CHAPTER TWO — A HOUSE OF ENEMIES
1100 Words
I woke up to the feeling of being watched.
Not imagined. Not paranoia. Watched.
The room was dim, the sky outside barely turning grey, but a shadow stood at the far corner—still, silent, too tall to be anything but a person.
My pulse jumped.
“Who’s there?” I pushed up on the bed, bracing myself.
The silhouette stepped forward.
A woman. Sharp face. Wolf insignia pinned to her collar. Her expression said everything: she hated me on sight.
“I am Commander Lira,” she said. “The Alpha’s second-in-command.”
Great. Kaelen’s guard dog.
“And?” I asked.
She didn’t blink. “I don’t like you.”
At least she was honest.
“And I don’t like that you’re in the Alpha’s chamber,” she continued. “You don’t belong here.”
“Says who? You?” I shot back.
“Says everyone. You’re debt-girl. Nothing more.”
My jaw tightened, but I didn’t look away. “Where’s Kaelen?”
“Not here,” she said shortly. “He left before dawn.”
“Then you can leave too,” I said.
Lira took one step toward me, slow and deliberate. “You’re brave. Or stupid. Hard to tell.”
I forced myself not to flinch. “Try me.”
Her eyes narrowed, assessing me the way you assess something you don’t respect but might have to deal with anyway.
“You’re trouble,” she said finally. “Kaelen doesn’t see it yet, but I do. Stay out of my way.”
She left as suddenly as she appeared. No closing of the door. No courtesy. Just gone.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
My first morning as Kaelen’s wife, and someone already wanted me dead.
Not surprising.
THE ALPHA HALL
By the time I stepped out of Kaelen’s room, wolves were already staring.
Whispering.
Judging.
“She slept in his bed?”
“He must be desperate.”
“Maybe he’ll send her back when he gets tired of her.”
I kept my head high. If they smelled fear, they’d eat me alive.
I found Kaelen in the war room—voices raised, men gathered around a long table. He didn’t notice me enter. Or maybe he did and pretended not to. Hard to tell with him.
A scout was speaking fast.
“…tracks leading into the eastern woods. Human footprints. Someone crossed our border without permission.”
Kaelen’s jaw tightened. “How many?”
“One. But the pattern is strange. They walked like they were following someone.”
Kaelen’s eyes flicked up—and landed directly on me.
My stomach sank.
No. No way. Not again.
“You.” His voice cut through the room.
Every head turned toward me.
“Did anyone follow you last night?”
I froze. For half a heartbeat, I considered lying. But Kaelen’s face made lying impossible.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I ran. I didn’t look back.”
He stared at me long and hard. Too long.
Then: “Escort her back to her quarters. No one else touches her.”
Touches?
The wolves exchanged looks. Lira stiffened.
Kaelen didn’t look away from me. “We will talk after this meeting.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
BACK IN THE CHAMBER
Two guards left me inside the room and locked the door behind me.
Locked.
I paced.
I wasn’t Kaelen’s prisoner. He said so. Yet here I was—locked up again.
My ears caught footsteps. Not guards. Lighter. Faster.
Then the lock clicked.
The door opened. Kaelen stepped in.
For the first time since I met him, he looked… angry. Not cold angry. Real angry.
He shut the door behind him. “Why didn’t you tell me someone followed you?”
“I didn’t know,” I said. “And even if I did, why would I tell you?”
“That is exactly why you should,” he snapped.
I crossed my arms. “You don’t own me.”
Kaelen stepped closer, voice low. “Someone crossed the border because of you.”
“And how is that my fault?”
“They might not be here to save you,” he said. “They might be here to take you.”
My chest tightened. “Who?”
“Your father’s enemies. My enemies. Anyone who thinks taking you hurts me.”
I stumbled over my words. “Why would it hurt you?”
Kaelen went still. Just for a second.
Then he said, “Because you carry my name now. And that makes you leverage.”
He wasn’t lying. Not even close.
He stepped past me and went to the window, staring out at the forest like he could see the intruder from miles away.
“You tried to run last night,” he said without turning. “And now someone is here. You see the problem?”
I swallowed. “…Yes.”
He finally looked at me. His expression was unreadable again, but something else flickered underneath.
Something protective.
“I will find out who crossed my land,” he said. “But until then, you don’t leave this room without me.”
“That sounds like a prison.”
“No,” he said. “It sounds like staying alive.”
The intensity in his eyes disarmed me faster than any weapon.
Kaelen wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t sweet. But he was dead serious about protecting what was his—even if I didn’t want to be.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “If someone thinks they can take you, they’re mistaken.”
My breath caught. “Why?”
His eyes held mine. Heated. Controlled. Dangerous.
“Because you’re my wife,” he said quietly. “And no one touches what’s mine.”
I hated that my pulse reacted before I could.
A knock banged on the door, shattering the moment.
Kaelen spun. “What?”
The guard shouted through the door.
“Alpha! We found the intruder!”
Kaelen stiffened.
“Bring them to the courtyard,” he ordered.
He turned back to me. “Stay here.”
I grabbed his wrist before I could stop myself. “Who is it?”
He looked down at my hand, then at me.
“I’ll find out,” he said. “And you’ll hear the truth from me.”
He pulled free and left the room.
I stood frozen in place, heart racing.
Someone had crossed the border for me.
And whoever it was…
Kaelen was about to confront them.
- Writer
