The Wolf at My Heel

Vera showed up at breakfast with a knife on her hip and murder in her eyes.

"Kael says I have to watch you," she said.

"Kael says a lot of things."

"He says I go everywhere with you."

"Then sit down. You're making the table look lonely."

Vera sat across from me. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight braid. Her jaw was sharp enough to cut glass.

"I don't like you," she said.

"I know."

"I've loved him since I was fifteen."

"I know that too."

"And you just showed up. Bought. Sold. Like you're nothing."

I put down my bread. Looked her in the eye.

"Vera," I said. "I'm going to say something. And I want you to hear it. Not fight it. Just hear it."

Her hand moved to her knife.

"I'm not trying to take him from you."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Surviving."

Vera's hand relaxed. Just a fraction.

"He's different with you," she said. "Softer. I've never seen him soft."

"Maybe he was always soft. Maybe he just forgot how to show it."

Vera stared at me. Her blue eyes were wet.

"I hate that you're right," she said.

"I hate that I'm here."

"Then we have something in common."

She picked up a piece of bread. Bit into it. Chewed.

"Where are we going today?" she asked.

"The gardens. I want to see the rest of the territory."

"The gardens are safe. I'll take you after breakfast."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm still deciding if I want to push you into the river."

"The river's frozen."

"Then I'll wait for spring."

I laughed.

Vera didn't. But something in her face shifted. Something almost warm.

---

The gardens were dead.

Winter had turned everything brown and grey. The flower beds were empty. The trees were bare. A stone path wound through the frozen ground, leading to a small pond covered in ice.

"It's ugly now," Vera said. "But in spring, it's beautiful. Kael's mother planted everything. She died when he was young."

"His father never remarried?"

"No. He said no one could replace her. And then he died too."

Vera stopped at the edge of the pond. Looked at her reflection in the ice.

"Kael wasn't always like this," she said. "Before his father died, he laughed. He smiled. He used to throw me in this pond when I was being annoying."

"What changed?"

"He watched his father bleed out on the floor. And no one helped him. No one came. Marcus's wolves stood outside the door and listened."

My chest tightened.

"That's why he hates Marcus so much," I said.

"That's why he hates everyone. Except Elias. And maybe you."

"Maybe?"

Vera turned to me. Her eyes were serious.

"He bit you. He's never bitten anyone. He marked you. He's never marked anyone. He told you about his father. He's never told anyone."

"He told me because he wants me to suffer."

"No. He told you because he trusts you. And Kael doesn't trust anyone."

Vera walked past me. Started heading back toward the house.

"He's going to hurt you," she said over her shoulder. "Not because he wants to. Because that's what he does. He hurts people before they can hurt him."

"Then I won't let him."

"You can't stop him. No one can."

Vera kept walking.

I stood alone in the dead garden with her words spinning in my head.

Kael trusted me.

That was more dangerous than his cruelty.

---

The pack ate dinner together.

Long tables in the dining hall. Wolves of all ages. Warriors, mothers, children, elders. They watched me like I was a bomb waiting to explode.

I sat at Kael's table. His chair at the head. Mine to his right.

Vera sat to my left.

Elias sat across from me.

Kael wasn't there yet.

"They're staring," I said.

"Let them stare," Vera said.

"Eat your food," Elias said.

I ate.

The food was good. Roasted meat. Fresh bread. Vegetables that had been stored from the fall. I'd never eaten this well in Silver Crescent.

The door opened.

Kael walked in.

The room went quiet.

He walked to his chair. Sat down. His eyes swept the room. Landed on me.

"Good evening," he said.

"Good evening," I said.

"You're still here."

"Where else would I go?"

"Nowhere. That's the point."

He reached for the bread. Tore off a piece. Ate it without looking away from me.

"You went to the gardens," he said.

"Vera took me."

"Did you like them?"

"They're dead."

"In winter, yes."

"Then show them to me in spring."

Kael's hand stopped moving.

"Spring is months away," he said.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you."

The table was silent. The wolves around us pretended not to listen.

Kael leaned closer. His voice dropped.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Aria."

"I'm not playing anything. I'm eating dinner."

"You're challenging me. In front of my pack."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have bought someone who challenges you."

Kael stared at me.

