The Ghost Town

Three weeks.

That was how long I had been keeping the biggest secret in the world.

I stood in the bathroom of the guest suite—I had moved back out of Dante’s room, using "insomnia" as an excuse—and splashed cold water on my face.

I looked at my reflection. My skin was pale again, but not from poison. It was different. This was the morning sickness that struck me every day at 6:00 AM sharp.

I hefted a palm on my flat stomach.

"You must be quiet," I whispered to the little spark life that was inside me. "You mustn't let him smell you."

Wolf pregnancies were fast. A human pregnancy took nine months; a wolf pregnancy five. I am already about three weeks along, which meant my scent was changing. Heavy vanilla perfume had been my way of masking it. I avoided Dante whenever possible.

The arrangement was suffering. We still worked together, but the nights got cold. I couldn't let him touch me. Getting too close would make him trace my scent, and discover I was carrying a Royal heir... At which point, he'd lock me away or, worse, hand me over to the Council to buy peace for his pack.

A loud knock on the door startled me.

"Come in," I yelled, quickly drying off my face.

Dante entered. He hadn't bothered to knock on the bathroom door. He merely stood in the openness of the bedroom, filling the space with his extremely heavy presence.

He was dressed for travel in tactical pants, heavy boots, and a black sweater that broadened the appearance of his shoulders. Warriorish today rather than CEO-ish.

"Pack a bag," Dante ordered. "Warm clothes. Boots."

"And where are we going?" I asked, stepping out of the bathroom. I held back, standing by the window.

"Business trip," he said, his eyes never leaving me. He watched my scent carry his narrowed eyes. "You're wearing that perfume again. It smells cheap."

"I like vanilla," I lied.

"I hate it," Dante growled. "It covers up your natural scent."

Well, that's the point, I reaffirmed in my head.

"So, is this business trip... very far?" I quickly changed the topic.

"Neutral territory," he replied. "About four hours north. There is a land dispute I need to settle. I need my Auditor to review the property lines and the deed history."

He paused, locking his golden eyes onto mine.

"And frankly, Maya, you look like a ghost. You've been hiding in this room for weeks. You need fresh air."

"I've been working!" I protested.

"No," Dante corrected. "You've been avoiding me. Get ready. We're leaving in twenty minutes."

The drive was long and quiet.

We travelled in the SUV again, but this time outside the city. We were heading north towards the wilderness mountains with glaciers that never disappeared.

The landscape changed as we drove along. Lush green forests belonging to Dante's territory were replaced with rocky cliffs and dark, twisted pines. The air turned cold, while the sky turned slate gray.

I kept an eye on the GPS on the dashboard. It seemed we were heading towards the Dead Zone-a slate of land whose non-existence was claimed by any pack.

"Why is the land disputed?" After two hours in silence, I finally dared to ask.

Dante kept his gaze glued to the road. "Because it used to be valuable. It has silver mines, fresh water, and good hunting grounds."

"Used to be?" I pressed.

"Twenty years ago, a fire destroyed the pack that lived here," he said, his voice devoid of any real emotion. "The land was cursed by the High Council. No one was ever allowed to settle here. But the ban expires next month. Now three packs are fighting over who gets to claim the ruins from those that perished."

Now, my heart stopped.

The fire. Twenty years ago.

He was taking me to Moonfall.

I gripped the door handle; it might as well have been a death grip, knuckles white. I really dread the thought of breathing too hard.

"Which pack lived here?" I whispered.

"The Moonfall Pack," Dante said. "They were... traditionalists. Isolationists."

"I heard they were powerful," I said to test him.

Dante turned his gaze on me. "'Arrogant' is a better word. They thought themselves better than the Council. They paid for that."

The judgment was passed coldly. They would pay for it.

A wave of nausea hit me. This wasn't morning sickness but nausea filled with disgust. With a voice the same as theirs-- just like the Council did--he believed the propaganda, that my family perhaps deserved the death.

I turned my head to look out the window just so that he wouldn't see the tears stinging my eyes.

Ze Bourne, a voice announced, and we were here.

The car slowed down. We were not at any hotel. We were standing at a makeshift outpost at the edges of the black scorned woods.

Behind that outpost, in the mist, I could see it.

Ruins.

The broken stone walls stood as jagged teeth against the gray sky, a huge chimney standing alone in a field of ash, a skeleton of what used to be a grand castle, even bigger than Dante's.

My home. My birth place.

