Desired by Three Alphas, Fated to One

Chapter 6 – The Clash of Alpha Wills

The clearing felt smaller than it was, as though the towering pines themselves had drawn closer to listen. Every sound—every breath—was sharp in the air, and the only thing louder than the wind through the branches was the pounding of my heart.

I could still feel Kaelen’s eyes on me, hot and fierce, the tether between us vibrating with an energy I couldn’t name. But the moment was shredded when a deep, commanding voice cut through the air.

“Step away from her.”

It was Rhyven, Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack, and the one whose temper could set an entire forest ablaze if left unchecked. His tall frame moved like a storm toward us, dark eyes narrowed and shoulders squared as if he owned the very ground beneath his boots.

Kaelen didn’t move. His jaw tightened, that lethal calm in him becoming a wall. “You don’t give me orders, Rhyven. Not here. Not about her.”

My breath caught.

About her.

Me.

Before I could speak, the third shadow emerged from the trees—Lucian, Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack. His presence was different, colder, like frost creeping up glass. Where Rhyven burned with rage, Lucian was a blade of ice.

“Interesting,” Lucian said, his voice smooth but with a cutting edge. “The mighty Kaelen finally lets something slip past that iron self-control. But you’re forgetting something—she isn’t yours.”

Kaelen’s shoulders rose and fell once, slow and deliberate, as though he was weighing how much force it would take to break them both. “She’s not yours either.”

Rhyven’s lip curled. “She will be. She’ll choose the Alpha strong enough to protect her, not the one distracted by his own… flaws.”

It was like being caught between three storms. Each man stood like a pillar of dominance and danger, their power pressing against my chest until my lungs ached. My fingers curled into my palms as if that could steady me.

“I’m standing right here,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “Maybe you should stop speaking as if I’m some prize to pass around.”

Lucian’s gaze flicked to me, unreadable, then back to Kaelen. “She has spirit. I like that. But spirit alone doesn’t keep her safe.”

“You mean controlled,” I snapped.

The tension crackled, a live wire between them.

Rhyven took a step closer to Kaelen, his voice dropping into a growl. “If you think I’ll stand by while you—”

Kaelen cut him off with a sound that was half laugh, half snarl. “Stand by? You’ve been circling like a vulture, waiting for a moment to swoop in. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

“And you think you’re any different?” Lucian’s tone sharpened. “You’re both fools if you think she’ll be claimed without a fight.”

Something in me flared—fear, anger, maybe both. My voice trembled but held. “I won’t be claimed at all if it means tearing each other apart.”

Kaelen’s eyes softened for the briefest second when they met mine. But then Rhyven moved again, closing the distance until the space between them was a breath.

“She’ll choose strength,” Rhyven said, almost as if he was speaking to himself. “And strength is something I have more of than you, Kaelen.”

Lucian smirked faintly, as if already planning how to dismantle both of them without breaking a sweat. “Strength is nothing without strategy. You both fight like wolves, but I think like a hunter.”

Kaelen stepped forward, his voice like steel. “Try me.”

Before the first blow could land, I moved between them, my palms up, heart thundering in my ears. “Enough! You’re all supposed to be leaders, not children fighting over a bone!”

Their power pressed in again, but this time, I didn’t back down.

“You want to protect me?” I continued, my voice cracking with emotion. “Then stop making me feel like a war trophy. Stop trying to decide for me. Because the truth is, none of you can protect me from what’s coming if you’re too busy tearing each other apart.”

That made them pause—just enough for me to feel the shift in the air.

Lucian’s head tilted, calculating. “What’s coming?”

I bit my lip. I hadn’t meant to let that slip. The truth was, I could feel it—a darkness at the edge of my senses, something older than any Alpha here.

Kaelen’s gaze locked on mine, reading the truth there. “You know something.”

Rhyven’s voice dropped low, suspicion threading through it. “If you’re hiding danger from us—”

“I’m not hiding it,” I said, my voice firm. “I’m warning you. And maybe if you stopped acting like rivals for five seconds, you’d hear me.”

Silence settled for a beat.

Then Kaelen spoke, his voice rough but steady. “Whatever it is, we face it together. But you…”—his eyes swept over Rhyven and Lucian—“…stay out of my way.”

Rhyven’s eyes blazed, but Lucian only smiled thinly. “We’ll see.”

And just like that, the fragile pause shattered.