Chapter Four – Before the Storm
1317 Words
Ryker pov
The morning of the Alpha Summit...
I woke before the castle bells.
I always did.
The world felt different before everyone else opened their eyes. There were no demands. No voices outside my chambers. No decisions waiting behind every door.
Only silence.
I dressed in simple training clothes, tied my hair back, and stepped out into the cold mountain air.
The courtyard was still.
A thin layer of frost covered the stone beneath my boots.
Above me, the sky was only beginning to pale.
Perfect.
My sword rested exactly where I'd left it the night before.
One smooth pull and the familiar weight settled into my hand.
The first swing cut through the freezing air.
Then another.
And another.
Steel whistled through the dawn in a rhythm I'd repeated nearly every morning since I was fourteen.
My father used to say a warrior who stopped training because they had become strong was already becoming weak.
I'd never forgotten it.
"Your mind isn't here," Onyx observed.
"It is."
"No."
I stopped mid-swing.
"What do you think I'm thinking about?"
"The summit."
I exhaled slowly.
"...Yes."
"You're uneasy."
"I don't get uneasy."
"You do today."
---
An hour later, the training yard had begun to fill with warriors preparing for the day's duties.
Some sparred.
Others stretched.
Several younger recruits paused to watch me.
I pretended not to notice.
Elias walked across the yard carrying two wooden practice spears.
"Humour me."
"I've already trained."
"So have I."
He tossed me one.
"If I win?"
"You buy tonight's drinks."
"If I win?"
"You still buy tonight's drinks."
I laughed.
"Convenient."
He grinned.
"You've looked too serious all week."
We circled each other.
Then moved.
The clash of wood echoed across the yard.
Elias was quick.
Always had been.
He knew every trick I used because we'd grown up learning them together.
He jabbed high.
I deflected.
Swept low.
He jumped.
Three exchanges later, he was smiling.
"You're distracted."
"I'm conserving energy."
"Liar."
He lunged.
I twisted, caught his spear beneath mine and gently disarmed him.
His weapon skidded across the frozen ground.
The watching recruits burst into applause.
Elias raised both hands dramatically.
"I surrender to the mountain."
"I've told you not to call me that."
"You are literally the size of one."
"I'll pretend that was a compliment."
"It absolutely was."
---
After training, I wandered through the keep while preparations continued around me.
The summit transformed Blackwood every year.
Servants polished every suit of armour displayed in the great hall.
Fresh flowers lined the corridors.
Long tables filled the kitchens.
Guest chambers had been prepared weeks in advance.
Every detail mattered.
Every visiting Alpha represented an entire pack.
Hospitality wasn't courtesy.
It was diplomacy.
As I passed through the kitchens, Martha—the head cook—caught sight of me immediately.
"There he is."
I sighed.
"I'm only passing through."
"So you'll have time to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
She snorted.
"You're six-foot-whatever and built like an ox."
"Thank you... I think."
"You'll sit."
Within moments, she'd placed a steaming plate in front of me.
Fresh bread.
Eggs.
Roasted mushrooms.
Bacon.
Enough food for three people.
"I can't eat all this."
"You can."
"I really can't."
"You will."
Onyx chuckled.
"She outranks you."
"I know."
"Everyone knows."
By the time I stood to leave, the plate was empty.
Martha looked entirely too pleased with herself.
"Better."
"Happy?"
"For at least another four hours."
---
The castle gates opened shortly before midday.
The first visiting packs began arriving one after another.
Stone Ridge.
Silver Hollow.
Iron Crest.
Frost River.
Each arrival was announced by the guards stationed atop the walls.
Banners were lowered in welcome.
Warriors lined the entrance in ceremonial formation.
I stood at the top of the grand staircase greeting every Alpha personally.
Some clasped forearms.
Others bowed.
Some preferred formal introductions.
Every leader had their own traditions.
By early afternoon the courtyard buzzed with conversations.
