The air was heavy with the copper tang of blood. Shadows flickered across the ruined clearing where Selene stood, her back pressed against a broken stone pillar, chest rising and falling as if each breath threatened to tear her apart. All around her, the ground was littered with the aftermath of claws, fangs, and fury. Shadowfang warriors fought tooth and nail against intruders who had breached their borders—rogue wolves or perhaps spies sent by rival packs hungry to test Darius's dominion.
Selene wasn't supposed to be here. She'd only followed Darius into the edge of Shadowfang lands because something inside her had burned—an inexplicable pull she couldn't name. Now, surrounded by snapping jaws and blood-curdling howls, she regretted it with every fiber of her being.
A wolf lunged at her, its massive frame blotting out the dim light. Selene barely raised her arms to shield herself before a streak of black fur slammed into the attacker. The impact shook the earth. Darius.
He moved like living shadow, his wolf form towering, his eyes twin flames of silver that cut through the chaos. His claws tore through the rogue's throat in one brutal swipe, and the body collapsed inches from Selene's feet.
Her breath hitched. He turned his head to her then, lips peeled back in a snarl that wasn't meant for her but for anyone who dared to come closer.
"Stay behind me," his voice growled, not through lips but through the strange tether that always hummed between them.
Selene pressed herself tighter against the stone. Her body shook—not just from fear of the battle, but from the power that radiated off him. Even as blood dripped from his fur, even as more wolves leapt at him from all sides, he was unyielding. He was death itself made flesh.
And then… she saw it.
The enemy Alpha.
A massive figure emerged from the chaos, taller than the others, his pelt a mottled gray with scars etched deep into his muzzle. His presence was enough to silence even the fiercest growls, his shadow spilling across the clearing like a storm cloud. Selene felt it immediately—the suffocating weight of his aura pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Alpha Morwen of the Ironfang pack. She'd heard whispers of him in hushed voices around Shadowfang territory. Ruthless. Cruel. And now his gaze locked directly on her.
"Well, well," his voice boomed across the link, dripping with mockery. "So the rumors are true. The Shadowfang Alpha hides a precious secret." His lip curled into something between a grin and a threat. "She smells… different."
Selene's stomach twisted. She wanted to run, but her legs refused to move.
Darius stepped forward, his entire body rigid, a growl rumbling so deep it vibrated through the ground. "You will not touch her."
Morwen's laugh was like thunder. "Then protect her, Shadowfang. Let's see if you can."
The fight reignited with vicious speed.
Morwen lunged, his claws slicing through the air like blades. Darius met him head-on, the force of their collision cracking stone. The ground trembled beneath their clash. Around them, warriors fought, but it was clear—the battle now hinged on these two Alphas.
Selene watched, her nails digging into her palms as she whispered, "Please…" She didn't know if she begged for Darius to win, or for the nightmare to end.
The duel raged on. Darius's strikes were merciless, each movement efficient and brutal, but Morwen was relentless. His strength was monstrous, his strikes calculated to exploit even the smallest hesitation.
And then it happened.
Morwen feinted, drawing Darius forward, then snapped his claws across Darius's side. Blood sprayed, dark and hot, staining the dirt. Darius staggered, lips pulled back in pain.
"No!" Selene cried, instinct overriding fear. She stumbled forward before she even realized it, desperate to reach him.
Morwen's eyes caught hers instantly. He saw her fear. He saw her care. And his grin widened into something cruel.
"Ah… so she matters."
He shifted his weight, muscles bunching, and lunged—not at Darius, but at Selene.
Her scream tore from her throat as the enemy Alpha closed in, massive jaws opening to end her life.
But he never reached her.
Darius moved faster than she could blink, throwing himself between her and death. The two collided in a violent crash. Morwen's teeth sank into Darius's shoulder, and for a terrifying second, it seemed the Shadowfang Alpha would fall. But then, with a roar that shook the heavens, Darius wrenched free and slammed Morwen back with such force the other Alpha stumbled.
And in that heartbeat, with his blood dripping, with his strength wavering, Darius turned—not to strike again, not to kill, but to her.
His wolf loomed over Selene, eyes glowing like burning stars.
Mine.
The word thundered through her mind, so raw and primal it nearly brought her to her knees.
Before she could react, before she could understand, Darius's head dipped, his jaws brushing against her neck. The briefest graze of his fangs made her breath falter—then pain flared white-hot as his teeth sank into her skin.
Selene gasped, her cry swallowed by the bond that ignited like fire coursing through her veins. Heat. Light. Power. It tore through her body, overwhelming, merciless, unstoppable.
The battlefield stilled. Even the rogues seemed to pause, drawn by the raw force that erupted from the act. Wolves turned their heads, growls dying in their throats as they witnessed it: the Shadowfang Alpha marking someone.
Darius pulled back, blood glistening on his fangs, his eyes locked on her with an intensity that stripped her bare. The wound on her neck pulsed, searing and aching all at once. She felt tethered to him now—every heartbeat of his echoed in her chest, every breath intertwined.
Selene's knees buckled, and she collapsed against him. "What… did you do…?" Her voice trembled, broken.
His muzzle lowered, breath hot against her ear. "I claimed you. No one will ever touch you now."
But his words were not triumph. They were desperation. Because he hadn't planned this. It was instinct, born from fury and fear of losing her.
The silence broke with Morwen's snarl. He wiped blood from his jaw and spat into the dirt. "So it's true. The great Alpha of Shadowfang marks his little secret in front of the world. How… touching." His grin returned, twisted with promise. "I will enjoy tearing her from you, piece by piece."
Darius's growl was feral, but Selene barely heard it. The mark burned like fire and ice all at once, her mind drowning in the sudden storm of his presence inside her. She could feel him—his strength, his rage, his pain. It was overwhelming, unbearable, and intoxicating all at once.
The battle resumed, Shadowfang warriors emboldened by their Alpha's claim, rogues faltering as fear rippled through their ranks. Darius fought with renewed savagery, every strike fueled not only by pride but by the bond now anchoring him to her.
Selene tried to rise, her vision swimming. The world had changed in the space of a heartbeat. She was marked. Bound. The truth of it settled in her bones like a weight she could never shed.
And though she should have hated it, should have raged against the chains now tightening around her… a part of her heart whispered something far more dangerous.
A part of her didn't want to let go.
---
When the dust settled, the rogues fled, dragging their Alpha with them. But not before Morwen cast one last look at Selene, his promise echoing in the night.
"This is far from over."
His shadow vanished into the trees, leaving silence and smoke in his wake.
Darius shifted back into his human form, blood streaking down his side, his body trembling but unbowed. He reached for her, his hand pressing against the wound he'd left on her neck.
Selene flinched at his touch, eyes wide, tears streaking her face. "Why… why would you do this?"
His jaw tightened. For once, the unshakable Alpha looked uncertain. Vulnerable. "Because I had no choice. I won't let anyone take you from me."
Her lips parted, but no words came. The mark throbbed beneath his hand, binding them in ways she couldn't begin to understand. She wanted to scream at him, to demand freedom. But her body betrayed her—leaning into his warmth, craving the bond even as her heart warred against it.
Around them, the Shadowfang wolves knelt, heads bowed, acknowledging what had just been sealed.
The first mark.
And word of it would spread like wildfire.
Kael would hear.
And when he did… nothing would stop the storm to come.