Chapter three
1127 Words
Rain hammered against the capital walls long before sunrise.
By morning, the entire city of Noctara already knew one thing.
Ronan Vale had entered royal territory.
The rumors spread faster than wildfire through the streets, the palace corridors, even the training grounds.
The Beast of Shadowfang.
The Alpha who ripped out his own uncle’s throat during a succession challenge.
The war commander who burned three rogue territories in a single winter campaign.
The man whose wolf was rumored to be almost impossible to control.
Servants whispered his name like a curse.
Guards straightened whenever his warriors passed.
Even members of the Lunar Council looked tense.
Kael noticed all of it from the palace balcony overlooking the lower courtyard.
Below her, rows of black armored warriors rode through the massive silver gates of Noctara in complete silence. No banners. No unnecessary movement. Just disciplined brutality.
Shadowfang warriors.
Every single one looked battle hardened.
Dangerous.
But none of them compared to the man riding at the front.
Ronan Vale.
He sat atop a massive black horse, broad shoulders covered by a dark combat cloak soaked from the rain. Long black hair brushed against the collar of his armor while a deep scar cut across the side of his throat.
He looked less like an Alpha ruler and more like a weapon someone forgot to chain properly.
Kael narrowed her eyes slightly.
So this was the man terrifying half the kingdom.
Darius stepped beside her quietly.
“You should not be standing out here.”
“I was not aware I needed permission.”
“You know what I mean.”
Kael ignored him.
Her attention stayed fixed on Ronan below.
Something about him felt wrong.
Not politically.
Instinctively.
Even from this distance, she could feel pressure radiating from him.
Like his wolf was constantly near the surface.
Violent.
Unstable.
Darius crossed his arms. “The Council invited him personally.”
“That alone is suspicious.”
“He rarely leaves Shadowfang territory.”
Kael’s expression remained unreadable.
“Maybe the Council finally realized they need stronger warriors protecting the capital.”
Darius glanced toward her carefully. “Or maybe they expect trouble during the Sacred Moon Rite.”
Silence followed.
Kael hated that possibility because she already suspected the same thing.
The servant’s death from last night still lingered heavily in her mind.
The false king must die.
The words refused to leave her alone.
Below them, Ronan dismounted smoothly from his horse.
Several palace guards immediately approached him, but Kael noticed something interesting.
Every guard kept a careful distance.
Fear.
Even trained royal guards feared him.
Ronan handed the reins to one of his warriors without looking away from the palace itself.
Like he already sensed eyes watching him.
Then slowly—
His gaze lifted upward.
Straight toward the balcony.
Toward her.
The moment their eyes met, agony exploded through Kael’s chest.
Her breath caught violently.
Pain ripped beneath the Moon Mark hard enough to nearly drive her backward.
What the hell—
Her pulse slammed against her ribs as heat surged through her body unnaturally fast.
It felt nothing like the pain from before.
This was worse.
Sharper.
Alive.
Kael gripped the balcony railing instantly to steady herself.
Darius noticed. “Kael?”
She barely heard him.
Because Ronan had stopped moving entirely below.
His expression hardened almost imperceptibly.
But Kael saw it.
Shock.
Real shock.
Then something darker.
His wolf reacted too.
She could feel it.
A violent pressure crashing against her instincts so hard her body almost responded automatically.
No.
Impossible.
Kael had never reacted to another Alpha this way before.
Not once.
The pain intensified suddenly.
A sharp burning sensation spread beneath her skin while her breathing became uneven.
Ronan’s eyes darkened.
For one terrifying second, Kael thought he might shift right there in the middle of the royal courtyard.
Instead, he regained control instantly.
Too instantly.
Like a man used to surviving chaos.
But his gaze never left hers.
Not even once.
Kael forced herself upright despite the pain tearing through her chest.
She refused to look weak in front of him.
Or anyone.
Then Ronan tilted his head slightly.
Studying her.
Not like a ruler greeting another ruler.
Like a predator trying to understand something dangerous.
Kael hated the reaction that caused inside her.
Because beneath the pain, another feeling twisted violently through her body.
Recognition.
The realization hit her hard enough to make her stomach tighten.
No.
No, that was impossible.
Her wolf was silent.
Broken.
She could not possibly feel a mate bond.
Especially not with him.
Darius stepped closer immediately after noticing the color drain from her face.
“You look sick.”
“I am fine.”
“You nearly collapsed.”
“I said I am fine.”
The harshness in her voice made him fall silent.
Below them, Ronan finally looked away.
But the pressure inside Kael’s chest remained.
Burning.
Unstable.
Wrong.
“What is happening to me?” she thought.
For the first time in years, fear crawled beneath her control.
Real fear.
Not fear of enemies.
Not fear of assassination attempts.
Fear of herself.
The courtyard gates opened again moments later as members of the Lunar Council descended toward Ronan personally.
Kael noticed Elder Malachai among them.
The Elder looked tense the second he approached Ronan.
Interesting.
Malachai rarely looked unsettled around anyone.
Darius exhaled slowly beside her. “This feels bad already.”
Kael did not answer.
Because Ronan suddenly looked back toward the balcony again.
This time directly at her throat.
At the hidden Moon Mark beneath her uniform.
A cold chill ran through her spine.
There was no way he could know.
Yet his expression sharpened anyway.
Like he sensed something he could not explain.
Then unexpectedly, Ronan smirked.
Not warmly.
Dangerously.
The expression felt more like a warning than amusement.
Kael’s chest tightened again.
“What exactly are you?” she thought bitterly.
As if hearing the question somehow, Ronan’s gaze darkened further.
Then Elder Malachai stepped partially between them, breaking the moment completely.
Kael exhaled slowly.
Only then did she realize her claws had partially extended into the balcony railing.
Darius stared down at the damaged silver metal.
“Kael…”
She forced her claws back instantly.
The pain beneath her chest finally eased slightly, leaving behind heavy exhaustion.
But something had already changed.
She could feel it instinctively.
Like a door inside her life had ope
ned and refused to close again.
Below, Ronan followed the Council toward the palace entrance surrounded by his warriors.
Yet before disappearing inside, he glanced upward one final time.
Directly at her.
And under his breath, low enough that nobody else could hear
Ronan whispered,
“What the hell are you?”
- Writer
