Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Kale

By dawn, three wolves had already failed me.

The first returned from the eastern cliffs bleeding through his uniform with rogue scent clinging thickly to his skin.

The second claimed the northern mountain trails had vanished beneath snowfall and full moon traffic.

The third could barely force words past his throat before the pressure in the council hall drove him silent.

Useless.

Ashfang had not slept.

The estate remained awake long after the full moon ceremonies ended, restless energy still moving through the fortress like smoke trapped beneath stone. Wolves paced the lower courtyards instead of resting. Patrols rotated twice as often. Tempers snapped apart over insignificant things.

An unstable Alpha poisoned the entire pack.

And I was becoming increasingly aware that something inside me was no longer entirely stable.

The rejection had not settled correctly beneath my skin.

I felt it constantly now.

Sharp.

Wrong.

The mate bond still existed despite her rejection, stretched painfully thin between us like a chain pulled too tight without breaking. Every now and then it pulsed unexpectedly beneath my ribs, weak but alive, just enough to remind me she still existed somewhere beyond my reach.

Mine.

My hand tightened unconsciously against the edge of the council table.

Cracks splintered through the dark stone instantly.

Across the chamber, Ingrid watched the damage carefully but wisely said nothing.

The council hall overlooked the cliffs of Ashfang through towering arched windows carved directly into the mountain itself. Morning fog drifted through the valleys below while black banners bearing the Ashfang crest snapped violently against the wind outside.

Normally the sight grounded me.

Today it only made the distance between us feel worse.

“She cannot have disappeared entirely,” Ingrid said eventually.

“She did.”

The words came out colder than intended.

Silence settled again.

No one in the chamber seemed eager to break it.

Most of the council looked exhausted. Search parties had moved through Ashfang territory all night under my orders while the effects of the full moon still lingered through the pack. Wolves remained closer to shifting than usual. Instincts sat too near the surface.

And through all of it, I still could not find her.

No scent trail.

No tracks.

Nothing.

Only the bond. It was weak and distant but alive.

Cassian leaned back slightly beside the northern maps spread across the table. “You should rest.”

A humorless laugh nearly escaped me.

Rest.

As though sleep was remotely possible while every instinct inside me remained locked toward the north.

Find her.

The command no longer sounded entirely like my own thoughts.

“She crossed north,” I said instead.

Several council members exchanged uneasy glances immediately.

“The northern passes?” Ingrid frowned. “Alone?”

“That is the only explanation for why the trackers lost her.”

Another wolf near the far end of the table hesitated before speaking carefully. “An omega would never survive those mountains without a pack.”

My wolf reacted instantly.

The growl that escaped my chest vibrated through the chamber hard enough to silence the room.

The certainty hit immediately afterward.

Alive.

I could still feel her. Not enough to track. Not enough to locate.

But enough.

Somewhere beyond the mountains, she was alive.

The realization should have calmed me.

Instead it worsened the restlessness clawing beneath my skin because now every instinct inside me knew she was alone out there while I remained trapped here.

“She rejected an Alpha beneath a full moon,” Ingrid muttered quietly. “I still cannot believe she actually did it.”

Neither could I.

The memory surfaced immediately.

Her voice, the rejection and the pain afterward.

My jaw tightened.

The mate bond twisted sharply beneath my ribs as though remembering it too.

“She is either fearless,” Cassian said dryly, “or catastrophically reckless.”

Both.

Definitely both.

I moved away from the shattered council table before the urge to destroy the rest of it became overwhelming.

Below the cliffs, Ashfang stirred beneath pale morning light. Wolves crossed the lower courtyards changing patrol rotations while servants avoided looking directly toward the council hall.

The pack could feel it.

Instability spread downward from the Alpha whether anyone acknowledged it or not.

“Shouldn’t we discuss severing the bond?” Elder Varik asked suddenly from behind me.

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

I turned slowly.

Varik remained seated near the end of the chamber, old but still proud enough to hold my gaze.

“She is an omega,” he continued carefully. “And weak. Surely you were not considering proceeding with mating rituals after a public rejection.”

Something cold moved beneath my skin.

Not anger at first.

Something far more dangerous.

Several wolves lowered their gazes instinctively before I even spoke.

“What,” I said quietly, “did you just call her?”

Varik stiffened slightly.

“With respect, Alpha—”

“No.”

