31. Aurelia
Chapter 31
Iawoke with a start, unsure why. The deep night lay quiet around us, the moon casting enough light to see without the tent’s canvas over us.
After a couple days of travel off the beaten track, we’d finally started getting close to the port where the ship that would take us out of this kingdom was docked and waiting for us. We knew Alexander and the rest of Granny’s gang would be waiting for us, and as such, we wasted no time unpacking and packing the tents. We only unpacked what was essential.
Everyone was on edge.
The familiar craving caught my attention, beckoning me to get up and cross to my pack where more of Granny’s altered product waited. After six tries—three back-to-back that nearly killed me, two others that Weston knew about, and one to put me over the edge I took in secret but that he later found out about anyway because I was shit at secrets—the hook had finally stuck in its jagged point. It was the point I’d been trying to reach. I wanted to see how bad it was, how long it lasted, and if it came with any side effects.
After I’d accidentally spilled the secret, Weston hadn’t exploded at me like before. He’d gone a steely sort of silent. He wouldn’t eat with me and hadn’t slept with me, instead staying curled up in wolf form a few feet away to guard me, but keeping his distance. The only thing he’d said was he was glad I was safe but disappointed I hadn’t stuck to our agreement.
Disappointed.
It had fucking killed me to hear him say that. He was a man with great integrity, who’d gone against his better judgment to trust me, and I’d been the one to renege on the bargain.
Worse still was his absence in my daily life. I hadn’t realized how much I enjoyed his presence—how comfortable I’d grown in his proximity—or how much I looked forward to sharing a meal with him or sliding into his arms after a hard day of travel. I had missed his soft good-nights and murmured good-mornings, his sweet kisses and the way he looked into my eyes. Most of all, I’d missed the idle chatter and light banter we shared. It had only been two days, but it had felt like a lifetime without someone I’d come to think of as not just a lover, but a friend.
My apology had been heartfelt. I might’ve cried a little. He’d forgiven me immediately without a single word about consequences if I did it again. He hadn’t needed to.
Now I lay on my side facing him upon the cot, taking in his handsome face as the emberflies drifted overhead. At this point in our journey, there were just as many in our camp every night as there had been in the village. Everyone thought it was very cool. I just thought it was comfortable.
His eyes opened slowly, as though he’d felt my gaze.
“Hey,” he said quietly, watching me watch him. “You okay?”
“Yes.” I reached up to lightly trace the curve of his bottom lip. “I still have cravings. It’s funny—my brain is thinking, ‘why don’t you try that hallucinogen again, that was fun.’ And while it was fun—mostly—I’ve done it a million times before. I’ve never had that thought. The chemical is telling me to do it again, and my brain is bending it to make it about the product. Nowhere does the sickness enter my mind.” I turned my hand, letting my thumb run along the stubble of his chin. “It’s dangerous. Which, I know, is what you’ve been saying from the beginning.”
“Can I help at all?”
I shook my head, now running my finger along his brow line and then down the bridge of his thin, straight nose.
“What’s your favorite color?” I asked, continuing on my mission to learn as much about him as he knew about me. Part of me wanted to see if these incredible feelings for him would continue to grow, and the other part of me was just curious to know more about him.
“Fuchsia.”
I crinkled my nose. “Fuchsia? As in... hot pink?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that a little—I don’t know, loud?”
“Very loud.” He kissed the tip of my finger as I let it drift past his lips. “In my job, which spills over into my personal life on a regular basis, I have to stay reserved. I can’t react too much or show extreme emotions. I can’t laugh too hard—or much at all, really—or cry. I can’t show strong anger and definitely no weakness. I must always maintain control of myself so that the pack knows I maintain control of my leadership. That denotes safety. It means I’m holding us together, and if we are unified, we are better protected. Do you see?”
“And so you choose little ways to step outside of a controlled, reserved life?”
“Yes.”
“Loudly anger-fucking me in the trees does not speak of a controlled, reserved life.”
“You are the exception.”
My eyes met his, holding his gaze. “Why am I the exception?” I whispered.
