Chapter 7
Three weeks passed at Blackridge.
Three weeks of training—brutal, relentless, exhilarating. Dominic paired me with his best warriors, and one by one, I outpaced them all.
My wolf was ravenous for movement, for combat, for *dominance.* Every day, I grew stronger. Faster. More certain. The gold in my eyes became permanent. My senses sharpened to a razor's edge. I could shift fully now—a wolf larger than any Alpha's form, with fur that shimmered like liquid gold.
I was no longer hollow.
I was no longer Nora the wolfless Luna.
I was something else entirely.
It was on the twenty-third day that the past came crashing back.
I was sparring in the training yard when the alarm sounded—three sharp horn blasts that sent every wolf to attention.
Dominic appeared at my side within seconds, his jaw tight.
"Someone's at our border. Requesting entry."
"Who?"
His eyes met mine. In them, I saw something I hadn't seen before—cold fury.
"Kael. Alpha of Silver Fang. He's brought thirty wolves and is demanding to see you."
My blood turned to ice. Then—slowly—to fire.
*He found me.*
"You don't have to see him," Dominic said, and his hand hovered near my arm—not touching, but close. Protective. "Say the word, and I'll turn him away."
My wolf snarled inside me—not with fear, but with something dark and primal. A desire not to hide, but to face him. To let him *see* what he'd thrown away.
"No," I said. "Let him in."
Dominic's brows rose slightly. Then he nodded, something like approval flickering in his expression.
"Then let's give him a proper welcome."
Twenty minutes later, I stood at the center of Blackridge's great hall. Dominic was beside me—not behind, not in front, but *beside.* His wolves flanked us in perfect formation.
The doors opened.
Kael walked in.
He looked—wrong. Thinner. Darker under the eyes. His gaze swept the hall, searching, until it landed on me.
He stopped dead.
I watched his face cycle through recognition, disbelief, and something that looked like he'd been punched in the chest.
Because I wasn't the Nora he remembered. I stood taller. My eyes blazed gold. Power radiated off me in waves that made his own wolves instinctively step back.
"Nora?" His voice was barely a whisper.
"Alpha Kael." My tone was polite. Distant. Professional. "What brings you to the Blackridge Dominion?"
He stared. His mouth opened. Closed.
"I—" He swallowed. Tried again. "I came to bring you home."
A murmur rippled through Dominic's wolves. Dominic himself didn't move—but his scent sharpened. A warning.
"I don't have a home with you," I said simply. "I signed the withdrawal. Our contract is void."
"Forget the contract." Kael stepped forward, raw desperation bleeding through his Alpha composure. "Nora, I was wrong. I should have told you—should have handled everything differently—"
"You should have treated me like a person instead of a placeholder."
He flinched. Actually flinched.
"I know. I know, and I—" His eyes flickered to Dominic. Hardened. "Who is he? Why are you here with him?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Like hell it isn't—"
"Alpha Kael." Dominic's voice sliced through the room like a blade. Calm. Lethal. "You're a guest in my territory. And the lady has made herself clear. I suggest you respect that."
Kael's wolves bristled. Kael himself was vibrating with barely contained fury—but he wasn't stupid. He was outnumbered, outpowered, and standing in the hall of an Alpha whose dominion dwarfed his own.
His eyes returned to me. And in them—beneath the anger, beneath the pride—I saw something I'd never seen from him before.
Fear.
"This isn't over," he said. Low. Certain.
"Yes," I replied. "It is."
He held my gaze for one endless moment. Then turned and walked out.
The doors closed behind him.
Dominic was quiet for a moment. Then: "He'll be back."
"I know."
"Will you be ready?"
I looked down at my hands—steady now. Powerful. Mine.
"I already am."
---
Three weeks of training—brutal, relentless, exhilarating. Dominic paired me with his best warriors, and one by one, I outpaced them all.
My wolf was ravenous for movement, for combat, for *dominance.* Every day, I grew stronger. Faster. More certain. The gold in my eyes became permanent. My senses sharpened to a razor's edge. I could shift fully now—a wolf larger than any Alpha's form, with fur that shimmered like liquid gold.
I was no longer hollow.
I was no longer Nora the wolfless Luna.
I was something else entirely.
It was on the twenty-third day that the past came crashing back.
I was sparring in the training yard when the alarm sounded—three sharp horn blasts that sent every wolf to attention.
Dominic appeared at my side within seconds, his jaw tight.
"Someone's at our border. Requesting entry."
"Who?"
His eyes met mine. In them, I saw something I hadn't seen before—cold fury.
"Kael. Alpha of Silver Fang. He's brought thirty wolves and is demanding to see you."
My blood turned to ice. Then—slowly—to fire.
*He found me.*
"You don't have to see him," Dominic said, and his hand hovered near my arm—not touching, but close. Protective. "Say the word, and I'll turn him away."
My wolf snarled inside me—not with fear, but with something dark and primal. A desire not to hide, but to face him. To let him *see* what he'd thrown away.
"No," I said. "Let him in."
Dominic's brows rose slightly. Then he nodded, something like approval flickering in his expression.
"Then let's give him a proper welcome."
Twenty minutes later, I stood at the center of Blackridge's great hall. Dominic was beside me—not behind, not in front, but *beside.* His wolves flanked us in perfect formation.
The doors opened.
Kael walked in.
He looked—wrong. Thinner. Darker under the eyes. His gaze swept the hall, searching, until it landed on me.
He stopped dead.
I watched his face cycle through recognition, disbelief, and something that looked like he'd been punched in the chest.
Because I wasn't the Nora he remembered. I stood taller. My eyes blazed gold. Power radiated off me in waves that made his own wolves instinctively step back.
"Nora?" His voice was barely a whisper.
"Alpha Kael." My tone was polite. Distant. Professional. "What brings you to the Blackridge Dominion?"
He stared. His mouth opened. Closed.
"I—" He swallowed. Tried again. "I came to bring you home."
A murmur rippled through Dominic's wolves. Dominic himself didn't move—but his scent sharpened. A warning.
"I don't have a home with you," I said simply. "I signed the withdrawal. Our contract is void."
"Forget the contract." Kael stepped forward, raw desperation bleeding through his Alpha composure. "Nora, I was wrong. I should have told you—should have handled everything differently—"
"You should have treated me like a person instead of a placeholder."
He flinched. Actually flinched.
"I know. I know, and I—" His eyes flickered to Dominic. Hardened. "Who is he? Why are you here with him?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Like hell it isn't—"
"Alpha Kael." Dominic's voice sliced through the room like a blade. Calm. Lethal. "You're a guest in my territory. And the lady has made herself clear. I suggest you respect that."
Kael's wolves bristled. Kael himself was vibrating with barely contained fury—but he wasn't stupid. He was outnumbered, outpowered, and standing in the hall of an Alpha whose dominion dwarfed his own.
His eyes returned to me. And in them—beneath the anger, beneath the pride—I saw something I'd never seen from him before.
Fear.
"This isn't over," he said. Low. Certain.
"Yes," I replied. "It is."
He held my gaze for one endless moment. Then turned and walked out.
The doors closed behind him.
Dominic was quiet for a moment. Then: "He'll be back."
"I know."
"Will you be ready?"
I looked down at my hands—steady now. Powerful. Mine.
"I already am."
---