The chains had barely fallen from her wrists when the chamber erupted into chaos.
Kael's roar split the air, a savage, guttural sound that shook the stone walls. In the next heartbeat, he was across the room, claws flashing, teeth bared. Darius met him head-on, his body a blur of muscle and fury as he shoved his older brother back.
The impact rattled the bedframe. Sparks lit the air where their claws collided, energy from two Alpha wolves colliding like storms.
Selene stumbled, silver dust still clinging to her skin, her breath uneven. She should have been terrified. Instead, her pulse quickened for a different reason.
Her gaze found Darius.
Even bloodied, even as he fought, he was magnetic. His golden eyes burned like embers in the firelight, his movements sharp, fluid, precise. Unlike Kael's raw brutality, Darius fought with controlled violence, every motion deliberate. And when his gaze flicked to hers, just for a second, the bond between them pulled taut, hot, and undeniable.
She shivered.
"You dare scent her with your touch?" Kael snarled, driving Darius into the wall. His claws sliced deep into his brother's shoulder, crimson splattering across the stone.
Darius gritted his teeth, smirk curling even through the blood. "Maybe I do. Maybe she likes it."
Selene's heart slammed against her ribs. She should have denied it. She should have shouted at him. But her lips parted, no words forming, because some part of her, traitorous and wild, did like it.
Kael's eyes flicked to her, catching her hesitation. Fury twisted his expression.
"You see?" he growled, slamming Darius down again. "He poisons you with his lies."
Darius wrenched free, landing a punishing blow to Kael's ribs. "The bond isn't a lie. You just can't stand that she feels me."
The air was suffocating. Two storms clashing, and Selene caught in the eye of it.
"Stop it!" she shouted, her voice trembling. Her wolf surged to the surface, energy crackling in her veins. For a moment, the power inside her spilled free, silencing both men.
The chains at her wrists shattered completely, dust scattering like stars.
Both brothers froze.
Her body glowed faintly with silvery light, the power of her wolf radiating like moonfire. But that wasn't what startled her most, it was the way Darius looked at her.
Not like she was a prize. Not like she was a weapon. He looked at her like she was his.
Selene trembled. Her wolf howled deep inside, aching toward him.
Darius's voice softened, rough but reverent. "I knew it the moment I touched you. You feel it too, don't you? The pull."
Kael's growl deepened, but Selene couldn't move her gaze away. Darius's hand reached toward her, fingers brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. The touch was fleeting, but it set her skin on fire.
Her lips parted. "I… I don't know what I feel."
Lies. The bond burned like wildfire, undeniable.
Darius leaned closer, his breath warm against her lips. "Then let me remind you."
The world narrowed to just the two of them.
Selene's pulse thundered, every instinct screaming at her to close the distance. His scent wrapped around her, earth, smoke, something darker…and her body betrayed her, leaning toward him.
Her lips brushed his. Just barely. A breath, a whisper.
And in that second, every nerve lit up. The bond surged, raw and intoxicating, so intense she thought it might consume her whole.
Her heart whispered: yes.
Kael stood in the threshold, his eyes glowing silver-white, his rage so palpable it seemed to make the air shake.
Selene jerked back, guilt flashing hot through her chest. But Darius didn't move. He kept his body close, protective, defiant.
"You dare," Kael snarled, his voice like a blade, "touch what's mine?"
"She's not yours," Darius shot back, stepping in front of her. "She never was. She never will be."
Selene's throat tightened. Her chest heaved. The heat from the bond still pulsed through her body, her lips still tingling from what almost happened.
Kael's claws slid free with a sound like tearing steel. "Then you'll die tonight, brother."
The clash this time was worse. More brutal. They tore into each other, the room a storm of claws, blood, and snarls.
Selene pressed back against the wall, heart racing, torn between fear and something else, longing. The mate bonds tugged her in two directions, but one thread burned brighter.
Her wolf whispered it, clear as moonlight: Darius.
She didn't know why. She didn't know how. But the thought of him falling beneath Kael's claws made her body lurch forward.
"No!" she screamed, throwing herself between them.
Her power erupted, moonfire blazing out of her skin, a shockwave that sent both brothers staggering back.
The council burst in, guards behind them. Gasps filled the chamber at the sight of her standing in the wreckage, silver light rippling across her skin, chains melted to ash at her feet.
"The prophecy," one elder whispered, voice shaking. "She is the Moonfire Wolf."
"She's cursed!" another cried.
"She's blessed," Darius snapped, blood running down his arm. "And she's mine."
Kael's laugh was low, dangerous. "Keep dreaming. The bond has already chosen. She belongs to me."
Selene's body trembled as both bonds seared inside her, burning, pulling. She dropped to her knees, clutching her chest, her scream shattering the chamber.
Her skin split with light.
In one blinding flash, her wolf form ripped free. Silver fire engulfed her body, bones shifting, fur bursting across her skin until she stood as a magnificent wolf, glowing white with golden eyes.
The entire castle shook with the force of her transformation.
Every wolf in the territory felt it.
They bowed. Instinctively. Helplessly.
Even Kael. Even Darius.
And in the silence that followed, Selene lifted her head and howled, sound that carried across mountains, forests, rivers. A sound that promised change. A sound that promised war.
When the howl faded, she turned her glowing gaze on the two brothers.
Her wolf's voice whispered through the bond, chilling them both:
"Neither of you owns me."