He didn’t speak, just looked at me in a way that spread warmth through my chest. It felt as though it expanded throughout my whole world, a deep, thrilling sentiment I was starting to feel on my own. One I wouldn’t dare voice, not even to myself. Things would change when we got out of these woods, when we went back to our lives—he had an important role, and I had literally nothing at all. This, whatever this was, wasn’t forever. I needed to remember that.
I looked away and trailed my fingertips down the center of his chest.
“Who do you look like, your mom, your dad, or the butler?” I asked.
He spit out laughter. “My dad, mostly. My mom is off the hook for that wild night in the silver pantry.” He tried to wrestle his smile away but clearly couldn’t manage. “Apparently, I’m the spitting image of my dad, though some people say I have my mom’s eyes and nose. The shape, I mean. Her eyes are blue. His are a yellowish-brown.”
“Yours are gray.”
“Dull, yes.”
I shook my head. “Not dull. Expressive and beautiful, like an angry sky right before thunder claps and lightning strikes.” I paused for a moment, unable to hold his deep, open gaze for all those reasons I wasn’t yet ready to voice. “Do you still look like him, or is age not kind to your family?”
I expected him to smile at my joke, his humor often self-deprecating. Instead, his smile faded. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since I walked away from the palace. He and my mother disowned me.”
“Oh, Weston. I’m sorry to hear that.” My fingers glided across each bump of his toned abdominal muscles. “Do you miss them?”
“I miss . . . the idea of a family.”
“What does that mean?”
“When I was a child, they weren’t around much. Their lives were devoted to the palace. They had children to continue their powerful bloodlines. Theirs was an arranged mating because of those bloodlines. They had us out of duty and left most of our care to servants. When my brothers and I were old enough to show our power, they finally took an interest in us, grooming us for a life serving the court. I was the prized son because of my abilities. I became their pride and joy, not because of any real emotional attachment, but because of my power—their status in continuing their line. We were a family in name, only. That was the dynamic for a lot of families in the Red Lupine court.”
“And your younger brother? The one lacking power?”
“He was mostly forgotten. Half the time my parents didn’t bother inviting him to family functions. He’s the one I left the palace for. They wouldn’t let him go because they wanted to keep his bloodline in the court, but no one paid him any attention. He was dangerously unhappy, withering away. My older brother and I had vowed to protect him, and so I broke all ties and helped him walk away.”
“And then you were stolen off the shores of your lands and lost touch with him, as well.”
“No,” he whispered. “When I came back, I saw that he was thriving as the alpha, so I walked away again, but that time of my own accord and on good terms. He’s happy. That’s what matters.”
“And you? Are you happy?”
He didn’t answer, instead saying, “Why do you trace my chest?”
“And arms. Don’t forget that I trace the contours of your arms.” I smiled. “Because you have a spectacular body and I like feeling it.” I paused. “Do you mind?”
“No,” he said, so softly I could barely hear him. “I like it.”
“What is your dream?”
“I think it’s your turn to share.”
“Not even remotely.” I grinned and scooted a little closer. He reached out, laying his hand on my hip. “You know all sorts of things about me. You read all those journals and heard all my stories during this journey. You’ve even snooped around my home. Am I going to get to snoop around your home?”
“If you like.”
I widened my eyes, not expecting that. I took it in stride, though. This was a pleasant fiction I was going to milk until reality shed its harsh light down on us.
“What’s your dream?” I asked again.
His gaze traveled my face. “When I was younger, it was to be the king and queen’s beta. The commander leading their legions, the most important non-royal duty in the land. When I was trapped in the demon dungeons, it was freedom. A kiss of fresh air. A meal I made for myself. After I watched the dragon king and queen struggle for each other and build a home and a family...”
His words drifted away.
“What, now you want to live the rest of your days as a bachelor?” I smiled, back to tracing his lips with my fingers.
“I want true love.”
Shivers danced across my skin. “Only that?” I mock frowned at him. “You’re dreaming very small, Alpha...”
“I want a mate and a family of my own, whether that family is one the two of us choose, one we create ourselves with children, or both. I want a love-blessed life, but not a settled life. I want to keep my duty, help build and defend a kingdom, and have a strong mate to start a real life with. I don’t want to settle for scraps.”
Tears filled my eyes and I had no idea why. “I think you will have that, Weston. I really do. After all you’ve been through, you’ve earned it.”
