Kara’s povTiffany’s wolf growled, deep, low, threatening.She wasn’t pacing anymore. She was ready to lunge.I stood there, blood leaking from the stab wound in my side, my legs barely holding me up. Everything was spinning, too fast, too loud. The roar of the crowd faded into a dull hum, like I was underwater.This was it.One mistake. One slow second. That’s all it would take to end me.Across the cage, Tiffany’s wolf bared her teeth. Her grey coat bristled, her eyes burning with one clear goal, rip me apart.I could hear Dylan’s voice somewhere behind the noise. Yelling my name. Screaming for me to fight. But my head was full of static. My thoughts drifted to everything that led to this moment. The girl I used to be. The fight to get here. All the blood, the pain, the lies.Is this how it ends?I didn’t know if it was the blood loss or the fear, but my knees gave out. I dropped hard to the ground. Gasps echoed around the cage. Dylan’s scream ripped through the air, desperate and r
Author’s POVThe cage was alive.Iron bars rattled under the weight of excitement, the heavy scent of sweat, blood, and rising testosterone thickening the air. Torches flared in their sconces, casting long, slashing shadows across the worn arena floor. The crowd of wolves growled and shouted from the stands like beasts waiting for the first taste of flesh.Inside the steel circle, two women faced each other, one cloaked in silence, the other in fire.Kara stood still, blade gripped tight in her hand, her expression unreadable as her gaze drifted to the weapons that had been laid out. It didn’t surprise her that Tiffany had chosen the twin swords, curved, elegant, deadly. And much too heavy for her. But the girl had always been too proud to admit her own limits. Now she wielded the blades with raw, reckless rage.Across the cage, Tiffany's lips curled back into a sneer, her teeth gleaming. Her breathing was already erratic, her movements uncoordinated, fueled by emotion more than dis
The car eased through the crowded entrance like a blade slicing through fabric. Dylan’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, jaw tight. I sat beside him in silence, eyes fixed on the swarm of bodies that moved like a restless tide across the field.The space was packed.Pack members lined every inch of open ground, their voices rising in anticipation. Wolves, elders, and dignitaries from neighboring packs had come to witness blood. To watch me bleed—or win. The field had been transformed; strung lights glowed softly in the approaching dusk, casting gold over the makeshift arena where someone would lose everything tonight.Dylan looked at me. I caught his gaze for only a second, but it was enough.There was so much in his eyes—worry, anger, pride, love. I couldn’t hold it. I looked away first.He parked further from the crowd, taking a more secluded route, ever protective. I stepped out of the car and inhaled deeply. The air smelled like cut grass, sweat, tension, and pinewood
For a fleeting moment, I just sat there—eyes wide, pulse deafening in my ears, breath held like it might anchor me to something real. The last ten seconds had knocked the air out of me. Across from me, both men watched in silence. Dylan especially. I could feel him clawing at the edge of my mind through the bond, trying to get in—trying to feel what I was feeling. But I shoved him out. Locked the door and swallowed the key.Now wasn’t the damn time.If anything, I’d come to realize one brutal truth: my enemies were multiplying faster than I could count. Just the other day we uncovered Adora’s betrayal, and now this? Another snake, another threat.“Kara…” Dylan’s voice cut through the air, soft but strained, coated in that anxious edge he never let anyone hear—except me.“You really don’t have to worry much about this. We have everything under control.”I said nothing.He exchanged a glance with Rodrigo, then added, “Rodrigo’s right. You have nothing to fear.”I scoffed under my breat
