“Is this really happening or am I only dreaming?”

Irwin’s voice was barely carried over the wind that whipped around them, howling through the barren trees. She stood still, her heart pounding as she faced the heavy iron gates of the Shadowclaw compound.

Cain, who was standing beside her, glanced at her sharply. He's the shadowclaw gate keeper, and he has been waiting for Irwin. His lips curled in something between amusement and impatience. “Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?”

Irwin's throat tightened. The cold breeze of the night seeped through her cloak. But the chill she felt around her, came from the inside. “ But Why me? Why does the shadowclaw choose me for this” she whispered, more to herself than to Cain.

Cain snorted. “Why not you?” His boots crunched on the gravel as he moved ahead, pushing to open the gate. The sound echoed in the stillness. “It’s not in my place to know why the Alpha chose you, hybrid. But if I had to guess, I think you were the easiest option.” Cain smirked

The word “hybrid” bit into her skin. Irwin had heard it all her life that she was half-human, half-wolf, belonging to neither worlds. And now, here she was, on the verge of being pulled even deeper into a world she had no place in.

She swallowed, following Cain through the gate. “Is this really just about the marriage alliance? Or is there something else?”

Cain didn’t look at her, his voice gruff. “You think you’re special? This is about survival. The pack needs to secure its future, and you’re nothing but the key. Nothing more, nothing less.... And for the question you asked, the council will answer to that”

Irwin clenched her fists at her sides. “Doesn’t it bother you? Like Marrying someone off like this--- just for power?” Irwin Stuttered.

Cain's laughter was cold, humorless. “Bother me? Why would it? That’s the way of the world, Lady Irwin. Power comes before everything. Even love.” Cain hissed.

They walked in silence for a while, the dark compound looming ahead of them. The massive stone walls of the Shadowclaw fortress seemed to press in on her, suffocating. She could feel eyes on her. Packs of wolves in the shadows, watching and judging.

“Do they all hate me, that much?” Irwin asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Cain's reply came without hesitation. “Yes and what were you thinking before.”

The bluntness of it stung more than she expected. “ Is it Because I’m a hybrid?”

“That, and because you’re an outsider too,” Cain said, his eyes scanning the path ahead. “You don’t belong here. And You will never belong here.”

Irwin swallowed hard. “And you? Do you think I belong here?”

Cain stopped walking, turning to face her. His eyes were so cold, and unreadable. “You must be joking to ask me such question..... Just know that You’re here, and that’s all there is to it, lady. But if you think you’re going to fit in....” He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper and in disgust. “....you’re fooling yourself.”

Irwin felt bad on the response Cain gave her. This is rude!

Immediately, They reached the entrance to the council hall, where the pack’s most powerful wolves waited inside patiently. Irwin's stomach whirled in discomfort and twisted into knots too.

Cain shoved the door open, the heavy wood groaning as it swung inward.

Inside are where five figures sat in a semi-circle around a large wooden table.

Their eyes all turned to Irwin, very assessing and calculating. The council, The true power behind the Shadowclaw pack.

The woman at the center, Lady Gwen, was the first to speak. “You’re the said one who’s going to marry into our pack?” Her voice was sharp, cutting through the silence like a blade.

Irwin forced herself to meet Gwen’s gaze. “Yes, I am.”

Gwen tilted her head slightly. “And why do you think you were the chosen one, hybrid?”

The question hung in the air, and heavy with judgment. Irwin’s pulse quickened, with her heart racing, but she refused to let her fear show. “I don’t know” she replied. “Maybe you can tell me please?”

Gwen’s lips twisted into a cold smile. “ That was Bold. I suppose that’s a start.” She glanced at the others seated around her. “But boldness won’t be enough to survive here, lady.”

“Is survival the only thing that matters to you?” Irwin shot back but in a calm voice.

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “In this world, Lady Yes.” Gwen cursed under her breath " A hybrid with lot's of nerves" rolled her eyes away.

And Another elder, a man with graying hair and a scar that ran down his face, leaned forward. “Do you think you can survive among us, girl?”

“I’ve survived worse,” Irwin replied, her voice steady.