Kael himself stood frozen, his chest rising and falling like a storm barely contained.
He turned to me slowly, his eyes glowing red. "You disobeyed me," he growled.
My heart raced. "I stopped you from killing each other."
His hand shot out, gripping my wrist. The heat of him seared through me, the bond sparking so violently my breath caught. His gaze bore into mine, fierce and unyielding.
"You don't understand what you're doing," he said, his voice rough. "Every time you look at him, every time you let that bond pull you, you make me want to burn this world to the ground."
His words hit me like fire, leaving me breathless. For a moment, I saw something in his eyes beyond rage—fear.
But then his grip loosened. He let go, turning away sharply, his shoulders tense.
"Go inside," he said. Not an order this time. Not a command. Just words, heavy with something I couldn't name.
I wanted to argue, to demand answers, but the storm in my chest left me silent. I turned back toward the hall, my body trembling, the bonds pulling me apart with every step.
Behind me, Kael's growl rumbled low, a sound not for me but for himself, as if he were fighting the war inside his own chest.
And deep inside, my wolf whispered the truth I didn't want to face.
The war hadn't started yet.
But soon, it would.