Challenge [noun] - a call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength.

author's note: enjoy! updates from now will be weekly but of course will update more if chapters are ready!

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Her words felt like a punch to the gut.

The hall slowly fell silent and Kane was swift to take control of the situation.

"This was before I found my mate." He stepped in front of me and his body shielded me from seeing anyone's expressions, including hers. "The pack needed a luna, and I thank you for agreeing to take that duty upon yourself but it wasn't meant to be. Not after I found the rightful luna."

I stared blankly at his back. A multitude of emotions were coursing through me. Shock, anger...regret. Yesterday, his main concern had been me denying us a chance of being mates yet he had a luna picked and ready for him.

I left my best friends, my pack and my parents to join him. At the thought of Levi, my throat tightened. How was it fair that he had been humiliated by Kane in front of everyone because he had his arm around me when Kane had someone waiting for him too?

I felt humiliated now, standing there behind him as another woman contested my title. A title I had been willing to give up.

"And you know she's the rightful luna how?" Celeste sharply responded. "You have nothing on your wrist—look."

I acted on instinct when I stepped out from behind him and stopped her from touching him. My hand gripped her wrist and I forcefully moved it away. The rank difference was clear between us. She was a common wolf and even if I wasn't the official luna yet, I had beta blood running through my veins.

I squared my shoulders and held my head up. All I wanted was to be alone but I couldn't let her undermine me in front of the whole pack. This must've been how Kane felt with Levi.

"What's on his wrist is none of your concern." I kept my gaze on hers, waiting for her to back down.

"It's all of our concern," she spat, vitriol in her eyes. "For all we know, you could be Leander and Eryx's master plan. A plant to take us down again from the inside."

The growl vibrated in my chest and I took another step forward. There were gasps around the hall and Kane silenced them but the doubt had been planted and the damage had been done. It seemed that the way they felt about my pack was the way my pack felt about theirs.

"She's my mate," Kane reiterated firmly. "I knew that from the second we touched."

I was watching Celeste closely. The accusation had triggered a carnal part of me. She had attacked my honour. I no longer felt humiliated—I was furious.

"And you don't question how that's possible when for the past four years, you were convinced that you had no mate?" she glanced at Kane past my shoulder and when her gaze returned to me, it was cold. "How did you do it then?"

We were almost nose to nose and I growled again. "You may doubt my luna title but I'm still a beta. Watch the way you speak to me."

Her nose pressed against mine in challenge. "You can't be the luna. I don't trust you."

I forcefully pushed her away from me and she steadied herself after she stumbled back. Her reflexes confirmed for me why I thought Kane had chosen her. She was one of his warriors.

The challenge flashed in her eyes and when her eyes turned black, it was clear that she was initiating a fight between us. She wanted to fight for the title of luna.

"Celeste," Kane's tone was tinged with anger. "Don't do this. The decision was made only last month. There's no need for it if she's with me."

She growled in response. "I stick by my decision to protect this pack."

With that, she launched at me. Her clothes tore as she shifted into her wolf. My fighting instinct kicked in when I bent backwards so she leapt over me. Her claws scratched against the floor as she tried to slow her speed. She skidded across it and growled, determined to get me.

I saw Kane step forward to intervene and I growled as I yanked my jacket off. "You owe me, Kane." I let him teach Levi his lesson. I knew it was time for me to teach Celeste hers.

The carnal urge to defend my title and honour paired with the mate bond and possessiveness over Kane filled me with a sense of rage that was blinding. I shifted and we clashed in the air. This was worse than Kane and Levi. They hadn't shifted and Kane displayed a sense of restraint that no one could have in wolf form. We had collided as pure animals.

We slammed into the ground and I quickly got her under me. The claws of her hind legs scratched my underbelly and she kicked me off her with all her might. She was strong and quick but I had more experience under my belt. Beta wolves were trained with alphas and all the summers I had spent training with Alpha Eryx's son, Orion, before he left weren't for nothing. I clamped my canines into her shoulder, forcing her down as her blood seeped into my mouth.