The minute the car stopped, I flew out like fire on gasoline. My heels hit the stone-paved driveway in rapid succession, echoing into the chilled dusk as I bolted toward the grand archway of the pack house. Dylan’s heavy steps thundered behind me, but I didn’t slow. I didn’t even breathe until I saw her.Inside the living room, chaos buzzed in the air, pack warriors loomed, and gasps filled the space like thunderclouds about to burst. My gaze cut through all of it until it landed on her, Kelly—seated on a couch, her face pale but alive, a doctor wrapping her foot.I crashed to my knees beside her, wrapping my arms around her as if letting go would break me. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry... I didn’t know—I couldn’t—” My voice splintered through sobs as my tears soaked her shoulder.Kelly hugged me tight, resting her chin on my head. “Kara Nox,” she whispered, “I’ve been through worse since I met your beautiful ass.” Her voice was soft but steady, and just like that, my heart settled in
KARA’S POVIf anything made my heart falter, it was the way this man—my mate—looked at me like I mattered. Like I wasn’t just another soldier, or a pawn, or someone to use and toss away. No one had ever made me feel that. Not even the people who raised me.My adopted parents had shipped me off to boarding school like I was a seasonal burden, only to remember I existed during the holidays. From sixteen, I carved my own damn turf, found my way into sports most women avoided. Boxing. Judo. Taekwondo. Even held a black belt in kickboxing. My coach used to say, “You’re too damn pretty for this ring.” Pretty. But I preferred bruises to fake smiles.When I finally saved enough to rent my own apartment, I felt free. College came next, paid out of my busted knuckles and sweat-soaked nights. Worked damn near every odd job—including a stint with a bodyguard agency—just to keep the dream alive.Nothing about my life had been easy. I’d scraped by, fought hard, but when ASA accepted me, it felt
Dylan’s POVWe ran for what felt like hours, the forest blurring past in streaks of green and shadow as our wolves moved in sync. Kara’s brown Wolf shimmered beneath the moonlight, fast and wild, her energy reckless and free. I couldn’t stop glancing at her. The way she moved—it was like watching a part of me I never knew I’d lost. Our paws hit the ground in perfect rhythm, hearts syncing through the bond we now shared.She howled once, and I howled back, and fuck if that didn’t echo right through my chest.But eventually, her pace faltered.She slowed, then stopped completely, her chest rising and falling as she shifted back into her human form—naked, trembling, and visibly spent. Her legs gave out before she could even say a word.I caught her before she hit the ground.Kara was still breathing hard, strands of damp hair clinging to her face. Her body sagged into mine, exhausted. “First time running that long?” I asked softly, brushing her hair back.She nodded faintly. “I didn’t
His grip tightened on my wrist, and without a word, I followed.Not because I wanted to.Because his touch felt like a chain to something inside me I wasn’t ready to sever.We stepped out into the quiet hall, footsteps echoing against the marble floor. The tension between us—thick, raw, buzzing with restrained fury—crackled in the silence like lightning before a storm.And then, without warning, Dylan threw me over his shoulder.“What the hell, Dylan! Put me down!” I screamed, pounding my fists against his back. My voice ricocheted down the corridor, but he didn’t flinch. Not even a pause.“Dylan, I swear—!”He smacked my ass.I gasped.The sting burned through the thin fabric of my dress, and so did the heat pooling low in my belly. Bastard.I barely caught sight of where he was taking me—spiraling stairs, cold stone walls, shadowed hallways laced with distant murmurs and flickering sconces—until we reached a tall wooden door. He kicked it open, stalked in like a storm, and finally
Kara’s povThe tension in the hall was already sharp, like the air just before a thunderstorm. You could feel it crackling between bodies, across gazes. Theon stood facing Dylan, his voice slicing right through the quiet like a knife.“I still stand by what I said,” he announced, calm but cocky. His voice echoed through the wide hall as he took a slow step forward. “If anyone’s going to fight, it should be Kara. Not Dylan.”My fingers curled against the cool velvet of my seat. A tightness gripped my chest, but I said nothing. Not yet.Dylan was on his feet before the room could even react, a growl rumbling low from his chest, deep and dangerous. Every part of him screamed *threat*. He was barely holding it together, jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth might crack.But Theon didn’t flinch. Not even when Dylan’s aura rolled through the room like a stormcloud ready to burst.Then Nia stood beside her mate. Of course she did.She smoothed a hand down her dress, her chin tilted high a