The walls of the safe room felt like they were caving in. The word “murderer” rang in my ears. I almost forgot how to breathe.

“Selina...” Finn started, uncharacteristically softly given the way he had burst into my life.

“No...” I started. The static hummed loudly in my mind. Angrily, demanding answers I wasn't sure I was ready for. I checked the door lock and began stuffing supplies into a duffel bag - clothes, dry food, bottled water, knives, medicine and bandages. “That's absurd. My mother was not murdered...”

“Alpha, she was indeed - in order for Kaelin to take over the Blackwood pack he killed your mother so he could take her place. And now he is coming for you - the only person who could stop him.” Elias explained frantically. “Which is why we need to get you out of here.”

I felt like I was losing my mind. The stench of earth, blood and sweat was overwhelming in the tight, claustrophobic space. Elias was panicking in a corner now, crying hysterically, physically overwhelmed by the fear of the situation.

Murdered? My mother was a florist who died in a sterile hospital bed while I was a baby. That's what Karina told me. That's the only truth I own. This... this man in the corner, this 'Elias,' is talking about queens and coups like we're in a bad Renaissance fair. It's a lie. It has to be.

“Elias - calm down I can't concentrate” the demand came out once again with that authoritative haze that smelled like burnt ozone and silver. He immediately shifted, straightening himself up, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes.

“My mother was a florist not some cult leader... She died in hospital when I was a baby after being hit by a car...” My whole life this is what Aunt Karina told me. I was beginning to question everything. Was what they were saying true? Was Karina even really my aunt? Confusion and doubt flooded my senses.

“Not a cult Alpha, our Pack, our family of wolves. You are the heir, the legacy of the Blackwood pack” Elias tried to explain. Finn shot him a look, anger, disgust, betrayal all at once. Elias immediately cowered back to the corner.

“Wolves? What the fuck are you talking about? Are you insane?” What absolute tosh. These men were clearly crazy. Maybe they had escaped from a nearby lunatic asylum....

The noise above our heads was sudden. I sensed six heartbeats. I could hear the sound of heavy boots destroying the life I had built for myself, searching for something I prayed they would not find - me.

The static came through clearer now. 'Listen to them Selina. They are telling you a truth whether you are ready or not.'

“How are you even standing?” I demanded of the man I'd had to drag into my cabin not even 30 minutes before.

“Our wolves, they heal us. Look.” He gestured to Finn's face. “You cut him, deeply. Wipe away the blood.”

I leaned forward and with my sleeve and cautiously wiped the blood from Finn's face. I watched in a trance as the jagged red line of the wound pulled itself together, the skin knitting with an unnatural, silver-white glow until it was as smooth as marble - like nothing had ever happened.

I backed away until I felt the cold of the stone wall against my back, my face twisted in fear.

“But... how? I cut you! Why is there no mark?” I demanded, my voice trembled yet the air once again thickened with my authority.

Finn's golden eyes glowed fiercely in the darkness. "There are no scars for us, Selina. Not from a simple blade. Our bodies don't allow the weakness of a slow heal."

This. Could. Not. Be. Happening. I was dreaming. I was going to wake up and have a right laugh at myself about this stupidly elaborate story.

“There's more.” Elias cleared his throat, glancing towards me then looking straight back down at the floor as if his gaze on me was forbidden.

“Kaelin wasn't just a rival; he was Adelaide's trusted advisor. He betrayed our pack for a "forbidden power" - the same power he thinks is hidden in your blood Alpha.” His voice cracked as he spoke.

My blood ran cold but when Finn spoke it nearly froze.

"He didn't just kill her. He tried to drain her. He wanted the Silver Spark for himself. But the Spark died with her... or so we thought until I smelled you in the woods."

Smelled me? What the...

“You are one of us Selina. Let us protect you. We need to get out of here.” Finn told me sincerely, his glowing eyes pressing into mine with a certainty that made my heart flutter but left my head feeling more confused than ever. 'We can trust them. They are kin.' The static told me but I still wasn't convinced.

“But... I...I'm human...” I stuttered.

