The war bells rang like thunder across Moonwalk territory.
Deep, resonating tones that shook the earth and called every wolf to battle.
Seraphine ran beside Kael through the mansion corridors, warriors flooding past them in organized chaos. The scent of fear and determination was thick in the air.
"How long do we have?" Kael barked at Darius, who'd appeared at their side.
"Forty-seven minutes before their deadline," Darius responded grimly. "But scouts report they're already positioning for assault. They might not wait."
"Troop distribution?"
"Eight hundred warriors combat-ready. Another two hundred in reserve mostly younger wolves and those recovering from last night's injuries."
"Against over a thousand." Kael's jaw clenched. "What about civilians?"
"Being evacuated to the underground shelters as we speak."
They burst through the doors onto the mansion's main balcony.
The sight below stole Seraphine's breath.
Warriors assembled in precise formations across the grounds. Weapons being distributed. Wolves shifting between human and animal form as they prepared for battle.
And beyond the territory borders, visible even from this distance
Three massive armies.
To the east, Cain Blackwater's forces, marked with red cloths.
To the west, another army wearing black and gold. Ronan Ashford's pack.
To the north, wolves with silver markings. Thaddeus Crane's forces.
They'd surrounded Moonwalk completely.
"It's a siege," Seraphine whispered.
"It's a massacre waiting to happen," Darius corrected grimly. "If we spread our forces to defend all three borders, we'll be too thin. They'll break through."
"Then we don't spread out." Kael's eyes scanned the terrain with tactical precision. "We consolidate. Force them to come to us."
"They outnumber us nearly two to one."
"Numbers don't matter if they can't use them effectively." Kael turned to Darius. "Pull all warriors back to the inner perimeter. Fortify the mansion and the immediate grounds. Let them come to us through the narrow passes."
"That gives up a third of our territory."
"Territory can be reclaimed. Lives can't."
Darius nodded sharply. "I'll give the order."
He started to turn, then paused.
"My king... if this goes wrong"
"It won't."
"But if it does " Darius's eyes flicked to Seraphine. "Get her out. There's an emergency tunnel beneath the stronghold. It leads three miles into the forest, far from here."
"I know about the tunnel," Kael said quietly. "And if it comes to that, you'll take her yourself."
"My place is at your side"
"Your place," Kael interrupted, his voice dropping into Alpha command, "is wherever I tell you to be. And if I fall, your place is protecting her. Understood?"
Darius's throat worked. Finally, he bowed. "Understood, my king."
He left.
Seraphine turned to Kael, her heart pounding. "You're planning for the worst."
"I'm planning for every possibility." His hand found hers. "Including the ones I don't want to think about."
A commotion below drew their attention.
Thorne was leading a group of elders toward the balcony Marcellus, Morrigan, Cassia, and Viktor.
"My king!" Marcellus called up. "We must speak!"
Kael's expression went cold. "Now isn't the time"
"There may be another option," Morrigan interrupted. "Please. Hear us out."
Kael exchanged a glance with Seraphine, then gestured them up.
The five elders climbed to the balcony, slightly out of breath.
Marcellus spoke first. "My king, what we're about to suggest"
"If you're about to tell me to surrender her," Kael's voice dropped to a lethal purr, "choose your next words very carefully."
"Not surrender," Thorne said quickly. "Negotiate."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
Morrigan stepped forward. "The three Alpha Kings want her power. They've united because they believe whoever controls her controls the future."
"I'm aware."
"But their alliance is fragile," Morrigan continued. "Three alphas, three massive egos. They've only banded together because none of them could take Moonwalk alone."
Viktor nodded. "If we could fracture that alliance turn them against each other"
"The siege collapses," Cassia finished.
Kael's expression remained skeptical. "And how exactly do you propose we do that?"
"By offering them something they want more than unity," Marcellus said. "A challenge."
Seraphine felt Kael go very still beside her.
"What kind of challenge?" he asked quietly.
"Single combat," Thorne said. "Alpha King against Alpha King. Winner takes all."
"That's suicide," Seraphine gasped. "Three against one"
"Not at once," Morrigan clarified. "Sequential challenges. Ancient law allows it. If an Alpha King is challenged for his mate, he has the right to face his challengers individually."
Kael's mind was clearly racing, calculating odds and strategies.
"They'd never agree to that. Why would they give up their numerical advantage?"
"Because," Marcellus said slowly, "they're Alphas. And Alphas don't share glory."
Understanding dawned in Kael's eyes.
"You think they'd each rather win her alone than share credit with the others."
"Exactly," Thorne confirmed. "Especially Ronan Ashford. He's the most prideful of the three. If we frame it right if we publicly challenge them to prove which Alpha is truly strongest"
"They'll turn on each other before they even get to me," Kael finished.
Silence fell over the balcony.
