The stranger stood just beyond the border stones, hands raised in the universal gesture of peace. He was tall and lean, cloaked in dark traveling leathers weathered by years on the road. His hair was a striking platinum blond, almost white, cropped short against his skull. But it was his eyes that stopped everyone cold—piercing silver, luminous even in daylight, with no visible pupil in certain lights.
And like Jennie, he carried no scent at all.
The patrol warriors had formed a wary semicircle, growls low in their throats. Gareth had already mind-linked Kai and Ronan; the Alpha pair arrived within minutes, shifting from wolf to human mid-stride.
Jennie stood slightly behind Kai, silver hair loose and wild from the morning's events, ice-blue eyes fixed on the newcomer with wary fascination.
The stranger's gaze found her immediately, silver eyes softening with something like recognition—and relief.
"I seek Jennie Voss," he said, voice calm and clear, carrying a faint accent from distant northern packs. "I mean no harm to your territory."
Ronan stepped forward, authority radiating. "State your name and purpose."
The man inclined his head respectfully. "My name is Elias Thorne. I am… what remains of the Veiled line."
A ripple of shock passed through the warriors. Jennie felt her breath catch.
Elias continued, eyes never leaving hers. "I felt the awakening two nights ago. A new Veiled Wolf rising under the full moon. I have traveled without rest to find her."
Kai's body tensed beside Jennie, a low growl rumbling in his chest. Protective instinct flared hot through the bond.
Jennie placed a subtle hand on his arm—calming, grounding. He stilled, but his green eyes remained locked on Elias with clear warning.
Ronan frowned. "The Veiled Wolves are legend. Extinct for centuries."
"Not extinct," Elias corrected gently. "Hidden. Hunted. The last pure bloodlines scattered after the Great Purge. I am the last I know of… until now."
He looked at Jennie again. "Until her."
Jennie stepped forward, shadows stirring faintly at her feet. "How do you know it's me?"
Elias smiled—small, tired, genuine. "Because I felt you call the shadows. Because your power sang across the miles like a beacon. And because…" He reached into his cloak and withdrew a small, aged silver medallion identical in design to the moon pendant Mira had given her—moon phases encircling a white wolf.
He held it out. "Because this answered."
The medallion glowed faintly in his palm, the same cool light that had pulsed from Jennie's new pendant.
Jennie's hand went instinctively to her throat. Her pendant warmed in response.
Ronan's expression grew grave. "You claim kinship."
"I claim guidance," Elias said. "The girl is awakening to power she cannot control alone. Without training, it will consume her—or draw every hunter who still remembers the old fears."
Kai's growl deepened. "She has protection here."
Elias met Kai's stare without flinching. "I don't doubt your strength, Alpha heir. But this is not a threat claws and teeth can fight. It's blood memory. Ancient law. Things the packs tried to forget."
He turned back to Jennie. "I can teach you what it means to be Veiled. How to command the shadows without losing yourself to them. How to hide… and when not to."
Jennie felt the truth of his words resonate deep in her bones. The power inside her stirred eagerly, recognizing kin.
But the bond with Kai pulled just as strongly—warm, possessive, grounding.
She looked between the two men: one offering answers to questions she'd carried her whole life, the other offering a future she had only begun to dare imagine.
"I need time," she said finally.
Elias nodded. "I will wait at the neutral inn beyond your borders. When you're ready, come alone or with escort. The choice is yours."
He stepped back, hands still raised. "I swear by the Moon Goddess—I mean no challenge to your pack."
Ronan studied him for a long moment, then gave a curt nod. "You may stay at the inn. But you do not cross our borders again without permission."
Elias bowed and turned to leave.
Before he vanished into the trees, he looked at Jennie one last time. "You're not alone anymore, little sister."
Then he was gone—melting into the forest as silently as any shadow.
The patrol dispersed slowly, whispers spreading like wildfire.
Kai turned to Jennie, expression fierce. "You're not going to him alone."
Jennie arched a brow. "You don't trust me?"
"I don't trust him," Kai growled. "Or any male who looks at you like that."
The bond flared with possessive heat. Jennie felt it echo in her chest.
She stepped closer, placing a hand over his heart. "I'm not running away, Kai. But I need to understand what I am. If there's someone who can teach me…"
Kai's hand covered hers, warm and strong. "Then I'll go with you."
Jennie searched his face. "And if the pack objects?"
"Let them."
Ronan cleared his throat behind them. "We will discuss this in council. Tonight."
As they walked back to the pack house, rumors were already flying.
By evening, the entire pack buzzed with them:
The returning Alpha heir defended the scentless girl.
A rogue Veiled Wolf appeared, claiming kinship.
Ancient powers are awakening.
Lydia Harrington was furious—her necklace still missing, her status threatened.
She paced her lavish bedroom like a caged animal, the silk of her gown swishing with each sharp turn. The room, usually a sanctuary of gilded mirrors and velvet drapes, felt suffocating tonight. Moonlight spilled through the tall windows, casting long shadows that danced mockingly across the floor.
Her face was pale with rage and fear, cheeks flushed beneath the powder, eyes—usually cool hazel—now burning with barely contained panic. She had overheard the border report just hours ago, whispered among the guards as they thought her out of earshot.
A real Veiled Wolf.
Not just Jennie's parlor tricks, her little illusions and mind games that Lydia had always dismissed as cheap sorcery. No—this Elias, this stranger from the wilds, had proved the legends true. Shape-shifters. Ancient bloodlines. Beings who could wear human skin one moment and tear throats the next.
And if Jennie was truly one of them...
Lydia's hands shook as she clutched the windowsill, nails digging into the polished wood. The cool night air did nothing to calm the fire in her chest.
Jennie—that upstart lady's companion with her mysterious past and unnerving calm—had always been a thorn. But now? If she carried Veiled Wolf blood, she wasn't just competition for Kai's attention.
She was a threat to everything.
Kai was supposed to be hers.
The future Alpha, strong and commanding, had looked at Lydia with promise since they were children. Their families had all but arranged it—Harrington prestige allied with his raw power. The pack would be hers to influence, her children the next leaders.
But Jennie... with her quiet strength, her secrets, the way Kai's eyes lingered on her...
Lydia's breath came in short, furious bursts.
She couldn't let this happen.
If Jennie was Veiled Wolf, the pack elders would turn to her. Legends spoke of their blood bringing strength, fertility, victory in battles long lost to memory. Kai would choose duty. Choose her.
Lydia's necklace—her mother's heirloom, enchanted with subtle compulsion charms to bind affection—still missing. Stolen, she was sure, by Jennie's clever fingers. Without it, her hold on Kai felt fragile as frost.
She needed a plan.
Fast.
Expose Jennie? Too risky—if true, it might elevate her.
Frame her for something worse?
Or... eliminate the threat quietly?
Lydia stopped pacing, staring out at the dark forest beyond the estate grounds. Wolves howled in the distance—real ones, or perhaps not.
Her lips curled into a cold smile.
She would not lose.
Not to some half-breed pretender.
Kai would be hers.
The pack would bow to her.
Whatever the cost.