BEAST OF THE NORTH

CHAPTER 5: THE KNOCK

Kyle came at dusk.

We heard them before we saw them. Twenty wolves. Heavy steps on snow. The sound of chains and blades. Silver Fang Pack didn’t sneak. They announced themselves.

I was still sore from training. Blood crusted under my nails. But when the first howl hit the castle walls, the wolf inside me stood up. _Mine,_ she growled. Not scared. Hungry.

Damien walked to the window. He didn’t draw a weapon. He didn’t need to. The Beast of the North didn’t prepare for fights. Fights prepared for him.

“Stay behind me,” he said. No look back. Just an order.

I moved anyway. Not behind him. Beside him. My hand brushed the black crown on my neck. Damien’s mark burned once, like it remembered me.

The gates shook. Then they blew open.

Kyle stepped through first.

He looked the same. Golden eyes. Perfect jaw. Alpha charm that made girls melt. But his face was twisted. Not with grief. With rage.

Behind him: Bella. My sister. She wouldn’t meet my eyes. And my father. Alpha Marcus Woods. The man who called me trash in front of everyone.

Kyle’s eyes locked on me instantly. Then they dropped to my neck. To the black crown covering the red rejection mark he left there.

His whole body went still. Like someone hit pause on him.

“No,” he said. One word. Choked. “That’s impossible. Rejected wolves don’t get mated.”

Damien stepped forward. One step. The air got colder. “She did.”

Kyle’s gaze snapped to him. Then he laughed. But it wasn’t real laughter. It was the sound a man makes when he realizes he messed up and it’s too late.

“You,” Kyle said. “The Beast. You picked her? This broken, wolf-less—”

“She’s not wolf-less,” Damien cut him off. Voice flat. Final. “And she’s not yours anymore.”

For a second, nobody moved. Snow fell between us. Twenty wolves behind Kyle. One man beside me. My heart hammered so loud I was sure they could hear it.

Then Kyle smiled. Ugly. “Let’s see about that.”

He shifted. No warning. No words. Gold fur exploded from his skin. Bigger than before. Stronger. He had been training too. Waiting for this.

“Selena!” my father shouted. “Come home! We can fix this! He’s a monster!”

I looked at my father. Really looked at him. The man who turned his back when Kyle kicked me. The man who spat at my feet.

“You had your chance to fix me,” I said. My voice didn’t shake. “You chose him instead.”

Bella finally looked up. Tears in her eyes. “Selena, please. He’s dangerous. He kills mates. Everyone knows—”

“Everyone was wrong,” I said.

The wolf surged forward. Fur burst over my skin. Bones cracked. Pain, then power. In three seconds I stood on four legs, grey and black, silver eyes locked on Kyle.

He was bigger. But I was faster. And I was angry.

Kyle lunged. We met in the middle of the yard. Teeth and claws. Snow flying. No rules. No ceremony. Just two wolves and eighteen years of hate.

He got my shoulder first. Pain white-hot. I heard Damien snarl behind me, but I didn’t call for help. I wouldn’t. Not again.

I twisted and sank my teeth into Kyle’s leg. He yowled. Blood sprayed the snow.

We rolled. Over and over. He was stronger. But I had something he didn’t. I had nothing left to lose.

I pinned him. My claws at his throat. My teeth at his jugular. One bite and it would be over. Justice. Revenge. Peace.

Kyle stared up at me. No Alpha charm now. Just fear. “You wouldn’t,” he whispered. “You’re weak.”

The wolf bared her teeth. _Weak?_ she thought. _We are what he made us._

My jaws opened.

“Selena.”

Damien’s voice. Quiet. Right behind me. No command. No order. Just my name.

I paused. Blood dripped from my teeth onto Kyle’s fur.

“Kill him if you want,” Damien said. “But don’t do it for him. Do it for you.”

That was the difference. Kyle wanted me to kill him so he could be the victim. Damien wanted me to choose so I could be free.

I looked down at Kyle. At the man who broke me in front of everyone. At the man who thought I’d stay broken forever.

Then I stepped back.

I shifted back to human. Naked, bleeding, shaking. But my head was high.

“I don’t kill trash,” I said. Loud enough for all twenty wolves to hear. “I leave it in the snow where it belongs.”

I walked past Kyle. Past my father. Past Bella. Blood dripping from my shoulder. I didn’t stop. Didn’t look back.

I stopped beside Damien. He didn’t touch me. Didn’t claim me in front of them. He just stood there. A wall.

Kyle scrambled up, clutching his leg. “This isn’t over!”

Damien finally looked at him. Black eyes. No storm. No mercy.

“It is,” Damien said. “Touch her again, and Silver Fang won’t have an Alpha by morning.”

He turned and put his coat around my shoulders. Then he led me back into the castle. Leaving Kyle bleeding in the snow. Leaving my father speechless. Leaving Bella crying.

Behind us, the gates slammed shut.