Chapter 15

1098words2026-01-19 06:24

Mrs. Winters looks alarmed but doesn't interfere as I take the heavy banners and approach the ladder. It's at least twenty feet tall, reaching to the vaulted ceiling. The banners are heavier than they look, unwieldy and awkward.

I begin to climb, focusing on each rung. My training with Kayden has improved my balance and strength, but this task would challenge even a werewolf. The ladder wobbles slightly as I ascend.

Halfway up, I hear Ashley's voice: "Higher. They need to hang from the center beam."

I continue climbing, arms burning from holding the banners. Near the top, the ladder shifts ominously. I freeze, heart pounding.

"Having trouble?" Ashley calls, mock concern in her voice. "Perhaps you're not as special as you think."

I grit my teeth and push onward, reaching the highest safe rung. The center beam remains just out of comfortable reach. I'll need to stretch dangerously to secure the banners.

As I extend my arm, the ladder tilts. Several women gasp below. I grab the beam with one hand, the banners clutched in the other, my body suspended precariously between ladder and ceiling.

"Enough."

Kayden's voice cuts through the hall. He stands in the doorway, his expression hard.

"Get down from there, Freya," he commands.

"But the banners—" I begin.

"Now."

I descend carefully, the ladder still unsteady. When I reach the bottom, Kayden is beside me, his body positioned between me and Ashley.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asks, his voice deceptively calm.

Ashley approaches, all innocence. "Just ensuring preparations meet your standards, cousin. Your human volunteered to help."

"Did she?" His eyes find mine briefly before returning to Ashley. "Strange, as hanging banners isn't part of her duties."

"I was simply testing her abilities." Ashley's smile is sweet poison. "You seem quite... invested in her."

The room goes silent. The accusation hangs in the air—that Kayden has inappropriate interest in a human servant.

"My claimed human's duties are my concern alone," Kayden says, each word precise and cold. "As future Alpha, I don't answer to you or anyone else regarding my decisions."

"Of course not." Ashley's smile doesn't waver. "I merely thought, with the ceremony approaching, you might want to avoid... distractions."

"The ceremony will proceed as the Moon Goddess wills," he replies. "No more, no less."

Ashley's confidence falters slightly at his words, but she recovers quickly. "Indeed it will. And when I am named your Luna, we can discuss the proper place for your... pet."

She turns to leave, her entourage following, but pauses beside me. "Enjoy these last days of favor," she murmurs, too low for others to hear. "After the ceremony, you'll learn what humans are truly worth here."

After she's gone, the room gradually returns to activity. Kayden remains beside me, his presence both comforting and concerning.

"Are you hurt?" he asks quietly.

"No. Just my pride."

His jaw tightens. "She's growing bolder."

"She sees something between us," I say. "Something that threatens her."

"She sees what she fears, not what exists." He glances around, then adds softly, "Meet me tonight. Usual place. There's something you need to learn before the ceremony."

He leaves without further explanation, leaving me to wonder what new lesson awaits—and why it can't wait until our morning session.

---

The forest feels different at night. I make my way to our clearing, guided by the nearly full moon overhead. Tomorrow night it will reach completion, and the ceremony will begin.

Kayden waits by the stream, his tall figure silvered by moonlight. He turns as I approach, his eyes reflecting light like a true wolf's.

I stop before him. "What's so urgent it couldn't wait until morning?"

"The ceremony." He gestures for me to sit beside him on a fallen log. "There are things you need to understand about what will happen."

I settle next to him, aware of his warmth in the cool night air. "I thought it was simple—the Moon Goddess chooses your mate."

"It's more complicated than that." He stares into the darkness. "The ceremony reveals true mates—pairs destined by the Goddess. But politics often interferes with destiny."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning many Alphas ignore the Goddess's choice if it doesn't align with political advantage." His voice hardens. "My father expects me to do the same—to accept Ashley regardless of the ceremony's outcome."

"Will you?"

He turns to me, his expression unreadable in the moonlight. "I've always believed the Goddess's wisdom exceeds our political machinations."

"And if she doesn't choose Ashley?"

"Then I face a difficult choice." His hand finds mine in the darkness, his touch sending warmth up my arm. "The pack expects me to follow tradition. My father demands I secure the alliance."

"And what do you want?" I ask softly.

He doesn't answer immediately. When he does, his voice is barely audible. "What I want may not be possible."

The weight of unspoken words hangs between us. I'm acutely aware of his fingers entwined with mine, of how natural it feels despite all the reasons it shouldn't.

"There's another reason I brought you here tonight," he says finally. "The Western Pack's presence concerns me. Their Alpha has been asking questions—about new humans in the territory, about my claimed servant."

Fear tightens my chest. "Do they suspect who I am?"

"I don't know. But I want you to be prepared." He shifts to face me fully. "Tonight, we try something we haven't attempted in training."

"What?"

"Accessing your wolf."

I stare at him. "You said I couldn't transform."

"Not a full transformation, no. But with the moon nearly full and your abilities awakening, you might be able to connect with the wolf part of yourself." His expression grows serious. "If you're threatened, that connection could save your life."

"How do we do this?"

"Close your eyes," he instructs. "Feel the moonlight on your skin. Let it fill you."

I obey, tilting my face to the silver light filtering through the trees. It feels different tonight—almost tangible, a cool energy that seems to sink into my pores.

"Now focus inward," Kayden's voice guides me. "Past your human thoughts, past your fears and doubts. Deep in your core, there's something else. Something wild and ancient. Can you feel it?"

At first, there's nothing but my own heartbeat. Then, gradually, I become aware of something else—a presence within me, dormant but stirring. Not a separate entity, but a different aspect of myself I've never acknowledged.

"I feel... something," I whisper.

That's your wolf," Kayden says, his voice low and intense. "Not separate from you—a part of you that's always been there, wait