Chapter 6: I Will Burn the World
1360 Words
The moment she ran, something inside me snapped.
Not the curse.
Not the wolf.
Me.
The bond screamed—raw, violent, unforgiving. It wasn’t pain. It was absence. Like my chest had been ripped open and the world dared to keep spinning anyway.
Aira.
Her name thundered through my veins as I crossed the boundary without hesitation. The forest bent beneath my speed, trees blurring past as my wolf surged closer to the surface.
She was terrified.
I felt it like claws in my gut.
Why did you let her run?
The thought burned hotter than the curse ever had.
Because I was afraid.
The admission tasted like blood.
Afraid of what she was becoming.
Afraid of what she could do to the pack.
Afraid of how easily she unraveled everything I’d built with fear and control.
And worse—
Afraid that I would kneel to her the way the pack already had.
The bond flared again—sharp, urgent.
Danger.
I pushed harder, tearing through the forest with reckless abandon. Wolves scattered at the edges of my awareness, sensing the Alpha King unleashed and wisely staying out of my path.
Then I smelled it.
Blood.
Foreign wolves.
Hostility.
Rage detonated inside my chest.
Too slow.
I burst into the clearing just as chaos erupted.
Enemy wolves lunged.
Aira stood frozen—small, glowing, awakening.
Mine.
The word wasn’t a thought anymore.
It was law.
I didn’t shift.
I didn’t need to.
I became destruction.
Bone snapped beneath my fists. Blood sprayed warm across my skin as I tore through them, my wolf roaring with savage satisfaction. Fear rippled outward as dominance crushed the clearing.
None of them stood a chance.
One wolf lunged toward Aira from behind.
I roared her name.
She turned—
And power exploded from her.
Silver light tore through the clearing, hurling the wolf into a tree with a sickening crack. The ground trembled beneath the force of it.
I froze.
Not because of fear.
Because I felt it.
Authority.
Not dominance.
Not submission.
Something older.
My wolf went silent.
The pack legends flooded my mind—stories dismissed as myth, whispered only by elders who feared what they implied.
A Luna who did not bow.
A Queen who balanced Alphas.
A force that could either unite packs…
Or end them.
Aira stared at her hands, shaking.
“What did I do?” she whispered.
Fear slammed into my chest—not of her power, but of the world seeing it.
“They’ll come,” I said, stepping toward her. “Everyone who felt that.”
And they would.
Hunters.
Rogue packs.
Alphas who wanted her power—or her head.
Her eyes met mine, filled with resolve and heartbreak. “Then I can’t go back.”
The bond tightened painfully.
“I won’t cage you,” I said roughly. “But I won’t let you disappear either.”
“You already would,” she replied softly. “For me.”
She wasn’t accusing.
She was stating a fact.
And that terrified her.
For the first time in my life, my wolf did not demand dominance.
It bowed.
The realization sent a chill through my spine.
I had ruled through fear for decades—controlled packs, crushed rebellions, enforced order with blood and authority. My wolf had thrived on it, feeding on submission like air.
But now—
It went still.
Watching her.
Acknowledging something it did not understand… yet instinctively respected.
“She’s not just awakening,” I murmured under my breath. “She’s being recognized.”
The forest itself seemed to lean toward her, branches trembling faintly, the earth humming beneath my feet. I had seen power before—raw, destructive strength wielded by mad Alphas and cursed kings.
This was different.
This was command without force.
And that terrified me more than any enemy.
I stepped closer to her, lowering my voice instinctively, as if the night itself were listening.
“You need to hide your power,” I said firmly. “Until we understand what you are.”
She looked up at me, eyes blazing silver fire. “What if I don’t want to hide anymore?”
The question struck deeper than any blade.
I saw it then—not rebellion, not arrogance—
Resolve.
A Luna’s resolve.
And suddenly, the memories I had buried clawed their way to the surface.
My mother’s blood staining the Alpha throne.
The elders whispering about imbalance.
The curse awakening the night she was executed.
A Luna who had refused to submit.
A Luna who had been erased.
My fists clenched.
“I won’t let them do to you what they did to her,” I said hoarsely.
Aira stiffened. “To who?”
I didn’t answer.
Because speaking it aloud would make it real.
Instead, the bond pulsed violently—rage, fear, and something dangerously close to devotion coiling tight in my chest.
“You rejected me because of this,” she realized quietly. “Because you knew.”
“Yes,” I admitted. “And because I was a coward.”
The words tasted bitter—but they were true.
I had believed rejection would weaken the bond.
Instead, it had sharpened it.
She took a step back, conflict flashing across her face. “Then you don’t get to decide what happens to me now.”
The bond tightened painfully.
She was right.
And that was the problem.
“I’ve ruled alone for so long,” I said, my voice low. “I don’t know how to share power.”
Her gaze softened—just a fraction. “Then learn.”
The simplicity of it nearly broke me.
I reached out instinctively, stopping myself inches from touching her. Claiming her now—marking her—would stabilize the bond temporarily.
It would also cage her.
I dropped my hand.
That restraint cost me more than any battle ever had.
The air shifted again—pressure rolling across my skin.
Someone else felt her.
Far away… but moving fast.
My wolf snarled.
“They’re coming,” I said sharply. “Not just one pack.”
“How many?” she asked.
“Enough to turn this into a war.”
Silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken truths.
“I never wanted this,” she said softly.
“Neither did I,” I replied. “But fate doesn’t care what we want.”
She met my eyes, silver fire steady. “Then stop treating me like something fragile.”
I nodded once.
“Run,” I told her again—this time not as an Alpha command, but as a promise. “I’ll make sure no one touches you.”
She hesitated—just for a heartbeat.
Then she turned and ran.
And this time…
I let her go.
Because if she was going to become what fate demanded—
She needed to do it free.
Before I could reach her, she ran again—faster now, stronger, the forest parting for her like it recognized its ruler.
The bond stretched—tight, screaming—but it didn’t break.
Never would.
I dropped to one knee, claws digging into earth as the truth settled deep into my bones.
I had rejected my mate.
And fate had answered by making her something the world would never forgive.
I rose slowly.
My wolf snarled, no longer restrained.
“Find her,” I commanded the shadows.
Wolves emerged from the trees—my elite guard, eyes glowing, already kneeling.
“Protect her,” I continued. “Not from me. From everyone else.”
“Yes, Alpha,” they answered as one.
But it wouldn’t be enough.
I could feel it—the shift rippling across territories, Alphas stirring, enemies sharpening their blades.
War was coming.
And it would be fought over her.
I tilted my head back and howled—a sound that carried across borders, a warning carved into the night.
Anyone who touches her dies.
The bond pulsed in fierce agreement.
I didn’t care anymore about balance.
Or politics.
Or the curse.
If the world wanted my mate—
Then I would burn it down.
- Writer
