Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
After saying goodbye to my family and Cassian and Elia, Kaelric and I headed for Loroc.
Cassian said he was going to finally visit his family in Aerlyn and took the train that way.
Kaelric and I ran in our wolf forms and covered the ground quickly, our paws thudding softly over soil and leaves.
Wind whispered through our fur as the countryside blurred beneath us.
We stopped only to hunt or lap water from the river, and during those brief pauses, the world felt impossibly quiet, as if holding its breath for whatever the two of us would do next.
We slept curled together beneath a towering pine.
The night was clear and full of stars. I’d never felt more like I was meant to live in nature this way.
Damp moss cushioned us, and the cold earth soothed the ache of my new bones.
When I was in wolf form, I wasn’t worried about bugs, or too much sun, or mud on my paws.
Nothing felt uncomfortable or strange. I was wild and free, and Kaelric was by my side the entire time, his warmth pressed into my flank. That alone made the world feel safe.
I couldn’t put into words what it was like to be mates with him now that I was a wolfkin.
In the human world, you dated, got engaged, and then married.
But as wolfkin mates, you fast-forwarded all of that.
There was no hesitation, or maybe someday.
He was more than my husband. He was the other part of my soul.
I didn’t need vows or a big celebration for that to be true. The bond itself was the promise.
Now that I was a wolfkin, we could be together fully without consequence. We could have children. Everything I wanted. The thought of pups, little versions of Kaelric with soft black fur and fiery orange eyes, made my chest feel warm and full.
As we ran the last few miles to Loroc, I checked in with Val.
‘All good there? I’m coming soon,’ I told her.
Silence followed. No warm greeting. No immediate snark. Just void.
I slowed, paws dragging against the grass, and Kaelric noticed, easing back with me.
‘What’s wrong, my love? Are you tired?’
‘Your mother isn’t responding to me.’ My nose hovered low to the ground, picking up every unfamiliar scent. I was still learning how to separate every little smell, how to tell what was animal, what was human, what was Elite.
‘Try again,’ he pressed gently.
I closed my eyes. ‘Val, you’re scaring me. Are you okay?’
The stillness around us sharpened, pressing into my fur like needles. Only when I forced myself to breathe and sink deeper into the quiet did I feel her faintly. Wrong. Hidden. Afraid.
‘He has an Elite with metal magic. Can’t talk. He knows where I am.’ Val’s message came clipped, like it took everything in her to get the words out.
My heart lurched.
An Elite with metal magic meant they could pull Val up out of the water with their power.
No. No. No.
My wolf threw her head back, and an agonizing howl ripped from my throat before I even thought about it. Kaelric stiffened beside me.
I bolted, claws tearing the ground, and Kaelric ran at my side as I relayed what was happening.
‘Don’t worry. They can’t wield her,’ he said, pushing reassurance into our bond.
Panic surged through me. ‘They could melt her down!’
‘No way. She would kill them if they tried.’
I stumbled, processing his words. I was wolfkin now… she could draw on my strength to defend herself. Her tether to me was no longer fragile. She could fight back.
‘They could keep me from wielding her.’ The realization struck like a physical blow. If they locked her away, if they broke our connection, or hid her somewhere the bond couldn’t reach… it would all be over.
Kaelric didn’t respond, but his silence was answer enough. He simply ran faster, his long strides stretching into a sprint that left the wind screaming around us.
I reached out to Valkaryn. ‘I know you can’t talk. But if you need to take energy from me to fight, you do it. I’m strong now. I can handle it!’
Almost instantly, a pull yanked through my chest, draining my strength so abruptly my paws fumbled beneath me. But then a burst of power surged outward from my ribs like fireworks.
My wolfkin magic? If that was even what it was? It didn’t feel like what I imagined magic with the Elites was like. It felt ancient, raw, like wind and bone, like mountain roots and the cry of night predators.
I surged forward, body thrumming, and I knew then that Valkaryn was locked in a battle for her life. Worse, I had no idea how to get her out of it.