She yelped as the pain forced her head down to the ground. I held her in a precarious position and slammed my paw down on her neck. I released her shoulder and growled in warning, demanding her submission. She protested against me but I put more weight on her. Her growl stopped in the middle of her throat and she quickly ceased moving when she realised I had the upper hand. I growled again and she reluctantly tilted her head away from me, willingly baring her neck to me.

I lifted my paw and took a step back, looking up. It was painfully silent and horrified young eyes looked into mine. The children were scared and I regretted that, in my anger, I had forgotten they were there. I sensed mixed emotions from the rest of the pack. Acceptance, disbelief, mistrust. I turned to look at Kane and the pride was clear in his eyes. I had proven my strength and defended my title.

He stepped towards me and his fingers dug into my fur, caressing my neck. He then lifted his hand and pulled his sleeve up, showing the entire pack and Celeste his wrist. Some gasped and Celeste whimpered, unable to lift herself off the ground.

"She's mine," he declared, glancing at me. "And she's your luna because we're mates. Not because of anything else."

Finn, his beta, was the first to lower himself onto his knee. Carmen followed him, then Lachlan and Moira. That was all that was needed for the rest of the pack to follow suit and demonstrate their acceptance of me. The relief flooded through me and I bowed my head, graciously showing my gratitude.

Kane had publicly accepted me as his luna in front of my pack, and he did it again in front of his own. When he lowered himself onto his knee, I couldn't look away from him. In wolf form, all our senses were heightened and I could see the specks of golden yellow in his amber eyes.

He gave me what I hadn't been able to give him when he slowly leaned forward and placed his forehead against mine. We stayed still for a long moment until I tasted the remnants of Celeste's blood in my mouth. I padded over to my jacket and pushed it in Kane's direction with my muzzle.

He caught on to what I wanted and addressed the pack again. "It's best if we end the party here. I apologise for the scene in front of the children." He glanced at Celeste and frowned. "I hope we've learned that nothing good comes from challenging a higher-ranking wolf."

Celeste finally pushed herself up weakly but she stood lopsided since she couldn't put weight on her left side. She was wounded, physically and mentally, and seemed embarrassed. My name on his wrist confirmed to everyone, especially her, that I was his true mate.

I turned away from her and walked out onto the snow. Now that the adrenaline and anger had subsided, my back felt bruised from where we slammed into the ground and the skin of my underbelly was stinging. I forced the pain away as Kane followed after me. His touch was soothing as he stroked my fur gently.

The mate pull brought us closer and I rubbed my head against his hands and legs. It was a deep urge to leave my scent all over him so everyone knew he was mine. It was a foreign feeling but I let myself feel it in that moment. He chuckled and dug his fingers into my fur again.

"Let's get you home."

I didn't protest and followed him silently back to his house. I tracked snow onto the stairs as we went to the bathroom. He brought the water to my mouth so I could rinse it out. Once I got the taste of her blood out, I trotted up to my bedroom. He stayed outside the door and closed it behind me. I shifted back and reached for some clothes in my suitcase. I caught sight of my reflection and winced at the nasty bruise that spanned down my back. I turned around and noticed the scratch marks on my stomach. They were superficial but that didn't mean that they didn't hurt.

I slowly pulled a shirt on and settled on a pair of joggers. I had to stop shifting with clothes on. I ruined my favourite pair of jeans. I sighed as I pulled the door open and allowed Kane in.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, stepping closer to me.

I turned and climbed onto my bed. The effect of my morning coffee was wearing off and after exerting myself in the fight, all I wanted was to sleep. "I don't know," I replied honestly. My mind was racing about what had happened and all the emotions it had brought to the surface. Shock, anger, sadness.

He hesitantly took a seat at the foot of my bed. "Celeste and I were never in a relationship," he began to explain. "There was pressure on me to pick a luna because I'm the last of the six to have one and it could be taken as a sign of weakness."

It made sense. A pack without a luna was incomplete and I was sure that four years without one would embolden any enemy. I wasn't sure if Leander would stick to the treaty if Kane showed any sign of weakness. He was also the only alpha without children and that didn't fare well for any pack's future.

