CHAPTER 5
Kael’s snarl was the only warning I got before his claws slashed toward me. I caught his wrist mid-swing, our strength colliding in a brutal clash that sent a ripple of energy through the clearing. The pack gasped, a collective intake of breath, but their shock barely registered. My focus was on Kael—his cold, calculating eyes and the raw challenge in them.“She’s not yours,” he growled, his voice low and venomous.
“And she’s not yours either,” I shot back, twisting his arm and shoving him back a step. My heart was hammering, my instincts screaming to tear into him, but I held back. For now.
Alice stood a few feet away, her wide eyes darting between us. “Stop this!” she shouted, her voice rising over the commotion. “You’re both acting like—like animals!”Kael’s lip curled. “Stay out of this, Selene.”“It’s Alice!” she snapped, her voice shaking.“She doesn’t need you speaking for her,” I said, my voice hard as I shoved Kael back again.“And she doesn’t need your protection,” Kael countered, stepping right back into my space.
The tension between us was a coiled spring, ready to snap. Every muscle in my body was tight, my wolf clawing beneath the surface, begging for a fight. But I forced myself to glance at Alice.She was trembling, her fists clenched at her sides, her chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. “This isn’t about me,” she said, her voice breaking. “This is about your egos. Both of you, stop!”Neither of us moved. The air around us crackled with energy, the kind that always preceded violence.
Kael’s eyes flicked to her, then back to me. “She doesn’t know what she is, what she’s capable of. You’ll get her killed.”“And you’ll what? Use her for your own plans?” I growled, stepping closer. “We both know what you’re like, Kael. Don’t act like you’re her savior.”His smirk was ice. “I don’t need to save her. She’ll save herself.”The words were meant to rile me up, and they worked. Before I could think twice, I punched him in the face, the impact pushing my arm back a bit. He staggered but recovered quickly, his claws flashing as he slashed at me.We collided, a clash of fists and claws, each strike fueled by years of unspoken hatred. He was stronger than I remembered, faster too, but I wasn’t about to let him win.
Alice screamed behind us as the rest of the people there watched, but her voice barely broke through the haze of the fight. We were locked in a battle that had been brewing for years, and nothing short of death was going to end it. Kael landed a blow to my ribs, and I grunted, doubling over for a split second before ramming my shoulder into his gut. He stumbled back, his expression darkening as he lunged at me again.“Stop it!” Alice’s voice cut through the commotion, high-pitched and raw.
Neither of us listened
Her scream came next—louder, filled with something ancient—and the world exploded around us. A wave of energy burst from her, invisible but devastating. The ground beneath us cracked and split, trees groaned as their roots were torn free, and a deafening roar filled my ears. I was thrown back, my body slamming into a tree with enough force to knock the breath out of me. Kael hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop a few feet away. Silence fell, heavy and suffocating. I forced myself to my feet, my head spinning as I looked around. The clearing was unrecognizable—jagged holes split the earth, and the air was thick with the scent of dust.
Alice stood at the center of the destruction, her hands trembling, her eyes wide with terror.“What…” Her voice was barely a whisper. “What did I do?”I moved toward her slowly, my hands raised in a gesture of peace. “It’s okay,” I said, my voice soft. “You didn’t mean to—”“Don’t patronize her,” Kael interrupted, his tone colder than the night air. He got to his feet, brushing dirt from his clothes as if the blast hadn’t fazed him. “She needs to learn control, or this will happen again.”“Shut up, Kael,” I snapped, turning back to Alice. “You’re fine. You’re safe.”Her gaze darted between us, her breathing shallow. “I’m not fine,” she said, her voice breaking. “Look at this. Look at what I did!”
"It was an accident, I said stepping closer
“Accidents don’t rip the ground apart,” she said, her voice rising. “I—I don’t even know how I did it!”Kael crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. “Because you don’t know what you are.”Alice flinched, her arms wrapping around herself as if she could hold herself together.“Don’t listen to him,” I said, my voice firm. “You’re not dangerous.”“She is,” Kael said, his tone matter-of-fact. “And the sooner she accepts that, the better.”Alice’s eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “I don’t understand any of this. I don’t even know who you are, or why you’re fighting over me.”“You’re more than you think,” Kael said, stepping closer to her. “You’re Selene. You’re—”“She’s Alice,” I cut in, moving between them. “That’s who she is, and you’re not going to confuse her with your lies.”“They’re not lies,” Kael said, his gaze steady. “And deep down, she knows it.”
Alice took a shaky step back, her hands clutching her head. “Stop,” she said, her voice barely audible. “Just stop.”I reached for her, but she flinched away. Kael’s voice was calm, almost too calm. “You think this is the worst of it? You think this is where it ends?”I turned on him, my fists clenching. “What the hell are you talking about?”
The Lunari Sect,” Kael said, his eyes never leaving Alice. “They’re coming for her. And when they do, you’ll wish this fight was all you had to deal with.”The words hung in the air, heavy with menace. Alice looked at him, her expression a mix of fear and confusion. “Who… who are they?”Kael’s smirk was grim. “You’ll find out soon enough.”The tension in the clearing was very high, the weight of his words pressing down on all of us. Alice’s voice was barely a whisper. “What do they want with me?”Kael’s gaze softened, just for a moment. “Everything.”
The world seemed to hold its breath, the silence thick and oppressive. By now, the pack members that hovered around earlier had all disappeared, nowhere to be seen, leaving us to ourselves. And then, in the distance, a howl split the night. It was followed by another, and another until the forest echoed with the sound.“They’re already coming,” Kael said, his tone almost bored. “Good luck, Selene.”He turned and walked away, leaving me and Alice alone in the ruined clearing. I moved toward her, my instincts screaming to protect her, but she took a step back, her eyes wide with fear.“Don’t,” she said, her voice trembling. “Just… don’t.”The howls grew louder and closer.And for the first time in years, I felt fear.