CHAPTER FOUR — WOLVES AT THE DOOR
Part two)
Kade hit the courtyard like a falling star. The ground cracked beneath his landing, scattering shards of stone beneath his claws. His fur gleamed with silver light, his chest heaving as raw power rolled off him in waves. Around him, the night pulsed with chaos , growls, the sound of claws striking stone, the wild scent of blood and fear. For one suspended instant, all the noise faded when his eyes found Selena standing near the center of the courtyard. The fury in his gaze flickered, cracking to reveal something softer, something that trembled dangerously between relief and agony. Anger lived there, yes, but so did terror and a devotion so fierce it nearly undid her.
"Kade," Selena breathed, her voice breaking the storm around them. The sound seemed to reach him through the confusion of bodies and battle cries, grounding him, softening the primal edges that had overtaken his wolf. For a moment he stood utterly still, the muscles in his shoulders trembling as though fighting between reason and instinct. Then, without warning, he moved. His massive wolf form surged toward her, claws gouging deep lines into the stone floor. He moved not like a beast of war but like a man running toward the only thing keeping him alive. Yet before he could reach her, another shadow burst into his path, faster and darker than the rest.
Malek intercepted him like a thunderclap. His black wolf collided with Kade mid-leap, the two of them crashing into each other with a sound that split the courtyard. Claws raked stone, teeth flashed, and the air filled with sparks and snarls. Malek's fur spilled darkness like smoke, shadows curling and wrapping around their limbs as they wrestled for ground. Kade's growls were rough, animalistic, driven by the wild terror that Selena might slip away again. Selena's voice rang out, desperate and thin against the chaos. "Kade, stop!" she shouted, but the words barely touched the storm inside him. He was beyond hearing, consumed by the instinct to reach her, no matter the cost.
More wolves from Malek's clan lunged forward, their bodies a blur of silver and shadow as they tried to pull Kade away. He threw them off effortlessly, snapping and shoving, eyes blazing. Malek shifted mid-battle, fur dissolving into human form, his body still humming with power. His hand shot out and caught Kade by the throat, not in cruelty but restraint. "Kade," Malek growled through his teeth, "listen to me." Kade's wolf form rippled, shrinking and fading as his human self reemerged, chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. His skin gleamed with sweat and blood, his jaw tight with fury and heartbreak. Naked, raw, unguarded, he stared down Malek with the fury of a storm.
"You stole her," Kade rasped, his voice low but trembling with emotion. The words seemed to hang between them, heavy as a curse. Malek's expression did not change, though something flickered briefly in his dark eyes. "I saved her," he answered quietly. Kade's fists tightened. "You tore her out of my arms." Selena stepped between them before another word could cut loose. She reached for him, fingertips brushing his chest, and everything in Kade broke open. The strength drained from him as he sank to his knees, his forehead pressing against her stomach like a man clinging to the edge of a cliff.
"Selena," he whispered, voice cracking with something that sounded almost like a prayer. "Gods, I thought I lost you." She cupped his face gently, her thumbs brushing his jaw, feeling the tremor of his breath beneath her hands. "I'm here," she said softly. "I'm right here." He wrapped his arms around her waist, clutching her like the world might end if he let go. His voice trembled. "Don't ever disappear like that again." Her eyes filled with tears, and she leaned close, whispering against his hair, "I didn't choose to. I was taken." The words made him stiffen, his expression darkening with sudden fury.
His gaze snapped toward Malek. "What did you do to her?" he demanded. But before either man could explode again, Selena caught his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Kade, stop. Listen. There's something wrong with me," she said, voice shaking. "Something burning inside me." He froze, understanding dawning with visible fear. "Moonfire," he said quietly, almost choking on the word. Selena nodded. "They said it will kill me if I don't choose a Heart-Bond." The courtyard seemed to tilt with the weight of her confession.
