Chapter 32: The Challenge

The tension in the hall was suffocating.

Kael’s challenge echoed through the air, his words sharp and deliberate, as if he had been waiting years to say them. Dax stood rigid beside me, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Jack exhaled slowly. “You expect to walk in here after all these years and take the title by force?”

Kael’s eyes flicked to his father. “That’s the way of our kind, isn’t it?” His smirk deepened. “Unless, of course, you plan to deny me the right to challenge for what’s rightfully mine.”

Dax let out a low, bitter laugh. “You’ve spent your life with them right?” His voice was steady, but I could hear the rage boiling beneath the surface. “The Ironfangs. That’s why you’re here now. You didn’t come to reunite with your family. You came to destroy it.”

Kael didn’t deny it.

I could feel the energy shifting around the room, warriors exchanging uneasy glances, tension growing like a storm on the horizon.

Jack finally spoke. “The challenge must be done by the old ways.”

I felt my stomach drop.

The old ways.

A battle to submission… or death.

Dax’s jaw tightened. “I accept.”

My breath caught.

I knew he would. He had to. There was no choice in this. But hearing him say it made my blood run cold.

Kael smirked. “Good.” He turned to Jack. “Three days. At the full moon.”

Jack’s expression was unreadable. “Three days,” he agreed.

Kael’s gaze swept over the room once more, then lingered on me. “I look forward to winning.”

Dax snarled, stepping between us. “You won’t live long enough.”

Kael just chuckled. “We’ll see, brother.”

Then, without another word, he turned and strode out of the hall, his presence leaving a dark void in his wake.

The moment he was gone, I grabbed Dax’s wrist. “We need to talk. Now.”

Jack nodded at the warriors, dismissing them before turning back to us. “Go,” he said to Dax. “You need to prepare.”

Dax gave a stiff nod, then let me pull him toward our bedroom.

The moment the door shut behind us, I whirled on him. “Dax, you can’t do this.”

His eyes burned as they locked onto mine. “I have to, Alina.”

I shook my head, my chest tightening. “This isn’t just about me or the title, is it?” My voice was softer now, almost pleading. “This is personal.”

Dax ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “Of course it’s personal.” He met my gaze, raw emotion flashing through his eyes. “I was raised knowing my brother died when we were still babies. Knowing I was the only heir. And now—” He shook his head. “Now, I find out I had a brother all along? And he wants to take everything from me?” His jaw clenched. “I won’t let that happen.”

I took a deep breath, stepping closer. “Dax, he’s been raised for this. He’s been trained by the Ironfangs.”

“I don’t care.” His voice was steel. “I will defeat him.”

I hesitated, searching his face. “And what if he doesn’t give you the option to let him live?”

Dax was silent for a moment.

Then, his voice dropped to a whisper.

“Then I’ll do what I have to do.”

My heart ached at the certainty in his words.

I reached up, cupping his face. “You will win.” I refused to believe anything else. “But promise me something.”

He exhaled slowly. “What?”

I swallowed hard. “Promise me you won’t let this turn you into him.”

His eyes softened just slightly. “Alina…”

“No,” I said firmly. “I know you. I know the weight you carry already. And if you—” My voice wavered. “If you kill him in anger, like Talon, if you become what he is…” I took a shaky breath. “Then we both lose.”

Dax closed his eyes for a moment, then leaned his forehead against mine. “I promise,” he murmured. “I promise, Alina.”

I held onto him, willing my strength into him.

Three days.

Three days to prepare for the fight that would decide everything.

And I wasn’t sure if I would survive watching him walk into it.

The next three days passed in a blur of tension, training, and whispered worries.

Dax threw himself into preparing for the challenge, spending every waking hour in the training grounds with the strongest warriors of our pack. I watched as he honed his strength, his speed, his precision—each move sharp, controlled, lethal. He fought like a man with everything to lose.

He wasn’t fighting for power. He was fighting for us.

And that terrified me.

Jack oversaw the training, his sharp gaze hiding emotions I couldn’t quite read. I knew this was tearing him apart. He had spent years mourning the loss of one son, only to have him return as an enemy. And now, he had to watch his other son prepare to kill him.

No matter how this ended, Jack would lose a child.

I wanted to talk to him about it, but there was no time. No space for mourning what hadn’t happened yet.

Not when death was looming so close.

The packhouse was quieter than I had ever heard it. It was as if the entire pack was holding its breath, waiting for what was to come.

Dax and I sat together in our bedroom, the flickering candlelight casting long shadows across the walls. His bare chest was damp with sweat, his body still wound tight from the hours of training.

He hadn’t spoken much since we came back from the training grounds, and I knew his mind was still in battle mode. But I needed him here—with me.

