The courtyard split into chaos. Wolves shoved forward, growls echoing, claws scraping stone. The rival Alpha stood his ground, his presence heavy, his red eyes burning like coals.
I clutched Kane's cloak tighter around me, my body raw from shifting, my blood still drying on my skin. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst.
Kane stepped in front of me, his silver gaze locked on the intruder. The air thickened with his dominance, crushing, suffocating, forcing every wolf in the courtyard to bow their heads. All except the rival.
"Name yourself," Kane said, his voice cold as steel.
"Darius of the Ashfang," the man growled. His lips curled in a smile that showed too many teeth. "And she belongs to me."
Gasps rippled through the pack. I felt dozens of eyes stab into me like knives.
Kane's voice was lethal. "She is mine."
Darius tilted his head, never breaking eye contact. "You lie. She carries Ashfang blood. My blood."
The world tilted. My knees weakened. "What?"
Every head snapped toward me. The crowd whispered, hissing my name, questioning, doubting.
Darius smirked, satisfied. "Your mother was no stray, girl. She was born of Ashfang, taken from us before she could breed an heir. I can smell it on you. Her blood runs through your veins."
"No," I choked, my voice breaking. "You're lying."
But a shard of memory stabbed through my denial. My mother's warnings, her silences, the way she'd never spoken of her family.
Darius's voice rose, booming across the courtyard. "By blood and by right, she belongs to me."
The pack roared, torn between disbelief and fury. Some growled their loyalty to Kane. Others murmured uneasily, their gazes flicking to me with suspicion.
Kane's hand clamped on my arm, hard enough to bruise. His silver eyes burned, but not with shock. With rage. With possession.
"She is mine," he repeated, louder, darker, his voice shaking the stones. "The moon bound her to me. Not you."
Darius stepped closer, his aura slamming into the courtyard like a wave. Many wolves dropped to their knees, their bodies instinctively submitting. "Then prove it," he snarled. "Fight me, Kane. Alpha to Alpha. Winner claims her. Loser dies."
The pack howled, bloodlust surging. They wanted the fight. Needed it.
My breath caught. "No." I stumbled forward, clutching at Kane's arm. "You can't—"
His head snapped toward me, his expression unreadable. "Stay silent."
I shook my head wildly. "I'm not a prize. I won't let either of you—"
But Kane's gaze silenced me. It wasn't only anger in his eyes. It was hunger. Dark, unrelenting hunger.
He turned back to Darius. "I accept."
The courtyard erupted in cheers. Wolves stamped their feet, howled to the moon, teeth flashing.
Darius grinned, baring his fangs. "Then let the moon judge."
The warriors pulled the bodies of the rogue aside, clearing the courtyard. Blood still stained the stones. Torches flared brighter. The pack circled tighter, their anticipation a living thing.
Kane stepped forward, shrugging off his shirt. His muscles glistened under the moonlight, scars carved into his skin. His power poured out in waves, forcing my knees to buckle.
Darius stripped down as well, his body equally scarred, his aura equally suffocating. Two monsters, ready to rip each other apart.
"Stop this," I whispered, my throat tight. But no one heard. No one cared.
Kane glanced back once, his eyes locking onto mine. Silver fire blazed there, fierce and unyielding. "Watch, Lena," he said. "Watch me kill for you."
The fight began.
They collided with a sound like thunder, claws slashing, teeth snapping, bodies crashing against stone. Blood sprayed, muscles tore, bones cracked.
The pack screamed their approval, drunk on violence.
I pressed a hand to my mouth, unable to look away. Kane fought like a storm, relentless, merciless. But Darius matched him blow for blow, his red eyes blazing, his strength brutal.
Kane's claws ripped across Darius's chest. Darius's fangs sank into Kane's shoulder. Flesh tore. Blood spilled. Neither yielded.
My stomach twisted. This wasn't strength. This wasn't pride. This was madness, and I was the prize they would shred each other for.
I tried to move, to run, but warriors blocked every path. Their eyes glittered with hunger, waiting to see which Alpha would stand over my body when the fight ended.
Kane roared, slamming Darius into the stone wall hard enough to crack it. Dust rained down. The pack howled louder.
But Darius laughed, blood dripping from his mouth. "She will never be yours, Kane. Even if you kill me, she will know the truth. She carries my blood."
Kane's face twisted, his eyes blazing brighter than I'd ever seen. He drove his claws into Darius's chest, ripping deeper, aiming for the heart.
Darius's last words were a whisper, but I heard them.
"She will hate you when she learns what you've done."
Kane ripped him open.
The courtyard shook with the force of the death howl. Wolves dropped to their knees, mourning and exalting all at once. Blood soaked the stones.
Kane stood, chest heaving, covered in crimson, his silver eyes burning as he looked at me.
"You're mine," he said again, voice ragged but absolute. "No bloodline, no rival, no fate will change that."
My body trembled. My heart screamed. But before I could speak, the moon shifted, shadows bending unnaturally across the courtyard.
The air grew colder. The ground quaked. And a voice that was not human, not wolf, echoed from the darkness.
"She does not belong to you, Kane Black."