36. EMBER
EMBER
My nerves coil so tight that they burn my stomach and I nearly miss the feast. Roman went down before me as I retch and chew on some spearmint to steady myself. By the time I pull my black robe tight and descend into the temple hall, dinner is in full swing.
The air is thick with roasted meat and chatter.
No one stops the feast to notice me, which is a blissful change from last year.
I glance around at all the faces. Most of them are a new crop of expectant mates.
Last season must have been prosperous with unions just as the priests had claimed.
That means, only a few wolves know about my situation.
I decided not to lose my virginity this year to some random hookup.
I had a mate, and if he still wants me, he can have me. All of me.
I find the Shadow pack and slip into an empty seat.
I missed the priest’s speech this year because the food is already being consumed as I glance down the table.
Wolves are ripping into legs of meat and shredding tendons from bones.
It’ll be a wonder if they find a mate with these table manners.
Bile rises in my throat, and I’m forced to look away.
As my eyes trace the stone columns that line the temple, I tell myself I’m not looking for ice-blue eyes. They skim the table and the temple floor. No Thorn. No Roman either, my heart stutters.
“Cullen, have you seen Roman?” I lean across the table toward my Alpha.
He points down the table. “He was just there.”
A cough. “I think he’s talking to Thorn,” Honi says from beside him, tilting her chin toward the columns by the temple doors.
There, in the shadow of the column, Roman is speaking animatedly to a tall figure, pale hair loose around broad shoulders.
Thorn.
I freeze.
He’s alive. As if sensing me, his head turns. His ice-blue eyes lock with mine. His tongue darts out and licks his lips. My body flushes in reaction to him. The temple vanishes.
He’s not wearing his white robe; his back is on full display.
He received more scars than when I last saw him.
In addition to the three red scars down his face, there’s a raw line that cuts across his back, and claw marks sear down his left leg where the hair no longer grows.
All of them a token of survival that makes my chest clench. This year wasn’t easy for him either.
He’s survived…but is he single? Is he here as the Aurora Alpha or as a participant?
I rise and force my legs to move, though they tremble beneath me. Roman grins when I approach. “Ember! We were just talking about you.”
“Oh?” my voice breaks. I desperately want to know what they were discussing. But the silence deepens. Thorn’s eyes are intense on me. Mine are on him as well.
“Well,” Roman coughs. “I’ll leave you two catch up. I should get back before Cullen eats all the venison.” My brother slips past me, I feel him leave as I remain pinned beneath Thorn’s icy gaze.
I’ve had a million things I wanted to say to him, but now that he’s standing in front of me…and he smells so good, I’m having trouble remembering what they are. “Listen, I…”
But then he leans in and the scent of him overwhelms me. I forget what I was going to say.
“It’s good to see you, Ember. Even better to smell you,” he purrs into my ear, brushing past me. His scent — pine and winterberry wraps around me like a chain pulling me tighter. His low growl rumbles soft, meant only for me. Then he’s gone, striding back to the tables.
My knees weaken. His absence is a physical ache.
I didn’t realize how much his physical presence affected me until I was missing it for so long.
After collecting myself, I return to my seat, only to find Roman and Thorn now seated across from me, laughing like they’ve known each other for years. This is new…
“Pie, Ember? It’s delicious,” Thorn offers smoothly, sliding a plate toward me.
“No, thanks.”
He pulls the plate back before cutting a slice and piling it on Roman’s plate.
“She’s watching her figure,” Roman leans in conspiratorially to Thorn. “Hasn’t eaten meat in weeks, and we go for runs three hours a day.”
Thorn’s eyes linger on me as he mutters, “I’m watching it too.”
Roman groans. “Gross.”
What is happening?
Throughout my meal, I feel Thorn’s eyes on me as he continually loops my brother and Cullen in conversation. The table grows louder with drink, excitement, and boasting until a sneer cuts through it.
“Back again, Thorn? Couldn’t nail it last season?” A broad-shouldered male in a green robe calls.
Thorn only shrugs. “I had to give you other guys a chance.”
Laughter ripples, but then a white-robed woman speaks, her voice bitter and shaking. “It wasn’t without consequence. He practically fought half the Aurora pack to keep Alpha.
