The new order

The memory faded

Kaelen blinked once.

He was back in the council hall.

The fire still burned.

Steffens stood exactly where he had been, silently waiting for his Alpha to speak.

“You’ve been quiet,” Steffens said carefully.

Kaelen looked toward the moon beyond the tall windows.

“For twenty-five years…”

“I convinced myself the prophecy was unreal.”

Silence settled between them.

The flames crackled softly inside the great hearth, casting restless shadows across the castle like room walls.

Steffens studied the Alpha’s face.

He had served Kaelen for nearly fifteen years.

He had seen him stand unmoved after battles.

He had watched him negotiate peace with enemies who wanted his head.

He had seen him bury warriors he had known since childhood without allowing grief to cloud his judgment.

But tonight…

Something was different.

“And now?” Steffens asked quietly.

Kaelen’s jaw tightened.

“Now two of my best scouts have found the Veil of Isolde.”

“They tracked a scent that shouldn’t exist.”

“They lost their wolves the moment they crossed its boundary.”

He turned toward Steffens.

“That isn’t a coincidence.”

Steffens frowned.

“You think the child is the one from the prophecy?”

Kaelen didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he walked toward the ancient map spread across the council table.

The worn parchment showed every territory surrounding Ashgrove.

His fingers came to rest on the small stretch of woodland where the scouts had reported the hidden house.

“If the Veil still stands…”

“Someone has protected it for decades.”

He traced the edge of the forest.

“No ordinary witch could have maintained a spell like that for so long.”

Steffens remained silent.

“If the barrier survived…”

Kaelen continued,

“Then someone intended for the child inside it to survive as well.”

The room grew impossibly still.

“That means she is the one.”

Steffens exhaled slowly.

“And if you’re right?”

Kaelen’s expression darkened.

“Then every Alpha who catches that scent will begin searching.”

Neither of them spoke.

The implication settled heavily between them.

Some Alphas would seek an ally.

Others…

A weapon.

Many would simply eliminate a threat before it could grow.

Kaelen straightened.

“I want every report coming out of Ashgrove.”

Steffens nodded.

“No confrontations.”

“No attacks.”

“No unnecessary attention.”

“I want eyes only.”

Steffens inclined his head.

“It will be done.”

A brief silence followed.

“And the girl?” he asked.

Kaelen’s gaze hardened.

“No one touches her.”

Steffens hesitated.

“Not even if another pack reaches her first?”

Kaelen’s voice became dangerously calm.

“Especially then.”

Another pause.

Steffens looked at him carefully.

“Not even Draven?”

At the mention of the rival Alpha, Kaelen’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

“Especially not Draven.”

He turned back toward the window.

Beyond the glass, the moon hung over the endless forest.

For twenty-five years, the prophecy had remained nothing more than folded parchment locked away where no one could find it.

A burden.

A warning.

A story he had chosen not to believe.

Now…

A hidden sanctuary had been discovered.

A scent impossible to ignore had appeared.

And somewhere beyond those trees…

A girl had unknowingly stepped into a destiny powerful enough to shake both kingdoms.

Kaelen had spent half his life hoping the prophecy would die with the woman who had entrusted it to him.

Instead…

It had begun.

Before either of them could speak again, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor outside.

A guard appeared in the doorway and bowed deeply.

“Alpha…”

The guard struggled to catch his breath.

“Lord Draven has arrived.”

Silence.

Kaelen slowly lifted his eyes.

Draven hadn’t come for politics.

He had come because…

He had felt it too.