POV Savannah Bowen
My hands were drenched in sweat as I stepped onto the first step of the imposing stone castle. Anton had spent the whole way advising me on what I should
The structure loomed
over me, blocking the silver light of the moon from spilling in freed of n
Ime, I stared at the flickering flames of the torches raised on wither side of the entrance. They wavered with the night breeze, as if nervous, just like me.
I stepped in front of the dark wood of the double doors and raised my arm with my fist clenched, ready to knock. motion. The doors were dragged open, and a male wearing a black robe that covered his face appeared in my path.
idn’t even need to touch, nor make the
The hood kept his face in shadows, allowing me to see only a part of his white chin. He was tall and slim. And that was all I could see of him.
I swallowed hard
I wished Anton was with me, walking beside me, but according
ng to what h preventing them from wandering between packs.
My heart was b
he had told me, he couldn’t cross the boundary of Fenrir’s territory due to the laws
beating so loudly it made me dizzy, I wasn’t… scared, but nervous. So nervous I feared I might vomit or faint in front of them
“Follow me,” the male ordered.
1 took a deep breath, trying to identify him. Human or beast. He was a beta, from the subtle notes of his scent.
1 nodded slightly and moved forward, following him.
The smell of ashes and old paper was overwhelming, as if it was part of the place. The same old stones that rose on the street formed the walls inside. Golden candelabras lit the vast hallway he was leading me through.
With the number of candles burning. I doubted they had electricity.
I knew some packs refused to adapt to modemity, living like our ancestors, rejecting technology. And these elders, whatever they were, were part of those people.
I rubbed my palms again on the black dress I was wearing, drying the sweat caused by my nervousness and the heat spreading from the many lit candles.
I observed the uneven floor, lined with chunks of stone. The entire castle was made of stone, looking old enough to carry centuries of a past history.
The smell of fresh meat wafted to me as we turned down a corridor, and the light became stronger. I heard the murmur of male voices, one rising above th
The
others.
My breath caught, forcing me to inhale deeper and stronger.
The beta stopped beside a door, his hands folded in front of his robe, I followed him, blinking to adjust my eyes to the brightness.
There was a polished wooden table at the center of the vast dining hall. On it, a multitude of dishes and snacks. And around it, several males.
I pressed my arms to my body, hiding my trembling hands.
Fenrir stared at me with an intense gaze, his pupils dilated, and the silver mixing with the blue. He was worried, I knew that, not because I was feeling what helelt, but by the way his eye colors merged
Next to him was a male with brown hair, a light beard, and pale eyes. He was strong and attractive. And he was observing me with a certain… curiosity, his thick eyebrows slightly arched.
Before them, an alpha with long brown hair, spread over his shoulders. He was large and muscular. And his green eyes had a subtle glint of irony, as if he found the situation amusing.
Next to his
ale with blonde hair, pole eyes, and a slim body. Of all of them, he was the only one who looked at me with a certain condescension
Although their presence was dominating, it wasn’t exactly that which captured my full attention, but rather the three men resting at the end of the t
I gasped, holding my breath in my lungs.
(They had pale skin, as white as snow, and wrinkled. One had no eyes; another had no mouth, and the third had no ears. They were identical, except for their
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anomalies. They wore black robes, just like the omega who guided me
Heavens, this was too much for someone who just wanted the safety of the place. A price too high.
“Oh here she is,” said one of the elders, the one with no eyes, rising from his seat and extending his hand to me. Finally, we have the pleasure of meeting our son. Fenrirs companion. It is an honor, my dear. His voice was melodious,
A trembling smile appeared on my lips
“Thank you,” I murmured, half out of breath from the heavy air.
The last time I felt as nervous as I did at that moment was on the day of my wedding, just before the disaster happened.
I blinked, pushing the memories away.
“Please, sit. Take your place next to Fenrir, instructed the other one, the one with no ears.
Giving them a small nod, I walked deliberately to the empty chair next to the alpha of the Dâneşti pack.
I pulled the chair and sat, all under the scrutiny of their gazes.
I placed my hands in my lap and straightened my posture, sitting up as I waited.
“Would you like some wine?” asked the elder without eyes. I nodded, forgetting his lack of sight. A heat rose up my neck, concentrating on my face. I opened my mouth to respond, but he was quicker. “Please, Salazar, serve our honored guest, he added, turning to the beta.
