Page 306 of Salt Between the Wolves

"His life is spared."

A murmur rippled through the gathered wolves, not disagreement but relief, shock, and disbelief.

"The judgment is final."

Silence followed as Soren looked back at Vargan, who stood unmoving for several heartbeats before his gaze shifted once toward Eira lying motionless in the snow, the look lasting no longer than a breath before he turned and walked away without farewell, final words, or any attempt to defend himself.

The wolves of Frostvein parted before him as their Alpha passed through their ranks for the last time and disappeared into the snow, while no one followed or called his name, and the silence he left behind felt heavier than any mourning ritual.

For several moments nobody moved until three Frostvein captains stepped forward, not as warriors seeking battle but as leaders seeking direction, their eyes moving briefly toward the place where Vargan had vanished before returning to Soren, making the meaning unmistakable as the pack had been left without an Alpha.

For the first time, uncertainty appeared among the Frostvein ranks, not fear but confusion about what would come next.

Soren looked at the captains for a long moment and then past them toward Eira, knowing the answer was obvious and not his to give.

"Return to Frostvein."

The captains remained silent.

"You will hold your borders," he said, his voice hardening, "and you will keep your people fed."

After another pause, he added, "And you will wait."

The oldest captain frowned and asked, "Wait for what?"

Soren's gaze dropped to Eira as he answered, "When she wakes."

No one argued because everyone understood that the future of Frostvein had just become a question, and the only person with the right to answer it lay unconscious in the snow.

Soren turned away before anyone could speak again, crossed the distance to Eira, and dropped to one knee beside her, finding her still cold, too cold, as he carefully slid one arm beneath her shoulders and the other beneath her knees before lifting her against his chest.

The sight alone was enough to silence the pass, as the Alpha of Ironfang carried the daughter of Frostvein, the woman both packs had spent months trying to define.

Soren pulled the cloak around her and rose.

"Home."

The single word carried through the valley as behind him Ironfang began to move, ranks forming, standards lifting, and the long march north beginning once more, while as White Pass slowly emptied, Frostvein remained where it stood, leaderless, watching and waiting for the woman who had never wanted the burden they were about to place upon her.

Chapter 36: Hear My Choice

Eira

Eira woke to warmth, and for a moment that was all she knew. The cold of White Pass was gone, replaced by heavy furs, the muted glow of firelight, and the scent of herbs steeping somewhere nearby.

She remained still, caught between sleep and waking, uncertain whether this was another brief return to consciousness or something more substantial. Over the past several days there had been other moments. She remembered a cup pressed to her lips, the steady movement of a horse beneath her, voices speaking around her, and Varda repeatedly insisting that she drink before darkness pulled her under again. The memories drifted through her mind like fragments of a dream, disconnected and impossible to place with certainty.

This felt different.

The exhaustion remained, but the fog that had wrapped itself around her thoughts seemed finally to be loosening. When she opened her eyes, she found dark stone overhead and immediately recognized her surroundings.

Ironfang.

Her chamber.

A quiet sense of relief settled over her.

A figure moved beside the hearth and turned at the faint shift of breath. Varda's grey hair had partly escaped its braid, and the shadows beneath her eyes suggested she had slept very little since White Pass.