Chapter 30 – The Silver Wolf (Diana & Talon)

Damon swallowed.

She was the female my rogues fought, he realized. The one who had battled fifteen rogues in human form. The one who killed five without shifting.

“Don’t you know how to speak?” She snapped when he remained silent. “Are you deaf?”

Her brows furrowed in irritation, but there was a flicker of assessment in her gaze. She was studying him just as closely.

“No,” Damon said quickly, forcing his voice steady. “I’m sorry. I was lost. I’m new here and wanted to ask for help so I could go back to the pack house. The door was open, so…”

He let the We roll smoothly off his tongue.

He only hoped the Crimson Fang Pack accepted strays waiting for formal approval. He had masked his scent carefully before entering their territory. To them, he would smell like an unmated, unclaimed wolf- no pack ties. No rogue scent.

“You’re one of the new incoming pack members waiting for the Alpha to accept you?” Diana tilted her head slightly, and she asked slowly. “Is that why you don’t have a pack scent?”

‘She’s sharp, Cerberus murmured approvingly.

“Yes,” Damon replied without hesitation, and he watched her carefully. “My name is Darnon, by the way.”

“I’m Diana,” she said. “And this is my house.”

There was a faint bruise near her collarbone. A subtle stiffness in the way she shifted her weight.

Damon’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

“I think because of the rogue attack, they forgot to lock it when they brought me to the pack hospital,” she added, glancing around as if confirming her assumption.

Hospital.

Attack.

“You were attacked?” Damon asked, carefully threading concern into his voice. “When?”

Her eyes flicked back to him. “Were you not at the pack house earlier? The Alpha King informed everyone about the attack.”

Alpha King.

“No,” Damon kept his expression neutral, he said evenly. “I didn’t know the Alpha King was here.”

Diana’s lips pressed together.

“Yeah. Well. He announced the attack. And the traitors behind it.” Her voice dimmed slightly at the lastword.

Traitors?

Cerberus growled low inside him, and Damon’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

“Are we safe?” he asked instead.

It was partly a test, and partly genuine curiosity.

Diana studied him for a moment, then she smiled.

The smile did something strange to his chest.

“You have nothing to worry about,” she said lightly. “My mate made sure we’re safe here. And the traitor only wanted me dead. I’m leaving tomorrow with my mate, so everyone should be safe now.”

She tried to sound casual. Almost teasing, but Damon did not laugh.

He did not relax.

He felt something cold coil around his ribs.

“You’re leaving?” he asked, the words slipping out sharper than he intended. “Leaving the pack? Tomorrow?

Diana raised an eyebrow at his intensity. “Yes, my mate wants me safe inside his own pack. As if I can’t protect myself.”

There was defiance in her tone. Pride.

‘Your mate?’ Cerberus growled darkly.

Damon forced himself to ask, though he already knew the answer. “Your mate?”

“Yes,” Diana’s expression softened, she said and there was no hesitation. No doubt. “Talon is my mate.”

The name hit Damon like a physical blow.

Alpha King Talon Ravenwood.

Cerberus snarled violently inside him. ‘No.’

Damon kept his face carefully composed, but inside, something fractured.

‘So it’s true, Cerberus said darkly. ‘The female who fought our rogues. The one with that power. That scent.

Damon’s gaze lingered on her again.

The strength beneath her calm.

The controlled dominance in her stance.

The way her presence filled the small cabin.

And something else.

Something ancient.

“You don’t look happy about that,” Diana observed suddenly, studying his face.

Damon blinked. “About what?”

“About me leaving,” she replied.

He realized too late that his expression had shifted.

“I just…” He chose his words carefully. “You seem important to this pack. They might need you.”

Her eyes darkened slightly. “They’ll be fine. At one time, maybe I was important, that is. But I am just a regular pack member.”

“But you killed five rogues,” Damon said quietly, watching her reaction.

Diana stiffened. “How do you know that?”

‘Careful.’

Damon gave a small shrug. “I heard some warriors talking outside earlier.”

She relaxed slightly, though suspicion still lingered in her gaze. “Yes, I did.”

