Chapter 26
EMBER
The foyer hums with nervous energy, the air sharp with the scent of fear and excitement. The full moon normally makes us jittery, but combined with the mating season…it only makes us volatile. Dozens of females crowd together, their chatter sharp with nerves, their laughter brittle as glass. The world hanging on a precipice. Our bare skin glowing in the torchlight, breaths uneven as we wait for the doors to open and the march toward the cliff to begin. Unlike some, I have no idea what to expect. My heart hammers so hard, it’s a wonder no one else can hear it.
I keep to the edge, hiding in the shadows of the top of the stairs, watching the others fidget and gossip.
“Last year there weren’t many options, I just ran for the Sacred Circle.” A blonde female leans in to her friend.
“I agree, this year has a lot more eligible mates.” Her friend nods.
“I just hope I don’t end up in Aurora pack,” another comments.
“Oh, me neither, I got a cliffside room thisyear, which confirms I can’t live without a fireplace.” The blonde flips her hair over her shoulder.
“Aurora pack has fireplaces, you nimrods.” Tala slips past them, climbing the stairs. “Where do you think we roast the abominable snow beast?”
They shiver and slip through the crowd away from her. She stands across from me on the top of the stairs, leaning against the banister with a smirk. I think she enjoys taunting the other females. “Don’t listen to them, Aurora pack isn’t all bad.”
“Abominable snow beast?” I snort.
“Some morons believe anything. I’ve got to start a few more rumors while I can. We don’t need weak females anyway.”
“No, I suppose only the strong survive the winters.”
Her smile widens. “The winters are the best part. The winter carries with it the longest nights. I’ve never seen the moon so big as it is hovering over pristine white snow. Then when the sun rises, it coats the snow in nothing but sparkle. Paw prints in soft, freshly fallen snow. White as far as the eye can see, untouched. Winter is magic.” Her dark eyes are looking past me, lost in thought, with a smile on her face. Wow, she really means it. Maybe Alaska isn’t totally horrible.
“Look who thinks she belongs here,” Robyn sneers, cutting through the crowd and climbing the stairs until she’s in front of me. Her two friends flank her like wolves circling their prey.
I steel myself, refusing to flinch. “Not tonight,” I warn, my voice low.
That only makes her smirk widen into a malicious grin. “Oh, I think tonight’s exactly the night.” She presses closer, shoulder colliding with mine to shove me backward. Instinct surges — I shove her right back.
It happens too fast.
Her claws slip free in the scuffle, half-shifted from the high tension. They rake across my arm in three burning lines. I gasp as blood wells instantly, hot and scarlet against my pale skin.
The foyer goes still. Dozens of wolves inhale sharply, the scent of blood carrying like wildfire through the air.
Robyn freezes. Luna and Sky snicker behind her.
Dove’s voice cuts through the air like a blade, “You stupid idiots.”
The foyer stills, all eyes shifting to her. Dove steps forward, her golden hair glimmering in the torchlit flame, her expression dark with fury. She grabs Robyn by the wrist and shoves her back. “Do you even realize what you’ve done?”
The bullies shrink, but my former friend doesn’t let up. She jabs a finger toward my bleeding arm. “Fresh virginal blood has been spilled. Do you understand? Not only does she have a target on her back, but now you gave them a beacon right to her.”
A few girls gasp and then a hush falls over the room. The reality sinks in, heavy and dangerous.
Dove leans closer, her words sharp enough to slice. “Every unmated male out there will smell it. They’ll hunt her harder, faster, desperate to claim her. And you—” her gaze snaps back to Robyn “—whoever you end up with this season, just remember it wasn’t because theywantedyou. It was only because they didn’t reach Ember first.”
Her hazel eyes blaze with satisfaction as she delivers the final blow, “Enjoy her rejects.”
The females pale, their smirks wiped clean and suddenly unable to meet anyone’s eyes. My wound heals quickly but, the scent of my blood still hangs in the air, coppery and damning.
Dove turns to me. Her voice softens. “I’m sorry, Ember. I should’ve stopped them before it got this far.”
Our gazes meet, and for the first timein days, there’s no walls between us. It’s just how it was in the caves when she was the only friend I had. The friend who stayed up with me when Roman was sick and helped me hunt when he was hungry, or snuck me scraps from her dinner. This is the Dove I know.
