WHEN ALPHAS COLLIDE
1372 Words
The castle walls shook again.
Not from magic this time
but from him.
Rowan’s howl cut through the Shadow Court like a blade, raw and shaking at the edges.
It wasn’t a battle cry.
It wasn’t a challenge.
It was the sound of a wolf who had just realized what he lost.
Draven’s shoulders rolled back, muscles tightening as he shifted into full predator mode. His aura filled the chamber, heavy and electric, making the torches bow toward him.
“Stay behind me,” he growled again.
“I’m not a child,” I snapped, breathless. “I I need to talk to him.”
His golden eyes flashed dangerously.
“Talk? After what he did to you?”
I swallowed hard. “He deserves an explanation.”
“No,” Draven said sharply. “He deserves destruction.”
Before I could argue, the giant doors slammed open.
Rowan stood there breathing hard, chest heaving, eyes burning bright silver. His wolf was right under his skin, threatening to burst out.
But what stunned me wasn’t the anger.
It was the pain.
Real, heartbreaking pain carved into his face.
“Aurelia.”
His voice cracked. “Please come here.”
Draven stepped in front of me instantly.
Rowan’s eyes snapped to him. “Move.”
“No.” Draven’s voice dropped to lethal calm. “You rejected her. You don’t get to command anything anymore.”
Rowan’s jaw clenched so hard I heard the grind of his teeth.
“I made a mistake. I didn’t—”
He swallowed hard, throat tightening.
“I didn’t want to hurt you, Lia.”
My chest squeezed.
I hadn’t heard that nickname since we were kids.
Draven turned his head slightly, voice dripping with contempt.
“Touch her again, and your pack will be scraping your bones from my floor.”
Rowan let out a ragged laugh.
“You think I’m afraid of you?”
“No,” Draven said, stepping forward.
His aura slammed into Rowan like a wave—heavy, ancient, suffocating.
“You should be.”
Rowan staggered back a step before catching himself.
“Stop it!” I shouted, moving past Draven.
Both men froze.
Rowan’s gaze snapped to me, softening instantly.
“Lia…” He stepped forward, reaching out—hesitating mid-air when Draven growled.
“Please. Come home with me. We can fix this. I can fix this.”
“I can’t.”
My voice came out barely a whisper.
Rowan looked like I’d stabbed him.
“Because of him?” he spat, pointing at Draven.
“Because of everything,” I snapped. “You rejected me, Rowan. In front of everyone. You—”
“I was forced!” Rowan’s voice cracked.
“My Alpha demanded it. I didn’t have a choice.”
Draven scoffed. “You always have a choice. A real mate would rather die than reject her.”
Rowan snarled. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you’re weak,” Draven replied coldly.
Rowan charged.
It happened fast
Rowan leaping forward, Draven stepping in front of me, both men colliding in a swirl of claws and power.
Their wolves flashed beneath their skin—Rowan’s silver, Draven’s shadowy gold.
They slammed into a pillar, stone cracking under the force.
“STOP!” I screamed.
But neither listened.
Rowan landed a hit across Draven’s jaw.
Draven struck back, pinning him to the wall by the throat.
Rowan’s feet dangled inches off the ground.
“Enough,” Draven growled.
“You rejected her. She is mine.”
“She’ll never be yours,” Rowan choked out.
Draven’s grip tightened—
until I grabbed his arm.
“Draven, let him go!”
His eyes snapped to mine, glowing fiercely.
For a terrifying second, I didn’t know if he would listen.
Rowan struggled, gasping
Draven’s jaw clenched
Then slowly, he released him.
Rowan collapsed to the floor, coughing.
But even then, he pushed himself upright, eyes wet, voice shaking.
“Aurelia…”
He looked at me like I was his air.
“Please choose me.”
The room froze.
Draven’s fury radiated down the walls.
Rowan’s hope trembled fragile in the air.
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
“I—”
My voice broke.
The seer suddenly appeared at the doorway, her silver eyes blazing.
“Her choice will decide the fate of every realm.”
Draven turned toward her sharply.
Rowan looked at me in horror.
And I
I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
The air grew heavier.
So heavy I felt it press against my lungs.
The seer stepped further into the room, her staff tapping the floor once
and the entire chamber went silent.
Not quiet.
Silent.
Like every sound had been ripped out of the world.
Rowan stiffened.
Draven froze mid-step.
Even the torches stopped crackling, their flames turning unnaturally still.
I felt the hairs on my arms rise.
“Why did you stop them?” I whispered.
The seer didn’t look at me.
She looked through me.
“Because your power is reacting.”
My heart jolted. “Reacting to what?”
She turned her ghost-white gaze toward the two men.
“To them.”
Something inside my chest pulsed—once, hard.
Rowan flinched like he felt it.
Draven’s eyes sharpened.
Another pulse hit, hotter this time—spreading from my ribs to my fingertips like living fire.
“I my chest—” I gasped, grabbing at my shirt.
The seer raised her staff.
A circle of pale flame burst beneath my feet.
Rowan shouted my name.
Draven lunged toward me
And both were thrown back by an invisible force.
They hit opposite walls, coughing as magic snapped between us like lightning.
“What are you doing to her?” Draven snarled, trying to push forward.
He couldn’t.
Neither could Rowan.
The seer’s voice layered again, echoing unnaturally.
“This is not my doing. It is hers.”
“What’s happening to me?” I whispered, breath trembling.
The seer lifted her chin.
“Your soul is choosing.”
My blood turned cold.
Rowan’s eyes went wide pain, fear, something like desperation twisting his expression.
“Aurelia, don’t listen to her please, just look at me. I’m right here. I’m still yours.”
His voice hit me like an old wound reopening.
But then Draven spoke quietly, dangerously calm.
“Aurelia. Look at me.”
Despite everything, my head turned toward him.
His golden eyes weren’t angry anymore.
They were… aching.
“You are not theirs to control,” Draven said softly.
“Not the seer’s, not the prophecy’s, not even mine.”
He stepped forward again, pushing against the magic like it physically hurt him.
“You choose when you’re ready. Not when fate demands it.”
Something inside me cracked.
Rowan shook his head violently.
“No. No—Lia, listen to me. We grew up together. I know you. I love—”
The seer slammed her staff down.
The floor cracked like splitting ice.
“Silence, wolf.”
Rowan staggered, clutching his chest as if the command crushed his lungs.
Draven roared, slamming his fist into the barrier holding him back.
Golden lines spiderwebbed across the invisible wall.
“Break,” he growled. Magic flared around him. “Break—”
But it didn’t.
The seer stepped closer to me, her voice dropping low.
“Child of the First Queen… your bond does not form like others.”
Her gaze flicked toward Rowan.
“One path leads to ruin.”
She turned to Draven.
“The other to salvation.”
The invisible force around me tightened hot, suffocating, blinding.
I clutched my chest, gasping.
“I—I can’t breathe Draven Rowan—”
Both men shouted my name
And then everything exploded.
Not outward
inward.
Like something inside me shattered open.
Light burst from my skin white, violent, shaking the castle to its foundation.
Rowan shielded his eyes, shouting my name.
Draven dropped to one knee, jaw clenched, staring at me like he was watching a star collapse.
The seer whispered:
“Her awakening begins.”
My vision turned white
heat flooding my bones
and then darkness swallowed everything whole.
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