It took forever to get to Lunareth, especially after that unintentionally awkward moment with Kael earlier.
For the rest of the trip, Elara tried to fall asleep rather than keep staring at Kael’s face.
Elara peeked through the slits of her still-closed eyes.
Kael was stretching his large frame side to side.
“Are we almost there?” Elara asked, her voice soft, hesitant to end the act too soon.
Kael glanced at her, then stood to pull their bags down from the rack above.
“Almost.
Why, are you tired of forcing yourself to sleep?”
“Damn it!”
Kael let out an amused huff.
“How does anyone fall asleep with their brow all scrunched up like that?
You clearly haven’t slept a wink.”
Elara cursed under her breath.
He’d been watching her the whole time she’d been trying to fake it.
Her gaze drifted out the train window, a vast stretch of forest with trees in every color, bigger than any she’d ever seen, even bigger than the ones back in Ravencrest.
The trunks soared upward, as if trying to block out the setting sun struggling to break through the branches, casting long shadows across the grass below.
The closer they got to Lunareth, the fewer buildings there were.
No massive walls, no stone gates with guards standing watch.
No towers keeping an eye on every corner of the territory.
Elara leaned her head against the window, taking it all in with a mix of awe and curiosity.
“I thought werewolf territory would be surrounded by some huge fortress.”
Kael scoffed, brushing off her imagination.
“What for?
We don’t have to hide from the rest of the world.”
The simple answer left her speechless.
Unlike Ravencrest, which seemed built to show off the strength and honor of every race, Lunareth just looked like an ordinary village.
“It actually feels like home here,” Elara murmured.
Kael didn’t get the chance to reply before Xera burst into their compartment, calling out cheerfully, “Welcome to Lunareth!”
Warm air brushed against Elara’s skin as they stepped off the train and made their way down the single path connecting the main road to Rhaen territory.
People passed them on either side, some carrying game from a hunt, some laughing together, a few kids darting ahead to catch up with friends already far in the distance.
Even though this was werewolf territory, Elara didn’t spot a single werewolf.
Everyone just looked like regular humans, if a bit more built.
“Not what you pictured?” Xera came up beside Elara and pulled her along to pick up the pace, leaving Kael and Riven trailing behind.
Elara just nodded, smiling.
“People always assume we’re some kind of forest creatures.
Truth is, even out here, we don’t live the way they imagine,” Xera went on lightly, laughing.
Elara laughed a little too, without meaning to.
But before the moment could last, the people around them started to slow down.
The ones who’d been busy with their own business a second ago were suddenly paying attention.
Or rather, paying attention to someone behind her.
Kael.
Several people bowed their heads as he passed.
But their expressions shifted the instant they noticed Elara beside him.
A human.
The whispers started.
Quiet at first, but clear enough for her to catch.
“Kael brought a human to Lunareth?” someone asked.
Someone else jumped in, “Isn’t she…”
The voice cut off.
But Elara could read the shift in their expressions well enough.
They weren’t curious.
They were displeased, plain and simple.
Without thinking, her hand tightened around the hem of her shirt.
Ravencrest had already taught her to expect stares and whispers like this, but somehow this felt different.
It wasn’t condescension this time.
Elara dropped her gaze, fixing it on her own feet as they hesitated over the rocky path, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.
“Don’t listen to them.” Xera touched her arm gently, but Elara couldn’t say anything back.
“You two head home first.
I’ll take Elara to the house.
We’ll catch up tonight,” Kael said, stepping into the spot Xera had been holding beside her.
Elara followed a step behind him, embarrassed to be walking next to the future Alpha of Rhaen, someone everyone else clearly respected.
The closer they got to the wide clearing at the center, ringed by neatly spaced houses, the more stares they drew.
Xera and Riven had already gone into one of the houses lining the back of the clearing.
Now it was just Kael beside her, and he wasn’t saying a word.
Unlike usual, he didn’t drag her along by the hand.
A man stepped out of a house with its door standing open.
Elara guessed he was a few years older than them.
“Have you lost your mind, Kael?” the man shouted.
Elara’s whole body went stiff.
Kael, though, didn’t so much as flinch.
It was everyone else who reacted, including people out working in the middle of the field.
“You brought blood livestock here?”
She’d known that word would come out eventually.
Still, hearing it hurt more than she expected.
It was worse than being called a weak human, because he hadn’t even bothered to name her, her race, her rank, nothing.
Like she wasn’t a person at all.
Just a thing.
Some people looked away.
Others just stared at her, cold.
Kael finally moved, stepping in front of her, shielding her from the stares.
“Enough.”
One word.
That was all it took to silence the whispers.