“That remains to be seen.” His words were tortured. “Listen, Aurelia, there’s something I need to tell?—“
Suddenly, the emberflies started to swirl violently before disappearing into the trees. I sat up in a rush and saw no one else stirring. Weston cut himself off in confusion.
“What is?—“
I held up my hand to silence him.
“Danger,” I whispered, ripping the covers away and hurrying into a pair of pants, tucking in the shirt and undergarments I preferred when we slept in the open. “The emberflies sense danger. Something is coming.”
“My sentries would’ve seen it.”
“Emberflies never lie.” I pointed in the direction from which the emberflies had flown while grabbing the long, serrated knife Hadriel had found for me—stolen from someone else, I had a feeling—and my lantern.
“What’s the matter?” someone said sleepily. “I have your bag. You can’t get at the drugs.”
Nova. She’d become a second protector, guarding my back when Weston was busy.
“Is it a wild animal?” Weston stood, far too leisurely for my taste. “They won’t pose a problem for the sentries.”
In fairness, it could’ve been an animal. Emberflies didn’t specify what sort of danger lurked in the dark. Then again, specifying wasn’t necessary. Danger was danger, plain and simple.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly, still holding the knife. My heart beat a solid drum within me, urging me to get everyone moving. My instincts said I had to either run and hide or get ready to fight but it was time to make a choice.
I stepped from side-to-side, refusing to lay back down until I knew what sort of danger lurked.
Weston looked at Nova who nodded and stepped away, shifting. She was using the pack bonds to silently check in with the sentries.
It took one beat for her body to tense and one more for Weston to act.
“Let’s go.” He pushed the cot out of the way and grabbed my arm, stopping to grab my bag as he walked. “Hurry. Let’s get you hidden.”
“What’s happening?” someone asked as another said, “Alpha?”
“We’ve got company. Shift, hurry!” Weston didn’t run, instead used long strides and made me half jog to keep up beside him. At the carts, he handed me my bag to sling over my shoulder before reaching into the closest cart and grabbing a sack. Around us the pack jumped up and those that weren’t already in their wolf forms quickly shifted. Weston turned back to me and continued issuing directions. “Put your bag beside you. Keep your knife and your lantern close,” he told me. “Do not turn on that lantern, no matter how loud or quiet it gets around you. It is for an emergency only.”
“How will I know if it’s an emergency?”
“Your only aim is to stay alive. Given your past, I assume you’ll know when your life is in jeopardy.”
“Where will you be if that happens?”
“Dead. Here we go.” He stopped beside a bushy area run through with briars. Before I could question, he reached into the thorny branches and pushed a bunch of them to the side. “Crawl in.”
“I—“
“Crawl in,” he said again, his tone brooking no argument.
Overwhelmed by the command in his voice, the power, I did as he said, finding it surprisingly roomy the farther in I crawled. After turning around to face him, he handed me the sack.
“Inside there is a fairy-treated tarp that will mask your scent. Huddle in that space with your bag, your knife and your lantern close beside you. Cover yourself and your things completely with that tarp. This is very important Aurelia: the edges of that tarp must be touching the ground all around you or your scent will escape. With that tarp over you, no one will be able to smell you to track you down, do you understand? The magic of that tarp will ensure it blends into the flora around you.”
“What about my scent trail leading here?”
“I’ll have someone take care of that. I’ve got to go. Huddle there and protect yourself, Aurelia. Do as your mother said and stay alive so that you can remember her, okay? Wait for one of us to come and get you, or wait for the right time to escape. I’m counting on you.”
With that, he let go of the briars, his hand and arm bleeding in several places from the thorns. He shifted there and his wolf looked in at me for a long moment, my chest dripping lava but nothing more, before turning and loping away.
I took a shaky breath and pulled the tarp from the sack. After unfolding it, I stretched it out and found it different than I’d expected. It felt almost like a stiff blanket, almost soft against my skin. I maneuvered against the bent branches inside the cluster of bushes and shoved at other bits that seemed like they’d been broken off entirely. As I gathered my things under the blanket, it occurred to me that Weston must’ve scouted this location upon our arrival for the sole purpose of hiding me should we run into trouble. He’d created a little nook and devised a way to keep me safe. He must’ve done it at each stop, at least since my escape from the mayor’s house, taking the time and effort to ensure that not only was his pack set up but that I had a safe, secret little burrow.
