ELENA'S POV
Malcolm's warriors are on their knees, trembling.
I stare at them in shock. My silver wolf stands tall, power radiating from her like heat from a fire. This isn't normal. This shouldn't be possible.
"Impossible," Malcolm gasps, still fighting against my Alpha command. "You were the weakest Luna in pack history. You couldn't even make omegas submit."
"Things change when you have nothing left to lose." My voice comes out strong, certain. My wolf is fully awake now, and she's furious.
Marcus shifts beside me, grinning. "Told you. Rejection either kills you or remakes you."
One of Malcolm's warriors whimpers. "Alpha Chase never said she had Alpha power. He said she was weak, broken."
"Chase doesn't know everything." I step forward, and the warriors flinch back. "Tell him what you saw here tonight. Tell him I'm not dead. Tell him his babies are alive and growing stronger every day."
"You want us to deliver a message?" Malcolm snarls.
"No." My eyes glow silver—I can feel it. "I want you to deliver a warning. I'm done running. I'm done hiding. And when I come back, it won't be as his rejected mate. It'll be as his equal."
"You're delusional," Malcolm spits. "One Alpha command doesn't make you—"
"Leave. Now." The command rolls out of me like thunder.
Malcolm and his warriors turn and run. They can't help it—their wolves force them to obey.
When they're gone, my legs give out. Marcus catches me before I hit the ground.
"Easy," he says. "That took a lot of power. You need rest."
"Did that really just happen?" I'm shaking. "I made them submit. Me. The wolf Chase said was too weak to be Luna."
"Your wolf evolved." Marcus helps me shift back to human form. "Rejection trauma combined with pregnancy and survival instinct—it triggered something rare. You're not just a Luna anymore, Elena. You're an Alpha."
"Female Alphas are almost extinct," I whisper. "The old bloodlines died out."
"Almost extinct isn't the same as gone." Marcus wraps his coat around me. "Your bloodline must carry the gene. It stayed hidden until you needed it most."
I touch my stomach. "Will the babies be safe? With all this power?"
"Safer than they'd be without it." Marcus starts walking, and I follow on unsteady legs. "But now we have a bigger problem. Once word spreads that you're an Alpha, every pack in the region will want to either kill you or control you."
"Why?"
"Because female Alphas are powerful. Their bloodlines are legendary. Packs will try to force you into mating contracts to strengthen their own power." His face darkens. "And some will want you dead because you're a threat to the old male-dominated structure."
Fear crawls up my spine. "I just wanted to survive. To protect my babies."
"Too late for simple survival now." Marcus stops and faces me. "You have power, whether you wanted it or not. The question is—what are you going to do with it?"
I think about Chase's face when he rejected me. Lydia's cruel smile. The pack that watched me suffer.
"I'm going to build something they can't destroy," I say slowly. "A pack where rejected wolves have a home. Where strength isn't just about bloodlines. Where nobody gets thrown away for being 'not good enough.'"
Marcus's eyes light up. "Now you're thinking like an Alpha."
"Will you help me?" I ask. "I don't know how to do this alone."
"Kid, I've been waiting my whole life for an Alpha worth following." He grins. "Let's build you an empire."
We walk through the forest in comfortable silence. My mind races with plans, possibilities, fears.
Then Marcus suddenly stops.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
He sniffs the air, his expression turning grim. "We're being followed. Not Malcolm's group—someone else. Someone who knows how to hide their scent."
"How long?"
"Since right after Malcolm left." Marcus's hand moves to his knife. "Whoever it is, they're good. Really good."
A voice calls out from the shadows, smooth as silk and cold as ice.
"Impressive display back there, little Luna. Or should I say, little Alpha?"
A man steps into the moonlight. He's tall, elegant, wearing an expensive suit that seems out of place in the forest. His eyes are pale blue—almost white—and ancient.
"Who are you?" Marcus growls.
"Roman Blackwood. Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack." The man smiles, showing too-white teeth. "I've been searching for a female Alpha for a very long time."
My wolf bristles with warning. This man is dangerous.
"What do you want?" I demand.
"You, of course." Roman's smile widens. "Your bloodline. Your power. Your children."
"Not happening," Marcus snarls.
"Oh, I don't think you understand." Roman snaps his fingers.
Wolves emerge from every direction. Twenty of them, at least. All bigger and better trained than Malcolm's warriors.
"You see, Elena," Roman says conversationally, "female Alphas are extinct for a reason. The males hunted them down and killed them centuries ago. We couldn't have women with that much power—it threatened our dominance."
"So why keep me alive?" I ask, backing up against Marcus.
"Because you're pregnant with Alpha Chase Rex's bloodline—one of the strongest in North America. Combined with your female Alpha gene?" Roman's eyes gleam with greed. "Your children will be extraordinary. Worth a fortune to the right buyer. Or better yet—worth everything to me if I claim them as my own heirs."
Horror floods through me. "You want to steal my babies?"
"Steal is such an ugly word. I prefer 'adopt.'" Roman gestures to his wolves. "Now, you can come quietly and I'll let your rogue friend live. Or you can fight, and I'll kill him and take you anyway. Your choice."
Marcus shifts into his massive black wolf, ready to fight to the death.
I look at the twenty wolves surrounding us. Even with my new Alpha power, I'm exhausted, pregnant, and barely trained.
We can't win this fight.
But I won't let him take my babies.
"Marcus," I whisper, "when I say run—run."
"I don't abandon people," he growls.
"You're not abandoning me. You're trusting me." I meet his eyes. "Please."
Before he can answer, I shift into my silver wolf and charge straight at Roman.
His wolves attack.
Pain explodes through my body as teeth and claws tear into me. I fight back desperately, but there are too many.
"Stop!" Roman commands. "Don't kill her! I need her alive!"
The wolves pull back, and I collapse in the dirt, bleeding heavily.
Roman kneels beside me, his hand touching my silver fur. "Magnificent. Absolutely magnificent. You'll give me such powerful heirs."
Through the pain, I see Marcus creeping closer, ready to attack.
I catch his eye and shake my head slightly. Run. Save yourself.
Marcus hesitates, then melts back into the shadows.
Good. At least he'll survive.
Roman lifts me easily. "Let's go home, little Alpha. Your new life awaits."
As darkness closes in, I hear a sound that makes my blood run cold.
A howl. Not from Marcus.
From the direction of my old pack.
Chase's howl.
He's coming.
But is he coming to save me—or to finish what his rejection started?