Chapter 4

Morning light cut across the floor of the east wing in thin, pale lines.

I had slept only in short stretches. Every time I closed my eyes I heard those footsteps outside the door again. By the time the sun rose I was already dressed, hair pulled back, face clean of any expression I did not want seen.

A knock came at half past seven. Rylan stood in the hallway with the same neutral look as the night before.

“Alpha Voss requested that you join him for a brief walk of the main grounds. Pack members should see you together before the gathering tomorrow.”

Of course. Appearances.

I followed him downstairs and out through the back entrance. The morning air was cool and sharp. Blackthorn territory stretched wide in every direction—training fields, dense forest, the distant shape of smaller pack houses. Everything looked ordered. Controlled.

Kael waited near the edge of the training grounds. He wore a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled once, the Blackthorn crest at his collar. When he saw me, he gave a short nod and began walking. I matched his pace without being asked.

We moved along the path in silence for several minutes. Wolves training in the distance paused to look. Some lowered their heads in respect. Others simply stared at me with open curiosity or quiet judgment. I kept my chin level and my eyes forward.

“They will test you,” Kael said eventually, still looking ahead. “Not openly at first. But they will watch for weakness.”

“I’m aware.”

“You are not required to win them over. You are required to stand without flinching.”

I glanced at him. “Is that advice or an order?”

“Both.”

We reached a low stone overlook that faced the forest. Kael stopped. I stood a few feet away, close enough that his scent reached me clearly on the breeze. My wolf shifted under my skin, restless. I ignored it.

“Your father’s healer arrived at dawn,” he said. “The first report was stable. The treatment will continue.”

I nodded once. “Thank you.”

The words felt stiff in my mouth. Gratitude toward him still sat wrong.

Kael turned slightly, studying my face. “You hate this.”

It was not a question.

“I signed the contract,” I answered. “That is all that matters.”

Something unreadable moved through his expression. Before he could speak, footsteps approached from the path behind us.

A woman in training clothes stopped a short distance away. She was tall, blonde, and carried herself with the easy confidence of someone who belonged here. Her eyes moved from Kael to me and lingered with open assessment.

“Alpha,” she said. “I didn’t expect to see you out this early.”

“Lira.” Kael’s voice stayed even. “This is Selene. My wife.”

The word landed between us like a stone dropped into still water.

Lira’s smile was polite and sharp at the edges. “Of course. Welcome to Blackthorn. We’ve heard… interesting things about the arrangement.”

I met her gaze without looking away. “I’m sure you have.”

A flicker of surprise crossed her face, quickly hidden. She glanced at Kael again, as if waiting for him to smooth the moment. He did not.

“Was there something you needed?” he asked her.

“Only to report that the eastern patrol returned clear,” she said. “I’ll leave you to your walk.”

She inclined her head and left. Her footsteps faded down the path.

I stared out at the trees. “One of yours?”

“She is a senior warrior,” Kael said. “Ambitious. Harmless if ignored.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

We stood there a moment longer. The space between us felt smaller than the actual distance. I could feel the muted pull of the old bond like a bruise that had never fully healed. I stepped back first.

“If the public walk is finished,” I said, “I’d prefer to return inside.”

Kael watched me for a second longer than necessary. Then he nodded once and started back toward the house. I followed two steps behind, aware of every pair of eyes that tracked us from the training fields.

Inside the main hall, he stopped.

“The gathering is at sundown tomorrow,” he said. “Wear something appropriate. Rylan will have options sent to your room.”

“I brought my own clothes.”

“They will not be sufficient.” His tone left no room for argument. “This is not Silverpine. Presentation matters here.”

I held his gaze. “Understood.”

He turned and walked toward his study without another word. I watched him go, then made my way back to the east wing alone.

In my room, I stood at the window again and looked out over the territory that now claimed me for a year. Somewhere below, Lira’s voice carried faintly as she spoke to another warrior. The sound of my new title—wife—still echoed in my head, spoken in Kael’s cold, steady voice.

I pressed my fingers against the glass.

They would watch for weakness.

I would give them none.

But as the morning light shifted across the grounds, I could not stop the quiet, unwanted thought that settled at the edge of my mind:

The hardest eyes to face tomorrow would not belong to the pack.

They would belong to the man who had once looked at me and chosen to walk away.