Most people looked away and went back to whatever they’d been doing.
Only the man in the doorway kept his eyes locked on Kael.
“You know exactly how the clan feels about this,” the man shouted back.
Kael answered evenly, without raising his voice.
“So?” He paused, then went on without hesitation.
“She’s under my protection.
You want to test that?”
No answer came.
The man went back inside and slammed the door hard enough to shake it.
Kael didn’t explain any further.
Just that one line, and his hand closing around hers as he led her toward one of the houses.
But to Elara, those words carried more weight than anything else he could have said.
“This is my place,” Kael said once they reached the porch, black stone and wood blending together in a way that somehow worked.
He didn’t need to knock.
The door swung open on its own.
Behind it stood a man even bigger than Kael, grinning.
“And this is my father,” Kael said.
The man held out a large hand.
“Aldric Rhaen.”
Elara shook it, unsure how she was even supposed to introduce herself.
“Elara, sir,” she replied, her voice stiff.
Aldric took her small hand and pulled her inside.
“Come on in.
How are you holding up, kid?” he asked warmly.
Kael followed behind them.
“Pretty sure she’s still shaken up from what everyone was saying out there.”
Elara glanced at Aldric, nervous.
He was already looking at her, gentle, before his gaze shifted to Kael and his brow dropped.
A hard smack landed square on top of Kael’s head.
“You’re supposed to be taking care of her!” Aldric scolded, though something about his tone made it sound more like teasing to Elara’s ears.
Kael winced but didn’t seem to actually be in pain.
“I’ve got my hands full just keeping her from tripping over her own feet all day.”
Aldric pointed after his son, who’d already vanished around the corner carrying both bags.
“My kid’s a nightmare, isn’t he?”
Elara shook her head fast.
She was still a little scared, but Aldric just laughed at the look on her face.
For the first time since that endless walk, Elara finally let out a breath of relief.
At least the Alpha of Rhaen hadn’t turned her away.
“I’ll get you something to drink, hang tight.” With that, Aldric jogged off toward the back of the small house, his massive frame looking almost comically out of place among furniture built for someone half his size.
Elara looked around.
The house felt warm, dotted with little figurines on the table.
She was sure neither Kael nor his father had been the one to arrange them.
Her attention drifted to the window beside the front door.
Outside, an old woman with hair gone completely white stood watching the house, or more specifically, watching her.
Her back was bent, one hand braced on a cane, the other raised slightly, waving.
“Kael?” Elara called softly, eyes still on the old woman.
There was something in her stare Elara couldn’t quite place.
“I think someone’s calling me.”
Kael came out of the room and walked to the door.
Without thinking, Elara trailed right behind him.
When the door opened, Elara and the old woman locked eyes for the first time.
A wide smile broke across her wrinkled face.
“It can’t be,” she said, her voice shaking.
She started forward slowly, one careful step at a time, climbing the four small stairs.
Kael caught her arm quickly, steadying her.
“What do you need, Ruth?” Kael asked, sounding annoyed.
Ruth let out a low, raspy laugh.
Not a happy one.
More like the laugh of someone who’d just found the answer to a question that had been eating at her for years.
“No.
It can’t be…” she muttered again, more to herself than to anyone else.
Kael stepped in front of her, blocking her path as she tried to get closer to Elara.
A few people nearby glanced over, then went back to their business, like they were used to seeing Ruth like this.
Elara, still confused, couldn’t look away from the old woman.
Her brow furrowed, waiting for whatever Ruth said next.
“Ruth.
Don’t.” Aldric’s deep voice cut through from inside the house, stopping her mid-step.
Elara expected her to listen.
Instead, Ruth just looked at him and said, “I’m not going to hurt her.” Her eyes went back to Elara.
“I just need to be sure.”
Kael, clearly done entertaining this, turned and took Elara’s hand, ready to pull her inside.
But before the door could shut, Ruth spoke again.
“Elara.”
They both froze, then turned back to face her.
The old woman looked just as startled as Elara felt, like the name had slipped out before she meant to say it.
Ruth blinked a few times, and her expression shifted again.
“No,” she whispered.
“That’s not it.” She pressed a hand to her own head, the one not holding the cane, like she was trying to hold something back that had just surfaced.
For a second, nobody moved.
Even Aldric, who’d been cracking jokes just moments ago, went quiet behind them, eyes flicking between Ruth and Elara, like he was bracing for something he wasn’t ready to hear.
Ruth’s hunched frame straightened, just slightly, and she lowered her head in a small bow.
Two words left her mouth, and they were enough to make Kael’s grip tighten and Elara’s whole body go cold.
“Your Majesty.”