Chapter 22 #2
"And you think your absence would make me stronger?" Nero's voice rose in horror. "You think I'd be a better leader, a better savior, with half my soul torn away?"
Casteel stared at him, stunned by the raw emotion in Nero's words.
Through their bond came waves of love so fierce, it bordered on desperation.
"No. I promise, not now." He scrambled to explain his fear, what was in his heart and took a step toward Nero, unable to stand the pain, the utter agony he could feel from Nero. He’d been wrong, so wrong.
But he'd realized it. He knew they were soul mates.
Stronger together. Fiercer together. He wasn't less. He was vital.
Nero scoffed, bitterness chilling his gaze. "And is it freeing knowing we're no longer life-dependent? Knowing you'll no longer be saddled with an old man?"
Before Casteel could respond, silver light erupted around Nero's form.
The transformation was instant and violent—human flesh dissolving into the massive silver wolf that embodied all his pain and fury.
Without a backward glance, the wolf bolted into the forest, crashing through underbrush with desperate speed.
"Nero!" Casteel's cry echoed through the trees, but the wolf was already gone, leaving only broken branches and the lingering scent of wild magic.
Panic clawed at Casteel's chest as he plunged after his mate, stumbling over roots and low-hanging branches in the darkness. Through their bond came only fragments—flashes of anguish, the wolf's need to run, to escape the pain of almost losing the one thing that mattered most.
"Nero, please!" Casteel called into the night, his voice breaking. "Come back!"
He ran blindly through the forest, following the wolf's trail by instinct more than sight. Branches tore at his clothes and face, but he pressed on, driven by the terrible knowledge that he had wounded his mate more deeply than any physical blade could manage. He kept yelling Nero’s name. didn’t care who heard. Didn’t—
A figure stepped from behind a massive oak tree directly into his path. Casteel skidded to a halt, his hand instinctively reaching for the knife at his side before recognition stopped him cold.
"Captain Aldric?" Casteel gasped, staring at the familiar face of Doran's former guard captain. But something was wrong—Aldric wore civilian clothes, rough traveling gear instead of his pristine silver armor.
"Easy, lad," Aldric said, raising his hands peacefully. "I'm not here to fight."
Casteel's grip remained tight on his weapon. "Then why are you here?" and how on earth did he find them?
"I was headed towards Morven's camp. I have friends who know the escape routes and I want to join the rebellion," Aldric admitted, his weathered face grim.
"Once I saw what they were doing to both of you, I'd had enough.
" He gestured to his plain clothing. "I'm done with Doran's madness.
The things I've seen, the orders I've been given. .." He shook his head.
"You expect me to believe that?" Casteel demanded, though desperation made him want to trust anyone who might help him find Nero. "You've served Doran for years."
"I've served the kingdom," Aldric corrected. "There's a difference, though it took me too long to see it." His eyes held a sincerity that seemed genuine.
Casteel felt Nero's presence growing more distant, the wolf running deeper into the mountains with each passing moment. The need to find his mate warred with caution.
"I heard your wolf run past," Aldric continued. "But too quickly for me to stop him."
Casteel shot a desperate glance toward the trail.
"I know these mountains," Aldric offered, gesturing toward the moonlit peaks. "My family comes from these parts. If your wolf is heading north, he'll hit the Widow's Ravine—a dead end. I can help you cut him off at the pass." He paused. “I helped you before.”
Casteel nodded, frustration clawing at him. It was true Aldric had helped them, and there was no way he could find Nero fast enough without some help.
"Why should I trust you?" Casteel demanded, even as he felt Nero slipping farther away.
"Because I have nothing left to lose," he said simply. "And because your wolf is heading straight for a Silver Guard patrol camped at the northern ridge."
Fear lanced through Casteel's heart. "How do you know that?"
"Because I ordered them there before I deserted," Aldric admitted.
"Standard search pattern—we've been combing these mountains for days.
If your wolf continues northeast, he'll run directly into thirty of Doran's most loyal soldiers, and he's distracted.
He didn't seem in any state of mind to heed any warnings his wolf gives him. "
Fear clutched at Casteel's heart. But each moment spent deliberating was another moment Nero moved closer to danger.
"I hated the rebellion for a long time," Aldric admitted.
"As far as I was concerned, they murdered my family.
" He shook his head. "Then two nights ago, Doran ordered a massacre at Thornfield Village—children were burned alive because their parents didn't reveal your location, when they wouldn't even know it.
That's when I knew I couldn't continue."
"Show me where he is," Casteel decided, praying he wasn't making a fatal mistake.
Aldric nodded once, then turned and began moving through the forest with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where he was going. He moved almost silently, despite the darkness, finding paths through the underbrush that Casteel would have missed entirely.
"The wolf," Aldric said as they climbed a steep slope, "he's not what Doran expected."
"What do you mean?" Casteel asked, breathing hard as he struggled to keep pace.
