CHAPTER 5 : THE ALPHAS FURY

The heavy oak doors slammed with a boom that bounced down the Alpha wing. Every sound in the house seemed to jerk to attention. Inside the office, all hell broke loose. A desk big enough to sit four people barreled across the room and smashed into the wall. Papers shot up like startled birds. A chair splintered in a burst against the old stone fireplace. Kael stood in the middle of the wreckage, chest heaving. Claws tore through his skin—half-shifted, not fully wolf or man. He was dangerous right now. His eyes burned, bright amber and wild, as he gripped a heavy wooden cabinet and sent it flying. The impact left a crater in the plaster. Rage hung thick in the air, almost solid. His wolf was clawing right at the edge. Too close. “DAMN IT!” His roar rattled the windows. Out in the hall, pack members froze and stared at the closed doors, fear all over their faces. Inside, another crash—glass this time. Kael hurled a crystal decanter at the wall. Shards rained over the carpet. He was breathing ragged. Still, her scent lingered. Sweet, ancient, forbidden. It clouded everything. He dug his claws into the abused desk, shaking with barely leashed fury. Then the door banged open. “Alpha!” Rowan strode in, voice unshakable, eyes dark and calm. Only Rowan would walk straight into the middle of this. Maybe foolish, maybe just loyal. He scanned the ruined office—the broken, the shredded, the gouged—then let out a slow, heavy breath. “Gods, Kael...” Kael didn’t even look at him. “Leave.” Rowan crossed his arms. “No.” Kael’s growl started deep in his chest. “I said leave.” Rowan wouldn’t budge. “Not until you tell me what just happened out there.” Silence. Pressurized. Kael’s shoulders went taut. Rowan stepped in, closer. “You rejected your mate.” The words landed heavy and hard. Kael’s claws sank deeper into the wood. “In front of the council, Kael.” Rowan’s voice sharpened. Still nothing from Kael. Rowan snapped, “Do you even realize what you just did?” Kael straightened, finally turning, his eyes feral. “You think I don’t know that?” “Then explain it.” “There’s nothing to explain.” Rowan laughed, bitter. “Plenty. That girl is your mate.” That word hung in the air—mate. Every wolf knew the bond. The pull. Rejecting a mate was rare enough. Doing it for everyone to see? Almost impossible. Rowan’s voice dropped. “She nearly collapsed in front of the whole council.” Kael’s eyes flickered, maybe with pain. If it was there, he crushed it quick. “That was the point.” Rowan blinked, confused. “What?” “I had to make it convincing.” Rowan’s anger gave way to disbelief. “Convincing?” Kael walked to the busted window, staring out across the silver-lit trees. But he didn’t see them. He only saw her—her wounded eyes, her scent curling through his senses, setting his wolf on fire. His claws gripped tighter. His voice scraped out, “If I claimed her...” He faltered. Rowan waited. “She would die.” The words hung there, cold and final. Rowan stared like Kael had lost his mind. “What?” “You heard me.” “That’s not possible.” “Nothing about her scent is normal.” And Rowan remembered—the ceremony, the visiting Alphas, the ramping tension, the edges of control fraying. “You noticed too.” Kael nodded. “It’s wrong.” “Wrong how?” Kael’s voice dropped. “It shouldn’t exist.” Rowan’s heartbeat quickened. “Then explain.” Kael hesitated, hating this, balling up every word like a fist before he finally let them go. “You saw the visiting Alphas.” Rowan nodded—he remembered the wild almost-shift, the danger swelling in the room. “That wasn’t normal attraction,” Kael growled. “That was instinct.” Predatory instinct. Rowan’s eyes widened. Kael pressed on, voice pitch-black. “Her scent triggers something in Alphas.” “Wolves can have strong scents,” Rowan pushed back. “Not like this.” Kael picked up a chunk of broken desk and crushed it in his fist. “When I smelled her at first—my wolf didn’t recognize her as a mate. It recognized her as prey.” Rowan stared, stunned. “That’s impossible.” Kael’s eyes gleamed, wild. “You saw the others. You felt it in the air.” Rowan remembered—snarling, muscles tensed, all the wolves nearly shifting. His gut twisted. “Gods.” “If I claimed her, the bond would make it worse.” Rowan’s voice turned rough. “You think you’d lose control.” Kael said nothing. He didn’t need to. Rowan dragged a hand over his face. “This makes no sense.” Kael’s voice came out quiet. “It doesn’t have to.” Rowan glared. “You rejected your mate because of a hunch?” “It’s not a hunch.” Kael’s words dropped into something old and cold. “It’s a warning.” “What warning?” “When I was twelve…” Kael rarely mentioned his childhood, and Rowan’s alertness sharpened. “The Elders brought in a seer. She looked at me once and said I would destroy the one destined for me. She said my mate would carry a scent that could command wolves. And that if I claimed her, my wolf would devour her.” Rowan’s blood ran cold. “That’s…you’re saying it was a prophecy?” Kael nodded, eyes far away. “I didn’t believe it. Not until I smelled her. Not until today.” Rowan ran over the facts. The scent. The Alphas driven half-mad. The chaos. “You really think she’s the one?” “I know.” It was quiet for a moment, suffocating. “So instead of protecting her, you humiliated her?” Rowan snapped, his voice tight. Kael’s eyes burned with pain. “You think that was easy?” He trembled, the battle with his wolf obvious. “You think rejecting my mate didn’t tear me up? My wolf’s losing it. It wants to find her—claim her—bite and mark her. But if I do, she dies.” Silence, again. Rowan spoke, voice low. “Does she know?” “No.” “Are you going to tell her?” “No.” “You’re just letting her believe you hate her?” Kael didn’t reply. They both understood. “That’s cruel,” Rowan spat. “It’s necessary.” Rowan shook his head. “You’re underestimating her.” Kael scoffed. “You saw what happened. You saw the other Alphas.” “I did. And that’s why you hiding all of this is dangerous.” Rowan stepped in close. “You think the pack won’t notice? The story’s already out there. Not just here, either. The visiting Alphas left fast. And when they talk in their own packs…” Kael’s stomach turned. “What are they saying?” Rowan’s voice was grim. “They know her scent is different.” Kael swore softly. “Not just here, Kael. Everywhere. The visiting Alphas—they’ll spread the story.” Kael’s eyes went wide, and a cold dread crawled down his spine. “You didn’t just reject a mate today.” Rowan’s face was hard, his tone deadly serious. “You showed the world something new—something dangerous. A wolf with a scent that can send Alphas into madness.” Kael’s heart pounded. For the first time since the ceremony, real fear crept in. The secret was out. Other Alphas would hear about the girl, the impossible scent, the mate who was publically rejected. Wolves like that don’t stay hidden. Kael closed his eyes. His wolf pressed up again, feral and desperate—mine. But he stuffed it down, forced himself to stay upright, breathing. He did it for her. Even if it shredded him. Because the truth held steady: If he ever claimed her—if he ever gave into the bond—his wolf would hunt her. Not love her. And the prophecy would come true. She would die by his hand.