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."