7

ASHEN’S POV

The air in the hallway thickened the moment Delta Lucien announced the intruder, and my heart reacted before my mind did. A sharp sting of panic shot through my chest, clawing up my throat until it became difficult to breathe. Even though Grayson stood right beside me, radiating confidence and terrifying control, I could not stop the trembling that spread through my fingers. The memory of Grimrest Pack was something I thought I had left on the shore of that cursed beach, yet its shadow still crawled behind me like a ghost refusing to be buried.

“Who is it?” I managed to ask, though my voice cracked slightly at the end.

Lucien looked at me briefly before answering. “We are not sure yet, Eclipsar Ashen. But the scent resembles someone familiar with your previous territory.”

Grayson immediately stepped between us, blocking Lucien’s gaze as if even that simple act was unacceptable. His voice lowered to something cold and commanding. “Do not speak about Grimrest while he is standing here. You report to me, not to him.”

Lucien’s posture stiffened as he bowed his head. “My apologies, Alpha Grayson. I did not intend—”

“I don’t care what you intended,” Grayson snapped with barely contained irritation. “We will deal with the intruder. Prepare the inner guard and make sure no one gets near Ashen. Go.”

Lucien bowed again and sprinted down the corridor.

The silence that followed was almost unbearable.

Grayson turned toward me slowly, and for the first time since I arrived in Graveshade, I saw something different in his eyes. Not anger. Not arrogance. Not that strange obsession he had whenever he looked at me. It was something sharper, heavier, something that pulled at my lungs until they felt tight.

Concern.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice so no one nearby could overhear. “Ashen. Look at me.”

I forced myself to meet his eyes, though my breath felt uneven and my chest ached.

“You are safe here,” he said, each word slow and deliberate. “I need you to remember that. No one from Grimrest can touch you again, not while I am alive.”

I swallowed hard, fighting the instinct to flinch at every echoing sound in the hall. “That’s… not easy to believe.”

“I know,” he answered. “But you will learn.”

He reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, not gripping tightly, just resting there as if testing my reaction. The warmth of his palm steadied me more than I expected. For someone with such intimidating strength, his touch was unexpectedly careful, as though he was trying not to break something fragile.

“Come,” he said. “We’re returning to your room. You’re not staying out in the open.”

I shook my head quickly, stepping back before he could guide me. “No. I can’t hide. If someone came from Grimrest, I need to know who it is. What if it’s someone dangerous? What if it’s Lior?”

Grayson’s expression darkened instantly, and his voice hardened. “If it is Lior, I will kill him before he even finishes his first breath inside my territory.”

The certainty in his tone should have scared me, but instead I felt a strange, twisted sense of relief. An invisible weight lifted slightly from my chest. I shouldn’t have felt that way—Grayson’s ruthlessness was terrifying—but after everything Lior had done to me, the idea of someone standing between us was something I never thought I would experience in my life.

“He won’t get near you,” Grayson added. “Not tonight. Not ever again.”

I nodded, though the anxiety didn’t leave completely. It clung to my ribs like a stubborn stain that refused to wash out.

We walked down the hall together, Grayson keeping his hand on my back, pushing me forward with steady, controlled movements. His presence felt like a shield, thick and suffocating but also undeniably protective. The guards along the corridor bowed deeply as we passed, though their eyes were glued to the floor, too afraid to make direct eye contact with their alpha.

“Do they always react like this?” I asked quietly, watching how each guard tensed whenever Grayson drew near.

“Yes,” Grayson said. “Respect is built on fear and loyalty. They know what I expect.”

“That sounds… exhausting,” I muttered without thinking.

To my surprise, he let out a low breath that sounded close to amusement. “It is. But it is necessary. Weak leaders lose their pack. I do not intend to be weak.”

We reached the staircase when something inside me twisted sharply. A sudden rush of warmth spread across my chest, and a faint echo brushed the back of my mind like fingers tracing my thoughts.