The jealousy crept up on me at the thought of him picking Celeste. "A common wolf?"

"She's one of the best fighters." He cracked a small smile. "But not better than you."

I laughed involuntarily. "I'm upset, Kane. Don't make me laugh."

His hand was warm when he placed it on my ankle. It set my whole body alight and I shivered. "No one is better for me or this pack than you, Rina."

I stared at him, feeling the mate bond strengthen with his words and touch.  I couldn't shake what I felt at the thought of being so easily replaceable. Even if he had never met me, he had believed Celeste would have been a suitable luna. "After everything that happened between us, I can't believe you didn't want to stick with the easier option."

I hated the insecurity I felt. It was like I had whiplash. Why was it still so painful to think about even though I had won the fight?

I knew it was because the most vulnerable part of my heart had been struck at the thought that the one thing I had wanted for so long was almost taken from me. I didn't want to think about them together.

He shook his head. "Being with anyone but you is not an option, Rina. Everything that happened proved that, that what we have—"

"What do we have, Kane?" my throat was beginning to tighten and I spoke quietly. "I have a mate who I'm trying not to fear, who makes me wonder when I'm going to feel safe enough to sleep under the same roof as him." His hand fell from my ankle but the anguish in my heart and lack of sleep fuelled me to keep going. "You made me watch you beat my best friend unconscious and maybe what he did was wrong but I wasn't allowed to say goodbye to him because you did and I don't know if he'll ever speak to me again. And now I've fought a member of your pack and I'm sure the children are scared of me. I feel like things have been taken from me and now I've learnt that you didn't need me at all."

I tried to control my breathing but the tears came despite my efforts. I felt like all I was doing was trying not to cry.

Kane was silent for a long time. His gaze was on mine, focused and intense. His composed expression had shattered and in its place was a deep frown. "What do you want me to do, Rina?"

I forced my gaze away from his and sighed. "I don't know, Kane."

It was like there was an expanse between us and I felt the progress our hug had caused was unravelling.

"I tried to choose another luna. I held off for four years and a week before I did something irreversible, your name was burned into my wrist. As if to tell me that you—we are a part of each other no matter what. We need each other and God knows I want you, Rina, but I can't make you want me back."

My heart twisted painfully. "I want to want you, Kane. I'm not trying to hurt you."

"I'm not trying to hurt you either." He came closer and his knee knocked against my foot. "What you did when you first met me in human form. Do you still want to do that?"

I shook my head. "Of course not."

"Then why can't you believe me when I say I don't either?" his eyebrows lowered. "I never did, Rina. I can't explain what happened any more than you can. But we need to start trusting each other if we want to make this work."

I sighed and wiped my face with the back of my fingers. I didn't want him to explain it because I didn't want to either. It would do irreparable damage to our bond if he knew that I had genuinely wanted him dead and the reason why.

I took a deep breath in and winced when my back protested at the action.

His eyebrows furrowed in concern. "You're hurt," he stated.

I reached behind me and slid my hand down my upper back. "It's just bruised. I need to sleep it off."

His frown deepened and he climbed onto the bed properly to sit beside me. "Let me see."

I yearned to be closer to him, to feel what I had felt when we had hugged in the kitchen. I tugged the collar of my shirt down so he could see a part of it. His fingers gently brushed over my skin and I sighed in relief as the pain lessened. I looked at him over my shoulder and my heart began to race at his proximity.

He was so handsome.

My gaze lowered to his rosy lips. I ached to feel them against mine until my eyes unwillingly closed. I forced them open and he noticed.

"You haven't slept, have you?" his breath caressed my face and I inhaled gently. I shook my head sleepily.

He lifted his hand and softly tucked my hair behind my ear. I leaned my head towards him but it was getting harder to keep it up. He slowly lay down and pulled me with him.

I breathed out in protest. "Kane, I can't sleep."

"You can and you will." His arms slowly came around me and he rested my head on his chest.

Our legs tangled and I soon realised I didn't want to move. "Okay."

His hands gently rubbed up and down my back to soothe the pain away and I sank into his embrace as he spoke again. "Let me prove to you that you're safe with me, Rina."