Whispers of Rebellion

The storm hadn’t broken, but Lena could feel it coming.

By morning, the great hall was quiet, yet the silence was wrong—too sharp, too brittle, as though every stone held its breath. The fire still burned in the hearth, wolves still moved through the fortress, but something had shifted overnight. Whispers clung to the air like smoke. Whispers of her.

She heard them when she crossed the courtyard with Kade, his hand possessive at the small of her back. Wolves bowed their heads to him, but their eyes slid toward her, and in their gazes she read everything—fear, resentment, awe, hunger.

“The human.”

“Look at her hands.”

“Bloodmarked.”

“Cursed.”

Her fists curled, hiding her nails. Claws. Still faint, still small, but real. She could feel them even when they weren’t visible, tingling beneath her skin as though waiting to break through again.

Kade felt her tension. His thumb pressed into her spine, a subtle command: stand tall. He didn’t look at her, but his voice was a low growl meant only for her ears.

“Do not flinch.”

She didn’t. She forced her chin high, though her stomach twisted. She wasn’t sure if she was proving herself to the pack—or to him.

They entered the training yard. Snow glittered under the pale morning sun, packed hard by countless paws and boots. Wolves sparred in human form, blades clashing, the ring of steel echoing against the mountains. Others ran drills in their shifted skins, black and silver pelts flashing as they lunged and snapped at each other.

But when Lena stepped into the yard, the practice faltered. Blades slowed. Wolves broke formation, their eyes turning. The air thickened with tension.

Kade ignored it, striding to the center of the yard. “Resume,” he barked. And like that, steel rang once more.

Lena swallowed. They obeyed, but the whispers didn’t stop. She felt them brush her skin like nettles.

“She doesn’t belong.”

“She’ll doom us all.”

“The Alpha is blinded by his lust.”

Kade’s golden eyes cut across the yard, silencing some of the muttering. But it was still there, simmering beneath the surface.

Lena wanted to leave, to run back to the safety of the fortress walls, but Kade turned to her. “Watch.”

She frowned. “What?”

“You think you know what it means to stand at my side.” His gaze locked on hers, sharp, merciless. “You don’t. Not yet. You’ll learn.”

Before she could answer, he snapped his fingers. Two wolves stepped forward, stripped to the waist, swords in hand. Kade’s voice was a whip.

“Fight.”

They clashed, steel flashing in the cold air. Lena flinched at the first strike, but forced herself not to look away. One wolf ducked, sweeping low, the other blocked and countered, their movements brutal and precise. Sweat and blood spattered the snow.

Kade leaned close to her ear, his breath hot against her skin. “This is what it means to be Blackwood. Blood. Steel. Survival.”

Her throat tightened. “And me?”

He turned to her fully, his eyes molten gold. “You survive with me. You lead with me. Or you die with me.”

Her stomach twisted, but before she could respond, the fight ended—one wolf on his knees, blood dripping from his shoulder. The other raised his blade in victory, and Kade nodded in approval.

But Lena saw it in the defeated wolf’s eyes when he looked up at her. Not respect. Hatred.

The whispers followed her all day. In the mess hall, where wolves paused mid-meal to glance at her claws. In the corridors, where the elders leaned together, their voices low but urgent. In the courtyard, where some wolves bowed to her, others turned their backs.

By the time night fell, Lena’s nerves were raw. She lay awake in Kade’s chambers, staring at the ceiling as the fire crackled low. Kade sat at the table nearby, sharpening a blade, his broad shoulders bathed in firelight.

“They hate me,” she whispered.

His head lifted, golden eyes catching hers. “They fear you.”

“Same thing.”

“No.” He set the blade down, rising. In two strides he was beside her, crouching low so his face hovered inches from hers. His scent—pine and smoke—wrapped around her. “Fear is good. Fear keeps them from touching what’s mine.”

She swallowed. “And if fear turns to rebellion?”

His lips curved, but there was no humor in it. “Then I put it down. Hard.”

