The North

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“Do you know much about the stories of Hati and Skoll?”

My question caught Astrid off guard and she let the axe fall against the wooden stump. I kept my focus on stacking the wood but I could feel her watching me. I hadn’t told her the full extent of my conversation with Alpha Hati last night, but she hadn’t seemed surprised when I’d told her I’d gotten a scolding for our. . . excursion a few nights ago.

“I haven’t heard anyone mention a twin, a brother,” I pressed on. “Your his cousin, you must know.”

“I should have known you’d have questions about that.” She chuckled, blowing stray strands of blonde hair from her face. “But if you really want the answer to your questions, there’s another wolf you should ask.”

So she hadn’t denied what I was hinting at, but she hadn’t confirmed it either. My nose scrunched at her suggestion to, and I looked up from placing the last small log on top of the pile. “He wouldn’t answer.”

She laughed again, swinging the axe up to rest against her shoulder, and I watched muscle flex with envy. I’d fill out again, but Astrid was a force to be reckoned with, I decided, after watching her chop wood for well over an hour. I had the feeling it wasn’t a task she normally saw to, but it was all I could really help with so she was happy to change her usual routine.

“Didn’t your father tell you the stories?”

“What he remembered of them,” I agreed, pushing myself to my feet, wiping bark and wood dust onto the front of my dress. “Mostly about their roll in Ragnarok.”

Astrid looked stricken for a moment but my gaze was quickly distorted by a bitter wind that swept dark tresses in front of my eyes. The rustle of branches rolled like waves on the shore, dropping melting snow onto the frozen ground below.

“How is your father?” she asked.

A good change of subject. I sighed and looked towards the grey castle rising up into thick white clouds, almost hiding the mountains around it.

“He gets better every day. Eirny says she will let him go if he can walk the length of the hall in a few days.”

“That’s good! You will have to show him around.” Astrid grinned. “I have to get back inside, but the outside barrels need refilled. Are you happy enough to do it by yourself?”

I nodded, noting the massive bucket already waiting for me by Astrid’s feet.

The river was outside of the castle walls to the East, but still in view and earshot of anyone within the courtyard. It was the furthest I was allowed to go on my own, but if I closed my eyes, I could pretend I was miles away from everyone, maybe standing in some windswept machair on one of the islands back home.

“I’ll see you later this afternoon then,” she said, already backing away to the door with a mischievous grin that I didn’t understand. What was she playing at? “Or maybe tonight. Try and talk to someone besides me before I see you again.”

Rolling my eyes, I lifted the bucket. “I’ll try.”

“Your family doesn’t count,” she added, laughing as I pursed my lips. She spun on her heel and the red dress she wore flared around her.

I’d find it easier to speak to someone if I hadn’t made a pariah of myself. Rumour about what happened the night we found Yousuf had spread quickly, and so had my reaction. My claims of hearing a dead wolf crying out even had my family looking at me differently, though they did their best to hide it. Only Father remained ignorant of it all, and I dreaded the day he finally heard.

Turning on my heel, I trudged towards the small gate in the wall where a worn trail led to the river. Still in view of the castle indeed, yet still far away enough a wave of anxiety washed over me when I stepped out. My eyes scanned the sparse trees until they fell on the small cemetery behind the back of the lone hall.

Eight burial bounds in neat rows. The darker, softer upturned earth of the one furthest away told me it was Yousuf’s without need of the wooden marker laid on top with his name carved in runes. Two others lay close to him. His parents. The three of them, and two others, were kept apart from the rest. Anyone would know that there was a reason they weren’t buried close to the other dead pack members. Few might be able to guess a failed challenge of leadership.

For a moment, I stared, frozen. No sound of moaning came, but a chill still went up my spine and I hated that my mind fed me images of what he must look like under all that dark earth. . .

I shook my head and rushed on down the path, convincing myself the feeling of being watched was not but my own imagination. The bucket hit my leg with every step, creaking on the thick rope handle with stray threads that scratched at my palm. A few more steps, and the trees disappeared, mud becoming a pebbled and sandy shore. The tinkling sound of the river was a familiar comfort. Here, it widened and slowed before it narrowed again further down to hurtle down the next waterfall. Oddly, in its presence, I didn’t feel as worried about what else might be out here with me. Water was sacred. Pure. No evil would dare come near this place.

