Chapter 8

Aaliyah POV

The scent hit me before the sound did. It was a sharp, breathtaking wave of cold cedar and first snow, slicing cleanly through the heavy herbal stench of my bedroom. My newly awakened White Wolf didn't just tremble; she let out a soft, desperate whine that vibrated deep against my ribs.

I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping the velvet blankets as I pushed my hyper-sensitive hearing past the estate walls, down to the bustling Pack Marketplace. Amidst the clatter of wooden carts and haggling merchants, I found the familiar, steady heartbeat of my ten-year-old brother, Caiden. He was standing near the bakery, the crinkle of a paper bag signaling he had secured my favorite blackberry pie.

But before he could leave, a loud, obnoxious scent of crashing ocean waves washed over my senses. Jaden Hunter. My sixteen-year-old playboy cousin.

"Lighten up, little man," Jaden's arrogant drawl echoed clearly in my ears. "You're ten, but you act like a grumpy Elder. Come with me to Beta Cloyd Hayes's estate. I hear they just smuggled in a feral beast for the underground fighting pits tonight."

"I have to bring this pie to my sister," Caiden replied, his young voice tight with annoyance. "She's ill."

I heard the subtle, heavy shift in the air-Jaden flexing his active Inner Wolf. Caiden, still a Wolfless pup who hadn't experienced his first Shift, let out a strained breath. He was entirely unable to resist the dominant aura of an older male.

"Fine," Caiden muttered, clearly miserable.

In my bedroom, I rubbed my temples. Jaden was an absolute headache.

"Good boy," Jaden laughed, the sound grating on my nerves. Then his voice shifted, calling out toward the edge of the market. "Hey! Stop meditating under that ancient pine tree and let's go."

The cedar and snow scent spiked instantly, so potent and overwhelming that it made my toes curl. Through my enhanced hearing, I caught Caiden's sharp intake of breath. The boy's heartbeat skyrocketed in pure terror.

"Relax, Caiden," Jaden said, though even his voice held a trace of forced bravado against the crushing pressure. "This is Lord Kameron Cross. The ninth son of the Cross Pack."

My blood ran cold. Lord Kameron Cross.

The rumors from the novel flooded my mind. He possessed a Lycan bloodline so violent and rare that his body couldn't handle it in his youth. He had spent over a decade in the Cloud Peak Sanctuary, living as an ascetic monk to suppress his Inner Wolf. He had sworn to sever all worldly bonds and serve the Moon Goddess forever-a vow that had reportedly made his mother, Luna Antonia, physically ill with grief.

"His older brother, Alpha Heir Collin, personally hired me," Jaden boasted quietly to Caiden, clearly proud of his secret mission. "My job? Drag the holy monk through every worldly pleasure the Pack lands have to offer. Fights, drinks, maybe even find him a Mate. Anything to stop him from going back to that freezing mountain to die alone."

I could hear the rustle of heavy fabric as Kameron presumably stepped forward. He didn't speak a single word, but his suffocating, icy aura was answer enough.

"Come on," Jaden continued, his footsteps crunching on the dirt path. "We'll drop your pie off at the Dowager's Estate for Aaliyah first, and then we hit the fighting pits."

My eyes snapped open.

They were coming here. Jaden, my reluctant little brother, and the ascetic Lycan whose mere scent was currently making my blood boil and my soul ache with an inexplicable, terrifying hunger.

I threw off the heavy velvet blankets, my bare feet hitting the cold hardwood floor as my heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs.