8: The H

otected prize. She rode her own mare, a sleek white beast that seemed to recognize the silver hum in her blood. Her h

ve stone city built in the neutral valley between the four great packs. "The Council of Alphas has spies

her head, shadowing her glowing eyes. "Why are we he

e Silver Moon, we have to cut the strings. The High Market is where the Alphas trade s

ing instinctively to the lock of hair tuck

ex meant to track you. But if she is alive... the Soul-Reader will fin

ve of noise and smell. High-ranking wolves in expensive furs rubbed shoulders with rag

his hood up, his sheer size made people move out of his wa

s sword. "And keep your scent dampened. If you feel your powe

a dark alleyway that smelled of old herbs. At the end of t

re," Mal

ce firm. "It's my mother's hai

re-the way she stood tall, no longer the girl who shivered in the mud.

d hanging dried plants. An old man with milk-white eyes sat

the old man whispered, his voice sounding l

rowled, tossing the lock of silver h

He dropped it into the crystal bowl and poured a dark b

with high cheekbones and eyes exactly like Elara's. But the woman in the smoke wa

is in the Void Prison, held by the Council of Alphas. They've kep

died in a raid. She had been stolen. Her father hadn't lost his mate t

d, her silver light beginning to l

" Silas said, his eyes wide with fear. "Righ

oor of the shop was k

gant voice roared from the street. "I

ze. It wa

pered, his eyes turning gold.

oon warriors burst into the room. They were followed by Kaelen, who looked differen

mell the honey and the silver. Elara! Come out, you little runaway! Th

e this whole time. He had watched Elara scrub floors and eat scraps for

whispered, her voice

pping her shoulder. "There are twenty

ayman" girl who took the slaps wa

ck. Her silver hair fell down her back like a waterfall of lig

en?" she asked, her v

al, bone-deep fear in his hazel eyes. He saw the mark on her neck-th

going to his sword. "What... w

under her feet began to frost over. "You did this. You rejected the gift t

med to his men. "Kill he

e warrio

ms crossed over his chest, a dark smile on

ugh the air. A wave of silver force hit the warriors like a physical wa

her gaze ba

e echoing with power. "Give me the key,

blew it. A high-pitched sound filled the air, an

on either side of Kaelen. They weren't huntin

laughed, his voice sounding manic. "The S

his aura so heavy it made the jars on the shelves

both!" Kael

flinch. She felt the Lunar Flame inside her roar to life.

Elara's hands were glowing with silver fire. She felt the creatu

s already there. The King grabbed Kaelen by the back o

, his claws digging into K

ked, blood leaking from his nose. "M

pping closer. "My father was th

rone,' Kaelen. Tell your father that I'm coming. Tell him to keep my mother

," Elara to

lakai looke

em all that the girl they broke is the one who is coming to end t

door like a piece of trash. Kaelen scrambled to his feet and

o her. He wiped a smudge of blood from her ch

re her mother's face was still screaming in the smoke. "We're go