Chapter 5: Kneel

I stepped to the very edge of the riverbank.

The water rushed between us, dark and cold, but the freezing temperature didn’t touch me. The power inside my chest was burning like a furnace, keeping the chill at bay.

Jason stood on the opposite bank, flanked by his warriors. Olivia was there too, hovering behind him, her face pale in the moonlight.

"Elara!" Jason shouted, his voice dripping with contempt. "Stop this madness right now. You are a Silver Creek wolf. You belong to me. Get across this river before I lose my patience!"

I used to tremble at that voice. I used to bow my head whenever he raised it.

Not anymore.

"Belong to you?" I called back, my voice ringing out clear and strong. "You rejected me, Jason. You severed the bond in front of the entire pack. I am not yours anymore."

"You are a weak, pathetic omega," Jason snarled, stepping closer to the water. "You think Blackwood will protect you? You're just a pawn to him. A toy. I am your Alpha, and I command you to return!"

He raised his hand, his eyes flashing black. It was the Alpha Command. A compulsion that forced the wolf inside a pack member to submit.

I felt the invisible wave of his authority crash against me, trying to force my knees to buckle.

My wolf simply opened her eyes.

The command didn't just shatter. It evaporated, like mist in a hurricane. I didn't even flinch.

Jason's face went slack with shock. "What—"

"My turn," I whispered.

I didn't shout. I didn't have to. I reached deep into that well of roaring power in my chest, grabbed hold of it, and pushed it outward.

It wasn't like Vera's bedroom. I didn't just press them down. I dropped an absolute, crushing weight on the entire opposite bank.

The effect was instantaneous.

The dozen Silver Creek warriors behind Jason collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. They hit the dirt, gasping, their faces pressed into the mud. Olivia screamed, her legs giving out as she grabbed onto a tree root to keep from falling into the river.

But Jason didn't fall.

He stumbled, his knees bending, his face contorting in a desperate struggle against an invisible mountain. He was an Alpha. His pride refused to let him kneel.

"Kneel," I commanded.

My voice echoed over the river, vibrating with the ancient authority of the Moon Goddess herself.

Jason's eyes widened in pure terror. He let out a choked, furious sound, but his body betrayed him. His knees slammed into the dirt. His hands hit the ground. The Alpha of Silver Creek was forced to bow to the mate he had thrown away.

"That's impossible," Jason choked out, spitting blood from where he had bitten his lip. "You're an omega! You're nothing!"

"I was nothing because you made me nothing," I said, my tone colder than the river. "But I am done playing the victim. Take your warriors and leave, Jason. If I ever see you on this side of the river again, I won't just make you kneel. I will break you."

The pressure snapped. Jason and his warriors instantly collapsed further into the mud, gasping for air.

Jason pushed himself up, his chest heaving. He looked at me—really looked at me—and for the first time in my life, I saw fear in his eyes. Without a word, he grabbed Olivia by the arm, barked an order to his pack, and retreated into the darkness of the Silver Creek woods.

A massive, warm hand landed on my shoulder.

Kael stepped up beside me, his eyes burning with unrestrained pride. "You didn't just win a skirmish, Elara. You just declared war."

I looked up at him, the adrenaline finally fading, leaving me shaking. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Kael growled, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me tightly against his side. "You did something perfect. But Jason is a coward. He will not fight you alone. He will run to the Council of Alphas. He will tell them you are an abomination."

Let him, my wolf whispered in my mind.

"Let him," I said out loud.

Kael smiled, a dangerous, lethal curve of his lips. He leaned down, his nose brushing against my neck, inhaling my scent.

"Then we have a long journey ahead of us, little heir," he murmured against my skin. "Because if the Council comes for you, they will have to go through me."