“No Selina.” Finn told me. He looked me dead in the eyes. His voice didn't hit my ears; it erupted inside my mind, a deep, resonant hum that bypassed my senses and spoke directly to my soul. I froze, mouth gaping, body cold.

'Did you ever wonder why you lived like this? Why you had such strict rules? Why you weren't like other girls. How you survived like this? Your stronger instincts and senses, your power, your need to hunt. You are one of us.'

I gasped collapsing to the floor. The truth hit me in waves. The way Elias had said my claws were itching to burst out, my feral need to hunt, to kill, my predatory need. The static....

'Yes Selina. I am your wolf. I am a part of yourself you can no longer deny. They are our Kin Selina. Trust them. Danger is imminent, we need to leave now.'

“Karina, she used herbs as scent blockers to keep you safe, she felt you would be safer if you had no idea who you were.” Elias explained softly.

Every single thing about my life suddenly made sense. My aunt had lied to me my whole life so who even was I?

Suddenly the rumbling above quietened, the creak of the trap door sending a shiver down my spine, cold sweat coating my neck.

“I promise I will tell you everything Alpha.” Elias was practically begging now. “But we have. to. go. now!”

I reached up to detonate the explosives lining the tunnels. What had felt like over kill not long before suddenly felt essential. There was a loud boom and the earth rumbled as the explosives went off and the tunnels began to collapse. The smell of disturbed earth, burnt ozone and copper filled the atmosphere. I pushed open the door to the tunnels on the other side.

Suddenly, my ears rang, the static in my head cleared and I froze as I felt the intrusion. It was similar to what Finn had done but without that underlying trust that I had felt grounding me in his eyes.

A voice like silk dragged over broken glass cut through the static - chilled, predatory, and dangerously intimate. “The Hound is a beautiful liar, isn't he? He hides his bloodstained hands behind a 'mate' bond. Ask him, Little Alpha... how many of your kin did he hunt before he found you?”

Mate bond... the word mate had surfaced between us a few times now. That seemed to be the reason he stopped trying to kill me and supposedly was trying to save me. I gasped, holding my hand to my head as I stumbled, eyes locked on Finn's, filled with horror.

'Finn is our fated mate Selina. I felt it the second our eyes met - and so did you.' The static pressed through the intrusion, grounding me.

He looked at me, almost like he knew what was happening.

“Selina? Who is in there?” He asked quietly, wrapping his arms around my waist as if he had anticipated my stumble.

Who are you? I pushed back desperately hoping it would work. This was not something I had ever experienced before

'My name is Malakai. I'll be ready when you are my love. You know how to find me.'

Finn's hand reached for mine, the heat of his skin promising protection, but Malakai's whisper still echoed in my skull. Was I being rescued by my soulmate, or was I just being traded from one executioner to another? Was I falling into the arms of my destiny, or was I simply walking to a different silver cage?

The tunnel emerged into a cave on the edge of the woods. As we came through the sensory overload hit - the acceptance of my wolf heightening my senses and causing me to come alive.

The wind didn't just brush past me; it carried a library of secrets. I could taste the ancient history of the pines and the sharp, ozone-soaked warning of the storm. I heard the erratic, terrified heartbeat of a mouse burying itself in the roots. Beneath that, the heavy, rhythmic thud of Finn's heart sounded like a war drum, steady and dangerously calm. The air tasted like information. Pine sap, damp decay, the metallic tang of ozone from the storm clouds gathering... and something else. Something sour and yellow. Fear. It was coming from Elias.

He paused suddenly, pulling a small, obsidian vial from his pocket.

"Here, apply this" I took the vial cautiously, staring deep into his eyes causing him to cower and avert his gaze to the floor.

"What is it?" I demanded, that thick, dominant fog filling the air once again.

"This will mask the 'Silver-Aura' radiating from your blood. To Kaelin's trackers, you'll smell like nothing more than wet earth and old ash". Finn's eyes flashed a dangerous gold. He didn't want me masked; he wanted me branded. He looked like he wanted to smash the vial, but he stepped back, his jaw tight enough to snap.