Old friends reunited.
Old rivals eyed one another carefully.
Children of noble blood explored the castle while their parents discussed politics.
From above, it almost looked peaceful.
Almost.
Because beneath every smile...
Every Alpha measured every other Alpha.
Strength.
Numbers.
Confidence.
Weakness.
It was the way of our world.
---
Elias joined me overlooking the courtyard.
"Twenty-seven packs."
"So far."
"You think everyone will come?"
"They always do."
He leaned on the stone railing.
"The Ashen Moon delegation is due before sunset."
I nodded absentmindedly.
He glanced sideways at me.
"You've asked about them three times today."
"I've asked if they've arrived."
"Same thing."
"I ask about every pack."
"You absolutely do not."
He wasn't wrong.
I frowned.
"I suppose I'm curious."
"About the undefeated Alpha?"
"About whether the stories are true."
Elias folded his arms.
"What stories?"
I laughed.
"That's the problem."
"There are too many."
One story claimed she had defeated an entire pack alone.
Another insisted she commanded shadows.
Another said she had once challenged a rogue bear with nothing but a hunting knife.
"They can't all be true," I said.
"No."
"But one usually starts them."
---
Late that afternoon, I slipped away from the crowds and climbed the western watchtower.
It had always been my favourite place in the keep.
From there I could see every road leading toward Blackwood territory.
The mountains stretched endlessly beneath drifting clouds.
The wind was stronger here.
Cleaner.
It cleared my thoughts.
"You're looking for someone."
Onyx's deep voice echoed inside me.
"I'm watching for arriving guests."
"Mm-hmm."
"What?"
"You don't usually volunteer for gate duty."
"I wanted some quiet."
"Liar."
I smiled despite myself.
"When did you become so annoying?"
"Around the time you learned to ignore your instincts."
"I don't ignore them."
"Then listen."
I closed my eyes.
The wind shifted.
Bringing with it dozens of scents from the roads below.
Horses.
Leather.
Wood smoke.
Rain.
And...
Something else.
So faint I almost missed it.
Wildflowers.
Fresh pine.
A scent unlike anything I'd ever encountered.
My eyes opened instantly.
The southern road was still empty.
Strange.
Very strange.
---
The evening before the opening council was traditionally quieter than the summit itself.
Guests settled into their rooms.
Warriors shared stories over drinks.
Musicians filled the great hall with soft music.
I spent much of it walking unnoticed through the castle.
Not as Alpha.
Just as Ryker.
Checking that every guest chamber had enough firewood.
Speaking with stable hands.
Thanking the servants working late into the night.
My father had done the same every year.
He believed leadership wasn't measured by how people treated you...
But by how you treated those who expected nothing in return.
I hoped I was making him proud.
---
Just before midnight, my mother found me standing on the eastern balcony.
"You've been restless all day."
"Have I?"
"You've walked enough corridors to wear grooves in the stone."
I laughed quietly.
"Perhaps."
She stepped beside me.
"The summit always weighs heavily on you."
"It isn't the meetings."
"No."
"It's making sure everyone leaves safely."
She smiled gently.
"You sound just like your father."
We stood together in comfortable silence.
Finally she spoke again.
"You've become a good Alpha, Ryker."
"I still have a lot to learn."
"You always will."
I looked across the dark valley below.
Torches flickered along the southern road in the distance.
Travellers.
More guests arriving under the cover of night.
One group in particular would reach Blackwood by morning.
Though I didn't know their names...
Didn't know their faces...
Didn't know that among them rode the woman whose smile would soon quiet the constant noise inside my mind.
Onyx lifted his head.
"Tomorrow."
I nodded slowly.
"Tomorrow."
Neither of us understood why that single word carried so much weight.
But somewhere beyond the mountains...
Fate was already riding toward us.
And for the first time in my life...
I found myself looking forward to whatever tomorrow might bring.
- Writer
