Alpha's Luna

Chapter Eleven - Claiming Strength. Selene

They said Ironfang would cage me.

They weren’t wrong. The fortress walls loom like jagged teeth, iron bars across every gate, soldiers patrolling like wolves bred only for war. And yet here I am, in the center of the training grounds—doing the one thing I’ve been told, again and again, that women aren’t allowed to do.

Train.

“Hold it tighter,” I bark at Marla, a trembling Omega with freckles and hands too soft for the spear she’s clutching. “You’re not stirring a soup pot. You’re driving a point of iron into someone’s chest.”

Her eyes go wide. “B-but if the Alphas see—”

“Then they’ll faint from shock.” I grin and shove her arms into proper form. “Now stop whining and stab me before I die of boredom.”

The other two girls, Liora and Nessa, giggle nervously. Their laughter is so soft, it barely rises above the clatter of real warriors sparring across the yard.

Because that’s the truth of it. We’re surrounded by Ironfang males—giants with bared teeth and gleaming muscles—slamming each other into the dirt with growls that echo against the fortress stone. Every strike rings like thunder. Every grunt smells like blood. And not a single one of them even looks at us, because to them we’re invisible.

That invisibility is our weapon.

Theo, Kaine’s Beta, isn’t so easily fooled. He leans against a rack of swords, arms folded, gaze sharp as a blade. He hasn’t said a word yet, but his expression is clear enough: You shouldn’t be here.

Which, honestly, makes me smile wider.

I twirl my staff and smack it against the dirt with a c***k that makes the girls jump. “Again! Lunge forward, weight in your legs, not your wrists. You’ll snap your bones before you snap his neck if you keep flopping like fish.”

They try. They really do. But they’ve never been allowed to move like this before. They were raised to curtsy and bow, not thrust and strike. Every mistake they make is a reminder of how thoroughly domesticated they’ve been.

And every correction I give them is a reminder that I refuse to be.

By the time sweat drips down their foreheads, I’m grinning like a madwoman. My ribs still ache from yesterday’s spar, but the ache feels almost holy. Pain that proves I fought.

“Better,” I tell them, circling. “Not good, but better.”

A throat clears. Deep. Rough.

The sound threads down my spine before I even turn.

Kaine.

He stands at the edge of the yard, half in shadow, arms crossed over his bare chest. His storm-grey eyes pin me where I stand, unreadable but heavy, like he’s weighing my very existence in those cold irises.

The girls notice too. They falter instantly, spears wobbling, eyes wide with terror. Omegas aren’t supposed to draw an Alpha’s gaze—especially not this Alpha.

I refuse to flinch.

“Again!” I snap, louder this time, more for him than them. “Don’t stop just because a man walks in. You’ll stop when I say so.”

The girls scramble back into stance, cheeks flushed. I prowl among them, adjusting arms, kicking ankles into better position, forcing them forward again.

And all the while, Kaine watches.

His presence is like a storm cloud pressing down on my skin. My pulse betrays me, quickening, because all I can think of is the kiss—the one we’re both pretending didn’t happen. His mouth on mine, his breath hot, his growl vibrating against my chest. The way I didn’t push him away.

I shove the thought down like poison. Omegas aren’t allowed to fall. Especially not for their cages.

Theo pushes off the sword rack, finally stepping in. “Enough, Selene. You’ve had your fun. Before one of them faints from fear.”

“Fear makes you sharper,” I shoot back, twirling my staff. “Maybe you should let me teach your recruits, since you’re clearly too soft.”

That earns a ripple of laughter from the girls—quickly smothered when Theo glares.

His mouth twists. “You think you can fight, Omega? Then fight me.”

I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t. But the words are out before I can stop them: “Gladly.”

Gasps all around. Even the warriors nearby pause their sparring to glance over. Omegas don’t challenge Betas. Omegas aren’t supposed to challenge anyone.

But I plant my feet anyway, staff firm in my grip.

Theo doesn’t go easy on me. The first clash sends shockwaves up my arms, my staff shuddering under his strength. He presses forward with relentless strikes, testing me, mocking me. I dodge once, twice, then catch his blow and shove back with a snarl.

For a moment, I think I’ve surprised him. For a moment, pride surges hot in my chest.

Then he sweeps my legs, and I crash to the dirt with a cry. Pain flares white across my ribs.

“Selene!” the girls shriek.

I clutch my side, gasping, and push to rise anyway. “I’m fine—”

I’m not.

Before I can stand, Kaine is there. A blur of muscle and fury, his growl ripping through the air so violently even Theo flinches.

He seizes the Beta’s staff and snaps it clean in half like kindling. “Enough.” His voice is lethally quiet, the kind that makes grown wolves tremble.

Theo bows his head instantly. “Alpha—”

“Out.”

Theo retreats, shame painted across his face.

And then Kaine’s hands are on me.

Big, rough hands that should bruise but don’t. He hauls me up, brushing dirt from my cheek, pressing fingers to my ribs with terrifying gentleness. His jaw clenches, storm-grey eyes blazing with something raw.

“Did he break you?” he demands. His voice is gravel, low and dangerous.

Heat floods me—confusion, anger, longing all tangled. “I’m not glass,” I whisper, though my breath hitches when his thumb grazes my skin.

His eyes snap to mine. For one heartbeat, the yard, the warriors, the fortress—everything disappears. It’s just me and him, locked in that dangerous silence, the ghost of our kiss burning between us.

He doesn’t move. Neither do I. My heart slams against my ribs so hard it hurts. If he leans in—if I let him—

“Alpha!”

The spell shatters.

Rina struts across the yard, hips swaying like she owns the place, charms jingling in her tangled braids. Her grin is wicked, her voice dripping with playful urgency.

“I need you,” she sings. “Alone. Urgent business.”

Kaine jerks back from me like I burned him, his hand dropping from my ribs.

The absence scorches worse than the pain.

He doesn’t even glance at me as he turns and follows her, storm-cloud presence vanishing in her wake.

I stand frozen in the dirt, fists clenched, ribs aching, pride bleeding.

Not at her. Not even at him. At myself.

For almost wanting him to stay. What the hell is up with me. Why am I attracted to him?