Chapter 43

Chapter 43
Dax

The summit city smelled wrong. My wolf didn't like it here. He preferred to be out in the wild as nature had always meant it to be.

Too many wolves packed into stone halls. Too many old rivalries cloaked in silks and smiles. The tension crackled like a storm ready to break.
I moved through the inner halls like a ghost, ears tuned to the whispers behind half-closed doors, the flicker of eyes darting away too fast when they met mine.

Treachery. It was in the air.

It wasn’t just paranoia anymore. It was real. It bled from the seams of every corner of this summit.

Some of the council members—those who had sworn loyalty to Kael’s reign—were already sniffing around rival alphas. Making promises. Trading secrets. Collusion. Power grabs. Plans whispered between goblets of wine and smiles lined with knives.

I didn’t have proof yet. But instincts sharpened by years at Kael’s side screamed the truth.

They wanted him out.

And they didn’t care what it cost to do it.

Maybe they thought he was too weak now. Too unstable after rejecting his mate, after refusing to bend to their demands for a Luna. Maybe they just saw blood in the water. Or they feared the change that had been whispered through these halls.

And if they learned Aria lived—if they realized she was here—they would move against her too. To kill her. To erase the last threat to their rule. Because she changed everything.

I pressed a hand to the cool stone wall of the passageway, letting the weight of it sink into me. Let my instincts, my inner guardian guide me.

They would strike tonight. I knew it deep within.

During the Moonlight Ball.

When wolves dressed as lords and ladies. When alliances blurred and change would take place.

When blood could be spilled and no one would see the blade coming until it was too late.

I cursed low under my breath.

We were out of time. And we hadn't been able to make contact with Aria yet.

I shifted direction sharply, moving through the winding back halls of the manor toward the secured quarters we had arranged for Kael’s inner circle.

I needed help. Trusted help.

And I needed Aria protected—whether Kael had a chance to speak with her or not.

I had reached out, had our spies try to gauge who was with her. Who her inner circle was. We had heard murmurs that she had the rogues on her side. That her following had grown substantially. So I looked for the one who I had guessed would be at her side.

Ronan.

He was the only one I could risk reaching out to. Ronan and his Hollowfangs had proven their loyalty to Aria before she even knew who she truly was. They had always believed in the old ways, in the Nightshade ways. They had pushed back on the Thorne rule and the injustices of our world.

I found him leaning against a pillar just outside the private wing Aria's party had secured under glamour and false papers. His arms were crossed, eyes scanning the crowded courtyard below with the sharpness of a hawk.

He saw me coming and straightened instantly, wary but curious.

"We need to talk," I muttered, voice low.

He didn't ask what about, he knew.

He tensed. "What’s wrong?"

I wasted no time. "There’s a plot against Kael. Maybe against Aria too, if they find her. It’ll happen tonight. During the ball."

His jaw flexed. "What do you need?"

"Double her guards. Quietly. Make sure the ones closest to her are your people or those the Hollowfangs trust completely. No mistakes. No unfamiliar faces. Make sure she is armed, always protected."

He nodded once, grim and deadly serious.

"And Ronan—" I caught his gaze, hard and unflinching. "Whatever happens, Aria walks out of here alive."

He didn't blink. "You don't have to tell me that Dax. Everyone who is with her will guard her with their life. With my life."

There was a beat of fierce, unspoken understanding between us. Wolves from two different worlds, bound by loyalty to the same star.

Before I could say anything else, Ronan stiffened.

A ripple moved across his shoulders, his posture snapping tight.

Someone was in contact with him. Mind-link.

His eyes darkened, and his knuckles whitened against the pillar.

"What is it?" I demanded.

He shook his head once, sharp and brutal. "Talon. There’s been an attempt."

My stomach dropped like a stone. No... was I already too late?

"Aria?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer just yet.

"She's alive." His voice was savage with relief—but also shaking with rage. "But it was close."

A cold knot formed in my gut.

I took a step forward. "I'm coming with you."

But Ronan caught my arm in a grip like iron.

"No," he growled. "You need to stay. Stay with your king. Protect him. Secure the ball. If Aria reveals herself and Kael falls because we lose control of tonight—"

He didn't finish the sentence.

He didn’t need to.

The summit would collapse into chaos. The council would seize the excuse to tear everything apart. Aria and Kael would both be lost.

I gritted my teeth, fighting every instinct that screamed at me to run to her. To see that she was ok with my own eyes. To hear her breath. To check her for wounds.

But Ronan was right.

My loyalty was torn straight down the center, but Kael needed me now. My wolf was pushing me to go to her. But I knew Kael needed me.

I nodded sharply. "Go. Keep her safe."

Ronan didn't waste another second. He turned and was gone—slipping into the shadows like the hunter he was.

I stood there for one breath.

Two.

Then I turned back toward the inner halls.

Tonight, I would build walls around my King.

Tonight, I would guard the last pieces of hope we still had.

Because war had come to the summit.

And it was already bleeding under the surface of everything we hoped to accomplish.