Chapter 12 The Price of Protection

Elara's

The air in the nameless forest felt heavy, so thick it was almost suffocating. I stood between them, heart pounding in my chest as though it wanted to escape. Kael’s sharp gaze burned like fire, while Dorian, stubborn and reckless, planted himself firmly in front of me.

“Stay behind me, Elara,” he whispered, his voice steady, though I sensed the strain in it.

Kael tilted his head, the faintest curl of a smile tugging at his lips. It wasn’t kindness. It was mockery, taunting, daring, like a predator amused by the prey’s resistance.

“You call yourself a wolf?” Kael’s tone dripped with venom. “Then prove it. Show me if you are worthy of standing between me and what is mine.”

The words made my skin crawl. Mine. He said it as if I were nothing more than property, claimed and branded with his name.

Dorian didn’t flinch. He shifted his stance, feet pressing into the dirt, shoulders squared with defiance. The night was silent except for the whisper of leaves in the wind, as if the entire forest held its breath.

Kael stood a few paces away, his figure outlined by the pale wash of moonlight. He hadn’t shifted, not yet but the air around him throbbed with raw power, the kind of dominance that pressed down on my lungs until I could barely breathe.

I grabbed Dorian’s wrist. “Don’t do this. Please. He’s not like the others. He, he’s…” My throat tightened. I didn’t even know how to explain the danger Kael truly was. “If you fight him, you’ll...”

Dorian gently pried my hand away. “I won’t let him take you. Not while I’m alive.”

Kael chuckled, low and cruel, the sound vibrating in my bones. “Touching. But if you retreat now, little wolf, you’re not a man, you’re a coward.” His smirk widened. “Is that what you want her to see?”

Dorian growled softly, fury flickering in his eyes. Then he lunged, fists clenched, his movements sharp and fast. Kael blocked him effortlessly, his body unyielding, as if forged from steel. The impact shook the ground beneath them, and sparks of pain echoed in my chest as if I were the one taking the blows.

“Stop!” I cried, but neither of them listened.

Kael moved with terrifying grace, each strike measured, each dodge calculated. He wasn’t fighting to kill, he was toying with Dorian, dragging out the duel, proving that no matter how hard Dorian tried, he could never win.

Every time Dorian staggered back, every time Kael advanced with that predatory calm, dread clawed deeper into my heart.

And then it happened, Kael’s eyes flared, glowing like molten amber. His nails lengthened into claws, his aura swelling until the air itself trembled. He was no longer holding back.

“Kael, don’t!” My voice broke, but it was too late.

Dorian faltered, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his brow. Kael’s shadow loomed over him, enormous, suffocating. In one swift motion, Kael struck, sending Dorian crashing to the ground with a force that rattled through the clearing.

I screamed and ran toward him, but Kael’s gaze cut me off, freezing me in place. His voice was low, final, and merciless.

“This ends tonight, Elara. Either you come with me… or he dies.”

My heart stopped.

Hatred surged in me, raw and unrelenting, until my entire body trembled. My gaze burned into Kael, the monster who had shattered my world.

Dorian, though bloodied and beaten, forced himself back onto his feet. His legs wavered, his breath ragged, but his eyes held the same fierce resolve. He would rather die than let me fall into Kael’s hands.

“Stay… back, Elara,” he rasped. “I’ll protect you… no matter what.”

Something inside me broke. I could not would not, let him stand alone.

I stepped forward, my body trembling, the fury in my veins igniting like fire. For years I had refused this power, denied it, buried it deep after Silverfang fell. But now… now I embraced it.

My bones shifted. My breath tore into a growl. My skin rippled as fur burst forth, black as midnight.

For the first time since the night of the massacre, I let the wolf inside me live.

Kael froze. His eyes widened, shock flickering where arrogance had once been. He took an involuntary step back, as if the sight of me struck something he hadn’t anticipated.

And then I lunged.

Claws slashing, fangs bared, rage pouring out in every brutal strike, I drove straight at him. The air split with the force of my roar, and the earth shook under my fury.

Kael didn’t fight back. He staggered, blocking but never striking me. His expression twisted, pain, disbelief, something deeper I couldn’t name.

“Elara…” His voice was hoarse, almost broken. “Not you…”

But I didn’t stop.

This time, I wasn’t running. This time, I wasn’t prey.

I was the wolf.

Kael froze, his gaze piercing into me as if he could strip me bare down to the bone. I stood only a few steps away, my body still trembling from the shift I had forced upon myself. My heart pounded like a war drum, but I refused to back down.

“If you’re truly an Alpha,” I challenged, my voice breaking with both rage and a courage I’d never known before, “then strike me… the way you struck Dorian.”

For a heartbeat, Kael’s eyes blazed with terrifying power. But then the fire dimmed, giving way to something far more haunting. Pain. A wound buried deep, hidden behind the cruelty he always wore like armor.

He took a single step closer, his breath harsh, as though he was waging a battle within himself. His jaw clenched, yet when he finally spoke, his voice cracked, low, raw, almost broken.

“I… can’t.” His head bowed, the words sounding like chains binding him. “And I never will.”

The air thickened, heavy with something unspoken. And then, without another word, Kael turned. His back was rigid, each step away from me a punishment he inflicted on himself. Within seconds, his shadow melted into the forest’s darkness.

For the second time, he failed to take me back to Bloodmoon. But this time, it felt different.

I stood frozen, my chest heaving, not just from the fight, but from the fear curling inside me. If Kael could not harm me… was it because I was his enemy? Or because I was the one weakness he could never bear to destroy?