Uncaring about my dress, I stepped into the icy water and shivered. The sting cleared my head, washing away all thoughts and bringing with it a sense of clarity. Pebbles shifted beneath my soaked shoes as I crouched down to fill the bucket, and as I did, I heard the distinct sound of flesh striking flesh. At first, my instincts went on the alert and I readied myself to run, but the grunts and sounds of fighting were interspersed with laughter. . .and cheering?

Against my better judgement, I splashed my way back to shore and followed the river down, the curiousity too much to bare. The bucket slowed me down, its heft straining my arm. It didn’t help the ground was uneven and rocky, causing water to slosh out. My dress was more wet than it had gotten actually being in the damn river and froze my skin beneath.

Any discomfort was quickly forgotten when I could see the crowd down the slope. Peering out from behind a gnarled trunk, I saw I’d been right; it was no real attack.

Wolves had gathered at the river’s edge, Fionnlagh amongst them with his usual group of friends. They all watched with as much interest as I did as their Alpha refined his skills in the art of fighting, an eager grin on his face as he studied his opponent. Blond hair was tied back, and he prowled proudly bare chested to show off rippling muscle, his tattoos appearing darker in the bright winter sun that gleamed down on bronzed skin.

The female the Alpha circled was tall and broad shouldered, and even from this distance, I could see glittering scars crisscrossing her back. Another one of Alpha Hati’s ilk, a skinshifter with something else in her bloodline. I wondered if he chose her for that. I couldn’t imagine a wolf like myself or Father lasting long enough against him for it to be considered practice. Farrin was a warrior by our standings, and Alpha Hati had made him submit as if he were no more than a pup.

Although, I didn’t see the female lasting long either. Orange eyes raked over her form with growing hunger, and I knew he too saw the way she lingered slightly longer on her right leg than her left as they circled each other. An old injury. A weak point. Alpha Hati had no such faults. Slow and even strides, no hesitation, he moved with the precision and confidence only a male unused to defeat could have. It was hypnotising, enticing.

I dropped the bucket at my feet, hiking up my dress to creep a few more paces forward. Each crunch of twig and snow sounded like drumbeats to my ears but nobody below heard over the clamour of bloodthirsty spectators. A sparse bush with thin bare limbs hopefully camouflaged me enough that eyes wouldn’t see me if they happened to look up here. Kneeling in the snow-soaked dirt, I moved a branch out of the way until my view was clear again.

A signal from somewhere and the pair jumped together, the sound of their snarls filling the air. Neither held back, brutal in their punches and raking claws that tore skin. They proved they had no need for human weapons despite the sword that often sat at Alpha Hati’s hip, and they grew more ferocious still when they shifted to fur and attempted to pin the other down long enough to claim victory. It was a game I’d played before too with Mànas and Fionnlagh, though my cousin had only won if my brother and I decided to let him.

I shook my head, focussing on the fight instead of where intrusive thoughts might lead.

Alpha Hati shook out thick cream fur, giving his opponent a chance to get back to her paws. There was a nasty wound on her hind, but it didn’t seem to deter her from the fight. Nor did the sight of his huge wolf rearing up with gnashing his fangs. His front paws shoved the smaller female to the ground and he struck swiftly forward. My breath caught in my throat as he viciously gripped her neck, shaking until her chin lifted in submission.

Skin receded immediately once she did, and the atmosphere between them changed. He grinned and helped her back to her feet, both of them battered and bruised but neither upset at the other for any injuries that were sure to be painful for a few days. Their voices were muffled by the river but whatever the female said as they studied the chunk torn out of her upper thigh made him burst out laughing. She taunted him with a jab to his ribs and danced out of the way when he made to catch her again. They were familiar, affectionate, and it made my chest ache with a need to interact with someone like that.

Anyone.

The female retreated to join the others and my stomach clenched when Fionnlagh stepped forward, but his opponent was one amongst his own age. Other youths joined too, and the spectacle was over.

Rising from my hiding place, I made my way back over to my bucket, glancing back to make sure my cousin was definitely alright. Alpha Hati was at his shoulder, nudging his leg until Fionnlagh stood in the same, more rooted position. Mànas used to watch over him like that, guiding him and teaching him to be fierce in either of his forms. After watching Alpha Hati fight in all his glory, Fionnlagh couldn’t ask for a better replacement teacher.

Begrudgingly, I had to admit the Alpha was good with the excited and inexperienced youths, smiling when they did something right, and gently correcting when they made mistakes.

