Chapter 7 up
My heart pounded so loudly it felt like everyone in the field could hear it.
An Alpha duel.
Those two words were not merely a threat. They were a declaration of blood.
If Liam and Kael fought, it wouldn’t end with a single body falling. It would spread into war between packs. Ardhavarna against Dravaryn. Warrior against warrior. Clan against clan.
And all of it… because of me.
I stepped forward before my thoughts could catch up with my feet.
“No.”
My voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to slice through the tension between them.
All eyes turned to me.
Kael didn’t stop me, yet I could feel his aura shift, like a storm ready to break if needed. Liam stood rigid, his gaze burning.
“You’re not going to fight because of me,” I said firmly, even though my palms were damp.
Liam stared at me, jaw tightening. “This isn’t only about you, Airin.”
“Don’t lie,” I shot back. “You came here saying my name before you mentioned politics. Before you mentioned war.”
Silence fell again, heavier than before.
I glanced briefly at Kael. He didn’t speak, but his eyes told me clearly: Go on.
For the first time in my life, no one was trying to silence me.
I looked back at Liam.
“If you want to challenge Kael, do it for your ambition. For territory. For strategy. Don’t use me as your excuse.”
His expression shifted. Something cracked there.
“I’m not using you,” he said quietly. “I’m trying to bring you home.”
The word home sounded strange in my ears.
“Home?” I gave a bitter smile. “When was the last time Ardhavarna felt like home to me?”
He fell silent.
I stepped closer, now standing between them, forcing both Alphas to look at me instead of each other.
“When you claimed Namira under the Blood Moon,” I continued, my voice softer but sharper, “you didn’t think about how it felt for me. You didn’t look back even once.”
“I did it to—”
“To protect me?” I cut in. “From politics? From war? You didn’t even give me a choice.”
My chest rose and fell. Old wounds I thought had begun to dry now stung again.
“If I was a worthy future Luna,” I went on, “then I should have been strong enough to know the risks. Strong enough to choose.”
Liam closed his eyes briefly.
“I didn’t want you to become a target.”
“And you think becoming the woman who was discarded isn’t a target?” My voice rose before I realized it. “You think I didn’t carry shame? Pain?”
The morning wind blew harder, carrying the scent of iron and dust.
Behind me, I felt Kael shift a little closer. Not to take over. But to stand beside me.
Silent support—clear as steel.
Liam opened his eyes again.
“I never stopped—” He cut himself off, swallowing the rest.
I knew what he had been about to say.
Never stopped loving me.
But love that arrived too late was not salvation.
“Now you’ve said it,” I said softly. “About the rogue packs in the east. About the uniting threat. That’s important information.”
I turned to Kael. “Is it true?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “Movements in the east have indeed been unusual. Our scouts have reported gatherings between rogue packs.”
Low murmurs rippled through the Dravaryn warriors.
I drew a slow breath.
“If that threat is real,” I said, looking back at Liam, “then your duel will only hasten destruction.”
Liam’s fists clenched. “Our alliance is fragile. With this claim—”
“This claim is lawful,” Kael finally cut in, his voice low and vibrating with restrained power. “Blessed by the Blood Moon. Accepted by her wolf.”
He glanced at me briefly, and I felt the bond at my neck warm.
“And accepted by her,” he added.
It wasn’t a statement of possession.
It was recognition.
Everyone was waiting for me.
I could have hesitated. I could have let the conflict grow. But no.
I straightened.
“I will not return to Ardhavarna,” I said clearly. “Not because I was cast out. But because I choose not to.”
The word choose felt new in my life.
“I choose to stand in Dravaryn.”
My heart pounded as I said it—not from fear, but from the realization that this decision was entirely mine.
Liam looked at me for a long time. A very long time.
“Are you… happy here?” he finally asked, his voice much quieter.