Chapter 3 The Alpha's Regret

The Nightshade Pack's territory stretched across the rugged hills east of Blackwood, hidden beneath ancient pines and guarded by fierce warriors. The air was colder here, sharper—as if the land itself mirrored its Alpha's temperament. Kael Thorn stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the valley below. The moon was gone now, replaced by pale sunlight that did nothing to warm the weight in his chest. He hadn’t slept. The ceremony had haunted him through the night, playing over and over in his mind—the moment his eyes met hers. Selene Blackwood. The name alone made something twist inside him. He hadn’t expected the bond. Hadn’t expected her. She was… nothing like he’d imagined. She wasn’t bold or arrogant like so many others. She was quiet. Calm. Her gray eyes had looked straight through him, not in awe, but with something deeper. Something that unsettled him. She had smelled like winter and wild things. And for one moment—just one—he’d felt it. The bond. The connection that every wolf was supposed to crave. It had hit him like a punch to the chest. His wolf had stirred, clawed, howled. But then he'd shut it down. He’d done what was necessary. What was expected. He was the Alpha. He couldn’t afford weakness. Couldn’t allow fate to dictate his future. Especially not with a half-blood from a rival pack—a nobody. Still, he couldn’t stop seeing her face after he said the words. I reject Selene Blackwood as my mate. He should have felt relief. Instead, he felt hollow. “Alpha,” came a voice behind him. Kael turned slowly. It was Dax, his Beta and closest friend since childhood. The tall, broad-shouldered wolf had dark brown hair and sharp green eyes that always saw too much. “You’ve been up here all night,” Dax said carefully. “The patrols are reporting strange activity near the eastern ridge. Might be rogues.” Kael nodded. “Double the watch. Tell them not to engage unless necessary.” Dax hesitated. “You okay?” “I’m fine,” Kael replied curtly. Dax didn’t move. “You don’t look fine. You look like someone who can’t stop thinking about the girl he just rejected.” Kael’s jaw tensed. “She’s not important.” “She’s your mate.” “I made a choice.” Dax crossed his arms. “Yeah? And was it the right one?” Kael glared at him. “She’s weak. She’s barely wolf. Her pack is dying, clinging to outdated traditions. I don’t need complications.” “Maybe,” Dax said, “but your wolf didn’t seem to agree. I saw your eyes. I saw the way you looked at her. That wasn’t disgust, Kael. That was fear. You felt the bond.” “I said I made a choice,” Kael snapped. “End of discussion.” Dax held up his hands. “Fine. But don’t expect your wolf to forget her just because you’re pretending she doesn’t matter.” Kael turned away again, staring into the mist below. Dax left him alone. He didn’t want to admit it—but Dax was right. His wolf hadn’t settled since the rejection. It paced inside him, restless, snarling at the decision he’d made. There was a storm brewing inside him, and Selene Blackwood was at the center of it. --- Meanwhile, in the quiet forest near the Blackwood border, Selene stood barefoot in the shallow creek, water washing the blood from a cut on her palm. Her mind buzzed with what she’d read the night before. A wolf of shadow and flame. The words had settled into her like seeds, waiting to bloom. She didn’t know what she was yet. Not exactly. But she knew she wasn’t ordinary. And she needed help. That’s why she had come to the old healer’s cabin deep in the woods. No one from the main pack visited her anymore—not since rumors began to spread about her practicing forbidden magic. But Selene had no other options. If anyone knew what was happening to her, it would be Mara. The cabin appeared at the bend of the stream, weathered wood and moss-covered stone nestled among thick vines. Smoke curled from the chimney, and the scent of herbs drifted through the trees. Selene hesitated, then knocked. The door creaked open. Mara stood in the doorway, old but unbent, with sharp amber eyes and silver hair braided down her back. “I was wondering when you'd come,” she said, as if Selene’s arrival had been written in the leaves. “You knew I would?” Mara stepped aside. “You’ve stirred the threads of fate, girl. You’ve made ripples. Come.” Selene entered the cabin, heart thudding. Inside, the room was dim and earthy, filled with hanging bundles of dried herbs and jars of strange powders. A fire crackled in the hearth. “Sit,” Mara instructed. “Tell me what you’ve seen.” Selene told her everything. The rejection. The transformation. The run through the forest. The strange power. And the words from the book. Mara listened in silence, her eyes never leaving Selene’s face. When she finished, Mara rose and began sorting through her shelves. “The old blood rises again,” she murmured. “I had hoped it might skip this generation.” “What do you mean?” Selene asked. “You are not just half-wolf, Selene. Your mother—she carried the blood of the Flameborn.” Selene frowned. “That’s a myth. Fire wolves aren’t real.” “They were,” Mara said. “Long ago. Wolves blessed by the Moon and born of flame. Their power was feared. And hunted. Most were wiped out in the old purges. But some went into hiding. Your mother was one of them.” Selene’s mind reeled. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” “Because knowledge is dangerous. If the wrong wolves find out what you are—what you might become—they will try to kill you. Just like they did the rest of your kind.” Selene gripped the edge of the table. “So what now? What do I do?” Mara met her eyes. “You awaken it. You master it. Or it will burn you from the inside out.” Outside, the wind howled through the trees. Inside, Selene felt something ignite in her chest. --- Far away, standing on that cliff, Kael felt it too. A pull. A spark. A presence that wouldn’t leave him no matter how hard he tried to push it away. His wolf growled. And for the first time in years, Kael Thorn was afraid—not of war, not of death—but of the girl he had rejected. Because fate wasn’t finished with them yet.