Chapter 6

“Survive.”

The darkness vanished.

I slammed onto frozen ground, gasping as icy air filled my lungs. Snow clung to my face and hair. Above me, the forest stretched beneath a pale morning sky, silent and motionless.

For one wild moment, I thought I had dreamed everything.

Then I saw the black crescent burning beneath my skin.

My wolf rose inside me.

This time, she did not tremble.

Seraphina, she whispered.

I pushed myself onto my elbows.

“What is it?”

Her attention fixed on the distant trees.

Someone is coming.

I listened.

At first, there was only the wind.

Then came the unmistakable sound of horses moving through the snow.

I struggled to my feet, my injured body swaying. Through the trees, I glimpsed dark figures approaching the ancient boundary stones.

One rider moved ahead of the others.

Even from a distance, I could sense the terrible strength rolling off him.

My wolf went utterly silent.

The rider stopped ten feet away from me.

His horse was enormous, black as midnight, with silver eyes that gleamed beneath the falling snow. The animal stamped its hooves, restless beneath its master's silence.

Behind him, six warriors spread across the forest path.

None of them looked at me for long.

They kept their eyes on the man in front.

That was how I knew he was dangerous.

Not because he carried a sword or wore black armor marked with a silver wolf. Not because his face was carved into the kind of cold perfection that belonged in royal portraits.

It was because every other wolf in the clearing seemed afraid to breathe while he was watching.

“Seraphina Vale,” he said.

My blood turned cold.

I had never met him.

Yet he knew my name.

I lifted my chin. “And you are?”

One of the warriors behind him made a strangled sound.

The rider slowly turned his head toward me.

“Do you always question strangers when they arrive armed?”

“Only when they know my name before introducing themselves.”

For the first time, something changed in his expression.

Not quite amusement.

Interest.

He swung down from his horse, landing in the snow with effortless grace. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a long black coat fastened with silver clasps. Dark hair fell across his forehead, and a thin scar cut through one eyebrow.

His gaze traveled over my torn dress, my bloodied knees, and the black mark burning beneath the skin of my wrist.

It stopped there.

The air changed.

His wolf stirred.

I felt it like a sudden pressure against my chest, an invisible force pushing me backward. The mark on my wrist flared, and a sharp pain shot through my palm.

The stranger's jaw tightened.

“What,” he asked quietly, “did you awaken?”

I covered my wrist with my other hand.

“Nothing that concerns you.”

A warrior behind him reached for his sword.

The stranger raised one finger.

The warrior immediately stopped.

Interesting.

“You are standing in a forbidden territory,” the man said. “You have crossed a boundary no ordinary wolf can survive. And something ancient has marked you.”

“Then perhaps you should ask the forest why it allowed me to live.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Careful.”

“Or what?”

He stepped closer.

Every instinct I possessed screamed at me to retreat. My wolf, who had barely spoken since the rejection, pressed herself against my consciousness.

But I had spent my entire life retreating.

I was tired of it.

The stranger stopped close enough that I could see the faint silver ring around his pupils.

“You mistake my patience for kindness,” he said.

“And you mistake your reputation for authority over me.”

The clearing went silent.

One of the warriors actually took a step backward.

I wondered whether I had just signed my own death warrant.

Then the stranger laughed once, softly and without warmth.

“Kael Draven.”

The name struck me harder than any threat could have.

The High Alpha.

The ruler whose territories stretched across half the continent. The man who had crushed three rebellions without losing a single province. The Alpha whose court reportedly punished disobedience more severely than treason.

And I had just insulted him.

Wonderful.

“Your Majesty,” I said, dipping my head just enough to be technically respectful.

His expression suggested he noticed the calculation.

“You know who I am now.”

“I do.”

“Then you understand why I should have you restrained and taken to my court for questioning.”

I glanced at the warriors surrounding us.

“I understand why you might want to try.”

His gaze dropped to my wrist again.

The mark pulsed beneath my skin.

Kael's composure cracked for the briefest moment.

Not fear.

Recognition.

He caught my wrist.

I reacted before I could think, twisting my arm and driving my elbow toward his ribs.

He blocked the strike easily.

His other hand closed around my waist, steadying me before my numb legs could send me sprawling into the snow.

For one suspended heartbeat, we stood almost chest to chest.

His grip was firm, but he did not hurt me.

His eyes met mine.

And something inside me answered him.

A strange vibration passed between us, deep beneath the surface of my skin. My wolf lifted her head so suddenly that I nearly gasped.

Kael went completely still.

His fingers loosened around my wrist.

“What are you?” he whispered.

I hated that the question sounded less like an accusation and more like a man confronting something he had feared for years.

I pulled free.

