The Wolf Who Chose Me

Ezra couldn’t move.His brain was stuck, replaying those three words like a broken record.I choose you.They didn’t belong to him. They weren’t meant for someone like him. They were the kind of words that went to pretty, soft-spoken omegas with clean reputations and perfect smiles—not to the sharp-tongued stray hiding at the edge of the firelight.The clearing was dead silent. Every pair of eyes turned his way like he’d just set off a bomb.His heart slammed against his ribs. Too loud. Too fast. Like it was trying to claw its way out of his chest.Kael stood in the firelight, still and composed, a shadow carved out of stone. He wasn’t strutting like the other alphas. No cocky grin. No smug air of conquest.Just watching.His eyes were dark and steady, sharp enough to cut right through skin and bone. They didn’t just see Ezra—they studied him. Like they already knew what they were looking at.Ezra hated the way that made him feel.Exposed. Like Kael had peeled something open inside hi

The Blackthorn compound wasn’t what Ezra expected.No chandeliers, no polished floors, none of the gold-and-marble nonsense the elite packs liked to show off. Just rough stone walls, thick wooden beams, and shadows that didn’t just sit there—they felt like they were watching. Like the place was holding its breath.It didn’t feel powerful.It felt like it was waiting for something to snap.Ezra followed Kael down a narrow hallway into a wide, open hall. It wasn’t crowded, but it wasn’t empty either. A few wolves lounged near a fire—some sharpening blades, others nursing mugs of something warm. All of them paused when they noticed him.Not a word was said. But the shift in the air? That said plenty.Ezra felt it like static on his skin. Unwelcome.Kael didn’t break stride. Either he didn’t notice the tension, or he just didn’t care.He led Ezra to a thick set of double doors at the back of the hall and pushed one open. “Your room.”Ezra stepped inside, bracing for… something grim.What

The Blackthorn training grounds looked more like a war zone than anything resembling a gym. No padded floors or wooden dummies. Just a wide stretch of hard-packed dirt, half a fence leaning like it had given up the fight, and the sharp, metallic tang of blood clinging to the morning air.Ezra followed Kael through the frost-bitten silence, trying not to trip over his own anxiety. Wolves were already out there—sparring, grunting, moving like they’d been born to bruise. Their breath rose in puffs as knuckles cracked against flesh. And every one of them turned to look at him.Not with curiosity. With calculation.“Morning drills,” Kael said, voice calm but final. “You’re in.”Ezra blinked. “Me? You’re serious?”Kael just looked at him. Not a glare. Not a challenge. Just… sure. Like he was handing Ezra something more important than a command.“They need to see you’re more than just a name,” Kael sai

The moon hung heavy over Blackthorn territory—low, red, and swollen like it had bled into the sky. Ezra stood right where the trees met the clearing, arms folded tight across his chest, his jacket doing a crap job against the cold. The mark on his arm wasn’t glowing now, but it felt alive, like it was humming secrets just beneath his skin.He hadn’t slept. Not after that Ritual Hall freakshow. Not after hearing his name whispered in a voice that definitely didn’t belong to anyone living.Kael had walked him back to his room afterward. No words, just that intense silence between them. He paused at the door like he wanted to say something—but then turned and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Ezra alone with a thousand unanswered questions.Now he was here, the trees looming like quiet watchers. The air was sharp in his lungs, and his thoughts wouldn’t quit spinning.Behind him, slow footsteps crunched the frost.“Figured you’d be out here,” Kael said, voice rough like gravel and exh

The forest felt wrong.Too quiet. Too still. Like it was holding its breath.Ezra felt it in his gut before Raen even stepped out of the shadows. The air shifted—sharp, electric, like something old and dangerous had just crossed the line.Raen looked nothing like the wolves Ezra had seen so far. No worn armor, no dust or dirt on his boots. Just a long, dark coat, clean-cut confidence, and a face too calm for someone trespassing on enemy territory. No weapons in sight, but he didn’t need them. Raen was the kind of man who was a weapon.Kael went rigid beside Ezra. He didn’t say a word, but his stance changed—shoulders squared, claws already sliding out, ready to tear.The fire from the Firebind still crackled behind them, casting flickering light across the clearing. Ezra’s palm still ached from the cut, the blood bond that now tethered him to Kael. But that wasn’t what made his breath hitch.His mark was burning again. Not just warm—blazing. Like it recognized Raen.Danger, his wolf w