Chapter 6: The Shadowfang Standard

The morning sun hadn't even fully cleared the trees when the lock on my door clicked open, and Kael walked in with an expression that told me my time hiding under the covers was officially over. He didn't ask if I was feeling better or if my wounds had stopped throbbing; he just tossed a pile of thick, dark clothes onto the foot of the bed and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.

​"Put those on and meet me in the hall in five minutes, because you aren't going to get any stronger by sitting in this room staring at the walls," he said, his voice sounding like gravel hitting metal in the quiet room.

​"I can barely walk without my leg cramping up, Kael, and I don't think your pack is going to be happy to see me sitting at their table," I replied, pushing the hair out of my face while I looked at the heavy leather vest and sturdy trousers he had brought.

​"They aren't happy, but they need to see you, and you need to show them that you aren't just a piece of broken glass that’s going to shatter the moment someone growls at you," he countered, leaning against the doorframe as he watched me struggle to sit up.

​"And if I do shatter? Does that mean you’ll finally let me go, or will you find a more useful way to use my remains?" I asked, pulling the trousers toward me and trying not to wince as the movement pulled at the stitches in my side.

​Kael didn't answer that; he just checked his watch and pointed toward the clothes again. "Four minutes, Elara, and don't bother trying to hide your scent with that perfume Jada left in the bathroom, because it won't work on a hall full of hungry wolves."

​I managed to get dressed, though it took everything I had not to cry out when the stiff fabric rubbed against my raw skin, and when I stepped into the hallway, Kael was waiting for me with an unreadable look in his eyes. He led me down a series of stone stairs and through wide corridors until the sound of hundreds of voices began to echo off the walls, and the smell of cooked meat and wet fur became so thick I could almost taste it.

​We entered the Great Hall, a massive space filled with long wooden tables and hundreds of wolves, and the moment we stepped inside, the loud talking died down to a low, dangerous hum. Every head turned in our direction, and I felt the weight of their stares like a physical force pushing against my chest, especially when I noticed the way their nostrils flared as they caught the scent of Silvercrest on me.

​"Keep your head up and walk as you belong here, even if you feel like you're walking into a furnace," Kael whispered, his hand coming to rest on the small of my back to guide me toward the high table at the front of the room.

​We sat down, and a large man with a jagged scar across his nose slammed his fist onto the table right next to my plate, making the silverware jump and causing several people nearby to laugh.

​"So this is the little Silvercrest stray we’ve been hearing about, the one who’s so weak she doesn't even have a wolf to defend her honor," the man said, his voice loud enough for the surrounding tables to hear as he leaned in close to me.

​"Her name is Elena, and she’s a guest of the Alpha, so watch your tongue, Torin," Kael said, though he didn't move to stop the man; he just watched me to see how I would handle the pressure.

​Torin ignored Kael and kept his yellow eyes locked on mine. "I don't care what the Alpha calls her; she smells like the people who murdered my brother, and I think it's an insult to let her eat the food our hunters worked for while she just sits there looking pretty."

​I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. Still, I remembered the years I spent studying the old languages and the ways of diplomatic speech back at the Silvercrest library, and I realized that reacting with anger was exactly what he wanted.

​"If you truly valued the work of your hunters, Torin, you wouldn't be wasting your energy barking at a wounded woman who clearly isn't a threat to a warrior of your stature," I said, keeping my voice calm and clear so it carried through the sudden silence.

​Torin blinked, looking surprised that I had even spoken back to him. "What did you say to me, girl?"

​"I’m saying that in the ancient texts of the moon-chosen, which I’m sure a noble pack like Shadowfang still respects, it is written that a true warrior proves his strength by his restraint, not by how loud he can shout at a guest over breakfast," I continued, using the formal dialect that was usually reserved for council meetings, "Unless, of course, the Shadowfang standard has dropped so low that you feel threatened by someone who can't even shift."

​A few of the older wolves at the table began to murmur. I saw a flicker of respect in their eyes because I had used their own lore against them, and Torin looked like he wanted to reach across the table and grab me, but he couldn't do it without looking like the bully I had just described him as.

​"She has a sharp tongue for a wolfless thing," a woman sitting across from us said. She was Kael’s beta, Aria, and she was watching me with a calculated expression.

​"She has more than a sharp tongue; she has an education that most of you skipped in favor of hitting things with rocks," Kael said, and I could tell by the slight tilt of his mouth that he was impressed, even if he didn't want to admit it.

​Torin grumbled something under his breath and sat back down, picking up a piece of meat and tearing into it with a frustrated growl, and the heavy tension in the air shifted from pure hostility to a strange kind of curiosity. I tried to eat a piece of bread, but my hands were still shaking, and I could feel Kael’s gaze on me the entire time.

​"Where did you learn to speak like that, Elena? That wasn't just common talk; that was the language of the high courts," Aria asked, leaning forward as she ignored her own food.

​"I spent a lot of time in libraries growing up, since I couldn't spend my time on the training grounds like everyone else, I had to find other ways to defend myself," I replied, trying to sound as casual as possible. At the same time, I felt the sweat dripping down my back.

​"It's a useful skill, being able to make a man feel like an idiot without ever raising your voice," Kael remarked, and he reached over to put a piece of fruit on my plate, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the table.

​"It doesn't change the fact that she’s a Silvercrest," Aria pointed out, her voice dropping to a whisper, "The pack is already talking, Kael, they think you're keeping a spy in the house, and no amount of fancy words is going to change the scent on her skin."

​"I know what the pack thinks, and I know what she is, so let me worry about the politics while you worry about the border patrols," Kael said, his voice taking on that Alpha edge that made even Aria sit back and go quiet.

​The meal continued, and while the whispers didn't stop, no one else tried to challenge me directly, but I knew this was only the beginning of the trials I would face here. After we finished, Kael stood up and signaled for me to follow him, and as we walked out of the hall, I felt hundreds of eyes tracking my every move, waiting for me to trip or show a sign of weakness.

​We reached the quiet of the outer courtyard, and Kael stopped near a large stone fountain, turning to look at me with an intensity that made my heart skip a beat.

​"You did well in there, but don't think for a second that Torin is the only one who wants to see you bleed, because my people have long memories and your family name is written in their blood," he said, stepping closer until I was backed up against the cool stone of the fountain.

​"I’m not my father, and I’m not the pack that threw me away, so I don't see why I have to pay for their crimes," I argued, looking up at him while the water splashed softly behind me.

​"In this world, you pay for the blood you carry, whether you want to or not, and right now that blood is the only thing keeping you alive," Kael said, and he reached out to grip my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye.

​He was about to say something else when a low, vibrating sound started to echo through the ground, and a messenger came running into the courtyard with a look of pure terror on his face.

​"Alpha! Something is happening at the western gate, the shadows are moving on their own, and the scouts say they can hear a voice calling for the girl!"

​Kael’s grip on my chin tightened for a second before he let go and looked toward the gate, and I felt a cold chill run down my spine as a dark cloud began to roll over the walls despite the bright morning sun.