Chapter 2

All eyes were on me. Again. I tried not to take it personally, sliding my blasé smile back into place, something I did quite often lately. The wolves closest to me tripped over themselves to lower their eyes and bare their necks for my inspection. They’d been hanging decorations on the walls that flanked me, and each movement was awkward as they attempted to balance their wares and show respect.

The only ones who didn’t acknowledge me were the Elders. They stood to the far side of the courtyard where the true wolves, known at the Alten, jumped and played, rolling among some of the youngest shifters.

It had always amazed me the way the four-legged wolves were accepted and honored among the shifters. They weren’t tame by any means but no one here thought twice about allowing them to play with even the youngest children. At the same time, the creatures seemed to go against their natures in order to be gentle with the babies.

They ran careful tongues over soft cheeks and as I watched, one of them used sharp teeth to help a toddler move to a standing position. It should have been a scary scene, that feral beast with its teeth so close to something so fragile, but the little girl squealed with delight, taking two shaky steps forward to wrap the wolf’s snout in a hug.

The pups circled one of the Elders in particular, climbing all over her and licking her face like domesticated pets. It was obvious the Alten weren’t only companions kept around for entertainment. They were family.

The group looked completely at odds with the stiff formality directed at me from the others.

A particularly gangly boy atop a rope ladder swept a little too low for his slight frame. He came tumbling down in a shower of paper flowers and clipped vegetation. Wincing, I moved to help him up, patting chalk from his bulky shoulders.

“N-no, Princess!” He all but barked when he realized who was offering the helping hand. “I am fine.” His wide, startled eyes wounded me but not nearly as much as the expert dodge he pulled off to get away from my hands. He rolled as far away from me as possible.

In his haste to get away from me, he brushed against an elderly woman who promptly dropped the basket she’d been holding. Pretty, decorative stones hit the ground and I moved to pick them up for her. She snatched them up before I could do any good and did her own little jig out of my reach. I kneeled on the ground, stupidly holding up a stone she’d apparently decided she no longer wanted.

Sadness seeped into my chest, though I was careful to keep it from my expression. All at once, I was flooded with loneliness. It was an emotion I should have been familiar with, considering my childhood. Silently, I wished Aldrich were here. Before meeting him, the only thing I’d ever really wanted was a family. The Pack was supposed to fill that void. They took care of their own and valued kin above all else, but it was painfully clear I didn’t fall under such a category.

I hadn’t expected to be immediately accepted. In fact, I had looked forward to the challenge of winning them over. Frustration bubbled up my chest. “But I can’t try if they won’t give me a chance.”

“Why are you talking to yourself, Roux? Get off the ground. You’re going to get your kleid all dirty.”

My head snapped back with full blown pleasure. I jumped up and launched myself into the familiar voice, squealing the entire time. “Miiiina!”

Wilhelmina caught me with ease, wrapping her arms around me. I heard someone in the crowd gasp but couldn’t force myself to pretend to care. My friend was back and she offered a squeal of her own. “How have you been? Is everyone treating you well? They better be, or else they’ll answer to me.”

She held me away from her, pushing on my shoulders until I was turning in front of her. Love warmed me as she made sure I was whole and unharmed. “What happened to your leg? And your shoulder? And your face?” She ticked off each of my bruises and scrapes with a growl, her expression darkening with each item.

I put up my hands. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s nothing. I’m just a little clumsier this month than I have been … ever.”

Mina frowned, looking around the square. I think she only just then noticed everyone was standing a good distance away from me, staring at her as if she’d sprouted a third eye. She bared her teeth threateningly. “Don’t you wolves have a Ceremony to set up for?”

The reminder immediately pushed everyone back into preparations and I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks. It’s been like that since I got here.”

Mina huffed, wrapping her hand around my wrist and dragging me toward the Irminsala. Sitting down against its huge trunk, she sighed with pleasure, pulling her own hood back. Her blond mass of hair tumbled down, cut shorter than I remembered. The last time I’d seen Mina, she and her brother had just pledged to the Pack. They’d done so for me, and I couldn’t even begin to tell them how much their actions had meant.

