5

Ayla

I had never been beyond the southern wall and the sanctuary. As we followed Ragnar into the main palace, the sheer scale of the towering architecture made me feel utterly microscopic.

My stomach tightened. My fingers curled around my dress as memories of Ragnar’s enormous wolf flashed through my mind. If I had barely survived the Nightclaw Pack, what were my odds here, in a realm where everyone was twice my size?

I missed being in the cabin and going to the sanctuary to meet Jasper and the other worshippers of the Moon Goddess, and I resented Dave for ruining the peace I had.

I turned around and caught Emily staring at me. She had a look in her eyes that sent shivers down my spine, but I held her gaze for a moment before turning away.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Ragnar said with a smirk as he pushed open the inner doors, and we stepped into a cavernous room.

The ceiling sparkled with gems that had been embedded in it, and the twins broke free and ran in different directions.

I tried to stop them, but Ragnar pulled me back. “Let them be kids, Ayla. I loved running around the halls as a kid too.”

He gave me a look that assured me I was safe. I nodded and followed him into his study.

“I’ll go stay with them,” Stacy said, shutting the door behind her.

“So, what do you think?” Emily asked as she sat down on the couch.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“The palace. Does it pale in comparison to what you have wherever you’re from?” She asked, twirling her hair.

I thought about the Southern Pack and smiled sadly. “The Nightclaw Realm is beautiful in its own way. So is this one,” I replied, and she scoffed.

“Such a diplomatic answer,” Ragnar said with an amused look as he sat down. “You’re more gracious than I am. I would’ve been talking about how ugly the entire realm was if I were in your shoes.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Have you been there?” I asked Emily, and she laughed.

“No. Why would I ever go? I have everything I need here, and besides, the laws don’t permit us to cross borders, which begs the question... why are you here?” she answered.

“Why am I here?” I turned to Ragnar.

“Because you are under my protection,” he said, and Emily turned to him sharply.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you just walking around claiming rogue wolves now?”

“She isn’t a rogue wolf,” he replied.

“Then what is she?” She threw her hands up and turned to me.

Suddenly, Emily leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as her nostrils flared. She tilted her head, taking a deep, deliberate breath of the air between us, her expression twisting from annoyance to deep confusion. She stepped closer, invading my space as she tried to catch a proper whiff.

“What are you?” she whispered, almost to herself. “You’ve sat there for, what, five minutes, and I cannot place your scent. You don’t smell like a wolf.” Her eyes scanned me from head to toe, her posture stiffening. “Your aura... it’s different...” she trailed off.

I thought about how ironic it was that she was asking the same questions I’d been asking my entire life. Five years ago, I didn’t have a scent. I was an Omega, the runt of the litter, enduring all kinds of degradation until the Moon Goddess made Dave and me mates. My heart ached as the memories came flooding back. I sighed and turned to Ragnar.

“I’d like a bed, please. I want to lie down.”

He nodded and left the room to make arrangements.

Emily waited until his footsteps faded down the hallway. Then she turned to me, a polite smile curving her lips.

“I don’t like you,” she said pleasantly. “There’s something about you that rubs me the wrong way, and I hope you’re not here for long.”

“Come with me,” Ragnar called from the hallway.

His voice was a lifeline. I didn’t waste a single second, practically bolting out of the room to escape the toxic weight of her gaze. As I stepped into the corridor, my shoulders dropped in relief, the cool air washing away the suffocating tension Emily had created.

I followed the sound of his deep voice and found him showing the kids a wooden statue he had carved as a boy. Seeing him so relaxed with the twins helped settle the frantic beating of my heart.

I stayed close to his side as he gave them a mini tour of the palace grounds, dreading the moment it would end. Sure enough, my brief reprieve was cut short when Ragnar stopped, turning back to the very person I was desperate to avoid. He signaled for Emily to show me my room.

Emily and I walked in silence, the atmosphere between us tense with unspoken thoughts. When I walked into the room, I let out a relieved sigh, happy to finally have some time to myself to think.

I lay on the cold floor and closed my eyes because it reminded me of the cave where I had delivered the twins. I fell asleep thinking about how much my entire life had changed that night and woke up to Leo gently shaking me.

“Mom, Mom, Snow’s in the ice,” he said with a frightened expression.

“What?” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

“Snow is in the ice,” he repeated, and I sat up immediately.

“Where is she?” I asked, and he pointed toward the courtyard.

I stood up, grabbed his hand, and he pulled me. “Faster, faster,” he urged.

I picked him up and increased my pace.

As we rushed through the hallway, the air grew rapidly colder, biting at my skin. I looked up and gasped—frost was aggressively creeping across the ceiling and walls, swallowing the decorative gems and locking them in a dull, frozen glaze. My heart raced as we burst into the courtyard and saw a full-blown blizzard raging in the center of the yard.

I slowly set Leo down and looked around for Snow. Something had triggered her abilities, and I needed to find her and calm her down.

“In the ice,” Leo said, tugging at my shirt and pointing directly at the center.

I squinted through the blinding white until I finally saw Snow’s silhouette encased in ice. “Snow!” I shouted over the howling wind, forcing my steps forward into the biting storm.

Leo stood at the doorway and watched anxiously. Her abilities had been manifesting as often as his, but she had never done anything like this.

Panic seized my chest. If the guards felt this unnatural freeze, our secrets would be laid bare. I had to calm her down and suppress this storm before the entire palace realized what—and who—was causing it.

“Snow, it’s Mommy,” I said as I carefully stepped into the storm.

She was crouched on the floor, her head in her hands as she sobbed.