The Kingdom of Eternal Ice (Under the Werewolf Crown #1)

1. Hunted

one

Hunted

*ENDELLION*

“ C ome on! Faster, everyone!” my brother yells from the front. “We don’t want to get caught in the blizzard.”

“Let’s take the shortcut,” I yell back through the wind.

Are you serious, Endellion? He links me.

All of the warriors with us are good horse riders; we should make it, I point out.

Risky , he says.

Caelan, we can’t always play it safe. The blizzard is approaching fast. If it hits us, it’s going to be their death. Shifters or not, they are weakened, and we have elders and children with us too.

Caelan turns his head slightly while not slowing down. “Follow us,” he yells at the small group of men and women. All werewolves of the Northern Kingdom, the Kingdoms of Eternal Ice, are exceptional riders. Horses are essential for reaching and protecting the smaller villages.

I fall back to ride alongside a young woman with her baby. She has tied it to her body, keeping it warm, a grim expression on her face. At the rear end of our group is another one of my brothers and the youngest of us three, Flinn, making sure no one falls behind.

“How are you holding up?” I ask her.

“I’m good,” she says with determination in her eyes. “Thank you, Prince Endellion.”

I decide not to belittle her by inquiring further. She has lost her mate and older child already and is one of the very few females we managed to find alive. She is clinging to her determination now to bring her baby through this alive.

I nod at her, leaving her immediate proximity but remaining close enough to help in case something happens.

Caelan leads our group away from the safe, main road and through a narrow path. Only two riders can be next to each other here, with the mountain tight to our left and a dangerously steep cliff to our right. I hope I made the right decision in suggesting this path. Falling here would mean our certain death. Nothing can be heard aside from hooves hitting the ground and the blasting wind getting stronger every second.

Flinn, reach out to Dad and the guards, tell them we are coming , Caelan commands. As triplets, we can share a mind link between all three of us, a link with all three of us present at the same time, a rarity amongst shifters, even for stronger ones. It’s like an open door that’s never closed. We can usually only link our mates like that or our pack as a whole. Strong wolves can mind link a single person, but not be in a constantly open, mind link like we are. The only exception to the rule is the king himself, who is blessed by the goddess to have more powers, and his very few ranked members.

Consider it done , Flinn says surprisingly seriously. He is the mischievous one of us usually; it’s rare to see him so earnest and grim.

Any problems back there? I inquire.

I hope not , he says. But one of the older men is having trouble keeping up with the group. I’m with him and a teenage girl. I’m staying close to them and making sure to nudge their horses forward.

If you need help , tell me, I offer.

You need to save the baby , Caelan intervenes. The villagers can’t lose another one of their women and children.

Let’s focus on getting everyone to the safety of the castle , I remind him.

Right , he nods, but I can feel through our bond that if things get any more dramatic, he’ll want us to make a decision. He is the most realistic of us three, used to pointing out things Flinn and I like to tip-toe around.

We fall into silence, trying to stay focused on the task. I turn my head slightly to look back, allowing my wolf spirit forward to scan what’s behind us. The blizzard is approaching fast, as if it is chasing us. Within it I feel like I can see the shadow of something else… a creature?

It’s not just the blizzard chasing us , my wolf, Caspian, says out aloud what I’ve been thinking.

My blood almost freezes in my veins at his words. I toss one last glance at the woman with the baby. “Are you certain you can do this alone?” I ask her.

“Absolutely, my Prince,” she exclaims. “I’m one of the best riders of the village. Please help those that need you more.”

“Alright,” I say, falling back to reach Flinn. He and the two slowest of the group are behind, just like he told us. I grab the reins of the old man’s horse. Flinn looks surprised to see me. Something is behind us, I tell him.

What!? He tosses a glance back and frowns. Are you sure?

Have I ever been wrong? I ask him.

Yes , he says. But I’m not taking the risk to prove you wrong today.

He grabs the reins of the teenage girl’s horse and nods at her with a smile. “The blizzard is approaching,” he says gently. “Let’s make sure to get out of here.”

She looks relieved, and after exchanging one last gaze, we both set off leading the other two horses with us. We catch up to the others the moment they begin passing the borders of the capital, the biggest town of our kingdom, situated around the castle. The protection spell around it engulfs everyone the moment they pass through. Even if the blizzard catches up with us now, the dark force behind it will stay outside. Guards and warriors are already running towards us to help the villagers down from their horses and bring them to the safety of the castle.

“Everyone, stay inside,” Caelan yells at the townspeople, who are peeking out of their houses. “The blizzard is hitting any moment!”