They were the reason I was sitting here today.

“Yeah? Don’t worry, it’ll pass. Right now, you’re a mystery. They know about what happened with the Splitter, but they don’t know you. So what if your father was a lunatic who tried to steal the Blut-kette and essentially wipe out the Pack?”

“Gee, thanks, Mina. You always know just what to say to make a girl feel welcome.”

As usual, she either missed the sarcasm in my tone or decided to ignore it completely. “That’s what I’m here for!”

Again, I wondered how they were going to get to know me, if they wouldn’t give me a chance, but I didn’t want to burden my friend with those thoughts. “How was your pilgrimage? Was it awkward, going with all the younger girls?”

Mina shrugged one shoulder and tilted her head back. The bark of the tree seemed to sigh wistfully when touched, which is why I was careful not to do it. The tree seemed alive. More than that, it seemed to love and need physical contact with the members of the Pack. “No, it wasn’t awkward. It’s considered an honor to make the voyage as old as I am. Gives the other Packs the impression that I was so special, Hrodulf saved me until I was ripe.”

I would have had to have been deaf to miss the disgust in her voice. “I take it that it didn’t go well.”

The bark behind her undulated and Mina was dragged deeper into the embrace of the tree. Her hair wrapped around her like an extension of those wooden limbs, gathering her up in a hug. “There is no shame in going to the other wolf Packs to look for a possible mate. We aren’t required to love one another in order to breed healthy pups, but there are rites and rituals.” She dragged her tongue over the line of her teeth in aggression. “For female wolves it’s all about safety. I will not bear the offspring of one who is less than I am. Unfortunately, that was all I found. Less.”

I didn’t want to think of how she measured them. Knowing Mina, she’d probably beaten the crap out of every one of the wolves in the distant Pack. When no one was able to take her down, she’d more than likely refused to mate with any of them.

I couldn’t help the defiant little giggle that dropped from my mouth. “Doesn’t beating up your prospects kind of damage your mating potential?”

Mina grinned, this time her body relaxing. “Yeah, well … I’d rather be without than breeding weakness.”

I blinked at the wistful sound of her voice. Mina had been the only person I could trust with my initial confusion over Aldrich. At that time, I’d run to her, spilling all of my trembling little doubts and hopes at her feet. I heard the same tone in her voice now as I imagine she did in mine then. “Are you sure that’s what it is? An aversion to weakness?”

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and I saw all of the hope she kept carefully banked in a split second. Then it was gone, replaced by the discerning gaze of a woman who knew she had a job to do. “I am a powerful female wolf. My duty to the Pack demands I provide more of the same.”

“And what about love?”

She looked around, her keen eyes focusing on the children who ran and played while the adults worked. Within the Pack, there were sections and rules. There were tons of protocols and castes ran deep. Even now, the four Elders stood watching with different expressions on their face. Marrok, the First Elder, remained stoic as always, his arms folded over the barrel of his chest. His light hair was a startling contrast to the dark scowl painting his face. His complete opposite in every way, Botolf, the second of the four, laughed while Ralphina and Daciana played with the pups.

But one thing was certain: the Pack took care of its own. Every child in the space had ten mothers, and forty brothers and sisters. They were a family and took the phrase “It takes a village” literally. There was little, if any reason, to force yourself into a monogamous relationship.

But it didn’t really change anything and Mina was constantly turning down just such offers.

“Love, true love, is … rare. It’s easy.” Mina turned to look up at me and my heart stuttered. “You and Aldrich are the perfect example. You two were mated practically the moment he looked at you.”

I laughed. Hard. “Easy. Sure, that’s why he’s losing control and still hasn’t managed to mark me.”

Mina frowned, seeming to notice for the first time that the shadowy bruise on my shoulder wasn’t actually raised. It was supposed to be the mark a wolf put on his mate when he or she bound them together for life. Mine was only in the first stage, a mere suggestion which lay on my skin like ink.

“That’s impossible. How are you guys doing the nasty without him having bit you?”

I blushed hotly, refusing to meet her eyes. She got the message and blew out a steady stream of amazement. “All right. But maybe that’s just because you haven’t been able to re-summon the Blut-kette.”

