The gates fully opened. Kaiden stood at the entrance, eyes sharp, cold, commanding. Behind him, nearly thirty warriors waited, disciplined, ready.
His gaze found me immediately, ignoring everything else. Relief flickered across his face—brief, fleeting. Then possession. Determination.
"Return what belongs to my pack," he demanded, voice echoing.
Lucien chuckled softly beside me. "Bold demand."
"I am under his protection now," Lucien said calmly.
Kaiden's wolf pushed closer to the surface. His eyes darkened. "Move."
"No," Lucien said. Calm. Certain. Powerful.
Dominance crackled in the air. Invisible, palpable. Two Alphas, neither moving, both powerful. The wolves behind Kaiden shifted nervously, sensing the tension.
"Selene," Kaiden said. His voice changed when he said my name—not cold, not dismissive, careful. Controlled.
"Come here," he commanded.
I didn't move. Lucien didn't move either.
"She has a choice," Lucien said quietly.
Kaiden's jaw tightened. "She is pack."
"She is powerful," Lucien replied.
The tension snapped tighter. I understood then: this wasn't about rejection. This was about power. About control.
I swallowed. My voice came out steady, louder than I expected. "I am not property. I am not land. I am not something to win."
Silence. The forest, the valley, even the wind seemed to pause.
Kaiden's expression shifted—less anger, more calculation. Then, for the briefest second, regret flickered across his features.
Memories of the ceremony—hope, humiliation, rejection—flashed in my mind.
"I… don't have a home," I whispered.
Lucien noticed my hesitation. "So," he said calmly, "the lady has made her decision."
Kaiden's eyes darkened again. "This isn't finished."
I didn't need him to say more. I knew he was right.
Powerful, dangerous, unyielding—Kaiden would not give up.
But neither would I.
And for the first time since the ceremony, I realized: this wasn't the end. It was only the beginning.