The test

The guards yanked me out at dawn, shoving me through the stone corridors.

“Where are we going?” I grumbled. “If this is another royal dinner, I expect a fruit basket and at least three bottles of wine.”

They ignored me. Wolves in armor. Always so fun at parties.

The courtyard was already full when the gates swung open. Sunlight blazed off pale stone. Warriors crowded the edges of the sparring ring—Lycans, not wolves. Broader shoulders, sharper eyes, a raw power that made even my wolf’s hackles rise. And every single one of them looked at me like I was a circus act.

And then I saw him.

Kael.

The Lycan King stood at the center, shirt gone, sweat streaking across a chest cut from steel and war. His presence wasn’t just physical—it was gravitational. He pulled all attention into himself and crushed the air around him with sheer weight.

“Bring her,” he ordered.

I was shoved forward, into the circle. My wolf bristled instantly. Not prey. Never prey.

Kael’s golden eyes locked on me, unblinking. “You call yourself wild. Strong. Prove it.”

I cocked a brow. “What’s the test? Should I howl on command? Maybe fetch your slippers?”

Snickers rippled from the Lycans. They died the second Kael’s head turned, eyes slicing over them like a blade. Silence fell heavy.

“Shift,” he commanded.

I folded my arms. “You know, most guys at least buy me dinner before asking me to strip.”

His aura hit like a tidal wave. My knees almost buckled under the weight of it—dominance older and deeper than anything I’d ever felt. My wolf shuddered under my skin, torn between fight and submission.

Kael’s voice cut through me, soft as steel. “Shift.”

My bones snapped, fur exploded, claws tore stone. My wolf burst free with a howl that shook the air, tail high, eyes blazing. She was chaos, raw and untamed, muscles coiled and ready.

The Lycans muttered, unimpressed. Wolves were pups to them—smaller, weaker, fragile. Children pretending at war.

Then Kael shifted.

Gods.

It wasn’t a transformation. It was an eclipse swallowing the sun. His body expanded, massive, monstrous, ancient. Black fur rippled over muscle stacked thicker than stone. His golden eyes burned like fire through smoke. His growl shook the courtyard, rattling every bone in my body.

This wasn’t a wolf. This was Lycan. Apex predator. Nightmare made flesh.

We circled, claws scraping, the air heavy with his dominance. It pressed down, suffocating, demanding I bow.

I snarled, snapping at his muzzle. Never.

Gasps rose. No wolf defied a Lycan. But I wasn’t any wolf. I was exile. Rogue. Wild.

He lunged, black shadow crashing into me, pinning me against the dirt. Pain shot through my ribs as his weight crushed me. My wolf roared in rage, claws raking, teeth snapping. I tore into his muzzle, leaving a streak of blood.

The crowd gasped louder. I’d marked the Lycan King.

Kael slammed me back down, harder, his jaws grazing my throat. Submission was a breath away. My body screamed in pain, ribs cracked, blood dripping into my fur.

And still—I growled in his face.

Bite me. Claim me. End it. I will not bow.

He stared down at me, golden eyes molten. For a long, shattering moment, he didn’t move. Didn’t bite. Didn’t finish it.

Instead, he stepped back.

The courtyard fell into stunned silence.

I staggered to my paws, blood dripping, fur matted, body trembling. And yet my head stayed high. My wolf howled, wild and fierce, declaring to every soul watching: we don’t break.

Kael shifted back, towering above me in human form, broad chest streaked with blood—mine and his. He looked at me, calm, unreadable, terrifyingly sure.

“You bleed,” he said simply, his voice carrying. “But you do not break.”

I spat blood onto the ground and shifted back, my shredded gown hanging off me like rags. My body screamed, but my smirk came easy. “Glad you’re impressed. Want me to fetch the ball next? Maybe roll over?”

A ripple of gasps. Some Lycans stared like they couldn’t believe I’d dared. Others… others looked at me differently now. Not as a pup. Not as dirt. But as something more.

Kael’s smirk was slow, dangerous. “You fight like fire. Untamed. Reckless. That is why you are mine.”

I laughed, sharp and bitter, tasting iron on my tongue. “Keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day, you’ll even start to believe it.”

His eyes burned hotter. Feral. Possessive. Conflicted. For the first time, his mask cracked—not in weakness, but in confusion.

Because Kael had never spared an enemy. Never shown mercy. Never been interested in a woman—they were too docile, too dull, too eager to please. But me? Bloody, defiant, reckless—I was still snarling at him.

And against all reason, he hadn’t finished me.

He turned sharply, cloak snapping as he strode away, voice ringing like thunder. “Train her. Break her. Bring her to me when she’s ready.”

The crowd parted instantly, bowing. But I stayed upright, even shaking, even bleeding. My wolf growled low, proud.

I’d lost the fight. My ribs ached, my skin stung, my body was wrecked.

But I’d won something far more dangerous.

The respect of Lycans.

And the attention of their King.