Chapter Eight.

The Black Wolf border wasn't marked by walls or gates. There was a howl—not a wolf’s howl, but a signal.

"My scouts," Kael said. "They’ve known we were here since we crossed into range."

"Are we safe?"

"That depends on how they decide to greet us."

The gates of Shadowpeak rose from the forest, carved from the mountain itself. They stood open, but it felt more like a mouth than a welcome.

Wolves lined the walls—dozens of them, all watching.

An older woman stepped forward from the crowd, gray hair pulled back severely, sharp eyes missing nothing. She moved with authority that didn’t need an announcement.

"Elder Mira," Kael said, inclining his head.

"Alpha." Her voice was cool and measured. "You brought a guest."

Her eyes cut to me. I felt the weight of her stare.

"I bring my mate."

Whispers broke out—shock, anger, disbelief rippling through the gathered wolves.

"Your mate." Mira’s gaze never left me. "Who wears the face of Ainsworth. Carries the scent of White Wolf royalty and is the subject of a rather impressive bounty from King Aldric. The White Wolf King wants his daughter back."

"She’s not going back."

"That remains to be seen." She studied me.

"What’s your name, girl?"

I straightened and met her eyes. "Sierralya Ainsworth. Daughter of Aldric Ainsworth."

"You’ve complicated things, Alpha."

"When have I not?"

"This time you may have gone too far. Bring her inside. The Council will decide what to do with her."

"She’s my mate. The Council has no say."

"The Council has every say when you bring a White Wolf princess into our lands while her father hunts her with bounties and promises of war. You may be Alpha, Kael Blackthorne, but you are not above the pack."

Kael’s jaw clenched. I could see him fighting the urge to argue.

"Good," Mira said. "You’re learning. Come, girl. Let’s see what the Council makes of you."

The gates opened wider. Inside, Shadowpeak was nothing like the White Wolf palace. No marble, gold, soaring ceilings or tapestries.

Just dark stone carved from the mountain’s heart. Torches burned in iron brackets. The air was thick with smoke and wolf and something older.

Wolves watched us pass. Some curious, most openly hostile.

I kept my chin up and walked like I belonged.

Kael stayed close, his hand near his blade.

Mira led us through winding corridors spiraling downward into the mountain until we reached a circular chamber carved from black stone—the Council chamber.

Five wolves waited inside, seated in a half-circle of stone chairs. Old, weathered, and commanding.

"Kneel."

A man younger than Mira but older than Kael, his eyes cold as winter ice.

"She’s not kneeling."

"She’s a prisoner."

"She’s my mate. And she stands."

"Your mate." His lip curled. "An Ainsworth. Daughter of the man who ordered the slaughter of our people. Who burned our families alive."

"I didn’t choose the bond any more than she did and I’m not rejecting it."

The man’s gaze shifted to me.

"Is that true, princess? You accept this bond? Or are you here because you have nowhere else to run?"

The question was a trap.

"Both."

That surprised them.

"I didn’t ask for the bond. I didn’t ask for any of this."

A sharp laugh came from the shadows.

Another elder stepped forward, scars across half his face.

"She has spirit," he said. "More than her father ever did."

"Spirit means nothing if she’s a spy," the cold-eyed man snapped. "She could be here to learn our defenses. To report back to King Aldric—"

"If I wanted to learn your defenses, I’d ask." The words came before I could stop them. "I’m not here to spy. I’m here because—"

I stopped.

"Because?" Mira prompted.

"Because when I showed power, everyone I knew either locked me away or tried to use me. Everyone except him." I glanced at Kael. "He gave me a choice. He didn’t cage me."

"That’s it?" Contempt dripped from the cold-eyed man’s voice. "He was kind, so you betray your people?"

"My family tried to bury me in a dungeon." My voice hardened. "My father looked at me like I was a monster. My brother chose them over me. So no. I’m not betraying them. They betrayed me first."

"The bond," Mira said quietly, circling me. "Do you love him?"

"I barely know him."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I’m tired of being powerless. Of people deciding who I am and whether I deserve to live.”

Kael’s hand found mine. Squeezed once.

Mira studied me, then turned to the Council.

"We will deliberate. Alpha, you wait outside."

"No. If you’re deciding her fate, I'll stay."

"You leave," the cold-eyed man said. "Or you both leave."

"Go," I said quietly.

"Sierralya—"

"Go. I can handle this."

I was alone with the Council.

"What do you really want?" Mira asked.

"To survive. To understand what I’m becoming. I don’t want your sympathy. I want one chance. To prove I’m not my father."

Mira stood and walked toward me, stopping just close enough.

"Now we decide if you live or die."

"And how long before you decide?"

"As long as it takes. We reconvene at dawn to vote."

"Tomorrow?" the cold-eyed man stood.

"The girl is under my protection until then. Anyone who touches her answers to me."

Mira turned to me. "Come. I’ll show you where you’ll sleep."

"Thank you."

"Don’t thank me yet. You’re not safe."

Kael was pacing outside, hand on his blade.

"What happened?"

"They decide at dawn. I’m under her protection until then."

"Keep her alive until morning. And girl?"

"Yes?"

"Sleep with one eye open. Not everyone in Shadowpeak values my protection.”