Chapter 4
I couldn't answer. My throat closed around the words as terror and fury warred inside my chest. Dominic—the man who'd ripped my mark, humiliated me, declared me dead—was coming here.
Kael read my silence. His silver eyes darkened, and something dangerous settled over his features like a mask.
"Then we have an advantage," he said quietly. "He thinks you're a ghost. Let's keep it that way—for now."
He turned to Ronan. "Accept the meeting. Standard protocol. And double the border guard."
Ronan nodded and disappeared. Kael looked back at me, his gaze impossibly intense.
"You're shaking," he observed.
I clenched my fists. "I'm not afraid of him."
"Good." He stepped closer—close enough that his scent wrapped around me. Pine. Iron. Something darker. "Because I need you to understand something, Sera. Whatever you are, whatever power is dormant in your blood—Dominic Hale will never touch you again. Not while you're in my territory."
The words should have been threatening—possessive, controlling. But the way he said them, with that cold certainty, felt like armor being placed around my shoulders.
I lifted my chin. "I don't need protection."
The ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "No. I suspect you don't. But you'll have it anyway."
---
That night, I couldn't sleep. I paced the room, my mind racing. Dominic declared me dead. Vanessa was Luna. Everything I'd been, everything I'd had—gone. Erased in three days.
But beneath the hurt, something else was stirring. The dormant thing in my blood that Dr. Maren had found—I could feel it now, pulsing faintly, like a second heartbeat deep in my chest. My wolf, who'd been silent my entire life, was waking.
Why now? Why here?
A knock at my door startled me.
I opened it to find a servant—the young woman from the kitchen—holding a folded piece of parchment. "From the King," she whispered, then scurried away.
I unfolded it. One line, written in sharp, elegant script:
*"Tomorrow, stay in your room. Whatever you hear—do not come out."*
---
I didn't stay in my room.
The next morning, when the Blackmoor wolves gathered at the eastern border, I followed. I stayed hidden behind the tree line, wrapped in a cloak one of the servants had left for me, my heart pounding against my ribs.
Dominic arrived with twenty warriors. He looked exactly the same—tall, golden-haired, jaw set with that arrogant confidence I'd once mistaken for strength. Vanessa wasn't with him. Of course not. She'd stay home and enjoy her stolen life.
Kael stood at the border like a monument—unmoving, unimpressed. Ronan flanked him, along with a dozen Blackmoor elites.
"Alpha King," Dominic said, inclining his head with the barest respect. "Thank you for receiving me."
"State your business, Hale," Kael replied. No pleasantries. No warmth.
Dominic straightened. "We've received reports of a rogue wolf on your lands. A female, possibly dangerous. We believe she may have escaped from our territory during a recent… incident."
My blood boiled. He was looking for me—not out of concern, but out of fear. He was afraid I'd survived. Afraid of what I might say.
Kael's expression didn't change. "I harbor no rogues. Your intelligence is faulty."
Dominic's smile was thin. "Perhaps. But if you wouldn't mind allowing my trackers access to your border regions—"
"I would mind." Kael's voice dropped a degree colder. "Your trackers set foot on my land, they don't leave it. Are we clear?"
The tension was suffocating. Dominic's wolves shifted nervously, their eyes darting between their Alpha and the King. Dominic himself paled slightly but held his ground.
"Of course, Alpha King. My apologies for the intrusion."
He turned to leave—and then stopped. His nostrils flared. His head turned slowly, scanning the tree line.
My heart stopped. He smelled me.
Dominic's eyes swept across the forest edge, narrowing. For one terrible moment, his gaze locked exactly where I stood.
Then Kael moved. One step forward—that was all. One step, and his power crashed outward like a tidal wave, forcing every wolf present to lower their heads. Even Dominic staggered.
"Leave," Kael commanded. His voice was soft. It was terrifying.
Dominic retreated. His wolves practically ran. Within minutes, they were gone, swallowed by the forest.
I pressed my back against the tree, gasping. My hands were shaking. He'd almost seen me—almost found me—
"I told you to stay inside."
I spun. Kael stood three feet away, materializing like smoke. His silver eyes were molten with something I couldn't name—anger, concern, something else entirely.
"He was looking for me," I whispered.
"Yes." Kael's jaw was tight. "Which means you're not just a rejected mate to him. You're a loose end." He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "What aren't you telling me, Sera?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't understand any of this—"
"Then we'll find out together." His hand caught my arm—firm but careful. "But no more sneaking out. Next time, you might not be so lucky."
As he led me back toward the palace, my mind raced. Dominic wasn't just cruel—he was afraid. Afraid of me. But why? What could a wolfless, rejected she-wolf possibly have that would make an Alpha hunt her beyond death?
