Chapter 1 THE PRICE OF PRIDE

The scent of iron and smoke still lingered in the air as Alpha Kael Nightborne stood at the edge of the Blackfang border, his sharp gray eyes locked on the horizon. His warriors flanked him in tight formation, silent and watchful. Even the birds had stopped singing.

A truce. That's what the letter had promised.

But Kael trusted promises about as much as he trusted fate.

The arrival of the Mooncrest delegation was announced by the distant rumble of hooves and the sharp rustling of carriage wheels tearing through the frostbitten dirt. The early spring wind howled through the trees, tugging at his black fur cloak and tousling his ink-dark hair, but Kael stood unbothered, a pillar of ice in a kingdom on edge.

He didn't move when the carriage stopped. He didn't blink when the guards dismounted. But when the door creaked open and she stepped out, everything inside him stilled.

Aria Stormveil.

She wore a deep red cloak lined with silver, her raven-black hair tumbling over her shoulders like a waterfall of defiance. Her chin was tilted high, her emerald eyes glittering with rebellion. Not a trace of fear. Not even caution.

Their eyes met.

And the wolf in him growled.

Not in anger. Not in hunger.

In challenge.

Aria surveyed the Blackfang warriors before her, then turned to him as if he were no more important than the wind whipping through the trees.

"So this is the savage king I'm to marry?" she said, voice laced with scorn.

Kael didn't flinch. "And you must be the brat who thinks peace means surrender."

Her jaw clenched. The tension between them crackled like lightning.

Perfect.

Let her hate him. Let her resist. It would make this farce easier to forget.

"King Nightborne," said Alpha Toren Stormveil, striding forward behind his daughter, flanked by his wolves. His voice was calm, too calm. "We come in peace, as agreed."

Kael didn't offer his hand. "Then let's not waste time pretending we're here for any other reason."

"Agreed," Toren said coolly, before gesturing toward his daughter. "My daughter. Your future Luna. The bond between our packs begins today."

Aria took a step forward, her lips pressed into a hard line. Kael expected fear. Expected hesitation.

What he got was a scoff.

"I didn't come here to beg for your attention," she said sharply. "This is a political deal. Let's get it over with."

The gall. The audacity.

But Kael felt something stir beneath his skin.

Admiration?

No. That was weakness. This marriage was strategy. Not fate. Not desire.

Still, the wolf in him watched her like prey.

"You'll speak to your king with respect," Kael said, voice low and hard.

"I'll speak to you as a woman forced into a cage," she shot back. "Respect is earned, not demanded."

A dangerous silence fell.

Then Kael turned on his heel.

"Follow me."

He didn't look back to see if she obeyed. The guards parted for him like shadows.

Aria fell into step beside him anyway, her boots crunching over the frozen leaves. The warriors glanced at her with thinly veiled curiosity-some hostile, others intrigued. Kael's people weren't used to outsiders, much less a Mooncrest heir.

He led her through the towering black pines of the forest path, toward the heart of Blackfang territory. The air grew colder the deeper they went, the trees older, the silence heavier.

"Where's your court?" she asked eventually, breaking the quiet.

Kael didn't answer.

"Fine," she muttered. "Silent brooding. Classic Alpha behavior."

Still, he didn't respond. Words were wasted on enemies. And she was still an enemy, no matter what title she'd soon bear.

But when they reached the ridge, and the grand, dark fortress of Nightborne Keep came into view-its spires scraping the sky, its black stone walls rising like ancient sentinels-Aria halted.

For a heartbeat, she said nothing.

Then, almost to herself, "It's... beautiful."

Kael turned his head slightly. "This is not a place for beauty. It's a place for survival."

She met his gaze. "So which am I to you, Kael? Beauty or survival?"

Her use of his name was deliberate. A taunt.

He stepped closer, letting his presence tower over her. "Neither. You're a price. One I'll pay for peace."

She stared up at him, defiant even now. "Then let's make one thing clear, Alpha. I might be a pawn in this game, but I will not be your prisoner."

Kael's lips curved into something like a smirk. "We'll see."

---

That night, the castle was quieter than usual.

Kael sat in the war chamber, the map of the territories spread before him, candles flickering in the dim light. His Beta, Ronin, leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"She's not what we expected," Ronin said.

"She's a Stormveil," Kael muttered. "They breed vipers."

Ronin raised a brow. "Vipers don't usually look like that."

Kael shot him a warning glare. "Don't."

Ronin held up his hands. "Fine. But you should know-your wolves are watching. The council is watching. If you treat her like an enemy, this peace won't last."

"She is an enemy."

"She's your Luna now."

Kael said nothing.

Ronin sighed. "You know the laws, Kael. A mating ceremony must be held within the first full moon of union. That's in three nights."

Kael rose to his feet. "It's not a true bond."

"But it could be," Ronin said quietly.

Kael's eyes burned like coals. "No. I had a true mate once. She died for my mistake. I won't make it again."

Ronin didn't argue. He never did when Kael went quiet like this.

But the silence was thick. Heavy. Haunted.

Kael turned away from the maps.

Let them all watch. Let them doubt.

He would not love again.

---

Aria stood at the window of her chamber, staring out at the forest below. The moon was rising, pale and sharp, casting silver over the dark stone.

She hadn't expected the castle to be this... lonely.

No attendants. No welcome. Just a cold, vast room with towering ceilings and a single bed.

She was no prisoner, but she might as well be.

Still, she refused to cry.

She'd known what was coming the moment her father proposed the pact. She was the youngest of four daughters, the only one still unpromised. Mooncrest needed peace, and she was the cost.

But even so, she hadn't expected Kael Nightborne to be so-closed. So icy. So unreadable.

And why, gods, was he so distracting?

Aria gritted her teeth and turned from the window, pacing the room.

She would find her place here. She would make this kingdom respect her. She would not fade into the shadow of a man who clearly wanted nothing to do with her.

She was a Stormveil.

And she didn't bow.

---

The next morning, the council convened.

Kael sat at the head of the long table, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. Aria entered beside him, her back straight, dressed in silver and black-a deliberate echo of Blackfang colors.

The council elders muttered among themselves, surprised by her presence.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, taking a seat beside Kael. "If I'm to be your Luna, I should know how your court operates."

Kael gave her a sidelong glance. "You assume you'll be heard."

"I speak loudly."

A few elders smirked.

Kael's jaw twitched.

The meeting proceeded-territorial disputes, supply shortages, rogue sightings on the eastern border. Aria listened, silent and observant, until one of the elders mentioned a border patrol plan that would send Mooncrest wolves into shared territory without notice.

Aria's hand slammed the table.

"You can't do that."

The room stilled.

The elder blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You're not sending armed wolves into Mooncrest land without protocol. That's not peacekeeping, that's provocation."

Kael raised a brow. "You speak like a warrior."

"I am one."

"She is correct," said another elder reluctantly. "If we overstep so soon, it could spark resentment."

Aria leaned back, cool and composed. "Glad someone here is thinking long-term."

Kael watched her, unreadable.

After the meeting, as the elders filed out, he turned to her.

"You surprised them."

"I wasn't trying to."

"But you did."

"Does that bother you, King?" she asked, voice light but sharp.

Kael didn't answer.

Because the truth was-yes.

She did bother him.

More than she should.