Kathy's heart was pounding in her chest as she and Alpha Noux stood face-to-face with Alpha Soren in the middle of the ancient forest. Moonlight shone through the thick canopy, creating eerie shadows on the ground. The air was thick with tension as the three alphas sized each other up, each aware of the stakes at play.

"Kathy," Alpha Soren sneered, his eyes filled with malice as he looked at her. "You really thought you could get away from me and run into the arms of this weakling?"

"Noux is anything but weak," Kathy replied, her voice steady despite her trembling hands. "Unlike you, he doesn't manipulate and deceive his...