Chapter 7 — The Pack’s Judgment
868 Words
The growl didn’t fade.
It multiplied.
Low. Layered. Dozens of voices blending into something primal and dangerous just beyond the door.
Selene stilled completely.
She could feel them now—clearly.
Not just their presence.
Their intent.
Hostility.
Bloodlust.
Hatred sharpened by instinct.
Her lips curved faintly.
Cold.
Deadly.
“They’ve made their decision,” she said.
Kael didn’t look at her.
His gaze remained fixed on the door, his entire body coiled tight, every muscle prepared for violence.
“They don’t get to decide,” he said.
Selene tilted her head slightly.
“Don’t they?”
A heavy impact struck the door.
Once.
Then again.
Wood splintered.
The hinges groaned.
“They know what you are,” Kael said, his voice low. “And they know what you carry.”
Another hit.
Stronger.
Cracks spread across the surface.
Selene rose slowly from the bed.
Ignoring the pain.
Ignoring the weakness clawing through her body.
If they were coming for her—
She would not meet them lying down.
“They’re right to fear it,” she said.
Kael’s head snapped toward her.
“It’s unnatural.”
Silence hit harder than the blows on the door.
Kael took a step toward her.
Dangerous.
Controlled.
“Say that again.”
Selene met his gaze without hesitation.
“It should not exist.”
The words were sharp.
Deliberate.
A test.
Something in Kael broke.
The door shattered.
It exploded inward under the force of the wolves outside.
Splinters tore through the air as massive bodies flooded into the room—shifting mid-motion, claws extending, eyes glowing with fury.
They stopped when they saw her.
A beat of silence.
Then—
Chaos.
“She’s here!”
“Kill her!”
“End it before it grows!”
They lunged.
Selene moved instantly.
Even weakened, she was lethal.
Shadow lashed outward, slamming into the first wolf and throwing him across the room with bone-crushing force.
Another came from the side—
Too fast.
Too many.
Pain tore through her again as she twisted, barely avoiding a set of claws that sliced through the air where her throat had been.
Her movements were slower now.
Not by much—
But enough.
Kael saw it.
Rage exploded out of him.
“STOP!”
The command hit like thunder.
Alpha.
Absolute.
Unforgiving.
The room froze.
Every wolf stilled instinctively.
Bodies locked mid-motion.
Breaths heavy.
Eyes burning.
Kael stepped forward.
Positioning himself between them—
And her.
Selene went still behind him.
The shift in the room was immediate.
Palpable.
Shocking.
“You stand between us and that thing?” one of the wolves growled.
Kael didn’t turn.
Didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”
The word landed like a war declaration.
“You’ve lost your mind,” another snapped. “That’s the Vampire Queen.”
“I know exactly who she is.”
“And what she carries!”
Silence.
Heavy.
Explosive.
Kael’s shoulders tightened.
“I know.”
The admission sent a ripple through the pack.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Fury.
“And you still protect her?” the first wolf demanded.
Kael turned then.
Slowly.
His gaze swept across them—cold, dominant, unyielding.
“I protect what’s mine.”
The words struck harder than any blow.
Behind him—
Selene froze.
Her breath caught.
The bond surged.
Violent.
Unrelenting.
“No,” one of the wolves snarled. “That is not yours. That is a threat.”
Kael stepped forward.
Power rolled off him in waves.
Dominance pressing down hard enough to force weaker wolves back a step.
“Then you’re calling my judgment into question.”
Silence.
Dangerous.
The challenge was clear.
Unmistakable.
The largest of them stepped forward.
Older.
Stronger.
Scarred.
“Alpha,” he said, voice steady despite the tension, “we are calling this what it is. A mistake.”
Kael’s eyes darkened.
“That ‘mistake’ is my mate.”
A collective snarl rippled through the room.
“And that thing inside her?” the wolf pressed.
Kael didn’t look away.
“Mine.”
Selene’s hand tightened at her side.
Her body reacted again—
Heat.
Pulse.
Something dangerously close to… response.
“This ends now,” the wolf said.
He lunged.
Kael moved faster.
He didn’t hold back.
Didn’t hesitate.
Didn’t warn.
He hit him hard enough to send him crashing into the far wall.
Bone cracked.
The sound echoed.
The room exploded again.
But this time—
It wasn’t directed at her.
It was him.
They attacked their Alpha.
Selene watched—
Still.
Silent.
As everything broke.
Kael fought like something unleashed.
Not controlled.
Not measured.
Brutal.
Dominant.
Absolute.
He didn’t just defend.
He overpowered.
Forced them back.
One by one.
Until the room fell into heavy, strained silence again.
No one moved.
No one dared.
Kael stood in the center.
Breathing hard.
Blood on his skin.
Eyes glowing.
“Anyone else?” he asked.
No one answered.
Because they understood now.
This wasn’t a disagreement.
This was law.
Kael turned back to Selene.
And the moment their eyes met—
Everything shifted again.
Because now—
There was no doubt left.
He had chosen.
And that choice—
Would start a war far worse than the one outside.
- Writer