I uncorked the bottle, my senses filling with the overwhelming scent of nettle and ash. I looked over to Finn. His eyes filled with conflict. He growled, a low rumble that vibrated in my chest. He stepped between me and Elias.

"You're covering the only thing that proves she's alive." He snarled possessively.

"I'm covering the thing that will get her killed! If Kaelin's trackers catch a whiff of the Silver Blood, they won't just capture her, Finn. They'll skin her." Elias pleaded.

I looked at them both, then I looked at the vial. Survival was of the utmost. I cautiously dabbed the edge of the bottle against my neck on both sides.

Finn looked pained his thoughts filling my head. 'You shouldn't be hiding your scent. You should be blending it with mine. I am your mate, you are under my protection and the world should know.'

"I'm not your property to scent-mark, Finn. Not yet." I challenged him

Finn watched the dark liquid touch my skin with a look of pure, predatory offense. His nostrils flared, trying to chase the last wisps of my natural scent before the ash and nettles choked it out.

"It's a disguise, Finn," I whispered, capping the vial. "Not a permanent state." He didn't look reassured. He looked like a starving man watching someone poison his only meal.

"Good choice Alpha" Elias let out a breath I hadn't realised he had been holding.

We entered the woods. We headed towards what Finn explained was the Dead Zone - a neutral territory inhabited by rogues, which he explained were wolves without a pack.

The night wasn't dark anymore. It was a wash of silver and grey, sharp as a photograph. I could see the veins on a leaf fluttering ten feet above my head.

Every leaf that hit the ground sounded like a drumbeat. I could hear the dew sliding off a fern fifty yards away, and beneath it all, the heavy, rhythmic thud of Finn's heart - a bass line that my own pulse was desperately trying to match.

I couldn't shake Malakai's words from my mind. 'How many of your kin did he hunt before he found you?'

"How many?" I suddenly demanded. Finn froze in his tracks. He turned to me, his eyes glowing a fiery gold.

"How many did you kill, Finn? How many 'kin' did you hunt for Kaelin before you found me?"

His gaze changed, the cold eyes of a killer glazed with deep regret.

"I did what I had to do to keep the rest of the pack alive. If that makes me a monster in your eyes, fine. But I'm the monster that's going to get you across the border." He replied bluntly.

I averted my gaze, staring at the ground. How could my so called fated mate be a stone cold killer?

Finn returned to his "Hound" persona, scouting for threats in the distance. Kaelin's army waiting to pounce. He was so focused he missed it.

I didn't just hear it - I felt it, the sharp twang of silver threadline being pulling taut. Finn was so focused on looking for other wolves he hadn't notice the trap at his feet.

My body moved before my brain gave the order. I wasn't a girl anymore; I was a kinetic force. I slammed into Finn's chest, tackling two hundred pounds of cold blooded warrior into the mud.

He stared at me shocked. "What the..." just as a silver wire deadfall net hissed through the air, landing exactly where he had just been standing. The leaves beneath it sizzled as the net burned them black.

I blushed as I suddenly realised I was straddling him in the mud. Heat rushed through me as his hands gripped my hips.

"That... is Black-Silver. It would have burned through my muscle in seconds." He gasped.

I glared down at him. "For a legendary Hound, you have terrible ears." I sneered.

He smirked then, despite the danger, realising the position we were in he raised his hips sightly and a bolt of white hot energy shot through my body as I felt him between my legs. The contact was electric, a searing heat that threatened to melt my resolve even as the scent of the burning silver net hissed a warning in my ear. But now was not the time for this...

"I was distracted. The elixir smells terrible, but it can't hide the heat of you." His eyes bored into me, dark and passionate.

The heat in his eyes nearly unravelled me. The strong scent of cedar and rain filled my senses, overpowering everything else happening in that moment. I knew I needed to get up but that scent and the look in his eyes kept me glued to the spot. 'Mate.' My inner voice snarled. 'Take him now!'

I leant over slightly, my eyes trailing down his neck and chest. He smirked but his hands stayed glued to my hips holding me in place, heat pooling between our thighs. I felt conflicted - this man was a murderer sent to kill me, having supposedly killed members of my newly discovered pack family just to find me. And yet... the primal urge building inside me was undeniable. I shifted slightly, dragging my nails down his chest. He shivered but the smirk never left his lips, his eyes turning darker with the sheer thrill of my touch on his skin.

