Dahlia’s POV
We better not fucking lose this match, I snapped at Blue through our mental link.
“Oh, don’t you worry, girlfriend. We’ve got this!” she chirped back confidently.
Her reassurance eased the tension coiling in my chest, but only slightly. Losing wasn’t an option-not when the reward involved tormenting the twins. That alone was enough to make me dig my heels in. But deeper than that was the uneasy curiosity gnawing at me. If they got me alone in the showers… I wasn’t entirely sure I’d resist begging them to ruin me completely.
Not that I didn’t want them to. I did-desperately. But I wasn’t ready to face what that meant. I knew exactly how they’d take it, and I wasn’t prepared for that conversation.
So yeah, bottom line-we better not fucking lose.
As we stepped onto the training field, the buzz in the air confirmed what I’d feared: word of my challenge to Liam had spread. The entire pack had shown up for the spectacle. My stomach twisted at the sight.
My heart kicked into overdrive, and I knew the twins heard it when Logan chuckled low beside me.
A glance at Liam revealed he looked a shade too pale, his eyes narrowed, mouth set in a rigid line as he scanned the crowd.
Was he… actually nervous? The thought should’ve comforted me. It didn’t.
“Relax, sweetie,” Blue purred smoothly. “I have a plan. Just let me out when I say so.”
You better know what you’re doing, I muttered, trying not to let my doubt bleed through.
I was so consumed in thought, I didn’t realize the twins were no longer beside me. Liam had moved to the sparring ring, warming up with Logan and Nikolai. I started stretching alone when-
Bam!
I was tackled from both sides, landing in the grass with a thud.
Laughter.
Amara and Thalassa.
I barely stopped myself from reacting on instinct and breaking a few bones.
“What are you two doing up this early?” I arched a brow at them. Neither of you does early mornings.
“Oh please,” Thalassa scoffed. “You didn’t think we’d miss the Alpha getting his ass handed to him, did you?”
“Let’s hope that’s exactly what happens,” I murmured under my breath.
“We’re counting on you. Every female in this pack is counting on you. No pressure.” Amara winked with a casual shrug.
Fantastic. Liam had to call me tiny-a serious trigger-and of course, I had to respond like a hotheaded lunatic. Now there was no backing down.
Time to face the music.
I marched toward the sparring ring, spine straight, chin high-radiating more confidence than I felt.
Nikolai wrapped me in a bear hug the moment I reached him, lifting me right off the ground.
“There’s our badass little Luna,” he murmured just for me.
Two twin growls echoed beside us.
Nikolai instantly set me down, hands raised in mock surrender. “Chill, Alphas. I’d never lay a hand on your girl. Besides, I’ve got my eye on a different pretty little she-wolf.”
My head snapped up, curiosity piqued. Who?
But then something else caught my attention.
Bastian stood off to the side, smiling faintly at Nikolai’s antics-but his eyes betrayed something else. Sadness? Pain? Whatever it was, it didn’t match the smile on his face.
Before I could dwell on it-
“Shall we get this over with so we can enjoy our shower?” Liam’s breath was warm against my ear, snapping me back to the moment.
“You’ve no idea how much I’m looking forward to that shower,” I smirked at him.
“Let’s do this!”
Nikolai stepped up, voice booming over the murmurs of the crowd.
“Welcome to warrior training, Blood Moon Pack! For those of you at the pack house dinner last night, you already know we’re kicking off with an exhibition match between Alpha Liam and our guest, Dahlia Sterling from Crystal Moon. For those who missed it, clearly word got out anyway. Now that I see you’re capable of waking up early, I expect to see all of you here tomorrow, ready to train!”**
A ripple of nervous laughter swept through the crowd.
“Without further delay-let’s begin!”
Liam and I squared off, each dropping into a fighting stance. I pulled Blue forward, letting her hover just beneath the surface as she began to whisper her strategy.
I could feel Liam waiting for me to move first-a classic trap. Normally, I wouldn’t bite. But Blue insisted.
I sprinted forward, full speed, stopping just shy of his reach.
As Liam lunged, hands outstretched-
I vaulted.
A standing front flip right over his head.
