Chapter Two: The Alpha's Claim

I sat in the back of Kael's truck, wedged between two pack warriors who smelled like earth and danger. The younger one, a woman with copper-red hair, kept glancing at me like I was a bomb that might detonate. Smart girl.

"Luna, ease up," Kael said from the driver's seat, catching her expression in the rearview mirror. "You are making our guest uncomfortable."

"Your guest showed up out of nowhere with no pack history and no family," Luna shot back. "Forgive me for being cautious, cousin."

Cousin. That explained the protectiveness radiating off her in waves.

"I did not ask to be brought here," I said quietly, staring out the window as the borderlands gave way to dense forest. "I was fine where I was."

"Fine?" Kael's eyes found mine in the mirror, and the mate bond pulled tight in my chest. "Working yourself to exhaustion in a borderland inn where any rogue could have taken you?"

"I can handle myself."

"I am sure you can." His tone suggested he did not believe me at all. "But you will not have to anymore."

The truck turned onto a private road marked by two stone pillars carved with wolves mid-howl. My stomach twisted. I was entering Nightshade territory. The place where my parents had been murdered. Where my childhood had ended in blood and fire.

"Tell me about yourself, Ren," Kael said, his voice carefully casual. "Where are you from originally?"

Every question was a minefield. "North. Small pack. They are gone now."

"Gone how?"

"War." The truth slipped out before I could stop it. "They lost."

The truck went silent. Even Luna's suspicion shifted into something that might have been sympathy.

"I am sorry," Kael said, and he sounded like he meant it. "How old were you?"

"Fourteen." Another truth, though I left out which war, which pack, whose father had led the slaughter.

"And you have been alone since then?"

"More or less." I pulled my sleeve down, making sure the crescent scar stayed hidden. "Can we not talk about this?"

"We need to talk about something," Luna interjected. "Like why the Alpha heir is bringing home a complete stranger and announcing mate claims without even consulting his father first."

"My father does not choose my mate," Kael said, an edge entering his voice. "The moon does."

"The moon also expects us to use our heads," Luna muttered.

The forest opened up into a clearing, and I saw it. Nightshade territory was nothing like the ruins I remembered of my own home. Stone buildings mixed with modern structures, all arranged around a central hall that looked like it had stood for centuries. Wolves moved through the compound with purpose, stopping to stare as Kael's truck rolled past.

"How many live here?" I asked, hating how small my voice sounded.

"About three hundred in the main compound," Kael said. "Another two hundred scattered throughout the territory."

Five hundred wolves. Five hundred potential witnesses to recognize a scar I should not have.

The truck stopped in front of the central hall. Kael was out and opening my door before I could reach for the handle.

"Come on," he said, offering his hand. "I want you to meet my father."

Every instinct screamed at me to run. "Maybe that can wait until tomorrow. I am tired, and—"

"Kael Brennan!"

The voice cracked across the clearing like a whip. I turned to see a massive man striding toward us, silver threading through his black hair, ice-blue eyes blazing with fury. Even from a distance, I could feel the power rolling off him in waves.

Alpha Marcus Brennan. The man who killed my parents.

My wolf recoiled so hard I almost staggered. Kael's hand steadied me, his brow furrowing with concern.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," I lied, but my whole body had gone cold. Marcus was ten feet away now, and I could see the scars on his throat, three parallel claw marks that I knew with sudden, horrible certainty came from my father's final strike.

"What is the meaning of this?" Marcus demanded, his gaze raking over me with immediate suspicion. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Ren," Kael said, and I heard the challenge in his voice. "She is my mate."

Marcus's expression went through several shifts. Surprise, disbelief, and then something darker. "You cannot be serious. You know nothing about this girl."

"I know enough."

"Where is her pack? Her family? Her lineage?" Marcus circled me slowly, and it took everything I had not to bolt. "She smells wrong. Like she is hiding something."

The wolfsbane. I had used it to burn away my pack scent years ago, but traces still clung to my skin. Marcus was too experienced, too sharp not to notice.

"She is from a pack that fell in war," Kael said, moving slightly to block his father's view of me. "She has been alone since she was fourteen. That is all that matters."

"That is not all that matters." Marcus's eyes narrowed. "Which pack?"

My mind raced, searching for a name far enough away, obscure enough to avoid questions. "Silverpine. Northern territory. You would not have heard of them."

"I have heard of everyone." Marcus stepped closer, and I forced myself to hold his gaze. "Silverpine fell twelve years ago to rogues. No survivors."

My blood turned to ice. He was testing me, waiting to see if I would flinch.

"There was one," I said softly. "Me."

"Convenient." Marcus's lip curled. "Show me your shoulder."

The world stopped spinning. "What?"

"Your left shoulder. Show me."

Kael stepped between us fully now. "Father, that is enough. You are making her uncomfortable."

"Move aside, boy." Alpha command bled into Marcus's voice, the kind that made lesser wolves drop to their knees. But Kael held firm.

"No."

The single word hung in the air like a declaration of war. Father and son stared at each other, both radiating dominance, neither backing down.

"You would defy me?" Marcus asked quietly. "For a girl you met tonight?"

"For my mate." Kael's hand found mine, and the contact sent warmth flooding through my frozen veins. "Yes."

Marcus's expression shifted into something calculating. "Very well. She can stay. For now." His gaze found me again, cold and assessing. "But know this, girl. I will discover what you are hiding. And when I do, not even my son will be able to protect you."

He turned and walked away, his shoulders rigid with fury.

Luna let out a low whistle. "Well, that went about as badly as possible."

"He will come around," Kael said, but he did not sound convinced.

I watched Marcus disappear into the central hall, my heart hammering against my ribs. He suspected something. Maybe not the full truth yet, but enough to keep digging.

And when he saw the crescent scar on my shoulder, when he recognized the mark he must have seen burning on my father's skin before he killed him, this fragile sanctuary would turn into my execution ground.

"Ren?" Kael's voice pulled me back. "You are shaking."

"I am fine," I whispered, the lie automatic now.

But I was not fine. I was standing

in the heart of enemy territory, bound by fate to the son of my family's murderer, and the countdown to my death had just begun.