Chapter 6: The East Hall

LENA

My stomach twisted the entire walk to the east hall. Maren walked half a step ahead of me, her posture stiff and composed while two guards followed behind us in complete silence. The mansion looked different in daylight, less haunted and more dangerous.

Last night, fear had blurred everything together.

Now I noticed details.

The walls were lined with dark wood carved into wolf heads and crescent moons, each design so intricate it looked alive beneath the candlelight. Massive windows stretched along the corridors, revealing thick forests that surrounded the estate from every side. There were no neighboring homes, no villages, just trees.

“This isn’t a pack house,” I muttered quietly.

Maren glanced at me but kept walking. “No.” That was all she said.

I frowned. “Then what is it?”

“The Alpha’s territory.”

That explained absolutely nothing but before I could ask another question, she stopped outside a pair of enormous black doors. Guards stationed outside immediately straightened.

One pushed the doors open and wow, the east hall was enormous.

Conversations echoed beneath vaulted ceilings while men and women dressed in dark formal clothing stood around a long table at the center of the room. Maps covered nearly every surface. Papers. Weapons. Radios.

This wasn’t a council hall, it looked like a war room and the second I stepped inside, the room quieted.

My pulse stumbled.

Eyes turned toward me one after another, assessing, calculating, curious. I resisted the urge to shrink into myself and instead lifted my chin slightly, even if my uneven hair still made humiliation crawl beneath my skin.

At the far end of the room stood Kael, he stood out immediately.

Black shirt rolled to his forearms. Broad shoulders. Silver eyes already fixed on me before the doors had fully opened. He looked entirely at ease while everyone around him looked tense.

I hated how relieved I felt seeing him there.

“You’re late,” he said calmly.

I blinked. “I was asleep.”

“That does not make you less late.”

I opened my mouth, ready to argue, but another voice interrupted first. “She talks back often?”

My attention snapped toward the man standing beside Kael.

Tall, blond and sharply dressed with an expression that screamed irritation before he even spoke again. “She’s smaller than I expected,” he remarked dryly.

Heat rushed into my face instantly. “And you’re ruder than I expected.”

A few heads turned sharply and even Maren inhaled quietly beside me.

The blond man arched a brow while Kael’s mouth twitched faintly like he was fighting amusement.

Interesting.

“I’m Darius,” the man introduced coldly. “And unlike Kael, I’m not charmed by reckless behavior.”

“I don’t remember trying to charm either of you.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. Well, that probably could have gone better.

Kael finally moved then, walking toward me with slow measured steps that immediately shifted the atmosphere in the room. Everyone subtly straightened around him.

Authority followed him naturally.

“Lena,” he said, stopping beside me. “This is Darius Vale. My adviser.”

“His unpleasant adviser,” Darius corrected flatly.

“That too.”

My eyes flickered between them before another figure approached from the opposite side of the room, this one was worse.

Massive shoulders with a Scar across his jaw. Dark military uniform with silver markings running along the sleeves. Unlike Darius, who looked annoyed by my existence, this man looked entirely indifferent.

Cold.

“This is Commander Varik,” Kael continued.

Varik gave a short nod. “Miss Ashford.”

Even his voice sounded dangerous. I swallowed carefully. “Commander.”

His eyes drifted briefly over my face before returning to Kael. “This is the rejected consort?”

The words hit harder than they should have.

Kael’s expression cooled instantly. “Watch your phrasing.”

Varik didn’t react. “Wasn’t aware that accuracy offended you.”

Tension thickened around the room immediately.

Darius sighed under his breath like this conversation exhausted him already. “Can we move on before the entire hall becomes unbearable?”

“I’m standing right here,” I muttered.

“Yes,” Darius replied. “Unfortunately.”

My jaw dropped slightly and I turned to Kael, “Why does he hate me already?” I whispered, or so I thought. 

Darius answered before Kael could. “Because your arrival has complicated six ongoing negotiations, created political instability across three territories, and nearly caused a challenge between council families before sunrise.”

I stared at him, then slowly turned toward Kael. “You forgot to mention all that.”

“It wasn’t relevant last night.”

“Not relevant?” I repeated incredulously. “Apparently people want to kill each other because I exist.”

“That tends to happen around power.”

My frustration spiked instantly. “You say horrifying things like they’re weather updates.”

Darius pinched the bridge of his nose and Varik looked seconds away from leaving the room entirely.

Kael simply held my gaze. “You are under my protection now. That makes you important whether you like it or not.”

The room remained too quiet after that and I hated the way those words settled inside my chest.

Nobody had ever called me important before.

Darius cleared his throat sharply. “If we’re finished with emotional declarations, there are actual matters requiring attention.”

Kael’s gaze finally shifted away from me. “Report.”

The room immediately transformed.

Maps were spread wider across the table while commanders and advisers stepped forward one after another discussing territories, supply routes, border disputes and rogue attacks faster than I could keep up with.

I stayed near the end of the table quietly, trying to understand any of it.

This pack was nothing like the Ashfords. There, council meetings revolved around status and appearances. Endless politics. Empty pride.

Here, every person spoke like survival depended on efficiency.

No one interrupted Kael unnecessarily, and no one questioned orders twice.

Fear lived here differently, not weak fear, but respect sharpened by danger.

My eyes drifted back toward the center of the room where Kael stood over the maps listening to Commander Varik.

Suddenly, a sharp voice cut across the hall. “Movement near the eastern perimeter.”

Every head turned instantly and Varik stepped toward one of the guards. “How many?”

“Unknown.”

The atmosphere shifted violently, conversations stopped and hands moved toward weapons.

My heartbeat climbed painfully as Kael’s expression turned unreadable. “Seal the north entrance,” he ordered calmly. “No one leaves the estate.”

The guards moved immediately and I looked around in confusion. “What’s happening?”

“No idea yet,” Darius muttered distractedly.

Varik was already barking orders across the room while tension spread through the hall like smoke. Nobody looked panicked.

Kael suddenly looked toward me. “Come here.”

I stiffened instinctively. “Why?”

His eyes cooled. “Now, Lena.”

I started toward him immediately despite myself. The room buzzed with movement around us while my pulse hammered unevenly beneath my ribs. Kael reached for my arm just as—

CRASH.

The window exploded beside me.

I screamed as glass shattered across the floor while a deafening gunshot ripped through the hall and suddenly people were shouting everywhere.

My body froze as a bullet tore through the air, flying straight toward me.