Page 37

K ieran

One of the warriors runs up to us, panting. The wildness in his eyes tells me all I need to know.

“Eldon’s men have breached the first barrier,” the warrior announces.

“Send word to all the troops to take formation and advance.”

I turn to my warriors and my wolf comes forward. They all look to me, eyes shining with the keenness to fight for our pack. There is no need for words, there is no need to remind them of why we fight. Of the ashes we come from. Of the strength it took to rebuild.

I feel it through the pack link. I hold Hazel’s hand in mine and raise it.

“For Moonfang!” I chant.

“For Moonfang!” My wolves respond, some breaking into howls, others shifting and barking. They are bloodthirsty, they are ready to tear the invaders limb from limb.

Eldon’s forces advance toward the estate in waves—wolves, bears, other shifter rogues and Moonfang traitors woven into a monstrous force hungry for blood.

The air is thick with the scent of war, of damp earth, sweat, and animosity that has been festering for goddess knows how long, culminating in this moment.

My wolf prowls beneath my skin, eager for the fight, for the chance to end this war before it can destroy what I’ve built.

But before we move, Hazel steps beside me.

She’s clad in battle gear, her frame smaller than mine, but no less fierce. She can’t shift into her wolf yet. Until then, she has to battle in gear. One thing that I won’t let happen again is losing her.

Her storm-gray eyes flick to mine, sharp and assessing. I can feel the tension humming in her muscles, the anticipation that burns as brightly in her as it does in me. She’s ready to maim and kill. I feel her wolf’s energy beneath her flesh. I have no doubt she will deal damage.

“Try not to die,” she murmurs, adjusting the grip on her weapon.

I smirk, the edge of war momentarily forgotten. “You’d miss me.” My tease earns me a smile.

She scoffs but doesn’t deny it.

For a moment, the battlefield fades away. There’s only her—the wild fire in her eyes, the sharp curve of her lips, the way her scent wraps around me like a force I can’t escape.

I reach for her, just briefly, my fingers brushing against hers. “Fight smart.”

She tilts her head, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips. “Try to catch up.”

I love it when she’s cocky.

Then, like a gust of wind, she’s gone—leading her own warriors into the fray with a chant.

And so am I.

The battlefield is chaos.

Blades flash. Wolves clash. The cries of the wounded pierce the air.

My sword cuts through an enemy, blood splattering against the dirt. Another rogue lunges for me, and I shift mid-strike, my claws ripping into his side before he even has a chance to react.

But through it all, my senses remain attuned to her.

Hazel moves like a shadow, her warriors following her lead with unwavering loyalty. The Omegas she trained are relentless, cutting down their opponents with the ferocity of soldiers who have everything to prove.

And then I catch that acrid smell.

Damon.

He stands amidst the carnage, his fangs dripping with fresh blood. His face is unreadable, but when his eyes meet mine, I see his intention clear as day: to take me down.

I don’t hesitate.

I lunge, my head colliding with something hard, the force of it sending vibrations through me. He counters, moving with the skill I’ve always known him to possess.

But this is different.

This isn’t just a fight.

It’s the end for him.

I drive him back, my strikes relentless, my fangs and claws reaching for him, clashing, biting, slamming into him.

I get him in a headlock. All my wolf wants to do is crush his skull to pulp.

You betrayed your pack, I say through my wolf link.

He claws at my hands, trying to get free, but I tighten my grip, my claws piercing deeper into his flesh.

I did what I thought was right, he says, his voice fading from the link as he shifts to his human form.

He manages to wriggle out, earning himself a slash across his chest. He grabs a blade lying right beside him.

I partially shift, my wolf extending in my fangs and claws, his strength filling my bones. I knock Damon’s blade aside, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against a fallen tree. His breath chokes out, his hands scrambling against my grip.

“You led our enemies here,” I growl, my wolf raging beneath the surface. “You brought death to our people.”

His eyes burn into mine. “And what do you think your father did?”

