POV: Liora
They dragged me through corridors that smelled of pine and smoke and power. My feet scraped against polished wood floors as Marcus and another warrior hauled me deeper into the building. Every wolf we passed stopped to stare, their eyes tracking me like I was prey.
Maybe I was.
The hallway opened into a massive room. High ceilings, dark wooden beams, windows that let in streams of morning light. At the far end, a chair sat on a raised platform. Not a throne, exactly, but close enough.
And in that chair sat death itself.
Alpha Kael.
I'd heard stories about him. Every wolf had. The Alpha who united three warring packs through blood and brutality. The leader who killed challengers with his bare hands. The man whose territory no one dared cross because those who did were never seen again.
He was younger than I expected. Maybe thirty, with dark hair that fell past his shoulders and a face that looked carved from stone. Scars marked him everywhere I could see. A thick one across his jaw. Another through his left eyebrow. His hands, resting on the arms of his chair, were covered in the evidence of violence.
But it was his eyes that made my breath catch. Ice blue, cold and calculating, the kind of eyes that saw through lies and weakness. They fixed on me the moment I entered, and I felt naked under that gaze despite my disguise.
"This is the trespasser?" His voice was deep, quiet. Somehow that made it more terrifying than if he'd shouted.
"Yes, Alpha." Marcus shoved me forward. I stumbled, barely catching myself before I fell at Kael's feet. "Found at the southern border. Hunter's arrow in his shoulder, fresh wounds. Claims to be a rogue."
"Claims." Kael leaned forward slightly. "You doubt him, Marcus?"
"His story doesn't fit. Too clean, too convenient. And his scent..." Marcus paused. "Something's off about it."
My heart hammered against my ribs. I'd washed in the river, rolled in dirt and leaves trying to mask my scent. Had I missed something? Could they smell my old pack on me? Could they smell the lie?
"Look at me, boy."
I had no choice. I raised my head and met Alpha Kael's eyes. The impact of his stare was physical, like being punched. My wolf whimpered and tried to submit, to bare her throat, to acknowledge the superior predator. I fought her down, keeping my expression as blank as possible.
Kael studied me in silence. Seconds stretched into eternity. I could feel his power pressing against me, testing me, searching for cracks in my armor.
"What's your name?" he asked finally.
"Leo." The word came out steady. A small victory.
"Leo what?"
I hadn't thought that far. Panic flickered through me but I crushed it down. "Just Leo. I don't use my pack name anymore."
"Because?"
"I don't have a pack anymore."
Kael's lips curved slightly. Not a smile. Something colder. "Why did you cross into Nightbane territory, Leo?"
"I didn't know it was your territory," I said. Truth and lies are woven together. "I jumped in the river to escape hunters. The current carried me. When I crawled out, I was too weak to keep going. I'm sorry for trespassing. I'll leave if you let me."
"If I let you." Kael stood, and I realized how tall he was. Well over six feet, broad shouldered and built like he was made for war. He descended the steps slowly, each footfall deliberate. "You think I'm going to just let you walk out of here?"
"I'm hoping." My voice came out smaller than I intended.
He circled me like a wolf circling prey. I forced myself to stand still, not to flinch, even though every instinct screamed at me to run.
"You're young," Kael observed. "What, eighteen? Nineteen?"
"Twenty." Close enough to the truth. I was twenty-two, but starvation and blood loss had probably made me look younger.
"Twenty years old, traveling alone, wounded by hunters, no pack to protect you." He completed his circle and stopped directly in front of me. "That's a death sentence. You know that, don't you?"
I said nothing.
"Look at him," Kael addressed the room. At least a dozen wolves had gathered, filling the space, their eyes hungry. "Weak. Half starved. Can barely stand. And yet he crossed into Nightbane territory and lived long enough to be brought before me." He tilted his head. "That takes either courage or stupidity. Which is it, Leo?"
"Desperation," I said honestly.
Something flickered in Kael's eyes. Not sympathy. Recognition, maybe. "What pack did you come from?"
My mouth went dry. "Does it matter?"
"Answer the question."
I couldn't tell him the truth. If he knew I was from the Silver Creek Pack, if he knew about Declan's murder, he'd either kill me himself or send me back for the bounty. Either way, I was dead.
"I was packless," I lied. "Born rogue. Was trying to join a pack but the Alpha said I wasn't strong enough. When I challenged him to prove myself, he..." I gestured vaguely at my wounds. "He gave me a choice. Run or die."
Kael's expression didn't change, but I could feel his attention sharpen. "You challenged an Alpha at twenty years old?"
"I was desperate," I repeated.
"Stupid, then." Kael turned away, walking back toward his chair. For a moment, I thought he was done with me. That he'd order me executed and be finished with it.
