Chapter 2 The Beast king

Chapter Two: The Beast King

(Rudolf's POV – Expanded)

The air changed the moment he crossed into Silent Howl territory.

Too calm. Too polished. As if the trees themselves had been coached to look elegant, not wild. He hated that. The forest should be untamed. Like him.

Alpha Rudolf dismounted his black horse, his sharp gaze sweeping across the pack warriors lined up in tense formation. Every pair of eyes lowered. None dared to meet his.

Good.

"Beta," he growled without looking.

"Yes, Alpha," came a careful voice behind him. Lars. Loyal. Predictable. Boring.

"They've gathered the Luna prospects in the Hall," Lars continued, sensing his Alpha's tension. "All from noble bloodlines. All eligible."

"I didn't ask," Rudolf cut him off, his voice like steel wrapped in ice.

He strode toward the fortress, his long coat trailing behind him, and the warriors parted like the sea.

Inside, everything smelled too clean. Lavender. Honey. Rosewater.

Disgusting.

He hated the Luna Games. Hated being paraded in front of simpering females with painted faces and sharpened smiles. He didn't need a Luna. He needed dominance. Stability. Power.

Emotion was weakness.

Love was a leash.

Still, he stepped into the Moonfire Hall where the she-wolves waited, lined up like prey. Silks, perfumes, perfect hair-clones of ambition and desperation.

His wolf snarled inside him.

And then... it hit him.

A scent.

Not perfume. Not luxury.

Rain. Burnt wood. Blood. Purity.

His body tensed.

Rudolf turned slowly, eyes narrowing. The scent was faint-barely there. But his beast surged beneath his skin, clawing at him.

Mine.

Lars noticed his stillness. "Alpha?"

But Rudolf had already moved-past the desperate smiles, past the overpainted faces.

To the edge of the trees.

And then he saw her.

Half-hidden behind a crumbling pillar, her hair tangled, her dress ripped at the hem. No jewels. No makeup. Just bruises and bare feet.

But her eyes...

They met his with no fear.

Not submission.

Not hunger.

Fire.

His wolf howled so loudly within him it made his vision blur.

She didn't look like a Luna.

She looked like a survivor.

And every primitive, possessive instinct in him screamed one word-

Mine.

---