“Someone who doesn't belong to you.”

His eyes darkened.

“Everyone in my territory belongs under my protection.”

“Is that what you call it?”

His expression sharpened.

“What?”

“Protection. Is that the word powerful men use when they want everyone to obey them?”

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

Then Kael stepped aside.

“Interesting,” he murmured.

I had no idea whether he meant me or the mark.

Possibly both.

He turned toward his warriors. “Bring the carriage.”

One of them hesitated. “Your Majesty, the Council's orders were to eliminate any surviving threat connected to the awakening.”

Kael looked at him.

“Did I ask you to repeat the Council's orders?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Then remember whose orders you follow.”

The warrior bowed his head.

A cold understanding settled over me.

Kael had not come to rescue me.

He had come because someone wanted me dead—and he had decided that he would be the one to determine why.

“Where are you taking me?” I demanded.

“To my estate.”

“I refuse.”

“You may refuse when you have the strength to walk out of this forest.”

My cheeks burned.

He was right, and I hated him for it.

“I won't be your prisoner.”

Kael studied me for a moment.

“Then don't behave like one.”

Before I could answer, the ground shuddered beneath our feet.

A flock of black birds exploded from the trees.

The warriors reached for their weapons.

My mark ignited.

Pain ripped through my palm, and a whisper crawled into my mind.

"Blood of the oath-breaker."

I staggered.

Kael caught my arm.

“Seraphina?”

The ancient voice came again, colder this time.

"The wolf who carries the dying crown. He is closer than you know."

I looked at Kael.

His face had gone pale.

He had heard something.

Perhaps not the words, but something had reached him. His wolf surged beneath his skin, and for a moment his eyes flashed with silver light so bright that the warriors dropped to one knee.

Kael staggered backward, one hand pressed against his chest.

The expression on his face was not anger.

It was pain.

Deep, terrible pain.

Then it vanished.

He straightened and turned toward his men.

“No one touches her.”

The command rolled through the clearing with the force of a physical blow.

Every warrior bowed.

I stared at him.

“Why?”

Kael looked at me, and the cold ruler returned.

“Because if the Council wants you dead, I intend to discover what they are afraid of first.”

“And if you decide I'm dangerous?”

His gaze fell to the mark on my wrist.

“Then I will deal with you myself.”

I should have been terrified.

I was terrified.

But beneath the fear, something unfamiliar stirred—an awareness of the man standing before me, of the strange connection vibrating between our bodies, and of the secrets hidden behind his ruthless eyes.

I hated that I wanted to understand him.

I hated even more that my wolf seemed to want the same thing.

A carriage emerged from the trees, escorted by two mounted guards. Its black doors bore the silver crest of House Draven.

Kael opened one door and gestured for me to enter.

I looked at the carriage, then back at him.

“If I go with you, I want answers.”

“You will receive some.”

“That's not good enough.”

His mouth curved into the faintest, most infuriating smile.

“You negotiate like someone who has something I need.”

“Perhaps I do.”

For the first time, he looked genuinely interested.

He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear.

“Then let me give you one piece of advice, Seraphina Vale. Whatever lives beneath this forest, whatever it promised you, do not mistake its interest for loyalty.”

My blood ran cold.

“How do you know it promised me anything?”

The smile disappeared.

For a long moment, Kael said nothing.

Then he stepped back and held the carriage door open.

“Get inside.”

I climbed in, but not before catching the look he exchanged with his oldest-looking warrior.

It was a look of recognition.

And dread.

As Kael settled into the seat opposite me, the carriage lurched forward.

I pressed my marked wrist against my chest.

The First Wolf had warned me about the dying crown.

Kael Draven had reacted as though he knew exactly what that meant.

And now I was trapped in a carriage with a man who could command armies, terrify kings, and somehow make my wolf feel as though she had finally awakened from a very long sleep.

Kael watched me across the narrow space.

“You have three choices,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow. “How generous.”

“You can tell me the truth about what happened in the forest. You can lie, and I will discover the truth myself. Or you can remain silent and allow the Council to decide your fate.”

“And what if I choose a fourth option?”

“Which is?”

I met his gaze.

“Make you regret bringing me here.”

For several seconds, the only sound was the rumble of wheels over frozen ground.

Then Kael leaned back, his eyes gleaming.

“Good,” he said. “I was beginning to worry you might be boring.”

The carriage continued toward his estate.

Outside, the forest disappeared behind us.

Inside, the mark on my wrist pulsed once.

And somewhere deep within my soul, the First Wolf whispered a warning.

"Be careful, little Omega."

"The High Alpha is not the monster you should fear."

I looked at Kael Draven.

He was already watching me.

"He is the one who may teach you how to become one."