Kael's hand remained stretched toward me.
The entire pack stared in disbelief.
Even my former Alpha looked stunned.
"You… can't do that," he finally said, his voice tight with anger.
Kael slowly turned his silver eyes toward him.
"And who will stop me?"
The simple question carried terrifying power.
No one spoke.
The air itself felt heavy, like a storm was about to break.
My heart was still racing. I stared at the hand in front of me, unsure what to do.
Why would someone as powerful as him care about me?
I was nothing.
A rejected omega.
Yet the way he looked at me made my wolf stir again.
Stronger this time.
"Stand up," Kael said quietly.
Without thinking, I obeyed.
His eyes softened slightly as he studied me.
"Do you feel it?" he asked.
I frowned.
"Feel… what?"
Before he could answer, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my chest.
I gasped.
A strange warmth spread through my body.
My wolf suddenly growled inside me.
Then Kael froze.
For the first time since arriving, real shock appeared on his face.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Impossible…"
The ground seemed to spin around me.
"What… what is happening?" I whispered.
Kael looked at me with a dark, intense expression.
Then he said the one thing no one expected to hear.
"You're not just a rejected mate."
He stepped closer.
"So tell me… why does the mate bond connect you to me?"
The clearing exploded with shocked whispers.
Two Alphas.
One mate.
And suddenly…
Everyone realized the truth.
This wasn't rejection anymore.
It was the beginning of a war.