Behind the Black Walls

The gates of Blackfang rose before them just after sunrise.

Kael had expected a castle.

He hadn't expected a city.

Black stone walls stretched across the valley like the bones of some enormous beast. Towers rose above them, each crowned with silver flags bearing the crest of a black wolf beneath a crescent moon.

Beyond the outer walls, buildings crowded together along winding streets. Merchants opened their stalls. Guards patrolled the roads. Wolves shifted between human and wolf forms as they went about their morning routines.

Kael slowed.

“This is Blackfang?”

Darius glanced at him.

“You expected something smaller?”

“I expected a fortress.”

“It is a fortress.”

Kael looked at the enormous city.

“It looks like a kingdom.”

Darius smiled.

“It is one.”

Lucien rode ahead of them, but Kael noticed that the king had been unusually quiet since the mountain battle.

Perhaps he was thinking about the Moon Bond.

Perhaps he was thinking about Kael.

Kael didn't know which possibility unsettled him more.

As they approached the gates, the guards immediately straightened.

“King Lucien!”

They bowed.

Kael watched carefully.

The guards were Alphas and Betas, judging from their scents and the strength of their wolf presence. A few Omegas worked nearby as healers and merchants.

Nobody bowed to Kael.

Nobody stared at him.

Nobody tried to kneel.

It was strange.

Almost comforting.

Then one of the guards looked at Kael.

His expression changed.

The man's nostrils flared.

He smelled Kael.

The guard immediately lowered his head.

“Your Majesty…”

Lucien looked back.

“What?”

“The Omega.”

Kael stiffened.

Lucien's expression became cold.

“His name is Kael.”

The guard immediately corrected himself.

“My apologies.”

Kael glanced at Lucien.

The king didn't say anything else.

But Kael noticed.

Lucien had remembered his condition.

Not his title.

Not his prophecy.

His name.

They entered Blackfang.

Kael's senses immediately became overwhelmed.

Thousands of scents.

Wolf.

Smoke.

Bread.

Rain.

Metal.

Perfume.

And hundreds of different people.

His wolf stirred restlessly.

Too many.

Kael took a slow breath.

Lucien noticed.

“You all right?”

“Yes.”

“That's not what your face says.”

Kael frowned.

“My face doesn't speak.”

“It does when you're uncomfortable.”

Kael stared at him.

“You've known me for less than a day.”

Lucien's mouth curved slightly.

“Then I suppose I'm learning quickly.”

Kael looked away before Lucien could see the small smile threatening to appear.

Rowan noticed.

He said nothing.

They continued toward the palace.

Blackfang's palace stood at the center of the city, surrounded by a second wall.

Unlike the outer city, the palace was almost silent.

Tall black pillars supported the entrance.

Silver carvings decorated the walls.

Kael noticed something strange.

There were no chains.

No Omega collars.

No guards stationed outside Omega quarters.

He remembered what Lucien had told him.

In Blackfang, mating requires consent.

Maybe it was true.

But Kael wasn't ready to trust a kingdom because its king had spoken kindly.

He had learned long ago that words were easy.

Actions were harder.

The palace doors opened.

A group of people waited inside.

At the front stood several members of the Alpha Council.

Kael recognized the same kind of authority he'd seen in Valerion.

Powerful Alphas.

Judging eyes.

One elderly Alpha stepped forward.

“Your Majesty.”

Lucien dismounted.

“Councilor Theron.”

The older man looked past him.

His eyes landed on Kael.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his scent changed.

Recognition.

Fear.

Kael's stomach tightened.

“You brought him here?”

Lucien's voice became dangerously calm.

“I brought Kael here.”

“You know what he is.”

“Yes.”

“The Moon-Chosen.”

Kael's hands curled into fists.

Theron continued.

“The Council must speak with him.”

“No.”

The answer came immediately.

Theron blinked.

“Your Majesty”

“I said no.”

“He is a matter of continental security.”

Kael stepped forward.

“I am standing right here.”

Everyone went silent.

Theron looked at him.

Kael held his gaze.

“If you want to talk about me, you can talk to me.”

Lucien looked at him with something that almost resembled pride.

Theron's expression hardened.

“You don't understand the danger you represent.”

“Then explain it.”

“You carry the Moon Seal.”

Kael touched the mark beneath his clothing.

“And?”

“The last person who carried that seal changed the balance of the entire continent.”

Kael's heart skipped.

“The last person?”

Theron hesitated.

Lucien noticed.

“What aren't you telling us?”

Theron looked away.

“That is precisely why the Council needs access to him.”

“No,” Lucien said.

“This isn't your decision alone.”

Lucien stepped closer.

The air changed.

His Alpha aura spread through the hall.

Several Alphas immediately lowered their eyes.

Kael felt the pressure too.

But Lucien wasn't directing it at him.

He was directing it toward the Council.

“While Kael is under my protection,” Lucien said, “no one touches him without his permission.”

Theron's jaw tightened.

“You would risk a war over one Omega?”

Kael's chest tightened.

Lucien's eyes flashed crimson.

“You still don't understand.”

He turned toward the Council.

“I would risk a war over any person under my protection.”

The hall fell silent.

Kael stared at him.

Something inside him shifted.

Not the Moon Bond.

Something else.

Trust.

Small.

Fragile.

But real.

Then footsteps sounded behind them.

A woman entered the hall.

She wore a long silver dress and carried herself with the confidence of someone who belonged there.

Her scent was floral and sharp.

Alpha.

She stopped when she saw Kael.

Her eyes widened.

“Is it true?”

Lucien turned.

“Princess Seraphine.”

Kael's stomach dropped.

Princess.

Seraphine looked at Lucien.

“You found him.”

Lucien's expression was unreadable.

“I found Kael.”

Her eyes moved between them.

Then she smelled the air.

Her face changed.

“You're bonded.”

Kael immediately answered.

“No.”

Seraphine's eyes narrowed.

“The Moon Bond?”

Kael looked at Lucien.

He could feel the faint warmth beneath his skin.

Lucien didn't answer.

Seraphine's face paled.

“Then the prophecy is already moving.”

Kael stepped toward her.

“You know the prophecy?”

She hesitated.

“Yes.”

“What does it mean?”

Before she could answer, the palace doors slammed open.

Darius rushed inside.

“Your Majesty.”

Lucien turned.

“What happened?”

“We found something.”

Darius held out a piece of black cloth.

Attached to it was a silver crescent.

Kael recognized the symbol immediately.

The same crest from the mask.

The Silver Kingdom.

Darius continued.

“Our scouts followed the trail from the mountain.”

“And?”

“They didn't find an army.”

Lucien's expression hardened.

“What did they find?”

Darius looked at Kael.

“A graveyard.”

Silence.

Kael's blood ran cold.

“How many?”

“Hundreds.”

“Silver Fang?”

Darius shook his head.

“No.”

“Then who?”

“We don't know.”

Kael stared at the silver crescent.

His Moon Seal suddenly burned.

The hall blurred.

A whisper entered his mind.

They are waking.

Kael stumbled.

Lucien caught him.

This time Kael didn't pull away.

“Kael.”

“I heard something.”

“What?”

Kael looked into his eyes.

“The Moon.”

Lucien's expression tightened.

“What did it say?”

Kael swallowed.

His voice came out barely above a whisper.

“They are waking.”

Then every candle in the palace went out.

One by one.

Darkness swallowed the hall.

And somewhere beneath Blackfang Palace…

something ancient opened its eyes.