The words strike like a blade. That’s low, even for Damon. He knows the last thing I want is to be compared to my father. I’ve done everything in my power to make sure I’m not like him. If ending Damon here and now means this past never comes to confront me again, then so be it.

I don’t loosen my grip.

Damon’s hands claw at my wrist, his voice rasping.

“I watched him burn this pack from the inside out. I watched him take from the weak, from those who dared to stand against him.” His breathing is uneven, his strength fading.

“And I saw you—his son—rising to take his place. To be just like him. Letting a rival bitch distract you, letting the other packs manipulate you. I saw you headed the same route!”

I snarl, my grip tightening. “I am not my father. You saw me build myself and this pack. How dare you compare me to that scum of a wolf?”

He lets out a broken laugh. “But you believed me without hesitation. When you pushed Hazel aside, cast her out, it showed more of who you are Kieran. So, tell me, do you know what you were then?”

I pause because there is truth in his words.

For a time, I was my father’s son.

But I have spent every day since trying to undo that.

I ease my grip slightly. “It’s over, Damon. Stand down.”

His body sags slightly, his breath coming in short bursts.

And then—

A blur of movement.

A snarl.

Hazel.

She comes out of nowhere and strikes before I can stop her.

Her claws sink into Damon’s side, deep and unforgiving. Blood spurts against the ground, against her skin.

Damon gasps, his body going rigid. His hands tremble, his eyes wide in shock as he crumples to the dirt.

She’s breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling in sharp bursts. Her eyes are wild, dark with something raw.

Damon took everything from her. He shattered her life, turned her world into ruin. And now?

She has returned the favor.

We watch as his body stops moving.

I approach her slowly, her eyes still glowing with her anger my voice low. “I had sworn I was going to kill him.”

She exhales sharply, but she doesn’t turn. “He was the reason my life has been hell. I wanted justice just as much.”

I step closer. “To be honest, it feels like we did it together. watching you dish the final blow was more satisfying.” I put my hand around her and pull her in.

Her laugh is dry.

Silence stretches between us. I understand. Everything she feels is squeezing my chest tight and I know she needed that release.

My chest tightens with something raw. Pride. Possession. A need so deep it burns.

“Brother!” Nina's voice tears from across the battlefield. I turn to see her running toward us.

She falls to the ground and takes Damon's lifeless body in her arms. Then, she looks up at Hazel.

“You…” she hisses with all the bitterness and vile in her body.

She lets go of Damon and stands, her fangs lengthened, her claws unleashed, ready to strike.

She goes for Hazel, slashing at her. Hazel keeps a good distance, dodging every attack.

I can feel Hazel's next move and I move to make sure she is in the right position.

I grab Nina's hair and pull her back. But blinded by her rage, she slashes her hair off and lunges for Hazel again.

But that gives Hazel the opening she needs.

We both go in for the kill. Hazel's dagger goes into Nina's belly and my claws slash across her throat.

“You were never an option to be mine, Nina. It was always Hazel.” I know she heard my words. A tear falls from her left eye. Hazel and I pull back and her body crumples to the ground.

“Are you alright, my love?” I ask, checking Hazel for injuries.

“Better than ever,” she pants, the satisfying smile on her lips makes her look like a war-soaked goddess. She wipes sweat from her forehead, streaming our enemies’ blood on her face. My goddess of vengeance. I could stare at her all day.

But I don’t have time to dwell.

Because I still have unfinished business.

Eldon .

“You need to get out of here,” she said, nodding toward where the rogues are streaming in from.

I nod, but before I run off, I pull her in and kiss her, the taste on her tongue filling me with the need to end this battle as soon as possible and take her as my Mate.

I find Eldon standing at the edge of the carnage, watching me with a knowing smirk. Unlike the others, he didn’t rush into battle. He’s been waiting. For me.

My grip tightens around my sword. My wolf snarls itching to drop the sword and shift into my wolf entirely.

This has been building for years.

And now?

Now, it ends.

