Chapter 20 Cade
TWENTY
CADE
Cade stood at the windows of his office, not his father’s office anymore, watching the twin moons cast silver light across the peaks of the Ice Mountains.
Seven days had passed in a blur of duty and desire being balanced precariously.
It had been seven days since he’d defeated Zarik in the duel, eight days since his father’s funeral, and nine days since he’d officially claimed Mila as his mate.
The enormity of how much had changed still left him reeling.
My perfect mate.
The thought sent a possessive thrill through him every damn time. His wolf practically purred with satisfaction whenever he caught sight of her golden hair gleaming in the corridors or heard her laugh echoing from the training grounds where Lyra put her through increasingly demanding exercises.
Speaking of which—the sound of clashing metal drifted up from the courtyard below.
Cade’s lips curved into a satisfied smirk as he spotted Mila sparring with one of his most skilled warriors.
She moved with a fluid grace that shouldn’t have been possible for someone who’d only been training for a week, her sword work growing more precise with each session.
“She’s adapting faster than any wolf-born female I’ve ever trained,” Martin’s voice came from behind him.
Cade didn’t turn around, but his chest swelled with pride. “I know. It’s like watching her soul remember this place.”
“The ancestral connection runs deep,” Martin observed, moving to stand beside him at the window. “Even the pack elders are starting to whisper about it. They say she moves like the moons guide her steps.”
That was exactly what Cade had been noticing.
Ever since he’d marked her, completing their mate bond, Mila had been instinctively picking up on wolf cues that should’ve taken months to learn.
She anticipated pack dynamics, understood territorial boundaries without being taught, and her combat instincts were sharp enough to rival seasoned warriors.
She was always meant to be here, his wolf insisted, and Cade couldn’t argue with that assessment.
“There’s something else,” Martin continued, his tone growing more serious. “The whispers about Zarik aren’t just rumors. My sources confirm he’s been meeting with rogue wolves from other territories. Whatever he’s planning, it’s not over.”
Cade’s jaw tightened, but he tried to remain calm. “Let him scheme. He lost the duel, and the council witnessed it. Any move he makes now will only expose his true nature.”
“And if he targets Mila?”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as Cade’s wolf surged to the surface. His eyes blazed with green fire as he finally turned to face his Beta. “Then he’ll discover exactly why challenging the High Sovereign was a mistake he’ll never live to repeat.”
Martin nodded, clearly satisfied with the lethal promise in Cade’s voice. “Good. Because she’s earned her place here, and the pack knows it.”
As if summoned by their conversation, the sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor outside his office. Cade’s enhanced senses immediately identified the approaching scent.
“Enter,” he called before she could knock.
Mila stepped into the office, her cheeks flushed from training and her golden hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore form-fitting leather training gear that showcased her toned figure, and Cade had to clench his hands to keep from crossing the room and claiming her mouth in a passionate kiss.
“Martin, Cade,” she greeted them with a smile that lit up her entire face. “Lyra said you wanted to see me now?”
“Actually, I need to speak with you privately,” Cade replied, and the way her blue eyes immediately focused on him with complete attention made his chest tight with emotion.
Martin took the hint. “I’ll leave you two alone. Mila, your progress has been remarkable. The pack is lucky to have you as their future queen.”
After Martin left, closing the door behind him, Mila moved closer to Cade. Her scent wrapped around him like a caress, and he reached for her before conscious thought could intervene.
“You’re covered in sweat,” he murmured, pulling her against his chest anyway.
“I’ve been training hard,” she said, her hands splaying across his shirt. “Lyra thinks I’m ready for advanced combat techniques, and some of the warriors are actually starting to treat me like I belong here instead of like a fragile human who might break.”
Pride swelled in him. “Because you do belong here. You were born for this world, this life... with me.”
She tilted her head back to meet his gaze, and the absolute trust he saw there nearly undid him. “I feel it now more than ever. Sometimes when I’m training or walking through the castle, it’s like I’m remembering things I never learned. Is that normal for mated pairs?”
“No, it’s not normal,” Cade admitted. “Your ancestral connection to this land runs deeper than either of us fully understands.”
“Speaking of things I need to understand...” Mila stepped back slightly, her expression growing serious. “There’s something you need to tell me, isn’t there? I can feel it—you’re nervous about something.”
Damn their mate bond.
Cade had hoped to ease into this conversation, but his fierce, perceptive mate wasn’t going to let him dance around the subject.
“There’s a trial,” he said finally. “The Moonfire Trial. It’s an ancient tradition that proves mated pairs are truly destined partners. As High Sovereign and his future queen, we’re required to complete it before I can officially propose and make you my wife.”
Mila’s eyebrows rose. “And when exactly is this trial supposed to happen?”
Cade winced. “Two days.”
“Two days?” Her voice pitched higher. “Cade, why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”
“Because you’ve been focused on your training, and I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of my father’s death and taking over as High Sovereign. Plus...” He ran a hand through his hair, feeling uncomfortably vulnerable at this moment. “I was nervous about it myself.”
“What kind of trial is this exactly? A legal one? Because you know I could handle that with no problem,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest in a gesture that was both defensive and utterly adorable.
“No, it’s not a legal trial. It tests our deepest fears and the strength of our mate bond.
The trial forces couples to face their worst nightmares while supporting each other through them.
” Cade’s voice grew strained with emotion.
