The First Taste

The pack stared at me like I was already dead.

I felt their eyes the moment I walked into the dining hall. Dozens of wolves. All of them Bloodmoon. All of them hungry for something I couldn't give them.

A blonde woman near the window whispered to her friend. The friend laughed. A man by the fire placed his hand on his knife and didn't take it off.

I kept walking.

The dining hall was huge — twice the size of Silver Crescent's. Stone floors. Dark wood tables. A fire burning in a hearth big enough to roast a whole deer. The ceiling was lost in shadow.

At the far end, a table sat empty. One plate. One cup. One chair.

Kael's chair.

I stopped in front of it.

"No," I said to no one in particular. "I'm not sitting there."

A deep voice came from behind me. "Then you don't eat."

I turned.

An older man stood by the kitchen door. Grey hair. Grey eyes. A body that had been built for fighting thirty years ago and never got the memo to stop. He held a tray of food — bread, meat, something steaming in a bowl.

"I'm Elias," he said. "Beta of this pack. Kael's second."

"I'm not sitting in his chair."

"He told me to feed you. He didn't tell me where."

Elias set the tray down on a smaller table near the fire. Pulled out a chair. Gestured for me to sit.

I sat.

The food smelled good. Better than anything I'd eaten in months. Silver Crescent had been cutting rations for omegas. I'd been hungry for a long time.

I didn't touch the food.

"Eat," Elias said.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. But Kael will ask if you ate. And I don't want to lie to him."

"So you're his messenger."

"I'm his Beta. I keep his house running. I keep his pack in line. And I keep his enemies away from his food."

Elias sat down across from me. Folded his arms. Watched me like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve.

"You're very calm for a woman who was sold three hours ago," he said.

"I'm very tired of people expecting me to cry."

"Fair enough."

Elias leaned back. His grey eyes softened. Just a little.

"I knew your father," he said.

My hands stopped moving toward the bread.

"You knew him?"

"We fought together. Before the war. Before everything." Elias looked at the fire. His jaw tightened. "He was a good man. A good wolf. He wouldn't have done what they say he did."

"Kael says he has proof."

"Kael has proof that Marcus paid someone. He doesn't have proof that your father was the one."

"So my father might be innocent."

Elias looked at me. Something passed between us. Something unspoken.

"Eat your food," he said.

I ate.

The bread was warm. The meat was tender. The soup was salty and rich. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until the first bite hit my tongue. I ate fast. Too fast. My mother's voice echoed in my head — slow down, Aria, you're not an animal — but I couldn't stop.

The blonde woman from earlier appeared at my elbow.

"Nice bite," she said.

I looked up. Her eyes were on my neck. On the mark Kael left.

"Thanks," I said.

"It's crooked."

"Good thing you don't have to look at it."

The woman's smile faltered. Her friend tugged her arm. They walked away, whispering.

Elias chuckled.

"She's going to be a problem," he said.

"Who?"

"The blonde. Her name is Vera. She's been trying to get Kael's attention for three years."

"Then she can have him."

Elias's eyebrows rose. "You don't want him?"

"I want to go home."

"This is your home now."

"No. This is a cage. Home is somewhere else."

Elias stood up. Picked up my empty tray. Looked down at me with something almost like pity.

"You remind me of him," he said. "Your father. He didn't know when to stop fighting either."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

"Maybe. Or maybe that's why he's dead."

Elias walked away.

I sat by the fire. The pack watched me. Some with hate. Some with curiosity. Some with nothing at all. I was a ghost in their house. A story they'd tell their children. The woman Kael bought.

The front door opened.

Kael walked in.

Snow dusted his shoulders. His cheeks were red from the cold. His eyes found me immediately — across the room, through the crowd, like a hunter locking onto prey.

He didn't say anything. Just walked toward me.

The pack parted for him. Wolves stepped aside. Heads bowed. Eyes dropped. Even Vera, the blonde, pressed herself against the wall to give him space.

Kael stopped in front of me.

"You ate," he said.

"Elias fed me."

"Good."

He didn't move. Didn't sit. Just stood there, looking down at me with those black eyes. The firelight flickered across his face. Made him look almost human.

"Come with me," he said.

"Where?"

"To my study. We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About the fact that Marcus is already trying to buy you back."

My heart stopped.

"What?"

Kael held out his hand.

I didn't take it.

"Suit yourself," he said. He walked toward the stairs. I followed.

---

His study was smaller than I expected. Wood-paneled walls. A desk covered in papers. A fire burning low in the hearth. Books stacked on every surface — some open, some closed, some falling apart.

Kael closed the door behind us.

"Marcus sent a message this morning," he said. "He wants to renegotiate."

"Why?"

"Because you slapped his son in front of three hundred wolves. Because you didn't cry. Because you walked out with your head high." Kael sat on the edge of his desk. Crossed his arms. "You made him look weak."

"Good."

"It's not good. It's dangerous. Marcus doesn't forgive weakness. He destroys it."

"So what are you going to do? Send me back?"

Kael's eyes darkened.

"No."

"Then what?"

He stood up. Walked toward me. Backed me against the door.

"I'm going to make sure Marcus never touches you," he said. "But you have to do something for me."

"What?"

"Trust me."

I almost laughed.

"I don't even know you."

"You know I bit you in your sleep. You know I didn't do anything else. You know my father was murdered. You know I think Marcus is responsible." Kael leaned closer. His lips were inches from mine. "That's more than most people know about me."

"Trust is earned."

"Then let me earn it."

He reached up. Touched my neck. His fingers found the bite mark. Traced the edge of it. Gentle. Too gentle.

"You're going to be a problem for Marcus," he said. "You're going to be a problem for a lot of people. And I'm going to enjoy watching you tear them apart."

"Now you trust me?"

"No. But I'm starting to."

His thumb pressed against the bite. Pain flared. Then warmth. Then something else. Something that made my breath catch and my knees buckle.

Kael caught me. His arm wrapped around my waist. Pulled me against his chest.

"There it is," he whispered.

"There what is?"

"The bond. The one you said didn't exist."

I pushed against his chest. He didn't move.

"Let me go."

"No."

"Kael."

"Aria."

His voice was low. Rough. His breath was warm on my face. His body was hard against mine. I could feel his heart beating. Fast. Faster than I expected.

"You're scared," he said.

"I'm not scared."

"Your heart says otherwise."

"My heart doesn't know what it wants."

Kael smiled. Slow. Dangerous.

"I know what it wants."

He lowered his head. His lips brushed the corner of my mouth. Not a kiss. Not quite. Just a promise of one.

"Tell me to stop," he whispered.

I didn't say anything.

"Tell me to stop, Aria."

Still nothing.

Kael pulled back. Looked at my face. His eyes searched mine for something. I didn't know what.

"Why didn't you tell me to stop?" he asked.

"Because I wanted to see if you would."

He laughed. Actually laughed. The sound filled the small room. Warm. Real.

"You're going to be trouble," he said.

"You started it."

He stepped back. Released me. The cold air rushed in between us.

"Tomorrow," he said, "we go to the border."

"Why?"

"Because Marcus is gathering wolves. Because he wants you back. And because I want him to see you standing next to me."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is."

"And you want me to trust you?"

Kael walked to the door. Opened it. Looked back at me.

"No," he said. "I want you to survive. Trust can come later."

He walked out.

I stood alone in his study with his bite on my neck and his words in my head and his warmth still on my skin.

I touched my lips where he almost kissed me.

"Damn you," I whispered.

The fire crackled.

Somewhere in the house, a wolf howled.