CHAPTER 4

The shock of seeing my own hand-drawn tactical blueprints inside Julian’s private lockbox hung heavily in the warm air of the carriage.

"You've been watching me for two years?" I repeated, my hand resting flat over the yellowed parchment. "While I was sitting in a basement being treated like an unwanted ghost, you were studying my work?"

"A true commander studies power wherever it hides," Julian replied, his voice calm and unbothered by his own admission. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, bringing his face dangerously close to mine. "Cassian saw an oversized she-wolf who didn't fit his vain little standards. I saw a brilliant mind keeping a weak pack alive against three hostile borders. I don't care about court etiquette, Clara. I care about strength. And you are the strongest thing Bloodmoon ever possessed."

The heat in his eyes was blinding. My face flushed, my chest rising and falling in quick, uneven breaths as his praise sank into my skin. For years, I had been conditioned to believe my worth was zero. Hearing an Alpha King speak to me like a rare prize made my skin tingle with a sensation far more intoxicating than wine.

"And if I had refused to leave?" I asked softly, testing him.

"I would have waited," Julian said, his silver eyes flashing with dark possessiveness. "Or I would have offered your pack a treaty so expensive they would have traded you to me without realizing what they lost. But luckily, Cassian’s stupidity saved me the trouble."

Before I could answer, the heavy carriage lurched violently to the left.

The sharp screech of steel grinding against stone echoed through the wood, followed immediately by the terrifying, guttural roars of feral wolves. The horses screamed in panic, and the carriage slammed to a complete halt, throwing me forward.

Julian moved with terrifying, instantaneous instinct. Before my shoulder could hit the door, his massive arm shot out, catching me around the waist and hauling my body against his chest. His muscular frame absorbed the impact of the crash completely.

"Stay down," Julian growled into my hair, his body completely covering mine as the scent of cedar and pure deadly Alpha energy flared around us.

Out in the darkness, the sounds of battle erupted—the clash of blades, the tearing of flesh, and the panicked shouts of Julian's outer guards.

"Rogue ambush!" a guard yelled from outside, his voice cut short by a wet choke. "They came from the upper ridge!"

Julian drew his obsidian hunting blade from his boot, his muscles coiled like a spring ready to snap. He reached for the carriage door handle, but I grabbed his wrist.

"Wait!" I snapped, my eyes racing as my tactical brain automatically took over the fear. "Listen to the terrain! We're in the Blackwood Pass. It's a narrow bottleneck with steep rock faces on both sides. Rogues never attack here unless they have a split formation!"

Julian paused, his silver eyes locking onto mine with sudden, intense focus. "Explain."

"If they're hitting the front of the carriage, it's a decoy to draw your guards away from the high ground," I said rapidly, my mind mapping the pass instantly. "They have archers or heavy shock-tropes waiting on the ledge above the rear wheels to crush the escort from behind!"

Julian didn't hesitate for a single second. He didn't question my judgment or tell me to be quiet. He trusted my mind instantly.

"Kael!" Julian roared through the carriage window to his second-in-command. "Flank pattern Delta! Target the upper southern ledge! The front attack is a feint!"

Outside, the shift in command was immediate. Heavy boots scrambled through the snow toward the rear ledge. Within seconds, the sharp twang of bowstrings and shrieks of caught rogues proved my calculation right. My warning had saved his rear guard from being slaughtered in a blind spot.

A massive, scarred rogue wolf suddenly smashed through the glass window of the carriage door, snapping its blood-stained jaws inches from my face.

I didn't scream. I grabbed the heavy bronze brazier off the floor and slammed the burning hot metal straight into the wolf's snout. The beast howled in agonizing pain, reeling backward.

In that split second, Julian moved like a phantom. He lunged across me, his body pressing heavily over my lap as he thrust his obsidian blade straight through the rogue's throat. Warm blood spattered across the carriage door as the wolf collapsed into the snow.

Julian pulled his blade back, breathing heavily. He was straddling my lap in the cramped space, his chest crushing against mine, his face inches from my lips. His blood was pumping, his dark eyes wide and wild with the thrill of the kill.

He looked down at me, taking in my steady breathing, the hot iron brazier still gripped tightly in my hand, and the absolute lack of panic in my eyes.

A low, deep rumble started in his chest, a purr of pure, primal satisfaction.

"You didn't even flinch," he whispered, his hot breath brushing over my mouth.

"I've spent five years studying rogue attack patterns," I panted, my pulse hammering wildly against my throat—not from the attack, but from the overwhelming physical proximity of his body pressed hard against mine. "I don't flinch at math."

Julian let out a dark, breathless laugh. He reached up, his rough fingers caressing my cheek, wiping away a tiny fleck of blood with his thumb. The intimacy was blinding, dangerous, and sent a wave of pure heat straight to my core.

"A warrior queen," he murmured, his thumb lingering on my lower lip. "I was right about you, Clara. You were made for the North."

The carriage door was suddenly pulled open from the outside. Kael, Julian’s head warrior, stood covered in rogue blood, holding a torch.

"The pass is clear, Alpha!" Kael reported, before freezing as he saw the position of his King pinned over my lap inside the carriage. "Ah... my apologies, Sire."

Julian slowly pushed himself up, though his eyes never left mine as he adjusted his tunic. "Report."

"Three rogues dead, Sire. The rest scattered into the mountains," Kael said, his eyes shifting to me with a newfound, deep respect. "If Lady Clara hadn't spotted that upper ledge trap, we would have lost four men in the bottleneck."

"I know," Julian said, his voice dropping an octave as he stepped out of the carriage and extended his hand to help me down into the snow. "Assemble the escort. We reach the Frost-Ridge fortress by dawn."

As I stepped onto the snow, holding Julian's hand, a messenger hawk suddenly plummeted out of the dark sky, landing on Kael's leather arm guard. Kael unrolled the tiny scroll attached to its leg, his face turning pale under the torchlight.

"What is it?" Julian demanded.

Kael looked up at us, his jaw tight. "It's an emergency missive from the Bloodmoon border, Sire. Prince Cassian just discovered that the entire northern supply ledger is missing from his vault. Their main food stores are locked behind your old security codes, Lady Clara."

A cold, dark smile spread across my lips. I adjusted my satchel over my shoulder. "Then he’ll have a very hungry winter."

Kael swallowed hard before continuing. "That isn't all, Sire. Prince Vance has gone completely unhinged. He has mobilized three war packs and declared to the Regional Council that Alpha Julian has stolen his legal mate... and he is marching for the border."