The First Call
380 Words
By the time Ryan and I crossed back into pack territory, my control was thinning.
Not chaotic.
Not wild.
Worse.
It was deliberate.
We stepped into the clearing.
Conversation stopped instantly.
Every wolf turned toward us.
And that was when it happened.
The air around me tightened.
Cracked.
A low, invisible pressure spread outward.
The ground beneath my feet fractured in thin spiderweb lines.
Gasps rippled through the pack.
A beta staggered backward.
“…Alpha…”
Ryan’s breathing changed.
His hand gripped my wrist, but not to restrain.
To anchor.
Because he felt it too.
The pull.
The dominance.
Not alpha.
Not omega.
Something else.
My wolf stood tall inside me.
And something darker stood beside her.
Ryan stepped closer.
Too close.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
But his voice wasn’t steady.
His eyes weren’t either.
For the first time since he rejected me…
Ryan looked shaken.
Not protective.
Not commanding
Shaken.
The pressure increased.
Not outward.
Downward.
Submission crawling along the spines of wolves who had never bowed to anyone but their alpha.
And even Ryan
Struggled to hold himself upright against it.
I didn’t mean for it to slip.
But the whisper left my lips anyway.
“…Ryan.”
He froze.
Completely.
Because apex power does not request.
It summons.
And Ryan had just felt the call.
Deep in the forest shadows, Selene watched the sky with quiet satisfaction.
A tall figure stepped from the darkness behind her.
“You pushed her,” the man said calmly.
Selene’s lips curved slightly.
“She was ready.”
“And the alpha?”
Selene’s silver eyes gleamed.
“He’s already losing control.”
A pause.
“And the king?” she asked.
The man’s answering chuckle was low.
Cold.
“Oh… he’s moving.”
Selene’s smile widened.
“Good.”
Because when kings hunt
They don’t come for prey.
They come for power.
Back in the clearing, Ryan’s hand slid slowly from my wrist.
Not because he wanted to let go.
Because he wasn’t sure if he should touch me at all.
The pack was staring.
Fear.
Confusion.
Recognition.
Something ancient had marked me tonight.
And somewhere beyond our borders…
A king had lifted his head.
King Lucian was now widely awake
And on the haunt for me
- Writer
