บททั้งหมดของ The Silver Alpha: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

* Regina*When we came back to the Alpha house, it had already calmed down. We walked back to the servants' quarters of the West. I wrapped my cloak tight around my shoulders against more than the night chill, my hands were still trembling against the recklessness that had happened to us all evening. I waited until everyone had retired. When the laughter and low talk had gone quite. I thought I should have slept. I should have let the dawn answer me. But the thing inside me could not wait any longer.I got out of the quarters and slid between the silent halls, careful of my steps, and the feeling was like a thief of something that did not belong to me. I took the path to Alpha Archer's room which smelled of pine and musk. I know that his warriors are all outside the Alpha house. When I came to his door it was open. Then I saw him standing near the edge of the light of the window, half shadow, half statue, a silhouette of the man who had shifted the course of the night and the fate of

* Regina *In a month of staying in the Western pack, I found new friends, or rather just a friend. His name is Brent. He is a young warrior of the West. Although I am not interested in making more friends, I accepted him because he is nice to me almost every time, so I couldn't help but be his friend, too.He moved through the servants' quarters easily, the sort of man who carried no tremor in his hands and left no question in his face. He had come to help with the morning chores, like he always did, though "help" felt wrong, he made it feel like an exchange, not a task. He'd already tied a knot in a coil of rope, the muscle in his forearm flexing the way it always made me look at small things and then forget to breathe."Morning, Regina," he said, voice low so the others wouldn't pry. He offered a crust of yesterday's bread without waiting for me to take it. The gesture was so ordinary I almost believed it was only that and I liked it.I took the bread and bit into it too quickly, t

* Regina *As I came back to the servants' wing, I smelled the traces of starch and late stew, and the air was thick with the things that make hands busy and mouths quiet. It's past dinner time, so I tried to moved like a shadow among the beds, careful not to let my feet scuff the polished boards. My hands still carried the linen, warm from the boiler, smelling faintly of lavender, and I hugged them to my chest as if they could hide the excitement inside my ribs.Amanda, my mother was seated by the single brazier with a shawl about her shoulders though the night was mild. The light threw small maps of shadow across her face, and she looked up before I reached the chair. Her eyes which are the same dark as mine, narrowed the way they do when she is sorting something out like a seamstress threading a needle. She knew something was up before I spoke. Mothers know such things like the weather and for me, she thought she knew where I came from."You're late, Regina," she said. No scolding,

* Alpha Archer *As we walked in, I found the council chamber colder than the mountain winds that my parents had carried home with them. The stone walls that rose high, etched with sigils of the past wolves that had long been buried, and torches burned low as if careful not to outshine the male and female wolves seated in a half-moon. Then the smell of ironwood smoke and parchment filled the air.My mother entered first, unlike me, she is used to this place, her cloak trailing like dusk itself, and my father just behind her. His silence was enough to command that even the oldest heads bowed in recognition. I walked between them, not as a boy shielded by his parents but as the young Alpha of the West who had defended his border and tasted the cost of it.Their gazes have found me, the council members. Some weighed, some measured, and some already judged me even before I spoke. I could feel it through my bones. I could even hear some of their voice inside my head.Council Elder Hagar, t

* Alpha Archer *The following morning, the big Alpha house was filled with a quiet unease, preparing for the visitors that would enter our lands. And my parents were already awake when I joined the great hall. My mother, Zeina, moved with deliberate grace, her cloak trailing across the polished floor as she gave commands to the servants preparing the receiving chamber which she doesn't normally do. My father, Cerberus, stood near the area like a guardian, his eyes following every motion as though measuring if it met his standards.They were preparing for the coming of our important guests. They are the daughters of the Alpha wolves of the East and the North. I already know that there are three of them. One from the East, a woman rumored to be both cunning and fierce, trained like her father's most prized warrior. And two from the North, daughters of the Alpha there, known for their beauty and sharp wit. All are candidates.None from the Southern pack. Since Alpha Douglas had fallen,