The doors opened to reveal even more stone. We entered a massive courtyard. There were soldiers clad in furs, swords in hand, fighting so intensely that they seemed to be dancing across the courtyard. There must have been a hundred soldiers there, but there was room for at least a thousand people. Although perhaps it would not hold quite as many werewolves. It was not hard to believe the rumours that when the castle was built, giants were still around to help the werewolves build this place.
Great arches surrounded us. We walked for what seemed like miles towards a platform at the end of the courtyard. Behind it, a great staircase led to the castle’s entrance.
At the top of those stairs stood three figures. They were all dressed similarly. Boots, fur coats, linen trousers. Clothing most werewolves seemed to favour. They were similar in stature, meaning they were all freakishly tall. Sheaths and swords. Messy dark hair. Alphas, perhaps?
Despite their similarities, one of the three was not like the others. Not only were his clothes ever so slightly different, but as we approached them, his scent clouded my senses. It was stronger, different somehow. Smoky and deep. The middle one. He stood perfectly still. His presence was calm. His eyes were piercing. The closer I got to the platform, the more I felt like I needed to get even closer. Considering my status as a prisoner, I did not have the chance to do so. Perhaps this was for the best.
I was not yet close enough to get a good look at his face. It was odd then that a scent filled my lungs, from so far away. I knew it was his in the same way I knew water was drinkable and that I was an omega. It was a fact of life, something instinctual. Something spoke to me, whispered in my ear that the scent was his and that he was an alpha. A hint of pine and a lot of smoke. We locked eyes from a distance, and as far as I could see, his eyes were dark and cutting.
“Who is that?” he asked. His voice was not loud, but it was clear enough to reach me. Was he referring to me?
“A prisoner, my lord,” Erna said. The intimidating alpha sized me up. I could not look back at him. It was too much for me.
“He is not human,” the pine-and-smoke scented man asserted.
“This is Gabriel of Auriyonne, the one on the emperor’s wanted list,” Alain said. The alpha took a step towards us. He was looking down at us from the top of the stairs. It made me feel rather small.
“Magic?” the lord asked in his soft, gravelly tone. I looked up and noticed a scar running from his forehead to his left cheek. His eye remained intact. His sword was made of steel instead of iron. It dawned on me that this must be General Axel.
I could see why he was both feared and revered. The man made an impression. I did not expect him to dress much like hissoldiers. To have shaggy black hair, unkempt. He did not look like the nobles in the empire. Not what I expected from a self-proclaimed ruler. He wore neither jewels nor the latest fashions. His presence spoke for itself.
“Yes, sir,” Alain answered. “We can’t tell what kind of magic he has, but he could turn out to be useful.”
“Or dangerous,” the General said. I gulped. My throat was dry and full of ash, the scent of fire burning on my tongue.
“We don’t know what the empire wanted from him,” Erna said. “He won’t tell us.”
General Axel looked at me then. I forced myself to look up, and I briefly met his eyes before looking away.
“Well?” he asked. I did not answer. Even if I wanted to, I would not know how to communicate. I was weak and overwhelmed by the scent of an alpha that was nothing like the other werewolves. The implications of this had not dawned on me, as my mind was not in a state to do anything but breathe. I felt him staring at me from above.
“Can you talk?” he asked. I gathered my strength. I bit my lip and chewed on my tongue. A nervous habit, a soothing one.
“Yes,” I answered. My tone was uncertain. My voice was soft. I coughed a bit to get rid of the smoke in my lungs. I tried to compose myself. It would simply not do, looking weak in front of the General. He would have no use for me then.
“He could be an imperial spy!” One of the alphas flanking him said.
“Sure, that sounds plausible! The Emperor puts his spies on a wanted list, using their true names,” I said. My voice was more confident, as was I. Until I realised that this was not the way to speak to the man who was deciding my fate. I was never good at sweet talking. I never knew the right thing to say.But I refused to be seen as meek and obedient. I was defiant in my silence. It was quiet for a second. I looked up to see the Generalas stoic as before, but there was something behind his eyes. A glint of amusement? A flicker of interest? What if he liked someone strong, someone recalcitrant?
“Alain?” he asked. Alain must be someone important. I was glad to have him as an ally.
“I don’t think him a spy. But the list was varied, we don’t know why he was at the very top,” Alain said. “He was heavily guarded by imperial soldiers. They were right behind us. We were lucky to escape Auriyonne with our lives. What we have to figure out is what the emperor wanted him for, and why he did not capture him earlier if he knew how to find him.”
“Guarded? By the empire?” This was news to me too. I assumed the empire simply did not know what I looked like. It seemed the soldier who came to my home was not as naive as I thought. He must have been suspicious, and tipped someone off. Maybe they were waiting in the shadows for evidence of my magic. To be sure they were dragging the right man in front of the emperor.
“What did they want from you?” Axel asked, as if I would tell him what I knew. I felt the stares of the werewolves. But if they knew what I suspected the empire wanted from me, what would they do with me? Would they trade me for peace, or send pieces of me to taunt Emperor Victor?‘We took your prisoner, you can have half of him.’Besides, I could hardly be sure if the empire knew of my parentage.
“You should ask Victor. I do not know him personally, do I?” I said. I heard Alain curse under his breath. But this was not the time to come quietly. I looked up just in time to catch the corners of the General’s mouth twitch upward.
“Don’t you?” he asked. For this, I did not need to play at resistance. It was bizarre. Everything about me signaled I was a commoner. From the way I spoke to the way I was dressed.
“Of course not! He is the emperor!”
“You went by Gabriel?” he asked. At some point, I began to enjoy this back and forth. It felt like the less I revealed, the more power remained with me.
“No, I went by another name,” I answered.
“So you knew you were a wanted man?” the General asked. I did not answer. I lifted my eyes to Axel’s forehead, so I could pretend to hold his gaze. Somehow I could not stand to look into his eyes for too long.