My head rested against the tree, my chores entirely forgotten. I watched him move with ease, the joyful glint in his eyes as he gave each wolf equal attention. He enjoyed this. Interacting with them. In turn, the pack flourished under the affection of their Alpha, always standing taller after speaking with him. Part of me wished to join them, to converse and joke as they did. . .a want I’d almost forgotten.

I let out a gentle sigh.

As if suddenly sensing a set of eyes that shouldn’t be there, or perhaps hearing my longing, Alpha Hati suddenly turned my way. I threw myself sideways, grabbing the string of the bucket as I pressed myself firmly against the tree trunk, squeezing my eyes shut as if that would stop me from being seen. Over the hammering of my heart, I strained to hear the sound of footsteps, but none came.

I slumped and took a deep breath.

What I had I been thinking coming this far from the castle? Alpha Hati wasn’t one to be watched from a distance and not know about it. I was so certain he’d seen me. . .

“You shouldn’t be here.”

My head whipped round but it wasn’t orange eyes that glared with an arched brow. It was Beta Caldar blocking my retreat.

“I was just getting water,” I said quickly, holding up the bucket that was now only half full.

He eyed the dripping wood, then the dark patches on my wet dress. “Will Alpha Hati see it that way?”

My lips pursed and the male rumbled a laugh that sounded more like a growl. If I hadn’t seen Alpha Hati in fur, this male might have scared me more. He reminded me of the stories of dark eyed Fomhairean; giants with the power to move mountains and boil seas.

“Don’t worry,” he said after a while of letting me stew. “I won’t tell him you were. . .what were you doing? Fetching water would be believable if you weren’t wearing most of it.”

“I. . .” My gaze fell back to the rivers edge, but Alpha Hati was no longer amongst there. “I don’t know.”

I frowned. What had I been doing? Spying on the Alpha? No. Not spying. I’d been admiring. And that very realisation sent my cheeks scorching red.

“Come on, I’ll walk you back.” Beta Caldar stepped to one side and swept his arm in the direction of the castle. He remained at my side once I reached him, going so far as to shorten his stride to keep pace with my own.

“Am I keeping you from something?” I asked.

He looked down at me with a furrowed brow, and I motioned to the path. “Were you on your way to join them?”

“Ah. No. Alpha Hati asked me to find you when I was done seeing to our winter supply. Your scent is easy to follow.”

“What does that mean?” I bristled, and blushed again, fearing I was in need of a wash.

The Beta chuckled. “It is sweeter than most others, easy to find amongst the earthy scent of the forest; especially with frost in the air,” he explained. “I imagine it disguises you well in summer meadows.”

My shoulders tensed at the mention of them. Meadows had forever been tainted for me now. They were my escape in dreams with Mànas, awake I wouldn’t think on them.

None here could compare to home anyway.

“Do you miss it, Alba?”

We paused at the gates, and Beta Caldar took a deep breath as his fingers brushed over the tattoos of his people. “Yes. I miss it. But there are similarities here that I am content with, and there is nothing there for me now.”

I nodded slowly, picking at a piece of moss buried deep into a crack in the stone wall.

“I thought I might feel the same. My Father’s ancestors hunted these lands, I thought I’d feel that in my bones. That my soul would connect with something here.” I looked around the trees that weren’t the thin silver birches or sweeping willows I craved. “Maybe I take too much after my mother’s people.”

“Or maybe you aren’t giving this place a chance,” the Beta rebuffed.

I cast my gaze down and shrugged, walking past him and straight to the barrels to fill them up; not that I’d collected enough water to do so. When the Beta approached again, I spun around and asked, “Has anything been found yet?”

He knew what I meant. His expression became suddenly guarded and he glanced around at the pack members milling around the courtyard. “Farrin went after the scent this morning. He will find the Blood Drinker.”

“And question it?”

“Yes.”

“What questions exactly?”

“About why it went after Yousuf, and what he was doing so close to our walls.”

“And what do you hope to learn?”

Irritation flashed across his face at my bombardment of questions. “How am I meant to know what I hope to learn, that is why we intend to ask. Gods, Hati was right about you. Little Alpha indeed.”

I balked and straightened up, ready to defend myself against whatever the Alpha had said, but the Beta’s smirk gave me pause, as if my reaction only further proved something he’d been told.