The single word cracked through the chamber hard enough to rattle the windows.

Dominance surged outward before I fully restrained it. Torches flickered violently along the stone walls while the scent of fear sharpened instantly through the room.

“She rejected the bond,” Varik pressed carefully despite it. “The logical solution is severance before the instability deepens further. An omega without status cannot stand beside the Alpha of Ashfang. The council would never—”

My hand slammed against the table.

Stone split violently beneath my claws.

Several council members stepped backward immediately.

I barely noticed.

Because my wolf was furious now.

Not because she ran.

Not because she rejected me.

But because another male sat inside my territory speaking about her as though she were insignificant.

Mine.

The possessiveness hit with enough force to feel almost feral.

“You speak of her,” I said slowly, “as though you have the right to judge her.”

“She has no standing,” Varik replied carefully. “No awakened wolf. No political value to Ashfang and no—”

“Enough.”

The growl beneath my voice no longer sounded entirely human.

Even Ingrid took another step backward.

The room smelled sharply of fear now.

The mate bond had altered something fundamental inside me overnight. Every conversation about Aneira now triggered instincts I had never struggled with before; territorial aggression, possessiveness, the overwhelming urge to protect what belonged to me.

“She is mine,” I said finally.

The words settled heavily into the chamber.

Even I heard the warning buried inside them.

Varik exhaled slowly. “Possession is not compatibility. Your father would not have permitted this.”

The room went still.

Something dangerous flickered through me at the mention of him.

My father’s rule still haunted these halls long after his death. In the council chambers. In the traditions carved into Ashfang’s stone. In the elders who still spoke as though I were a reckless boy sitting beside his throne instead of the Alpha who inherited it.

Varik knew exactly what he was doing.

“You speak of my father,” I said quietly, “as though he is still standing behind me.”

The elder did not lower his gaze.

“In many ways,” Varik replied calmly, “he is.”

Pain twisted sharply beneath my ribs before I could respond.

Cold.

Exhaustion.

Weakness.

Not mine.

The silver cup beside my hand shattered instantly.

Silence dropped across the hall.

Every wolf turned toward me.

I ignored them because for one brief second…

I had felt her.

She was in the mountains.

The cold.

Her exhaustion bleeding faintly through the damaged bond before disappearing again.

“Alpha,” Cassian said carefully now.

“She’s alive,” I said quietly.

Ingrid frowned slightly. “You can feel her?”

“Sometimes.”

The admission tasted dangerously close to vulnerability.

Marla entered the chamber before anyone else could speak.

Unlike the council, the old housekeeper showed absolutely no concern about the oppressive atmosphere filling the hall.

“You have not eaten,” she informed me while carrying a silver tray toward the table.

“I’m not hungry.”

“That was not a question.”

A few council wolves immediately looked away to hide amusement.

Marla glanced once at the shattered stone table before sighing heavily. “Honestly, Alpha, if you wished to redecorate the council hall, there are less destructive methods.”

Cassian snorted quietly.

I remained unimpressed.

She placed a steaming cup in front of me.

“Drink.”

“No.”

“You said that same thing at fourteen while actively bleeding across my kitchen floors.”

“That was different.”

“You were equally stubborn then.”

Even Ingrid laughed softly at that.

The sound faded quickly when the bond pulsed again.

My wolf surged instantly beneath my skin hard enough that dominance spilled briefly through the chamber before I forced it back under control.

Find her.

Now.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Forced the instinct down.

Then reached slowly toward the northern maps spread across the ruined table.

“Double the patrols near the mountain borders,” I ordered quietly. “Search every pass beyond the northern cliffs.”

“And if we find her?” one council wolf asked carefully.

The room stilled again.

Because everyone understood the real question.

Would I force her back?

The terrifying part was that my wolf wanted exactly that.

To drag her back into Ashfang.

To lock every gate.

To keep her somewhere safe where nothing in those mountains could touch her again.

Mine.

The possessiveness disgusted me almost as much as it tempted me.

“You do not touch her,” I said finally. “You do not frighten her. You bring her back safely.”

Several wolves looked genuinely surprised by the order.

Honestly, so was I.

I looked back toward the mountains beyond Ashfang’s cliffs.

Somewhere beyond them, my mate was alone beneath unfamiliar skies while the damaged bond between us bled steadily through my control.

And for the first time in years, I understood what helplessness felt like.