White Peak

They gave me boots that were too big.

Beta Mara brought them at dawn, along with a wolf-skin cloak that smelled like Kael — pine and smoke — and a small knife with bone handle.

"You can't take food, can't take fire," she said, tying cloak around my shoulders. Her hands were rough but fast. "But you can take boots, cloak, and knife. That's Luna law. Even Lira took knife."

I nodded. My throat was too dry to talk. I had not slept. I listened to Kael breathing outside my door all night. Once, he whined in sleep, like wolf dream, and I wanted to open door and touch his hair, but I didn't.

Kael stood at edge of den, bare chest despite snow starting to fall, black pants, hair loose. His gold eyes were black again, sleepless. He hadn't shifted all night. Pack said Alpha who doesn't sleep in wolf form gets sick, but he stayed man, outside my door.

Behind him, whole pack gathered — 100 wolves, maybe more, men, women, pups hiding behind legs. Council in grey robes. All silent. Snow fell on their hair and didn't melt.

Elder Corvin held staff. "Elise Ward, human of Blackwood Village, Offering turned claimed mate, do you go to White Peak willingly to prove Moon's will?"

My legs shook in too-big boots. Cloak heavy.

"Yes," I said, voice small, then louder. "Yes."

"Then go," Elder woman said. "Three suns. If you return alive on fourth dawn, you are Luna. If not, we bring your body and bury as Luna, honored."

Kael stepped forward, claws out, then forced them in.

"Elise," he said, low, only I heard.

He took my bandaged wrists, gentle.

"If you get cold, you cut cloak and wrap feet first, not hands," he whispered, fast, like he was breaking law by giving advice. "Hands can take cold longer. Feet can't. If wind comes, you dig hole in snow, sit inside, cover with cloak, breathe slow. If you see white bear, don't run, play dead — it eats dead slower, gives you time to stab eye. If you see—"

"Alpha," Elder Corvin warned. "No help."

Kael growled, but let my wrists go.

"Come back," he whispered, gold eyes wet. "Even if you hate me after, come back alive. Please, little mate."

I wanted to say I would, but I was scared I was lying.

I turned and walked into snow.

White Peak was not white. It was grey. Sky grey, snow grey, rocks grey, wind grey. After one hour, I couldn't see den behind me. After two hours, I couldn't see anything except snow and my boots.

Too-big boots made walking hard. Snow went inside, wet socks. Cloak was warm, but wind cut through like knife. Knife in pocket banged leg.

I remembered Kael's advice — wrap feet — but feet were already numb, so I sat behind big rock, took cloak off, tore inner lining with knife — hands shaking, blade dull — and wrapped feet. It helped a little.

I walked again.

By noon, snow was to knees. I had not eaten since soup yesterday. Stomach growled. Human stomach, not wolf stomach. Wolves can go days without food, Elder Mara told me. Humans can't.

I found small frozen bush with red berries. In village, red berries meant poison, but some red berries meant life. I didn't know which. I ate three. Bitter. I waited. Didn't die. Ate three more.

Wind got worse. White Peak — I saw it now, tall mountain with no trees, just white and grey, peak lost in cloud. That's where Luna Trial must be done, on top.

Why top? Why not bottom? Moon is closer on top, wolves believe.

I climbed. Snow deeper. Hands cold even in cloak. I dug hole like Kael said, when wind howled too loud. Sat inside hole, cloak over hole like roof, breathed slow. Warmth came from my own breath, small warm cloud in hole.

I thought of Mara, my sister, in my blue dress, with Thomas. Did she feel bad now? Did village know I wasn't dead, but Luna? Would they care?

I thought of Kael, his gold eyes, his knots tied with teeth, his voice when he said "Come back, please."

I didn't want to die anymore. Yesterday at Blood Tree, I wanted to die fast, because no one wanted me. Now someone outside my door breathed all night for me. Someone told me how to wrap feet. That's small, but for girl who was dragged to tree, small is big.

Night fell. First night.

No fire. No food. Snow fell on cloak roof, sealing me in hole. Dark, but not coldest yet.

I took knife and cut small hole for air, like Kael said — breathe slow.

I slept a little, woke to teeth chattering.

Second dawn — grey, colder. My feet were blocks of ice, even wrapped. My bandaged wrists — white cloth now grey — hurt again, green paste gone.

I climbed again, because if I stayed in hole, I would freeze in hole and never reach top. Trial must be on top, Elder woman said. Moon must see you on peak.

Wind was monster now. It pushed me back two steps for every step forward. Cloak ripped on rock. I fell, knee hit rock, blood — red on white snow, first color I saw today.

I cried then, first time since Offering. Not loud, because tears freeze and blind you, Mama used to say. Quiet crying.

"I'm human," I whispered to Moon, to grey sky. "I know I'm human, I'm weak, I can't give pups, I can't hunt, I can't even wear boots right. But I didn't ask to be mate. He smelled me. You made him smell me. So if you made mistake, you keep me alive. You owe me that, Moon."

Moon didn't answer. Clouds grey.

I climbed.

By second noon, I saw top — flat rock, with old wolf carvings — moon, wolf, woman with hands up. Luna altar. Snow covered it, but I knew.

I dragged myself onto altar rock, collapsed. Boots too big fell off. Feet blue-white, ugly. I wrapped them with torn cloak pieces, but no feeling.

Wind here was worst, like claws cutting cloak, cutting cheeks.