I shifted uncomfortably. The Blut-kette was a legendary object. Sacred to the Pack. It looked like a simple red riding hood but it had powers no one truly understood. What they did know, though, was that the hood could calm the beast within an Alpha. Without it, Aldrich’s Wolf was too strong for him to contain and incidents like this morning would only get worse.

“Yeah,” I muttered, not wondering how she knew. It was probably the talk of the Pack by now. “Someone else already suggested that. I’m supposed to undergo the ritual during the Storm Festival, which, by the way, no one has explained to me … but I’m afraid. What if it doesn’t come? I’ve been trying this entire time. Nothing happens. Well, not nothing … it’s like I can feel something building up but it’s stuck.”

Narrow shoulders lifted. “Worry about it if it happens. And notice how I’m not giving you any more information about the Storm Festival, despite your very clever fishing?”

I smiled at her, feeling better than I had in a while. Mina always had that effect on me. She was like the big sister I never had. Which made her brother, Ulric, mine as well.

“Where is Rick, anyway? I haven’t heard any news about him since he was injured.”

Mina flashed me a grin. “He’s being trained. After the way he fought for you, they decided to make him a Shadow.”

My mouth fell open and I tasted carpet, something from my previous adventure I hadn’t gotten over. “A Shadow! That’s amazing.”

She nodded, laughing a low note of pride. “Yeah, one of the quickest initiations in the history of the Pack, even. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him, he’s scheduled to be…” Her voice trailed off and I turned to see what she was staring at. “Speak of the Devil.”

Ulric, along with a small group of male wolves marched across the middle of the square. They were dressed for battle, wearing the male version of the outfit I wore now, only in blood red leather. The sleeveless, high necked tunic split open from their hips, to their knees, revealing loose fitting black pants, where as hers was cut open from the bust and revealed another layer of sheer color.

While Mina and I chatted, thick white clouds had covered the sky, threatening us with the promise of a blizzard. The material they wore rippled in the muted sunlight, catching up the wayward snowflakes that fell away from the tree.

Aldrich moved in front of them, leading the mass as if he’d always done so and was always meant to. A cool breeze ruffled the folds of his uniform before striking my face. I sucked it into my lungs without pause, inhaling his scent and the essence that made me love him. A small sound of pleasure escaped my parted lips and he immediately turned, his ears twitching with awareness. The way his gaze ate me up caused me to blush and I averted my eyes, trying not to entice him further. No telling what would happen if he tried to kiss me again.

Mina waved to Ulric and he lifted his hand in greeting. I grinned, offering my own greeting but the smile fell off of his face the moment his met mine. I frowned a little, hurt by the way he watched me with a cold expression. Ulric and I had never been as close as I was with Mina. It was my fault, since before Aldrich, I’d had a major crush on him that sent me into a fit of nervous giggles every time he’d looked at me. Between stuttering and tripping over my feet, I didn’t get much of a chance to actually get to know him.

Still, when I had been in trouble, he never once hesitated to come to my rescue. He’d even fought Aldrich for me. The disinterest—borderline disdain—in his expression made my stomach quiver with unhappiness as well as unease.

I was jerked out of my thoughts when heavy footsteps sounded before me. “You are looking at the Undedicated wolf again, mate.”

Heat flooded my face and I turned to Aldrich, who was now standing right beside me. I cringed at the tone in his voice, for it was as displeased as it was dangerous. “Not for the reason you’re thinking. He’s acting weird and I wonder why. Besides, you can hardly call him Undedicated now. He’s a Shadow.”

Aldrich put his hands on my shoulders and swung me around until I faced him. He crushed me to his chest. For a moment I couldn’t breathe, though I didn’t know if it was because I was too excited or because he was squeezing me too tightly. “He is still in training, not a full Shadow yet. This will be his first hunt and a true honor.”

“An honor?” I murmured it against his chest, smiling when my teeth scraped against his skin. I was toasty from my head to my toes once more, and again all because of him.

“He goes with us to collect the rabbit for the rituals.”

