Chapter 5

The path widened as we moved deeper into the valley, the snow had been beaten flat by countless paws that had traveled ahead of us. Smoke drifted up from other dens, thin ribbons rising into the gray sky. My breath steamed in front of me, mingling with the frost, the new elk-hide hugging my shoulders only barely keeping out the cold. Beside me, Little Wolf walked tall and unashamed, her bare body glowing against the white, her tail wagging high, Fenrir and Skoll flanking her like living shadows.

The valley heart opened wide, stone cliffs arching into the mountainside, with dens dug into its base. Wolves were everywhere, lean shapes prowling the snow, big shoulders rippling under thick fur, claws clicking against ice, muzzles lifted to scent the air. They were on all fours, just as Little Wolf used to be, moving easily in the cold, the pack spread out among the valley floor, hunting, working, playing.

At first, it was just one or two, stopping to watch us pass. Then a few more. Then more still. A ripple spread through the valley as heads turned, eyes following. By the time we reached the center, there was no mistaking it ... The wolves were gathering.

They padded in from every direction, silent but purposeful. Males and females both, their breaths steaming, their claws scraping. Their eyes never left her. Never left my Little Wolf. The Stray.

One by one, they stopped around us, forming a loose circle. Then another wolf came. Then another. The ring tightened until Fenrir’s ears pricked and Skoll bared his teeth. Their hair stood up, their growls rumbling low as their red eyes flicked from side to side, tracking the shifting bodies that pressed closer.

I swallowed, my throat tight, my hand drifting toward Little Wolf’s back. The air was heavy with musk, the sound of claws, the low grumbles of a pack closing in.

Her tail slowed. Her ears flicked nervously, swiveling to catch every sound. She glanced around, her crimson eye wide, her lips parting. For the first time since I’d met her, she didn’t look proud or teasing. She looked ... afraid.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice small against the mounting tension.

No one answered. The wolves only breathed, watched, and circled. Snow crunched under their shifting paws, their bodies tightening the ring. Dozens of them now, thick fur bristling, their eyes locked not on me, but on her, upright, naked, standing on two legs where none of them did.

“What...” she whispered again, taking half a step back until her spine brushed against my chest, her hand clutching mine. Her crimson eye darted side to side. “Why are they all staring at me like that?”

Fenrir’s growl deepened. Skoll crouched, fangs flashing. The circle held. And in that moment, the weight of the pack pressed down like the frozen air itself, heavy and suffocating. Then, all at once, a voice boomed over everyone else in the crowd.

“STRAY!”

The sound was a bellow, deep and loud, echoing off the valley walls. The crowd jerked as if a whip had cracked, wolves flattening themselves against the ice. The ring parted in an instant, leaving a wide avenue clear. Every muzzle dipped low, eyes pressed to the ground. Only Little Wolf and I remained standing upright, exposed, our hands still joined.

From the far side of the circle, a shape pushed through, bigger and heavier than any other, the sheer force of his presence making the air crackle. The Alpha. His fur was thick, his muscles bunching and rolling, his bulk enormous. He was on all fours as he approached, and each paw and hand step made the snow groan under his weight.

He stopped only a few paces away, his red eyes burning straight into Little Wolf. His lips peeled back, not in a snarl, but in the cold, superior sneer of a king. The power radiating from him was palpable, even Fenrir and Skoll shrank back.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, voice like rolling thunder. “You stand among my pack, on two feet, as if you have the right. As if you are Alpha.”

Little Wolf straightened, but I could feel her trembling, her hand a vice around mine. She managed to keep her chin high, eyes flashing.

“Why shouldn’t I?” she shot back, her tone trembling but defiant. “You never said we couldn’t. Maybe it’s time for a new way. Maybe I–”

He cut her off with a low growl, pushing up, first rising to his knees, then lifting himself upright, balancing on his massive hind legs, towering over every wolf in the crowd. His size was monstrous. Standing tall, he was nearly three times her height, his broad chest rising like a wall, arms heavy with muscle, claws as long as my fingers.

