Perhaps the chaos heir had the right idea after all. Perhaps it was time for old blood to spill and new blood to rise.
Chapter
Six
Silas
The scent trail went cold at the edge of Trailblazer Courtyard. My wolf had tracked Barbie’s path, nose to the ground over every inch, and found nothing but the lingering taste of vortex magic that made my fur stand on end. Whatever had taken the bride candidates, it hadn’t left through any realm I could follow.
It was time to return to my kingdom and demand answers from my Alpha mother. Through the leyline, I reached Fangmire Forest, where the pack gathered for our bi-weekly runs. The trees stretched overhead. The air tasted of moss, maples, pines, and the musky scent of countless shifters.
The pack had just assembled. Wolves, bears, foxes, and big cats moved through the underbrush in controlled chaos. Wolves made up the majority in my shifter kingdom.
At the center of the clearing stood Queen Melissa in her human form, every inch the alpha who had ruled our kingdom for three decades. Frank, my stepfather, flanked her left side, amassive black wolf who had earned his place through strength and cunning. To her right stood my half-sister, Thyra, already partially shifted with bared canines and glowing amber eyes that fixed on me as if I were prey.
The entire kingdom knew I wasn’t Frank’s blood, though the identity of my true father remained a closely guarded secret. I had my suspicions, which was why I’d never gotten along with Killian. But we had a far greater problem than our rivalry now.
“Alpha.” I pushed through the crowd toward my mother, shoving aside a few burly bears in my path and ignoring the submissive whines of lesser shifters. “I need to speak with you. The bride candidates?—”
“Get in line and come back later,brother,” Thyra said, stepping forward to block my path. In her human form, she barely reached my chest, but her warrior form towered a few inches over my human form. “This is our run. Don’t ruin it. You haven’t joined us for so many moons, as if our traditions and family bonds mean nothing to you.”
The whole forest fell silent as her defiant voice carried through the trees.
My face heated, but I reined in my rising rage.
“Watch how you speak to me,” I warned, my voice low. “I’m still the heir, and you are not.”
“Not for long, Silas,” she shot back, her stance radiating open challenge. “You’ve neglected your duty. While you’ve been playing house with the vampire prince, our enemy, I’ve been here doing your job: guarding our borders.”
“I’ve been defending the realm by fighting the Shriekers!” I growled. “If they breach the academy, no kingdom will be safe, and there’ll be no forest left for you to run in.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” she snarled back. “You should step down as heir. You aren’t strong enough to hold this kingdom when the time comes.”
I’d known this day would arrive. I’d hoped she might cool her head and temper her ambition, but while I was at the academy, she’d secured an exemption from attending as a bride candidate and clearly planned this move behind my back.
I looked to my mother, but she remained neutral. For the first time, she wasn’t backing me up. My stepfather nodded at his daughter in open approval.
“I don’t have fucking time for this.” I kept my voice level, proud of my control even as rage boiled beneath the surface. “Step aside, Thyra. I won’t ask twice. I need to discuss an urgent matter with the alpha.”
“What’s the matter?” she sneered.
“It doesn’t fucking concern you,” I said coldly.
“Oh yeah?” Her grin showed too many teeth. “Make me move, then. Or has the great Prince Silas grown too soft? Everyone knows you bend the knee to the chaos heir now, following him around like a trained pup.”
The crowd gasped before the forest fell into a dead silence. Even the wind seemed to still, as if the elements themselves were holding their breath, waiting for the showdown.
My stepfather’s eyes glinted with anticipation. He’d never hidden his preference for his blood daughter over his stepson. The queen remained silent, her face unreadable, a clear sign that something dark was unfolding behind the scenes, and even my mother had lost confidence in me.
I felt my fangs beginning to push through. I’d only been away from the court for a short time, fighting on the front lines to keep all kingdoms safe, and already a coup was brewing.
“Enough!” I snarled, my jaw clenching at the mention of Killian. Since childhood, I’d lived in his shadow. Stronger, faster, more ruthless, he had always outshone me in everyone’s eyes. Even after we’d formed the Covenant, after we’d moved from rivals to true brothers, the comparison still stung.
“No! It’s time everyone sees who you really are.” Thyra circled me, her movements lithe and predatory. I almost laughed at her confidence, at her belief that I would simply roll over and show my belly. “You call yourself a prince, but you’re just Killian’s?—”
“Choose your next words very carefully,” I warned, my voice low yet deadly.
“—bitch.”
