The second howl did not echo from the forest.
It came from inside the pack territory.
Gasps erupted.
Warriors shifted instantly, claws extending, bodies trembling with defensive instinct.
"He crossed the border!" someone shouted.
Kael's aura exploded outward in a wave of dominance.
"Form a line!"
The warriors obeyed immediately, creating a barrier between the forest's edge and the clearing where Leila still knelt.
But it was too late.
The air changed.
Thick.
Oppressive.
Alive.
And then—
He stepped forward.
Dominic.
No shadows.
No hesitation.
He walked openly onto pack land as if it already belonged to him.
His eyes found Leila instantly.
Not the warriors.
Not Kael.
Her.
And something primal snapped in the atmosphere.
Kael growled, shifting partially, claws lengthening. "You dare—"
"I dare," Dominic interrupted calmly.
His voice wasn't raised.
It didn't need to be.
Power rolled off him in controlled waves.
The warriors hesitated.
Not because they lacked courage.
But because their wolves felt it.
Dominance.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Leila felt it too.
Her wolf rose inside her — not in submission.
In response.
Kael stepped forward.
"You will leave now, or I will kill you."
Dominic's lips curved faintly.
"You can try."
The challenge hung in the air like drawn steel.
But Dominic didn't look at Kael again.
He looked at Leila.
"You're in pain."
It wasn't a question.
Her body still burned from the destabilized bond.
She tried to stand but stumbled.
Before Kael could reach her—
Dominic was there.
Too fast.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
The moment his hand touched her—
The world shattered.
Fire exploded beneath her skin.
Not pain.
Power.
Raw, consuming heat that tore through her veins like lightning.
She gasped, fingers gripping his shirt instinctively.
The connection surged violently between them.
The clearing trembled.
Gasps echoed.
Kael roared.
"Take your hands off her!"
Dominic ignored him.
His red eyes darkened further.
"There it is," he murmured against her temple.
Her wolf howled in her mind.
Recognizing.
Choosing.
No.
No no no—
This couldn't be happening.
Dominic tilted her chin upward.
"Your bond was never sealed."
Kael lunged.
But Dominic moved first.
In one swift motion, he pulled Leila fully against him.
And sank his teeth into her neck.
The world went white.
Not like Kael's mark.
This—
This was consuming.
The burn spread from her neck down her spine, through her chest, into her abdomen, igniting every nerve.
Her scream tore through the clearing.
Not in rejection.
In transformation.
The mark seared into her skin like molten metal.
The sky darkened suddenly.
Clouds swallowed the sun.
Wind tore through the clearing violently.
Dominic released her slowly.
His mark glowed black and crimson against her throat.
Not blue.
Not silver.
Dark.
Powerful.
Claiming.
Silence fell over the pack.
Horrified.
Stunned.
The Moon Goddess had not struck him down.
The earth had not split open.
Instead—
Leila's old mark faded.
Completely.
Kael froze.
His bond—
Gone.
Like it had never existed.
Leila collapsed to her knees.
Her wolf was no longer divided.
No longer torn.
It stood tall.
Beside another.
Dominic's wolf.
She felt him inside her mind now.
Not invasive.
Present.
Solid.
Kael's voice came out hollow.
"You… marked my Luna."
Dominic looked at him with zero remorse.
"She was never yours."
Rage exploded from Kael.
"You cursed her!"
Dominic's eyes flashed dangerously.
"No."
His hand slid to Leila's waist, steadying her.
"I completed what you never could."
Gasps.
Whispers.
Terror.
Leila looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.
"You—"
Her voice broke.
"You ruined my life."
Dominic did not look away.
"I saved it."
The audacity.
The arrogance.
The certainty.
Something inside her shattered.
"You had no right!" she screamed, shoving him back weakly.
"You stole my choice!"
For the first time—
A flicker of something crossed Dominic's face.
Not regret.
But acknowledgment.
Kael's voice thundered across the clearing.
"She is exiled."
The word hit harder than the mark.
Exiled.
Murmurs spread.
"She carries the cursed alpha's mark."
"She's tied to him."
"She cannot remain."
Leila's chest tightened painfully.
She looked around.
At the pack she had loved.
At the children she had protected.
At the wolves she had healed.
And none of them stepped forward.
None of them defended her.
Even Kael avoided her gaze now.
"You would cast me out?" she whispered.
Kael's silence answered.
Elder Mira closed her eyes in sorrow.
"The mark is sealed," she said softly.
There was no undoing it.
Leila turned slowly to Dominic.
Hatred burned hotter than the mark.
"I will curse you," she said, her voice shaking with fury and heartbreak.
The wind whipped around them violently.
"I will curse you till the day I die."
The entire clearing went silent.
Dominic stared at her.
Unflinching.
"Then live a long life," he replied quietly.
The words weren't mocking.
They were absolute.
He extended his hand toward her.
"Come."
She stared at it.
She had nowhere else to go.
Her pack had already turned their backs.
Her mate had rejected her without saying the words.
And the wolf who ruined her—
Was the only one standing beside her.
Her fingers trembled as she took his hand.
Gasps filled the clearing again.
Dominic pulled her gently to her feet.
Not possessive.
Not forceful.
Certain.
Kael watched, fury and something like regret battling in his expression.
But he did not stop them.
No one did.
As Dominic led her toward the forest, the mark on her neck pulsed softly.
Not painfully.
Protectively.
At the edge of the trees, she stopped.
Turned back once.
This had been her home.
Her life.
Her identity.
Gone in a single day.
She looked at Dominic, eyes blazing.
"This isn't over."
His gaze softened just slightly.
"No," he agreed.
"It's just beginning."
And with that—
The cursed alpha walked back into the woods.
With his marked Luna.