Chapter 7
Gracie
“It’s nice to be around people who actually eat,” Alpha Haiden mused.
Cole, her mate, huffed a quiet laugh. “Most events in this damn city have nothing but finger food.” He dragged a hand through his black-and-silver hair, expression faintly annoyed.
“That doesn’t sound enjoyable,” Thornar said from next to me. “We eat a lot in Ironsun territory—maybe even more than we should.”
There wasn’t a piece of food I’d come across that I hadn’t liked.
And whatever we were eating now, it was melting in my mouth.
I’d never get used to such an array of flavors.
Despite having cooked almost everyday for the past few years, I hadn’t eaten my own creations, outside of a taste here or there, in over a decade.
The bread was still hot when I picked it up from my plate, soft so that it tore in my hands instead of cracking apart like the rations I was accustomed to.
Steam curled from the dishes in front of us, the air thick with spices I couldn’t name—rich and intense, with something almost sweet beneath it.
I hadn’t reached for anything at first, just stared at the feast in front of us. Ravik’s thumb pressed lightly into my thigh to gain my attention.
“Eat,” he’d said quietly.
So I did, because he said it like I was allowed to. I needed that reminder.
The eight of us—including Haiden, her mate, and two advisors—sat at the table while my mates carried most of the conversation.
The two groups exchanged stories about their territories and what was happening with the harvest season underway, stories of festivals and celebrations I’d never even heard of traded easily between them.
I hadn’t celebrated Yule in a decade, let alone anything else.
“What do you think of the food, Gracie?” Haiden asked, her expression friendly beneath the amber lights flickering through the dining space. The table we sat around was large, the chairs plush velvet cushions I nearly sank into.
“It’s delicious,” I said honestly before adding, “It probably helps that I was starving.”
I hadn’t eaten since this morning. I’d passed out after the…amazing peak Ravik had brought me to, and between the lingering heat of his touch, Thornar’s closeness, and Basir’s gaze from down the table, I hadn’t noticed the hunger at all.
Not until now.
“Not feeding you enough, are they?” she teased.
My eyes went wide. “Oh, they are,” I said quickly. “I just…” I hesitated. “This is better food than anything I’m used to.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” one of her advisors said, “where are you from if not Ironsun?” Haiden hadn’t introduced her or the woman who sat next to her.
I could tell that the question wasn’t merely to satisfy her curiosity, and Ravik’s hand tightening on my thigh confirmed it. This wasn’t small talk anymore.
“The Cold Moon Pack.” My voice was steadier than I expected. “My family and I were forced to join when Ivan River invaded.”
Haiden straightened, her attention sharpening fully on me. “Your family—are they still there?”
“No.” I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “Both my parents are gone. My brother escaped, but I haven’t found him yet.” Then my voice cracked as my control slipped. “I was at the Northgrove compound for nearly a decade before we went to the TTC.”
“And found your mates,” one of the advisors pointed out.
“Yes,” I whispered.
Ravik pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “She’s ours.”
“Well, that explains why you chose to go back to Northgrove. I was surprised when Alpha Kaliyah told me about your plans, but…that makes sense.” Haiden nodded slowly. “It makes me wonder…this war…” She trailed off, studying me.
“Is it strategy, or revenge?” she finished, not unkindly.
“Both,” Basir said, surprising me.
“There’s a personal element,” Ravik agreed.
“He was at the trade conference to traffic Gracie to another alpha.” His hand tightened on my thigh before he continued.
“But beyond that, we uncovered something bigger. It’s not just the rumors of abuse from those who escaped when we got her out. It’s worse.”
“Explain,” Haiden commanded.
I was thankful for my mates, who moved the conversation forward with ease. As they spoke, I took note of what they chose to tell her—and what they didn’t.
“The night we broke into Northgrove, we interrupted a ritual,” Ravik said. “Gracie was the sacrifice.”
The words settled heavily over the table. I didn’t react. After so many years of pain, I’d learned not to.
“What type of ritual?” Haiden asked.
“A sacrifice to Nyxarra,” I explained. “They did it every month. Every full moon.”
