Mated To The Twin Alphas

20: The Price Of Balance

The first sign came at dawn.

The valley was still, quiet except for the rustle of wind through the grass. Darius hadn’t woken yet, though his breathing was steady. Damon stood watch a few feet away, his golden eyes scanning the horizon like he expected the darkness to come crawling back any second.

I was the one who felt it first — that whisper under my skin. It wasn’t pain. It was awareness.

Every sound, every scent, every heartbeat around me became sharp, too sharp, as if the world had turned its face closer to mine.

Then the mark on my wrist began to pulse again — black this time, not silver.

Damon noticed the moment it changed. “Selene,” he said quietly, “look at me.”

I did — and his eyes widened.

“What?” I whispered, but I already knew. I could feel it in my veins — something cold and ancient, curling through my blood.

He reached out slowly. “Your eyes. They’re… not just gold anymore.”

Before I could speak, a gust of wind tore through the clearing. The grass flattened. The ground itself seemed to hum. Darius stirred, gasping as if surfacing from deep water. His gaze met mine instantly — and I saw recognition, horror, and guilt all at once.

“No,” he said hoarsely, dragging himself up. “Selene… what did you do?”

“I broke the bond,” I said. “I freed you.”

He shook his head, panic in his voice. “You didn’t free it — you took it.”

The air rippled. The black pulse in my wrist surged outward, spreading faint shadows that moved like mist around my hands. The mark glowed, then sank beneath my skin. The bond wasn’t gone — it had changed hosts.

Kael’s voice echoed faintly in my mind, distant but unmistakable.

Balance must be kept.

Damon stepped between us instantly, his stance protective, but I could feel his uncertainty — torn between fear and the instinct to protect me. “We’ll fix this,” he said. “The temple—”

“The temple’s gone,” Darius interrupted, his voice heavy with despair. “The magic’s done. The bond won’t fade now. It’s inside her.”

I stumbled backward, clutching my chest. The shadows pulsed with my heartbeat, every emotion — fear, love, anger — feeding them. I could feel Kael’s memories brushing against my mind: battles fought under eclipses, worlds burned for balance, a Goddess weeping silver tears.

Then I saw something worse — visions of me, standing on a throne of moonlight and shadow, the packs kneeling below. A future I hadn’t chosen, already written.

“No,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “I won’t become him.”

Damon grabbed my hands, grounding me. His warmth cut through the cold. “You’re stronger than he was. You can fight it.”

But Darius’s expression said what Damon wouldn’t. “You can’t fight forever. The shadow doesn’t share power — it consumes it.”

Lightning flared in the distance, painting the sky silver. The mountains trembled again, faint and deep, as though something far below had stirred at the mention of Kael’s name.

The darkness inside me seemed to respond, pulsing like a second heartbeat. For an instant, I saw through Kael’s eyes — Damon and Darius standing before me not as allies, but prey. My fingers twitched. My pulse quickened. Power whispered temptation.

One command, the voice murmured. And they’ll kneel.

I gasped, jerking my hand away. “It’s… it’s inside my mind. Damon, it’s talking to me.”

He stepped closer, his voice calm but his scent sharp with tension. “Then we learn to silence it. Together.”

Darius looked between us, his jaw tight. “The longer it stays in her, the stronger it becomes. Eventually, it won’t need to whisper. It will speak through her.”

The wind rose again, howling across the valley like the echo of a thousand wolves.

And beneath it all, deep in my bones, Kael’s laughter stirred — soft, patient, eternal.