Chapter 8: The Scent of Silver and Ash

The morning mist clinging to the jagged pines outside my window didn't look anything like the mist back in my father’s territory. Up here, deep inside the Shadow Pack’s mountain stronghold, even the fog felt heavy, ancient, and watchful.

​I stood barefoot on the cold slate floor of the turret room, my fingers curled tight around the iron bars of the narrow balcony. Down in the muddy courtyard below, two dozen warriors were sparring. They moved with terrifying speed, shifting mid-stride between human form and massive, dark-furred wolves without a single bark or wasted motion.

​And right in the center of the stone ring stood Kael.

​He wore only black training trousers, his heavy boots caked in grey mud. Even from three stories up, the sheer power radiating off his bare shoulders made my stomach knot. A jagged silver scar cut from his left shoulder blade down to his ribs—the mark of an old silver-blade wound that would have killed a lesser Alpha. When two younger wolves lunged at him from opposite sides, Kael didn't even bother shifting. He sidestepped the first, caught the second by the scruff of its neck mid-air, and slammed the beast into the dirt until it bared its throat in submission.

​Then, as if he felt the weight of my stare through the thick stone walls, Kael stopped dead.

​Slowly, he raised his head. His piercing amber eyes locked straight onto my third-floor window.

​My breath caught in my throat. I backed away into the shadows of the heavy velvet curtains, my heart hammering against my ribs like I’d been caught stealing. How could he possibly sense me from that distance? I was supposedly an unshifted, powerless omega—the defective Vance daughter sold off to clear a blood debt.

​Before I could retreat toward the bed, a loud knock echoed against the heavy oak door behind me.

​I froze, pulling Kael’s oversized wool coat tighter around my shoulders. "Come in."

​The iron latch lifted, and an older woman stepped inside carrying a brass tray loaded with hot black tea, toasted dark bread, and sliced winter apples. She had silver-streaked hair braided tightly against her scalp and sharp, observant grey eyes. Unlike the guards downstairs who looked at me like a prisoner, she watched me with a strange, guarded curiosity.

​"You're up early, little bird," she said, setting the tray down on the low wooden table by the hearth. "Most outsiders sleep past noon their first week in the high peaks. The thin air drains them."

​"I'm used to waking before dawn," I replied quietly, stepping away from the window. "Back at the Vance compound, someone had to light the kitchen fires before the Alpha's family came downstairs."

​The woman paused, her grey eyes narrowing slightly as she noticed my bruised wrists peeking out from beneath the sleeves of the coat. "I'm Mara. I run this keep when Kael isn't tearing the borders apart. Eat while it's hot. You look like a strong wind could snap you in half."

​"Why am I in the west tower, Mara?" I asked, sitting cautiously on the edge of the fur-draped chair. "If I was brought here as collateral for my father's broken treaty, why haven't I been thrown in the dungeons below the courtyard?"

​Mara let out a dry, humorless laugh as she poked at the dying embers in the fireplace with an iron rod.

​"Prisoners go to the cells, child," Mara murmured without looking back at me. "Guests stay in the east wing. Nobody has slept in this west tower since Kael’s mother passed away twelve winters ago."

​A cold shiver crawled down my spine. "Then why did he put me here?"

​Mara straightened up, turning to face me. For a brief second, her gaze dropped to the pulse fluttering at the base of my throat.

​"Because the west tower connects straight to the Alpha’s private quarters through the stone stairwell behind that tapestry," she said softly, nodding toward the heavy crimson cloth hanging beside my bed. "And because last night, when Kael carried you up those stairs after you passed out in his study, he threatened to rip out the throat of any healer who came within ten feet of your door."

​My fingers tightened around the porcelain teacup until my knuckles turned white. "I passed out? I thought... I thought I just fell asleep."

​"Your fever spiked so high the sheets were soaked through," Mara said, taking a step closer and dropping her voice to a bare whisper. "You don't smell like a normal omega, Elara Vance. When your skin heated up last night, the whole upper floor smelled like wild winter jasmine and burned silver. Do you have any idea what that means in this territory?"

​Before I could answer, the heavy iron rings of the crimson tapestry beside the bed rattled hard.

​Mara immediately bowed her head and backed toward the main door as the hidden stone panel swung open.

​Kael stepped into the bedroom.

​He hadn't bothered putting on a shirt. Rain and sweat glistened against the hard, scarred planes of his chest, and the raw, suffocating scent of pine, woodsmoke, and lethal Alpha dominance instantly filled every corner of the room. A fresh smudge of blood stained his knuckles.

​"Leave us, Mara," Kael ordered, his deep voice vibrating right through the soles of my bare feet.

​Mara didn't say another word. She slipped out the oak door and pulled it shut with a quiet click.

​I stood up slowly, setting my teacup down as Kael prowled across the floorboards toward me. He didn't stop until the toes of his muddy boots brushed the hem of my nightgown.

​"You were watching me from the balcony," Kael murmured, reaching out with one large, rough hand to catch a stray lock of hair falling across my cheek. His fingers felt scorching hot against my cold skin.

​"I was just looking at the mountains," I lied, forcing my chin up despite the way my pulse raced under his touch.

​A dark, dangerous half-smile ghosted across Kael’s lips. He leaned down until his mouth hovered beside my ear, taking a slow, deep breath at the curve of my neck that made my knees go weak.

​"Liar," Kael whispered darkly, his thumb brushing right over my racing pulse. "Your father swore to the Council that he sent me his weakest, most useless daughter. So tell me, Elara... why did my wolf spend the whole damn night scratching at that stone wall, trying to get to you?"