The lodge had always carried an undercurrent of tension since Eve first stepped into it, but that night it was different. It felt alive with unrest, charged like the air before lightning, the kind of pressure that made the skin crawl and the stomach twist. The hall—vast and timber-framed, its roof lost in shadow high above—was crowded, the wolves gathered in uneasy knots around the great fire pit. The flames should have offered warmth, a center of comfort, but tonight they spat sparks as if mirroring the mood in the room.
Eve had felt eyes on her before, suspicion dogging her every move, but tonight those eyes burned hotter, their whispers sharper. She could almost hear the words beneath the mutterings: human, weakness, prey. She didn't need to hear them outright to know what they meant.
Rowan had told her she should come, that hiding in her room while the pack festered with rumors would only make things worse. He had escorted her down the lodge corridor, his voice calm but firm, assuring her that Kaelen would handle whatever came. But now, standing on the edge of the hall, she wasn't so sure.
Kaelen stood near the far end of the hall, straight and still, a wall of quiet authority. He hadn't spoken yet, hadn't so much as twitched, but his presence filled the space like a storm cloud. He didn't need to move to command attention—every wolf in the hall knew exactly where he was. Rowan lingered a step behind, hands clasped neatly at his back, his sharp eyes scanning the room, catching every flicker of movement.
The wolves had been waiting for this moment. Eve could feel it in their restless shifting, in the way some rose to their feet as though readying themselves for a fight.
The first voice rose, slicing through the murmurs.
"This is madness."
The speaker stepped forward, his shadow stretching long across the hall. He was a tall wolf, broad-shouldered, his dark hair tied back, a scar cutting a pale line across his brow. His voice carried, the low rumble rising to a snarl. "We cannot follow a leader who ties himself to prey. To weakness."
The air thickened. Wolves exchanged glances, some nodding subtly, others stiffening in disapproval. The fire cracked, a spark leaping high, and Eve felt her stomach turn.
Kaelen did not move. His silver-tinged gaze fixed on the man, sharp as a blade. His voice, when it came, was quiet, almost gentle, yet it sliced deeper than a roar. "Choose your next words carefully, Daren."
The wolf—Daren—bared his teeth, the scar across his brow twitching. "I've chosen them already. You shame the pack by dragging a human into our midst. The Moon's will is wolf to wolf. Not this—" His eyes cut toward Eve, lingering on her like claws. "Not fragile, breakable humans."
Eve froze under his stare. Her face burned, her hands curled into fists at her sides, but she didn't speak. She couldn't—not with the weight of so many eyes pressing her down.
Kaelen stepped forward slowly, like a predator closing on prey. His tone never rose, but the steel in it was unmistakable. "Fragile, you say. Breakable."
Daren squared his shoulders, fueled by the supportive murmurs around him. "Yes. And by binding us to her, you weaken us all. An Alpha with such a mate is unfit to lead."
The words crashed into the room like a thunderclap. A ripple ran through the gathered wolves—growls, snarls, shouts of protest, shouts of agreement. The line had been crossed.
Kaelen's stillness shattered. He moved with a speed Eve couldn't follow, one instant across the hall, the next a blur of motion. Daren hit the floor hard, Kaelen above him, a clawed hand wrapped around his throat. The impact echoed off the beams, silencing the hall in an instant.
The fire hissed, sparks spitting. Eve's heart stuttered painfully in her chest.
Kaelen's face was a mask of cold fury. His claws pressed against Daren's throat, shallow enough not to kill but deep enough to draw thin lines of blood. His voice was low, steady, the kind of calm that carried more threat than any snarl. "Unfit?"
Daren gasped, his eyes wide but still defiant. "You… tie us to prey. You risk the pack's future."
Kaelen's claws pressed deeper. Daren choked, his body straining beneath the Alpha's strength. "I forged this pack from ash," Kaelen said, his voice carrying through the hall like rolling thunder. "I broke enemies until the ground ran red, so that Blackridge could stand. Do you think I would fall because of one human? Do you think I would let anyone—Moon or man—unmake what I built?"
Blood trickled down Daren's neck, his chest heaving. The defiance faltered, flickered, then dimmed under the crushing weight of Kaelen's power. Slowly, trembling, he tilted his chin back, exposing his throat in submission.
The hall was deathly silent. The only sound was Daren's ragged breath, the faint drip of blood onto the floor.
Kaelen held him there a heartbeat longer, ensuring the submission was absolute, before releasing him with a sharp motion. Daren collapsed onto the floorboards, coughing, one hand clutched at his throat.
Kaelen rose to his full height, turning slowly to face the gathered wolves. His silver eyes burned with cold fire. "Any others who doubt my strength?"
No one moved. No one spoke. The silence was complete, the air thick with fear. Even those who had murmured agreement moments before lowered their eyes, their bodies shrinking back.
Kaelen's gaze swept the room like a blade. "Then remember this. Question my choice again, and it will not end in blood alone. It will end in death."
The words dropped like stones into the silence.
Eve felt her stomach twist, bile rising at the back of her throat. The wolves bowed their heads, shoulders hunched, voices stifled. The dominance was absolute. But beneath it she sensed something rawer, uglier—fear. It was fear that kept them silent, fear that kept them obedient.
Rowan's face was carved in stone, unreadable, though his hands had clenched behind his back. His eyes flicked to Eve, the briefest glance, and she saw a question there. Do you see? Do you understand now?
Kaelen turned on his heel and walked past her without a glance, his scent sharp with anger, his steps heavy as iron. Rowan followed a moment later, but not before offering her the faintest shake of his head, as if telling her to hold her tongue.
Eve stood where she was, her chest tight, her breath shallow. The hall was already shifting back to uneasy order, wolves retreating into muttered circles, but their eyes kept cutting toward her, filled with suspicion, resentment, sometimes pity.
She turned away from them, hugging her arms around herself. She had thought she was beginning to understand Kaelen, to see the man beneath the Alpha's walls. But tonight… tonight she saw something else. Something colder, sharper.
He ruled through fear. Through blood and dominance. His wolves didn't follow him because they loved him, or even because they trusted him. They followed because they had no other choice.
And she—human, fragile, breakable—was the fracture line in that brittle power.
The thought chilled her more than the cold night waiting beyond the lodge walls.