Blood at the Border

The night burned with the sound of war.

Wolves clashed where the trees thinned into the borderlands, snarls ripping through the pines, claws tearing into flesh. The air was thick with the copper tang of blood, the churn of soil beneath frenzied paws, and the unearthly cries of beasts locked in a fight older than time itself.

Kade was at the heart of it.

The Alpha moved like a storm unleashed, his massive black wolf tearing through rogues with the merciless precision of a predator born for war. His jaws snapped down on a throat, bone crunching in his teeth before he hurled the carcass aside, spinning into another strike. His fur shone with blood, his golden eyes molten with rage, his very presence bending the battlefield around him.

Every wolf near him fought harder, faster, just to keep pace with his ferocity. And every rogue that dared meet his gaze faltered, even if only for a heartbeat—that heartbeat was all Kade needed to kill.

Lena saw it all from the treeline, her chest heaving, her pulse hammering. She shouldn’t have been there. He had told her to stay behind, to hide. But something in her body wouldn’t let her.

The bond thrummed in her blood, every strike he made echoing in her veins. She felt his rage like it was her own, the savage pull of his dominance singing to something buried deep inside her. Her wolf—still nameless, faceless—pushed harder, demanding she step forward, demanding she stop hiding when her mate bled for her.

A scream tore her eyes away. A young wolf—barely older than a boy—was thrown against the rocks, his flank torn open by a rogue’s claws. He yelped, scrambling back as the rogue advanced, saliva dripping from its jaws.

“No—” The word ripped from Lena’s throat before she even realized she’d spoken.

She ran.

Her boots pounded the ground as she closed the distance. The rogue whipped its head toward her, eyes wild, blood matting its patchy fur. It snarled and lunged, faster than she could think.

Her body reacted before her mind did. She raised her hands—and fire ripped through her veins.

The world sharpened. Her hearing expanded, catching the rustle of wings high above, the pounding of rogue hearts all around her. The scent of blood, sweat, and pine slammed into her nose with dizzying clarity. And when the rogue leapt—she didn’t scream.

She growled.

The sound startled even her. It was low, deep, vibrating from a place in her chest she hadn’t known existed.

The rogue faltered mid-leap. It was enough.

From the side, a streak of black slammed into it. Kade. His jaws closed around the rogue’s spine, snapping it in one brutal motion. The beast crumpled, twitching once before going still.

Kade whirled on her, his muzzle dripping with blood, his eyes blazing like suns. What the hell are you doing? The words weren’t spoken aloud, but they rang through her blood all the same—bonded thought, primal and undeniable.

Lena staggered back, her chest heaving. “I—I couldn’t just watch—”

Another rogue lunged from the trees. Kade spun to meet it, his claws raking across its throat, blood spraying the grass. The battlefield roared around them, but in that moment it felt like only the two of them existed.

His gaze seared into hers. You feel it, don’t you?

Her lips parted. She did. God help her, she did. The heat under her skin, the wild hunger to fight, to sink her teeth into the enemy and taste blood—it was all there, surging like a tidal wave she couldn’t contain.

Kade stepped toward her, massive even on four legs, his golden eyes a tether. Your wolf is rising. Stop fighting it.

“I don’t know how!”

Then let me show you.

Before she could ask what he meant, another howl split the night. This one closer, deeper, hungrier.

Lena froze. This wasn’t like the rogues’ broken cries. It was something colder. Smarter.

Her stomach twisted as shadows shifted beyond the tree line. A new wolf stepped into the clearing.

He was huge, even larger than Kade, his fur the color of ash, his eyes pale silver that glowed with cruel amusement. Rogues parted for him as if he were a king among monsters.

Cassian.

Lena knew it without needing to ask. Her vision hadn’t lied.

The silver-eyed Alpha lifted his muzzle, his voice carrying not just to ears but into marrow. “Blackwood. How far the mighty have fallen. An Alpha who shackles himself to prey.”

Kade’s growl thundered across the battlefield, low and deadly. He stalked forward, every line of his body screaming promise of violence.

Lena’s heart stuttered. This was it. The war wasn’t coming—it was here.

And if her wolf didn’t rise tonight, she feared neither of them would survive it.

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Wolves froze mid-strike, snarls dying into uneasy silence as the silver-eyed intruder stepped into the clearing. Even the rogues drew back, forming a wide circle around him as though he carried his own gravity.

Cassian.

Lena felt his gaze like ice poured down her spine. His silver eyes slid over the battlefield, over the corpses, over the blood-soaked earth, before fixing on her. Not Kade. Her.

“You brought her here,” Cassian said, his voice carrying across the night like a whip crack. “The little flame who doesn’t even know what she is.”