Saying it out loud still felt…wrong. How had something like that been allowed to happen? Why had no one stopped them?
“If he’s been doing this for nearly a decade—even with proof,” Haiden added, offering all of us a pointed look, “why does that involve us? I understand wanting him removed from power, but why the urgency? Why call for support now?”
“Our intel shows he’s pulling everyone from his territory and the Grimfur Skulk into Northgrove for a ritual,” Basir said.
The table went completely silent. “Everyone?”
“Buses of people,” Ravik said. “Thousands.”
“By The Eight,” her other advisor murmured.
“Why?” Haiden asked.
“Power,” Thornar said with a shrug. “Who knows. But he has to be stopped. Slaughtering thousands is…” His jaw tightened. “Insane. No matter the reason.”
A flicker of something unexpected cut through me at the way they explained all of this without a single mention of Nyxarra’s deeper influence, of fate or of the gods. It was a skill that I was only just starting to understand. And somehow I was part of it now. Not just a pawn being moved.
Haiden studied each of us in turn before nodding slowly, her gaze going distant. “I see why you’re concerned.”
Then, in the blink of an eye, she refocused. “If we take military action, what kind of threat are we facing?”
“Unstable. But organized enough to be dangerous,” Basir said.
“Numbers?”
“Thousands,” Ravik answered. “Not all trained. Not all willing. But enough to cause chaos.”
“And Northgrove?” Cole asked.
“Fortified,” Basir said, “with increased patrols and reinforced inner sections.”
“And he’s expecting interference,” Thornar added. “He knows we won’t let this happen.”
“What are you asking for?” Haiden said.
Ravik’s hand stayed steady on my thigh. “Support, strategic and tactical. Your aerial defenses would give us an advantage.”
Cole’s mouth curved slightly. “Our skies are well protected.”
“We know,” Ravik said. “That’s why we’re here.”
Silence filled the room once more, but I found my voice. It didn’t shake with nervousness this time. “If Ivan completes this ritual, it won’t stop at Northgrove. It won’t stop anywhere.”
Haiden’s gaze was completely on mine as I continued. “Even if he kills everyone he’s gathered, there’s no controlling what comes after. Not with a man like him.”
The Alpha looked between us, considering. Then she nodded once. “I’m glad you came to me with this. I may not care for many of the territories, but I care enough about Thornfell to protect the people of the Cold Moon Pack and the Grimfur Skulk from mass slaughter.”
I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding myself together until that moment.
Hope bloomed in my chest—quiet, cautious.
Maybe this would be possible.
“Tomorrow we’ll talk more. For now, rest. Being on the road is never easy,” Alpha Haiden said with a friendly smile as we exited the dining room an hour later.
Hope still buzzed in my veins, and despite the discussions about logistics and Ivan’s plans, the space felt lighter than before. As we parted ways, I turned toward my mates and offered a small smile. “That…went well?”
“As well as it could have,” Thornar agreed. Basir nodded, reaching forward to adjust my sleeve where it had twisted slightly. I’d worn a dark dress for dinner, a soft, deep purple that covered most of my body. Now, with how full and tired I was, I was glad I’d chosen something comfortable.
“I’ll take it,” Ravik rumbled. “I’m curious what she’ll think come morning, after she’s had time to think about how she wants to approach this.”
“Or what she wants in return,” Thornar murmured.
I frowned. I shouldn’t have been surprised there was more to consider, but now I wasn’t sure her agreement meant as much as I’d hoped.
“There you are!” Elowen appeared from down the hall, her body swallowed by a thick, dark coat that looked like a robe. “I wanted to show you something before bed.”
“Where in The Eight did you come from?” Thornar demanded.
“We’ve been searching for all of you,” Banthor said around a yawn. “She wants an early start tomorrow and insists you all know where to go.”
Elowen hooked her arm through mine and pulled me away with an eager tug. She dipped her head close, ignoring the men behind us. “How did everything go?”
“I think…I think good?”
“I’ll take it,” she said enthusiastically. “Now, since you haven’t been to the university archives before, it might be a bit overwhelming when you go in tomorrow. But whatever you’re looking for, it can be found with the help of an archive keeper.”