And a graveyard.

"Maya?"

I snapped back to reality. Dante had opened my door. He was offering me a hand.

"Are you going to be sick?" he said, frowning.

"Fine," I said, pushing his hand away. "Just... car sick."

With that, I climbed out. Different air here, in fact. It smelled ozone and ancient magic. It made my skin tingle. My wolf, usually quiet, scratched at the back of my mind. Home, she whispered. Home.

"The meeting is in the command tent," Dante said, pointing toward a large canvas structure. "Representatives from the Red Tooth Pack and the Iron Claw Pack are waiting. Bringing a female Auditor is... unconventional. They will underestimate you."

"Good," I said, buttoning my coat. "I like being underestimated."

We walked toward the tent. The ground was slippery. I could feel the energy of the land suffusing into my boots.

Inside the tent, it was warm. A large table was set up with maps and documents. Four men were waiting, two huge men with red armbands (Red Tooth) and two leaner men in gray (Iron Claw).

They all stood up on the occasion of Dante entering.

"King Dante," the Red Tooth Alpha grunted. He was a scar-faced man with a nasty sneer. "We didn't think the King of the North would come personally for a pile of ash."

"I take all potential assets seriously, Alpha Kael," Rene said smoothly. He pulled out a chair for me. "Gentlemen, this is Maya. My Auditor."

They all laughed.

"You brought a secretary?" Kael sneered. "To a war council?"

"She is here to review the claims," Dante said, sitting down. "If your paperwork is in order, there will be no war."

The meeting began. It was boring, aggressive, and loud. The Alphas argued over border lines and water rights.

I didn't listen to the shouting. I looked at the maps.

My finger traced the old lines of the estate Moonfall. Stopping at a point of interest: The Archives.

According to Mr. Abernathy, the Moonfall records were destroyed. But looking at the map, the Archive was built underground; there was no fire in the castle, and in fact, the underground vaults might still be intact.

"Maya?" Dante's voice cut through my thoughts.

I looked up. Everyone was staring at me.

"Alpha Kael claims that the southern ridge belongs to his ancestors," said Dante. "Does the deed support that?"

I looked at the old yellowed document before me.

"No," I said clearly. "The southern ridge was a land grant given to the Moonfall Pack by the Council in 1950. It was never returned to the public domain. Technically, until the ban expires next month, this land belongs to no one. Anyone claiming it now is trespassing."

Kael slammed his fist on the table.

"I have squatter's rights! My scouts have been camping there for months!"

"Then your scouts are criminals," I said calmly. "And if King Dante buys the debt on this land—which he can do, since the original owners are dead—he can evict you."

The silence in the tent was great.

Dante smiled. It was a terrifying, shark-like smile.

"You heard the lady," Dante said. "I'm buying the debt."

"You can't!" Kael roared. "That's an act of war!"

"It's a business transaction," said Dante, getting to his feet. "Meeting adjourned."

He grabbed my arm and swung me out of the tent before Kael could flip the table.

The wind howled outside.

"That was intense," I said, shivering.

"You did well," Dante said. "You shut him down with facts. Now he has to negotiate with me instead of fighting."

He looked toward the ruins.

"I want to see the property," Dante said. "Walk with me."

"The ruins?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. I want to see what I'm buying."

We walked past the outpost barrier and into the burnt-under forest. The trees were black skeletons, twisted in the heat of a magical fire against their will: twenty years ago.

Closer to the castle ruins, the feeling in my gut continued to swell.

Sadness. Rage. Loss.

I stumbled over an unstable stone. Dante caught me.

"Be careful," he murmured.

Standing in what used to be the Great Hall, its ceiling was gone, open to the gray sky above. Weeds grew through the cracked marble floor.

"I don't understand," I said quietly. "Why do you want this place? It is a graveyard, Dante."

"It's strategic," he said, kicking a piece of rubble. "It sits between three territories. If I control Moonfall, I control the trade routes."

He turned to look at a half-destroyed wall. There was a symbol carved into the stone - a crescent moon with a wolf howling.

"Besides," Dante said softly, "my father admired the Alpha of Moonfall. He was a good man. A man of honor."

I looked at him; it was the first kind thing he had said about the dead pack.

"I whispered, if he was a good man, why didn't your father help him?"

He sighed. "Honor doesn't win wars, Maya. Power does. Moonfall had honor, but not the army to stand against the Council."

He gazed at me.

