All Chapters of The Alpha’s Claiming Bite : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The silence after the blood was louder than the battle itself.Lena lay on the stone floor of the arena, her chest heaving, her skin slick with sweat and streaked with blood—some of it hers, most of it not. The circle was littered with the remains of shattered weapons, scorched claw marks, and the ash of spells that had burned too hot, too fast. The crowd beyond the wards had fallen into an uneasy murmur, voices clashing in disbelief and awe. No one had expected her to survive.Not even her.Her wolf still pulsed under her skin, wild and restless, prowling as though the fight wasn’t over. It clawed at her ribs, demanding more, demanding blood, demanding release. Lena forced herself to breathe, to keep control, though every nerve screamed with fire.A shadow cut across her vision. Kade.He was already kneeling beside her, his arms sliding beneath her with a gentleness that belied the fury blazing in his eyes. His scent washed over her, smoke and earth and the metallic tang of rage.“Yo

The council envoy did not smile. He never did. His face was carved from old stone, his robe dark as blood clotted under moonlight. When he stepped forward into the firelit circle, the pack went silent, every wolf bristling at the cold power that clung to him like smoke. He held no weapon. He needed none. His voice was the blade. “You’ve survived the pit.” His gaze slid over Lena, unblinking, measuring. “But strength of claw and fang proves little. Any beast can bite. Any brute can kill. The council seeks more than flesh. The moon does not crown savages—it crowns sovereigns.” Kade bared his teeth, golden eyes burning. “Speak plain, envoy. What is it you demand this time?” The envoy’s lips thinned, but his tone never wavered. “The second trial is the Trial of Thorns. She”—a flick of his hand toward Lena—“will be tested

The fractured moon hung low, its silver glow spilling across the training grounds. Mist curled around the gnarled trees like smoke from a fire that had never fully died. Lena stood barefoot on the cold earth, her muscles coiled, heart hammering with anticipation and dread. Her wolf prowled beneath her skin, restless, impatient.Kade circled her like a predator marking its territory, his golden eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight. His presence was heat and gravity, pulling at her blood, stirring her pulse.“You’re tense,” he said, voice low, a growl lurking in the edges. “If the Hollow is going to rip you apart, I want you ready to fight everything—your fear, your doubt, and your wolf.”Lena’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “I’m ready.”“Don’t lie to me,” he snapped. His hands flexed, claws itching against his palms. “Your wolf is hungry. I can smell it.”The words were accusation and challenge, and the wolf inside her leapt at the sound, teeth bared, claws itching to tear. Lena clench

The parchment still burned in Kade’s hand even though it had long since turned to ash. The decree of the Elders carried no fire, no physical heat, yet its weight scorched more deeply than any flame. The words hung over Blackwood like a curse, the weight of centuries of law pressing down upon their soil, their bones, their very blood.Silence reigned in the clearing. The howl of wolves that had earlier split the night—the howl that answered Cassian’s challenge—was gone now, swallowed by dread. Only the river at the border whispered, carrying the reflection of the moon’s silver face across its black waters.Lena stood slightly behind Kade, her pulse a drum she couldn’t silence. She had thought she’d faced fear before—Cassian’s threats, visions of blood—but this was different. This wasn’t one wolf’s hunger for power. This was something older, colder, immovable. The Elders had spoken. And when the Elders spoke, the world bent to listen.Kade’s jaw was carved from stone, but his shoulders

The Hollow came to her in dreams first.At night, when the fires of Blackwood burned low and the howls faded into uneasy silence, Lena felt it pressing against her skin—an ancient pulse, steady as a heartbeat, calling her name in a voice older than language.She dreamed of forests that weren’t Blackwood’s. Trees gnarled and twisted, roots bleeding black sap. The moon hung low and red, painting the sky in bruises. She walked barefoot across soil that pulsed beneath her toes like living flesh, and in the distance, she heard the growl of wolves she had never seen.But it wasn’t them she feared.It was the one who waited at the heart of the Hollow.A great wolf, larger than any beast she’d ever imagined, its fur the color of shadows, its eyes twin voids. When it opened its jaws, she saw nothing inside—only endless dark, a hunger that stretched beyond the world.Every night, she woke with its growl in her ears. Every morning, she found the mark on her neck burning as if the Alpha’s bite ha