CHAPTER SIX

We gathered in the courtyard as soon as the bell stopped ringing. Every pack member, from the smallest pup to the oldest elder, stood shoulder to shoulder in silence. No one spoke. Not even the warriors, who usually couldn’t keep their mouths shut unless ordered.

I shifted my weight, trying not to show the way my ribs protested. Mira stood beside me, her fingers twitching.

Then he came.

Alpha Boris stepped forward, towering in dark leathers that hugged his broad shoulders. He didn’t need to speak to command attention. His presence did that on its own. Cold grey eyes swept over us like a blade, calm but lethal. His dark hair, streaked faintly with silver, was pulled back from a scar that ran along his temple. No one knew how he got it, and no one dared ask.

Beside him stood Beta Magnus. Younger, leaner, always with his jaw tight like he was biting back words. And then Luna Nora, regal and still, with that unreadable expression she wore like a mask. Even her beauty was sharp. Untouchable.

“We called this gathering,” Alpha Boris began, voice carrying effortlessly, “because it’s time we stop pretending everything is fine.”

The hush turned into brittle tension and he continued. “There have been four attacks this week alone. Rogues. Bold, unhinged, and unrelenting. They’re no longer hunting at the borders. They’ve moved closer.”

A murmur passed through the crowd.

“Last night,” he said, jaw tightening, “seven of our warriors were found near the northern trail. What was left of them.”

A chill crawled up my spine. Even Mira shivered.

“Their remains were torn apart,” he said flatly. “Savaged. This is not just about border disputes. This is war.”

Gasps. A few wolves shifted uncomfortably on their feet. I stayed still.

“No one,” he said, voice low and dangerous, “goes near the border. Warriors will guard the perimeter in shifts. Whether you're high or low rank, you are not to wander alone. Anyone who disobeys will be punished.”

His eyes scanned the crowd. My gaze followed, and then stilled when it landed on the familiar figure across from me.

Zara.

She stood with her arms crossed, chin up like she always had something to prove. But her left eye was swollen shut, purple black and angry looking. I didn’t even try to hide the slow, satisfied smile that curled on my lips.

Her eyes found mine. Fury flared in them. She wanted to lunge, I could tell. But not here. Not now. Not with the Alpha ten feet away and everyone watching. So she just glared, teeth clenched. Poor baby.

I turned back to the front as Alpha Boris continued. “In five days, the Summit will begin. Our pack will host.”

Another ripple through the crowd. A few warriors glanced at each other, already dreading the preparation.

“The other High Packs will send delegates. We must be ready to receive them. That means warriors on full alert, enforcers on double patrols, and Omegas—” he paused, his gaze flicking briefly to the left.

I followed it and saw mum. She stood near the kitchens with a cloth in her hands, face unreadable. She didn’t flinch, didn’t even blink. But something in her jaw tightened. Alpha Boris’s eyes stayed a second too long, then moved on.

I blinked. Did I just imagine that?

He continued. “You all know the summit includes the six Great Packs of the Wolf Kingdom.”

A quiet cough interrupted him.

“Well. Five,” he corrected. “The sixth never attends.”

I felt the shift then, subtle but immediate. People stiffened. Even the warriors.

“BloodClaw,” someone whispered near me. The name alone made my stomach drop. Alpha Boris didn’t elaborate. He didn’t have to. Everyone knew the stories. Even the pups.

The BloodClaw Pack. Strongest. Cruelest. Most feared in the kingdom. They didn’t play politics. They didn’t form alliances. They didn’t need to.

I remembered the tales I’d been told as a child, huddled in bed as Freya muttered warnings about their Alpha.

Kairo. The monster Alpha.

They said he’d murdered his entire family the night he shifted for the first time. That he’d risen to power by bathing in his father’s blood. That no one had seen his face since he took the title. That his wolf had glowing red eyes and stood larger than any known Alpha in history.

Some said he wasn’t even a man anymore. Just a beast in a body. The kind of thing nightmares were made of.

Even now, my heartbeat picked up. Something about that name always unsettled me. Like it didn’t belong in the mouth of a sane person.

Alpha Boris’s voice snapped me back.

“Prepare yourselves. No mistakes. We show strength. Discipline. Unity.”

He stepped back. Beta Magnus dismissed us with a sharp wave.

And just like that, the crowd broke apart, buzzing with hushed speculation and nervous glances.

“Did you hear how they fight”

“Like demons”

“They say the BloodClaw Alpha killed a whole village once”

“I thought it was his mate”

“No one knows. That’s the worst part”

Mira pressed closer to me. “I don’t like this,” she muttered.

“Neither do I,” I replied. My ribs ached again. Or maybe it was just dread settling in. We began walking back toward the omega quarters. Guards lined every corridor now, tense and alert.

The storm hadn’t come yet. But we all felt the wind shift. Something was coming and whatever it was, it wasn't a good sign.