Chapter Four

The howl cut off suddenly. The pathway filled with absolute silence.

I let out a shaky breath and moved forward into the darkness, pulling Eli tight against my chest. My heart still hammered against my ribs, braced for the sound of spears, for guards to emerge from the tree line, for something. But nothing came.

No footsteps. No guards. No wolves. Just the rattling sound of leaves, the cool wind blowing through the branches and the distant sound of my own breathing.

I kept moving. 

Then I saw it.

It was an iron horn mounted on a post at the tree line, half hidden by overgrown bush. It is triggered automatically by any wolf crossing the border after dark.

Not Caelum. Not any wolf. Just a border alarm.

Air rushed back into my lungs. My legs unstiffened. My defense instinct pulled back.

Just the alarm, I told myself. Nobody felt you. Nobody knows you're here yet.

I pressed my lips to the top of Eli's head and kept walking.

I had barely taken three more steps when the air around me turned ice cold.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up all at once. I felt a heavy gaze drilling directly into the space between my shoulder blades. My wolf reared up behind my ribs, snarling in silent alarm.

I froze in the middle of the gravel path. 

The scent hit me a second later. It was sharp, metallic and copper. It was thick enough to coat the back of my throat. 

My stomach turned. Someone was actually watching and following us.

My muscles locked. Every defense instinct I had came roaring back, harder and more urgent than before. I clutched Eli tighter against my chest. 

A heavy boot crunched gravel behind me. Then another step. Closer.

Run, something inside me screamed. Just run.

But my knees had gone hollow. There was nothing I could do than fight. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I could feel it in my teeth. Another step. Even closer now.

"Looking for someone, lowborn?" a harsh, rasping voice whispered from the darkness. 

Before I could scream, a heavy hand clamped down hard onto my shoulder.

I immediately spun around, my wolf surging forward ready to tear into whoever stood in the dark with their hands on my shoulders.

"Sera! Easy! It's me!"

I blinked through the mist, staring into the familiar eyes of my brother. Air left my lungs all at once

Aiden looked five years older. His facial hair was unkempt and shadows hung beneath his eyes. He looked stronger. But his grip on my shoulder was solid, warm, and real.

The pressure in the air vanished the second Aiden stepped out. 

"Aiden," I choked out, my knees trembling so violently I almost collapsed into him.

"Get in the truck. Now," Aiden ordered, his voice sounded urgent. His eyes remained locked in the shadows. 

He ushered me fast toward his truck, threw my bag into the back, and practically shoved me inside before slamming the door shut.

"Who was that?" I asked, my voice shaking as Aiden jumped into the driver's seat and locked the doors. "Who was in the woods?"

"Ironveil border guards," Aiden said, turning the key in the ignition. The engine sputtered to life with a loud rumble. "They've been lurking around the border for weeks now.”

Then he turned towards me and froze.

Eli peeked out from under my coat, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he blinked up at him. 

The silence inside the truck turned razor sharp. 

Aiden stared at Eli like poison ivy. He didn't stare at his face but Eli's luminous silver eyes. His breath hitched, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel so hard the leather cracked.

"Sera..." Aiden whispered, his voice dropping dangerously low. "Tell me he isn't..."

"He's mine, Aiden," I cut in, my tone tough. "He is my son. That's all you need to know."

Aiden closed his eyes, taking a long, shaky breath. He didn't push. He already knew because the silver eyes answered everything.

"Does anyone else know?" he asked softly.

"Only Nell. And it stays that way."

He nodded and drove off. I felt the copper scent fade into thin air. 

The drive through Ashwood territory felt like navigating an occupied zone. 

Black armored Ironveil guards stood posted along the border fences, holding silver tipped spears that sparkled under the moonlight. Checkpoints every half mile. Eyes that followed the truck as we passed without stopping.

"He declared joint martial rule six months ago," Aiden explained as we bypassed a checkpoint. 

"Anyone who questions him gets locked in the dungeon. To be honest, he isn't the man who courted you, Sera. He's paranoid. Cruel.” He paused. “He acts like he's fighting a ghost."

My stomach churned. A man locked in a cold, dark room under the rocks... screaming for you. Eli’s nightmare echoed in my head, sending a shiver down my spine. 

When we finally got to the driveway of my childhood home, the cottage looked abandoned. The garden was overgrown, and the windows were dark. Three years and it had quietly come apart without me.

I let out a long, unsteady breath and got out of the truck.

Inside, the air smelled of cedar, old herbs, and the thick, heavy scent of sickness.

My father sat in his rocking chair by the fireplace. He was thinner than I remembered. His hair was completely white while he leaned heavily on his wooden cane.

"Dad," I sobbed, dropping to my knees beside him and taking his cold hand in mine.

His clouded eyes found mine, a tear falling down his weathered cheek. But when his eyes drifted past my shoulder, he froze.

Eli stood by my knee, staring at him. My father’s breath caught as he looked straight into Eli's silver eyes. He didn't ask a single question. He simply held out his frail arms.

"Come here, little one," my father whispered.

For a brief moment, the horror of the night faded. We were inside four walls. We were family. We were safe. 

Then, a sudden, violent slam rattled the front door so hard the hinges groaned.

The entire cabin went dead silent.

Outside, a deep, arrogant voice boomed through the thin wood. A voice that made my wolf snarl in terror and my blood turn to ice.

"Ashwood! Open this door under the authority of the Alpha of Ironveil!"