My fork clatters onto my plate. Thorn’s gaze flickers away from mine, unreadable.
“That’s why I’m back,” the woman continues, her voice cracking. “Because he killed my mate.”
Gasps and murmurs echo down the table. Her eyes cut toward me, brimming with tears but edged in fire. “If he’d taken you when he had the chance, my mate might still be alive.”
Heat floods my chest. The words feel like claws raking across my ribs. My scars throb on my abdomen in response as I remember the Challenge experience, and everything I’d lost.
“Lucia.” Thorn’s voice cracks like a whip. She flinches, dropping her gaze to her plate.
“If your mate was foolish enough to challenge an Alpha,” someone adds, “you deserve better. I’m available.”
“Fuck you,” she spits, quieter this time.
The table falls tense and silent.
“Did you really fight them all?” Roman blurts, oblivious to the tension.
“Yes.”
“Why did they Challenge?” Roman continues, all eyes on their interaction.
Thorn’s jaw tightens. “Because after ten seasons without a mate, they think there is something wrong with me.”
“Is there?” Roman asks bluntly.
“No.” Thorn meets my eyes, voice low and sharp as a blade. “Patience always pays off.”
“Was it worth it?” Roman presses and for once, I’m grateful for his childhood ignorance.
Because Thorn’s gaze burns into mine, unyielding as he answers, “Yes.”
Later, as the hall empties, I seize my chance to talk to Thorn alone. My fingers snag his bare, muscular arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know—”
“I’m not,” his reply is instant.
“I…it’s just that—”
“I get it.” He leans close, his breath brushing my ear again, his voice a growl only I can hear. “I’ll see you at the trials.”
My bones turn to molten soup as he pulls away. His scent, combined with his words, leaves me trembling.
I should be relieved. I should feel whole. But instead, I’m filled with nothing but more questions.
Does he mean what I think he means? Or is he here for something else entirely?
My thoughts are running rampant inside my head as I head for my room. Digesting the entire conversation I had with Thorn. He’s here and he survived a Challenge for Alpha, but is he flirting with me? I still can’t be sure if he’s here as an Alpha to the rest of his pack or as an available mate.
“Ember?”
I’m so lost in thought, I didn’t even notice a small crowd of females in white robes outside in the hall. “Yes?”
“We wanted to congratulate you on surviving Thorn’s attentions last year,” Lucia states coyly.
My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
She leans in conspiratorially. “I mean, we all know he has his eyes on you, but he’s an unworthy Alpha. We all recognized it. We’re just glad you saw it too.”
“Yeah, we just mean, you deserve way better than him,” her friend standing beside her with long blonde hair agrees.
“I’m sorry, what was your name?”
“Oh, it’s Rue,” the blonde returns.
I shake my head. “Rue, didn’t he survive the Challenge against him?”
“He did, and he killed all of our mates. Killed ten in total.” The third sneers, her glossy black hair is a head above the others.
“Oh.” It’s all starting to make sense now. These are all the females of the mates he killed.
“You definitely dodged a bullet there.” Rue’s lips are smiling, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. There’s nothing I hate more than fake bitches.
“I’m confused, isn’t that the point of the Challenge, though…and if Thorn beat all your mates, doesn’t that prove that he is worthy of being Alpha?”
“It was rigged,” Lucia defends.
“Yeah, he totally cheated,” Rue agrees.
My eyes narrow. “How does one cheat against ten wolves that are out for blood?”
“Oh, well…” they stammer trying to come up with an excuse.
“Let us get one thing straight. Thorn has more worth in his tiny little pinky than any of you have in your whole body. The only reason Thorn didn’t come away with a mate last season is because he gave me a choice — another example of a great mate, in my opinion.
So if this little intervention is to deter me from mating with Thorn, you can save your breath. ”
I turn to leave, but it’s Lucia who steps forward.
“Be careful whose side you’re on, virgin.”
She thinks that nickname hurts me. I survived the ruthless chase last year. It only fuels my response, giving her a nickname of her own, “Bring it on, widow.”
She flinches at the label. I turn on my heel and climb the stairs to the third floor. Only when I’m safely back in my room do I hope this doesn’t come to bite me in the ass later.