Chapter 7

• KAEL
• I forced my shoulders to loosen as I settled deeper into the chair. The wood creaked under my weight. I focused on breathing slow and steady. I pushed everything else aside. This was work. This was duty.
• “Tell me about your house,” I said.
• When Alaric and his soon-to-be bride finally left, I returned to my room expecting quiet. I expected empty space and clean air.
• Instead, someone was already there.
• Corvin stood by the window, looking down at the street below. He turned when the door closed behind me and scanned the room with a look of mild disgust.
• “I don’t think bleach will solve this,” he said. “You might have to burn the whole place before the hotel lets another soul sleep here.”
• He wasn’t exaggerating. I had ordered the sheets changed the moment I left that morning. I had demanded the carpets scrubbed and the furniture cleaned. Still, the air was thick.
• It smelled like sex.
• And like her.
• “You were at the Grand Moon Hall,” I said.
• Corvin lifted one eyebrow. “And you weren’t? That would surprise a lot of people. I heard you stepped in to save the humiliated woman in the bold dress. People are already turning it into a story. Did you enjoy the role?”
• I gave a small shrug. “What did you learn?”
• “About the girl?”
• “About the Twelve Houses,” I said. “I know enough about the girl. She was a single night. Nothing more.”
• A faint smile touched his mouth. “Interesting. I didn’t say otherwise.”
• When a low sound escaped my throat, he only chuckled and went on.
• “King Rowan gave them too much freedom for too long. Same pattern he followed everywhere else. He let things drift. He stopped paying attention. All twelve houses here are polite on the surface. They smile. They drink together. Underneath that, there’s pressure building. The Ironwill Basin Pack is the largest, which gives Alpha Alaric more influence when disputes come up. The Blackthorn Clan is led by Victor Blackwood. They call him the Golden God. He’s popular. People listen when he speaks.”
• “That explains the push for unity,” I said. “Even if Victor didn’t manage it through his daughter. Using another relative still gets the same result.”
• Corvin shook his head slowly. “Aria isn’t his niece. She’s his cousin through her mother. Victor and her mother were never married. Her mother died during childbirth. Victor took the child in and raised her himself. He never married anyone after that.”
• “So the houses are holding,” I said.
• The words sounded wrong even as they left my mouth. Something didn’t sit right. I couldn’t explain it yet, but the feeling stayed with me.
• Corvin paused before answering. “From what I gathered last night, yes. But one night of talk isn’t enough. We need more eyes. More time.”
• “We’ll get both,” I said. “Right now, I just need to know they won’t collapse. A new crown tends to quiet people for a short while. We’ll meet the remaining alphas here. After that, we let rumors slip that I’m continuing my tour. That should buy me a month. Long enough to go into the High Wilds.”
• He looked at me hard. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
• “We both know I’d be a terrible king anyway,” I said. “Rune will do better.”
• My brother Marrow should have been king. He should have stood where I stood. Instead, he was dead. Murdered. And I intended to find out who did it.
• If I didn’t return from the mountains, Rune would be crowned. My nephew was only twenty-two. He still had lessons ahead of him. Still had mistakes to make. But I had already placed strong wolves around him. He wouldn’t rule alone.
• I never planned to wear the crown for long. I had no patience for politics. No talent for smiles and promises.
• Whoever killed Marrow hadn’t wanted power. He hadn’t wanted the clan or the title. He hadn’t asked for leverage or secrets.
• He had wanted Marrow dead. Nothing else.
• My brother left me one thing. A single clue. It arrived a day before he died. A postcard.
• On the front was a peaceful image of the Stormveil Range.
• Shifters knew it as Veilshade Peak. Others called it the Forsaken Heights.
• On the back was one word.
• Varik.
• I didn’t know what it meant. I still didn’t. Older kings had kept spies in the mountains even after the exile. That stopped three reigns ago. Each king cared less. King Rowan didn’t care at all. He never sent anyone to Lowreach Crossing. Not for reports. Not even for rumors.
• All I had was a name.
• Corvin was right. The High Wilds would likely kill me. But Marrow was my blood. For years, it had been just the two of us and our baby sister. She’d been gone nearly twenty years now.
• Rune didn’t need me. He had a clan that adored him. He had a future that stretched far ahead.
• I had nothing waiting for me.
• Rune was my family. If I could give him a crown and avenge my brother, that was enough.
• A knock cut through my thoughts. One of my guards stepped inside.
• “Forgive the interruption, Your Highness. Alpha Victor Blackwood is here. He wishes to see you.”
• Is he.
• A slow smile pulled at my mouth. Cold. Sharp.
• “Take him to the conference room.”