“I wasn’t sure I was ready to have you see me at my most vulnerable, to risk you discovering something about me that might make you change your mind about us. ”
Mila’s expression softened, and she stepped back into his arms. “Oh, Cade. After everything we’ve been through, everything you’ve shown me about yourself already—your grief, your incredible strength—you think there’s something that could make me stop loving you?”
“I know it’s irrational,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around her waist. “But losing you would destroy me, Mila. My wolf and I are completely devoted to you.”
She pressed a quick but fierce kiss to his lips and then took a step back again. “When can we start training for this trial?”
“We can start training now if you’re up for it,” Cade replied quickly, still quietly reprimanding himself for not telling her sooner. “But we have all of tomorrow as well to prepare.”
Mila’s chin lifted with determination, and he caught the fierce spark in her blue eyes that always made his chest tighten with pride. “Of course I want to start training tonight. If we only have tonight and tomorrow, then I need all the time I can get.”
She’s mine. My wolf knows it. My heart knows it.
The thoughts pulsed through him like a heartbeat as he watched her square her shoulders. Even covered in training sweat with her golden hair escaping its ponytail, she looked every inch the queen she was destined to become.
“It’s going to be a crash course,” he warned, already moving toward the door. “But knowing you—“
“I was born ready,” she interrupted, her voice carrying steel beneath the silk. “I’m more than ready to train for this trial and become your future queen.”
As they walked through the castle toward the ceremonial hall, Cade felt some of his earlier anxiety begin to ease.
Her ancestral ties to wolves would give her legitimacy during the trial and would help strengthen their union when they faced whatever nightmares the ancient magic conjured.
The council couldn’t question bloodlines that predated their own laws.
She adapts like she was born for this, he mused, watching the confident way she navigated the castle now, and how pack members instinctively showed her respect. Because she was.
They found Lyra and Martin in the war room, bent over maps and strategy documents. Lyra looked up with bright eyes as they entered.
“I take it’s finally time for trial prep?” she asked, already standing. “Martin’s been boring me with logistics for the past hour anyways.”
“Strategic planning isn’t boring,” Martin protested mildly. “It’s what keeps us alive.”
“Says the man who color-codes his weapon inventory,” Lyra shot back with a grin.
Cade felt his lips twitch despite his nerves. This was what he’d missed during those dark days after his father’s death—the easy banter that made them feel like family rather than just pack.
The ceremonial hall stretched before them, its vaulted ceilings disappearing into shadow. Ancient stone columns carved with wolf runes reflected the flickering torchlight, and the ceremonial circle in the center seemed to pulse with dormant energy.
“The Moonfire Trial,” Lyra began, her voice taking on the formal cadence she used for official pack business, “is a mandatory ceremonial test for new mates to prove their bond publicly. For Cade, as High Sovereign, completing it successfully will give him the council’s official blessing to make Mila his queen. ”
Mila nodded, absorbing every word. “What exactly does the trial involve?”
Martin stepped forward, his expression grave. “Ancient magic creates illusions based on your deepest fears and doubts. You’ll face them together, and your ability to support each other through the worst moments will prove the strength of your mate bond.”
“The magic feeds on psychological weaknesses,” Lyra added. “It’ll try to break you apart by showing you visions designed to make you doubt each other and doubt yourselves.”
Cade’s jaw clenched tight as unwelcome memories surfaced—his mother’s death, his fears of failing his pack, the crushing weight of responsibility. But worse than his own fears was the thought of what Mila might face.
“Let’s start with some scenarios,” Martin suggested, moving to the center of the ceremonial circle. “We can’t replicate the actual magic, but we can help you practice responding to each other under stress.”
For the next hour, they worked through possible visions. Martin and Lyra took turns playing different roles—pack members rejecting Mila, council elders questioning Cade’s judgment, and scenarios where one of them appeared to betray the other.
“Remember,” Lyra coached as Mila practiced ignoring a particularly vicious illusion of pack rejection, “the magic will make everything feel completely real. You’ll believe what you’re seeing, feeling what the illusion wants you to feel.”
Mila’s hand found Cade’s, their fingers interlacing naturally. “We anchor each other,” she said, her voice steady. “Whatever we see, we remember that our bond is real.”
My brave, beautiful mate.
Cade’s wolf preened with pride, but underneath lurked a gnawing worry.
Both of them were holding back during this practice session—he could sense it in the way Mila’s scent shifted when certain fears were mentioned, and the way his own chest tightened when he thought about his deepest vulnerabilities.
“There’s something we’re both not addressing,” he said finally, stopping mid-scenario. “We’re preparing for the fears we know about, but the trial will dig deeper than that.”
Martin nodded grimly. “The magic finds the fears you don’t even know you have. The ones buried so deep you’ve forgotten them.”
A chill ran down Cade’s spine.
What if the trial revealed something that truly could drive them apart? What if his wolf’s primal nature, unleashed by ancient magic, terrified her?
“We’ll face whatever comes together,” Mila said firmly, seeming to sense his dark thoughts.
“Together,” he agreed, but the word felt heavier than it should have.
As they finally headed toward his chambers for the night, Cade’s mind churned with determination and dread in equal measure.
He needed to show the council and his pack that their mate bond was unbreakable, and that Mila deserved her place as queen.
But more than that, he needed her to prove her strength and adaptability in a way that would silence every doubter.
She’s stronger than any of them know, he thought fiercely. She just needs the chance to show it.
But as they slipped into his bed, a darker thought whispered through his mind.
What if love itself wasn’t enough to survive what the Moonfire Trial would demand of them?