Walls Of Silver and Bone

The Silver Pack fortress, Kharos, did not sit upon the mountain; it was carved into it. As the weary column of Solar Eclipse wolves rounded the final jagged pass, the fortress loomed like a titan of white stone and reinforced steel. It was beautiful, cold, and imposing—a stark contrast to the wooden longhouses of Audrey’s childhood.

"It looks like a cage," Audrey whispered, her breath hitching in the thin, freezing mountain air.

"It’s a shield," Lucas corrected softly. He signaled to the sentries on the ramparts. The massive iron gates began to groan open, the sound echoing through the valley like a low growl. "But tonight, it is your home. My people have heard the rumors, Audrey. They know I went to fetch a bride from the Moon Shadow line. They do not yet know that I brought back a miracle."

As they crossed the threshold, the atmosphere shifted. The Silver Pack was disciplined, their warriors standing in silent, silver-armored rows. But as Audrey passed, the silence wasn't one of respect—it was heavy with suspicion.

A tall woman with hair the color of winter frost stepped forward. This was Vane, Lucas’s Second-in-Command. Her eyes swept over Audrey’s tattered, dust-stained clothes and the shivering omegas behind her.

"Alpha," Vane said, bowing her head slightly to Lucas but keeping her gaze fixed on Audrey. "The healers are ready for the wounded. But the Elders are gathered in the Great Hall. They are... concerned. They heard the Alpha of the Moon Shadow has fallen, and that a 'servant girl' is leading his strays into our sanctuary."

Lucas’s jaw tightened. The air around him grew heavy with the scent of ozone—a warning. "This is Audrey. She is the White Wolf, Vane. And she is my Luna. You will address her as such."

Vane’s eyes widened, a flash of disbelief crossing her face. "The White Wolf is a myth, Lucas. A story we tell pups to make them sleep. To bring her here, with the Council’s Arbiters at our heels... you’re inviting a siege."

"I am inviting a revolution," Audrey interrupted. She stepped forward, her golden aura flickering slightly against the cold. She didn't have the fine silks of her sister Samantha, but she had a regal stillness that made Vane instinctively take a half-step back. "I understand your fear, Vane. I have lived in fear for twenty-one years. But the Silver Pack was built on strength, not cowardice. If your Elders want to question my right to be here, let them do it to my face."

Lucas’s hand settled on the small of her back, a possessive warmth. "The Great Hall. Now."

The interior of the fortress was lit by blue-fire torches that burned without smoke. As they walked, Audrey felt the "Powerless" girl inside her screaming to hide, to find a corner to scrub. But the White Wolf—the entity living in her blood—was waking up. It wanted to roar.

They entered the Great Hall, a cavernous room where three elderly wolves sat upon a raised dais. These were the Silver Elders.

"Lucas," the oldest, a man named Silas, rasped. "You were sent to secure an alliance through Samantha of the Moon Shadow. Instead, you return with a girl who smells of woodsmoke and common kitchens. And the Council has already sent word—they claim she is an abomination."

"She is the sun to my moon, Silas," Lucas roared, his voice shaking the banners on the walls. "My sight was restored by her touch. Is that the work of an abomination?"

Silas leaned forward, his eyes milky with age but sharp with political cunning. "Even if she is what you say, the Trial of Purity is not just a test of power. It is a test of lineage. If she cannot prove her soul is untainted by the darkness of her father’s house, the Council will execute her. And they will take your eyes again, Lucas. Permanently."

Audrey looked at Lucas. He hadn't told her that part. He was risking his very senses—the thing he had just regained—to stand by her.

Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the hall burst open. A young scout, breathless and bloodied, stumbled in.

"Alpha! A messenger from the Moon Shadow border!" the scout gasped. "Alpha Terren is not dead. He has survived the severance of the bond. He has declared Audrey a thief and a traitor to the blood. He is calling for the 'Blood-Debt' to be paid... and he has hired the Black Guard mercenaries to hunt her down."

The room went ice-cold. The Black Guard were not wolves; they were monsters who specialized in killing Shifters.

Audrey felt the ground tilt. Her father was coming. And he wasn't coming for a daughter—he was coming to erase the evidence of his lies.

"Let him come," Audrey said, her voice dropping to a whisper that carried more weight than a scream. The torches in the room flared white, the heat suddenly becoming intense. "He thinks he's hunting a rabbit. He's about to find out what happens when you try to cage the sun."

But as she looked at the fearful faces of the Elders, Audrey realized the true suspense: The enemy wasn't just outside the walls. The enemy was the doubt in the hearts of the very people she was supposed to lead.