Then he laughed.

The sound echoed through the dining hall. Wolves turned to look. Vera's mouth fell open. Elias smiled into his cup.

"You're impossible," Kael said.

"You keep saying that."

"Because it keeps being true."

He reached for my hand. Held it on the table. His thumb traced circles on my palm.

The pack watched.

Vera watched.

Elias watched.

I didn't pull away.

"Tomorrow," Kael said, "we train."

"Train what?"

"Fighting. You need to know how to defend yourself."

"Against what?"

"Against whoever Marcus sends next."

I looked at his hand on mine. At the scars on his knuckles. At the way his fingers wrapped around my palm like he was afraid I'd disappear.

"Fine," I said. "But I get to pick the weapon."

"What weapon?"

"You'll see."

---

After dinner, Kael walked me to my room.

His room. I still thought of it as his.

"Aria," he said at the door.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For staying. For not running. For being... you."

He leaned down. Kissed my forehead. Soft. Gentle. The same kiss from last night.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight, Kael."

He walked away.

I went inside. Closed the door. Leaned against it.

My heart was pounding.

My wolf was howling.

And for the first time since I'd arrived at Bloodmoon, I didn't feel like a prisoner.

I felt like I was home.

---

The next morning, Kael took me to the training yard.

It was a large clearing behind the house. Wooden dummies. Weapon racks. Wolves sparring in pairs.

Vera was there. So was Elias. So were a dozen warriors I didn't recognize.

Kael handed me a wooden knife.

"You said you wanted to choose your weapon," he said. "Here."

I took the knife. Weighed it in my hand.

"I've never used one of these," I said.

"Then today you learn."

Kael stepped back. Picked up a wooden knife for himself.

"Come at me," he said.

"Come at you?"

"Hit me. Stab me. I'll block."

"I don't know how to stab someone."

"Then I'll teach you."

He walked toward me. Slow. Deliberate.

"The knife is an extension of your arm," he said. "Not a separate thing. It's part of you. Your hand. Your fingers. Your intention."

He stopped in front of me. Reached out. Adjusted my grip on the handle.

"Tighter," he said.

I tightened.

"Good. Now — hit me."

I swung.

He blocked. Easy. Like swatting a fly.

"Again."

I swung again. Harder. He blocked again.

"Again."

I swung a third time. He caught my wrist. Twisted. The knife fell from my hand.

"Dead," he said.

"That's not fair. You're stronger than me."

"Strength doesn't matter. Speed does. Precision does. Watch."

He picked up the knife. Held it loosely in his hand.

Then he moved.

His arm flicked. The knife spun. And then it was pressed against my throat.

"Dead again," he said.

I swallowed.

"Teach me," I said.

Kael smiled.

"Now you're learning."

---

We trained for two hours.

By the end, my arms were shaking. My palms were blistered. My legs felt like they belonged to someone else.

But I could hold the knife without dropping it.

I could swing without flinching.

And once — just once — I almost hit him.

"Better," Kael said.

"I almost got you."

"You almost got air."

"That's not nothing."

"It's something. We'll work on it tomorrow."

Kael handed me a waterskin. I drank. Water spilled down my chin. Dripped onto my shirt.

He watched.

"You're staring," I said.

"I'm admiring."

"Same thing."

"No. Staring is hunger. Admiring is appreciation."

"Which one is this?"

Kael stepped closer. His hand wiped the water from my chin.

"Both," he said.

My breath caught.

His eyes dropped to my lips.

"Aria," he said.

"Kael."

"I want to kiss you."

"Then do it."

He did.

His mouth was warm. Gentle. Nothing like the first kiss. Nothing like the second. This was slow. Questioning. Like he was asking permission.

I gave it.

My hands found his chest. His heart was pounding. So was mine.

Vera's voice cut through the moment.

"Dinner's ready," she said.

Kael pulled back.

His eyes were dark. His breathing was heavy.

"Dinner," he said.

"Dinner," I agreed.

Neither of us moved.

Vera sighed. "You're both impossible."

She walked away.

Kael laughed. Took my hand. Pulled me toward the house.

"Come on, Aria."

"Where?"

"Home."

The word hit me like a punch.

Home.

I smiled.

"Okay," I said. "Home."