"That is why I am ruthless; that is why I buy debts and build weapons, so that what happened here... never happens to my people."

He brushed the stray hair away from my face.

"And so it never happens to you."

My heart twisted. He was trying to protect me. In his twisted, controlling way, he cared.

But he didn't know the truth yet.

I looked past him toward the East Wing, where I saw a staircase leading down into darkness. The entrance to the Archives. It was blocked by a landslide, but there was a small opening.

I had to get down there. I needed to see if there was evidence of my birth.

"Dante," I pretended to shiver, "I'm freezing. Can I go back to the car?"

Dante frowned. "I'll walk you back."

"No," I insisted. "Stay here. Finish your inspection. I will just sit in the heated car with the driver. I-I'm feeling sick again."

With concern, he stared at my pale face. "You've really not been feeling well lately."

"Just a bug," I replied.

He hesitated before nodding. "Fine. Go back to the car. Lock yourself in. I'll be ten minutes.'

He turned and walked towards the western tower.

I was out of sight, and when he turned, I didn't go to the car.

I ran.

I climbed over the rubble, tearing my coat on a sharp rock. I bolted for the East Wing. I slid down the debris slope and squeezed through an opening in the staircase blocked off by rubble.

Darkness engulfed me.

I switched my phone flashlight on.

I was in a hallway. The air here was stale and cold, but not burnt; the fire hadn't reached the archives.

Passing doors labeled Storage and Wine Cellar.

The last hallway terminated with a solid iron door embossed with the White Wolf's symbol.

I pushed; it was locked.

My eyes flicked over to the keypad. It was dead. No power.

"Great," I whispered.

I placed my hand on the cold iron.

Please, I thought. I am your daughter. Let me in.

My hand started glowing. It seemed as if violet light from my eyes traveled down my arm. The iron door began vibrating.

Click.

The ancient lock disengaged. Magic. Blood magic.

I pushed the door open.

Rows of filing cabinets still stood inside, untouched by time.

I rushed to the section labeled Royal Births. Opening the drawer for the year of my birth.

There was one file.

Name: Princess Selene (Maya)

Date of Birth: October 30th

Parents: Alpha King Lucius and Luna Eleanor

Status: LIVING HEIR

I opened the folder. There was a picture of a baby with striking violet eyes. And a letter.

If you're reading this, the worst has happened. Run, my little star. Hide your light. The Council fears what you will become.

I sobbed, clutching the paper against my heart.

It was true. I was Princess Selene.

All of a sudden, a noise from behind me down the hallway. Footsteps—heavy, booted footsteps crunching over the debris.

"Maya!?"

Dante's voice thundered down the tunnel, sounding furious.

"Maya! I know you are down there!"

I froze.

I had proof in my hands. But I was trapped.

If he found me here... if he saw what I was holding... game over.

I shoved the papers into my coat pocket, wiping my eyes.

I turned to face the door just as Dante stepped into the light of my phone.

He looked huge in the narrow hall. And he looked furious.

"You lied to me," Dante growled. "You didn't go to the car."

He looked at the open vault door behind me. He looked at the label on the cabinet: "Royal Births."

He looked shocked.

"What is this place?" Dante asked, approaching the cabinet. "And why... why is there fresh magic on this door?"

He grabbed my wrist and yanked my hand up. He saw the faint violet glow on my skin.

Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.

"Who are you?" he whispered. The question was no longer an accusation; it was an epiphany.

I regarded him; I could follow one of two paths. Lie to him and never win his trust back, or tell the truth and pray he did not kill me.

"I am the reason this place burned," I shouted so softly.

Dante tightened his grip on my wrist.

"Show me," he commanded. "Show me what you found."

I reached into my pocket.

But before I had a chance to withdraw the file, a siren blared from outside. A loud, shrill alarm echoing through the outpost.

"Rogues!" a voice rang from above. "Ambush!"

Dante cursed under his breath. He let me go.

"This isn't over," he warned me. "This will be finished, but right now, we fight."

He pulled a gun from his waistband and handed it to me.

"Can you shoot?"

"Yes," I said, hands shaking.

"Good," Dante said, turning toward the staircase. "Stay behind me. Anyone but me who tries to touch you... kill them."

He dashed up the stairs.

I followed him, the secret burning a hole& in my pocket. The truth was out—or almost out. But first, we needed to survive the ambush.

And I had a feeling this was no random attack. The Council knew I was here.