The Wolfs Choice

I wake to the weight of a mountain on my chest. Kael is still asleep. His arm is a heavy bar of muscle across my ribs. His face is buried in the crook of my neck. I can feel the steady. hot puff of his breath against my skin. It makes my wolf hum with a terrifying contentment. I lie perfectly still. I do not want to wake the beast. I do not want to see the rejection in his eyes when he realizes he held me all night.

I stare at the ceiling. The dark beams of the oak roof are carved with ancient runes. They look like teeth. Everything in this fortress looks like it was made to bite. I try to slide out from under his arm. I move an inch.

Kael grunts. His grip tightens. He pulls me closer. He is not awake. but his body knows I am his. His nose nuzzles the sensitive skin behind my ear. A low. involuntary purr vibrates in his chest. It is a sound of pure. primal ownership.

"Kael." I whisper.

He doesn't move. I try again. louder.

"Kael. let go."

His eyes snap open. They are not silver yet. They are black. The wolf is at the surface. He looks at me with a hunger that makes my blood run cold. He doesn't pull away. He leans in. He presses his forehead against mine. We breathe the same air for five long seconds. The bond is a physical scream in the room. It demands that he mark me. It demands that I submit.

Then the silver returns. The clarity of the man washes over the beast.

Kael recoils. He flings his arm off me and rolls to the other side of the bed. He sits up. rubbing his face with his hands. The muscles in his back ripple. He looks like he wants to punch the wall.

"I was asleep." He says. His voice is a rough growl.

"I know." I sit up. clutching the furs to my chest. "The deal. Kael. Remember the deal."

"I remember." He snaps. He stands up. He is completely naked. He doesn't seem to care. He walks to the washbasin and plunges his head into the water. He stays under for a long time. When he comes up. he is dripping. He shakes his head like a dog. "The council meets at noon. You will be there."

"As what?" I ask. "A prisoner or a Luna?"

"As a lie." Kael says. He grabs a clean shirt from the chest. "You will wear the clothes I give you. You will sit beside me. You will not speak unless I tell you to. If anyone asks. I have claimed you. The mark on your shoulder from the cell will have to be enough of a blur to fool them from a distance."

"They will know. Kael. Wolves can smell the truth."

"Not if my scent is all over you." Kael says. He walks back to the bed. He picks up a heavy. fur-lined cloak. He throws it at me. "Wear that. It has been on my back for a week. It reeks of me. It will drown out your rogue scent."

I catch the cloak. It is heavy. It smells of cedar and blood and him. I wrap it around my shoulders. It feels like a shroud.

The morning is a blur of preparation. Kael calls for Vane. The Beta brings a dress of deep crimson wool. It is simple but the fabric is thick and expensive. I change behind a screen. The dress fits perfectly. It makes me look like I belong in a high hall. not a dirt cell. I brush my hair until it shines. I look at the girl in the mirror. She looks like a queen. She feels like a sacrifice.

"Ready?" Kael asks. He is dressed in his formal leathers. A silver chain hangs around his neck. The symbol of the Red Fang.

"No." I say.

"Good." Kael says. "Fear keeps you sharp."

He opens the doors. The guards outside straighten. they look at me with confusion. then at Kael. He doesn't give them a second look. He grabs my hand. His fingers interlock with mine. It is the first time he has touched me without violence. His palm is warm. Calloused.

We walk through the halls. The fortress is buzzing. People stop in their tracks when they see us. I see women whispering behind their hands. I see warriors gripping the hilt of their swords. The tension is a thick fog.

We reach the Great Hall. It is a cavernous room with a long stone table. Twelve men and women sit there. The elders of the pack. At the far end. Sila sits beside her father. Her face is bruised from where Kael threw her. Her eyes are red. When she sees me. her lip curls in a silent snarl.

Kael leads me to the head of the table. He pulls out a chair for me. He sits beside me. He doesn't let go of my hand.

"The Shadow Claw are at the river." Kael begins. His voice is loud. It fills the hall. "They think we are divided. They think the Red Fang is weak because I have not produced a Luna."

"You have brought a rogue into our circle. Kael." An old man says. His voice is shaky but stern. "The law says rogues are to be executed. Not seated at the table."

"The law says an Alpha must protect his pack." Kael counters. He squeezes my hand. "The moon has chosen. I have claimed my mate. The bond is sealed."

A gasp goes through the room. Sila stands up. her chair screeching against the stone.

"He lies!" She screams. "Look at her neck! There is no mark! He is protecting a murderer's daughter!"

Kael stands up. He doesn't let go of my hand. He pulls me up with him. He leans over the table. his eyes glowing bright silver.

"Are you calling your Alpha a liar. Sila?"

The room goes silent. Sila’s father pulls her back down. He looks at Kael with a mixture of fear and respect.

