CHAPTER 006: THE NAME SHE WHISPERED

Damien's POV

Smoke reached me before I made it through the doors. Cigarettes, cheap incense, and sweat. Three years of this same smell, same hall, same lineup.

My boots felt heavy. I had not slept. The jacket collar rubbed my neck raw. I had done this sixty-seven times by Clement's count and I was tired of standing still while they paraded girls past me.

My jaw tightened before I crossed the threshold.

Kael's voice reached me first, low, meant for the elders clustered by the entrance. He kept it quiet, but it still carried straight to the crown. The Mate Rule he'd pushed through council last month had given him a deadline, and he wanted it to run out.

Clement pushed the hall doors open before I'd finished lacing my boots.

"Alpha. They're waiting. Kael already brought one of his own picks."

"Let them wait a little longer."

His chin dropped, and he left without another word.

I stood, pulled the ceremonial jacket over my shoulders, and worked the buttons closed one at a time, in no hurry to reach a room full of people who'd already decided what tonight was for.

Near the gates, two voices dropped low, thinking I'd pass without hearing them.

"Silver Fang territory. Everyone already knows it but him."

I didn't slow down.

The hall went silent the second I stepped through the doors. Wolves near the aisle folded into bows, one after another, quick and rehearsed.

My father and mother waited on the dais. Kael stood at my father's right hand already.

A noble lady leaned close as I passed. "Three years and still no mate. The council's patience runs out before yours does, Alpha."

I turned toward her. She went pale and said nothing else.

A woman in red silk crossed the floor and pressed her palm against my chest. Her nails were red, fresh paint. Her hand was warm through my shirt.

I let it sit there a moment before I caught her wrist, felt how easily the bone would give under it, and let go once she flinched.

"Alpha." Her breath came out soft. She stepped closer. Her perfume hit me, too strong. "You feel that, don't you? Fate isn't a mistake."

I looked down at her hand on my chest, then back at her face. No pull. Nothing. Just heat from her palm and the noise of the hall behind her.

"You're trying too hard," I said.

"I could be exactly what you need. If you'd let me."

I put my hand on her waist anyway. The room was watching for this, and I gave it to them, slow enough that nobody could say otherwise later. My hand stayed there two seconds, then dropped.

Kael came down the dais steps smiling.

"Careful, brother. Keep touching her like that and the council might mistake affection for a decision."

"I'm surprised you haven't measured the throne for size yet, Kael." I let the woman go and closed the space between us. "You've been standing in my father's shadow so long, you've forgotten it's not yours to stand in."

"The elders don't care how well you wear that jacket, Damien. They care who's standing next to you when Father dies. Right now that's nobody."

"Father!" He raised his voice so the whole hall would hear it. "Three years, and still nothing to show the council but an empty seat beside you. How long before they stop asking and start choosing for you?"

I turned my back on him and crossed to the long table instead. The wine tasted of iron and black cherries, and I let it sit on my tongue before I answered anything.

"Damien." My father's voice stayed level. "The clock doesn't stop for anyone. Not even you."

I left him and crossed to my mother. The dais steps groaned under my weight, and I dropped to one knee before her throne. Her skin had thinned enough to show the bones underneath, and for a moment I just looked at her hands before I spoke.

"You're not here, Mom." I touched the edge of her gown. "Where are you?"

"Searching." Her eyes moved past me, fixed on something I couldn't see. "She's bleeding, Damien. The shadows are heavy where she is."

"Tell me where."

"Your mother is tired." An elder cut in. "The visions take a toll."

I stood, and the elder's eyes wouldn't hold still under mine.

"Finish the sentence," I said.

"The Silver Fang territory." His voice dropped lower. "The face is clear now."

I turned back to my mother. "Name her."

"Enough!" Kael stepped forward. "You'd rather chase your mother's ghosts than face what's sitting right in front of you."

My wolf was already moving before I decided anything, and Kael's knees hit the marble hard enough that the sound carried to the back of the room. Nobody moved to help him up.

"Careful, Kael." Blood ran from his split lip. I let it. "I'm still the Alpha. Don't forget again."

I let the pressure go, and the hall stayed quiet long after I had.

"Sienna," my mother whispered.

My wolf surged toward the name before I could stop it.

Mate.