No pride.

No arrogance.

Just fact.

Cerberus was pacing inside Damon’s mind now. ‘She is powerful. Stronger than she looks. And she is mated to Talon.’

Damon stepped slightly closer, careful not to invade her space too aggressively. “You said the traitor wanted you dead. Why?”

Diana’s jaw tightened. “That’s not your concern.”

Fair, but it told him enough.

She is central to something bigger.

“You trust him?” Damon asked quietly.

She looked at him sharply. “Trust who?”

“Your mate.”

There it was again. That flicker, but it wasn’t doubt.

It was fire.

“With my life,” she said firmly.

Cerberus snarled, and Damon felt something unfamiliar crawl under his skin.

Jealousy.

Possessiveness.

An instinct that did not belong to logic or politics.

She should not belong to him.

The thought shocked him with its intensity.

He had come here to confirm whether she was the the Silver Wolf.

To evaluate.

To strategize.

Not to feel this.

“Then I suppose you’ll be happy,” Damon said, masking the storm inside him. “Going to his pack.”

Diana smiled faintly. “Yes, I am.”

Silence settled between them.

The cabin suddenly felt smaller and more charged.

Damon inhaled again

That scent.

Wild.

Sharp.

Silver.

‘If she leaves tomorrow… Cerberus growled.

Damon’s mind was already calculating. He could not challenge Talon openly. Not yet.

But he would not simply walk away either.

“You should go back to the pack house,” Diana said finally. “If you’re truly waiting for acceptance, it’s better to stay visible. With everything that happened, they’re on edge.”

She stepped aside, giving him a clear path to the door.

Damon moved toward it slowly, then paused and turned back. “Diana,”

She looked at him expectantly.

“If you ever need help…” He let the words hang deliberately. “Not everyone who stands beside you is your friend.”

Her gaze softened slightly. “I know that.”

‘Do you?’ Cerberus whispered darkly.

Damon stepped out of the cabin. The cool night air hit his face, but it did nothing to cool the fire igniting inside him.

Diana, is she the Silver Wolf?

That was a weird encounter. Diana thought.

‘There is something off about him, Artemis said inside their shared mind, her tone low and thoughtful. ‘But I cannot put my paw on it:

The scent of pine and earth grounded her, but her thoughts kept circling back to the stranger inside her cabin.

‘He lied,’ Artemis continued. ‘Not completely, but enough.’

“He said he was new. Waiting for acceptance into the pack.” Diana frowned. “There are new wolves arriving, waiting for Asher’s approval. It is possible.”

‘Possible,’ Artemis agreed. ‘But his scent…

Diana’s breath caught for a fraction of a second. Yes. His scent. Strong. Commanding. Controlled. It did not smell like a lone wolf seeking shelter. It carried power. Authority. And something darker beneath it.

‘There was no scent of a pack. But there was dominance in him, Artemis murmured. The kind that does not bow easily.”

Diana shook her head, forcing herself to focus. “No time for this. Talon only gave us a couple of hours to gather what we need before we leave for Black Howler. We have to decide what to bring.”

At the mention of Talon, Artemis softened, warmth spreading through their bond.

‘Our mate,’ she said proudly. ‘The Alpha King’

Diana’s lips curved into a faint smile despite herself. Talon had made it clear. Once they left, she would be under the full protection of Black Howler Pack. No more uncertainty. No more whispers about her being wolfless. No more shadows from her past.

But that meant leaving this cabin.

Leaving the last place her parents had lived.

The small cabin was quiet, familiar. The scent of cedarwood and faint lavender lingered in the air. For a moment, she simply stood there.

“This is the last time,” she whispered softly.

Artemis pressed gently against her heart. ‘We are not losing them. We are carrying them with us.’

Diana nodded and began packing. She did not have much. She had never been one to collect unnecessary things. But every item she touched carried memory.

She opened the wooden chest near her bed first. Inside were neatly stacked letters tied with a faded blue ribbon. Her mother’s handwriting was elegant and flowing. Her father’s was larger, slightly messy but warm.

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