I looked at him, unable to control myself. How could he see, when he had no eyes?
As soon as my glass was full, I took it with my trembling hand and brought it to my lips, sipping the red wine eagerly. The alcohol had a limit, before it became shameful; it gave a dose of courage, and that’s what I needed.
“Mm… you smell like… Fenrir, commented the alpha sitting next to Fenrir, flaring his nostrils.
“Yes, I feel that too,” agreed the alpha with blonde hair on the other side. “Although the scent is weaker than I imagined. It’s hard to even identify your species, because his scent predominates over yours.”
The heat of embarrassment burned my face, knowing they were smelling me so blatantly.
“Then.
Savannah,
tell us how your
beast reacted to the mating?” asked the elder with no ears, changing the subject. And I almost thanked him
um for it.
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40-1
INV Savannah
My wolf was an animal, just like the wolf of each of them, pure and complete, but I could feel what she felt. She purred every time that son of a hitch was nearby, everpt for the last few days, since she sensed he had slept with Marilyn and began to despise him, thank God.
I cleared my throat and placed the glass on the table.
“She was satisfied,” I replied, half–hing
The long–haired alpha let out a laugh
ne has the
“Satisfied“” be mocked: “I thought wolves were in ecstasy He placed his hand on his chest. “But I understand, it’s not every day someone misfortune of mating with Fennis Dineşti.”
Lopened and closed my mouth, not knowing how to react.
There was a certain… irony in his tone, as if he were doing everything to provoke Fenrir. I thought they were friends, all of them.
t, she’s still alive,” Fenrir shot back, giving him a fleeting i smile.
“At least,
The other alpha growled loudly, causing me to finch, my wolf reacting to the fury of an alpha. And not just any alpha. He was powerful, like everyone else in
The room
I knew the dominance of an alpha, after years of living with my toxic father, but… not even him, Hunter, Caspian, or anyone I’d met, compared to anyone in
that room.
Fenrir banged forward at a dizzying speed and threw an arm around me, as if he wanted to protect me. It was a natural reaction of his body, something he did without even realizing it.
He bared his teeth, growling back.
The room
fell into a deathly silence, all pairs of eyes on me and Fenrir, with a certain curiosity and surprise.
The alpha who growled let out a booming laugh.
“And look
at you, looking cute defending your female,” he mocked.
Slowly, Fenrir turned back to his chair but kept his arm around me. His eyes were fixed on the alpha in front of us, the golden glow reflecting in his irises but not taking them over completely, as it sometimes did.
“Lucian, behave yourself this instant,” hissed one of the elders. “How dare you threaten the female of one of our alphas, what disrespect is this?” He seemed furious
Lucian shrugged and lowered his gaze, showing respect to the elder
“I didn’t threaten… her, but rather, Fenrir,” he retorted.
“We will not admit, not tolerate, actions like this again,” snarled the other, looking just as furious as the fast
More silence.
The contact of Fenrir’s skin against mine was… comforting. . He was warm and smelled so good. My wolf was delighted he defended us. I held my breath, ignoring his closeness and how I felt… different, pleasantly so.
“Savannah, what can you
us about Hunter?” asked the other alpha, with blonde hair. “By the way, my name is Konrad.” He smiled.
te person throughout all the years we spent together. He only showed his true face on the
I chewed on my cheeks.
“… I don’t know,” Lcolessed, licking my dry lips. “Hunter was one day of the wedding. I have no idea who he is.”
This was one of the things that bothered me the most. No matter hose much of a bastard Fenrir was, I knew him more than I knew my ex fiancé. Fennir was what he was, and that was that. He didn’t hide behind a mask to deceive anyone.
“Why does he want you back?” asked the other alpha, who was beside Fenrir. “And, I’m Jas, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He sounded sincere and polite.
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“Revenge. Hunter killed my entire family when I managed to escape. He wants me back to finish his plan.“
The elder without eyes let out a sigh
“This is a risk we cannot take. Now that you are mated to Fenrir, and your lives are intertwined, Hunter has become a huge problem.”
“You need to kill him, Fenrit. Him and anyone who dares betray you,” ordered the elder without ears.