I landed behind him and didn’t waste a second. I swept my leg under his, knocking him off balance, then twisted and drove my elbow into his back.
His breath whooshed out as he hit the ground face-first.
The crowd gasped.
Logan’s voice rang out. “Shit, get up, bro!”
“Now!” Blue barked in my mind.
Without hesitation, I shifted-fur replacing skin, instincts sharpening as I let her take full control.
My wolf surged forward and clamped her jaws gently around Liam’s neck. A dominant move, laced with warning-but without true harm.
We had made our point.
“Stay down, Tigre,” she commanded, her voice low and firm. “I’d hate to ruin that beautiful neck of yours.”
I could feel Liam beneath us, muscles straining as he tried to push himself up off the ground-but something wasn’t right. He didn’t have the strength. That alone was baffling. A hit like the one we landed shouldn’t have kept him down for long. In a real fight, he’d have bounced back already. At worst, he might’ve been a little winded, but nothing he couldn’t heal from in seconds. And it’s not like we were in a position to do any real damage-certainly not enough to end the fight.
“What the hell is going on, Blue?” I demanded, pushing against her control, trying to move forward.
“Not yet, querida,” she replied calmly. “Once he surrenders, I’ll give you back control. I promise-I’ll explain everything.”
As if on cue, Liam slammed his hand against the ground-tapping out. The moment hit like a thunderclap. I could feel his emotions crashing into me all at once: confusion, humiliation, frustration… and a flicker of fear.
Damn. That wasn’t what I wanted. I hadn’t even fully understood what this was.
Blue released him and stepped back, letting him breathe. He rolled onto his back slowly, like he wasn’t sure if his limbs would obey him. For a full minute, he just lay there, drawing in deep breaths. Then he turned his head and looked my wolf square in the eyes.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked, voice tight.
I wanted to shift back, but my clothes had been shredded during the transformation, and I wasn’t keen on flashing the entire pack-even if they were silent as statues. Luckily, Nikolai stepped forward, peeled off his T-shirt, and held it out. I padded over, took it in my jaws, and trotted toward the nearest tree for cover.
“Okay, Blue-spill. Now,” I demanded as we moved away.
“I told him to stay down,” she said simply, “and I asked the earth to hold him there.”
“You what?” I shouted, nearly tripping over my own paws.
She didn’t even flinch. “We’re different. We can command our mates… and we can speak to nature’s spirits.”
I stumbled in my stride. “Wait-what? You’re just dropping this on me now?”
“That’s all I know,” she admitted with a shrug I could somehow feel. “You told me we had to win, and it was like… instinct. Like the knowledge had been waiting inside me all along.”
“Oh gods… this is bad. This is really bad,” I muttered.
“I don’t get it,” she said, sounding genuinely confused. “We won. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Blue,” I said carefully, “how would you feel if one of the Alphas used their command voice on us?”
She growled without hesitation. “Exactly,” I snapped. “We’d lose our damn minds. Even though it wouldn’t work on us-not as their mate-we’d still be furious. But our command? It did work. Liam had no choice but to submit. Do you understand how that’s going to sit with him?”
A heavy silence followed. Then a quiet, “Shit. We really messed up,” escaped her. I didn’t rub it in. She already sounded crushed.
With a resigned sigh, I stepped out from behind the tree, pulling Nikolai’s shirt down as far as it would stretch.
“Well, no point dragging it out. Time to face the music.”
The crowd was already dispersing, pack members whispering among themselves as I made my way back. My mates were standing where I’d left them, the very image of composed fury. Their expressions were polite, but the tension rolling off them could’ve dropped a charging bull. They were thanking everyone for attending, dismissing them with a calm that felt more threatening than anything else.
“I’m-” I began, but Logan cut me off with a curt shake of his head. His eyes flickered with something-concern, maybe-but I wasn’t sure it was for me. The air between us was thick enough to choke on.
“Let’s continue this in private, little wolf,” Liam said, his voice a velvet-wrapped blade.
“O-okay,” I stammered.
Each of them grabbed one of my arms, and without another word, marched me off the field and into the house. They didn’t stop until we were behind the closed door of my bedroom. The lock clicked, sealing us in.
I turned to face them, heart pounding.