But he stopped halfway up the steps.
"I don't allow rogues in my territory," he said without turning around. "They're unstable. Dangerous. Can't be trusted. Every rogue I've caught in the last five years has either been a spy or a criminal running from justice."
My throat closed. He knew. Somehow, he knew.
"But." The word hung in the air. Kael turned to face me again. "You interest me, Leo. You've got fire in you, even dying on your feet. That arrow wound should have killed you. The river should have drowned you. My warriors should have torn you apart. Yet here you stand."
He descended the steps again, faster this time, until he was close enough that I could see the flecks of silver in his blue eyes.
"So I'm going to give you a choice," Kael said. "The same choice you claim your old Alpha gave you. Fight or run."
"I can barely walk," I said. "How am I supposed to fight?"
"Not my problem." Kael's smile was sharp as broken glass. "If you run, my wolves will hunt you down within an hour and your death will be slow. If you fight and lose, I'll make it quick. But if you survive..." He paused. "If you survive, you earn the right to stay. As the lowest member of this pack, with no rank, no privilege, and no protection beyond what you can take for yourself."
It wasn't mercy. It was a death sentence wrapped in different words. But it was also a chance, however slim.
"How long do I have to survive?" I asked.
"Until I say stop."
"And you're the one I fight?"
"Yes."
I looked at Alpha Kael, at the scars covering his body, at the casual way he held himself that spoke of absolute confidence. He'd killed more wolves than I could imagine. He was stronger, faster, trained since birth to dominate and destroy.
I was wounded, starving, exhausted, and pretending to be someone I wasn't.
I was going to die here. But maybe, if I was very lucky and very fast, I could land one hit before he killed me. One moment of defiance before the end. That was more than I'd have if I ran.
"I'll fight," I said.
Kael's smile widened. "Good."
The wolves around us moved back, forming a circle. Someone pushed me toward the center. My legs shook with each step, the arrow stub in my shoulder screaming. I tried to settle into a fighting stance but my body wouldn't cooperate properly.
Kael shrugged off his jacket and rolled his shoulders. He didn't look worried. Didn't look like he was preparing for a fight. Just looked bored.
"Rules are simple," he said, circling the edge of the ring. "You stay in the circle. You don't shift unless I do. You survive as long as you can. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Begin."
He moved.
One second he was across the ring, the next his fist was driving toward my face. I barely got my arms up in time. The impact rattled my teeth and sent me staggering backward. Pain exploded through my wounded shoulder.
I didn't have time to recover. Kael was already coming again, a whirlwind of controlled violence. I ducked under a punch, twisted away from a kick. My body moved on instinct, remembering years of training even though my muscles screamed in protest.
But it wasn't enough. His leg swept mine out from under me. I hit the floor hard, gasping as the air rushed from my lungs. Rolled sideways just as his boot came down where my head had been.
"Get up," Kael ordered.
I struggled to my feet, swaying. Blood ran down my arm from where the arrow wound had reopened. The bindings around my chest felt too tight, making it hard to breathe.
Kael attacked again. This time I saw the opening, a fraction of a second where his weight shifted wrong. I lunged forward, aiming for his ribs.
He caught my wrist mid strike and twisted. The crack echoed through the room. My wrist, broken. The pain was white hot, blinding. I screamed before I could stop myself.
"Weak," Kael said. Still not breathing hard. Still barely trying. "You'll need to do better than that."
He released me and I cradled my broken wrist against my chest. Two injuries now. Shoulder and wrist. I couldn't feel my fingers anymore.
"I said get up."
I tried. My legs wouldn't hold me. The room spun, tilting sideways.
Kael crouched down beside me. "You're done. Admit defeat and I'll end it quickly."
I spat blood at his feet. "No."
His eyes narrowed. "No?"
"Not done." I forced myself to my knees, then to my feet. Took a shaking breath and raised my good hand. "Not... done yet."
For the first time, something that might have been respect flickered across Kael's face. "Stubborn. Stupid, but stubborn."
He stood, towering over me. "Last chance, boy. Yield."
I lunged at him instead.
It was clumsy, desperate, the attack of someone with nothing left to lose. Kael sidestepped easily. His hand shot out, fingers wrapping around my throat, lifting me off my feet.
"Brave," he said softly. "Foolish, but brave."
The edges of my vision darkened. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. My legs kicked uselessly in the air.
"You fought well for someone half dead," Kael continued. His voice seemed to come from very far away. "Better than most. But it's over now."
He pulled back his other fist.
I saw it coming. Couldn't do anything about it. Could only watch as his knuckles drove toward my face.
The impact was a supernova of pain.
Then nothing.
My vision faded to black, and the last thing I heard before the darkness swallowed me was Alpha Kael's voice, quiet and considering.
"Interesting."