Kael's POV
The moon had never denied me anything. It answered when I called.It strengthened my bones. It sharpened my claws. It made me Alpha.
Ironfang bowed easily enough after Rian died. Too easily. They needed strength. Control. Ruthlessness. I gave them all three. Some called it ambition.
Others called it murder.I never corrected them. Fear is far more useful than innocence. Tonight, I stood before the tall iron-framed mirror in my chambers, fastening the black ceremonial cuffs around my wrists. The silver embroidery of my formal coat marked me as Alpha — intricate sigils stitched in thread meant to symbolize dominance and unity.
Unity.
The word was almost laughable. This was not about unity. This was about claiming what had always been mine.
Elena Blackwood.
Even her name felt like something carved into my ribs long ago.
I remember the first time I saw her clearly — not as a child running between trees, but as something fragile and luminous and infuriatingly unaware of her own effect.
She had been laughing. Not with me. Never with me but with Rian. My jaw tightens at the memory.
Rian had always been softer. Easier. The kind of male wolves gravitated toward without realizing they were following weakness.
He used to stand between us when I cornered her during training visits between our packs.
"Let her breathe, Kael."
As if she needed protection from me. As if I would ever truly harm her. I only wanted her attention. Her fear ana her focus.
When she smiled at another boy for the first time, something inside me split open. I broke the boy's nose behind the stables. Slowly. Deliberately.
I made sure Elena heard him cry out. After that, she kept her distance. Good. She was always meant to stand beside me — not wander where she pleased and now she would.
The news of her failure to shift had reached Ironfang before the official announcement.
Wolfless.
Useless.
The future Luna without a wolf. My advisors had been uneasy. "She will weaken Ironfang's image." "She cannot stand beside you in battle." "You deserve a true she-wolf, Alpha."
Deserve.
I do not take what I deserve.I také what I want. And I have wanted Elena for as long as I can remember. Her lack of a wolf changes nothing. If anything… it makes things easier.
She will depend on me. She will not challenge me. She will not outrun me.
A slow smile curves at the edge of my mouth. The pack believes this alliance strengthens territories. They do not understand. This is not politics. This is possession anad i am very possessive.
I walk to the balcony overlooking Ironfang's training grounds. Warriors move below like disciplined shadows, their loyalty unquestioned.
Rian once stood beside me here. Before the challenge. Before the blood. He hesitated that night. That was his mistake.
An Alpha cannot hesitate. I close my eyes briefly, but there is no guilt waiting for me there.
Only inevitability.
Ironfang needed me. And now Darkmoon will kneel as well. A knock sounds at my chamber door.
"Alpha," my Beta says carefully. "Darkmoon has sent word. The ceremony will begin at sunset."
Of course it will.
Elena always did look best beneath the moon. I imagine her now — dressed in silver or white, pretending bravery while fear coils in her stomach. She fears me ana she should.
Fear binds tighter than affection ever could, but what she does not understand yet… is that I have never once considered letting her go. Not when she ran from me as children. Not when Rian shielded her.
Not when whispers spread about my rise to Alpha and certainly not now. She thinks this is her father's decision. She thinks she is being sacrificed for power, if only she knew how long I have been waiting.
I adjust the ceremonial ring on my finger — Ironfang's crest etched into black steel. Soon, she will wear my mark. Soon, she will stand at my side. Soon, she will belong to me in every way that matters.
And if she resists? My expression darkens.
She will learn. The moon does not give second chances. Neither do I. I turn toward the door, shadows stretching long at my back.
"Prepare the escort," I command. Tonight, I do not go to negotiate. I go to claim.
Elena Blackwood may not have a wol, but she has always been mine annd by the end of this ceremony…
Everyone will know it