Despite the danger coming our way, my heart had never felt fuller. I made a little ball of myself and felt around to make sure the tarp completely covered me. It had been a long time since someone had looked after me so thoroughly, and I made sure to follow Weston’s instructions to the letter.
I just hoped whatever trouble had followed me here wasn’t more than they could handle.
Weston
The pack bond lit up with communication as my wolf ran toward the center of the camp. Nova and her team passed by us as they ran south, in the opposite direction. They spread out as they got closer to Aurelia’s location, acting as her guard and ready to face any attackers that got through the front lines.
The enemy approached from the north and the east, an organized wall of attack. This wasn’t like the attack on the camp those many nights ago, when our enemies tried to engage using antiquated tactics meant for a much less experienced alpha. Their pack was synchronized and well-led, under the command of someone with both experience and viciousness.
My wolf ran that way, monitoring our pack members and their positions. We were spread out around the camp, some in spots with no action. They would retain their posts in the likely event that the enemy spilled over to them. Those farther away would look out for any enemies attempting to sneak in from along the sides or behind the battleground.
The enemy pack might be well-led, but they didn’t have advanced battle tactics. They didn’t have my royal training and experience.
Snarls and yelps pierced the night. Bodies darted between the trees. Two of my pack members took down a smaller, quick wolf. Another member of my pack dashed left, smashing into a larger wolf trying to break through our lines.
They were in range and my wolf searched for their bonds, ready to grab them up and force them to submit.
Just like when Hadriel used Aurelia’s product, though, the connections were slippery and elusive. They slid through my wolf’s clutches and fell away.
My wolf ran closer, pushing our pack farther to the left and right to create a hole for us. Two enemy wolves waited and we barreled into them, taking the much smaller wolves to the ground. My wolf ripped out the throat of one without issue and rounded on the other as he reached for the bonds again. The one next to us was no problem, the proximity allowing my wolf to snap up that bond and push the enemy wolf to his belly. We’d be back for him. I had questions, and he would give us answers.
Other enemy wolves ran around us and my wolf reached again, clawing at that bond, wrestling with it until he could grab it up. We had to be three times as close as normal to the enemy to do so. Damn that product.
A yelp rang out to the left. Pain reverberated through the bond to the right. The enemy was starting to scatter, though, unused to the caliber of wolf I had in my pack. They weren’t used to facing the sort of leadership and training we had.
A scent we’d know anywhere hit my wolf like a wave of blistering rage.
“Dead wolf walking,” my wolf snarled as he pulled back from the fighting and lifted his nose into the air.
Alexander.
We knew his scent from Granny’s large estate near the castle, in Granny’s cottage in the village, and in his various living quarters provided by Granny. After hearing Aurelia’s stories, it was a smell now burned into our brain.
My wolf ran right, grabbing up the bonds he could as he followed that scent. The enemy wolves slowed when we grabbed them, making it easy for my pack to rip right through them. I only needed a couple for questioning, the rest could meet their maker.
A wolf lunged out of the shadows. My wolf turned quickly, snarling at the attacker. Teeth tore into our shoulder before my wolf had her in his grip; he ripped into the side of her neck and pushed her to the ground. There, he finished the job, blood dripping from his muzzle.
The bond lit up with new information. The enemy had indeed run in from the sides and at the back. Nova was fighting, taking on two enemy wolves with the courage of a champion. Another member of her team rushed in to help her, the rest spreading out a bit more to cover more distance.
Still, my wolf and I tracked Alexander’s scent. As alpha of this attack, he was the main target. As torturer of my true mate, he was now just waiting to die. Slowly. Gruesomely. Painfully.
I just had to catch him.
His scent wafted through the trees and floated around the reaching branches. Enemy wolves ran ahead of me, two breaking apart to run in opposite directions. Their fear was starting to get to them, was scrambling their decision-making abilities. My wolf reached for their bonds as we ran by, scrabbling to hold on.
“Leave it,” I said, wishing I was in control. “They’re nothing. The pack can handle them easily. Go after Alexander.”
