Chapter 10 - Break or Stand
706 Words
The room held its tension as Thorne rose from his seat.
“Careful,” he said, his voice low, his gaze fixed on Elara as gold flickered in his eyes, his wolf close to the surface. “I will not tolerate disrespect.”
Elara straightened, lifting her chin as she met him without hesitation.
“Neither will I.”
A dangerous grin pulled at his mouth before he turned away, already moving toward the exit.
“Let’s see if you can back that attitude on the training field.”
He didn’t wait.
She followed.
The training grounds stretched beyond the main structure, wide enough for movement yet enclosed enough that nothing went unseen. The moment Elara stepped in, attention gathered. Voices dipped, shoulders angled away, and glances lingered longer than courtesy allowed, carrying a quiet disdain she understood all too well.
Her pack had taken lives here.
They seemed to forget the balance had never tipped one way. Blood had been taken on both sides, and she carried enough memories to know it had never been clean. One name rose above the rest—Draven. The thought lingered longer than the others, bringing with it a suspicion that circled back to Thorne whether she wanted it to or not.
Her wolf stirred, heat rising through her veins, urging a response she held back as she walked beside him.
Rowan and Rafe stood near the center, their posture steady, while Kaia remained apart, her focus already set. Thorne moved into the open space without a word, and Elara followed, aware of how the pressure shifted once she stood in the middle of it.
They were watching both of them.
“Let’s see what you can handle,” Kaia said, her tone carrying quiet expectation.
Rowan’s gaze settled on Elara, measured. “Strength shows itself in more than one way.”
“That’s why we test it,” Kaia replied.
Rafe stepped closer, interest clear. “This should be interesting.”
Thorne remained silent, though something sharp flickered through the bond, enough to pull her attention before she forced it away.
Rowan stepped forward, taking position across from her. “Keep it contained. No shifting.”
Elara inclined her head, letting her focus settle fully on him as she relaxed her stance. There had been a reason she was meant to take over after Draven’s death.
Today, they would see it.
“Understood.”
Rowan moved first, fast and direct, but she read it before it landed. Her body turned just enough for the strike to miss, her hand guiding his wrist aside before releasing him cleanly.
He recovered quickly and came again, faster this time, with more intent.
Elara met him, her weight shifting as she turned her shoulder so the impact slid past instead of landing. The movement brought her close enough to feel his balance shift, and a murmur ran through the onlookers while Rafe let out a quiet breath.
“Okay.”
Rowan pressed harder, speed building, force rising with each exchange, but Elara matched him. She stepped inside his range again, closing space and forcing him to adjust, her palm brushing his forearm just long enough to change the angle and create an opening.
Then she let it go.
Rowan stilled before stepping back fully, giving a single nod.
“That’s enough.”
There was no hesitation in it.
The air stayed tight as attention shifted, earlier disdain edged now with something closer to caution. Elara returned to her place, her breathing steady even as awareness pulled briefly toward him.
Thorne watched her.
The distance he had kept before no longer held.
He stepped forward.
“Again.”
Elara didn’t move, meeting his gaze. “You’ve seen enough. For them.”
“You don’t decide what’s enough here,” Thorne replied.
She tilted her head slightly. “Then make me.”
The space drew tight as he moved, fast and direct.
His hand closed around her arm, the grip firm enough to hurt as he pulled her closer, forcing her into his space.
“That’s enough.”
His eyes burned gold, his wolf fully present, and the tension between them shifted into something far more dangerous.
Elara had pushed the Alpha too far.
- Writer