It was a desperate plan. Risky. Built on assumptions about male pride and Alpha ego.
But it might be their only chance.
"And if they refuse?" Seraphine asked quietly.
"Then we fight," Kael said simply. "And we make them pay for every inch of ground."
He looked at each elder in turn.
"How long to arrange the challenge? To make it official under ancient law?"
"If we send envoys now," Morrigan said, "we could have an answer within thirty minutes."
"Do it." Kael's command was absolute. "But prepare for battle anyway. If they reject the challenge, we don't waste time negotiating."
The elders bowed and hurried away except for Thorne, who lingered.
"My king," he said quietly. "Even if they accept... three consecutive fights against Alpha Kings. No wolf has ever"
"I know." Kael's voice was steady. "But I've never lost a challenge. And I don't intend to start now."
"Kael" Seraphine's voice broke slightly.
He turned to her, his expression softening.
"I need a moment," he said to Thorne.
The elder bowed and withdrew, leaving them alone on the balcony.
Kael pulled Seraphine close, his arms wrapping around her tightly.
For a long moment, they just stood there, holding each other while war drums echoed in the distance.
"You can't fight all three of them," Seraphine whispered against his chest. "You'll die."
"Maybe."
"Kael"
"Or maybe I'll win." His hand came up to cradle her head. "And we'll have our future."
She pulled back to look at him, tears burning in her eyes.
"There has to be another way. I could I could just go. End this before"
"No." The word was absolute. "I'd rather die fighting than live knowing I gave you up."
"But the pack"
"Will survive. Under Darius's leadership if necessary." His thumb brushed away a tear that escaped. "But I won't survive losing you."
His eyes blazed with intensity.
"You asked me once what you are to me. I didn't have an answer then."
He leaned down until their foreheads touched.
"You're everything," he whispered. "My obsession. My weakness. My strength. The only thing that's ever made me want to be more than the Ruthless King."
His hands framed her face.
"So I'm going to fight for you. And I'm going to win."
"You don't know that"
"Yes," he said firmly, "I do."
He kissed her then deep and claiming and full of promise.
When he pulled back, his eyes were glowing silver.
"Now I need you to do something for me."
"Anything."
"Promise me truly promise me that if things go wrong, you'll run. You'll let Darius take you through the tunnel and you'll survive."
"Kael"
"Promise me, Seraphine."
The desperation in his voice broke her.
"I promise," she whispered.
He kissed her forehead, breathing deeply as if memorizing her scent.
"Good. Now"
A howl cut through the air.
Not alarm this time.
Challenge.
Kael's head snapped up.
From the eastern border, a massive black wolf emerged Cain Blackwater, his golden eyes visible even from this distance.
He shifted to human form, his voice magically amplified to carry across the entire territory.
"KAEL DREADMORE!"
The battlefield went silent.
"I received your envoy's message," Cain called out. "And I accept your challenge."
Relief and dread warred in Seraphine's chest.
Cain continued, "But I have conditions. We fight now. No delays. No preparations. Just you, me, and the omega as the prize."
From the west, another voice rang out deeper, rougher.
"Like hell!"
Alpha Ronan Ashford emerged from his forces, shifting to human form as well. He was even larger than Cain, covered in scars, built like a living weapon.
"If anyone's fighting first, it's me!" Ronan bellowed. "I won't sit back and watch Blackwater steal the glory!"
"Both of you are fools."
The third voice was smooth, cultured, dangerous.
From the north, Alpha Thaddeus Crane appeared—leaner than the other two, but radiating a different kind of menace. Intelligence. Calculation.
"Fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what Dreadmore wants," Thaddeus said. "He's trying to divide us."
"I don't care," Ronan snarled. "I came here to fight, not to play politics."
"Then fight me!" Cain challenged. "Prove you're worthy to even face Dreadmore!"
"Gladly!"
The two Alphas began circling each other, their armies watching in confusion.
Thaddeus smiled coldly. "Idiots. Both of you."
He turned his attention to the balcony, his eyes finding Seraphine.
"I'm not interested in proving anything," he called out. "I'm interested in results. So here's my counter-offer, Dreadmore."
He gestured, and his wolves parted.
They dragged forward three prisoners—Moonwalk warriors, bloody and beaten.
Seraphine gasped.
One of them was Garrett.
"Your scouts were sloppy," Thaddeus said casually. "I've had wolves inside your territory for days. Watching. Learning. Preparing."
Kael's aura exploded with rage.
"If you've hurt them"
"They're alive. For now." Thaddeus's smile widened. "Here's the deal. You want single combat? Fine. But not just against us."
He snapped his fingers.
More of his wolves emerged from the forest.
Dragging something massive.
A cage.
And inside
Seraphine's blood turned to ice.
It was a wolf. But not like any she'd ever seen.
