Flame and Frost

Chapter 21

 Flame and Frost

POV: Adelina McKenna

Fire cleanses.

But frost remembers.

That’s what Mama Oya whispered to me as I stood at the mouth of the ember chamber the next morning, watching the man who once rejected me now sleep beneath sacred flame.

Daxon Reyes former Alpha of the Silver Fang pack, once heir to a legacy soaked in blood was now just a man with nowhere to run.

And I didn’t know whether to mourn him or use him.

Maybe both.

The Hollow Moon wolves didn’t take kindly to his presence.

Especially not Asha.

She met me near the edge of the crater where the temple once stood, arms crossed, her breath fogging in the chill dawn.

“You let him live,” she said flatly.

“I did.”

“You let him in.”

“Yes.”

She stepped closer. “He severed you.”

“Not completely.”

“Don’t make excuses for him.”

I met her eyes. “I’m not. I’m making use of him.”

A pause.

That gave her just enough doubt to hold her tongue.

But I could still feel the heat behind her glare.

“He carries Silver Fang blood,” she muttered. “And you expect my wolves to stand beside him?”

“I expect them to trust me.”

She looked at me for a long moment.

Then: “You’re not your father.”

“I’m not trying to be,” I said.

“Good,” she said. “He was too soft.”

That day, I gathered the wolves of Hollow Moon in the central yard forty-three strong, though some were barely old enough to shift and others wore the wounds of battles lost long ago.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, eyes wary but watchful.

They had seen me rise.

Seen my brand.

Heard Lux’s pulse.

But now… they’d see what I chose to protect.

I didn’t dress like a Luna.

No flowing silks. No jewels.

I wore my training leathers, my cloak of twilight thread, and my flamebrand bared across my shoulder.

Asha stood to my right. Oya to my left.

And when Dax walked into the circle, supported by a cane and a fresh bandage across his chest, the entire Hollow pack growled low in unison.

But I raised a hand.

And they fell silent.

“You all know what he did,” I said clearly. “You know how he stood by while the Council stripped me bare and branded me as enemy.”

Dax lowered his head.

“But you don’t know what came next,” I continued. “You don’t know what he risked to bring a message here poisoned, hunted, bleeding.”

I scanned their faces.

“Lux’s existence is no longer secret. The Silver Fang Council will move soon. And when they do, they will bring fire, steel, and the lie of tradition.”

A hush fell over the circle.

“And what will we answer with?”

No one spoke.

So I said it for them.

“Flame.”

Dax spoke next, slow and hoarse.

“I don’t expect forgiveness,” he said. “I don’t ask for it.”

He turned to Asha directly.

“I led my pack into submission. I bowed to a Council that feared change. And I stood by while they tried to erase something I couldn’t control.”

His voice cracked.

“But I came here because I believe in something I never dared to before: a Luna who doesn’t need my name to lead.”

He looked at me.

And this time, his voice didn’t shake.

“She doesn’t need a throne. Because she already commands a fire they can’t extinguish.”

There was no applause.

No cheers.

Just silence.

And then Asha stepped forward.

She stared at him for a long time.

Then looked at me.

And dropped a short blade at my feet.

“If he turns on you again,” she said, “use this.”

Then she walked away.

By nightfall, Dax was given a place among the sentries watched, but not caged. The younger wolves kept their distance. The elders did not look at him at all.

But I watched him.

From the shadows. From the trees. From the places where flame met frost.

And every time, he felt it.

Because the bond frayed and thin still existed.

Not whole.

But there.

A whisper.

Later, Oya found me alone at the north edge of the Hollow, near the ridge where old Matron symbols were carved into the stones.

“You did what few would,” she said.

“Which part?”

“Spared him.”

I didn’t answer.

She touched my arm.

“You’re building something. Something dangerous. Something old. And wolves like him—they will either stand behind you…”

“Or try to lead again,” I finished.

Oya nodded.

“So be ready.”

That night, I sat alone beside the fire pit.

Dax joined me without asking.

We didn’t speak.

Not for a long time.

Finally, he said, “Lux…”

My spine tensed.

“…she’s strong,” he said. “I felt her even before the Council named her a threat.”

“She’s not a threat,” I said. “She’s a beginning.”

He nodded.

“I want to protect her.”

“You had your chance.”

“I want another.”

I looked at him, long and hard.

And then I said:

“You don’t get another. You get this. One moment. One chance. You help me build this pack, this war, this fire or you stay out of the way.”

He me

t my gaze.

And he didn’t look away.

“Then I’ll fight beside you,” he said. “Even if you never let me close again.”

That, finally, was something I could believe in.

Not love.

Not forgiveness.

Loyalty.