Silent

The courtyard lay silent under the crescent winter moon, its pale sickle hanging low and lonely above Castle Holgah, its thin blade of light slicing the black sky clean of stars and clouds. Frost glittered on the flagstones, and the wind carried a sharp bite from the north. Scarlett wandered into the courtyard, the empty basin swinging loosely in her hand, the washcloth still draped over her shoulder. Her silver braid hung limp, her steps dragging, her mind miles away—replaying the midwife’s whisper, August’s merciless order, “Save the child”, the weight of a life already chosen over another. She did not feel the cold that bit at her bare arms and ankles.

She did not see the tall figure standing motionless in the center of the courtyard. Alpha Lycan Winter. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, One hand gripping the wrist of the other, his broad frame cloaked in shadow. His dark cloak hung open, revealing the hard lines of his chest, his head was tilted back, storm-gray eye