A voice.

Quiet at first, then clearer.

“Solven…”

I stopped abruptly, clutching the railing as my vision blurred slightly around the edges. My breath came out in a startled gasp. Grayson turned instantly, grabbing my arm.

“Ashen?” His tone sharpened. “What is it?”

“I—I heard it again,” I whispered. “The voice. The same one from my dreams.”

Fear and confusion swirled inside me, tangled with something that felt dangerously close to awakening.

Grayson stepped closer, lowering his face until his eyes locked with mine. “Tell me exactly what you heard.”

“The same name,” I whispered. “Solven. It sounded like… it was calling for me.”

Grayson’s jaw tightened, and Morvek’s presence surged violently behind his eyes. His wolf was reacting strongly, though I didn’t understand why.

“That voice is not a coincidence,” he muttered under his breath. “Your wolf is waking. We are running out of time.”

I stared at him, my mind struggling to process the meaning. “My wolf? But I never— I don’t—”

“You do,” he cut in firmly. “Whether you know it or not, something inside you is stirring. Something ancient.”

My legs trembled slightly. “Is that bad?”

“It’s dangerous,” he said. “But not for you. Only for those who try to harm you.”

Before I could respond, heavy footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor, accompanied by hurried shouts. Grayson immediately shifted his stance, pulling me behind him.

Two guards sprinted toward us, stopping several feet away with panicked expressions.

“Alpha Grayson!” one of them cried breathlessly. “The intruder has been identified! It is Alpha Lior!”

My blood turned cold instantly.

The second guard continued, voice trembling. “He is demanding to speak with Eclipsar Ashen. He claims he will leave peacefully if he sees him.”

Grayson let out a low, terrifying growl that reverberated through the walls. “He is lying. He never leaves peacefully.”

My knees wobbled, but Grayson held me upright without even looking back at me.

“What does he want?” I whispered.

Grayson’s voice turned sharp enough to cut stone. “He wants to take you back. He wants control over what he thinks he owns.”

“That’s not true,” I said shakily. “He never wanted me. Not really.”

“He wanted your obedience,” Grayson corrected. “He wanted access to your mind, your intelligence, your submission. You were not a person to him, Ashen. You were a tool.”

The words hit harder than I expected. I lowered my gaze, feeling a strange mixture of humiliation and clarity. Grayson stepped closer, his voice dropping.

“You belong to no one but yourself,” he said. “And if you choose to stay by my side, then I will protect what is mine with everything I have.”

I swallowed, unsure how to respond, because the intensity in his voice made my pulse quicken with a mix of fear and something warmer that I didn’t want to name.

The guards spoke again. “Alpha Grayson, what shall we do with the intruder?”

Grayson turned his head slightly, his eyes burning with command. “Surround him. Do not strike unless he attacks first. I will deal with him personally.”

The guards bowed quickly and ran off.

I stared at Grayson, my breath trembling. “You’re going to confront him?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

“I should come with you,” I whispered, even though part of me knew I shouldn’t. “He came for me.”

Grayson’s expression turned like steel. “You are not going anywhere near him.”

“But—”

“No,” he said firmly. “I will not risk you.”

I opened my mouth again, but he raised a hand and leaned closer until his forehead almost touched mine.

“You are safe because I am here,” he said. “Let me handle this.”

The hallway around us faded until I could only feel the warmth of his breath and the coldness of his aura. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

Then he stepped back, his voice shifting into something colder—something lethal.

“Stay with Delta Lucien. Do not leave his sight. I will end this.”

He turned toward the end of the corridor, his posture radiating fury and dominance, his wolf ready to tear apart anything that dared threaten him.

Before he walked away, he looked back at me once more.

“Ashen,” he said quietly, “do not be afraid.”

But I was.

Not because of Lior.

Because of the voice that whispered inside me again.

“Solven… he is coming for you…”

And for the first time, the voice did not sound like a warning.

It sounded like a promise.