CHAPTER FIVE: WHEN THE WOLVES CIRCLE
1264 Words
The palace did not sleep.
Seraphina learned that quickly.
Even after the assembly dispersed and the sun dipped behind the jagged peaks, the Blackthorn stronghold remained alert—guards patrolling, wolves shifting forms in the shadows, eyes following her every step.
She felt them.
Judging. Measuring. Waiting.
Kael walked several paces ahead of her as they returned to his chambers. He said nothing, but his presence pressed against her senses like a wall—unyielding, protective, furious.
When the door slammed shut behind them, silence rushed in.
She turned to face him.
“You embarrassed her,” she said softly.
Kael removed his cloak, tossing it aside. “She embarrassed herself.”
“She won’t forgive that.”
He finally looked at her then, really looked—taking in her pale face, the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands trembled slightly at her sides.
“I am aware,” he said.
The bond pulsed uneasily.
Seraphina hesitated. “Nyra isn’t just jealous. She’s angry.”
His mouth curved humorlessly. “Jealousy turns to anger when entitlement is challenged.”
She swallowed. “She proposed the Shadow Pit. That wasn’t a test—it was a sentence.”
Kael’s eyes darkened. “I know.”
He moved closer.
Not touching.
Never touching.
“You need to understand something,” he said quietly. “This pack does not forgive weakness. And they will test you again.”
Her spine straightened. “Then I’ll endure.”
His gaze flicked to her throat, lingered there for half a second too long.
“Endurance is not enough,” he said. “You must survive.”
Before she could respond, a sharp knock struck the door.
Kael stiffened.
“Enter,” he ordered.
A young guard stepped in, bowing quickly. “Alpha. There’s been… an incident.”
Kael’s aura flared. “Explain.”
“One of the outer sentries was attacked. Poisoned. He survived—but he swore he smelled Vale blood on the weapon.”
The words hit like a blade.
Seraphina sucked in a breath. “That’s impossible.”
Kael’s gaze snapped to her.
“You didn’t leave my sight,” he said slowly.
“No,” she said immediately. “I swear it.”
The guard shifted uncomfortably. “Nyra has already begun questioning wolves. She claims—”
“Enough,” Kael growled.
The guard bowed again and fled.
The silence afterward was heavy.
“They’ll use this against me,” Seraphina whispered.
Kael’s jaw clenched. “They’ll try.”
She took a shaky breath. “If they think I attacked someone—”
“They won’t touch you,” he cut in. “Not without my permission.”
She laughed bitterly. “You can’t protect me from everyone.”
His eyes locked onto hers.
“Watch me.”
The bond flared hot at his words.
She turned away, pacing. “This is what she wants. To isolate me. Turn the pack against me.”
“Yes,” Kael said. “And she’s patient.”
Night fell fast after that.
Kael insisted she eat with him—silently, tension coiled tight between them. When servants cleared the table, he ordered her to stay in the chamber.
“I’ll be back before moonrise,” he said, fastening his weapons.
“Where are you going?”
“To remind Nyra what boundaries look like.”
Her heart skipped. “Don’t kill her.”
He paused.
“I won’t,” he said finally. “Unless she forces my hand.”
The door closed behind him.
The bond strained painfully as he left—like a cord pulled too tight.
Seraphina wrapped her arms around herself.
Endure, she told herself again.
⸻
She did not hear Nyra enter.
One moment she was standing by the window, staring at the moon climbing high over the mountains—the next, the air shifted.
Danger screamed through her instincts.
“Alone already?” Nyra’s voice purred from the shadows.
Seraphina spun.
Nyra leaned casually against the doorway, dressed in dark red leather, eyes glittering with satisfaction.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Seraphina said.
Nyra smiled. “Neither should you.”
Fear slid cold down Seraphina’s spine—but she didn’t back away.
“What do you want?”
Nyra stepped closer. “Answers.”
“For what crime?”
“For existing,” Nyra snapped, the sweetness vanishing. “For standing where you don’t belong.”
Seraphina lifted her chin. “Kael decides that.”
Nyra laughed. “You think this is about him choosing you?”
She circled slowly. “He didn’t choose you. Fate did. And he hates fate.”
Seraphina’s chest tightened. “Then why are you here?”
Nyra leaned in close, breath hot against her ear. “To warn you.”
“About what?”
Nyra’s voice dropped. “This pack will never accept you. And Kael will never forgive your blood.”
Seraphina met her gaze. “You sound afraid.”
Nyra stiffened.
“Afraid,” Seraphina continued quietly, “that he’s already changing.”
The slap came out of nowhere.
Seraphina stumbled, hitting the stone wall hard.
Pain exploded across her cheek.
Nyra grabbed her by the throat—not tight enough to kill, just enough to threaten.
“You will leave,” Nyra hissed. “Or I will make sure you don’t survive long enough for him to regret it.”
Seraphina’s vision blurred.
Before Nyra could tighten her grip—
The door shattered.
Kael stormed in, eyes blazing, power rolling off him in violent waves.
Nyra released Seraphina instantly, stepping back.
“Alpha—”
Kael crossed the room in a blink and slammed Nyra against the wall.
The entire palace seemed to shudder.
“I warned you,” he said, voice low and lethal. “Once.”
Nyra’s bravado cracked. “She provoked me.”
Kael didn’t even glance at Seraphina.
“She is under my protection,” he said. “Touch her again and I will forget every bond that keeps you breathing.”
Nyra stared at him, disbelief etched across her face.
“You would choose her,” she whispered, “over your pack?”
Kael leaned closer, eyes cold. “I choose control.”
He released her.
“Leave,” he ordered. “Now.”
Nyra fled.
The door slammed shut.
Kael turned slowly.
Seraphina slid down the wall, knees buckling.
Kael was beside her instantly, crouching, his hands hovering uselessly in the air.
“Where did she touch you?” he demanded.
Her cheek throbbed. Her throat burned.
“Kael—”
His control fractured.
He brushed his fingers along her jaw—careful, reverent.
The bond surged violently.
“Tell me,” he said hoarsely.
“Here,” she whispered.
Rage flashed through him.
“She crossed a line,” he said.
“So did you,” she replied quietly.
He froze.
“You keep saving me,” she said. “Soon they’ll stop seeing me as a hostage and start seeing me as leverage.”
His eyes searched her face.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” she breathed, “that if I’m going to survive here… I can’t just be protected.”
The bond hummed.
Kael straightened slowly.
“You want power,” he said.
“I want a chance.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then, slowly, Kael nodded.
“Then I will teach you,” he said. “How to survive wolves.”
Her heart pounded.
“How?”
His gaze burned into hers.
“By becoming one.”
- Writer
