The Debt of the Unmarked

The irons were too weighty for my wrists.

The scraping sound grated against my nerves as I dragged it across the stone on my way to the door. Every step had a ponderous, echoing quality in the hallway, as if to count off seconds until I would die - or not my death but someone else's.

My brother walked beside me.

"Elara," Kian whispered. With hands that gripped, tho' did not grasp for me, a guard thrust him before I felt his sleeve.

"Eyes down," one of them barked.

Kian did as he was told.

At the end of the hall was the Alpha Council..the five leaders crafted from power and age, seated beneath the black banners of the Shadow Pack. And in front of them stood the one person whom everyone was afraid of.

Alpha Silas Vane.

The Blind Alpha.

His eyes were pale and vacant, unfocused, blank, not looking at anything. Across his right brow ran a scar, then followed it into his hair of silver.

He offered no reaction when we stopped in front of him. Didn't have to. The room was beginning to accommodate his presence..

"State your plea," one of the elders said.

I knelt to the ground.

The stone dug into my skin.

‎

‎Cold and hard, The stone cut into my flesh. I buried my forehead in the ground, bowing.

‎

‎"My brother is not a traitor," I told him. My voice shook, but I didn't relent. "He followed orders. Let me make the payment for blood"

Silence fills the hall

I lifted my head just enough to see Silas's hand tighten around the black cane at his side. His jaw clenched.

"The war your pack started took my sight," he said. His voice was low, steady, deadly calm. "And it took my mate."

My chest grew tight.

"I know," I said in a soft voice.

His head turned toward me slowly. It was as though, even blind, he was looking right through my bones.

"There is only one debt that satisfies the Shadow Pack now," said the elder. "Marriage."

Kian's head jerked up. "No!

A guard slapped him on the back. He went to his knees with a grunt.

I lunged forward. "I accept,"

The words spilled from my mouth before fear could stop them.

Silas stated.

"You?" he asked. "An unmarked wolf?"

There were murmurations in the hall. Throughout, I could feel them as if lacerations on my flesh. Weak. Useless. Unselected by the Moon.

"Yes," I repeated. "Bind me to you. Spare my brother."

"I'm Silas," he said, holding out a hand.

He was silent for a moment. Then he said

"Come closer."

My legs trembled as I stood up. Then I took one step, followed by the second one. However, the distance separating us appeared to be too small, too burdensome. "When my fingers brushed his,"

The world erupted.

A flame rushed through my chest. My lungs seared. My knees wobbled as an ancient, sentient piece of me fell sharply into place.

"Mate"

The truth shouted in my veins.

Silas drew a swift breath. His grip on mine tightened, for only a moment. His face closed up.

He pulled his hand back.

"No," he said.

"The word 'cracked' like thunder."

Gasps echoed throughout the hall.

I reject her," Silas said, growing louder. "Before the council. Before the Moon. A traitor's daughter will never be my Luna. She is not worthy of being my eyes."

His words cut deeper than any sword.

I swayed, though I did not fall.

"Let her serve," he went on. "Let her learn what her bloodline owes."

The elder nodded. "So decreed."

Chains were unlocked from my wrists – and then replaced with thinner ones.

The chains of Kian was dragged off alive.

I did not look at him. I would have broken if I had.

I cleaned blood-stains on the training hall floor that night.

My fingers were sore. My knees hurt. My thin dress was soaking wet with sweat.

******

"Missed a spot."

I flinched

Silas stood in the doorway, his cane tapping once against the stones. His head turned slightly, listening.

"I'll clean it," I replied, looking down.

He drew closer. Too close.

"I smell fear," he said. "And defiance."

My grip on the rag tightened.

"Look at me," he ordered.

I hesitated.

His cane tapped the floor sharply,warningly.

I raised my head.

His empty eyes locked with mine. My chest ached where the bond pulsed, denied but not dead

"You will speak only when spoken to," he said.

"You will move only when ordered."

"Yes, Alpha."

A flicker crossed his face. Something unreadable.

" Guide me, " he said abruptly.

My breath caught. "What?"

"Walk ahead," he said. "Describe the path."

I swallowed. Then stepped forward.

"Three steps," I said softly. "There's a bench to your left. A pillar ahead."

His steps behind mine, sure and precise.

When he stumbled-

I reached back, uncaring.

My fingers brushed his wrist.

The bond flared.

In that instant, I was not seeing through my eyes alone.

I saw through his.

The hall flowered in my mind's eye-shapes, light, motion. His world. Shared.

Silas froze.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

I yanked my hand away, my heart pounding.

"I-I don't know."

He stood very still. Then his head turned slowly towards me.

For the first time since the rejection, his voice shook.

"I can see," he whispered.

Silas's breath hitched.

The word still vibrated between us, a fragile and provocative word. I was frozen, and my fingers looped back down to my palm ..maybe it was still there if I just held on tight enough.

"I can see," he added, this time loudly.

Then it vanished.

His shoulders stiffened. His jaw locked. He blinked once - twice, and whatever he just saw vanished like a puff of smoke.

His eyes filled with darkness again.

He reached out and restrained me by the wrist.

