Page 34 of Iron Beneath the Snow

The answer was careful rather than absolute.

His second accepted that.

Below them a young warrior approached the central fire and glanced up toward the balcony where Soren stood.

Respect. Expectation. Stability.

Soren gave a small, decisive nod.

The warrior returned immediately to his work.

“You should rest,” his second said after a while. “Tomorrow will be loud.”

Soren allowed himself the faintest hint of dry amusement.

“It usually is.”

His second turned to leave, then paused at the top of the stairs.

“Alpha.”

Soren did not move.

“If she becomes a liability,” the wolf said quietly, “we can’t hesitate.”

The implication hung in the air between them.

Soren’s gaze drifted toward the corridor leading to the east wing.

Behind the thick stone walls of Ironfang, behind iron-bound doors and guarded corridors, the woman who had just altered the balance between two packs now waited in the east wing.

“She won’t,” Soren said quietly.

His second seemed satisfied with that answer and descended the stairs, leaving Soren alone on the balcony.

For a while he remained where he was, looking down at the central fire. The flames threw restless light across the dark stone walls while wolves moved steadily through their evening routines below.

Everything was unfolding as he had anticipated.

Frostvein would react quickly once the implications settled. Rumors would spread through the mountain passes. Trade alliances that had remained stable for years would begin to waver as neighboring packs reconsidered where advantage now lay.

Pressure would build.

And Eira—

Eira would adapt.

She had already shown more control than most wolves in her position would have managed.

The thought had barely formed when the strange tension beneath his sternum tightened again.

This time the sensation came sharper, more insistent. It was not pain, but a persistent awareness that pulled at his focus as if some invisible thread had been drawn taut.

Irritation flickered through him.

Distraction, he reminded himself, was a weakness.

Pushing away from the railing, he turned toward the corridor that led to the east wing. He had no intention of entering her chamber and no reason to speak with her again tonight. Even so, he walked the length of the passage until he reached the intersection nearest the door assigned to her.