"Ahem" Elias cleared his throat abruptly disrupting my chain of thought and reminding me where we were. The scent of the woods returned, dirt and pine, and something else I couldn't quite place, something raw, feral and rotten. I pulled Finn's hands off my hips and stood, focusing on the space surrounding me, One... my own, racing. Two... Finn's, a steady war drum. Three... Elias', fluttering like a trapped bird. And then... a fourth. Slow. Mocking. Coming from directly above. Wait... Four?

A low, mocking laugh came then from above. I looked up to the canopy to see a mangy looking man sat watching us. He smelled of dust and wild sage tinged with rot. Finn shot up, defensively jumping in front of me.

The man jumped down. "Cane" Finn snarled disgustedly. "What do you want?"

Cane glared at Finn then smirked confidently. "Well, I see The Hound has found a new bone to chew on? Malakai said you'd be coming this way, Little Alpha." His gazed shifted as he took me in, assessing every inch of me to determine the level of threat.

Finn growled. A low, guttural growl that vibrated through my chest. Then I saw it. His shift was partial, a jagged display of lethal intent - fangs lengthening, claws tearing through his gloves, and eyes that ignited with the molten gold of a predator ready to kill. Ready. It wasn't a full shift but it was enough to make Cane step backwards slightly.

"Relax Hound" he snarled. "I am simply a messenger. This is Malakai's territory. If you want to pass there is a toll to pay."

"This is the dead zone" Finn's eyes didn't leave Cane's. "There is no territory here."

"Wrong" Cane smirked again. "This used to be the dead zone. Now it belongs to Malakai and to us - the rogues. See?" He pointed towards a tree. Burned into the bark was a symbol that looked like a wolf's jaw crushing a crown - the wood was charred and weeping sap, as if the tree itself were bleeding under the weight of Malakai's mark... It still smoked slightly, as if the wood was afraid to heal. A familiar scent struck me when I saw it. The scent of the voice that had intruded in my head. Of Malakai.

"What does he want with us?" I boomed, my aura of authority once again hazing the air.

Cane looked taken aback, surprised even, as something hit him and he answered. "The toll must be paid."

"How exactly?" I demanded once again.

"It is not money Malakai seeks but a test. Pass the test, gain through passage. Fail, the Little Queen comes with us"

Finn roared with anger, making his stance bigger, more protective in front of me. I could smell his anger, his fear of losing me, but more than that I could feel it.

"No. You dare touch her - I'll rip your throat out where you stand!" He snarled.

"What is your proposal?" I asked from behind the protective barrier of my hound.

"Malakai requests a demonstration of strength - the lady against one of us. Not a fight to the death, but to submission. He wants you to prove you are what they are saying you are and not just some human pet" Cane scoffed.

"Not a chance in hell" Finn growled through gritted teeth.

"Stop." I told him stepping around him.

'Let me out Selina. Let us fight. We can release our anger on him. Test our new found bond. Work with each other to tear him apart. Teach him a lesson he will never forget.' My inner beast paced a cage made of glass, her claws scratching against my consciousness as she begged to taste the copper of rogue blood.

"Silence" I said inwardly. If this was what needed to be done it would be done. But on my own terms. I stepped out from behind Finn.

"I don't need a Hound to bark for me. Tell Malakai I'll accept his test."

Finn froze, hurt clouding his gaze for just a fraction of a second. Then came the anger. He opened his mouth to roar, to order me back, to claim authority he didn't have.

"Selina..." He started.

"Silence!" I commanded.

The command didn't just leave my throat; it slammed into the space between us like a physical wall. The air shimmered with the heavy, silver scent of my power. Finn's jaw snapped shut with an audible click. His eyes widened in shock, the veins in his neck bulging as he fought against the invisible muzzle of my will, but he couldn't break it. He was a warrior, but I was his Queen.

I turned my back on him, facing the rogue.

"Tell Malakai I'm ready. Send your worst."