CHAPTER SIX

 

 

ISABEL

Did he just call me his wife?

I stood beside the carriage for a moment, watching the attendant hurry toward the eastern wing as Asher's words repeated themselves in my mind.

She is my wife. I sighed softly, wondering if he had even realized what had slipped from his mouth, because perhaps he had only said it to make me feel welcome in a place where I knew no one.

Either way, I wasn't going to mistake one small gesture for acceptance.

One of the young omega servants eventually approached me, lowering her head respectfully before gesturing toward the entrance.

"My lady, the chambers have been prepared, and if you require anything, you only need to tell us." I gave her a small smile and shook my head, quietly declining her offer because I didn't know what I could possibly ask for when I had spent my entire life learning not to ask anyone for anything.

I followed her inside, my eyes moving over the enormous hall as we entered. Fireclaw's pack house was nothing like Rivercrest, with dark stone walls, carved wooden pillars, large iron chandeliers, and blazing braziers that filled the air with warmth.

Everything about the place felt powerful, from the ancient symbols carved into the walls to the warriors standing guard near the corridors.

The omega led me toward one of the sitting areas and stopped.

"You may wait here while the eastern chambers are being prepared, my lady." I thanked her, and when she bowed before leaving, I lowered myself onto the edge of a chair and clasped my hands together.

My thoughts immediately returned to Rivercrest.

Why would they willingly send away the daughter that had no wolf when giving Vivian to Fireclaw would have made far more sense?

I shook my head, forcing myself to stop searching for an answer I probably would never receive.

A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps echoed through the grand hall. I looked up and saw a woman descending the massive staircase, each step graceful as she came toward me.

She was beautiful in a way that immediately made me understand she belonged to this household. Her dark hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and her gown was embroidered with the Fireclaw crest, while the confidence in her stride made it obvious that she had never questioned her place within these walls.

I stood immediately and lowered my head politely. "I am Isabel Diarus, daughter of Alpha Darius from the Rivercrest Pack."

She didn't answer.

Instead, she walked closer, her sharp eyes moving slowly from my face to my plain dress and finally to the small leather bag beside my feet. Her expression changed slightly as she lifted her chin and drew a slow breath through her nose.

Her nostrils flared.

She sniffed again.

Then her brows pulled together.

"No wolf," she murmured.

I remained silent.

She stepped closer, inhaling deliberately as though she expected to catch the scent of a wolf beneath my skin. "How strange," she said, her voice carrying a mocking edge, "you have no wolf scent at all."

I didn't know what to say.

She tilted her head, studying me with open disbelief.

"Are you perhaps one of the omegas from Rivercrest?" she asked, the corner of her mouth lifting. "You must forgive me, but I cannot imagine why else an unfamiliar woman would arrive at my family's household carrying a single worn bag and smelling of absolutely nothing."

My chest tightened.

For a moment, I was too surprised to answer.

Me?

An omega?

Then the realization struck me.

In Rivercrest, even the omegas had been treated with more regard than I had received.

I lowered my head slightly. "No, my lady. I am not an Omega"

“Go on.” She waited.

"I am the daughter of Alpha Darius," I continued quietly. "I was the one chosen to fulfill the peace treaty between Rivercrest and Fireclaw."

For several seconds, she simply stared at me, her eyes moving slowly over my face as though she were searching for some hidden proof that I was lying. Her brows drew together, and she tilted her head slightly, studying me with an expression caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement.

Then she laughed.

It wasn't a warm laugh.

It was the kind that made the back of my neck burn.

"You?" she asked, looking me over again. "You are an Alpha's daughter?"

I remained still.

She stepped closer, her expression becoming increasingly contemptuous. "You expect me to believe that Alpha Darius sent an Alpha's daughter who has no wolf, no scent, no guards, no attendants, and barely enough belongings to fill a servant's bag?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"I can hardly smell you," she continued. "There isn't even the faintest trace of a wolf beneath your skin, and yet you stand here telling me you are the woman who is supposed to become my brother's Luna."

Before I could respond, another voice interrupted us.

"My lady."

The attendant returned from the eastern wing, stopping several feet away and bowing deeply.

"The eastern chamber of the pack house has been prepared for Lady Isabel," he said, hesitating as his fingers shifted nervously against the front of his tunic.

His eyes flickered briefly toward Asher's sister before dropping to the floor, as though he already knew the announcement would not be well received.

The woman's eyes snapped toward him.

"The eastern chamber?"

"Yes, my lady."

She looked genuinely offended. "You mean to tell me she is staying in the household chambers?"

The attendant hesitated. "Young Alpha Asher personally ordered that the eastern chambers be prepared for her."

Her expression hardened.

"And you obeyed him without question?"

"The young Alpha's command was clear, my lady."

She scoffed. "That chamber has been reserved for members of this household for generations, and now you are telling me that a Rivercrest woman is being given one of them merely because my brother has been forced into a treaty marriage?"

The attendant lowered his head. "My lady, I only carried out the order."

She opened her mouth to answer, but another voice came from behind us.

"Because the moment she stepped into Fireclaw, she stopped being the enemy."