The Alpha Who Waited in Smoke

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 whispered, coiled tight in his chest.

Raen’s voice broke the silence—smooth, almost amused. “Relax, Blackthorn. I’m not here to start a war.”

Kael stepped forward, his voice sharp. “Then say your piece. And leave.”

Raen didn’t flinch. He barely looked at Kael.

His gaze landed on Ezra, and everything in him tensed.

“There you are,” Raen said, like he was greeting something sacred. “The omega with the moon’s curse. The last spark of an old bloodline.”

Ezra’s throat tightened.

That voice.

He’d heard it before—in the Ritual Hall, when no one was there. In the silence of the night, whispering from inside his own skull.

They’re coming for you.

Kael moved to block Raen’s view, but Ezra stepped around him. He wasn’t hiding. Not anymore.

“You’ve got thirty seconds,” Ezra said, voice steady. “Spit out whatever creepy prophecy you’ve brought or turn your ass around.”

Raen didn’t blink. “You don’t even know what you are, do you?” He smiled, slow and cold. “But I do. I’ve waited a long time for you.”

Ezra’s mark throbbed like a heartbeat under his sleeve. But he held Raen’s gaze. “And what, you thought you’d just show up and claim me like a trophy?”

“I didn’t come to claim you,” Raen said, stepping closer. “I came to offer what they never could. You’ve felt it, haven’t you? That pull in your bones. That fire in your blood when I got near. Your mark knows me.”

Ezra’s stomach twisted. Because—yeah. He’d felt it. That weird shift in the air, that tug deep in his chest when Raen showed up. But it wasn’t comfort. It wasn’t peace.

It felt like falling. Like getting caught in something you couldn’t see until it swallowed you whole.

Kael growled low, stepping between them. “He’s not yours.”

Raen’s expression didn’t change. “No. But his blood calls to mine. You can’t fight what’s written in the bones.”

Ezra moved beside Kael, his voice quiet but unshakable. “Maybe not. But I can choose what I do with it.”

He raised his hand, showing the cut from the Firebind—still red, still raw.

“I already did.”

Raen’s face darkened. The easy charm vanished, replaced by something older. Colder.

“You bound yourself to him?” he said, voice flat.

Ezra didn’t waver. “Yeah. I did.”

The fire behind them snapped louder, sparks shooting into the night.

No one moved. Even Alric, watching from the trees, had gone completely still.

Raen’s lips twitched, but it wasn’t a smile. “You chose wrong,” he said. “And when the moon turns again, you’ll regret it.”

With that, he turned and walked into the trees, swallowed by darkness and smoke.

---

Back at the estate, everything was chaos.

Wolves raced to lock gates, double patrols, secure the perimeter. The elders were pacing the meeting hall, furious and loud.

“You should’ve stayed back,” one snapped, pointing at Ezra like he was the one who invited Raen to dinner. “This isn’t just about you anymore!”

Ezra leaned against the stone wall, arms crossed. “He was already here. I didn’t invite him.”

Kael stood beside him, calm and solid. “He’ll come again.”

Alric nodded grimly. “And next time, he won’t come alone.”

Ezra looked at them all—worn, wary, older wolves who’d been fighting longer than he’d been alive. Then he turned to Kael.

“So now what?”

Kael’s voice was low, but firm. “Now we make damn sure he doesn’t get close enough to try again.”

---

That night, Ezra went back to the edge of the woods. Same place Raen had come from. Same cold wind brushing his skin.

His mark still pulsed beneath his sleeve—soft now, but constant.

He thought about Raen’s words.

Your blood calls to mine.

Maybe it did. Maybe some part of him came from something wild and ancient, something Raen wanted to control.

But that part didn’t get to decide who he trusted.

Ezra looked up at the moon, burning silver and full.

He’d chosen Kael.

Not because of prophecy. Not because of power.

Because when the world turned on him—Kael stood still.

Because Kael didn’t see the mark.

He saw him.

And that? That was enough.

But just as Ezra turned to go, a cold wind rushed past. The trees whispered louder. And in his head—louder than ever—came the voice again.

He’s not done with you.

---

As Raen retreats into the dark, his pack gathers. The full moon is coming—and with it, the truth behind Ezra’s mark. What secret power lies in his bloodline, and will choosing Kael be enough to protect them both?