Kade moved before she could breathe. His massive wolf body prowled in front of her, a wall of black fur and golden fury. His lips peeled back from his teeth, the snarl rumbling out of him sharp enough to shake the trees.

Cassian’s mouth curved. “Protective, aren’t you? Tell me, Blackwood—does she even know the cost of being yours?”

Kade launched.

The ground shook as his wolf collided with Cassian’s. It was like watching two storms crash together—fangs flashing, claws ripping, their roars louder than thunder. Cassian was fast, impossibly so, his movements sleek and serpentine, while Kade was raw power, every strike calculated to maim, to dominate.

They hit the earth in a tangle of fur and blood, rolling, snapping, slamming into the trees. Splinters rained as trunks cracked beneath their weight. Wolves scattered, the battle breaking into chaos as rogues surged forward, emboldened by their Alpha’s presence.

“Lena!” a voice barked—it was one of Kade’s wolves, dragging a younger fighter out of harm’s way. “Get back! He doesn’t want you here!”

But her feet wouldn’t move.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the fight. Every strike Kade took felt like it landed on her ribs. Every growl that ripped from his throat echoed in hers. She was tethered to him, bound in a way that made hiding impossible.

A rogue lunged at her from the side.

Instinct roared louder than fear. She spun, her hand flying up—and her body answered.

Heat seared her veins, white-hot. The rogue stopped mid-leap, suspended for a single heartbeat, before its body erupted in fire that wasn’t fire—light, blinding and raw, blasting outward from her palms. The wolf hit the ground in a smoldering heap, smoke curling from its blackened fur.

Lena staggered back, staring at her hands. They glowed faintly, veins lit with something wild, something alive.

Her wolf growled inside her. Not a whisper this time. A voice. Mine. Ours. Kill them.

The words shuddered through her bones, and for the first time she didn’t push them away. She welcomed them.

Another rogue charged. Lena bared her teeth. She didn’t think—she moved. Her nails lengthened into claws, slicing across the rogue’s face with brutal force. Blood sprayed, hot on her skin, but she didn’t flinch. She wanted more.

Her wolf was rising.

Across the clearing, Kade’s head whipped toward her mid-battle. His golden eyes widened—not with fear, but with recognition. That’s it. Don’t stop.

Cassian used the distraction. He slammed into Kade’s side, his jaws locking around his shoulder. Kade roared in pain, thrashing, blood pouring down his leg.

“No!” The scream ripped from Lena’s chest. Her vision went red.

Something inside her snapped.

Heat and power exploded outward, a shockwave slamming through the battlefield. Wolves—rogues and allies alike—were thrown back as if by an unseen force. Trees bent, the earth itself groaned, and the air rang with a howl that didn’t come from her throat but from deep within her soul.

Her wolf.

She felt it—massive, ancient, fierce. Its outline shimmered over her body for a breathless second, translucent but real: a wolf cloaked in firelight, its eyes blazing amber, its snarl echoing with hers.

Cassian froze, his silver eyes narrowing.

“Well,” he said, his tone almost amused as he released Kade and stepped back. Blood dripped from his jaws. “So the little flame finally wakes.”

Lena’s chest heaved, her hands trembling as the glow beneath her skin pulsed brighter. Her wolf’s growl rumbled in her ears, promising blood, demanding she tear him apart.

Cassian tilted his head, studying her like prey. “You’ll burn, girl. And when you do, it won’t be him that saves you.” His smirk curved, sharp and cruel. “It will be me.”

Then, with a howl that rattled the bones of every wolf present, he leapt back into the trees. The rogues followed, vanishing like shadows into the night.

Silence crashed over the battlefield, broken only by the ragged breathing of the survivors and the soft moans of the wounded.

Lena’s glow dimmed, her body trembling violently as the fire receded. She fell to her knees, gasping. The world tilted, too bright, too heavy.

Kade shifted back to human, blood streaking his chest, his shoulder torn open. He stumbled toward her, fury and pride burning equally in his eyes. He dropped to his knees, cupping her face in his bloodied hands.

“You shouldn’t have been here,” he rasped. His voice broke with a mix of rage and awe. “And yet—Gods, Lena—you are here. Your wolf is awake.”

She met his gaze, her breath shuddering. “I felt it. I couldn’t stop it.”

His thumb brushed her cheek, smearing blood across her skin like war paint. “Don’t stop. Never stop.”

Around them, the borderlands lay littered with bodies, the air still thick with smoke and blood. But Lena knew with bone-deep certainty that this was only the beginning.

Cassian hadn’t come to win tonight. He’d come to test. To see.

And now he knew exactly what she was becoming.