The moment we reached Loroc, Godric was suited up in armor and waiting, his stance rigid and ready. Kaelric must have mentally hailed him the moment things turned bad.
We shifted immediately, the world snapping back into two-legged motion. Godric bowed his head to me. “Good to see you alive, Lady Brynn.”
His voice was gruff, but there was relief in it that made my throat tighten.
“We need to get back into the city. Val is in trouble,” I told him, urgency staining every word.
He nodded once. “Kaelric told me. We need a plan, though.”
“I’m going this time, too. I’ll disguise myself like you did,” Kaelric offered, already stepping toward Godric like he expected agreement.
“No way,” Godric and I both said at the same time.
“No?” Kaelric cocked his head, brow lifting as if he genuinely didn’t understand how anyone in the entire realm could deny him anything.
“My love…” I stepped close, placing my hands over his pecs, grounding us both. The heat of him radiated through my palms. “They will recognize you even with a good disguise. You are the alpha of the largest pack in Fenmyr.”
His jaw flexed. “I won’t let you risk yourself.” His chin tipped higher, a familiar stubbornness settling over him, equal parts noble and infuriating, like telling the storm not to rain.
“I will protect her with my life,” Godric told him.
I felt another drain on my power, but just as soon as it was there, it was gone again.
A cold tremor ran down my spine. Val was fighting, and I wanted to get to her as soon as possible.
My muscles tightened with the urgent need to move, to be where the danger was, to feel Valkaryn’s metal warm in my hands.
The world around me narrowed until all that existed was the thought of her, trapped and struggling.
“You almost got caught last time!” Kaelric told us.
His voice snapped me back into the tent like a rope dragging me from water. I peered back at Godric in the lantern’s glow. “Go get your disguise on, and I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.”
Godric looked at Kaelric, who was glaring at me, but he nodded once, and his second-in-command left the tent, the leather at his hips whispering as he moved. My pulse was loud in my ears as I prepared to talk Kaelric down.
“Listen, I know before, when I was human, I needed you to protect me, and I was useless without Val, but that’s not the case anymore.”
Kaelric frowned, his beautiful lips pulling downward. “I’ll always protect you, Brynn, whether you need me to or not.”
Those words settled into my chest like a warm stone. It was very sweet, and my heart melted. I leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, tasting the faint salt of sweat and pine smoke.
“I have a plan, and I’m going to need you and your men ready to storm the city on my word. Can you do that?”
His eyes glowed yellow. “I’ve been waiting to do that for a decade. But, Brynn, he has Mind Render.”
I laughed, the sound brittle with nerves. “And I have the King Killer, so let me go and kill this king.”
His expression changed, wide-eyed, like a boy finally hearing that his dreams will come true. He looked hopeful. “You have a plan?”
Narrow hope, sharp and dangerous.
I nodded. “Get your men as close to the city as possible, hidden in the forest, and charge the gates when I say to.”
His brow furrowed. “What’s your plan? He has so many loyal to him… He’s more powerful than you know. He’s—”
“He’s a man with an over-inflated ego who needs a magic sword to exert control over people. I’ll crush him under Valkaryn’s power.”
Kaelric peered around the tent, frozen for a heartbeat, unsure what to say or do.
Finally, the realization loosened him. “I’ve waited for this moment for so long.
I never thought my mate would be the one to liberate my people.
” He sounded stunned in the best way, as if a dream had finally aligned with reality.
“Girl power.” I winked, trying to nudge him back to the plan. He growled, pulled me into him until I was flush against his body, the familiar heat of his chest pressing me inward. “If you get hurt before I get a lifetime to love you, I’ll never forgive you.”
I grinned and kissed him again. “I promise we have lots of loving to do.”
Something fierce bloomed inside me, and I felt the edges of calm snap into action. I stepped back, shoulders squared, and burst from the tent.
‘Hang on, Val. I’m coming,’ I called into the dark, feeling the words like a vow. Anger sharpened my voice into something hotter than fear. I was beyond pissed, and it felt good.