The moon hung high over the Forbidden Forest, casting silver light over twisted roots and fog-laden ground. Lunara's wolf trembled in anticipation, sensing the approaching presence.
"Do you feel that?" Riven asked quietly, his golden eyes scanning the darkness. "He's near."
Lunara's heart pounded. Kael—the Alpha who had rejected her, humiliated her, cast her out—was coming. Not just to see her, but to claim what he believed was his.
The forest seemed to shrink around her, every shadow suddenly alive. Trees creaked, wind howled, and the distant roar of a wolf made her blood run cold.
Then he stepped into the clearing. Kael Thorn. Broad, imposing, eyes icy as ever—but now laced with something darker. Regret? Desire? Both? Lunara didn't care. She had grown stronger in the past hours, stronger than he could have imagined.
"Lunara," Kael called, voice steady but heavy. "You don't belong here."
Her wolf snarled. "I belong wherever I choose!" she shouted, claws digging into the earth. Her aura flared silver, and for a moment, Kael faltered.
Riven stepped slightly in front of her, protective, a shadow of danger surrounding him. "This is her territory now. Step carefully, Alpha. Or leave."
Kael's jaw clenched. "I won't leave until I see the bond broken. You've changed. But that doesn't make you mine… yet."
Lunara's wolf surged forward, instincts screaming. She lifted a hand, controlling the energy she had only begun to master. Sparks of silver shot into the air, lighting the clearing like lightning.
Kael's wolf appeared beside him, snarling, muscles tense. The tension between the three was palpable—the forest itself seemed to hold its breath.
"You think you can fight me?" Kael demanded, stepping closer. "Do you know what happens when a rejected mate tests her Alpha?"
"Then I'll show you," Lunara said, her voice steady, wolf growling in harmony with her own.
Riven's golden eyes gleamed. "Good. Fight. Learn. Survive. But remember, Lunara… the strongest wolves make their own destiny."
The moonlight shimmered across the clearing as the first clash of wills began. Silver energy collided with golden power, sparks flying, the ground trembling.
(Sparks flew through the air as Lunara's wolf confronted Kael's Alpha power head-on. Neither knew how the fight would end… but something inside Lunara had awakened that even Kael could not predict.)