CHAPTER SEVEN
698 Words
Kael wasn’t a fool.
A wolf didn’t survive as Alpha without knowing when the air around him had shifted, when something in the wind no longer smelled the same.
And tonight, Selene smelled of roses.
The gardens.
But beneath that, just faint enough that most wouldn’t notice, was a sharper, earthier scent. Masculine.
It didn’t belong to anyone in Blackthorn.
He didn’t confront her right away.
Instead, Kael stood in the main hall after she disappeared into their chambers, letting his instincts do what years of leadership had honed them to do — observe, measure, wait.
When he finally moved, he didn’t go to bed. He went outside.
The night was cool, the moon high and silver. The stones of the garden path were still holding the day’s warmth under his boots. He followed the faint traces of scent, the way a hunter follows the path of a wounded deer.
The trail led to the far end of the gardens — the oldest part, where a moss-covered wall stood beside the fountain. The scent was stronger here.
And it wasn’t just Selene’s.
Kael crouched, brushing his fingers over the low stone wall. They came away with a smudge of soil.
Fresh. Disturbed recently.
Someone had been leaning here.
He straightened slowly, the low growl already vibrating in his chest. Lucien. It had to be. No one else in this territory carried that mix of cedar and shadow.
Kael’s hands curled into fists. He had warned Lucien once. The man was either reckless or arrogant — or both — to ignore that warning.
When Kael returned inside, the packhouse was quiet. He pushed open the door to his study and sank into the leather chair behind his desk, but sleep wasn’t going to find him tonight. His thoughts were restless.
Selene hadn’t told him.
Not about the meeting. Not about Lucien.
And the worst part wasn’t that she’d kept it from him.
It was that she hadn’t even seemed to feel guilty.
The next morning, Kael moved through his day as though nothing was wrong. That was the advantage of being Alpha — no one dared question the tightness in your jaw or the way your gaze lingered too long on the horizon.
But behind the mask, he was watching her.
When she joined him for breakfast, he noticed the way she avoided his eyes, the way her smile seemed… practiced.
When she spoke to the pack’s healer later that afternoon, he caught the faintest tremor in her voice — not fear, but the weight of keeping something unsaid.
By evening, Kael’s decision was made.
He wasn’t going to ask her again where she’d been.
He was going to find out for himself.
He sent Ronan ahead with quiet orders. “Track her movements after sunset. Don’t let her see you.”
Ronan’s brows lifted slightly. “You think she’s—”
“I think I need to know where she’s going,” Kael interrupted. “And who she’s with.”
Ronan didn’t argue. “Understood.”
That night, Selene excused herself from dinner early, claiming she was tired. Kael stayed at the table with a few pack elders, feigning interest in a discussion about border patrols, while his mind was elsewhere entirely.
When Ronan returned just before midnight, his expression was grave.
“Well?” Kael asked.
“She went to the gardens,” Ronan said quietly. “Same spot as last night. And she wasn’t alone.”
Kael’s pulse thudded hard in his ears. “Lucien.”
Ronan nodded once. “Didn’t hear much. They spoke in low tones. But it didn’t look like a first meeting.”
Kael’s jaw clenched. This wasn’t just a rumor anymore. This was a breach. And worse — Selene was letting it happen.
When Ronan left, Kael poured himself a drink, the amber liquid catching the lamplight as it swirled in the glass. He took a slow sip, letting the burn settle in his chest.
There was a war coming — no longer just with Lucien.
Now, it was inside his own home.
And if Kael wasn’t careful, the enemy wouldn’t have to storm his gates.
They’d already been invited inside.
- Writer
