CHAPTER 6

The white ache was fleeting.  

It turned into a sharp, scorching line beneath my ribs, as if a hot wire had been dragged through the area where my wolf resided. The only reason I stayed upright was because Kael's hand was still on my arm. I had not been won over by him once more. It wasn't necessary. The entire yard was observing, and I was kept upright by the weight of his gaze.  

Ronan came back first.  

He raised his head. He spoke up. "This is absurd." "You disregard my authority, you approach me in my domain, and now you touch my blood? There are laws, Alpha Draven. "Even for you."  

Kael turned his head slowly. Outside, the silver in his eyes appeared colder.  

"Silver on a child of your own line," he remarked. "Tell me about laws once more.  

A faint murmur went through the pack. A few fighters stared at the floor. Others gazed at Ronan as though they were finally able to see him fully.  

Ronan's face turned a deep scarlet. She posed a threat. erratic. The pack was kept together by the tying.Kael said, "The binding kept *you* safe."  

He gave me another look. I still hadn't said anything. The spot where his fingertips touched my wrist tingled. My inner wolf no longer battled the lock. She seemed to be testing every weak spot as she pushed against it in long, steady waves.  

Kael's nostrils flared again.  

I detected a slight shift in his expression. He squinted his eyes. His shoulders became motionless in a different way—the complete concentration of a predator that had just detected a smell it couldn't ignore, rather than the somewhat uncontrollable immobility of an Alpha in enemy territory.  

He took a single step toward them.  

The atmosphere between us shifted.  

I could smell him more clearly now: steel, cold pine, and something darker underneath, like wind over stone after a storm. However, it did affect how he smelt me.  

His eyes watered at whatever it was.  

"What *is* that?" he spoke so softly that the wind nearly carried them away.  

I didn't respond. I had no idea how.  

I was represented by the wolf.  

My chest felt a low, throbbing tug. This time, there's no pain. acknowledgement. starvation. It was the same, but stronger, feeling she'd given me in the storage room. She desired to leave. She desired him.  

Kael cocked his head. He inhaled again, more deeply, and his eyes took on a menacing sparkle.  

Ronan also noticed it.  

"Enough," my brother growled. He moved in between us, almost touching Kael's shoulder. "You refuse to examine my sister in front of my pack like cattle. We will discuss alliances inside if you have any queries. By myself.  

Kael refused to give up.  

Not finished yet.  

When I say you're done on my land, you're done.  

The temperature in the garden decreased. Kael's fighters moved in unison. Our own fighters tensed up. Though they didn't quite touch the weapons, hands grabbed for them.  

My cracked chest lock throbbed with each heartbeat as I stood still between the two alphas.  

Kael's voice did not waver. "Your sister has a bad odour. Not in debt. Not absent. *Bound*. I've previously melted silver locks. They all didn't smell this bad. His gaze darted from Ronan to me once more. It appears as though the wolf is still engaged in combat. Five years later.  

Like stones thrown into quiet water, the words landed on the pack. Whispers started and stopped.  

Ronan chuckled. Short and unattractive. You're dreaming. She doesn't have a wolf. "That was handled by the binding years ago."  

Kael looked aside.  

Then, as before, he lifted his hand, palm up.  

"I must confirm."  

I glanced at his outstretched hand. My own fingers clenched into fists. The lock might fracture even more if I allowed him to touch me once more. Ronan would check to see whether it continued to crack. It was visible to all." Ronan also refrained from letting things out of his hands.  

The wolf gave a shove.  

difficult.  

I raised my arm.  

Once more, Kael's fingers clenched around my wrist.  

This time, the encounter was different. He was searching for more than a binding. He was searching. He delicately touched the inside of my wrist, just above my pulse, with his thumb. The fragrance between us intensified as his skin touched mine. It brought back memories of how I used to feel about the woodland before a run. It's brilliant, clear, and hard to overlook.  

Kael's breath caught.  

Just once.  

I was the only one who could hear the small sound. Ronan, though, was close enough. He squinted his eyes.  

Kael tightened his hold. Not enough to cause you pain. Enough to keep me silent as he caught his breath once more."There," he whispered. That's all.  

There was something odd about his voice. There was still the chilly control, but beneath it was an unidentified current.  

My inner wolf responded, and the rush was so powerful that my knees gave way.  

Kael grabbed my elbow with his other hand and lifted me back up. Everything was blurry around the edges, including Ronan's irate expression, the yard, and the pack. All I could sense was the lock's groan, the weakening silver threads that had held for five years, and the odd, intense pull that pervaded Kael's aroma.  

Ronan's voice cut through the mist.Keep your hands off her.  

Kael avoided looking him in the eye. His gaze locked with mine.  

He continued in a quiet voice that only I could hear, "Your wolf knows me." She has been anticipating.  

Like a second heartbeat, the words dropped.  

I parted my lips. "Not a sound came out.  

The pack that encircled us was eerily silent. The wind itself appeared to be holding its breath.  

Ronan took hold of my other arm. "It's finished now. I have influence over her. You're not entitled to—"  

Kael moved.  

He did not pull a gun. With his wrist still in his grasp, he simply moved forward and stood between Ronan and me. There was not much of a change. Everything altered as a result.  

"She stopped being yours the instant you put silver on her," Kael remarked. His voice reverberated throughout the entire yard. "Until I find out exactly what was done and why, she is under my protection."  

Take a gasp. A few protest cries. Anger twisted Ronan's face.You are unable to—"However, I simply did.  

Kael looked down at me once again. Silver had rendered his eyes almost white.  

"And her scent is the strongest thing I've picked up in years," he remarked, speaking more softly for me.  

There was a loud click from the lock in my chest.  

Not enough to break.  

Just enough to allow my wolf's voice, primal and strong, to break through the five long years of silence.  

Kael and I heard a single, silent howl.  

His fingers sank into my wrist.  

Kael Draven stared at me in the midst of the packed yard, with everyone watching us, as though he had discovered something he would never give up.