011

NOAH

The sky had gone from black to gray and Maeve still wasn't back.

I stood at the edge of the river and watched the far bank until my eyes burned. Nothing. No splash, no soft padding of paws, no wet fur shaking itself dry over my boots. Only the water sliding past.

She'd said before sunrise.

I paced to the tree, then back to the water. Her clothes were still in a pile at the foot of the trunk, exactly where she'd dropped them. I picked up her shirt, turned it over in my good hand and put it down again.

Dawn was almost here. Something had happened.

I made myself breathe. Maybe she was hiding, waiting out a patrol. Maybe she'd found a good spot to sit tight. Maybe a lot of things. I'd been telling myself that for hours.

Should I go? Or should I stay? If I left and she came back, she'd find an empty clearing and think the worst. If I stayed and she didn't come back...

No. I couldn't sit here.

Something in my chest was pulling tight, an old sour feeling I had learned to trust. She was in trouble. I knew it the way I knew my own name.

She never listened. Not now, not ever. Every time I'd told her to stay low, stay quiet, stay hidden, she'd nodded and then done exactly what she wanted.

I pulled a knife from the table, tested the weight and slid it into my pocket. I didn't bother shifting because there wasn't time to waste.

I waded into the river with my broken hand held high out of the water and the cold gnawing at my knees. Halfway across, I closed my eyes and reached down the link.

‘Maeve.’

Nothing.

‘Maeve. Answer me.’

It was like pressing against a wall. Not total silence, but more of something blocked, a door shut from the other side. A sick wave of dread rolled through me.

‘Maeve!’

No response.

I climbed onto the far bank and stood there dripping, my heart pounding in my ears, and that was when I smelled them.

Wolves, more than one, moving toward me through the trees.

Pack scent. They looked like guards, the way they fanned out as they came, spaced exactly right. They weren't hiding it. Their boots crunched through the brush like they owned it.

I didn't cower. Whatever they thought, this wasn't their territory, and I wasn't going to act like it was. I planted my feet and glared at them.

Four men stepped out of the trees. Big, tired looking with sharp eyed. I held each of their stares in turn.

The one in front raised both hands. "Easy there, fella." He sounded almost friendly, and I trusted that less than a snarl. "We're not here to harm you."

"Then what do you want?"

"You're Noah, aren't you?"

I didn't answer right away. "Who's asking?"

He glanced at the others. They glanced back, a quick exchange I didn't like at all. Then he looked at me again.

"The female is asking."

Every alarm in my head went off at once.

The ground tilted. My fingers closed around the knife in my pocket. "What have you done to my sister?"

"Relax." He took a careful step back. "Nothing's been done to her. She's in safe hands."

"If safe hands means yours, then she isn't safe."

"She's with our alpha."

"That's worse." The words came out in a growl. "I know my sister. She wouldn't stay with anyone willingly. If she's with your alpha, it's because she had no choice."

One of the others shrugged. "Looks that way. She did trespass into the territory."

My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.

"Though I'll say this," he went on, scratching his cheek. "It's impressive. A female, alive, after all these years."

He stepped closer. I felt the others shift behind him and I didn't like the way they looked at me. Not angry, just curious and hungry for something.

"Have you seen any more around?" he asked. "Other females?"

"Take me to my sister."

"Calm down. We're going there now." He didn't blink. "I asked you something."

I stared him down. "I haven't seen any female," I said, "except my sister."

"But do you think there might be more?" The one at the back spoke this time.

"I don't know."

"Honestly," another muttered, half to himself, "I've got a lot to ask but it'll keep for another time."

None of them said anything else. One of them tipped his head toward the trees, and they closed in around me, not touching, but near enough that I couldn't have run if I'd wanted to.

I didn't want to. I wanted my sister.

We walked. It didn't take long. The woods thinned and opened, and then there it was. Bloodfang territory.

It was big. Bigger than any rumor had said. High walls, lit windows, towers with men on top. Wolves were everywhere, and each one stopped to stare at the stranger walking among their guards. I kept my head up and my broken hand tucked against my ribs, and I didn't let them see what it cost me.

They led me through a hall, up a set of stairs, and down a corridor that smelled like tobacco. At the end, a pair of doors stood open.

An office.

A giant of a man sat in a chair behind a dark desk. He didn't stand. He honestly didn't need to. His eyes locked onto mine the second I stepped through the door, and something cold slid down my spine.

I swallowed.

No one had to tell me who he was. Everything in me knew. The alpha king.

"You must be Noah." His voice was deep and unhurried.

"I am." My voice came out rougher than I wanted. I made myself hold his gaze. "Where's my sister?"