Before he and I might come to fight, voices drifted from inside the castle. A few seconds later, Ingrid swept out the main door in all her finery. Sweeping sleeves and bright fabric showed her status more than her aura, though she moved with a grace and poise I could never hope to imitate. A mousey female followed in her wake, her head bowed and hands folded in front of her. The poor thing’s head only lowered further when she saw who she was being led towards.

“Beta Caldar,” Ingrid greeted, bowing her head.

The male straightened up, tension hardening his expression. “Ingrid, Linnea.”

Linnea lifted her head long enough to smile and give me a quick, curious glance. I tried to catch her eye but she seemed intent on disappearing into the cobbles she stared at so intently.

Ingrid was intent on ignoring me too, forest green eyes glinting as bright as sea glass in the sun locked on only the Beta. He shifted on his feet, a growl to his voice as he asked, “Is there something I can do for you?”

“I’m looking for Hati,” she said, her chin jutting out. “You always know where he is.”

“Alpha Hati,” Beta Caldar emphasised the title and narrowed his dark eyes at the brazen female. “Is unavailable. He’s been called to the border. Eabha and I are going to meet him, you are welcome to join us on our run.”

I blanched. We were?

My gaze collided with Ingrid’s and I snapped my mouth shut again. Whatever Beta Caldar was doing, I wouldn’t ruin it. She sniffed, and took a step back, but I was surprised to see real vulnerability shimmering in her eyes. Something was troubling her, souring the sweetness of her scent.

“I will wait for him to return. Please tell him to come see me.”

“I will ask him.” Beta Caldar bowed his head, his tone softening slightly. “Lady Ingrid.”

His words settled whatever anxiety plagued her. She smoothed her hands over her sun yellow dress and gave me one last withering glance before turning on her heel. Linnea scampered after her, finally giving me a smile as she retreated.

“It was nice to meet you,” she murmured.

“It was nice to meet you too.” I grinned. Astrid would be pleased I managed such an interaction with another in the pack. Linnea. I would have to remember her. Already, I was sure she and I would get along, even if she seemed to be glued to Ingrid’s side.

“What was all that about?” I asked, peering up at the stony-faced Beta once they were both back inside.

He grunted and turned away from the door. “You are not the only one who has found insecurities here. Ingrid’s family had been living amongst the humans for over a century; she is used to frequenting feasts, and the weddings of human nobility, spending her days learning to be a good mate. A good wife.”

“She would have mated with a human?”

He nodded. “Perhaps. Or another skin shifter of noble birth. With a human mate, any pups would have been unlikely to ever shift to fur, or show any number of our traits, so she would have had nothing to fear but keeping her own secret.”

“Oh.” No wonder she was so fierce in defending her position, though I was still unclear as to exactly what that was. “So, she and Alpha Hati. . .”

He smirked and tipped his head, and the glint in his eyes made me blush red right to my roots. I couldn’t hold his gaze. He’d already caught me spying. . .

Admiring.

“That is yet to be seen. There are many females who would make a suitable mate for Hati. Ingrid, well, she has the best claim, shall we say. Hati’s own alphaship is propped up by the agreement he would take a mate from amongst the daughters of the wolves on his council. Linnea herself has been considered as her mother sits on council.”

An understandable arrangement. And I could see why Ingrid would be better suited than timid Linnea.

“I see.”

I felt him watch me, probably noting the hitch in my breathing. “I hope you do.”

“Why?” I asked sharply.

The Beta backed off with raised hands, and I relaxed when he bowed his head. He had respect for me. It was a surprise, though I tried not to let it show. I had to stop acting so standoffish too, which was proving hard to do when I felt I had to defend myself at every turn in this place.

Softening my tone, I asked, “Are we really going to the border to see Alpha Hati?”

“He wishes for you to show him where you hurt your leg.”

“That was many miles away, near the border.” I swallowed and backed away. “I don’t even know if I can find my way back there. I was delirious. What good will it do anyway?”

“He has a theory he wishes to put to the test,” he answered vaguely. “Proving it means he will be able to better protect our territory.”

My eyes narrowed. Such carefully chosen words, almost rehearsed, and I could hear who’s mouth they’d originally come from.

“As I said, I will be of no help. I have no idea which direction I ran, nor even where it was you found me. Tell the Alpha I’m sorry.”

“You can tell him yourself.” Beta Caldar said, his chest puffing up and gaze becoming challenging. “At the border, where he is waiting for you.”

