CHAPTER FOUR

Arthur.” Another voice cut through before the guards could drag her away.

The voice was steady, controlled, but sharp enough to draw his attention from silver and the other guads. A tall silhouette stepped from the end of the den, where he’d been watching quietly. Ronan. It was the warrior who led them from the border.

Arthur’s Beta, his second in command, and the only wolf who has known him longer than any other wolf, and the only one who could ever speak against him and still keep his head attached.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him. “This doesn’t concern you, Ronan.”

“Everything that goes on or could threaten this pack is my concern,” Ronan replied, moving into the light. 

Ronan was a bit shorter compared to Arthur, yet he still stood at over six feet tall. He’s more built, but somehow looks less dangerous compared to the Alpha. 

His gaze moved to silver for a split second. She looked worn out, trembling, but was still standing her ground, and then he turned back to Arthur. “This? This is bigger than you refuting to acknowledge that your mate walked right into your territory.”

Ronan tilted his head, unmoved. “She is your mate.”

A disturbing silence settled into the den. Arthur just looked at Ronan the way a wolf looks at another who dares step on its throat.

Ronan didn’t back down. “You have been clear about what you think of a wolf bond. You have called it a weakness, and that you will not be chained down.” His voice dropped deliberately, steady. “But you can not say this is not under consideration. You can not refuse to act while her people burn and are killed. Think of this as having leverage over them.”

Silver watched them quietly through their back and forth, but not until Ronan referred to her as “leverage did it get under her skin. She was nothing to them but a bargaining chip for more power and control. Her face hardened, and her hands formed fists at her sides, with her nails biting into her palms.

“How can you be so cruel, speaking of people’s lives like they are pawns in a game?” she snapped, her eyes going between Arthur and Ma. “Leverage while they fight for their lives, their children, their home, living in a nightmare? Her voice was cracking. “Do you even hear yourself at all?’

Arthur’s eyes moved slowly to her; his expression did not shift once, but something changed in the room. A quick flicker came and left too fast for most to notice. His face tightened as he clenched his jaw. He was not expecting her to talk, let alone cut through him the way that she did, trembling but not remorseful.

Silver rose, her hands trembling. “I also do not think this is about territory. It’s about me.”

Silence stretched heavy across the room.

Arthur’s voice was quiet when he finally spoke. “What are you implying?”

“I have been hearing voices in my head, calling my name and saying I belong to them, and not long after, the attack happened. But it does not make any sense to me. “ Silver said, hoping they did not think she was crazy for saying she heard voices. 

Arthur and Ronan shared a knowing look. 

“I already gave my answer.” Arthur insisted.

“You gave her humiliation,” Ronan shot back. His fists curled at his sides. “She’s Hollow Moon’s heir. If she walks back empty-handed, she won’t make it through the night. You know what Drogo’s after.”

Silver flinched. “Drogo?” Her voice scraped raw.

Ronan turned, softer now, as if he regretted letting the name slip. “You deserve to know the truth.” He crouched beside her, his storm-grey eyes searching hers. “Drogo Sloan… he wasn’t always this way. He was Hollow Moon once. One of your father’s fiercest warriors. Until he turned to blood magic.”

Her stomach twisted. “That’s not possible. My father—”

“Banished him,” Ronan finished, voice grim. “But exile wasn’t enough. He wants vengeance. And you, Silver, from what you’ve said, seem to be the vengeance he seeks.”

Arthur’s chair scraped the floor as he stood. “Enough, Ronan.”

“No,” Ronan snapped, his voice rising for the first time against his Alpha. “She deserves to understand why her pack is bleeding and why Drogo won’t stop until he has her.”

Arthur’s jaw tightened. For a moment, the steel in his expression cracked, guilt, maybe, or a memory too sharp to bury. But then it was gone, replaced with the cold indifference she’d come to know.

Then he broke the silence at last, his words short, almost as if spat out. “Fine.”

Ronan was not expecting him to concede so easily; he was caught off guard.  “Alpha,”

Arthur did not take his eyes off Silver; it was as if he was trying to pin her to the ground with his gaze. “Take a good number of warriors,” he said. “ As much as you think necessary. And Ronan, you will be leading them and handling all of the arrangements.”

Ronan straightened himself out, trying to cover up his initial shock. “Yes, Alpha.”

Arthur went back to take a seat in his chair, his voice dropping on purpose, “ I am not doing this for you, or for your people, this is purely strategy. Your people will live, and I will gain leverage. You make a mistake or cause the death of any of  my wolves, and I will not forgive you for it.”

Silver swallowed and then forced herself to look up at him, matching his intense gaze. “ I did not expect your pity, and I do not want your forgiveness. I need your word to save my people, and you have given it,” she said, her voice surprisingly steady.

Ronan’s hand brushed her arm, steadying her. “Then you won’t face it alone,” he promised. His devotion wrapped around her like a vow, too fierce, too sudden, and yet, for the first time since the slaughter, she didn’t feel like she was falling apart.

Arthur’s gaze flicked to where Ronan touched her. His expression darkened, but he said nothing.

Silver’s thoughts tangled like briars, her father fading, her pack in ruins, Arthur’s rejection slicing at her heart, and Ronan’s sudden closeness tugging at her in ways she didn’t know how to feel.