He didn’t need convincing. He put on a burst of speed, catching a whiff here, a thread there. He couldn’t be close. Alexander was overseeing, nothing else.
Why wouldn’t he be going for the prize?
Another wolf broke toward Nova’s team. The first two wolves had been dispatched easily; our pack had no problem handling the third.
Shadows dashed behind a fat tree trunk, the detail lost to the night. My wolf darted in, recognizing the scent and chomping into the escaped prisoner it belonged to.
Then it occurred to me.
“We’ve recognized a lot of these scents,” I said as the enemy wolf stopped moving and my wolf stuck his blood-coated muzzle into the air. The scent was fainter now, though still traceable. My wolf took off in that direction, working around toward the back of the camp. “A couple have been escaped prisoners, a few were from the patrol in Granny’s village that evaded capture.”
“He’s sending them here to punish them while gathering information on how we work,” my wolf surmised.
“Exactly. They’re feeling us out. That’s probably what they were doing with the lurkers, as well. Getting information. They want to know who they are up against.”
“It’s what we would do.”
“It is.”
He followed the scent away from the camp for a little longer; there were no enemy wolves left in this area. A moment later, he lost track of Alexander altogether—he’d retreated.
Annoyed, my wolf turned back, monitoring the action. The enemy had scattered, some running into the camp and being taken down immediately, and some trying to flee. They knew they’d been beat.
“Alexander sent them here to die,” my wolf said.
“Most likely.”
“Well, we’d hate to disappoint him...” He gave the command to our pack to follow the enemy and take them out, their leadership having clearly withdrawn, the pack’s ability to stay in formation without it nonexistent. They wouldn’t be a challenge.
“Alexander would’ve felt you rip away that bond,” I said as my wolf ran toward camp. He gave the order for the captured enemy wolves, those whose bonds we held that hadn’t been killed, to follow us in. We’d see what they knew before sending them to the gods.
“We don’t even know if he had them bonded,” my wolf said. “I could barely grab the enemy bond and reel it in; there’s no way I could feel if someone had established one before me.”
“He must have. His people are running wild. He had to have been keeping them unified before he left.”
My wolf huffed, acceding the point. Alexander would know a strong alpha held his prize. Given he was testing my pack, he couldn’t have known exactly who we were. He didn’t know of my involvement, or that of the dragons by association. That was damn good news.
The enemy wolves we’d captured—five left alive—had been gathered near the fire. My wolf left them there and carried on, aiming for our true mate, hopefully still tucked away where we’d left her.
The action within the trees slowed, a few pack members chasing the remaining enemy wolves running for their lives and the rest watchful of more to come. Alexander’s scent was still absent. He didn’t curve back around or change locations or directions without us knowing, not in any way that would matter. It seemed like the skirmish was over.
And that’s all it was—a skirmish. Alexander had been protecting himself here. Learning. The next time he stuck his neck out, it would be with stronger wolves and with a better plan. Next time, he’d be aiming to take his prize.
Dante was close to Aurelia’s hiding place, having dispatched a wild enemy who had tried to get away but had run out of energy, allowing Dante to catch up and take him down. I sent Dante to get her, releasing Nova to help, and kept the rest of her team in position just in case. I wanted Aurelia back in the center of camp, with all of us surrounding her, before I called everyone back and set up our defenses for the rest of the night.
I advanced upon Aurelia’s hiding spot, retaking my human form so that I could look her over. Dante reached into the hidey-hole as a scarred but dainty hand slashed out, hitting him in the side with a knife. The whole bush shook, Aurelia clearly having fallen over under the tarp.
“Fucking hell!” Dante shouted, recoiling. He stumbled backwards, grabbing his side. “What the fuck, Aurelia? I thought we were friends!”
He landed hard on his butt with a pained expression, rolling to his non-hurt side and laying all the way down. “Owww! Why the fuck are you so fucking fast? You shouldn’t be that damn fast without your animal.”
Nova took a step back as Aurelia staggered out of the bush, her hair wild having caught in the briars, with gashes along her skin. I stepped forward immediately but she was already bending to Dante.
“Or maybe you’re just slow.” Nova snickered at Dante as she reached for Aurelia. “Aurelia, you’re covered in briars!”
