Chapter 20- The Silver Wolf
The moment Emily stepped into the open, the entire Bloodfang camp reacted.
Wolves rose instantly from where they had been sitting near the fire. Several warriors shifted slightly into defensive stances, their eyes glowing in the dim firelight as they watched the ridge above them.
Marcus, however, didn't move.
He simply studied her.
His expression was calm.
Interested.
Dangerous.
Jay appeared beside Emily a second later.
His voice was tight with restrained anger.
"You don't walk toward enemy territory alone."
Emily crossed her arms.
"I didn't."
Rowan and the others emerged from the trees behind them.
Jay sighed.
"Close enough."
Below them, Marcus laughed softly.
"You came."
Emily raised an eyebrow.
"You sent a message."
Marcus tilted his head slightly.
"Yes."
His gaze flicked toward Jay.
"I didn't expect the Blackridge Alpha to bring you personally."
Jay stepped forward.
"You're standing two miles from my territory."
Marcus shrugged.
"And?"
Jay's voice dropped.
"Leave."
Marcus smiled.
"No."
Silence settled over the quarry.
Emily studied him carefully.
Marcus Vale was older than Jay.
Not elderly, but experienced.
His dark hair was streaked faintly with silver, and his posture carried the easy confidence of someone who had won more fights than he had lost.
His eyes settled on Emily again.
"You look exactly like I imagined."
Emily's wolf snarled.
"I don't think that's a compliment."
Marcus chuckled.
"You have your mother's eyes."
The words hit harder than expected.
Emily's stomach tightened.
"You knew my mother?"
Marcus shrugged again.
"Moonfall politics are complicated."
Jay stepped slightly in front of her.
"You don't say her name."
Marcus smirked.
"Still protective."
Emily stepped around Jay.
"Marcus."
The Bloodfang Alpha raised a brow.
"Yes?"
"You started this war."
Marcus spread his arms.
"I started a negotiation."
Emily laughed.
"That's not how wars work."
Marcus's gaze sharpened.
"You have something I want."
Emily's wolf surged.
"And you think threatening my pack is how you get it?"
Marcus gestured toward the warriors behind him.
"You could end this tonight."
Jay growled.
Marcus ignored him.
"Come with me."
The words hung in the night air.
Emily felt the silver energy inside her flare violently.
Marcus continued calmly.
"You belong with Bloodfang."
Jay's patience snapped.
He shifted instantly.
The massive black wolf burst forward down the slope toward the quarry.
Marcus smiled.
"Ah."
He shifted too.
The transformation was fast and brutal.
A massive dark wolf stood where the Bloodfang Alpha had been seconds earlier.
The battle exploded.
Blackridge warriors rushed down the slope.
Bloodfang wolves surged forward to meet them.
Emily's wolf roared inside her chest.
Silver energy flooded through her body.
Bones cracked.
Fur spread across her skin.
For the first time...
Emily fully shifted.
Her wolf burst into existence beside Jay.
But this wolf was different.
Her fur shimmered in the moonlight.
Silver.
The entire battlefield froze.
Even Marcus stopped moving.
The Bloodfang Alpha stared.
Then slowly...
He laughed.
The sound echoed across the quarry.
"Perfect."
Jay's black wolf stepped protectively in front of Emily's silver form.
Marcus's eyes gleamed.
"The silver wolf is real."
Emily bared her teeth.
Silver light rippled across her fur.
And for the first time since the war began...
She felt powerful.
Marcus's voice carried across the battlefield.
"Now the real hunt begins."
Jay growled.
And the battle truly began.