He stood several feet away, broad shoulders squared beneath a black training shirt. The late afternoon light caught the hard angles of his face and the silver in his eyes. Even without the Alpha's insignia on his chest, he carried authority like a weapon. Wolves moved when he entered a room. Conversations died when he spoke. The entire Ashvale Pack had been trained to obey him.
Seren had never learned how.
"You should have stayed down," Riven said.
"You should have learned to fight someone your own size."
His mouth curved without warmth. "I have. They usually know when they've lost."
"Then you must be disappointed with me."
A few pack warriors watching from the edge of the clearing exchanged uneasy looks. They had been ordered to attend the morning combat assessment, not to witness another argument between their Alpha and the woman who seemed determined to make his life difficult.
Seren could feel their attention. She could also hear the whispers they thought she couldn't catch.
There she goes again.
Why does he keep giving her chances?
If she weren't the late Beta's daughter-
She shut the voices out. Her father had been dead for six years. His name was still used as an explanation for every opportunity she received and every punishment she endured. No one seemed to remember that he had taught her to stand on her own feet, not to live on his reputation.
Riven rolled his shoulders. "Are you going to train, or are you planning to insult me until sunset?"
"I can do both."
"Show me."
He moved before the last word had fully left his mouth.
Seren ducked beneath his first strike. His fist cut through the air above her head. She drove her elbow towards his ribs, but he turned with the blow and caught her wrist. His grip tightened. She twisted, using his forward momentum to pull him off balance, and raked her claws across his forearm.
A thin line of blood appeared.
The watching wolves went quiet.
Riven glanced at the wound, then back at her. "Better."
"I'm touched by your approval."
"Don't be. It won't happen often."
He lunged again. Seren blocked one strike and took another against her side. The impact forced the air from her lungs. She staggered, caught herself, and swept her leg towards his ankle. Riven jumped clear, but not before her boot clipped him.
For one brief second, she saw surprise cross his face.
It was a small victory. She treasured it.
Then he closed the distance. His hand caught the front of her shirt and dragged her towards him. Seren's back struck his chest. She drove her heel down onto his foot and twisted free, but he seized her shoulder before she could escape.
"Still fighting like you have something to prove," he muttered.
"Maybe I do."
"To whom?"
The question struck closer than she wanted. Seren's father had been a respected Beta, and after his death she had expected the pack to honour his service. Instead, she had spent years being treated as a reminder of a man who was no longer there to defend her. Riven had never made that easier. He had corrected her in public, dismissed her opinions, and turned every disagreement into a lesson about her place.
She had learned to answer him with her fists because words had never changed anything.
"To myself," she said.
His expression hardened. "Then stop making reckless choices."
"Stop pretending every choice I make is yours to judge."
She struck him across the jaw.
The sound cracked through the clearing. Riven's head turned with the impact. He slowly faced her again, his tongue brushing the inside of his cheek.
The warriors shifted. One of them took a cautious step forward.
"Stay where you are," Riven ordered without looking away from Seren.
The command settled over the clearing. No one moved.
Seren hated that. She hated how a single sentence from him could silence an entire group of grown wolves. She hated that he could make her feel small without raising his voice.
Most of all, she hated that some part of her still wanted to prove she was not.
Riven wiped the blood from his lip. "You've made your point."
"I haven't."
"Training is over."
"For you, perhaps."
She stepped towards him again. He caught her next strike, turned her, and sent her to the ground. The breath left her in a rush. Before she could rise, his shadow fell over her.
"Yield."
Seren pushed herself onto one elbow. Dirt clung to her palms. "No."
His eyes narrowed. "This isn't a personal challenge."
"Everything becomes personal when you make a spectacle of me in front of the pack."
"I correct your mistakes because someone has to."
"No. You correct me because you enjoy reminding everyone that you can."
For a moment, neither moved. The forest seemed to hold its breath around them.
Then Riven stepped back and offered no hand.
"Get up."
Seren rose without his help. Her ribs protested, but she kept her face still. She brushed the dirt from her trousers and looked beyond him to the watching warriors.
"Assessment finished?" she asked.
Riven's jaw tightened. "For today."
"Then next time, try not to look so worried."
She walked out of the clearing before he could answer. Behind her, the low murmur of the pack returned. She didn't need to hear the words to know what they were saying.
She had challenged the Alpha again.
And one day, they believed, he would make her regret it.
Seren already regretted plenty. She simply refused to let Riven decide what she did next.
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