My jaw clenched so hard it hurt but refusing would be detrimental. I dropped my head forward, but the Beta demanded more, a growl rumbling from his chest that urged me to bare my neck too. My body shook with the effort it took to fight, a sudden rush of adrenaline allowing me to lift my head and throw my own growl right back.

“I haven’t given your Alpha my neck yet, you will not get it before him!”

Beta Caldar’s eyes widened and he drew away slowly, still showing off his fangs with gentle rumbles. My own chest continued vibrate, my skin prickling, readying to shift if I needed to. It was almost as if I could feel my brother at my side, urging me on, calling for me to make a stand.

I’d never felt the need to before but now?

“I won’t submit to you either,” he grit out, startling me.

The tension snapped between us.

“I. . .that’s not what I was trying to gain,” I stammered, suddenly afraid of the feeling that had empowered me seconds ago. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

He snarled, and I feared any progress I’d made with the male had been destroyed. “I am your Beta, female.”

I nodded vigorously rather than saying anything, keeping my gaze low until I sensed him relax.

“So,” the Beta said at length, a wariness to his tone as he eyed me glaring at the bucket by my foot. “You will join me to meet Alpha Hati?”

My nose scrunched, gaze turning towards the dark grey sky. The weather was turning grim, and I was in no mood to be reminded what it felt like to be bone cold.

“Yes, I’ll come.”

“We can ride out. There will be need to talk in skin and you look like you’ll freeze if you’re bared to the elements for long without clothes.”

Was that an attempt at a joke? Nothing about his thunderous expression said it was.

“Thank you.”

He gave me a rough nod and left me to retrieve his horse.

The ride was a blur of black and white, the wind whipping up snow from branch and rock to blind me. Beta Caldar was unbothered, or he trusted his humongous horse to tread carefully. At least being unable to see left me able to focus on not falling. Unlike Alpha Hati, he didn’t seem happy to have me so close and did his best to lean back, which left me to balance on my own. I remembered what Alpha Hati had said though, taking a deep breath to calm myself and find the rhythm.

By the time I’d managed to do so, I felt us slowing down. Daring to lift a hand, I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my dress and peered ahead. At the edge of the forest, about a mile of unusually flat land stretched out ahead, but it was impossible to see more while staring directly into the low hanging sun making its way across the sky to the West.

At a slower pace, Beta Caldar guided us over to the group awaiting us a few metres away from the trees. Though they must have heard our approach, they didn’t turn until we reached them. I recognised a few faces, Magne and another male who had been in the patrol with us before parting when our group split.

Alpha Hati was the first to speak, nodding in greeting to his Beta. “She came without fuss?”

The Beta snorted and dismounted from behind me, walking over to clasp his Alpha’s forearm and touch cheek. The pair eyed me still astride the stocky horse, and from such a great height towering over them, I almost felt a sense of power. Or would have if terror didn’t flip my stomach each time the horse shifted his weight or snickered.

“She came.”

The simple reply made the Alpha chuckle and my chin jutted out indignantly. Any retort I might have made fled as he held out his hand to help me down. I felt everyone watching as I accepted, because there was no way I was getting down myself. Back on steady ground, some of the tension left my shoulders but an ache remained and I dreaded the ride back.

“This is the spot we found you.”

No greeting, no pleasantries, Alpha Hati went straight for the throat.

Knowing the importance of the land we stood on, I studied it more closely. Dark earth peeked through a blanket of blinding white snow, skeletal shrubs all that was left to break up the flat landscape. Far on the other side, the forest started up again. It was odd, for I could see no reason for this area to be bare of life. Nothing about it struck me as familiar either. It had been dark when I remembered giving up with no hope in sight, and snowing so heavily it stung to so much as keep my eyes open.

“Yousuf’s tracks are frozen into the mud a few paces away, so are tracks and scent markers of a Blood Drinker. The same scent that was on Yousuf’s body.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked wearily, hating the eyes that watched and the wind that bit at my skin. “I told your Beta I can’t find my way back to where I broke my leg. I won’t be of any help for whatever you’re looking for.”

Orange eyes were only more piercing, such a bright colour in bland white surroundings. “Very well. We will find another way then. Your scent has long since faded from here, and the tracks too muddled to tell apart. If you can remember which directioy you came from, even if you can only give a general point, we will go from there. The mountains stand due North if that helps, and you must recognise something on the horizon?” He tutted when I opened my mouth, a tilt to his lips that might have been amusement, or frustration. “No more questions or excuses. I command, you obey, that was our agreement, was it not?”

