Chapter 2 — The Aftermath
349 Words
The silence that followed my words wasn't just quiet; it was heavy, suffocating, the kind of stillness that settled over a forest right before a predator strikes.
Kade didn't move. His chest rose and fell, his alpha aura flaring in a desperate attempt to reassert dominance over a hillside that was rapidly freezing over. The orange glow of the bonfire was completely dead now, choked out by the sudden, unnatural frost coating the logs.
"Soren," Kade barked, his eyes never leaving mine. "Get her out of here. Take her to the cells until she calms down."
The Beta took one step forward, his jaw set, but he didn't make it two. Toby broke from the treeline, his teenage shoulders squared, placing himself directly between me and the second-in-command. He hadn't even reached his full growth yet, but the raw defiance in his posture made Soren pause.
"Touch her, and I'll tear your throat out," Toby snarled, his voice vibrating with a low, protective growl. "Stand down, pup," Soren replied, though his eyes kept darting to the frost crawling up my boots.
I reached out, placing a hand on Toby's shoulder. The moment my fingers brushed his jacket, a shock wave of cold snapped outward. Soren stumbled back, his boots slipping on the slick, frozen grass.
"I'm not going to any cells, Kade," I said, my voice sounding strangely echoing, like two people were speaking in perfect unison. "You just spent the last five minutes telling everyone here that I don't belong to this pack anymore. You don't get to reject the bond and keep the authority."
Kade’s face darkened, the veins in his neck bulging. "You are still under my jurisdiction until I say otherwise, Wren. Whatever trick you're pulling.
"It's no trick," Yarrow interrupted from the mud. The old healer was still trembling, her fingers digging into the frosted earth. She looked up at Kade, her eyes wide with a terror I had never seen in her before. "You fool. You are an absolute fool. You broke the seal."
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