The Alpha's Rejected Mate Is Back For Revenge

*Chapter 3: First Blood*

*Chapter 3: First Blood*

The drumbeat was a heartbeat in my chest. Slow, heavy, relentless. Every wolf in the hall had stepped back, forming a perfect circle around Kael and me. The stone floor was cold under my feet, but my blood was fire.

Kael rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. He was taller than me, broader, and he’d been fighting in the pits for years while I was in hiding. He liked those odds.

“You sure about this, little Luna?” he taunted, dropping into a low stance. “You look like you’ll break.”

I didn’t answer with words.

I moved.

My wolf surged forward before my mind caught up. Silver flashed in my vision as I lunged low, aiming for his ribs. Kael sidestepped easily, his claws raking across my shoulder. Pain exploded down my arm, hot and sharp.

The crowd gasped.

“Is that all?” he growled, circling me. “Five years of running, and you’re still weak.”

He was right. I was weaker. But I wasn’t the same girl who ran.

I let the pain fuel me. I ducked under his next swing, drove my shoulder into his gut, and used his momentum to slam him to the ground. The impact shook the hall. For half a second, shock flickered in his golden eyes.

I straddled him, claws at his throat.

“Yield,” I said, my voice rough with wolf.

Kael bared his teeth. “Never.”

His fist connected with my jaw, snapping my head to the side. I tasted blood. He bucked, throwing me off, and we rolled across the stone, a blur of fur and fury.

Claw. Bite. Tear.

This wasn’t a clean fight. It was personal. Every strike was for the years he stole, for the pack he lied to, for the mate bond he tried to sever.

I felt ribs crack under my claws. He howled, but didn’t stop. Neither did I.

The moonlight streaming through the high windows seemed to brighten, pooling around us like a witness. The mark on my collarbone burned, and with it came strength I hadn’t felt in years.

I pinned him again, this time with my jaws locked around his forearm. Blood filled my mouth.

“Yield, Kael,” I said one last time. “For the pack.”

He stared up at me, defiant to the end. Then he spat in my face.

“Then kill me.”

I didn’t hesitate.

My claws found his heart.

Silence fell again. Heavier than before.

Kael’s body went limp beneath me. His eyes, once golden and cruel, were dull.

I stood, breathing hard, blood dripping from my claws. The hall was silent. No cheers. No jeers. Just watching.

I looked at the elders. At the warriors. At the pack.

“The Alpha is dead,” I said. “I am your Luna.”

No one moved.

Then, slowly, one elder dropped to one knee. Then another. Then the warriors.

“Luna,” they murmured. “Luna.”

The word echoed through the hall like a promise.

I had won. But the war wasn’t over.

Because outside these walls, the ones who helped Kael steal the throne were still out there.

And now they knew I was back.