My cheeks burned with a mix of embarrassment and irritation. Didn’t he understand I would be much more cooperative if only he would be honest with me?

Eyeing the wolves around us, I decided it wasn’t best to test his leniency towards me in view of others. Turning away from him, I studied the distant skyline, straining to keep my eyes open against the glaring sun that never crept high into the sky anymore, and wouldn’t again until the days began to grow longer once more.

“I made sure to stay away from the road,” I said, closing my eyes and going back to try and remember anything that might help. “But I couldn’t hear the river either. Yousuf told me to aim for the mountain pass, and the last I remember of a clear sky, I was running at an angle slightly East of An Reul-iùil if the mountains are due North as you say.”

Alpha Hati looked to Beta Caldar who supplied the translation. “Polaris. The North Star.”

“But I can’t be sure from exactly where I broke from the trees. I was exhausted and scared, and I wasn’t sure which way was up once the snow started to fall. When I felt myself nearing the border, I pushed myself too hard. Every other step was a stumble or fall I had to rise from. Until I couldn’t anymore.”

“We can search for everything on this side of the pass,” a female interjected, and it took me a moment to place her as the one who’d been sparring with Alpha Hati earlier.

The male himself shook his head but his gaze remained on me. “That doesn’t narrow our search enough. Think, Eabha. What else sticks out to you when you go back to that night? The moment your leg broke.”

“It can’t have been too far from here,” I offered tentatively, unsure if it was any use. “I think it might have been a tree root I tripped on, once that happened, I didn’t make it much further. . .Why do you want to retrace my steps?”

Instead of answering, Alpha Hati insisted on trying to get more out of me. He brushed his fingers over my temple, hardening his voice. “This is important for everyone. Are you sure it was to the East, do you remember exactly how the star and the mountain aligned?”

At first I floundered helplessly but ember burning eyes bored into mine so earnestly. . .this was important, whatever it was. Not important enough that it needed my full understanding however.

Muttering about the cold and pointless tasks, I trudged through ankle deep snow and icy puddles, ignoring wolves who growled if I traipsed over their precious tracks. If they were that important, they would have had use for them. Instead, they needed me and a blindly given direction to look for Gods only knew.

On and on I walked until I stood in the middle of the empty flatlands where I could better make out the trees on the other side. My eyes trailed where I might have emerged from all those weeks ago, turning slowly until I once more faced where the trees began again, stretching on until it reached the foot of the mountain pass. My memory might have been blurry, but I knew it was all wrong, and pressed on further West.

Alpha Hati followed my every step, hushing any wolf who dared try to break my concentration with gossip. They were right though. If I could hear the dead, I could remember where I ran from.

“I could see the break in the peeks,” I murmured to myself, coming to a slow stop at a line in the dirt that had been raked by claws, the stale scent of piss burning my nostrils as I studied tufts of fur left in twigs and bristling brush bare of greenery.

No wonder they were having trouble catching scents. The territorial markings would do well to ward off Blood Drinkers, for it was a clear a great number of us resided within for such a clear boundary to be made. It would make any wolf brave enough to cross second guess challenging whoever was inside too.

Then, ahead, I did indeed spot something I recognised. An out-of-place boulder nearly hidden by the low hanging branches of a fir tree. I had the vaguest memory of bashing against it in my rush to reach the mountains as they became ever clearer ahead.

“That’s where I came out.” I pointed towards the tiny break in the trees where stony grey peaked through.

The female from before stepped forward again, two others either side her. “We’ll signal if we find it.”

The Alpha nodded, and immediately the three wolves went running towards the boulder. Snow crunched as he came to stand at my shoulder, both of us watching the grey wolves grow smaller, their noses to the ground. I grew ever more tense once they disappeared into the trees, desperate to know exactly what they searched so thoroughly for.

Glancing over my shoulder, I chewed my lip and debated asking again. Orange eyes fell from the treeline to me

“You are growing too brazen,” he said lowly.

My gaze fell away, anxiety rippling through my gut. However, my supplication didn’t seem to appease him either. He grunted as if displeased, a touch to the back of my hand drawing my head up again.

“You could have joined us at the river. You already decided to stray from the path, what would a few more steps have been?”

I nearly rocked on my feet. He had seen me. There was no point denying it, and no point apologising either.

