Chapter 4 - The White Wolf Woke ScreamingSarah told nobody for three days.
Not Kyle.
Not Lady Seraphine.
Not even Metha.
She thought perhaps she had imagined it.
Then the voice returned.
Mate.
Sarah nearly dropped a pot.
“Stop.”
Metha lifted her head.
Sarah pointed at her own chest.
“Not you.”
Metha blinked.
“Apparently I have company.”
The white wolf stirred.
Warmth moved beneath Sarah's skin.
Not pain.
Not yet.
More like something stretching after a very long sleep.
That night Sarah dreamed.
Snow.
Endless white forest.
A wolf stood beneath a silver moon.
Her fur was not merely white.
It shone.
Eyes pale gold.
A crescent mark glowed between her shoulders.
Sarah approached.
The wolf bared her teeth.
“You're angry.”
The wolf snapped.
“I would be too.”
Sarah stepped closer.
“They buried you.”
A growl.
“My mother.”
The wolf's ears lowered.
“She was afraid.”
Another growl.
“Yes.”
Sarah smiled sadly.
“So am I.”
The wolf stopped.
Sarah touched her forehead.
“I don't know how to be you.”
The white wolf came closer.
Sarah whispered,
“But if you still want me…”
The wolf touched her nose to Sarah's hand.
Sarah woke screaming.
Pain ripped through her spine.
Metha howled.
Sarah fell from bed.
Bones burned.
Her nails sharpened.
Then stopped.
She gasped.
The door burst open.
Kyle.
Sarah stared.
“How did you—”
“Metha howled.”
“You heard from the palace?”
“No.”
Kyle looked guilty.
Sarah narrowed her eyes.
“You were outside.”
“I was nearby.”
“You said you'd stop spying.”
“I was not spying.”
“You were sitting on the ridge again.”
Silence.
Sarah groaned.
“Unbelievable.”
Then pain struck.
She doubled over.
Kyle caught her.
“Sarah.”
“Don't.”
“We need Seraphine.”
“No palace.”
“This isn't negotiable.”
She glared.
Kyle immediately corrected himself.
“Please.”
Sarah almost laughed.
Progress.
Seraphine arrived within twenty minutes.
She examined Sarah.
Then became serious.
“The wolf is awakening.”
Kyle's face hardened.
“How dangerous?”
“Very.”
Sarah said, “You said that already.”
Seraphine prepared herbs.
“The suppression did more than delay shifting. It created resistance between body and wolf.”
“Meaning?”
“When Sarah tries to shift, her body may fight it.”
Kyle moved closer.
“What happens then?”
“Bones break incorrectly.”
Sarah swallowed.
“Wonderful.”
“Organs can fail.”
Kyle said, “No shift.”
Sarah ignored him.
“What helps?”
Seraphine looked between them.
“A strong mate bond can stabilize the transition.”
Silence.
Sarah looked at Kyle.
Kyle looked away.
Of course.
Seraphine continued.
“But bonding before Sarah willingly accepts him would be dangerous in another way.”
“How?” Sarah asked.
“The bond amplifies emotion.”
Kyle's jaw tightened.
Seraphine looked at him.
“If she carries resentment, fear, distrust—the wolf may experience it as threat.”
Sarah understood.
“I need to trust him.”
“Yes.”
Kyle spoke quietly.
“She doesn't.”
Sarah looked at him.
“I didn't say that.”
“You should.”
“Why?”
“I lied.”
“Yes.”
“I hid the mate bond.”
“Yes.”
“I watched you for months without telling you who I was.”
“When you say it like that, you sound terrible.”
“I am aware.”
Sarah almost smiled.
Seraphine packed her supplies.
“I suggest honesty.”
Then left.
Kyle muttered,
“Very useful.”
Sarah laughed.
The sound surprised both of them.
They sat beside the fire.
For once, neither old wolves nor councils interrupted.
Sarah looked at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Kyle took time before answering.
Not king language.
Not excuses.
Truth.
“I was ashamed.”
Sarah blinked.
“Of me?”
“Of what choosing you would reveal about me.”
She frowned.
Kyle continued.
“I spent my whole life believing a king's mate had to strengthen the throne.”
“And I didn't.”
“I thought you didn't.”
Sarah looked down.
“You were unshifted.”
“Yes.”
“You were poor.”
“Yes.”
“A servant.”
“Yes.”
“From a pack that discarded you.”
Sarah's shoulders tightened.
Kyle immediately said,
“And none of those things mattered to my wolf.”
