The forest felt different beyond her old borders.
Wilder.
Untamed.
Honest.
Dominic did not speak as they walked.
He didn't hold her hand anymore.
He didn't force her to follow.
Yet she did.
The bond pulsed faintly at her neck — not controlling… but guiding.
She hated that she could feel him.
His presence in the back of her mind.
Strong.
Steady.
Watching.
After nearly an hour of walking, the trees thinned.
Leila expected ruins.
Chaos.
Savage rogues sharpening bones and laughing at suffering.
That was what the elders had described.
Instead—
She found a settlement.
Rough wooden structures built carefully between thick trees.
Smoke rising from chimneys.
Children running.
Training circles.
Guards posted strategically.
Order.
Her steps slowed.
This wasn't a rogue camp.
It was a pack.
Dominic stopped walking.
"They're staring because they smell you," he said calmly.
Leila stiffened.
"Smell what?"
"Our bond."
Heat rushed to her face.
Across the clearing, wolves had paused mid-task.
Some looked wary.
Some curious.
Some… hopeful.
Hopeful?
A young girl with silver braids broke away from a group and ran toward Dominic.
"Alpha!"
She stopped abruptly when she noticed Leila.
Her eyes widened at the mark.
"She's…"
"Yes," Dominic said simply.
The girl's gaze shifted to Leila.
Not hostile.
Studying.
"Does she hate you?" the girl asked bluntly.
Leila blinked.
Dominic didn't react.
"She does."
The girl nodded thoughtfully.
"Most of us did at first."
Then she ran off.
Leila stood frozen.
"What did she mean by that?"
Dominic began walking again.
"Everyone here was cast out."
She followed reluctantly.
"For what?"
"For surviving."
That made no sense.
He stopped near the center of the settlement.
"Thief."
He pointed subtly to a man repairing a roof.
"He stole medicine to save his dying sister."
Leila frowned.
"Murderer," he gestured toward a scarred woman sharpening blades.
"She killed the Alpha who beat her."
Her breath caught.
"Traitor," he nodded toward an older wolf teaching pups combat forms.
"He refused to execute innocent wolves during a territorial purge."
Leila's chest tightened.
"These are the monsters you were warned about."
Her world tilted slightly.
They weren't savages.
They were survivors.
"You gathered them," she said quietly.
"They chose me."
He turned to her fully now.
"They wanted a place that didn't pretend purity while rotting underneath."
That felt like a blade pointed toward her old pack.
She flinched.
Dominic noticed.
"I did not mark you to hurt you."
Anger surged instantly.
"You don't get to decide that!"
Her voice cracked.
"You destroyed my life!"
"No," he said evenly. "Your Alpha did that when he refused to stand beside you."
That hit harder than she expected.
"He would have—"
"He hesitated."
The word silenced her.
Because it was true.
In the clearing.
When she needed him most.
Kael hesitated.
Dominic stepped closer.
Not threatening.
Not forceful.
"Look at me."
She didn't want to.
But she did.
His red eyes weren't cruel.
They weren't gleeful.
They were certain.
"When the bond destabilized, you were in pain," he said quietly. "If I had not sealed it, it would have torn you apart."
Her heart stuttered.
"What?"
"A partial bond breaking without completion can kill a wolf."
Cold dread spread through her veins.
"You're lying."
"I do not lie about survival."
Silence stretched between them.
She remembered the agony.
The cracking.
The tearing sensation.
It hadn't felt natural.
It had felt like something ripping her apart from the inside.
"You still stole my choice," she whispered.
His jaw tightened.
"Yes."
The honesty shocked her.
"I did."
No excuses.
No manipulation.
Just truth.
"And I would do it again."
Rage flared.
"You're unbearable."
A faint shadow of amusement touched his expression.
"So I've been told."
Her wolf stirred.
Annoyingly calm.
Annoyingly… aware.
She hated that she could feel his emotions faintly through the bond.
Not controlling.
Not invasive.
But present.
Like a heartbeat echoing against hers.
"I will never accept this," she said firmly.
Dominic's gaze didn't waver.
"You don't have to accept it."
Her brows furrowed.
"What?"
"You only have to survive it."
Before she could respond, a horn sounded from the northern watchtower.
Urgent.
Dominic's posture shifted instantly.
Sharp.
Predatory.
A warrior rushed toward them.
"Alpha. Kael's patrol has crossed into our outer trees."
The air changed.
Leila's breath caught.
So soon?
Dominic's eyes darkened.
"Numbers?"
"Twenty."
A warning.
Not a full attack.
Yet.
Dominic turned toward Leila.
"You should go inside."
"I'm not hiding."
His gaze studied her briefly.
Then he nodded once.
"Stay behind the inner line."
Wolves were already moving into defensive positions.
Not chaotic.
Disciplined.
Organized.
She hadn't expected that.
From the treeline beyond, figures emerged.
Kael at the front.
His expression unreadable.
His aura aggressive.
He stopped just beyond Dominic's border.
"This land is not yours," Kael called out.
Dominic stepped forward calmly.
"Then stop standing on it."
The tension was suffocating.
Leila stood behind Dominic, but not cowering.
Kael's eyes found her immediately.
Pain flickered there.
Then anger.
"You can still come back," Kael called.
The words struck her chest.
Come back.
But she saw the truth now.
There was no coming back.
Not after exile.
Not after hesitation.
"You rejected me," she replied steadily.
"I protected the pack."
"You protected your pride."
A murmur rippled through both sides.
Kael's jaw clenched.
"You're standing with him."
Leila lifted her chin.
"I'm standing where I wasn't cast out."
Silence.
Dominic did not look at her.
But she felt it through the bond.
Approval.
Not possessive.
Respectful.
Kael's voice dropped lower.
"This isn't over."
Dominic's response was cold.
"No. It isn't."
Kael held Leila's gaze one last moment.
Then he turned and signaled retreat.
The patrol withdrew.
But the message was clear.
War was coming.
As the forest quieted again, Leila released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Dominic finally looked at her.
"You chose to speak."
"I chose not to be silent."
A faint nod.
"Good."
She frowned.
"Don't look pleased."
"I'm not pleased," he said evenly.
"I'm relieved."
Her heartbeat stumbled.
"Why?"
"Because I did not mark a weak Luna."
The words weren't soft.
But they weren't cruel.
They were… proud.
And against her will—
A tiny crack formed in her hatred.
Just enough for doubt to slip through.
That night, as she stood alone outside the small cabin prepared for her, she looked up at the moon.
"I will curse you," she whispered again.
The bond pulsed faintly.
Warm.
Steady.
Unshaken.
And somewhere nearby—
Dominic stood watch.
Not as conqueror.
Not as captor.
But as the Alpha who had claimed the storm.