“Sorry!” Aurelia told Dante as I neared. “I’m sorry, Dante! I dozed off and you startled me.”
“How did I startle you? I said your name! Do you think the enemy knows your name? Fuck.” He peeled his hands away, looking at the bloody mess along his side. “If she’d stuck me two inches to the left, it would’ve been bad.”
“The enemy does know her name.” Nova backed away to give me space. “Though yeah, that would’ve been a killing strike if she’d landed it better. Nice work, Aurelia. You’re getting better.”
“Salt in the wound,” Dante grumbled.
“Sorry!” Aurelia reached out to touch Dante’s leg but I caught her hand before it touched down on his bare flesh. I helped her to stand. “I didn’t hear you say my name, but maybe don’t reach for me next time.”
“There isn’t going to be a next time,” Nova said. “We’ll be on the main road tomorrow. We’ll have nowhere to hide you. We have to hope the enemy doesn’t have any tricks up their sleeves.”
Aurelia looked at me with those large, beautiful eyes. “He was here, wasn’t he?”
She had to mean Alexander.
“He didn’t get close enough to cause a problem,” I told her, leading her back to the fires. “You’re safe.”
“I felt him.” She huddled in close to me as we walked. “I felt him here. He’s come for me.”
“He won’t get you,” I said as I spied Hadriel jogging closer. I motioned him over before turning her to face me and bending down to look her in the eye. A swell of protectiveness sent adrenaline through my body. “Listen to me, Little Wolf. He will not get you. Okay? I won’t let him take you. You’re safe. I’ve got you. I won’t let anyone hurt you—ever.”
Her relieved expression made my heart thump. I kissed her long and deep, loving the way she clung to me.
“Hadriel is going to take you back to camp, okay?” He stepped forward as I said it. “I have to ask our captives a few questions. I’ll meet you shortly.”
She nodded again, licking her lips, before stepping away hesitantly. It was clear she didn’t want to leave my side, and that sent warmth spreading through me. My job wasn’t done, though. I had information to acquire, and I didn’t plan on being nice about it.
“Well?” Tanix said after we’d finished interrogating the prisoners. He wiped his crimson hands on a rag. He’d exacted a little vengeance for what Granny’s organization had done to his family, and I’d offered up some payback for what those people had done to Aurelia and her village.
I looked out at the trees, feeling Aurelia calling to me. I wanted to go reassure her, with my warmth and then my body. She didn’t like fucking in front of the pack, but she’d need to get over it tonight. I needed to be inside her.
“We have a couple things going for us. First, they don’t know who I am. That means the dragons aren’t implicated.”
“It also means they don’t know what they are up against.”
“Exactly. But the best news is that the local royalty don’t seem to be involved. My suspicions that they would be were off.”
“In this situation, I’m damn glad you were wrong.”
“No shit. It’s one less thing to worry about.”
Apparently, Granny’s product was causing dissent within many communities, and while the royalty were content to take the gold while things went smoothly, they cut and run at the first sign of discourse. They would not lend a direct hand to the organization’s efforts.
“Without royal pressure, all we need to worry about is getting past the port patrol,” Tanix said.
I took a deep breath. “That, and actually getting to the port. We have to join the main road leading to the port tomorrow. There won’t be any trees to hide in. Without royal backing, Alexander won’t be able to stage a fight in the city or near the port. Tomorrow, in the open, is where he’ll have to make his last stand.”
They wanted my true mate. Aurelia was a prize they would clearly sacrifice for. Kill for. Her worth couldn’t be measured by her humble lodgings and cheap attire. Granny had known the diamond she’d held, safeguarding it at the very edges of the kingdom, isolating it in the wilds. It wasn’t just Aurelia’s abilities, it was her intelligence and her ingenuity. Her hardworking nature and need to be of value. Those traits ranked higher than her power level, a prize for any shifter kingdom in its own right. Aurelia, simply by being herself, had blessed Granny with all the gold she could want.
Aurelia was a rare find and Granny had somehow known it upon their first meeting. That, or she’d taken a chance and gotten incredibly lucky.
My true mate was something special. Something rare. I could only hope the dragons would see it, too.
“So tonight was about Alexander preparing,” Tanix surmised.
“Yes. And tomorrow he’ll hit us again. Hard.”