All thoughts of the hunt disappeared.

The air between us became thick and the small growl in his throat only enticed me to prod further. Maybe I enjoyed it because he seemed to have no idea what to do with me. Maybe it was because there was something about that look he got when I pushed against him, perplexed him. . .

It terrified me too.

“Did you want me to catch you out?” A smirk curled at full lips, even while his eyes blazed with open frustration with me. “To think I didn’t punish you because I thought you’d grown to understand. Are you that eager to know what I had in mind when I caught your scent on the trail that night?”

I looked around for help but the other wolves were paying no attention to us, busy going over the tracks and scent markers while we waited for the trackers to alert us to finding whatever they were looking for.

My refusal to speak drew him closer still so the heat of him seared through my dress to chase away the chill of winter. A tingle went up my spine, eyelids fluttering as I resisted the urge to lean back. My neck strained to keep him in view, and orange eyes darted down to bared skin before lifting back to my face.

“You would have punished me earlier if you wanted to, so you give me empty threats, Alpha,” I whispered, a thrill shooting through me. “The castle walls were still in view, and I’m sure Beta Caldar had me in his sights long before I noticed. I’m very aware of the rules.”

Gods, why was I letting my mouth run away from me? Why did it delight me to watch his lips press together when I was sure he wanted to growl? He lowered his face to mine, a static buzz in the air as he let me feel a dose of what he was truly capable of. Was it magic? Or just him?

“What I had in mind, you wouldn’t want any of the others to see,” he vowed, smirking as I swallowed nervously. “Or maybe you would, for you to take pride in proving me wrong at every turn, do you not, Little Alpha?”

He struck before I could react, gripping my arm to stop me from escaping. My eyes squeezed shut, then flew open when instead of feeling fangs at my throat, it was the scruff of his cheek against mine. My nostrils flared, greedily taking in his scent. Then I felt the startling nip of teeth at my jaw, a sting that sent an electric current through me.

A warning.

A final warning.

It should have scared me into obedience. And it did indeed scare me. But not in the way I’d expected. A strong spice suddenly scented the air, the Alpha breathing it in with a rough sound from the back of his throat.

Three sets of howls breaking through the quiet landscape broke us apart. Alpha Hati's head whipped towards the treeline, the colourful beads in his braids clicking together. Whatever the hunters signalled, it was clear my presence was no longer wanted. Striding away from me, Alpha Hati barked at Beta Caldar, “Take her home, then come right back. Cover her scent on your way.”

“Yes, Alpha.” He bowed his head and dark piercing eyes begged me to follow as he captured the reins in his hand.

Planting myself firmly, I glared at the side of Alpha Hati’s face. His jaw was tense, his hands fisted at his side, and his refusal to look at me hurt. What decision had he come to about me from three howls?

“Go, Eabha. My Beta is not opposed to putting you in your place.”

“What have they found?”

This time he did growl, loud enough I felt the ground beneath my feet tremble. It was the first time in a while true terror gripped me, the air ripped from my lungs Orange eyes looked my way but refused meet my gaze, and I knew then, that if I pushed again, he would be forced to treat me as he had Farrin. He would have my throat and my submission.

The old me would never have taken it so far, but I was more afraid of the part of me feeling the need to growl back. Roar. Demand submission, as I had with Beta Caldar without even realising. What was going on with me? This wasn’t who I was. At least, it wasn’t who I had been. Before I arrived here, I’d never challenged a wolf, and here I seemed to struggle to resist the urge when given an order.

“One day, I am sure I will have to make an example of you in the way you seem to be craving. It will not be today. Return to the castle.” He closed the distance between us to add more quietly, “Please.”

It was the pleading that did it. Suddenly, I got the feeling his wanting me gone was less to do with me finding out something I shouldn’t, and more to do with how exposed we were here. How unsafe it was to be so far from our den.

Turning away, I accepted the help Beta Caldar offered to climb back onto his horse. We rode back in silence, and even long after the strange flatlands fell out if view, I would glance back.

How embarrassing it would have been to admit I wanted to stay with the Alpha a while longer. That bickering with him, seeing how much I could get away with, were the only times I felt truly alive again. Even if he did it by throwing my emotions into raging river rapids that tossed and threw my tired mind every which way. Even if his answers, and odd requests of me, only gave me more reason to shadow him in doubt. And somehow, all the more reason to trust him.