"What did you do?" His voice was sharp now, no tremor left. "Do not lie to me."

Pain flared where his fingers dug in, but I didn't pull away.

"I swear, Alpha, I don't understand it either," I said. "When I touched you, something...something opened."

His grip tightened.

"You touched me without permission."

"I was stopping you from falling."

Silence pressed down on us. The hall seemed smaller, the shadows denser. A door banged in the distance. Boots echoed. Life went on, oblivious to the impossible thing that had just occurred.

Silas dropped me so fast I did not even hit the ground, as if he could barely hold me above it, stepping back like I was on fire.

"Leave," he said.

I bowed my head. "Yes, Alpha."

"Not into the servant quarters," he added. "You stay."

My head snapped up.

He turned his back to me, standing rigidly straight and gripping his cane in a white-knuckled hold.

Then it is dangerous, he said to himself, in case what you have done was real. And if it was a trick-"

"It wasn't," I said.

He faced me slowly.

"Then you will prove it," he said. And in case you are lying, I will cut your tongue.

I swallowed. "I understand."

He took one step toward me. Then another.

"Touch me again," he said.

My heart crashed against my ribs.

"Now."

I hesitated only a second. Then I lifted my hand.

My hand touched his garment.

Nothing.

Fear crept up my spine.

"Closer," he said.

I leaned over until my breath landed on his chest. I touched his skin with my palm slowly and carefully.

The bond flared.

Light flooded my mind.

The hall leaped into clear focus, stone walls, flickering torches, and the slight crack in the ceiling above us. In a polished shield in the room I had a glimpse of myself. Pale. Wide-eyed.

And through it all, I felt him.

His tension. His anger. His sorrow--ancient and profound, as a bleeding wound.

Silas sucked in a breath.

Do not move, he said in a low shaken voice.

He put up his hand gradually as though he was in fear that the world would shatter were he to move too swiftly.

"What do you see?" he asked.

On your right there is a torch, I said. "Your cane is near your foot. Your banner in the background is ragged at the corner.

His throat bobbed.

"Guide me."

I moved away but retained my hand on him.

"One step forward," I said. "Now left."

He moved...Perfectly.

One step became more and more certain. His shoulders eased. His breathing slowed.

It was the first time I had seen him look alive since I saw him.

Then I felt it.

A sharp pull in my chest.

The vision flickered.

I gasped and stumbled back. The hall disappeared in my overmind like a blown candle.

Silas froze.

"No," he said. "Bring it back."

"I can't," I whispered. My knees weakened. "It hurts."

He stood there breathing hard, again gazing into the darkness.

As he turned to me his face was again closed. Cold Alpha.

"You will tell no one," he said.

I nodded quickly.

Should the council know of this they will tear you to pieces to make use of what you can do, he added. and should my foes know it (they will kill thee to make me blind for ever).

A chill ran through me.

You will go to my apartments every night, he said. "In secret. You will be my eyes."

My heart skipped.

"And in public?" I asked quietly.

His mouth twisted in a sadistic manner.

"In public, you are nothing."

The following days were lost in some muted form of torture.

By morning I was back to the service.

I cleaned the floors and nobles went past me without even looking at me. I was taking trays and warriors whispered and laughed at my back.

One of them muttered something behind me, "Rejected mate."

I kept my head down.

But at night...

By night I stood by the Blind Alpha and gave him the world.

We ran along secret passages and unhearing rooms. I talked about maps, faces, weapons. He was a good listener, and he would listen keenly and pose questions, correct me where I erred.

One night he said to me: You are nervous.

I stiffened. "I'm not."

You are breathing too quick, he answered. "Slow down."

I did...our hands brushed.

The connection throbbed, regular now as a mutual pulse.

"You don't fear me," he said.

"I should," I replied.

"But you don't."

I didn't answer.

One night, he laughed.

The sound startled both of us.

I froze. He went still.

"What?" I asked.

I did not remember what it was like, he thought.

Something in my chest ached.

Then something out of the ordinary occurred.

An alarm horn broke the air in one of the council meetings.

Silas drew himself rigidly by the table.

"Assassins," someone shouted.

Steel rang. Chaos exploded.

Warriors rushed over me as I was pushed to the floor. Fear clawed at my throat.

Silas stood alone....Blind.

Exposed.

I ran up to him, without considering, and caught him by the arm.

The vision banged into position.

"Behind you!" I shouted.

He spun, sword flashing. Blood sprayed the floor.

"Left!" I cried. "Two more!"

He was like death itself, steered as by my voice, by my eye.

At the end of it all, there were dead bodies. The hall reeked of blood.

Silas turned to me slowly.

Every eye followed....His hand clumped my hand.

And for the first time..

He did not let go.

The room fell silent.

The council stared.

The relationship blazed white and unquestionable.

Silas's jaw clenched.

Too late....They had seen.

And I knew somewhere within myself..

Everything was about to burn.

The hall went silent. Blood covered the stone floor. The last assassin lay dead by the council table, eyes wide and empty. My fingers were still wrapped around Silas's wrist.

We both realized it at the same time.