She shivered, though not from the cold. His certainty was both terrifying and intoxicating.

Still, when he brushed his thumb along her jaw, her body betrayed her, leaning into his touch.

“You’ll see,” he murmured. “The bond makes you stronger. Already it changes you.” His gaze dropped to her hands, then back to her eyes. “Soon, even their fear won’t matter.”

Her chest tightened. She wanted to believe him. But as the flames crackled low and shadows stretched long across the chamber, Lena couldn’t shake the feeling that the whispers were growing teeth.

And somewhere in the fortress, in the dark corners where loyalty thinned and hatred festered, she knew wolves were already plotting.

The fortress slept, but Lena couldn’t.

The bed was warm, the furs soft, Kade’s scent wrapped around her like smoke and pine—but her mind refused to rest. Every whisper she’d heard today clung to her skin. Every glare replayed behind her eyes.

She turned, watching him.

Kade lay beside her, bare-chested, the scar over his brow catching the firelight. His arm was draped possessively over her waist, his breathing deep and steady. For once, he looked almost human. Peaceful.

But peace never lasted long in Blackwood.

The sound woke her first. A creak. Soft, almost nothing—but her ears caught it, sharp as a blade.

Her breath froze.

The door.

Her pulse slammed into her throat as she tilted her head, just enough to see. The shadows shifted. A figure slipped into the chamber, slow and silent, moving with the surety of a predator.

Her claws burned beneath her skin.

“Kade—” she whispered, but the intruder was already moving.

Steel glinted.

The assassin lunged.

Lena screamed. Kade rolled off the bed in a blur, dragging her with him as the blade sank into the mattress where her throat had been. Feathers burst into the air.

The attacker snarled, twisting, striking again. Kade caught the wolf’s wrist, bones cracking under his grip. He slammed the assassin against the stone wall, but another shadow slipped through the doorway, then another.

Three.

Her heart raced. They weren’t after Kade. Their eyes were on her.

“Get back!” Kade roared, but the assassins didn’t falter. One dove for Lena, claws flashing.

Something inside her snapped.

Her vision bled gold. Her claws burst free, longer this time, sharper. She moved without thinking, her body answering an instinct older than fear. She slashed upward, catching the wolf across the face.

Blood sprayed. The assassin howled, stumbling back, clutching his ruined eye.

Lena froze, staring at her hands. Claws. Blood dripping from her fingertips. Her chest heaved, terror and exhilaration tangling until she couldn’t tell them apart.

The other assassins snarled. One lunged again—only for Kade to intercept. He ripped the wolf’s throat out with his teeth, blood spilling hot across the floor. The last turned to flee, but Kade was faster. He slammed the wolf down, his claws carving deep. The assassin went still.

Silence crashed down.

Lena stood trembling, her hands slick with blood that wasn’t hers. The room stank of iron, of death.

Kade rose from the corpses, golden eyes blazing, chest heaving. His face was wild, his wolf close to the surface. But when his gaze landed on her, something changed.

Not anger. Not fear.

Possession.

“You fought,” he said, his voice low, rough, vibrating through her bones.

“I—” Her throat locked. She looked at her claws, at the blood dripping onto the floor. “I didn’t mean—”

He stalked toward her, closing the distance until her back hit the wall. His hand gripped her jaw, forcing her eyes to his.

“You changed,” he growled, his breath hot on her lips. “The bond woke your wolf.”

Her chest constricted. “I’m not— I can’t be—”

“You are.” His gaze burned. “You’re mine. And now they’ll see it. They’ll fear it.” His thumb dragged along the blood at her cheek, smearing it. “They’ll know what it means to touch what belongs to me.”

Her knees shook, but not from fear. Heat coiled low in her belly, fierce and undeniable, the bond pulling her tighter to him.

But even as his words wrapped around her, even as his kiss nearly claimed her again, Lena’s thoughts spun.

If wolves were already willing to risk Kade’s wrath to kill her—then whispers were no longer whispers.

Rebellion had begun.