Chapter Four
936 Words
Kira
They left me there longer than I expected.
No one came immediately after Dimir left. No elder. No Alpha. Not even Mara.
Just silence.
At first I thought it was deliberate, some kind of tactic. Let me sit with what I had done. Let it settle. Let doubt creep in where certainty had been.
It didn’t.
I sat on the edge of the stone bench, elbows resting lightly on my knees, staring at nothing in particular. The room had no real features to focus on anyway. Just stone. Cold. Still.
Time passed. Or maybe it didn’t. It was hard to tell in a place like this.
The Alpha-Link flickered again.
Not steady.
Not gone.
Just… unstable.
It felt wrong in a way I couldn’t fully explain. Like something that had always been part of me was now slightly out of sync, like a heartbeat that kept missing a beat and then correcting itself too late.
I pressed my fingers lightly against my neck again.
Still there.
Still pulling.
Just not as strong.
Good.
I leaned back slightly, letting my head rest against the stone behind me.
I should have felt something else by now.
Fear, maybe.
Regret.
Something.
Instead, all I felt was… space.
Not empty.
Just quieter.
That was new.
The door opened without warning.
I didn’t move right away. I already knew it wouldn’t be Dimir this time.
Different footsteps. Heavier. More deliberate.
Elder Soren stepped in first.
Two others followed behind him, their presence filling the small room too quickly, making it feel even smaller.
I straightened slowly.
No rush.
No point.
“You understand the severity of what you’ve done,” Elder Soren said.
Not a question.
I met his gaze. “Yes.”
A pause.
“You have disrupted the Rite.”
“Yes.”
“You have rejected a sanctioned pairing.”
“Yes.”
Each answer came easily.
That seemed to bother him more than if I had resisted.
“You show no remorse.”
I tilted my head slightly. “Would that change anything?”
“No.”
“Then there is no reason to pretend.”
One of the elders behind him shifted slightly. Disapproval, maybe. Or surprise.
Elder Soren studied me for a moment longer than necessary.
“You were given a place in the SilverBow Pack,” he said. “A role. Protection. Stability.”
“And in return?” I asked.
His expression didn’t change. “Obedience.”
There it was.
Clear.
Simple.
Unquestioned.
“And if I refuse?” I asked.
“You already have.”
“Yes,” I said. “I have.”
Silence stretched for a moment.
Not uncomfortable.
Just heavy.
“The consequences will follow,” he said.
“I expect them to.”
“You will be stripped of rank.”
“That is fine.”
“You will be cut off from pack privileges.”
“Fine.”
“You will be monitored.”
That made me pause.
Not visibly.
But enough.
“I assumed as much.”
His gaze sharpened slightly. “You are not in a position to assume anything.”
“Then tell me.”
Another pause.
“You are not being exiled.”
That… I hadn’t expected.
Not immediately, at least.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because your actions are being assessed.”
“For what?”
“For intent.”
I let out a quiet breath. “My intent was clear.”
“Your intent may not be yours alone.”
That made me still.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Elder Soren did not answer immediately.
When he did, his voice was quieter.
“Influence exists in many forms.”
I held his gaze. “Are you suggesting I was influenced?”
“I am suggesting that deviation rarely occurs without cause.”
Something in my chest tightened.
Not fear.
Annoyance.
Sharp and immediate.
“I made my own decision,” I said.
“We will determine that.”
The words settled into the room like a verdict already decided.
One of the elders stepped forward slightly. “Until then, you remain under observation.”
I let out a slow breath. “And Alaric?”
“He has been reassigned.”
Of course he had.
Clean.
Efficient.
No disruption allowed to linger.
“And the Rite?” I asked.
“It continues.”
Of course it did.
Because nothing I did was supposed to matter.
That was the point.
“You may remain here for the night,” Elder Soren said. “Further decisions will be made at dawn.”
He turned without waiting for a response.
The others followed.
The door closed again.
Silence returned.
I sat there for a moment, staring at the place where they had stood.
Influence.
The word stayed with me longer than it should have.
As if they needed a reason beyond choice.
As if choosing for myself was not enough.
The Alpha-Link pulsed again.
Weaker.
Unsteady.
Still there.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees again.
They were watching me now.
Not just as a rule-breaker.
As something else.
Something uncertain.
Something that didn’t fit.
Good.
Let them watch.
A faint sound reached me from outside again.
Footsteps.
Not the enforcers this time.
Lighter.
Familiar.
I didn’t move.
The door didn’t open.
But I knew.
He was still there.
Not leaving.
Not yet.
I exhaled slowly and leaned back again, closing my eyes briefly.
This was not over.
Not even close.
And for the first time since the Rite began…
I wasn’t the only one who knew it.
- Writer
