Chapter 5 - THE SIEGE OF THE COURTYARD
The freezing night wind whipped across the upper battlements of Ithinar as Lord Cassian’s private militia flooded the outer courtyard. Torches flared in the darkness, casting long, menacing shadows against the stone walls. Cassian, a towering brute with scars across his face and a silver broadsword drawn, stood at the center of the courtyard, roaring challenges up at the royal balcony.
"Aldric! Come out and face true blood!" Cassian bellowed, his voice carrying over the howling wind. "You have shamed the pack by kneeling to a weak human! Surrender the girl and step down, or we burn this fortress to the ground!"
Before Aldric could step forward, a soft rustle of fabric sounded behind him.
Senna stood in the doorway of the balcony. She had dressed herself in light leather armor salvaged from the armory, her hair braided tightly back, and a steel shortsword belted at her waist. Despite her pale complexion and the bandages beneath her tunic, she walked with absolute authority.
"You're injured," Aldric warned, reaching out to steady her.
"I am alive," Senna corrected, her voice steady. "And they are shouting my name in my courtyard. A human clerk from the Low Field may not have fangs, Cassian, but we know how to handle rabid dogs."
Aldric stared at her, a fierce, primal pride surging through his chest. He grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers, and the golden marks flared brilliantly, casting a luminous glow across both their faces.
Together, the Alpha King and his human mate stepped onto the stone balcony overlooking the armed rebels.
The sudden brilliance of the glowing marks silenced the courtyard instantly. Hundreds of rebel wolves stared up in disbelief.
"You dare bring steel to my gates, Cassian?" Aldric’s voice rolled across the courtyard like thunder, magnified by his Alpha status. "You call my mate weak, yet she survived a trial your corrupt council designed to slaughter her. She showed more courage in three minutes than your entire bloodline has displayed in a century!"
Cassian sneered, lowering his sword slightly. "Words don't win wars, Aldric! Your bond is an abomination! The human will die of the fever before the next full moon anyway—everyone knows human vessels cannot contain royal wolf magic!"
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Senna flinched slightly at the words, but her grip on Aldric’s hand tightened fiercely.
"Is that so?" Senna called out, her voice cutting cleanly through the freezing air. She stepped to the very edge of the stone railing, looking down at the army below. "Then come up here and try to finish what Brok started in the ring! Let’s see how brave you are face-to-face, instead of hiding behind council plots and poisoned daggers!"