I was excited about meeting a rabbit. While wolves were allergic to magic, the rabbits were supposed to be the exact opposite. Amongst the shifter clans, they weren’t considered very strong, but there was some kind of agreement I didn’t completely understand. All I could do was nod. “And you lead the party. I think that is a much greater honor.”

The low note of his growl slid away into a rattle of pleasure. “Correct. The rabbit is vital to the Storm ritual.” After a pause he continued. “You do not need to worry about his actions, whether he is acting “weird” or not. I am certain you have more confusion on your mind than his.”

Before I could respond, he lifted me carefully into the air. My feet dangled off the ground and I was held still, eye to eye with him. Slowly, very slowly, he brought his face closer to mine, nuzzling my cheeks and neck in front of everyone. I was already blushing but my face went as red as the clothing on his back. He repeatedly pressed his jaw to mine, swiping until his nose touched my neck. Wiping his scent on me and taking mine to his skin. “A-Aldrich, stop. Everyone is watching us.”

I tried to whisper it, but there was no doubt in my mind every one of them heard. Mina giggled behind her hand and if I could have moved without looking like I was denying Aldrich, I would have twisted around to kick her in the gut.

“Let them watch, liebling. Let them see.” His tongue snaked out and stroked the same path that his nose had just taken. I shivered when the warm, soft surface danced just below my earlobe. “You are mine and I want all to know. There will be no room for doubt.”

I lifted shaky hands up and pressed them to his chest, all the while trying not to collapse in his hold. A hiccup of pleasure sat in the pit of my stomach, foolishly bubbly over his display. “I didn’t doubt you for a second.”

His eyebrows raised in surprise before the wolf-grin I knew him so well for spread across his face. He nuzzled me once more before setting me slowly to the ground. “No, I suppose you would not.”

Mina took my shoulder when he walked away, knowing my legs were all but mush. He did that to me: touched me, loved me and turned me to goo before I could get a word in edgewise. My lust-filled gaze tracked him, watching the spot where he disappeared behind a courtyard wall. The hunting party followed him mutely and I didn’t even spare Ulric a glance as he walked by.

After several minutes, my friend waved a hand in front of my face. She pulled me to the ground, laughing gaily. “You’ve got it bad, girl.”

With a slump, I fell against the tree, for once not caring if it undulated beneath me. “I know, I know!” I pressed my hands to my cheeks, trying to cool the insistent burn of my flush.

“I’m not going to lie. With the way he looks at you, I’m kind of surprised you guys haven’t been going at it like bunnies all this time.”

That did the trick. The butterflies in my stomach died off in a sudden drop. I suspected they’d been killed by the shotgun blast that was Mina’s comment. “Every time he starts … I mean, he tries, but then…”

“You freak out?”

“No! He does. He goes all wolf on me and it looks like he wants to tear me apart. Then he leaves.”

Mina sat in silence for a moment before shaking her head. “It must be an Alpha thing.”

I could have pulled out my hair. “That’s what she said. I swear she’s got to be following me. She’s always there to “help” after.”

The hostility in my tone only made Mina laugh again. “I take it you mean Adawolfa. Give it a break; she’s probably been assigned as your Shadow for the time being. That or she’s his Shadow.”

I kicked my foot against the ground in irritation. “I don’t need a Shadow. None of the wolves here will even speak to me, let alone attack me. I might as well be invisible.”

Mina tsked. “That’s not like you, Roux. You sound like you’re giving up. And bitterly, I might add.”

Looking around once again, I tried to snag the gaze of someone around us. I plastered on my best smile, perked up, and offered several of the wolves a wave. Each one of them bowed their heads, looked away, or pretended not to see me. My shoulders slumped of their own accord and I turned back to Mina.

“I’m not giving up … I’m just tired of being ignored.” I looked down at my hands. They clenched into fists and I didn’t try to stop them. “Why should I keep trying, keep putting myself out there, only to be rejected again and again? If they don’t want to know me, I don’t want to know them.”