Easily twice the size of a normal Alpha. Its fur was matted and dark, its eyes completely black—no white, no iris, just endless darkness.
Foam dripped from its jaws.
"A Feral," Thaddeus announced proudly. "Rare, aren't they? This one's been infected for three months. Completely mad. Completely unstoppable."
He met Kael's eyes.
"You fight this first. Survive, and then you can face us. But if you die" His gaze shifted to Seraphine. "The omega becomes fair game for whoever claims her first."
"You bastard," Kael snarled.
"I prefer 'pragmatist.'" Thaddeus shrugged. "Do we have a deal? Or do we go back to the siege and watch hundreds of your wolves die?"
Kael's hands clenched into fists.
A Feral was a death sentence. Wolves infected with a supernatural madness that made them immune to pain, reason, or mercy. They couldn't be negotiated with, couldn't be controlled.
They could only be killed.
And killing one usually meant dying in the process.
"Don't," Seraphine whispered. "Please, Kael, don't"
He looked at her, his expression torn between love and duty.
Then back at Thaddeus.
"Release my warriors first."
"Done." Thaddeus gestured, and his wolves shoved Garrett and the others forward.
They stumbled toward Moonwalk lines, where other warriors caught them.
"Now," Thaddeus said, "do we have a deal?"
Every eye in three armies turned to Kael.
The Ruthless Alpha King stood on his balcony, his mate at his side, facing impossible odds.
Slowly, he nodded.
"We have a deal."
Roar of approval from all three enemy armies.
Kael turned to Darius, who'd returned. "Get her to safety. Now."
"No!" Seraphine grabbed his arm. "I'm not leaving"
"You promised," Kael said gently, desperately. "You promised me."
"I promised to run if things went wrong. They haven't gone wrong yet."
"Seraphine"
"I'm staying." Her voice was steel. "Until the very end. However this ends."
Kael looked like he might physically carry her away.
But then Cain's voice rang out again.
"Enough delays, Dreadmore! Face the Feral, or we attack now!"
Kael's jaw clenched.
He pulled Seraphine close one more time, kissing her hard and fast.
"Don't you dare die on me," she whispered against his lips.
"Never," he promised.
Then he released her and vaulted over the balcony railing.
He landed in a crouch thirty feet below, his power cushioning the impact.
The crowd of Moonwalk warriors parted as he walked forward.
In the center of the grounds, Thaddeus's wolves were opening the cage.
The Feral inside howled a sound that was wrong, twisted, full of madness.
It burst from the cage like a nightmare made flesh.
Kael shifted mid-stride, his black wolf emerging in a explosion of power.
The two beasts circled each other.
The entire battlefield held its breath.
Then the Feral attacked.
It moved with impossible speed, jaws snapping where Kael's throat had been a heartbeat before.
Kael dodged, his movements precise and controlled despite the creature's frenzy.
They clashed again and again teeth and claws, blood and fury.
The Feral felt no pain. Every wound Kael inflicted only seemed to enrage it further.
Seraphine watched in horror as the battle raged.
Kael was faster, smarter, more skilled.
But the Feral was relentless.
It caught Kael's shoulder, fangs sinking deep.
Kael howled in pain but didn't release his own grip on the creature's neck.
They rolled across the ground in a tangle of fur and blood.
"He's losing," someone whispered nearby.
"No," Darius said firmly. "He's calculating."
And he was right.
Kael was deliberately taking damage, letting the Feral think it was winning.
Drawing it in.
Waiting for the perfect moment.
The Feral lunged for Kael's throat
Kael twisted impossibly fast.
His jaws clamped down on the back of the Feral's neck.
And crushed.
The sound of vertebrae snapping echoed across the battlefield.
The Feral went limp.
Kael held on for another long moment, making absolutely certain it was dead.
Then he released it and stepped back.
Blood poured from multiple wounds across his body.
But he was alive.
He'd won.
Moonwalk warriors erupted in cheers.
Kael shifted back to human form, breathing hard, blood streaming down his shoulder and ribs.
He looked up at the balcony.
At Seraphine.
And smiled.
Then Cain Blackwater's voice cut through the celebration.
"Impressive, Dreadmore. But you're wounded now. Weakened."
Kael turned to face him, his expression cold.
"I've fought wounded before. I'll do it again."
"Will you?" Cain's smile was predatory. "Because I don't think you have another fight in you."
He started walking forward.
"So here's what's going to happen. I'm going to kill you while you're weak. Then I'm going to take your omega. And your pack. And your territory."
He began to shift.
"Any last words?"
Kael's eyes blazed silver despite his injuries.
"Just one."
His aura exploded outward so powerful that wolves on all sides staggered.
"Come and try."
Cain roared and charged.
The second battle began.
And Seraphine could only watch, her heart in her throat, as the wolf she loved fought for their future.