THE ALPHA'S WOLF IS MY ENEMY

“Kill her.” The voice came from behind me. I turned so quickly that the tray in my hands rattled, and one of the glass vials nearly rolled onto the stone floor. Nobody had spoken. The corridor outside the Alpha's council chamber was crowded enough that someone should have noticed my reaction, yet the guards remained at their posts and the two servants carrying wine toward the dining hall continued talking quietly between themselves. I looked behind me anyway. Nothing. Only the long corridor, the black pillars carved with wolves, and the moonlight falling through the high windows. “Kill her before she remembers.” My fingers tightened around the tray. This time, I knew exactly where the voice was coming from. Inside the council chamber. I should have walked away. Instead, I pushed the door open. Every conversation stopped. Eight people sat around the long oak table, their attention turning toward me with varying degrees of annoyance. At the head of the table stood Alpha Cassian Rook. I had seen him many times from a distance, but never this close. He was taller than I expected, dressed entirely in black, with dark hair pushed carelessly away from his forehead. There was nothing particularly unusual about his face until he looked at someone. His eyes were cold enough to make people lower theirs before he had to say a word. Tonight, there was blood on his right hand. Fresh blood. My gaze dropped to it. Cassian noticed. “So,” he said, his voice quiet, “the healer finally decided to enter.” I swallowed. “I was asked to bring these.” I lifted the tray slightly. Nobody answered. The voice did. She heard me. My breath caught. I stared at Cassian. His mouth had not moved. The voice hadn't come from him. It had come from somewhere deeper. Somewhere beneath him. His wolf. I had spent sixteen years pretending I couldn't hear wolves. I'd learned early that people became frightened when you told them what their wolves whispered. Sometimes the wolves were harmless. Sometimes they complained about hunger or mocked their humans for falling in love. Sometimes they revealed things that could destroy families. Once, when I was nine, a visiting Beta's wolf had whispered that its human had poisoned his own brother. I had repeated it to my mother without understanding what it meant. Three days later, the Beta disappeared. After that, my mother taught me silence. Never react. Never answer. Never let anyone know. And above all, never listen to an Alpha's wolf. Because powerful wolves were rarely quiet. Cassian's wasn't quiet at all. She's looking at me. I lowered my eyes. “Put the tray there,” Cassian ordered. I crossed the room and placed it on the table. My hands were steady. That was a small miracle. “Leave.” I turned toward the door. No. I stopped. Cassian's gaze sharpened. “Did you hear me?” “Yes.” “Then leave.” I forced myself to move. Don't let her leave. I nearly stumbled. The wolf's voice had become clearer. Closer. It wasn't speaking like a distant thought. It sounded as though someone stood directly beside me, whispering into my ear. I reached the door. “Wait.” Cassian. I turned. He was watching me with an expression I couldn't read. “You're Nora Vale.” It wasn't a question. “Yes, Alpha.” His eyes moved over my face. Something changed in his expression. Recognition. No. That wasn't possible. I had never spoken to him before tonight. Not properly. “You've worked in the healer's wing for three years,” he said. “Yes.” “You treated the wounded after the border attack last winter.” “Yes.” “You were also the one who found the dead scout near the eastern river.” I nodded. His jaw tightened. “What did you hear?” The question caught me off guard. “Nothing.” The lie came too quickly. His eyes narrowed. “Nothing?” “I found him after the attack. He was already dead.” “That isn't what I asked.” I felt a strange pressure in my chest. Cassian stepped away from the table. “Tell me what you heard.” I looked at him. His wolf spoke first. She heard everything. I said nothing. Cassian came closer. He didn't need to raise his voice. The room itself seemed to grow quieter with every step he took. “People who lie to their Alpha usually have a reason.” “I wasn't lying.” His expression hardened. “Everyone lies.” His wolf disagreed. She doesn't. I stared at him. For the first time, something about his face frightened me. Not his anger. Not his reputation. The fact that his wolf seemed to know me. Cassian stopped less than a meter away. His eyes searched mine. “Have we met before?” My heart gave one hard beat. “No.” The answer was true. At least, I thought it was. Cassian continued staring at me. Then his wolf whispered again. She's older now. I forgot to breathe. Older? Older than what? Cassian suddenly reached for my wrist. I flinched. His fingers closed around it anyway. The instant his skin touched mine, a sharp pain tore through my head. The council chamber vanished. For a heartbeat, I wasn't twenty-two anymore. I was six. I was running through snow. Someone was carrying me. My mother was crying. There was blood on her dress. A huge black wolf stood beneath the trees, watching us. Its eyes were gold. And beside it stood a young boy. Dark hair. Angry eyes. Cassian. I ripped my wrist from his hand. The vision disappeared. I stumbled backward, knocking into the door. Cassian froze. “What did you see?” I couldn't answer. He looked down at his hand as though he had felt something too. His wolf spoke. Not softly this time. She remembers. Cassian's expression changed. “What did you see, Nora?” I shook my head. “I don't know.” “Don't lie to me.” “I said I don't know.” My voice cracked. The council members exchanged uneasy glances. One of them stood. “Alpha, perhaps—” “Everyone out.” The command silenced the room. The elders rose immediately. I reached for the door, hoping to escape with them. Cassian's voice stopped me. “Not you.” The doors closed. One by one, the council members disappeared until only Cassian and I remained. The silence felt suffocating. I took a step backward. “You can hear me.” My blood ran cold. Cassian was looking directly at me. “What?” “My wolf.” I couldn't speak. His expression became darker. “You can hear him.” I had spent sixteen years hiding my secret. Sixteen years making sure nobody discovered what I could do. And somehow, in less than ten minutes, Alpha Cassian Rook had figured it out. I swallowed. “I don't know what you're talking about.” His wolf laughed. Liar. Cassian moved toward me. I backed away. “Stay where you are.” I stopped. He studied my face for several seconds. Then he whispered, “What is my wolf saying?” I stared at him. He couldn't hear Rook. He didn't know what his own wolf was saying. And suddenly I understood something terrifying. Cassian wasn't the one speaking to me. His wolf was. I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. Rook spoke again. This time there was no anger in his voice. Only something that sounded dangerously close to fear. Tell her. Cassian's eyes remained fixed on mine. “Tell me.” I shook my head. “What?” “Your wolf…” I stopped. Cassian's expression went completely still. “What about him?” Rook whispered into my ear. Tell her my name. I looked at Cassian. Then I looked into the eyes of the Alpha whose wolf had just spoken to me like an old friend. “Rook,” I whispered. Cassian's face drained of color. And somewhere inside him, his wolf said my name. Not as a threat. Not as a warning. As if he had been waiting sixteen years to say it. “Nora.”