“Dax,” I said softly, running my fingers over his arm. “Look at me.”

He exhaled slowly and turned his head, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. “I’m here.”

I shook my head. “No, you’re there—in tomorrow. In the fight.” I reached up, brushing his damp hair from his forehead. “I need you to be here with me. Please.”

His eyes softened, and after a moment, he nodded. “Okay.”

I shifted closer, pressing my forehead against his. “Tell me something,” I whispered.

“What?”

I hesitated before asking. “What are you afraid of?”

He was quiet for a long time. Then, finally, he said, “Losing you.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tightening.

Not losing the fight. Not losing the pack. Not losing his rank. Losing me.

I pulled him into a deep, lingering kiss, trying to pour all my love, all my belief in him, into it. When I pulled back, I whispered, “You won’t lose me. Ever.”

He exhaled against my lips, his fingers threading through my hair. “I can’t.”

I kissed him again, slow and deep, as if I could anchor him to this moment—to us.

Tonight, there was no war. No rival twin. No looming death.

Tonight, there was only us. 

The clearing was packed, the entire pack gathered to witness the fight that would determine their future. And mine.

The full moon hung overhead, casting a ghostly glow over the clearing. It was the perfect night for a challenge, its light bearing witness to what was about to unfold.

Dax and Kael stood at the center of the clearing, stripped to the waist, their muscles coiled and ready. They were identical in build, in stance, in power. But where Dax’s eyes burned with controlled fury, Kael’s held nothing but cold determination.

Jack stepped forward, his expression unreadable. “This is a challenge of blood,” he announced, his voice carrying through the clearing. “The fight will not end until one submits… or one dies.”

A heavy silence fell over the crowd.

Jack turned to both of them. “Do you both accept?”

Kael smirked. “Of course.”

Dax gave a single, firm nod. “Yes.”

Jack took a step back.

“Then begin.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Kael lunged.

Dax met him head-on, their bodies colliding with a force that shook the ground.

Fists flew. Claws extended. Blood splattered against the dirt as they tore into each other, two wolves locked in a deadly dance.

I watched, frozen, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

Dax was strong. But so was Kael.

They moved in perfect synchronicity, as if they had trained together their whole lives. Each strike was matched, each attack countered. They fought like equals.

But then, Kael shifted tactics.

He ducked under Dax’s swing and slammed his knee into his ribs, sending him stumbling back.

Dax barely had time to recover before Kael was on him again, relentless, merciless. He drove his fist into Dax’s stomach, then his elbow into his jaw.

Dax hit the ground.

A gasp rippled through the pack.

I surged forward, but Jack caught my wrist, holding me back. “Trust him,” he murmured.

Dax lay still for only a moment before he pushed himself up, blood dripping from his mouth. He wiped it away and grinned.

“You hit like a damn bitch,” he taunted.

Kael snarled and charged again.

But this time, Dax was ready.

He sidestepped at the last second, grabbing Kael by the arm and twisting him into a brutal lock. With a savage growl, he drove Kael’s face into the dirt.

Then he shifted.

Bones cracked, flesh stretched, and in the span of a heartbeat, Dax was in his wolf form—a massive golden beast.

Kael shifted too, his wolf almost identical.

They circled each other, two predators preparing for the final strike.

Then they lunged.

The battle that followed was brutal. They ripped into each other with teeth and claws, the scent of blood thick in the air. The ground trembled beneath them as they clashed, the entire pack watching in breathless silence.

Dax had strength. But Kael had something else.

Desperation.

I could see it in the way he fought—wild, ruthless, as if he had already decided he wouldn’t lose.

But Dax had something Kael didn’t.

He had me.

His mate. His reason.

And I wasn’t going to let him fall.

“DAX!” I shouted.

For a split second, his eyes flicked to mine.

And in that moment, he remembered.

He wasn’t alone.

With a final, earth-shattering roar, Dax launched himself at Kael, knocking him to the ground. His jaws closed around Kael’s throat.

A hush fell over the clearing.

Kael struggled, his body going rigid beneath Dax’s crushing grip. But he didn’t submit.

I held my breath.

Then, with one last choked gasp, Kael went limp.

Dax released him, stepping back.

For a long, terrible moment, Kael didn’t move.

Then, slowly, his body shifted back into his human form, blood pooling beneath him. His chest rose and fell in weak, shallow breaths. He was still alive.

Dax had won.

Silence stretched for what felt like an eternity before Jack finally spoke.

“The challenge is over.” His voice was heavy with finality. “Dax is victorious.”

A deafening howl erupted through the pack.

I ran to Dax, throwing myself into his arms.

He caught me, his body trembling from exhaustion. But he was alive.

And he was mine.

Kael had lost.

But I knew this wasn’t over.

Not yet.