Mina must have seen the shudders of anger wracking my body, for she placed a hand on top of mine. A couple months ago, I would have put money on Mina not being the nurturing kind. Now it seemed she was branching out of her cocoon of sarcastic quips and ill-timed laughter … and it only made my heart ache more that she’d had to.

“Roux.” She paused while I caught my breath, trying to smooth my ruffled feathers. “This isn’t the same as with your father. These guys just need some time to see who you really are. They’re not snubbing you on purpose. They’re just keeping a respectful distance from the future Primarch.”

A perfectly reasonable explanation as to why a huge group of strangers would be fleeing from just the sight of me. Just like that, anger I’d never really been able to hold on to for long rushed out of me. I sighed heavily, taking a cleansing breath. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Mina’s blonde head bobbed and she scooted closer to me. “All right, so dish. What’s going to be your first ruling as Primarch? You know you have to make a proclamation as soon as you and Aldrich are Howled, right?”

Glad for the change of subject I leaned my head closer to her. “I put a lot of thought into this, and I want to reinstate Ylva.”

I could tell it isn’t what she expected me to say. Her eyes widened and she let out a little breath of surprise. “Ylva? You mean the banished wolf you and Aldrich went to see during your investigation?”

I nodded. “You know we found out her mate was innocent this entire time. She shouldn’t be forced to pay the price for a crime she didn’t commit. With her mate’s murder, it’s her right to stand as Elder. I want her back here, in her old position, as it should have been before my father framed them.”

Mina gulped. “Damn, Roux. I thought you were going to install casual Fridays or throw a party. You’re talking about a political upheaval. You do know her mate was an Elder, right? One of the current Elders would have to step down in order for her to reclaim that right.”

“Ha! Don’t be so melodramatic, it’s not as serious as that. I’ve already spoken to the Elders in order to find out who took up the seat when Ylva and Sandulf were banished. It was Daciana.”

Mina immediately relaxed, her expression no longer as tense. “Oh. Well, then I suppose it’s all right.”

Daciana was a relatively young wolf. She had no mate and was probably the nicest person in the entire Pack. She wielded her power as Elder sparingly and never really seemed to want the job. In fact, she’d been drafted reluctantly in the beginning. She’d already told me she would welcome the reprieve. “Being an Elder is just so much work,” she’d laughed, waving a tiny hand over her flushed face.

I shifted my gaze and caught sight of her. She was small for a wolf, delicate, with dark hair and eyes. She sat on the far south wall now, almost invisible except for the brilliant smile gracing her face. She looked more like a pixie than a wolf, with the Alten all vying for her laughing attention.

I stretched, and Mina leaned back against the tree, closing her eyes. “I think you’re going to make a great Primarch.”

“I hope so.”

“You’d better do more than hope, Roux. Ulric and I have–”

“Danger.”

The square went still for half a second. My head jerked up and something passed through the air, dark and sinister. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, whether it was a scent or just a feeling. In the space of a moment I knew something was wrong.

A chill skittered up my spine and I glanced around, taking in the happenings of the square. Nothing was different. The wolves hustled around in slow motion. Children played, tripping over themselves as well as the decorations. Their parents hovered off to the side, working and chatting amongst themselves. Mina’s mouth continued to move, though I didn’t hear what she was saying.

Off to the east I heard the softest chimes. They tinkled like slivers of glass brushing up against one another in the wind. I focused on the sound, hearing only it and the way it pounded in my eardrums, magnified like the desperate beat of a thousand hummingbird wings.

I opened my mouth, ready to cry out, but knew instantly I was too late.

All hell broke loose.

Time righted itself and the darkness that fell over the square thwacked into the ground with menace. Arrows.

Hundreds of projectiles that had moments ago blotted out the sun like a dark cloud rained down on us from every direction. Screams rent the air as everyone burst into action at once. I jumped to my feet, slamming into motion even as Mina went the other way. Scattered leaves were sliced and brutalized by the falling razors and within a couple of breaths there was blood splattered against the green grass. My injured thigh tugged in warning, but I ignored it.

