Chapter 30 A little longer
~Sage~
The days following the failed ceremony were suffocating. The palace had transformed into a pressure cooker of rumours and suspicious glances, and I was trapped right in the center of it.
Damon had confined himself to his room, refusing to see anyone except the doctors and Beta James. The official story was that the Alpha King was recovering from a minor ailment, nothing to worry about, pack business would continue as usual. But everyone knew the truth. The most powerful wolf in seven kingdoms had been brought to his knees by a girl who wasn't supposed to have a wolf at all.
I spent most of my time in my room, not by choice. Marcus stood guard outside my door with rotating shifts of warriors who watched me like I might spontaneously combust. Natalie came and went, bringing meals I barely touched and gossip I didn't want to hear.
"The border packs are getting restless," she said on the third day, brushing my hair even though I hadn't asked her to. "Alpha Corrine from Silverpine sent a messenger this morning. Officially, it was to wish the Alpha King a speedy recovery. Unofficially..." She lowered her voice. "People are saying he's testing the waters. Seeing if Thornfang is vulnerable."
"That's ridiculous," I said. "One ceremony going wrong doesn't make the pack vulnerable."
"It does when the Alpha can't shift." Natalie's hands stilled in my hair. "That's the rumor, anyway. That whatever happened during the ceremony, it did something to his wolf. He hasn't been able to call it forward since."
I turned to look at her. "That can't be true."
"Beta James has been handling all pack business. The training grounds have been closed for three days. And Keith..." she reduced her voice, "Keith's been in meetings nonstop. They're preparing contingencies."
Contingencies. Such a clean word for what it really meant. They were preparing for the possibility that Damon might not recover, that other packs might see this as their chance to challenge Thornfang's dominance.
And it was all because of me. Because of whatever was waking up inside me.
As if responding to my thoughts, that presence stirred. My wolf. She was stronger now than she'd been three days ago. The burning on my neck had faded to a constant warmth, but it flared whenever I thought about Keith or whenever someone dominant got too close.
"I need to see him," I said suddenly.
Natalie's eyebrows rose. "The Alpha King? Sage, that's probably not—"
"Not Damon. Keith." I stood up, pulling my hair out of her grip. "I need to talk to him."
"You can't just wander the palace right now. Marcus has orders—"
"Then get him for me." I turned to face her fully, and something in my expression must have been different because Natalie actually stepped back. "Please, Natalie. It's important."
She studied me for a long moment, and I saw the familiar jealousy flash through her eyes. But there was something else there too, something that looked almost like respect.
"Fine," she said finally. "But if anyone asks, you demanded it and I had no choice."
She slipped out, and I was left alone with my thoughts and the restless thing prowling inside me.
My wolf. The words still felt foreign. For eighteen years, I'd been the defective one, the disappointment, the girl whose father had to practically pay someone to take her off his hands. And now, suddenly, I wasn't wolfless at all. I was just late.
The seer's words kept circling in my head. Sometimes they wait for their true mate to trigger their awakening.
Keith. It had to be Keith. Everything that had happened, the way my body responded to him, the way that presence inside me calmed in his presence and raged in Damon's, it all pointed to one impossible truth.
But we couldn't confirm it. Tasting blood was the only way to know for certain if two wolves were true mates, and right now, with Damon unstable and the whole pack watching, even being alone together was dangerous.
A soft knock at the door made me jump. It opened to reveal Keith, his face carefully neutral, with Marcus hovering behind him.
"Luna Sage," Keith said formally. "I understand you wished to speak with me about the ceremony arrangements."
It was a cover, and not a very good one, but Marcus just nodded and stepped aside.
Keith entered, closing the door behind him. The moment it clicked shut, his formal mask cracked.
"Are you alright?" he asked, crossing to me in three quick strides. His hands hovered near my shoulders, wanting to touch but holding back. "I've been trying to get in here, but Marcus has been—"
"I'm fine," I said, though it was only half true. "Keith, what's really happening with your father?"
"It's bad. Worse than they're telling anyone. His wolf is..." He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture I'd learned meant he was stressed. "It's like it's fighting him. Every time he tries to shift, he seizes. The doctors have never seen anything like it."
"The seer said wolves know when a bond is wrong," I said quietly. "That they can sense their true mate even through dormancy. What if that's what happened? What if Damon's wolf rejected me because it knew I wasn't his?"
Keith's eyes met mine, and I saw the same thought reflected there.
"If that's true," he said slowly, "then his wolf might have sensed something else too. Something about who you do belong to.".
"We need to know for certain," I said. "Keith, if we're really mates—"
"We can't." His voice was rough. "Not now. If my father found out, if anyone found out before we're ready..." He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
"So what do we do?"
Keith was quiet for a long moment.
"We wait. We plan. My father's hold on the pack is weakening by the day. The elders are already talking about succession protocols, about what happens if an Alpha can no longer shift." His eyes darkened. "Beta James is positioning himself. He's been my father's man for twenty years, but if he sees an opportunity..."
"He'd challenge you?"
"He'd try to control me. Marry me off to some allied pack's daughter, make sure he stays the power behind the throne." Keith's hand finally touched my arm, and that warmth flooded through me again. "I won't let that happen. And I won't let my father touch you again."
"Keith..." I stepped closer, needing his warmth. "My wolf is getting stronger. I can feel her now, all the time. What if I can't control it? What if she does something that gives us away?"
"Then we deal with it." His forehead dropped to rest against mine.
We stood there for a moment, breathing the same air, his hands gentle on my arms. My wolf practically purred, content in a way I'd never felt before.
Then we heard footsteps close to the door and we sprang apart.
"The elders are meeting tonight," Keith said quickly, his voice formal again. "My father insists on attending, despite the doctor's objections. He wants to prove he's still strong."
"And if he can't?"
Keith's expression was grim. "Then things are going to move very fast. Be ready."
He left without looking back, and I sank onto my bed, my heart racing.
Be ready. For what? A power struggle? A challenge? The possibility that Keith might have to face his own father for control of the pack?
The warmth on my neck pulsed, and my wolf stirred again. She was growing impatient, I realized. She'd been dormant for eighteen years, and now that she was finally waking, she didn't want to wait anymore.
Neither did I.
But patience had kept me alive this long. Patience and the ability to play a role, to be what people expected while hiding what I really was. I'd survived my father's cruelty. I'd survived being sold like livestock. I'd survived weeks in this palace, pretending to belong to a monster while my heart beat for his son.
I could survive a little longer.
Soon everything would change.
I just had to stay alive long enough to see it.