Slowly, he pulled his hand away.

The bond between us screamed.

I stumbled back, breathing too fast. Everyone in the room stared at me-the elders, warriors, and nobles. Whispers spread like a rising storm.

"She helped him..."

"Did you see that?"

"The servant-"

Silas stood up straight, his face like stone.

"Enough," he said.

The room quieted instantly.

He lifted his chin, staring straight ahead with empty eyes. "Clear the bodies. Lock the gates. Nobody leaves this hall until I say so."

Warriors moved at once.

One of the elders, Elder Kael, stepped forward. His mouth was tight, his gaze sharp.

"Alpha," Kael said slowly, "you fought like you could see."

Silas said nothing.

Kael's eyes shifted to me. "And she moved like your shadow."

Every word felt like a knife.

"She is my servant," Silas said. "Nothing more."

My chest tightened.

Kael smiled a little. "Then why was she touching you during battle?"

Everyone in the room leaned in closer.

Silas's jaw tightened.

"She panicked," he said. "I used her as a shield."

A low sound of disapproval went through the crowd.

My stomach dropped-but I didn't move. I didn't try to explain myself. I kept my eyes on the floor, like servants were taught to do.

Kael looked me over. "Look at me, girl."

I slowly lifted my head.

His gaze sharpened. "You're not hurt. You're weak. Yet you stood by the Alpha while trained warriors fell."

I swallowed.

"Just a coincidence," Silas said coldly.

Kael turned back to him. "Or something much more dangerous."

The Alpha's cane hit the floor once.

"This council is dismissed," Silas said. "We'll talk about this later."

The elders paused.

Then they bowed.

As the hall emptied, Silas turned sharply to me.

"Leave," he whispered. "Now."

I didn't argue.

I made it halfway down the corridor before his hand grabbed my arm, pulling me into a dark side passage.

The door slammed shut behind us.

"What were you thinking?" he demanded.

"I was thinking you were about to die," I shot back.

He froze.

The torchlight showed his face-anger, fear, and something raw underneath.

"You exposed us," he said. "You exposed me."

"You pulled me into the fight," I said. My voice was shaking now. "You didn't let go."

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

Then his shoulders drooped-just a bit.

"They'll investigate," he said quietly. "The council doesn't ignore miracles. Or weapons."

My heart sank.

"I don't want this power," I whispered. "I never asked for it."

He laughed once, a sharp, bitter sound. "Neither did I."

Footsteps echoed outside.

Silas stood up straight. "Go to the kitchens," he said. "Act scared. Act small."

I nodded.

As I turned to leave, his hand brushed mine.

The bond pulsed.

His fingers curled-then let go.

That night, they took my brother.

I was carrying water to the servant quarters when the horns sounded again. Not battle horns.

Prison horns.

My stomach twisted.

I ran.

The dungeon doors were open. Guards stood along the hall. And in between them-Kian.

His hands were tied. His face was bruised.

"No," I breathed.

He looked up. His eyes found mine.

"Elara," he said hoarsely. "Don't-"

A guard pushed him forward.

"By order of the council," Kael announced, "the brother of the traitor's daughter is called for questioning."

"Questioning?" I stepped forward. "You promised-"

Silas's voice cut through the hall. "Take him."

My head snapped toward him.

His face was hard. Unreadable.

Kian was dragged away.

I didn't scream....I didn't beg.

I walked straight to Silas and dropped to my knees.

"Please," I said quietly. "This is my fault. Not his."

Silas didn't move.

"Look at me," I whispered.

Slowly, he turned his head toward my voice.

"I'll do anything," I said. "Guide you. Obey you. Let me help you lead. Just don't let them break him."

His breath caught.

"You're already doing those things," he said.

"Then use me," I said. "But don't punish him."

Silas crouched in front of me. His hand moved near my face-stopping just before touching.

"They think you're more than you appear," he said softly. "If I protect your brother now, it proves them right."

Tears burned my eyes

"I can't lose him," I whispered.

Silas closed his eyes.

"I already lost everything," he said. "If I choose you, I risk my pack."

"If you don't," I said, "you lose me."

The words came out before fear could stop them.

The bond flared.

Silas took a sharp breath.

"Go," he said suddenly, standing up. "Before I change my mind."

I stumbled back.

"Alpha.."..."Go."

I ran.

Later that night, I was called to his rooms.

The room smelled of smoke and steel. Silas stood near the window, his back to me.

"They're calling you a spy," he said. "A witch. A Moon-born curse."

I swallowed. "What will you do?"

He turned slowly.

"I will pretend to punish you," he said.

My breath hitched.

"In three days," he continued, "you will stand before the council. They expect punishment."

My heart pounded.

"And Kian?" I asked.

Silas's jaw tightened.

"He will be let go," he said. "Quietly."

Relief washed over me.

"But after that," he said, stepping closer, "you belong to me in ways no one can see."

His hand lifted.

"From the shadows," he murmured, "you will be my eyes."

His fingers brushed mine.

The bond sparked-stronger than ever.

And far away, hidden from both of us, a pair of watching eyes narrowed in the dark.

The enemy had found me.