The fortress was quiet after the battle, but it was not peace that filled its halls. The silence was heavy, weighed down by whispers that carried through the corridors, by the sharp scent of smoke and blood that lingered long after the fires had been put out. Selene sat by the window of her chamber, the moon hanging pale above the horizon, her reflection staring back at her in the glass.
She touched the mark at her neck, the skin still tender, still pulsing with the bond that tied her to Darius. Every time she pressed her fingers there, a warmth spread through her chest, steady and grounding, as if reminding her that she belonged to him now. She should have hated it. She told herself she did. But when she tried to tear her hand away, she found she couldn't.
Behind her, the door opened. She did not need to look to know who it was. She felt him before she saw him, the tether humming with his presence.
"Why do you sit alone?" Darius's voice was low, carrying the exhaustion of a man who had fought too many battles but refused to bow to them.
Selene turned, her eyes tracing the faint cuts along his jaw, the bruises dark against his skin. He moved like a shadow even here, silent and watchful, his silver eyes catching the firelight.
"I needed quiet," she said softly.
"You will not find it here," he replied, stepping further into the chamber. "Not while Kael breathes."
The name made her chest tighten. She looked away, out the window where the moon's light bled across the valley. "He won't stop."
"No." Darius came closer, his footsteps deliberate. "He will come again, and again, until he has what he wants."
Her throat tightened. "And what he wants is me."
The words tasted bitter. She remembered Kael's voice on the battlefield, desperate and raw, calling her name as if it alone could undo the past. She had dreamed once of hearing him say he regretted rejecting her, that he wanted her still. But when the words had finally come, they had not brought joy. They had felt like salt poured on an old wound.
Darius stopped just behind her. She could feel the heat of his body, the storm of his presence pressing close without touching. His voice was rough when he spoke. "You are not his to claim. Not anymore."
Her hand trembled on the windowsill. She turned her head slightly, enough to meet his gaze over her shoulder. "And am I yours to claim, Darius? Was that my choice? Or yours?"
For a moment, he said nothing. Then he moved, his hand rising, fingers brushing against her cheek with surprising gentleness. "The bond may have been forged in instinct, Selene, but choice remains. You can walk away from me if you wish. I will not chain you."
The words startled her. She searched his eyes, expecting dominance, control, but finding something else—something steadier, something that unsettled her more than Kael's fury ever could.
"Why do you care?" she whispered. "Why do you risk your pack, your life, for me?"
"Because you are more than you know." His thumb traced her skin once before falling away. "And because the thought of losing you unsettles me in ways I cannot explain."
Her breath caught, her heart betraying her with its stutter. She turned away before he could see it, gripping the stone beneath her hands until her knuckles whitened.
---
The following days were tense. Scouts brought word of Kael's army regrouping beyond the valley. The Shadowfang fortress prepared for siege, warriors sharpening blades, reinforcing walls, training through the night.
Selene joined them. Darius did not force her, but he did not stop her either. She threw herself into the training grounds, her body aching from endless drills, her palms raw from gripping weapons. She stumbled often, but she rose each time. The other wolves watched, some with doubt, others with respect, but none dared mock her. Not with the Alpha's mark burned into her skin.
It was during one of these sessions that it happened.
She faced a sparring partner, wooden blade in her hands, sweat dripping into her eyes. The wolf lunged, striking harder than she expected. She raised her blade to block, but the force was too much—her weapon splintered, sending her sprawling into the dirt.
Laughter rippled at the edges of the field, low but sharp enough to cut. Heat flared in her chest, anger and humiliation mixing with something fiercer. She pushed herself up, teeth gritted, and for the first time, she did not back down.
Her partner came at her again, claws raised. Something inside her snapped.
Selene threw up her hands without thinking, and a pulse of light burst from her palms. It was not fire, not lightning, but a raw surge of energy that slammed into her opponent and sent him flying across the training ground. He hit the wall with a groan, sliding to the ground, stunned.
