Chapter 3 CHA

"Did I hit it, Mama? Did you see?"

Leo stood in the frost-covered training yard, chest heaving under a tunic of black fox fur. At five years old, he carried the heavy weight of a predator. He held a silver-tipped spear, his eyes fixed on a wooden post split clean down the center.

"Your aim was high, Leo," Elara's voice drifted from the stone balcony. "But your power was sufficient. Next time, control the strike. An Alpha does not just destroy; he selects."

Elara descended the stone staircase with a lethal grace. She was no longer the trembling Omega dragged to the Death Lands. Draped in heavy velvet and shadow, her hair fastened by a moonstone circlet, she was the Shadow Queen of the North.

"You're thinking about him again," Leo said, tilting his head. His nostrils flared, catching the scent of bitter ash.

Elara stopped at the base of the stairs. "I am thinking about your lessons. Your inner wolf is restless."

"He wants to run," Leo admitted, looking toward the ice-capped mountains. "He says there are other wolves who need to know we're coming."

Elara brushed the golden hair from his forehead. Leo was the image of Kael-the same jaw, the same stubborn shoulders-but his power was ancient. It was Silver.

"The world isn't ready for what you are, Leo," she whispered. "Not yet."

A commander approached, dropping to one knee. "My Queen. The Northern packs are united. There is no one left in the Frost-Lands who does not swear fealty to the Shadow Throne."

"Good. What news from the South?"

The commander glanced at Leo before answering. "The Silver Moon Pack is struggling. Their lands are plagued by the Blight. Alpha Kael has spent years trying to find a cure for the 'Luna's Curse' falling over his territory."

Elara felt a cold spark of satisfaction. The land was rejecting Sarah. Without the true Silver Lycan to anchor it, the territory was dying.

"Let them starve," Elara said. "Let them see if Sarah's silk dresses can feed their pups."

"There is more," the commander said, holding out a scroll sealed with a hated crest.

Elara took the parchment. The faint scent of sandalwood and rain-Kael's scent-clung to it like poison.

"He doesn't know who you are," Silas rasped, stepping from the shadows. He had aged, but his eyes remained sharp. "He thinks the North is ruled by a reclusive warlord. He's desperate, Elara. He's calling for a Continental Alpha Summit."

Elara broke the seal.

To the Sovereign of the Northern Wastes. Our borders are failing. I, Alpha Kael of the Silver Moon, invite you to discuss a treaty of survival. We offer gold, steel, and hospitality.

"Hospitality," Elara scoffed. "He offers hospitality to a graveyard."

"You shouldn't go, Mama," Leo said, gripping his training spear. "The man who sent this is bad. I can feel it. He feels like a hole in the world."

Elara looked down at her son. She had built this fortress so he would never have to beg for a place to belong.

"He is a hole in the world, Leo. But a hole needs to be closed."

"You're going," Silas stated.

"I'm going," Elara confirmed. "But not as the girl thrown to the rogues. I go as the woman who owns the air he breathes."

"He will recognize you," Silas warned. "A man doesn't forget the face of the woman he murdered in his heart."

"Let him," Elara's eyes flashed a lethal silver. "I want to see the blood drain from his face when he realizes the 'weak Omega' is the only thing standing between him and annihilation."

"And the boy?" the commander asked. "The South is dangerous for an heir."

"He comes with me. It is time he sees the man who thought we were nothing."

"The North will follow," the commander said. "Five hundred Enforcers?"

"Two dozen," Elara said. "I want him to think I am vulnerable. I want him to think he can charm the Shadow Queen."

Leo watched his mother give orders, her voice steady and cold. A wild, savage joy bubbled in his chest. He didn't know the whole story, but he knew the Silver Moon was the home of the "Bad Alpha."

He walked to the split post and touched the jagged wood.

We're going home, little King, a voice whispered in his mind-the ancient Silver spirit.

Leo smiled. "I'll show him," he whispered. "I'll show him what a real Alpha looks like."

In her private chambers, Elara stared at a black-and-silver gown reinforced with silver thread. Beside it lay a lace veil to obscure her features. She pulled a tarnished silver ring from a jewelry box-the only thing she had kept from her childhood with Kael.

She dropped the ring and crushed it beneath her boot.

She wasn't going back for a reunion. She was going back for a reckoning.

"Mama? The carriage is ready," Leo said from the doorway. He looked like a miniature prince of the night in his travel leathers.

Elara smoothed her dress. "Then let's not keep the Alpha waiting."

She stepped into the hall, her heels clicking like a countdown. Guards struck their spears against the floor in a deafening salute. They moved toward the gates, toward the south, toward the man who thought he had ended her.

As the motorcade rolled out, Elara felt a sharp pang-not the bond, but a premonition. A dark, oily feeling.

She looked out the window. A single raven with glowing yellow eyes watched them pass.

"The Summit is a lie," Elara whispered.

"Then we'll make it a truth," Leo replied, his eyes flashing silver in the carriage light.