Azura's POV
The sound of hooves didn't just get closer, it surrounded us.
I whipped around, my heart doing a frantic drumbeat against my ribs. Dust exploded into the air as guards on horseback stormed the clearing, their animals snorting and stamping like they were ready for war. The children huddled behind me, their small hands clutching my legs.
"There she is." The lead guard's voice was all smug satisfaction. "The little thief."
I planted my feet, even though every instinct screamed run. My hands curled into fists.
"I didn't steal anything."
He swung down from his horse, landing with a heavy thud. He was huge, with a sneer that made my skin want to crawl right off my body. "Baker says you did. And lying to a guard?" He clucked his tongue. "That's another crime, girl."
A tiny hand fisted in my cloak. Amanda. "Azura?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "What do they want?"
I kept my eyes on the guard but bent my knees, getting closer to her level. "Stay behind me. It's okay."
It wasn't okay.
The second guard moved, cutting off the path to the trees. "Step away from the kids. You're coming with us."
I didn't move.
The lead guard's face darkened. "I said, step away."
"No."
The word was out before my brain could catch up. It hung in the air, bold and stupid.
For a second, both guards just stared. Then the lead one let out a low laugh that had no humor in it. "You think you have a choice?"
Before I could breathe, the little girl stepped out from behind me. Her whole body was shaking, but she planted her feet and glared up at the mountain of a man.
"Leave her alone!" Her voice wobbled but didn't break. "She didn't do anything!"
Then the boy with the big brown eyes stepped up beside her. Then another. And another. Until all six of them were standing in a fragile, trembling line between the guards and me.
"She brought us food!" one of them yelled.
My throat closed up. These kids, who had nothing, were trying to give me everything.
The second guard rolled his eyes. "She's a thief. Move, or you'll get hurt."
They didn't move.
The lead guard's patience vanished. He lunged forward, his big hand aiming to shove the little girl aside.
"Touch them," I said, and my voice came out colder and sharper than I knew it could, "and I'll show you exactly what a rankless wolf can do."
Both guards froze. Not because they were scared, but because they were shocked.
The lead guard turned to me slowly, a nasty grin spreading. "Oh yeah? And what's that? Bark at me?"
My heart was trying to escape my chest. The truth was, I had nothing. No wolf, no strength, no chance. But I couldn't let them see that.
"Try me," I said, holding his gaze.
He moved.
He grabbed the girl by her shoulder and shoved. She cried out as she hit the dirt. The other children scattered.
"No!" I lunged, but the second guard was a blur. He caught my wrist, twisted my arm behind my back, and shoved me forward.
"Ah!" Pain exploded in my shoulder. My knees hit the ground.
"You don't give orders," the lead guard growled, his breath hot in my ear. "You follow them."
I thrashed, kicked backward, but it was useless. His grip was iron.
The second guard glared at the crying children. "Get out of here. Now."
Amanda pushed herself up, her lip bleeding. She looked at me, her eyes screaming.
I forced myself to go limp. "Go. Please. I'll be fine."
"But…"
"Go."
One by one, they ran, disappearing into the trees. The relief that they were safe was so sharp it hurt.
The lead guard's grip shifted, just for a second. It was all I needed.
I yanked my arm free and bolted.
I took ten steps. Maybe less. Something heavy slammed into my back, driving the air from my lungs. I ate dirt, rocks grinding into my palms. A knee pressed into my spine.
"Stupid," the second guard grunted, hauling me up. "Where did you think you were going?"
I spat out soil. "Away from you."
The lead guard grabbed my other arm, his fingers digging in like claws. "You're not going anywhere, we don't take you."
They started dragging me. My body ached, but I held my head up.
At least I tried.
The path they took was one I'd never seen. The trees were ancient, twisted. Stone buildings rose, carved with strange symbols. Well-dressed wolves stopped to stare, their whispers hitting me like little stones.
"A thief…"
"…smells like dirt."
"…why is she even alive?"
I stared straight ahead.
The guards talked over me like I was cargo.
"Bad night for this," the second guard muttered.
"Why? Council's just yapping as usual."
"Not just yapping. It's the Luna issue again. They say the Alpha's strength is tied to it. That without one… things are getting unstable."
I didn't understand most of it, but the tension in his voice was real.
Then the building appeared. It wasn't just big; it was a monster of dark stone, like it had been carved from midnight itself. A cold seeped out of it.
The guards got quiet.
"Not a word in there," the lead guard said to me, low. "Show respect."
I almost laughed. "You're joking, right?"
The second guard jerked me forward. "Not to us. To them."
The doors were giants, covered in carvings of wolves howling at a moon that seemed to watch you. They groaned open.
Inside, voices were shouting.
"...cannot continue like this! The magic itself is fraying!"
"You speak of weakness! The Alpha would never…"
The doors shut behind us with a final thud.
Silence. Heavy and sudden.
I was in a round stone room. Benches rose in circles all around, and on them sat the Elders. Their faces were like stone. The air was so thick I could barely breathe.
One stood. "What is the meaning of this interruption?" He was pure fury.
The lead guard bowed his head. "Elder. A thief. We brought her for judgment."
Another Elder shot to his feet. "You disrupt the Council for a thief?"
"We thought it prudent, Elder."
A third Elder, with eyes like chips of flint, leaned forward. "You thought wrong."
The guards shifted their weight. I stood between them, my arms throbbing.
The first Elder walked down the steps. His robes whispered against the stone. He stopped in front of me, his gaze crawling over my face like he was reading a disturbing book.
"What is your rank, child?"
I said nothing. Just looked back.
"Answer him!" the flint-eyed Elder snapped.
I kept my mouth shut.
His voice cracked like a whip. "Your rank, girl!"
I flinched. I hated that I flinched, and I hated that he saw it.
"I don't have one."
A ripple went through the chamber. A sharp intake of breath from somewhere.
The first Elder's eyes narrowed. "No rank? Explain."
"There's nothing to explain. I'm rankless."
"Your parents?"
"Don't know them."
"An orphan.And your wolf? Do you have one?"
The lie was a bitter pill. "Yes."
The murmurs started then, low and urgent.
"Rankless… by the Moon, it's true."
"I've only read about it. In the old laws… It's a sign."
"A sign of what? Disruption?"
"Just look at her. That grey… It's not normal. It's the kind they used to whisper about… wolves that bring chaos."
"She's not just hiding a wolf. She doesn't have one at all. There's a… silence where her aura should be. A void."
The first Elder held up a hand, silencing them. He stared at me, and for the first time, I saw it… not just anger, but a flicker of something like dread.
"Take her," he said to the guards, his voice gone flat. "To the old cells. The ones that dampen power."
The lead guard nodded. "Yes, Elder."
The Elder turned back to the others, his final words dropping like stones into the quiet. "And send a runner to the Alpha at once. Tell him… tell him a Void Wolf has crawled out of the old tales and into our custody."
My blood turned to ice.
Void Wolf. What in the Goddess's name was that?
The guards yanked me around. As I was dragged toward the doors, I looked back. The flint-eyed Elder was still watching me, but his anger was gone. Replaced by a look of cold, calculating fear.
The giant doors sealed shut behind us, swallowing me into a cold, dark hallway.
So, this wasn't about bread anymore.