“Only an Alpha may stand above the pack,” he rumbled, his voice making my bones shiver. “Only an Alpha claims the right to walk as a leader, to show his face, his teeth, his strength. The rest crawl. The rest remember what they are.”

He loomed over us now, his bulk blocking out part of the sky, his eyes fixed on Little Wolf. He flexed his claws, and his voice dropped, low and threatening.

“So tell me, Stray ... What gives you the right?” He gestured to the rest of the pack, their eyes downcast, their forms bent and submissive. “Why do you stand before me? Why are you not among the others, crawling, submitting?”

He stretched taller still, every muscle flexed, chest broad, thighs thick as tree trunks, cock heavy and swinging between his legs, his red eyes burning, his teeth bared. The crowd watched, silent and awestruck, some with their tails tucked, others with their ears pinned back. Fenrir and Skoll cowered at our side, low and silent, unwilling to meet his gaze.

Her ears twitched, her tail stiffened, but she didn’t back away. Her little chin lifted, trembling but proud, her crimson eye blazing. I felt her grip on my hand tighten, claws digging into my palm, but her voice rang out clear and sharp.

“I’m not going to crawl around as you call me a Stray anymore,” she said. “Things need to change. If standing on two legs means I can face you, means I can prove I’m more than just a bitch to be bred or beaten, then maybe it means I have the right to stand as Alpha. Maybe it means I have a chance.”

The words cracked across the circle like a whip. Gasps rippled through the pack, heads jerking up before they quickly pressed low again, muzzles scraping the ice. Even Fenrir let out a sharp, uncertain bark, his ears flattened tight. Skoll’s growl turned into a whine, confused, fearful.

The Alpha’s chest rose with a deep, rolling laugh, shaking snow from the cliffs above. His fangs flashed as he grinned wide, eyes blazing with amused contempt. Then, slowly, he clapped his hands together over his head, the sound like thunder rolling across the valley.

When he drew them apart, his claws weren’t bare anymore.

Armor encased them, jagged gauntlets of solid ice, each shard glinting blue in the morning light. Frost steamed from his skin as the gauntlets solidified, crystalline claws wrapping his fists, sharper and more wicked than steel. He flexed his fingers, making the ice crack, his eyes fixed on Little Wolf as a savage smile spread over his face.

Then they caught fire.

Flames leapt to life, red and crackling, racing up the gauntlets. The ice remained untouched, unmelting, not even steaming. It blazed brighter, a sheath of pure magic wrapped around the Alpha’s ice gauntlets, burning without harm. He opened and closed his fists, the flames flickering between the clawed fingertips, dancing over the icy surface.

The pack gasped again, a sound like wind in the pines. Some wolves pressed their muzzles into the snow, others whimpered. None dared look directly at him. Even Fenrir’s massive head dropped, his body trembling at the display.

The Alpha smirked down at her, the firelight painting his massive frame in shades of ice and flame.

“You think standing makes you my equal?” he rumbled, his voice carrying like an avalanche. “Then stand against this. Stand against me. Show your pack that two legs make you more than a Stray.”

He slammed one fist into the other, the impact ringing like stone splitting. Frost stayed strong, fire flared, and the shock of it rolled through the crowd, shoving me back a step from the sheer force. My heart thundered, every instinct screaming that this was no longer a place for me, no longer a place for anyone. The pack, the wolves, Fenrir, and Skoll, they were all afraid.

Little Wolf, however, didn’t flinch. She stared at the Alpha, her body still, her hand gently letting go of mine.

The Alpha lowered his blazing gauntlets, his eyes locked on Little Wolf. His grin widened, fangs bared, and his voice cut low, sharp as a claw.

“Come, then. Show me you deserve to walk as I do.”

For a moment, Little Wolf was still, her chest rising with slow, deep breaths. Her tail remained stiff, her ears pricked, her crimson eye fixed.