The private training sanctum of Alpha Valerius was not a place of stone and dirt like the public arena. It was located at the very peak of the Obsidian Spire, a circular chamber with walls made of reinforced glass that looked out over the endless, mist-shrouded peaks of the North. Here, the moonlight was at its strongest, pouring into the room like liquid mercury.
I stood in the center of the room, barefoot, wearing only a thin silk training tunic. The silver coin Valerius had given me felt heavy against my chest, a cold reminder of the path I had chosen.
"To control the silver flame, you must first control the vessel," Valerius's voice drifted from behind me.
He was dressed simply in black training trousers, his chest bare, revealing a map of scars that told stories of a hundred wars. His muscles moved like coiled snakes beneath his tan skin, and the sight of him made the air in the room feel suddenly too thin.
"My vessel is broken, Alpha," I said, not turning around. "The bond-snap... it left a hole in me. How can you fill a void that was meant for a Mate?"
"The bond-snap didn't leave a hole, Skaya," Valerius said, his footsteps silent as he closed the distance between us. "It broke the cage. Your fated mate didn't reject a girl; he rejected a force of nature he was too small to contain. Now, close your eyes."
I obeyed. The darkness behind my eyelids was soon replaced by the rhythmic sound of Valerius's breathing. He stepped closer, until I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
"Focus on the cold," he whispered. "Don't look for the warmth of a common wolf. Look for the ice of the Fenrir. It's in your blood, waiting for a command."
I tried to reach for it, but all I found was the jagged pain of Kaelen's memory. Every time I tried to find my power, the image of Kaelen kissing Lira flashed in my mind, choking the spark.
"I can't," I gasped, my breathing becoming shallow. "All I feel is the rejection. It hurts too much."
Suddenly, I felt large, warm hands wrap around my waist. Valerius pulled me back against his chest, his skin meeting mine. The contact was like an electric shock. My heart hammered against my ribs, but strangely, the pain of the broken bond receded, replaced by a dark, magnetic pull toward the man holding me.
"Then use the pain," Valerius murmured, his lips inches from my ear. His hands moved from my waist to my arms, sliding down to my wrists. He guided my hands upward, palms out. "Don't fight the agony. Turn it into a blade. Imagine Kaelen's face. Imagine him realizing that you are the one who will bring him to his knees."
I leaned back into him, my head resting on his shoulder. His scent—storm clouds and cedarwood—wrapped around me like a shield. I let the anger take over. I let the image of Kaelen's smug face fuel the fire.
Deep in my marrow, the silver spark flared. But this time, it wasn't a burst of rage. It was a steady, humming vibration. My skin began to glow with a faint, ethereal silver light. The air in the room grew cold—so cold that frost began to crawl across the glass walls.
"Yes," Valerius hissed, his grip tightening. "Feel it, Skaya. That is the power of the Silver Fenrir. It doesn't howl. It consumes."
I felt a surge of strength I had never known. It was primal, ancient, and terrifyingly beautiful. For a moment, I felt like I could reach out and pluck the moon from the sky. I turned in his arms, my eyes glowing a brilliant, molten silver.
Valerius looked down at me, and for the first time, his stoic mask was completely gone. His violet eyes were dark with a mixture of awe and something much more dangerous—obsession. He didn't pull away. Instead, he leaned down, his forehead resting against mine.
"You are magnificent," he whispered, his voice thick with a hunger that had nothing to do with blood.
The silver light between us pulsed, and I felt a strange connection forming—not the fated mate bond that Kaelen had broken, but something darker, something forged in shadow and silver. It was a choice, not a destiny.
But before the moment could deepen, a sharp chime echoed through the room. The doors slid open, and a young messenger stood there, trembling under Valerius's sudden, lethal glare.
"A-Alpha... I am sorry to interrupt," the boy stammered, staring at the frost on the walls and the silver glow still fading from my skin. "But the scouts... they've returned from the border. The Silver Moon Pack has sent an envoy."
I froze. The silver light vanished instantly, replaced by a cold dread.
Valerius straightened up, his face returning to its mask of cold marble, though his eyes remained fixed on me for a second longer than necessary. "An envoy? For what purpose?"
"They claim there has been a mistake, Alpha," the messenger said, glancing nervously at me. "They say a thief stole a sacred relic from their treasury on the night of the ritual, and they believe the... the 'Null' took it with her when she was banished. They are demanding her return for questioning."
A cold, bitter laugh escaped my lips. "A thief? Kaelen wants me back not because he regrets it, but because he needs a scapegoat for his own failures."
Valerius turned toward the glass wall, looking out at the dark horizon. His hand went to the hilt of the dagger at his waist. "A mistake, they say? They throw a girl into the Blackwood Forest to die, and now they want her back because of a 'relic'?"
He turned back to me, his violet eyes glowing with a promise of violence. "What do you want to do, Skaya? I can send them their envoy's head in a box. Or I can let you speak to them."
I walked toward the door, my chin held high, the silver coin reflecting the moonlight. The fear was gone. In its place was a cold, calculating resolve.
"Let them in," I said, my voice as sharp as a blade. "I want to see the look on their faces when they realize I am no longer the girl they broke."
Valerius smirked, stepping beside me. He placed a possessive hand on the small of my back, his touch a silent vow of protection.
"Then let us go, Little Flame," Valerius whispered as we walked toward the Great Hall. "Let's see if their envoy can survive the frost of a Queen who has finally found her throne."