SINS OF THE ALPHA

The blood moon loomed like an open wound in the sky as Joel and Elora raced through the dense forest. Their breaths came out in white puffs, mingling with the cold mist curling around the ancient trees. Behind them, faint howls echoed—low at first, but rising in urgency like a pack closing in on prey.

“They’re too close,” Elora gasped, her legs burning from exhaustion. “Joel, we can’t outrun them forever.”

Joel didn’t look back. His golden eyes were narrowed, glowing like molten fire in the darkness. “We’re not running forever. Just long enough to reach the ridge. I know a place.”

But even as he said it, doubt gnawed at him. Rowan was moving faster than anticipated. And if the elder’s words to the council had been any indication, he wasn’t coming alone.

They burst into a clearing—the Silverfang burial grounds. Stones carved with runes jutted from the earth like crooked teeth. Elora stumbled and almost fell, but Joel caught her wrist, steadying her.

“Here?” she whispered. “This is—”

“A place of power,” Joel interrupted. His gaze swept over the stones. “Old magic lingers here. It might give us an edge.”

But before he could say more, the forest erupted with movement. Dozens of wolves in partial and full shifts poured into the clearing, their golden eyes burning with hostility. At their head was Rowan.

He strode forward calmly, his long black coat billowing. His silver hair gleamed under the moonlight, and his scarred face was set in cold determination. But it was his eyes—dark and vengeful—that pinned Elora in place.

“Enough running, Joel,” Rowan said, his voice smooth but deadly. “Hand over the girl. End this before more blood is spilled.”

Joel stepped protectively in front of Elora, his shoulders tense. “You’re not laying a hand on her.”

Rowan tilted his head, almost pityingly. “You don’t even know, do you?”

Joel’s brows knitted. “Know what?”

Rowan’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “What she is. Why she exists.” He began circling them, his boots crunching over dead leaves. “You thought her birth was a mistake… a fluke? No. She was created.”

Elora’s stomach twisted. “What are you talking about?”

Rowan’s gaze snapped to her, sharp enough to cut glass. “Your mother, Elara of the Nightfang line… she was mine.”

The words hit Elora like a physical blow. “Yours?”

“She was my mate,” Rowan said, his voice dripping with venom. “She was promised to me by blood oath. But she defied the council, defied me—ran off with a human. And when the elders demanded her life for breaking the sacred laws…”

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, something almost like regret flashed in his eyes. “I couldn’t stop them.”

Joel’s eyes blazed. “Couldn’t? Or wouldn’t?”

Rowan didn’t flinch. “She betrayed us all. I did what was necessary to preserve the pack.”

Elora’s hands trembled as her memories twisted—her mother’s warm smile, her gentle touch. Lies. All of it.

“You killed her,” she whispered, the words barely audible. “You murdered your own mate.”

Rowan’s expression hardened. “And I’ll do it again to cleanse her tainted legacy.” His gaze fell on Elora like a predator’s. “You’re the stain on her bloodline.”

The forest seemed to hold its breath as power crackled in the air. Joel shifted, fur exploding across his skin, his massive wolf form standing between Elora and Rowan’s advancing pack.

“Touch her,” Joel growled, “and I’ll end you.”

But Rowan was already shifting, his beast form towering, larger than any wolf Elora had ever seen. His fur was midnight black streaked with silver scars, and his eyes glowed red like dying embers.

“Then let’s finish what your father started,” Rowan snarled.

The two alphas collided with earth-shaking force. Fur and blood flew as claws raked and teeth snapped. Joel was fast, but Rowan fought like a monster possessed, his strikes fueled by years of buried hatred.

“Elora!” The Watcher’s voice boomed in her mind. “This is your final trial. You must choose—stand back and watch them tear each other apart… or embrace your power and intervene.”

Elora’s palms began to glow faintly, the silver light spreading up her arms. “I don’t know how!” she cried.

“Then LEARN,” the Watcher roared.

Joel let out a pained howl as Rowan’s claws slashed across his side, blood spraying across the stones.

“No!” Elora screamed. Something inside her snapped like a breaking chain. Silver fire erupted from her chest, enveloping her in a radiant halo. The runes on the burial stones flared to life, glowing as ancient magic answered her call.

Rowan faltered, his eyes narrowing. “Impossible…”

Elora stepped forward, her voice ringing with a newfound strength. “You took everything from me. My family. My past. You won’t take my future.”

She raised her hands, the silver light blazing like a second sun.

“Joel! Move!”

Joel leapt aside just as Elora unleashed a torrent of energy. The beam struck Rowan square in the chest, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into a stone monolith. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface as Rowan’s beast form let out a deafening, enraged howl.

When the light faded, he collapsed to his knees, smoke rising from his singed fur. His pack hesitated, their golden eyes darting between their fallen leader and the girl blazing like a goddess in the moonlight.

Elora’s voice trembled but held firm. “No more blood. Leave, or I’ll make you.”

One by one, the wolves lowered their heads.

Rowan staggered to his feet, eyes blazing with hate. “This isn’t over, hybrid. You’re still cursed.” With that, he shifted back to his human form and vanished into the shadows, his loyalists following.

Silence settled over the clearing. Elora collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath.

Joel, still in wolf form, limped toward her. His massive head nudged her shoulder gently.

She reached up, fingers brushing through his blood-matted fur. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t want to—”

But Joel shifted back, collapsing beside her in human form, his golden eyes filled with awe and something deeper—pride.

“You didn’t have to,” he murmured hoarsely. “You chose to.”

Elora nodded weakly, tears streaking her soot-covered cheeks. “Together, right?”

Joel smiled faintly, his bloody hand clasping hers. “Together.”

Above them, the blood moon began to wane, its crimson light dimming as the first hints of dawn touched the sky.