I lay on altar rock, looked at grey sky, and thought: This is where Lira did Trial? Strong white wolf Lira who could run in snow? How did she survive? She had fur.

I had only Kael's cloak that smelled like pine.

I took knife and hugged it, not to stab, just to hold something.

"I came," I whispered to sky. "I came to top, Moon. Now what?"

Snow answered, falling on my face, melting on lips — only water I had.

Second night — coldest night. I thought I would die this night. I dug hole on top of peak, stupid, because wind took snow roof away immediately. So I lay behind altar rock, cloak over me, knife under cloak, and breathed slow, like Kael said.

Feet dead. Hands dead. Nose dead. But heart still beating — fast, scared heart.

I thought of Kael's chest, warm, his heart loud under my ear when he carried me from Blood Tree. I tried to remember that warmth and put it in my chest.

Somewhere, far below, wolf howled. Long, broken howl. Gold eyes howl. Kael. He wasn't supposed to follow, but he howled, so I would know he was still at bottom, waiting.

I howled back, but human howl is small, and wind took it.

Still, I think he heard, because second howl came, closer, but not too close — still obeying law, but as close as law allowed.

I smiled with cracked lips and fell asleep to his howl.

Third dawn — last dawn.

I woke and couldn't feel legs.

Snow had covered me, white blanket. I pushed it off, but arms weak. Cloak frozen stiff. Boots gone, buried.

I tried to stand. Fell.

"I have to go down," I whispered to myself. "Three days. Today is third day. If I stay top, I die top, and no one knows I tried."

I crawled. Hands in snow, knees in snow, cloak dragging like dead animal.

Down is easier than up, but not when you can't feel feet.

I crawled for hours. Snow in mouth, snow in eyes, snow in torn dress — white dress now grey-white, same as snow, so I was snow.

At some point, I saw boots — my too-big boots, stuck in snow. I put them on hands, because hands colder than feet now. Looked stupid, boots on hands, but warm.

I laughed, cracked laugh, and fell again.

Then — sound. Not wind. Breathing. Heavy breathing.

White bear? Kael said white bear eats dead slower.

I held knife, even though hands in boots couldn't hold well.

Figure came through snow fog — huge, 7 feet, black hair white with snow, bare chest red from cold, gold eyes black with worry, claws out, running, slipping, falling, running.

Kael.

He wasn't supposed to be here until fourth dawn. Law said no pack can follow.

But he was here, third day still, not fourth.

He saw me — small grey thing in snow, boots on hands, cloak frozen — and roared, not Alpha roar, but broken sound, and fell to knees, sliding to me.

"ELISE!"

He ripped cloak off me — frozen — picked me up, and his chest — his chest was still warm. Even in snow, even bare chest, he was warm like fire. How?

"You're ice," he whispered, holding me, rubbing my feet with huge hands, breathing hot breath on my blue feet, on my hands. "You're ice, little mate, you're ice..."

"You can't... be here..." I whispered, teeth chattering so hard I bit tongue. "Law... fourth dawn..."

"Fuck law," he growled, tears now, gold tears freezing on his cheeks, and he took his own wolf-skin — he had brought extra — and wrapped me, and his body, skin to skin, chest to chest.

"Moon can punish me," he said into my frozen hair, rocking. "Let Moon kill me. You live."

He carried me down, not up, down, running now, bare feet in snow that should freeze but didn't because Alpha wolves don't freeze, stories say.

Behind us, White Peak altar disappeared in snow.

I had not finished three days. I had done two and half.

But I had reached top. Moon saw me.

And I was alive, because forbidden mate came early.

He carried me all way to den, roaring as he entered, "HEALER! FIRE! NOW!"

Pack stared — Alpha carrying ice human, breaking Trial law — but no one said nothing, because his gold eyes were black and he was crying.

Beta Mara took me, wrapped me in furs near big fire, rubbed my feet with snow first — snow to save from frostbite, old trick — then warm water.

Kael knelt by fire, bare chest steaming from cold, watching my feet turn from blue-white to red, watching me breathe.

Elder Corvin came, staff banging, angry: "Alpha, you broke Trial! She didn't finish! She fails! Law says—"

Kael stood, 7 feet, snow melting off him, gold eyes blazing, and for first time since Lira died, his wolf came fully — ears, fangs, claws, tail — all out, not half.

"Law says mate must survive!" he roared, voice shaking den walls, making pups cry. "She survived! She reached top! I smelled her blood on altar rock! Moon kept her alive! And if you say she fails, I will take her and leave pack, and you can find new Alpha who obeys your stupid law over Moon's scent!"

Silence. 100 wolves silent.

Elder woman stepped forward, looked at me in furs, at my blue feet turning red, at my torn white dress that was now snow dress.

"She reached top," Elder woman said quietly. "I see snow in her hair from top. No human has ever reached top. Even some wolves fail. She reached top. And Alpha broke law for her, which Alpha has never done for any wolf, even Lira."

She knelt, old knees cracking, and bowed head.

"Luna."

One word.

Then Beta Mara bowed. Then young wolves, one by one, then all 100, heads down.

"Luna," they whispered, to human girl in torn white dress with boots on hands.

Kael didn't bow. He knelt by me, took my bandaged wrist — still white cloth, now wet — and pressed forehead to it.

"You came back," he whispered, only I heard. "You came back alive."

I couldn't answer, because I was warm for first time in three days, and warm made me sleepy.

I fell asleep to pack whispering "Luna" and Kael's heart loud again under my ear.