The pulse in my blood answered. Faint but growing stronger every hour.
Something was waking inside me. And it scared everyone but me.
Kael read my silence. His silver eyes darkened, and something dangerous settled over his features like a mask.
"Then we have an advantage," he said quietly. "He thinks you're a ghost. Let's keep it that way—for now."
He turned to Ronan. "Accept the meeting. Standard protocol. And double the border guard."
Ronan nodded and disappeared. Kael looked back at me, his gaze impossibly intense.
"You're shaking," he observed.
I clenched my fists. "I'm not afraid of him."
"Good." He stepped closer—close enough that his scent wrapped around me. Pine. Iron. Something darker. "Because I need you to understand something, Sera. Whatever you are, whatever power is dormant in your blood—Dominic Hale will never touch you again. Not while you're in my territory."
The words should have been threatening—possessive, controlling. But the way he said them, with that cold certainty, felt like armor being placed around my shoulders.
I lifted my chin. "I don't need protection."
The ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "No. I suspect you don't. But you'll have it anyway."
---
That night, I couldn't sleep. I paced the room, my mind racing. Dominic declared me dead. Vanessa was Luna. Everything I'd been, everything I'd had—gone. Erased in three days.
But beneath the hurt, something else was stirring. The dormant thing in my blood that Dr. Maren had found—I could feel it now, pulsing faintly, like a second heartbeat deep in my chest. My wolf, who'd been silent my entire life, was waking.
Why now? Why here?
A knock at my door startled me.
I opened it to find a servant—the young woman from the kitchen—holding a folded piece of parchment. "From the King," she whispered, then scurried away.
I unfolded it. One line, written in sharp, elegant script:
*"Tomorrow, stay in your room. Whatever you hear—do not come out."*
---
I didn't stay in my room.
The next morning, when the Blackmoor wolves gathered at the eastern border, I followed. I stayed hidden behind the tree line, wrapped in a cloak one of the servants had left for me, my heart pounding against my ribs.
Dominic arrived with twenty warriors. He looked exactly the same—tall, golden-haired, jaw set with that arrogant confidence I'd once mistaken for strength. Vanessa wasn't with him. Of course not. She'd stay home and enjoy her stolen life.
Kael stood at the border like a monument—unmoving, unimpressed. Ronan flanked him, along with a dozen Blackmoor elites.
"Alpha King," Dominic said, inclining his head with the barest respect. "Thank you for receiving me."
"State your business, Hale," Kael replied. No pleasantries. No warmth.
Dominic straightened. "We've received reports of a rogue wolf on your lands. A female, possibly dangerous. We believe she may have escaped from our territory during a recent… incident."
My blood boiled. He was looking for me—not out of concern, but out of fear. He was afraid I'd survived. Afraid of what I might say.
Kael's expression didn't change. "I harbor no rogues. Your intelligence is faulty."
Dominic's smile was thin. "Perhaps. But if you wouldn't mind allowing my trackers access to your border regions—"
"I would mind." Kael's voice dropped a degree colder. "Your trackers set foot on my land, they don't leave it. Are we clear?"
The tension was suffocating. Dominic's wolves shifted nervously, their eyes darting between their Alpha and the King. Dominic himself paled slightly but held his ground.
"Of course, Alpha King. My apologies for the intrusion."
He turned to leave—and then stopped. His nostrils flared. His head turned slowly, scanning the tree line.
My heart stopped. He smelled me.
Dominic's eyes swept across the forest edge, narrowing. For one terrible moment, his gaze locked exactly where I stood.
Then Kael moved. One step forward—that was all. One step, and his power crashed outward like a tidal wave, forcing every wolf present to lower their heads. Even Dominic staggered.
"Leave," Kael commanded. His voice was soft. It was terrifying.
Dominic retreated. His wolves practically ran. Within minutes, they were gone, swallowed by the forest.
I pressed my back against the tree, gasping. My hands were shaking. He'd almost seen me—almost found me—
"I told you to stay inside."
I spun. Kael stood three feet away, materializing like smoke. His silver eyes were molten with something I couldn't name—anger, concern, something else entirely.
"He was looking for me," I whispered.
"Yes." Kael's jaw was tight. "Which means you're not just a rejected mate to him. You're a loose end." He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "What aren't you telling me, Sera?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't understand any of this—"
"Then we'll find out together." His hand caught my arm—firm but careful. "But no more sneaking out. Next time, you might not be so lucky."
As he led me back toward the palace, my mind raced. Dominic wasn't just cruel—he was afraid. Afraid of me. But why? What could a wolfless, rejected she-wolf possibly have that would make an Alpha hunt her beyond death?
The pulse in my blood answered. Faint but growing stronger every hour.
Something was waking inside me. And it scared everyone but me.