Chapter 6
The Northern Lycan encampment was a fortress of silk and steel, erected on the edge of Black Mountain territory. Inside my private pavilion, the air was perpetually chilled, a natural extension of the power hummed beneath my skin.
I watched Leo and Liam through the translucent curtains. They weren't playing like normal children. They were practising a synchronized hunt, their small bodies moving with a fluid, terrifying grace that spoke of the predator blood in their veins.
"They are growing stronger every hour, Elara," Silas said, stepping into the frost-rimmed tent. "The proximity to their birthplace is triggering something in their DNA. The Alpha spark is trying to recognize its home."
"This isn't their home," I said, my voice sharp. "Their home was a hollow tree and a limestone cave. This place is just a graveyard with better lighting."
Silas sighed, his violet eyes shadowing. "The Beta was right, you know. I've been digging into the logistics of that night. The transport order was signed by Killian, but the route deviation, the one that took you over the Blackwater Ravine, which was an encrypted override from the Alpha's private terminal."
"So he did try to kill me," I whispered, the ice in my chest tightening.
"Or someone with his codes did," Silas countered. "But there's more. The poison used on the Luna's tea five years ago? It wasn't just a common wolfsbane derivative. It was a synthetic compound developed in the Southern Research Labs-labs owned by Sienna's father."
Before I could respond, the perimeter alarms of the camp let out a low, rhythmic hum. An intruder.
I didn't need the guards to tell me who it was. I could feel the pull on the jagged edge of my soul. It was a heavy, suffocating warmth that tasted of cedarwood and lightning.
Killian.
I stepped out of the tent just as the Lycan guards crossed their spears, blocking a dishevelled figure in the moonlight. Killian wasn't wearing his Alpha's finery anymore. His shirt was torn at the collar, and his eyes were bloodshot, frantic.
"Let him through," I commanded.
The guards hesitated, then stepped back. Killian stumbled forward, stopping ten feet away. He looked at me, and then his gaze drifted to the twins. Leo stopped mid-stride, his small shoulders bunching, a low warning vibrating in his throat.
"Elara, please," Killian rasped. "I didn't come to fight. I just... I needed to see them. Up close."
"You've seen them," I said, crossing my arms. "Now leave before I let Leo show you exactly how much of your 'mercy' he inherited."
"I found the logs," Killian said, his voice trembling. "The Beta told me what he said to you. I went back to the archives. The override code used to change your route... it was mine, but the timestamp was from when I was presiding over the council meeting. I wasn't at my terminal."
"A convenient story, Alpha," I sneered.
"I don't care if you believe me about the van!" he shouted, the sound startling a flock of birds from the trees. "But the boys... Elara, they are pulsing with power. If the Council finds out what they are, if they realize they carry both the Nightshade Alpha blood and the Silver Lineage, they won't just be 'heirs.' They'll be targets. The Council doesn't want a king; they want a puppet."
"They have a mother," I said, stepping into his space, the grass beneath my feet turning to brittle glass. "And she is more dangerous than any Council."
"Sienna is pregnant," Killian whispered, the words hitting the air like a lead weight.
The world went silent. I felt the silver light in my veins surge, a scream of pure, primal rage threatening to break through my lips.
"She told the Council tonight, right after you left," Killian continued, his head bowing. "They are pushing for the marriage to be moved to tomorrow. They want a 'pure' heir to secure the bloodline before your presence can destabilize the pack further."
I felt a small, warm hand slip into mine. It was Liam. He was looking at Killian with a strange, pitying expression.
"You're sad," Liam said. "But you're also a liar. You don't want the new baby. You want us. But we aren't yours."
Killian sank to his knees in the frost, the great Alpha of the Black Mountain reduced to a broken man in the dirt. "I made a mistake. A million mistakes. But Elara, you have to run. Sienna's father has summoned the Silver Hunters. They don't care about Queen status. They only care about the bounty on 'aberrant' wolves."
"Let them come," I said, looking toward the dark silhouette of the Black Mountain. "I'm tired of running. Tomorrow, at your wedding, I'm going to show this pack what a real 'aberrant' can do."
You may also like