"We only wish for the strength of the pack. Kael." The father says. "If she is your mate. then we will follow. But if she is a distraction. the Shadow Claw will tear us apart."

"The Shadow Claw will find nothing but teeth." Kael says. He looks around the room. "The rogue is dead. Lyra is the Luna of the Red Fang. Anyone who disputes this disputes me. And you know how I deal with traitors."

He looks directly at Sila. She flinches.

"The meeting is over." Kael says. "Prepare for battle. We move to the river at dusk."

The elders file out. They move quickly. whispering as they go. Sila is the last to leave. She stares at me. A look of pure. unadulterated hatred. She mouths a single word before she turns: Soon.

I sink back into my chair. My legs are shaking. Kael let's go of my hand. He looks down at me. The mask of the Alpha is still in place.

"You did well." He says.

"I hate lying." I say. "They are going to find out. Kael. When the Shadow Claw strike and you don't feel my pain in the bond. they will know."

"Then don't get hurt." Kael says.

He turns to the maps on the table. He begins to move small wooden wolves across the paper. He is already in war mode. I am just a piece on the board.

"I am going to the armory." I say.

Kael looks up. "No. You stay in the quarters."

"You said I am the Luna." I stand up. I look him in the eye. "A Luna doesn't hide in a bedroom while her pack fights. If I am going to play this part. I am going to play it right. Give me a blade. Kael. Or I will find one myself."

Kael stares at me. A small. almost invisible smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

"Vane." He calls out.

The Beta appears from the shadows.

"Take her to the armory." Kael says. "Find her something light. Something fast. And Vane?"

"Yes. Alpha?"

"If she tries to run. kill the guards. Don't kill her."

Vane nods. I follow him out of the hall. We walk down to the lower levels. The armory is a room filled with the scent of oil and sharpened steel. Racks of swords and axes line the walls. Vane leads me to a small chest in the back.

He opens it. Inside is a pair of twin daggers. The handles are carved from white bone. The blades are thin. slightly curved.

"These belonged to an assassin from the southern wastes." Vane says. "They are balanced for a smaller hand. Try them."

I pick them up. They feel like an extension of my arms. I give them a quick spin. They cut the air with a hiss.

"I like them." I say.

"Good." Vane says. "Because the scouts just returned. The Shadow Claw aren't at the river anymore."

"Where are they?"

Vane looks at the ceiling. "They crossed the ravine. They are at the gates."

A horn blares. A long. low sound that echoes through the fortress walls. It is the sound of war.

I look at the daggers. I look at Vane.

"Find Kael." I say.

I don't wait for him to answer. I run toward the stairs. My red dress flares out behind me like a splash of blood. I am a rogue. I am a prisoner. I am a fake Luna.

But today. I am a warrior of the Red Fang.

I reach the courtyard just as the gates shatter.

A massive grey wolf leaps through the wreckage. followed by a dozen more. They are huge. starving. Their eyes are red with bloodlust. The Red Fang guards meet them with a roar. The air is suddenly filled with the sound of snapping bone and snarling wolves.

I see Kael in the center of the chaos. He has shifted. He is a massive black wolf. twice the size of the invaders. He is a blur of teeth and claws. He is beautiful. He is terrifying.

I see a Shadow Claw wolf lunging for an unarmed servant near the kitchens.

I don't think. I move.

I leap onto the wolf's back. I drive my bone dagger into the base of its skull. The wolf let's out a choked yelp and collapses. I roll off. coming up in a crouch. My heart is racing. My blood is on fire.

"Lyra!"

I turn. Sila is standing near the stables. She isn't fighting the invaders. She is holding a bow. She has an arrow notched. It is pointed directly at my heart.

"A rogue dies in the crossfire." Sila says. Her voice is calm. "It's a tragic accident."

She let's the arrow fly.

I dive to the left. The arrow whistles past my ear. I scramble to my feet. but another Shadow Claw wolf is between us. It snarls at me. it's hackles raised.

I am trapped between a traitor and a monster.

I look toward Kael. He is pinned by three large wolves. He sees me. He sees Sila. He let's out a roar that shakes the very stones of the fortress.

The bond screams. A wave of raw. agonizing pain hits me in the chest.

It isn't my pain.

It's his.

I look at Kael. A Shadow Claw wolf has sunk its teeth into his shoulder. The exact spot where he touched my silver burn.

The lie is over. The bond is real.

I scream. not from fear. but from the sudden. overwhelming surge of power. My wolf breaks free. I don't wait for the moon. I don't wait for permission. I shift.

White fur erupts from my skin. My bones crack and reform. I grow. I snarl. I am a blur of white in a world of red.

I am the Luna. And I am going to kill them all.