The adult wolves dodged the arrows as if they were flies in the air. Several of them knocked them right out of the sky. I ducked and weaved, not having their superior strength or speed, but determined to help in any way I can. The elderly wolf whose basket had been knocked over earlier was pressed against the far wall, her chest heaving dangerously as an arrow sank into her wrist. Snarling, she kept her eyes on the sky, prepared to swipe at any other threats, but I knew she wasn’t as fast as she would like to be.

I raced forward, grabbing a plank that was meant to be a sign and holding it up as I moved. Pain sliced through my calf but I pushed forward, every tense muscle in my body set on making it to her. She saw me coming and snapped her teeth, a cornered beast.

“Don’t be afraid!”

She swung at me, gnarled fingers bent like claws, but adrenaline pumped through my body and I caught her uninjured hand. Before she could do me any more harm, I reversed my course and pulled her backwards into the alcove I’d just exited. She realized the moment the arches swallowed her up that she was safe and let out a low whine. “Thank you, Princess. Thank you!”

I nodded without slowing and pushed free of the alcove. Another arrow pounded through the air, embedding itself in my makeshift shield but I disregarded it, plucking a scrambling child from the ground and shielding him as best as I could. We were on the north side of the square, pressed against the wall under an awning while a sheet of arrows kept us from moving. The rest of the wolves had sought safety in different parts of the courtyard, unable to move to the various open pathways and corridors because of the attack. The boy at my side shuddered with fear and I did my best to appear strong, though my insides were slush.

“Roux! Roux!” Mina called to me and I strained to hear her over the buzz of the arrows and the pounding rhythm of my heart. “You have to move!”

At first, I didn’t understand what she was saying. Why would I move from shelter? The boy continued to shudder against my hip and I realized he was actually trying to free himself. My mind ticked off these things sluggishly and I looked down at him as if he were at the bottom of a ladder.

“We’re going to die!”

His desperate exclamation and wide eyes knocked me out of the cold hands of shock. I looked up, following his fearful gaze and realized the awning we sheltered under was collapsing. The heavy weight of spent arrows had collected on top of the shade and was threatening to crush us where we cowered.

Still, they fell from the sky. Moving meant death, but so did staying. The boy cried out when he tried to inch his way out from the covering, and the sharp edge of an arrowhead sliced his hand. I jerked him backward against my chest but he continued to struggle against me.

“We have to make it across!”

I nodded, pulling him closer to my bosom. He was slight, couldn’t have been more than five or six, and his unruly mop of brown hair fell in his eyes. I pulled the bandage from my foot and wrapped it around his hand, hoping the medicine for my sprain would help with the bleeding.

He whimpered and I shrugged off the coat layer of my kleid. Ignoring his protests, I wrapped it over his head. I wouldn’t be able to dodge the arrows and the others were giving aid to the rest of the children.

I bolted forward just as the awning collapsed. It was like jumping into a freezing lake. Arrows immediately attacked my body, and I did my best to keep the shield over my head. I ran for the shelter of the tree, my legs propelling me forward with all of the force I could manage. The boy cried out with every jolt and my muscles shook with strain.

One of the quivering shafts embedded in my uninjured thigh. I stumbled forward, pain souring my stomach, even as the gashes on my other thigh tore open. I slammed into the ground, barely managing to roll over to cover the boy with my body. A scream tore from my throat and bile rose up in my mouth. Another arrow sank into some part of my flesh but I couldn’t tell where it landed. My entire body was alight with agony.

“Princess Roux!” Black spots winked before my eyes but I saw Adawolfa streak toward me. Her husky voice attempted to penetrate the cottony fuzz that seemed to be blocking my ears, but I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying.

She pulled us to safety before laying me out. Her hands patted me wildly, plugging holes that seeped my lifeblood. I don’t know how I managed to stay awake. My lids felt heavy, though the pain had finally dulled. I kept seeing blackness creeping into the edges of my vision but each time it was pushed back by a familiar light.

You can’t sleep. Stay awake.

I nodded dumbly, answering the voice even though all I wanted to do was sleep. “Okay. I’ll stay awake.”

Adawolfa answered me as if I were speaking to her. “Good, good. That’s perfect. The attack has stopped and we can already hear…”

“Kill him!”