She had a point. But the conditioning of three years as Dominic's Luna was hard to shake. The constant worry about appearances, about being proper, about what people would say.
"Come on," Maya said, tugging me toward the door. "Let's go before Kael sends out a search party."
The Crescent Moon training grounds were impressive a large outdoor space with sparring rings, an obstacle course, and weight equipment that looked like it belonged in a professional gym. At least thirty pack members were already warming up, their voices and laughter filling the morning air.
Kael stood in the center of the main ring, shirtless and magnificent, demonstrating a grappling technique with his Beta, Liam.
Sweat gleamed on his skin, his muscles flexing with each movement, the tattoos on his ribs and arms seeming to move like living art.
Dear Moon Goddess, that should be illegal.
"You're drooling," Maya whispered, giggling.
"I am not" I started, but then Kael looked up and saw me. His entire face transformed, the serious Alpha instructor melting into something softer, warmer.
He vaulted over the ring ropes with effortless grace and strode toward me, and I suddenly understood what prey felt like when being stalked by a predator.
"You came," he said, stopping just close enough that I could smell cedar and pine and the clean scent of his exertion.
"I said I would."
"I know. But I was half-convinced you'd change your mind." His eyes traced over me, assessing, and I saw approval flash through them. "You look ready to kick some ass."
"Or get my ass kicked," I said wryly. "I haven't trained in years. I'm going to be terrible at this."
"Then we'll start slow." He offered me his hand, and I took it, ignoring the whispers that followed us as he led me to a private section of the training grounds. "Today's just basics.
Learning how to fall without hurting yourself, basic defensive positions, that sort of thing. Nothing too intense."
"Are you sure? I don't want special treatment just because"
"Because we're friends?" He raised an eyebrow. "Because I care about you? Because the thought of you getting hurt makes my wolf want to murder everyone in a ten-mile radius?"
My breath caught. "Kael"
"Relax." His lips curved into that devastating smile. "I give all beginners individual attention for the first few sessions. It's standard practice. The fact that you're also someone I'm" He paused, searching for the right word. "Someone I'm interested in is just a bonus."
Interested in. Such simple words that made my heart race.
"Okay," I said, trying to sound casual and probably failing miserably. "Teach me how not to break my face when I inevitably get knocked on my ass."
The next hour was equal parts frustrating and exhilarating. Kael was patient but demanding, correcting my stance and positioning with gentle hands and clear instructions. He showed me how to tuck and roll, how to protect my head, how to fall in a way that distributed impact.
By the time we moved on to basic defensive blocks, I was sweating and sore and more alive than I'd felt in years.
"Good," Kael said as I successfully blocked his slow-motion punch for the fifth time. "Now faster."
He increased his speed, and I scrambled to keep up, my blocks getting sloppier as adrenaline kicked in. He was pulling his punches I could tell but it still felt real enough to trigger my fight-or-flight response.
"Don't just react," he instructed, circling me slowly. "Anticipate. Watch my shoulders, my hips. The body telegraphs movement before the limbs follow through."
I focused, trying to read him, and managed to block the next three strikes with more precision.
"Better. Again."
We went through the sequence five more times until my arms were shaking with fatigue.
"That's enough for today," Kael said, grabbing two water bottles from a cooler.
"You did well. Better than I expected for someone who claims they haven't trained in years."
"My father started training me when I was six," I said, gratefully accepting the water. "He used to say that Alpha blood didn't mean anything if you didn't have the skills to back it up."
Something flickered across Kael's face. "Your father was a smart man. I'm sorry you lost him so young."
"Me too." I took a long drink, the cold water heavenly against my parched throat. "He would have never let me marry Dominic if he'd lived. He would have seen right through him."
"But you wouldn't be here now," Kael said quietly. "You wouldn't have learned what you don't want. What you do want. Who you really are beneath all the expectations and conditioning."
"Is that your way of saying my disastrous marriage was a learning experience?"
"Maybe." His lips twitched. "Too optimistic?"
"A little." But I was smiling. Because he was right, in a way. I'd lost myself in that marriage, but I was finding someone stronger in the wreckage. "Thank you. For this. For training me, for letting me stay here, for"
"Elara." He stepped closer, his hand coming up to cup my face. "You don't have to thank me for treating you like you matter. That should be the baseline, not the exception."
My heart was thundering now, my wolf purring under his touch. "Then thank you for showing me what the baseline should be. For making me realize I was settling for crumbs when I deserved the whole feast."
His eyes darkened, his thumb brushing across my lower lip. "And what do you want now? Now that you know you deserve more?"
You, I almost said. I want you.
But before I could form the words, a howl split the air the warning call of perimeter patrol.
Kael's entire body went rigid, his Alpha instincts taking over. "Get to the pack house. Now."
"What's wrong"
"NOW, Elara!" His Alpha voice cracked like a whip, and my wolf automatically obeyed, my feet moving before my brain caught up.
I ran toward the pack house with Maya and several other she-wolves, my heart pounding with adrenaline and fear. Behind us, I heard Kael shouting orders, wolves shifting, the organized chaos of a pack preparing for a threat.
We'd just made it inside when Liam burst through the doors, his face grim.
"It's Steele Pack," he said, and my blood went cold. "A dozen warriors at our southern border. They're demanding entry and claiming Dominic has legal grounds to reclaim his mate."
"What?" I gasped. "He signed the papers! The bond is severed! He has no claim"
"Apparently he's challenging the legitimacy of the breaking ceremony." Liam's eyes were sympathetic but worried. "He's claiming you were coerced, that you weren't in your right mind, and that as your mate he has the right to verify your wellbeing."
"That's insane! I was perfectly sane! I" I stopped, my mind racing. "This is about control. He can't stand that I left, that I'm happy, that I'm moving on. So he's inventing reasons to drag me back."
"He's not getting anywhere near you," Maya said fiercely. "Kael won't allow it."
"Kael might not have a choice." Liam ran a hand through his hair. "If Dominic has documentation, if he can prove grounds for challenging the ceremony, pack law says he has the right to a hearing."
"A hearing?" I felt sick. "So what, I have to defend my decision to leave him? Prove I wasn't crazy for wanting out?"
"Not you. Kael does. As the Alpha who granted you sanctuary, he's responsible for verifying that you weren't coerced or manipulated into breaking your mate bond."
This was a nightmare. This was exactly what Dominic wanted to humiliate me, to force Kael to defend giving me shelter, to make me doubt my choices and come crawling back.
"Where is he?" I asked, straightening my spine. "I want to see him."
"Elara, that's not a good idea"
"I don't care." My Alpha blood was singing now, righteous fury replacing fear. "If he wants to play games, fine. But he's going to do it to my face, not through legal loopholes and technicalities."
Liam and Maya exchanged glances.
"She's right," Maya said finally. "This is about her. She should be there."