Chapter 5

• SELENA
• News spread faster than fire. By the time we left Kieran's office, half the pack was in the hallway. Whispers. Stares. My sister's scream had carried through the stone walls.
• "Alpha challenged his own son?"
• "She chose him."
• "Blood for blood."
• No one said it out loud. But everyone was thinking it. A father and son, fighting over a mate. The pack would split. Half loyal to Damian. Half terrified of Kieran. The rest would wait to see whose blood stained the floor.
• Kieran didn't stop. His hand stayed locked around mine, pulling me through the crowd like I was something precious. Or dangerous. I wasn't sure which. His grip was warm. Steady. An anchor while the world went loud.
• He shoved open a side door. Dragged me into a smaller room. His private study. No windows. Just books floor to ceiling, a fireplace, and a desk that looked like it had seen a hundred wars and won them all. The smell of leather and smoke was stronger here. Like him.
• The door slammed shut behind us. He let go of my hand. For a second, neither of us spoke. The only sound was the fire crackling and my heartbeat too loud in my ears.
• Then he turned. And the Alpha mask was gone.
• He looked tired. Old. Ten years older than he had five minutes ago in the office. The weight of what he'd just done sat on his shoulders like a chain.
• "Are you hurt?" he asked. First words out of his mouth.
• I blinked. "What?"
• "From the bond breaking. From Damian. From today." He crossed to the desk. Poured water into a glass. Didn't drink it. Just held it out to me. "Are you hurt, Selena?"
• The question hit harder than any threat. No one asked me that. Not Mara. Not Damian. Not even me.
• I took the glass. My hands shook. "I'm... I'm fine."
• "Liar." He said it without heat. Fact. He moved closer but didn't touch me. "Your pupils are still gold-rimmed. Your wolf is screaming. And you're standing like you'll break if I breathe too hard."
• I set the glass down before I dropped it. "You shouldn't have declared the challenge."
• "I know."
• "Then why did you?"
• "Because you took my hand." He said it simple. Like it was obvious. Like math. "Because for six months I watched you laugh with him, cry with him, plan a life with him. And every day my wolf clawed at me to stop it. Today you chose me. I won't let you regret that."
• My wolf pressed forward. He smells like safety. Like home. Like mate. The thought wasn't mine. It was hers. I hated her for it. Hated that my body wanted him when my brain knew the cost.
• "The pack will burn," I whispered. "Your son will die, or you will. Because of me."
• "Because of me," Kieran corrected. He ran a hand through his hair. For the first time I saw stubble on his jaw, rough and gray at the edges. He wasn't young. He wasn't safe. "I declared the challenge. I knew the law. I knew the price."
• "What price?"
• He finally looked at me. Really looked. Gold eyes stripped bare. No Alpha. No mask. Just the man underneath.
• "If I win," he said, "I lose my son. If I lose, you lose everything. Your life. Your freedom. And I lose you."
• The word lose hung in the air between us. Heavy. Sharp.
• "Seven days," he continued. "Until the full moon. Until the challenge. Until this pack decides if blood or law matters more."
• Seven days. Not long enough to prepare. Not long enough to run. Not long enough to pretend this wasn't happening.
• I wrapped my arms around myself. "Why didn't you tell me six months ago? When you first felt it? When you saw me at the training yard?"
• "Because you were happy," he said. Simple. Honest. It hurt more than a lie would have. "Because Damian looked at you like you were his whole world. Because I thought... I thought if I waited, if I was patient, your wolf would choose me without me having to destroy my family."
• He laughed once. No humor in it. Just exhaustion. "I was wrong. Wolves don't wait. And neither do sons who want what their fathers have."
• I stepped closer. One step. Then another. Until I was in front of him. Close enough to see the scar through his left eyebrow. Close enough to see his hands clench at his sides like he was holding himself back from touching me.
• "You could've claimed me," I said. "Marked me. No one would've stopped the Alpha. You could've ended this six months ago."
• "Yes," he agreed. "And you would've hated me for it. Every day. For stealing your choice. For making you a prisoner instead of a mate."
• He reached up. One finger under my chin. Lifted my face until I met his eyes. His touch was light. Careful. Like I was glass.
• "I don't want a mate who hates me, Selena," he whispered. "I want you. The woman who walked into my office in a red dress and chose war instead of a lie. But I need you to understand something before we go further."
• "What?"
• "If you stay by my side for these seven days, the pack will call you a traitor. Damian's supporters will call you a whore. My enemies will call you my weakness." His thumb brushed my cheek. Callused skin against soft skin. "Can you carry that? Can you carry the weight of what comes next?"
• I thought of my sister's smile. Of Damian's pale face. Of the contract burning in her hand. Of three years wasted.
• Then I thought of the way the pain stopped when Kieran touched me. Of the way my wolf sighed when he was near. Of the way he'd asked if I was hurt before he asked anything else.
• "Yes," I said. The word felt like a vow. "I can."
• His eyes closed for one second. Relief. Bare and raw. A crack in the Alpha. "Then we prepare," he said. "But first-"
• A knock. Sharp. Three times. Hard enough to rattle the door.
• "Alpha." A guard's voice. Young. Scared. "It's Damian. He's at the gates. With fifty wolves. He says he's invoking old blood law."
• Kieran's hand dropped from my face. His whole body went still. Predator still. The kind of still that meant death was coming.
• "What blood law?" I asked. My voice came out thin.
• "The one that says," Kieran answered, voice low and cold, "if an Alpha challenges his son, the son can demand a trial by combat. Right now. No waiting seven days. No full moon. Tonight."
• He looked at me. Gold eyes molten again. Hard. The Alpha came back, fast and complete.
• "He's not waiting for the full moon, Selena. He wants blood tonight."
• The fire popped. Sparks flew and died on the stone.
• And outside, fifty wolves started to howl. The sound rolled through the packhouse like thunder. Like war.