"The prophecy speaks of someone marked from birth," Aldric replied, glancing back. "Doran spent years searching, preparing. Then the wolf transfers to a battle-hardened assassin? The High Priest nearly lost his mind when he realized what had happened."
Casteel felt Nero's presence—still distant but no longer moving away. The wolf had stopped, perhaps sensing the danger ahead that Aldric had warned about.
"This way," Aldric said, veering sharply westward along a barely visible game trail. "We can circle around the patrol and intercept your wolf before he blunders into them."
But surely that was wrong? Nero would hear them. Smell them. Except Casteel couldn't take that chance.
The forest thinned as they climbed higher, moonlight spilling through the branches to illuminate a rocky path that wound between towering pines.
Casteel followed Aldric's sure-footed lead, hope rising as he felt Nero's presence growing stronger through their bond.
The wolf had changed direction, moving parallel to their path rather than away from it.
Nero had run but he wasn't running now, he was heading to them.
Aldric nodded, pointing toward a ridge that rose against the star-filled sky. "There's a clearing just beyond that rise."
Something in the captain's tone set off a warning bell in Casteel's mind, but his desperation to reach Nero overwhelmed his caution. They crested the ridge together, and the promised clearing opened before them—a small meadow bathed in silver moonlight, ringed by ancient pines.
Casteel got no warning. One moment they were walking and the next Aldric's arm locked around his throat, a dagger pressing against his ribs.
"I'm sorry, boy," Aldric said, his voice genuinely regretful. "Truly."
From the surrounding forest emerged a dozen Silver Guard, crossbows trained on both Casteel and Aldric. They moved with practiced precision, forming a circle that closed off all escape routes.
"Why?" Casteel gasped, the arm around his throat making speech difficult.
"They have my wife," Aldric whispered, his voice breaking slightly.
"My infant son. Doran holds them in the temple dungeons because he found out my sympathies lie with you.
" He tightened his grip. "I didn't want this.
But what choice did I have? I was looking for an opportunity to get close to Morven's camp when you ran right into my path. "
Casteel's heart hammered against his ribs as the trap snapped shut around him. Every fear he'd harbored about being a liability crystallized in this moment—his desperate flight to save Nero had delivered him directly into Doran's hands.
"Signal the High Priest," Aldric commanded one of the guards, though his voice carried the weight of a man condemning his own soul. "Tell him we have the omega."
Because it was true. Casteel was still an omega even without a wolf.
Then he felt Nero's sudden surge of alarm—the wolf had sensed the danger, was racing toward them with supernatural speed.
But even with his enhanced abilities, Nero was still minutes away, and Casteel could see the Silver Guard preparing to move.
"He'll come for me," Casteel said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the blade at his ribs. "You know that. And when he does—"
"When he does, Doran will be ready," Aldric finished grimly. "This was the plan as soon as we knew he had the wolf. Use you to draw him out."
But Casteel knew that. He'd always known that. And doing the very thing he'd hoped to save Nero from, he'd sprung the trap himself.
A horn's mournful cry echoed across the mountains—the signal Aldric had called for. Within moments, the sound of approaching hooves thundered through the night as reinforcements converged on their position.
High Priest Doran emerged from the tree line mounted on a massive black destrier, his pale eyes gleaming with triumph in the moonlight.
"The prodigal returns," Doran said, his voice carrying that familiar tone of absolute authority. "Though not quite as I expected."
"Let Aldric's family go," Casteel demanded, even as guards moved to bind his hands. "He's done what you asked."
Doran's laugh was like breaking crystal. "Oh, but his service is far from complete. The real Silver Wolf approaches even now, and we'll need every sword when he arrives."
Through their bond, Casteel felt Nero's desperate fury, the wolf's primal need to reach his mate overwhelming all tactical sense. The trap was perfect—Nero would charge headlong into an ambush, driven by the same protective instincts that had nearly gotten him killed at the manor.
He had been an utter fool, Casteel acknowledged, struggling against the ropes as guards lifted him onto a waiting horse. Pride had made him argue with Eryken.
Doran smiled with satisfaction. "Your lover's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness—he cannot bear to lose you. It makes him predictable."
A distant howl split the night, filled with such rage and anguish that even the hardened Silver Guard shifted nervously. Nero was close now, close enough that his senses had detected Casteel's capture.
"And this is your plan?" Casteel spat. "There's no way you can control us indefinitely."
Doran smiled in satisfaction. "I don't need to control you indefinitely," he said mildly, and whirled his horse around. "Mount up. We move to the prepared position immediately."
Prepared? Prepared for what? And what did he mean by his certainty they didn't need to be controlled indefinitely?
Casteel was tied to the horse and surrounded by five armed men. As they galloped away, he tried to send love and regret to Nero. Nero was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and his self-doubt and lack of faith in their love had brought him to this point.
He knew Nero wouldn’t stop coming for him until they were both dead or in chains.
And Casteel had no idea what to do.