Silence fell. Every eye turned to her.
Selene stared at her hands, her chest heaving. They glowed faintly, a shimmer of silver light fading as quickly as it had come.
"What…" she whispered, "what did I just do?"
Darius's voice cut through the silence. "Power."
She looked up to see him standing at the edge of the field, his eyes locked on her with a fierceness that made her shiver. "Your blood remembers what you have forgotten."
Whispers rose among the warriors. Hybrid. Hidden lineage. Some even bowed their heads.
Selene stumbled back, shaking. "No… no, I'm just—"
"You are not just anything," Darius interrupted, stepping toward her. "You are more."
The truth of his words sank into her bones, terrifying and exhilarating all at once. She had spent her life believing she was weak, unworthy, a girl who could never measure up. But now the air itself seemed to hum around her, as if answering to her call.
And Kael… Kael would not stop until he had that power back under his control.
---
That night, sleep refused to come. Selene tossed beneath her blankets, her skin burning with the memory of the light that had spilled from her hands. When she finally rose, she found herself drawn to the balcony overlooking the valley. The torches of Kael's camp flickered in the distance, countless fires scattered like stars across the earth.
Her heart ached as she stared at them. Once, those lights had been her home. Once, the people who carried them had been her family. Now they were enemies who would not hesitate to see her dead.
The door behind her opened. She did not turn.
"He will not stop," Darius said quietly, coming to stand beside her. "Not while he believes you belong to him."
Selene's throat tightened. "And do I?"
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. "That is for you to decide."
She shook her head, her eyes burning. "It doesn't feel like a choice. He rejected me, humiliated me before everyone, and now suddenly he wants me back. You marked me, tied me to you without asking. Where is the choice in any of it?"
Darius was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "The choice is here." He pressed a hand lightly against her chest, just above her heart. "No bond can command this, Selene. Not his. Not mine. Only you."
Her breath caught. She looked up at him, the silver of his eyes softening, reflecting the moonlight. For a moment, the world narrowed to just the two of them, the hum of the bond steady between them.
But the moment shattered when a horn echoed in the distance.
They both turned sharply. Across the valley, Kael's army was on the move.
The fires shifted, forming lines. Banners rose, the Bloodmoon crest gleaming in the moonlight. The ground shook faintly with the march of countless feet.
Selene's chest tightened with dread. War was coming.
Darius's jaw hardened. "It begins."
---
By dawn, the fortress walls were lined with Shadowfang warriors. Bows were strung, blades gleamed, and the air vibrated with tension. Selene stood among them, her hands trembling as she gripped a weapon, though she knew the greater weapon lay inside her, waiting to be called again.
Across the field, Kael rode at the head of his army. His presence was undeniable, his gaze fixed on her even from across the distance. When their eyes met, her breath caught. For the briefest heartbeat, she saw not the Alpha of Bloodmoon, but the boy she had once loved, the boy who had smiled at her when they were children.
Then he raised his sword, and the boy was gone.
The horns of war sounded.
The valley erupted.
Shadowfang and Bloodmoon collided in a storm of steel and claws, the earth itself trembling beneath their fury. Selene's heart pounded as she fought to stay upright, every sound, every scream pressing against her. She caught glimpses of Kael carving his way forward, his eyes locked on her, and of Darius meeting him head-on, their strikes shaking the battlefield.
And in that chaos, Selene felt it again—the surge inside her, the light burning beneath her skin. She raised her hands, and power burst forth, sweeping across the field like a wave. Wolves were thrown back, weapons shattered, and silence fell for a single stunned heartbeat.
When it ended, she stood at the center, the air shimmering around her, her eyes glowing faintly with silver light.
Every warrior, Bloodmoon and Shadowfang alike, stared at her.
And Selene knew in that moment that the war was no longer just about her heart. It was about her power. Her blood. Her destiny.
---
The battle raged on, but nothing would be the same again.
Selene was no longer just the rejected mate.
She was something far more dangerous.
And both Alphas knew it