Kaldrek lifted a brow, and she knew she had his attention. She let the silence stretch between them, making sure he felt the heat of her stare.
“Evelyne?” His eyes darkened.
“So tell me, Kaldrek… who keeps you warm at night? Do you have a mate?” Evelyne’s voice was smooth with false confidence. Inside, she was shaking. She’d never pushed this far before.
For just a second, his body stiffened, like she’d caught him off guard. His lips parted slightly, surprise flickering across his face before something settled in his gaze. Good. He would playalong—
Oh.
He leaned forward, folding his muscled forearms on the rock between them, eyes locked onto hers like a wolf sizing up prey. “Does that question keep you up at night,Lady?” His voice was pure sin, laced with something dangerous. “Wondering which one of these beautiful women shares my bed?”
She should have had a quick response ready. A laugh, a scoff, anything. But her mouth went dry, and she could only stare at him like a fool.
He grinned.
“No,” he murmured, his eyes drifting to her lips, then back up again. “You’d know if someone warmed my bed at night. The whole damn forest would hear her screaming my name while I pleasured her.”
She swallowed, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip on instinct. His eyes tracked the motion, and he let out a slow breath. He knew exactly what he was doing to her. And she hated that her body betrayed her—pulsing with want, flushed with heat. Not from anger. Not from shame. Fromhim.
Kaldrek stood abruptly and rolled his shoulders.
“Goodnight, Evelyne.”
He winked and walked away, leaving her flushed, speechless, and burning with frustration.
***
She wondered if Kaldrek felt even a fraction as off-balance as she did during their morning training, but if he did, he didn’t show it. He was all fire and focus, and he didn’t hold back for a second.
What started as a routine session quickly shifted. After a few warm-ups, he moved straight into takedowns, pairing her with Heidara. Meanwhile, he demonstrated each move with Holden, and Evelynecouldn’t help but notice how Kaldrek exhaled after every slam with long, controlled breaths, like he was forcing something out of himself with each impact. Rage. Frustration. Something deeper.
Holden, to his credit, didn’t flinch. He just kept getting back up, again and again, only to be slammed into the ground with staggering force. It was a rhythm that felt practiced, like this wasn’t the first time the alpha and beta had used each other to burn through whatever darkness weighed them down.
Kaldrek’s strength was something else entirely. Watching him throw Holden around like he weighed nothing made it clear why the alpha mark had chosen him. His power was unmatched. And still, Holden grinned every time he hit the dirt, brushing himself off and asking, “That’s it?” before stepping back into position.
Heidara, thankfully, was much gentler with Evelyne, guiding her through each move with patience. But then Kaldrek switched to blade work, and everything went to hell.
He’d paired her with Nathan, whose skill with a blade left her thoroughly embarrassed in front of everyone. Nathan was following orders, sure, but Kaldrek? He was pushing her hard. Too hard. Maybe she’d crossed a line last night. Perhaps this was his version of punishment.
Whatever it was, he made sure every mistake she made rang loud and clear across the clearing. Every misstep, every falter, called out for everyone to hear. But she wouldn’t break. Instead, she pushed through the rest of training, ignoring the burn in her muscles and the agitation simmering beneath the surface.
When the rain came, she slipped behind her tent, soaked, sore, and far from finished. She still had something to prove, and needed to do it alone.
Rain poured in relentless sheets, drenching Evelyne to the bone and turning the ground beneath her into a slick mud pit. She barely noticed. Kaldrek had told the pack they would set out in an hour, giving her enough time to practice somewhere away from watchful eyes.
She tightened her grip on the dagger and planted her feet, trying to steady herself. Each movement was controlled and focused until it came time to defend.Thrust, slash. Thrust, slash.Her strikes were solid, but her defense kept falling apart. Over and over, she tried to redirect an invisible blow, but her grip slipped, and her balance gave out. In a real fight, she’d already be bleeding.
Her next sidestep sent her boots sliding in the mud. “Shit,” she hissed, swiping wet strands of hair from her face.
“You need to start slow. Control first, then speed.”
She didn’t need to turn to see who stood behind her.
“Are you here to humiliate me more? Haven’t you done enough of that today?”
There was a slight pause. Then footsteps approached, stopping behind her. She didn’t move.
Kaldrek’s hands, rough and strong, rested over hers, adjusting her wrist with surprising gentleness. He nudged her foot with his boot, fixing her stance. Then he stepped in close, his chest lightly touching her back, his warmth cutting through the cool, damp air. She clung to her breathing, though the nervous heat rising in her belly threatened to give her away.
