Tasted the Alpha King

Chapter 6 The Edge

I woke before the others again. The bed was cold. The house was quiet. For a long moment I lay still and listened to the silence, waiting for the usual sounds to start—the pup’s voice, Lyra’s careful steps, Kael answering them. They came a few minutes later, soft and familiar. I stayed where I was until the quiet inside me felt steady enough to carry downstairs.

In the kitchen Kael already had the pup in his arms. Lyra moved around them with easy familiarity. I poured tea and sat in my place. No one asked how I had slept.

Kael looked over. “You’re up early.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

He nodded and turned back to the child. Lyra set a plate in front of me without speaking. I ate what I could and left the rest.

After a while Kael said, “There’s a council meeting this afternoon at the neutral hall. Border concerns again. I’ll be gone most of the day.”

“All right.”

He hesitated. “You could come. It’s been months since you sat through one.”

The offer felt thin. I shook my head.

“I’ll stay here.”

Kael’s mouth tightened, but he did not argue. He passed the pup to Lyra, finished his tea, and left with two warriors. The house settled into a different kind of quiet once he was gone.

Lyra stayed in the kitchen with the boy. I went to the eastern path and walked until the pack house disappeared behind the trees. The air was cool. The ground was dry. I kept walking until I reached the stream and sat on the same fallen log Mira had used the day before.

I did not expect her, but she came anyway. She sat without speaking at first.

“You’re quieter than usual,” she said eventually.

“There’s not much left to say.”

Mira looked at the water. “The talk has reached the senior warriors now. They’re asking questions about the bond. About whether the Luna still holds her place.”

I kept my eyes on the stream. “And what are they saying?”

“That Kael has already chosen. That the boy and the widow are the future of the house. That you’re still here out of habit more than anything else.”

The words sat heavy and cold. I felt them settle into the same place the limit had been the day before.

“Is that what you think?” I asked.

Mira was quiet for a long moment. “I think you’re still here because part of you is waiting for him to see what he’s done. But waiting has a cost. And you’re paying it every day.”

I did not answer. There was nothing to say that would change the truth of it.

We sat in silence until the sun moved higher. Then Mira stood.

“If you need somewhere else to be for a few hours, my place is open. No questions.”

I nodded once. She left. I stayed by the stream until the cold from the water reached my bones.

When I returned to the house Lyra was in the sitting room with the pup. She looked up and smiled the careful smile.

“You’re back. I was starting to wonder.”

“I went for a walk.”

She hesitated. “Kael asked me to tell you he’ll be late. The meeting ran long.”

“All right.”

Lyra watched me for a moment longer. “You look tired, Selene. Really tired.”

“I am.”

She opened her mouth as if to say more, then closed it again and looked down at the child. I went upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed. The mark on my neck felt quieter than it had in days. I pressed my fingers to it and felt only the faintest answer.

Kael returned after dark. I heard the front door and the low sound of his voice in the hall. Lyra answered him. The pup’s sleepy murmur followed. I stayed in the bedroom until the house quieted again. Only then did I go down.

Kael was in the kitchen alone, drinking water from a glass. He looked up when I entered.

“You’re still awake.”

“I was waiting.”

He set the glass down. “The meeting was longer than expected. Border tensions are rising. Blackthorn is pushing farther east than they should.”

I leaned against the counter. “Did you settle it?”

“For now. But it won’t hold forever.” He studied my face. “You look like you haven’t slept.”

“I haven’t. Not well.”

Kael exhaled. “Selene. About yesterday. About what you said.”

I waited.

“I don’t know how to make this right if you keep standing so far away.”

“I’m not the one who moved.”

His jaw tightened. “I can’t keep having the same fight every night.”

“Neither can I.”

The silence that followed felt thinner than the ones before it. Kael looked at me like he was searching for something he used to find easily and could no longer locate. Then he shook his head.

“I’m sleeping in the other room. Again.”

“I know.”

He left. I stayed in the kitchen until the lights upstairs went out. Then I walked back to the bedroom and sat by the window.

The trees stood dark and still. Somewhere beyond them the border waited. The presence from the dreams felt closer tonight, heavier, as if it had stepped out of the trees and was simply watching the house.

I pressed my fingers to the mark on my neck one last time. The pulse was almost gone.

I lay down in the dark and closed my eyes.

Sleep came in short pieces. In one of the dreams the eyes were waiting again. This time I did not stop at a single step. I walked farther toward them than I ever had before.

When I woke the quiet in the house felt different. Not peaceful. Not safe.

Just ready to break.

I lay still and listened to the silence, and for the first time I did not try to hold it together.