“But they mattered to you.”
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt.
Kyle didn't soften it.
“I fought the bond.”
Sarah swallowed.
“How long?”
“Two weeks.”
“Then?”
“I started stealing your shawl.”
She laughed despite herself.
Kyle smiled faintly.
“I thought if I stayed close as a wolf, eventually the feeling would fade.”
“It didn't.”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“You gave your blanket to Metha.”
Sarah remembered the storm.
Kyle looked into the fire.
“You were freezing.”
“And?”
“I realized I would burn the entire palace for one blanket if it kept you warm.”
Sarah's heartbeat changed.
“That seems excessive.”
“I have been told.”
She smiled.
Then became serious.
“Why keep hiding after that?”
“Because I knew the council would hurt you.”
“By rejecting me.”
“Yes.”
“And you couldn't bear that.”
“No.”
Sarah studied him.
Kyle looked away.
She suddenly understood.
“You weren't only protecting me.”
“No.”
“You were afraid if they called me unworthy…”
He closed his eyes.
“…you would believe them.”
Kyle said nothing.
Sarah's chest ached.
All his power.
All his control.
And beneath it, a boy who had inherited a kingdom too young.
“Who told you love makes kings weak?”
“My father.”
“Did he love your mother?”
Kyle's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She died when I was eleven.”
Sarah's expression softened.
“I'm sorry.”
“He never recovered.”
Kyle stared into the fire.
“He became colder.”
“So you learned loving someone means losing them.”
“Yes.”
Sarah whispered,
“And then your wolf chose me.”
Kyle laughed quietly.
“Very inconsiderate timing.”
She smiled.
Then moved closer.
“Look at me.”
He did.
“I don't forgive everything yet.”
“I know.”
“But I trust the wolf.”
Kyle looked confused.
Sarah touched his scar.
“The wolf never lied with words.”
“That is because wolves cannot speak.”
“You know what I mean.”
Kyle leaned into her touch almost unconsciously.
Sarah continued.
“And I'm beginning to trust the man.”
His breath caught.
“Sarah.”
Her wolf surged.
Mate.
Warmth spread.
Pain followed.
Sarah gasped.
Kyle caught her.
Light exploded.
White.
Silver.
The Grey Den wolves began howling.
Sarah screamed.
Bones shifted.
Her back arched.
Kyle held her until Seraphine's warning struck him.
Don't restrain.
He released her.
“Sarah.”
Her eyes turned pale gold.
Kyle froze.
The white wolf surfaced behind them.
Not fully.
A spectral outline.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Sarah collapsed.
Kyle caught her before her head struck the floor.
Then an arrow shattered the window.
Kyle moved instantly.
The arrow buried itself in the wall where Sarah had been.
Black feathers.
Ashfall markings.
Kyle growled.
A second arrow came.
Kyle shifted.
Glass exploded.
His black wolf leapt outside.
Sarah shouted,
“Kyle!”
Three attackers waited beyond the fence.
Kyle hit the first.
Bren and royal guards arrived from the ridge.
The second attacker fled.
The third raised a crossbow toward Sarah.
She saw it.
Time slowed.
The white wolf inside her roared.
Sarah lifted one hand.
Something burst outward.
Not claws.
Not teeth.
Power.
Silver light struck the attacker.
He flew backward.
Everyone froze.
Sarah stared at her own hand.
Kyle shifted back.
“What did you do?”
“I don't know.”
Seraphine arrived moments later.
She saw the glowing crescent on Sarah's shoulder.
Her face changed.
“Impossible.”
“What?” Kyle asked.
Seraphine stared at Sarah.
“Mooncrest wolves were not simply white.”
Sarah's pulse raced.
“What were they?”
“Wardens.”
“Meaning?”
“They could shield packs.”
“From what?”
Seraphine looked toward the fallen assassin.
“Alpha domination.”
Kyle went still.
In wolf society, Alpha command could force weaker wolves to obey.
Mooncrest blood could break that control.
Sarah suddenly understood why the bloodline had been hunted.
Why someone might fear her.
Bren searched the attacker.
He found no Ashfall token.
Only one silver ring.
Kyle recognized it.
Council seal.
His expression turned deadly.
“This wasn't Ashfall.”
Sarah's stomach dropped.
Bren nodded.
“One of our own councilors ordered this.”
May you like
Somebody inside the Northern Reach wanted Sarah dead before her white wolf could awaken.
And whoever it was had just discovered they had failed.
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