“And what about you,” continued the elder without eyes, turning to the others as though he could see them. “It may not be a problem yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t become one. The invading wolves could reach your territories and kill your wolves.”
“I’ll increase my security,” said Konrad, throwing a look at Fenrir. “If you need anything, I’m available”
“I’ll do the same,” agreed Jax. “None of them will dare step foot on my lands, and if they do, they’ll suffer certain death. Also, because of this affront, my dealings with any of the packs are over, no heat suppressants or other medicines for them.”
Oh, so the herbs belonged to his territory.
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Fury of the Forgotten
40-2
“it wasn’t even an affront to you,” hissed Lucian
sess an affront to Fentit, and as my friend, the affront extends to in
Only then did I realize how comfortable Tenir felt by his side, very different from how he acted when in front of the others. The guy never took his eyes off Lucian and Konrad, as though he framed one of them would attack me at any moment, but he didn’t act that way with tax, he didn’t even look at his friend.
Just like with Anton, Alexandra, and Andrei, Tenir trusted Jax.
“Alright, my son,” agreed the elder without ears. “The early death of the little wolf was an affront to all of an. Although it happened in Fenrir’s territory, it still affects us, after all, a pack attacked one of us and deserves to pay with death.”
I ran my palm through my hair, pushing it behind my shoulder
I wanted to feel something about it, anything at all. Nausea, disgust, sadness, melancholy, I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were ordering the death of my pack, the packs I grew up in and spent my whole life with. And yet, I didn’t mourn.
1 didn’t mo
mourn the deaths of those who surrounded me my entire life because they didn’t deserve my compassion. Unfortunately, they were mirrors of the alphas who commanded them, and nothing could be done about it.
That was why they threatened to rape me while dragging me to Hunter, that was why they killed little Ruda, because no life was important enough to them
Fenrir pulled his arm away but dragged his chair closer to mine, sitting so close that our shoulders touched.
I grabbed the wine glass and took another sip, feeling a little less nervous than before.
“Eat something, dear Savannah. Do you have a preference?” asked the elder without eyes, sounding kind
I smiled in gratitude and picked up a piece of bread, feeling overly watched. All the alphas had their attention on me, and it wasn’t very comfortable.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Help yourselves, pups, the food will get cold.” said another elder, extending his arms. “I’m glad you’re all here, as well as the respective mate receiving her due respect,” he added, ghing Fenrir a sidelong glance before turning to me with a friendly smile.
They treated the alphas like their pups, with love and care, I also noticed that the alphas respected them above everything else. The feeling was mutual: there was as much affection from the elders for the alphas as there was from the alphas for them.
For a few minutes, the only sounds were of cutlery and chewing, as we ate the banquet they had served.
I took as little as possible, feeling mortified. As if he had noticed, Fenrir placed more food on my plate without saying a word.
He was acting differently, perhaps dominated by his wolf with so many powerful alphas around us. It was his way of marking territory over me.
Salazar kept walking around, filling the empty glasses.
I finished the dinner feeling satisfied and much less nervous. The elders weren’t what I had expected. They were kind, caring, and helpful; they loved the wolves and their packs, caring for them and their well–being.
“Savannah, do you like sweets?” asked the elder without
“Yes,” 1 confirmed, wiping the con
He smiled and snapped his fingers. Salazar immediately left the room.
pose chocolate desserts prepared for you. I heard females love chocolate.”
corners of my mouth with a cloth napkin before placing it next to my empty plate.
Salazar returned to the room c
carrying a
a golden tray with several small dessert plates. He placed them one by one in front of me.
1 blinked, surprised,
“Thank you.”
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“As we didn’t know your preference, we made one of each,” said the elder without eyes.
felt… moved. It was one of the first truly kind gestures I had received since arriving in the Carpathians and getting involved with the wolves.
“That’s very… kind. I’m really grateful,” I whispered, my voice barely a breath through my choked throat.
“Don’t you serve sweets to your mate?” Lucian mocked.
Fenrir snorted and ignored him.
“At least, she’s an easy wolf to keep happy–just serve a little chocolate,” joked Konrad.
I picked up one of the plates made with chocolate and biscuit, resembling a salami. It had some walnuts on top, making it even more delicious.
The last time I got a sweet from someone was the birthday cake Selena stole for me. My throat tightened as I thought of my sister, and an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia hit me.