I didn’t understand what she meant until we were standing at the entrance to the archives.
In the evening hours, the tall windows of the archives were dark, the halls between the books and desks quiet, but there was a thrum of power that made the floors and walls shimmer.
This wasn’t…this wasn’t a normal place.
I could see figures moving through the shelves in the distance, but they didn’t quite seem real. The four men behind us kept their distance, but I wondered if my mates saw them as well.
“At night, they look like ghosts,” Elowen said. “Much better to come during the day. I promise it’s wonderful, and after looking around earlier, I’m hopeful we can find some answers.”
“I would second that, especially the part about going during the day.” A new voice, feminine and edged with soft amusement, came from in front of us.
A woman appeared. Literally appeared.
Or she had just moved so fast that she was suddenly there, standing in front of us, drawing a small smile from Elowen.
“Charlie!” Elowen smiled brightly. “You’re out late!”
Charlie was taller than me, built long and lean with an effortless grace that felt more fox than wolf. I was almost certain that was exactly what she was. I didn’t recognize her scent the way I did with other shifters, especially wolves.
Her skin looked kissed by the sun and her rich brown hair fell in loose waves, threaded with strands that caught the low light like fire.
Her eyes were amber, flecked with green, tracking everything.
Sharp. Calculating. A sly, almost playful smile curved her lips.
Leather wrapped her form in shades of black and brown, fitted for movement and meant to blend into the space around us.
“I could say the same to you, though my reason is a bit more dull.” She flashed a quick smile. “Giving a tour?”
“Sort of.” Elowen shrugged. “Gracie, this is Charlie. She’s a university student at the branch here. Second year, preparing for trials.”
Charlie grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”
“Trials?” I asked, trying to sound relaxed. I didn’t often talk with other women like this, easy and teasing.
Her eyes flickered with frustration, though not at me. At least, I didn’t think so.
“The university allows anyone to attend for two years. After that you have to compete in the Solkaran Trials to prove your competence and keep your place.”
My eyes widened as I looked at Elowen. “Did you have to do that?”
“Um…” Elowen winced. “Sort of? Not the physical part. I was exempt.”
Charlie huffed softly. “The Gentry family got her out of it, I heard.”
“It’s true!” Thornar called out.
Elowen scrunched her nose. “Not all of us are knife-wielding badasses like you. Some of us prefer knowing the closest I’ll come to danger is a paper cut.”
I caught the smallest flicker in Charlie’s eyes before she smiled again. “I get it. Some of us live for the thrill of it. Sneaking around, stealing, fighting bad guys…all the fun stuff.”
But it didn’t sound fun. Not the way she said it. I didn’t think she quite believed her own words.
“Honestly,” she added, “I’d take that over this bullshit I’m studying for now.”
As she and Elowen kept chatting, I couldn’t help but think that there was something dangerous about Charlie. Beneath the easy smile and the way she slipped into conversation, there was a calculated control. A lethality.
I didn’t have that, but I’d seen it before. In my mates.
“Alright, well, I need to get some sleep.” She sighed and looked at me with a faint smile. “It was great to meet you, Gracie. I’m sure we’ll see each other back in Ironsun territory. I’ll be there at the end of the school year.”
“It was nice to meet you,” I said, though she was already gone, slipping from the room with the same easy, unsettling grace she’d entered with.
“Charlie is great,” Elowen said. “Brilliant, actually. And despite her…background, she’s risen to the top of her class.”
“Her background?” I asked, concern slipping in.
Elowen shrugged. “She grew up different. Not my story to tell.”
I understood that. I wouldn’t want anyone telling mine without permission.
“She seems nice,” I offered.
Elowen smiled. “Oh, she’s nice! She’s also terrifying. One of the most dangerous contenders this year. No one will train with her here. Not even the teachers.”
Oh.
“Which probably means she’ll survive the trials,” Elowen added, turning to lead us out of the archives. “And succeed. Which is awesome because I need her around. She keeps me company when I visit.”
I followed, my gaze drifting back to where Charlie had disappeared. If someone like her was only expected to survive…
Then the trials weren’t just difficult.
They were deadly.