Kade's face fell, the strength in him faltering. "Selena," he murmured, "you can't choose like this. Not out of fear. That isn't a bond—it's a sentence." Malek stepped closer, his tone colder but edged with urgency. "And letting the Moonfire consume her is worse. It will destroy her." Selena turned sharply toward him, anger sparking through her exhaustion. "You didn't give me a chance to understand. You made that decision for me." Malek's expression cracked, just for a moment, revealing guilt beneath the calm. "I didn't have a choice," he said. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Neither did I." The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.
The moon hung above them like an open wound, bleeding light into the courtyard. Wolves stood frozen, uncertain, watching the three figures at its center. Malek inhaled slowly, his voice steady but low. "Selena, come with me. The Elders can help you. They can teach you to contain the Moonfire before it consumes you." Kade pushed himself to his feet, defiance radiating from every line of his body. "I'm taking her away from here. From you. From this cursed place." Malek's jaw tightened. "You would kill her with your stubbornness." Kade's voice was sharp as broken glass. "And you would cage her with yours."
Selena's head throbbed painfully, the sound of their voices blending into the roar of the Moonfire burning in her chest. "Stop," she gasped. "Please. Both of you." But the fire inside her ignored the plea. It grew hotter, brighter, spreading through her veins until her body trembled. She stumbled, one hand pressed against her heart, eyes wide with pain. Both men moved at once, but their paths collided. Claws and fists met mid-air, their bodies shoving each other away even as they reached for her. "Let me touch her!" Kade roared. "Your bond will make it worse!" Malek shouted back, equally desperate.
Selena screamed as heat exploded behind her ribs, searing and silver, too violent to contain. Her knees gave out. Kade caught her first, his hands framing her face, his voice frantic. "Selena, stay with me. Please, stay with me." Malek seized her wrist, his words rumbling like thunder. "Look at me, Luna. Focus on my voice. Breathe with me." Their touches met on her skin, light and shadow colliding in an impossible balance. Power rippled outward, pure and wild. Silver light burst from Kade's palms. Darkness poured from Malek's. And at the center of it all, Selena's Moonfire ignited.
The courtyard shook violently. Torches wavered, stone cracked, and wolves stumbled backward in shock. Selena's breath came in ragged gasps as her vision split in two—Kade's storm-gray eyes in one half, Malek's burning amber gaze in the other. "Selena," Kade whispered hoarsely, "choose me. I can protect you." Malek's voice followed, softer but infinitely deeper. "Let me in. Your power already knows me." Her pulse faltered, her breath catching between them. The moonlight thickened, pressing down like a living weight. The world began to blur at the edges as something ancient awoke inside her.
Then the breaking came. A scream tore through her throat, primal and raw, as the Moonfire exploded outward in a storm of silver light. Kade and Malek were thrown back, their bodies striking the stone with brutal force. Selena rose above the ground, suspended in a column of pure light. Her hair lifted around her, her skin glowing as if the moon itself burned beneath it. Her eyes turned white, her voice echoing with a resonance not her own. Every wolf in the courtyard dropped to one knee, trembling in awe. Malek's composure shattered. Even Kade's rage gave way to stunned fear.
Selena's voice came through layered and ageless. "The Luna has awakened." The declaration rippled through the night, sending a shock through every living thing in the fortress. The Moonfire burst once more, a wave of silver flame that cracked the stone beneath her feet. Selena screamed again as the light imploded inward, collapsing like a dying star. Her body fell, limp and silent. Both Alphas lunged to catch her, but before their hands could reach, a third figure emerged from the veil of darkness at the far end of the courtyard.
He moved with preternatural calm, his long coat trailing like mist, his eyes glowing a deep, unnatural violet. The moment he stepped into the moonlight, the entire courtyard fell still. Even the flames of the torches seemed to bow in his presence. He caught Selena effortlessly, his arms steady, his expression unreadable. Kade froze where he stood, his jaw tightening. Malek's face hardened, suspicion and dread flickering behind his eyes. The stranger looked down at Selena's unconscious form and smiled faintly, the curve of his lips both tender and ominous. His voice, when he spoke, carried a chilling familiarity. "Finally," he whispered, "she is mine again."