I move fast, cutting through the battlefield with purpose, dodging attacks, countering strikes, but my focus never wavers. Eldon stands unmoving, his dark eyes gleaming with something close to amusement. “You kept me waiting, Alpha,” he taunts as I approach.

I don’t respond.

I strike.

Our swords clash, the impact sending a sharp vibration through my arms. Eldon counters effortlessly, his movements smooth, practiced. He fights like someone who has dreamed of this very moment—who has waited for it.

Blades whistle through the air, slicing, dodging, colliding. Each strike is brutal, unforgiving.

But he’s not as strong as me.

I drive him back, forcing him to retreat toward the trees.

His smirk never falters.

“You fight like your father,” he muses, parrying another blow. “All fire. All rage. No control.”

I snarl, shifting my weight before kicking him in the chest. He stumbles, barely managing to keep his balance.

I don’t let up.

I charge toward him. He does as well, our bodies colliding in a headlock.

“You think you’re different from him?” he continues, his breath coming fast. “You think you’re better?”

I shove him back. “I am better.”

Eldon laughs, a hollow, bitter sound. “Then why did I know exactly how to break you?” His voice is low, taunting. “Why did you fall for everything I set in motion?”

My wolf roars, rage blinding me for a split second. Eldon takes that second. His claw slices across my side, sharp and deep.

I grunt, the pain white-hot, but I don’t let it slow me. I spin, slashing both my claws at his shoulder, cutting deep enough to draw blood.

Eldon hisses, staggering.

But his smirk remains.

“Did you ever wonder why I wanted you to suffer?” he asks, voice full of venom. “Why I took pleasure in tearing your pack apart? Why I wanted your mate?”

I bare my teeth, my fangs lengthening with thirst for his blood. “Because you’re a coward who couldn’t build something of his own.”

His expression darkens.

“Because your father took everything from me.”

Eldon licks his lengthening snout, his breathing uneven. “My mother was an Omega,” he says, his voice quieter now, but no less sharp. “A nameless, forgotten woman who served under your father’s rule. Until he killed her.”

My stomach tightens.

I remember.

I remember the stories, the whispers of the woman who had been made an example of. I was too young to feel anything but fear for my father. He was like some fairy tale beast.

“You stood by and watched,” Eldon continues, his eyes burning with hatred. “Maybe you were too young to understand. Maybe you didn’t know. But I did.” His voice breaks slightly. “I was just a boy when he ripped my life apart. And I swore that one day, I would do the same to you, his son.”

My snarl is getting nastier by the second, my breathing sharp, my wolf eager to end all this.

“Everything you love,” he says, his smirk returning, cruel and full of purpose. “Your pack. Your title. Your Mate. I wanted to take it all.”

Rage ignites in my veins. My vision blurs with fury.

I lunge, shifting midair. This time, I don’t fight to maim. I fight to kill. I dive at him, my fangs aiming for his throat.

A sharp cry pierces the air.

My entire body locks. The scent of Hazel’s blood reaches me before my mind can catch up.

And in that moment of hesitation, Eldon moves.

He ducks, twisting out of the way just before I snap at his neck. I would have ended him and he knows. He doesn’t waste time. He runs.

I spin, ready to chase, ready to end this.

But then I see her.

Hazel is on her knees, gripping her arm where blood seeps through the fabric of her armor. Her Omegas stand protectively beside her, their faces pale but determined.

And all thoughts of Eldon vanish.

I move without thinking, reaching her side in seconds and shifting back to human form. My hands find her shoulders, gripping tight. “You’re hurt.”

She exhales sharply, but her eyes meet mine, steady despite the pain. “I’ll live.”

I don’t realize I’m shaking until I feel her fingers brush against mine.

“You hesitated,” she murmurs.

I swallow hard. “I was going to go for the kill.”

She tilts her head, watching me carefully. “And yet, you’re here, beside me, instead of slaughtering him.”

A breath shudders through me.

She’s right.

I should have ended Eldon. I should have made sure he never had the chance to come back, to finish what he started.

But the second I heard her voice—

The second I sensed she was hurt—

I chose her.

And I will again.

Always.