Chapter Fifteen

The Alpha’s Chains

The forest was a sea of glowing eyes and bared fangs. Wolves circled, their breath steaming in the cool air, their growls vibrating through the ground. And at their center stood Derrick.

Alpha. Blood Alpha. My mate who had cast me aside.

His presence was suffocating. Even the shadows recoiled for a moment under the weight of his aura. His amber eyes burned, not with love or recognition, but with fury and possession.

“Look at you,” he said, voice dripping contempt. “Running through the woods like a rogue bitch. Covered in dirt, blood, and lies. Was this your plan, Kimberly? To embarrass me in front of my pack? To humiliate me?”

I clenched my fists, shadows swirling at my command. “You humiliated yourself the moment you rejected me.”

A growl ripped through the wolves around us. Derrick’s lip curled. “Careful, little wolf. You may think the shadows make you strong, but you are still mine. You always will be.”

His words struck like a chain wrapping around my throat. For years, I had lived under his shadow, longing for his acceptance, his bond. Even rejected, part of me had clung to the dream of belonging. But now, staring into his blazing eyes, I felt only rage.

“I am not yours,” I spat.

His smirk was cruel. “Then prove it.”

He moved before I could blink. One moment he was standing, the next his hand was at my throat, slamming me against a tree. My vision blurred, the bark biting into my back. The pack howled their approval.

I gasped, shadows flaring instinctively, lashing at his arm. For the first time, Derrick’s expression shifted—surprise flickering across his face as my shadows burned his skin. He released me with a snarl, stepping back to examine the faint scorch mark seared into his flesh.

“What did you do?” His voice was low, dangerous.

I steadied my breath, forcing strength into my voice. “I stopped being weak.”

Rage twisted his features. He lunged again, faster than before. Our shadows clashed—mine wild, his sheer force. The impact rattled the clearing, wolves scattering back as dark energy rippled through the air.

Pain seared my arms as his strength overpowered mine, forcing me down. But I didn’t break. I pushed back, shadows screaming, my wolf howling inside me. For one fleeting heartbeat, we were evenly matched.

Then Derrick’s power surged, overwhelming mine. The shadows recoiled, my body slammed into the ground. His boot pressed against my chest, pinning me.

“Pathetic,” he growled, his voice carrying across the clearing. “This is what you chose over me? Running into the arms of darkness? Look at you now. Broken. Beaten. Crawling in the dirt.”

My chest burned, every breath a struggle. The pack’s eyes bored into me, some with disgust, others with fascination. Mona stood at Derrick’s side, her smile sharp and triumphant.

I forced myself to speak, each word ragged but defiant. “I’d rather crawl free… than stand in chains.”

Derrick’s eyes blazed. He leaned closer, pressing harder against my chest. “You think the shadows will save you? They will consume you, just as they’ve consumed every weakling who dared to wield them. I am Alpha. I am strength. And you—” His lips twisted into a snarl. “You are nothing.”

My vision blurred. The weight on my chest was crushing, the edges of my consciousness slipping. But even as darkness closed in, I clung to a single truth: I was not nothing. Not anymore.

The shadows stirred, wild and desperate, answering my rage. They flared suddenly, violently, exploding upward in a wave that hurled Derrick back. He staggered, caught off guard, his boot leaving my chest.

The wolves gasped.

I pushed to my knees, trembling, blood dripping down my arm, shadows swirling like a storm around me. “I am not yours,” I said again, louder this time, my voice carrying through the clearing.

Derrick’s eyes burned hotter, a mix of fury and something else—something dangerously close to fear. He masked it quickly with a snarl.

“Enough,” he snapped. He raised his hand, signaling his pack. “Bring her down. Break her. But do not kill her. She is mine.”

The wolves surged forward.

I braced myself, shadows coiling tighter, my wolf howling in my veins. I couldn’t defeat Derrick. Not yet. But I could survive. I could fight.

And as the first wolf lunged, I welcomed the storm.

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