The Witch's Contract

BLOOD FOR BLOOD

Dawn came grey and thin through the stained glass. Wolves running under a red moon. The colors bled across Elara’s face like a warning.

She hadn’t slept. Couldn’t. The mark on her shoulder burned. Not with heat. With him. Every time Kade’s heartbeat spiked, the bond snapped tight around her ribs. He was angry. She felt it. Cold. Controlled. Like winter before a storm.

The wolf made of smoke and bone hadn’t left her. It paced behind her eyes, silver eyes fixed on the door. Waiting.

A knock. Soft. Not Kade.

“Enter,” Elara said. Her voice was hoarse. She’d been whispering to Lyra in her head all night through the bond, even though she knew her sister couldn’t hear.

The door opened. A servant girl slipped in. Young. Human, not wolf. Head down, eyes on the floor. She carried a tray. Bread, black as charcoal. Water in a chipped cup. And a folded gown. Grey silk. The color of mourning.

“Alpha King’s orders,” the girl whispered. “You’re to wear this today. And…” She hesitated. “He said you’re to come to the training yard after. He wants to test you.”

Elara took the gown. The fabric was light. Too light for winter. For a cage. “Test me for what?”

The girl didn’t answer. She bowed and left, quick, like the walls had ears. They probably did.

Elara dressed. The grey silk clung to her skin. The neckline dipped low, exposing the mark. The wolf’s fang, black and red, pulsed against her collarbone. Under it, the old symbol her mother warned her about flickered faint as a scar. Hidden. For now.

She pressed her palm to it. The monster inside her stirred. Teeth. Hunger. It liked the pain. It liked his blood.

The door opened again before she could think. Kade.

He didn’t knock this time. Alpha King didn’t ask permission. He stood in the doorway, black coat, black boots, silver eyes cutting through the grey light like blades. He looked at the mark first. Then her face. Then the tray of uneaten bread.

“You didn’t eat,” he said.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You will be.” He stepped inside. Shut the door. The lock didn’t click, but it might as well have. “The year starts with obedience, Luna. You eat when I say. You sleep when I say. You breathe when I say.”

Elara lifted her chin. “And if I don’t?”

Kade moved fast. One second he was by the door. The next his hand was on her throat. Not squeezing. Just there. Warm. Thumb resting over her pulse. Testing it.

“Then my wolves will remind you,” he said quietly. “And I will remind them. Do you understand?”

The bond flared. His anger bled into her. But under it, something else. Curiosity. He’d felt the monster last night. He was pretending he hadn’t.

Elara met his silver eyes. “I understand you need me alive for one year. So don’t break me before then, Alpha.”

Kade’s grip tightened a fraction. Then he let go. Like she’d burned him.

“Training yard. Now.” He turned and walked out. No check if she followed. He knew she would. The bond would drag her if she tried to run.

The halls were empty. Wolves watched from shadows. Silver eyes. Yellow eyes. All tracking her. The mark on her shoulder throbbed under the grey silk. A claim. A target.

The training yard was open stone, ringed by walls of black ice. Snow fell in lazy sheets. At the center stood a wooden post. Chains hung from it. Old blood stained the wood dark.

Kade waited there. No coat now. Just black shirt, sleeves rolled. Scars ran down his forearms. Old fights. Older wars. His wolves formed a circle around the yard. Twenty of them. All watching.

“Strip,” Kade said. No preamble. No explanation.

Elara froze. “What?”

“Your gown. To the waist. Let them see the mark.” His voice carried. Flat. A command, not a request. “If you’re going to wear my name, they need to know you’re claimed.”

The circle of wolves shifted. Some leaned forward. Hungry. Some bared teeth. Disgusted. One muttered, “He’s letting a witch-licker stand in our yard.”

Elara’s hands shook as she pulled the silk down. Cold air hit her back. The mark burned brighter, like it knew it was being watched. Black and red. Fang-shaped. And under it, the old symbol pulsed once. Twice.

Kade saw it. His silver eyes narrowed. But he didn’t call it out. Not yet.

“Good,” he said. “Now, run.”

Elara blinked. “What?”

“Run, Luna. Around the yard. Ten laps. If you fall, the wolves decide if you get up.”

This wasn’t a test. It was a execution with steps.

Elara ran. The grey silk tangled at her legs. Snow soaked through the thin fabric. Her lungs burned by lap three. By lap five, her legs felt like stone. The bond dragged her forward when she stumbled. Kade’s will, pushing through her ribs.

The wolves watched. Some counted under their breath. Some jeered. “Faster, Luna. Alpha doesn’t like slow prey.”

On lap eight, her knees gave out. She hit the stone hard. Pain shot up her arms. Blood from the mark smeared the ice.

Silence. Twenty wolves. One breath held.

Kade didn’t move. Just watched her with those silver eyes. Calculating.

Elara forced herself up. Hands shaking. Blood on her palms. The monster inside her snarled. _Stand. Fight. Don’t give them this._

She ran again. Lap nine. Lap ten. She collapsed at Kade’s boots when she finished. Chest heaving. Snow melting on her skin.

Kade crouched. One finger lifted her chin. His touch was gentle now. That was worse.

“You’re weak,” he said. Soft enough only she could hear. “But you don’t quit. Interesting.”

He wiped blood from her shoulder with his thumb. Brought it to his mouth. Tasted it. His pupils blew wide. For one second his control cracked. Hunger. Not for food. For her.

The bond between them snapped electric. Elara felt his thoughts flash—cold, possessive, furious. And under it, fear. He’d tasted her blood and the monster inside her had tasted him back.

Kade stood. Turned to his wolves. “She runs ten laps every dawn. If she misses one, she goes hungry. If she falls and doesn’t rise, she’s out. Understood?”

“Yes, Alpha,” they answered in unison. But their eyes were on her. Not him.

Kade looked down at her. “Three drops of my blood for Lyra tonight. No more. Earn it.”

He walked away. The wolves parted for him. Then closed back in around her.

Elara stayed on her knees in the snow. The mark on her shoulder pulsed in time with Kade’s retreating footsteps. The wolf made of smoke and bone opened its eyes behind her eyelids and smiled.

Blood for blood. That was the deal. And the monster was getting thirsty.