Page 21 of Claws and Bonds
I can be better than the prophecy.
Chapter 7
CADE
The Glacier Crest Pack’s house is nothing like what I remember of Solara before I left home. Instead of warmth and family, this place is all ice and rigidness. Much like the mountainside it’s been carved into—half fortress, half tomb.
Wolves are creatures of heat and motion, but even I shiver inside this fortress of frost. The walls breathe cold, the air bites sharp as glass as we’re being led to a private room. Wolves linger along the corridors, all watching and waiting, measuring me.
If they have any sense, they’ll keep their distance.
I’m here for one reason, and it’s not to make friends.
The Beta—Thane—is a tall, broad-shouldered wolf with eyes like winter sunlight, pale and sharp. He’s wearing the weight of his dead alpha Milo like a collar he can’t take off. The pack’s hierarchy is still splintered; every one of his movements screams exhaustion wrapped in control.
When we arrive in his office, the three of us—Liz, Elias, and I—stand opposite his heavy oak desk.A map of the northern territories lies between us, corners pinned down by jagged stones.
“I’ll make this simple,” I say. “I’m not leaving your lands until I’ve found my mate. I don’t care what lines Milo drew before he died. If you want any sort of peace for your pack, you’ll allow me the freedom I seek to search for her. Without interventions.”
Thane’s tone is a growl wrapped in control. “Your mate killed our alpha.”
The tension in the room spikes several notches.
Liz’s eyes bleed dark crimson. “You mean the alpha who attacked her first.Allof us first.”
“She’s doomed to unleash hell on our world!” Thane snaps, slamming a palm onto the desk. The map flutters, corners lifting in the draft. “We all know of the prophecy of the Ashmark. Did you expect us to do nothing just because she’s the mate of a pack leader? One who abandoned his people long ago?”
I step forward, muscles coiled, voice low but deadly calm. “I made a choice for the betterment of my pack. I knew I wasn’t fit to lead at the time, but be well aware, I am now.”
Alpha power exudes through my words and throughout the room. The air thickens, and Thane can’t help looking down. He might not say it out loud, but even he can’t deny there’s only one real alpha here, and it’s not him. I might not have been ready to accept this fate before, but I know, standing here in this office, that I’ll do whatever it takes to get Rowan back. Even reclaiming my pack.
Finally, my wolf practically purrs.That is our destiny.
I ignore him and continue, “You might be interim-alpha at the moment, and we’re in your territory, but know this:Igave you courtesy by coming here first. One that you should be grateful for and accept if you know what’s best for your people, because it won’t happen twice. I will overtake your pack if that’s what it takes to get what I want.”
His resounding snarl does little to deter me. Neither do his next words. “Threaten me or my pack one more time, and you won’t make it out of Glacier still breathing.”
My wolf pushes to the surface, nails turning to claws, and my chest rumbling as I lean forward to strike, but Elias interjects before I can follow through. “You’re wrong, Thane. You care for your people. That’s clear. So, listen closely beforeyoumake threats.”
There’s only a dark second before Elias continues.
“You know you can’t afford to let Solara invade these mountains. As Cade said, we’ll overtake you. Even if you killed him, you’d never survive. Now, before this escalates any further, you need to know that the council engineered that battle. They wanted bloodshed, no matter the sacrifices, and that’s exactly what they got.”
Thane’s laugh is cold, bitter. “Convenient excuse. Blame those in power when you can’t handle your own.”
“Convenient,” Liz counters, “is pretending you didn’t notice your Alpha taking orders from twisted strangers with dark magic in their veins.Convenientis ignoring the runes carved into your borders—wards that hum with the same signature magic we saw onyourwolves’ corpses.”
That finally hits. I see the flicker of recognition. He probably didn’t expect us to notice the markings as wewalked onto their land, but Liz did. The vampire is more useful than I wanted to believe she’d be.
Thane’s expression flickers. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, she does,” Elias says confidently, but also glances at me for approval to continue, which I give with a nod. “We saw those same markings on your wolves after the fight. Except they were scars. No magic left to pick apart. So, you can lie to yourself, but not to us.”
The silence that follows is filled with restrained fury. Not only from Thane, but from myself as well.
“Tell me honestly, Thane.” I place my hands over his desk, leaning close as my wolf stays at the surface. “Did Milo seem like himself before the battle? How long were you already questioning some of his choices?”
Thane hesitates, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “That’s none of your business.”