He and another bunch of warriors make sure to lead the horses to the safety of the stables, while Flinn and I push our horses to their maximum. “Good boy,” I whisper to mine. “I’ll make sure you receive a feast and a lot of belly rubs for your efforts.”

He neighs as if he understands me.

Flinn and I dash forward with the old man and the girl across the border, feeling how the protection spell closes behind us. The blizzard will come, but whatever else chases us will remain outside. A roar can be heard behind us the moment we make it to safety.

I… I heard that too , Flinn mutters.

The blizzard hits us with its full force the moment I make it to the stables. Thankfully, everyone else is safe inside already. It’s only Caelan, Flinn and I here, and a few warriors who help us with the horses. The storm is already here, rattling the windows, but our houses and buildings are firm; we are used to this weather.

“Good job,” Caelan tells us.

“You too, brother,” I smack his shoulder, while Flinn goes all out and pulls us into a group hug.

“What are you doing?” Caelan grumbles, looking a bit flustered.

“Aw, look at you,” Flinn grins. “All shy and embarrassed.”

I chuckle at his words, while Caelan just furrows his brows.

“You don’t always have to be so serious,” Flinn jokes, poking Caelan’s cheek, only to get his hand smacked away.

Caelan pulls away and turns his attention back to the horses. Although we are triplets, our personalities differ vastly; we also don’t really look the same as we aren’t identical. Caelan looks like our father. He has blue eyes and blonde wavy hair going over his ears, Flinn looks more like Mom with his red short hair, green eyes and freckles. Meanwhile, I am the weird one in the family. I don’t look like anyone in particular. My hair is black and slightly curly, and I have creepy silver eyes, which come from Goddess knows where. The three of us couldn’t be or look any more different. The only thing we share is that at the age of twenty-four, we still haven’t found our mates.

Every shifter is supposed to have the one person fated to him or her, but somehow, my brothers and I haven’t had luck finding ours. I know from my friends that they felt a pull one day, a knowledge that she or he was of age, and their wolves awake. It’s an instinct inside them that tells them their mate is somewhere out there, waiting for them.

As for us three, none of us feels this pull, nor do our wolves. So, either our mates aren’t eighteen yet, or they died before they were of age. My chest clenches at the thought of my mate having died before I met her. But then, even if this might have happened to one of us, how high is the possibility that we all three lost our mates?

Something just doesn’t feel right.

“Cae,” I approach my brother again. “You really led us well today.”

“You made some good points, too,” he answers. “It was your idea to take the mountain path.”

“And you listened to me,” I point out. “You could have ignored me and went with your original plan. You were the leader for this mission.”

He furrows his brows, giving him his usual brooding image. “Mom always says we are weak on our own and strong together.”

The three of us have taken on more and more tasks to help rule the kingdom, and our father makes sure that each of us gets to lead a mission, to play out our strengths and to learn new perspectives. He probably wants to see how well we handle these stressful situations. Dad’s been putting off the decision to announce his heir to the throne. Because we are triplets, it’s more complicated. The power doesn’t automatically fall upon Caelan just because he is the first who popped out of Mom. It shouldn’t be that way; normally, the first-born child of an alpha or Alpha King would inherit all the power, and it would be easy to make one of us king.

But nothing about our birth was normal. Our mother says we are special, because never before have triplets been born in the kingdom. She says we are a miracle, but it feels more like we are cursed.

“Let’s head inside,” Flinn pulls me out of my thoughts.

The stables are directly connected to the castle, fortunately, or we would have needed to spend the next few hours here. Thick sturdy white bricks build the facade of the castle, protecting it from the weather and cold, and making it look like an ice palace from the outside, while inside everything is made out of warm wood and polished stone. The Kingdom of Eternal Ice doesn’t have many resources that grow in the cold, but we give our best so our people can live in comfort and safety.

“Here you are!” a voice reaches us, and light footsteps approach. Alana, one of our sisters and the second oldest after us, approaches. She hugs each of us, her eyes glazed with worry. She is a tomboy and hates most ‘Princessy stuff’ as she calls it. She looks like the spitting image of Mom, tall with her red hair and her green eyes. She cut her hair chin-length a while ago and is always clad in pants and shirts.

Dad complained at first but then gave up and let her be herself.

“You did well evacuating the townspeople,” Caelan praises her.

“Thanks, Cae. I had help though, the warriors did great.” She takes my hand and Flinn’s, and nudges Caelan with her foot. “Come. There is hot wine and food waiting for you. Everyone is already expecting you.”