The council courtyard had been swept clean, the torches lit and dressed in crimson banners. I stood behind the lower medic line, blending into the sea of Beta ranks, trying not to be noticed.
The sky churned gray over the trees. He arrived like thunder.
No horns. No announcement. Just the sharp clatter of hooves and paws on stone, then sudden silence as six massive wolves—guards—stalked through the gate.
And behind them: Kael, the Alpha King. He didn't walk, he moved like the air parted for him. Black leather, gold trim, shoulders like carved stone beneath a travel-worn cloak. His jaw was dusted with dark stubble, hair tousled by wind, eyes the color of molten amber set under thick brows.
His wolf shadowed him. You could feel it—raw, untamed, pressing against the edge of his skin like a beast barely contained. Everyone bowed low, I didn't. Not because I was bold—because my body wouldn't move.
My wolf stirred inside me for the first time in days. Not in warning but in recognition.
Kael paused at the center of the courtyard. He surveyed the pack with cool detachment… until his head turned, slow, sharp and his eyes locked on me. Something in them flickered. The guards didn't notice, but I felt it like a punch in the chest.
Every wolf in the courtyard froze, unsure what he was looking at—who he was approaching. I wanted to run, wanted to vanish, but his scent hit me like a second bond. Not sweet like Darius, mountain stone after rain.
I couldn't breathe. He stopped two feet in front of me, the noise of the pack fell away. Just the screaming of something ancient inside both of us. His nostrils flared, he opened his mouth slightly, like he might speak—but said nothing. Instead, he leaned down the slightest inch, eyes burning into mine.
"Name," he said, voice like smoke dragged over gravel.
"Ayla," I whispered.
His gaze darkened. Something moved beneath his skin. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and walked past me—back straight, jaw locked. The guards followed, clearly shaken.
I stood frozen in place, heart slamming against my ribs. Behind me, whispers exploded.
"Did you see—?"
"Why'd he stop?"
"Who was that—?"
Cassia's voice cut through it like a blade. "She's no one," she snapped, louder than necessary. "Just a pack healer… She smells like wolfsbane and mud."
The words stung, but she was too late. He had already smelled me and his wolf had reacted. She knew it and I saw it in her eyes: Fear.
The scent of him still lingered on me, Kael. I could feel it days later — clinging to my skin like smoke from a fire I hadn't meant to touch, or maybe I had. Maybe some reckless part of me had walked too close on purpose. He hadn't said more than a word, but he'd looked at me like I was a question that demanded answering. And he hadn't looked away until he absolutely had to.
Since that day, wolves have walked differently around me. They didn't speak it aloud, but they glanced too long. Paused too close—like I'd been marked, not publicly or officially.
But something had shifted, Cassia noticed first. It was just past dusk when I found her waiting in the herb cellar. I pushed open the door with a basket of dried root bark in my arms—and there she was. Leaning against the apothecary shelves, white dress too clean for someone who claimed to be a warrior's mate.
The door slammed shut behind me. She'd planned this, I didn't move.
"What do you want?" I asked flatly.
Cassia's voice was syrup-thick. "You really have no shame, do you?"
I walked past her toward the drying rack.
"Still pretending to be invisible?" she said louder. "Even after the King's wolf nearly ripped his leash sniffing you?"
I didn't turn. "You look worried, Cassia?"
"Oh, I'm furious." She moved closer. "You don't belong at court. You're barely tolerated in this pack. You were rejected by a ranked Alpha. That makes you untouchable—or did your healer books skip that part?"
I finally looked at her. "I didn't touch him."
"No," she sneered, "but your scent did. Whatever you're leaking—whatever broken heat still clings to you—it's distracting him. And it's embarrassing."
"You think this is about scent?"
"It always is." She leaned in close. "A Luna is chosen by how she smells. How she draws a mate's wolf. You should've faded away when Darius took me. But here you are, dragging your pathetic heat in front of Kael like you're still worth something."
I smiled, slow. "You don't smell like a Luna," I said softly.
Cassia stiffened.
I voiced, tightly "You smell like rot in moonlight. Like herbs that should've never touched a living body."
Her lip curled. "You little—" She slapped me, hard. The force snapped my head to the side, the sting flaring across my cheek.
For a few seconds, all I saw was red. My heart didn't pound—it pulsed slow, deep, measured. And then light—Soft, silver light flickered across my skin. The runes from the spring reappeared, faint but glowing.
Cassia stepped back like she'd touched a live wire. Her face was pale, so I took a slow step toward her.
"You feel that?" I whispered. "That's the part you didn't steal."
She stared at my hand. The glow pulsed once, then faded. Her breath shook. "What did you do?"
"Nothing," I said. "Yet."
Cassia turned and yanked the door open, nearly tripping over herself as she fled into the hall. I stood alone in the dark and for the first time since the bond snapped, I smiled.
That night, I couldn't sleep. Kael's scent was back again.
It had faded after the first encounter, but now it curled through my senses like a shadow just behind me. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face again—eyes sharp and golden, mouth unsmiling, but hungry in a way I couldn't name. The worst part? I didn't want to forget it.
The next day, I was summoned to the central courtyard again. I didn't ask why. He was waiting, Kael stood at the edge of the fighting ring, arms crossed, watching two warriors spar. The moment he saw me, his gaze sharpened.
His voice cut through the crowd: "Healer… With me."
I followed him into the weapons hall, pulse pounding in my ears. The doors shut behind us, silence, he didn't turn.
He just said, "What are you?"
I blinked. "I'm a healer."
"No," he growled. "You smell like something that shouldn't exist."
I swallowed. "Is that… a compliment?"
He turned then, slow and deliberate, stepping close enough that I had to tip my chin up to meet his eyes.
"You are not bonded. Not claimed. But when my wolf caught your scent—he moved like I'd bled for you already." He said.
I couldn't speak. His breath ghosted across my skin.
"I should ignore it," he said darkly. "Dismiss it. End this conversation."
"Then do it," I whispered.
He leaned closer. "You don't smell like her. The one you call Luna. You smell like war after silence."
I didn't know what that meant but my skin shivered. His hand hovered near my jaw—close enough to feel the heat, then he stepped back.
"As you were, healer." He left without another word.
But my body stayed burning long after he was gone.