The first thing I saw was the fortress.
I forgot to breathe for a second.
It clung to the mountainside, almost like someone had carved it straight out of the rock. The walls were black stone, jagged and high, bristling with towers. Wind tugged at silver banners, each stamped with the Alpha King’s mark.
At the front, a pair of iron gates waited. Guards lined the top of the ramparts and clustered by the entrance. And wolves—there were so many wolves, I stopped counting. As the carriage rolled closer, their eyes tracked us, sharp and silent.
My stomach tied itself in knots.
“This is your home?” I asked.
Kael glanced outside. “Yes.”
I stared. “It looks like a war camp.”
“It is a fortress,” he said.
“That’s not a comfort,” I muttered.
He almost smiled. “You’re safe here.”
I shot him
