CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
KNOX
I spread the latest intelligence reports across the war room table, my hands steadier than they've been in days.
The parchments detail possible Jax sightings—a manor abandoned in haste near the eastern border, witnesses reporting a man matching his description two kingdoms over, rumors of a mysterious benefactor funding mercenary groups along our southern territories.
All leads. All potentially false. All I have.
"The scouts returned from the Blackwood region," Astor reports, his massive frame filling the doorway as he enters. Dark circles shadow his eyes—none of us have been sleeping properly since the attack. "No sign of him there either."
I nod grimly, adding another red X to the map where we've eliminated possibilities. Three weeks of searching, and my brother remains a ghost. Three weeks since I found my parents' butchered bodies, since I inherited a crown stained with their blood.
"What about the network of safe houses?" I ask, though I already know the answer from Astor's expression.
"Empty. Abandoned. Whoever was helping him cleared out before we could trace anything back." Astor settles into the chair across from me, his weathered face grim. "Knox, I know you don't want to hear this, but—"
"He's not beyond our reach," I interrupt firmly. "He made this personal when he murdered our parents. I won't let him disappear into the shadows while their blood cries for justice."
The words sound strong, resolute. What I don't mention is how the constant headaches are making it harder to focus on maps, how the nausea from the severed mate bond nearly made me vomit during yesterday's council meeting.
The physical deterioration isn't just inconvenient—it's becoming a liability in my hunt for Jax.
Noah enters without knocking, his wire-rimmed glasses slightly askew and urgency written across his face. "We have a problem."
I straighten immediately. "What kind of problem?"
"The northern pack leaders are questioning your... fitness to rule." He sets a sealed letter on the table with obvious reluctance. "They're concerned about your physical condition and whether you can effectively protect the kingdom while hunting Jax."
The words hit like a physical blow. I break the seal and scan the formal parchment, each line a carefully worded insult wrapped in political courtesy.
Concerns about His Majesty's declining health.
.. questions about his ability to focus on kingdom security.
.. suggestions that perhaps a regent should be appointed. ..
"Bastards," Astor growls. "You've been hunting their would-be killer for weeks while managing the entire kingdom's recovery."
"They're not wrong, though." The admission tastes like ashes. "Yesterday, I couldn't even finish reading a trade agreement without the room spinning. How can I expect to track down Jax when I can barely function?"
Noah and Astor exchange a look—the same concerned expression they've been sharing for days when they think I'm not watching.
"There might be a solution," Noah says carefully. "Elder Lina has been researching ways to... ease the mate bond complications without compromising your judgment."
I've been avoiding this conversation for weeks, but the political ramifications are clear. If the pack leaders are questioning my fitness, others will follow. Soon, I'll have a rebellion on my hands while my parents' killer runs free.
"What does Lina propose?"
"Temporary suppression of the bond's physical effects," Noah explains. "Not severing it completely—that could be dangerous—but dulling the symptoms enough for you to function at full capacity."
The irony isn't lost on me. I rejected Aubrey to protect the kingdom from her betrayal, and now that same rejection is threatening my ability to rule effectively.
"The treatment isn't without risks," Noah continues. "But given the alternative..."
"The alternative is losing the throne while Jax consolidates power somewhere beyond our reach." I stand, decision made. "Arrange the meeting with Lina. If I'm going to hunt down my parents' killer, I need to be at my strongest."
The familiar scent of herbs and ancient magic fills Elder Lina's cottage as I step inside, immediately reminding me why I've been avoiding this place. Everything here speaks of old power, of solutions that come with prices I might not want to pay.
"Your Majesty," Lina greets me with a respectful bow, though her dark eyes hold none of the deference most show me. "I wondered when you'd finally come."
"I need to be functional," I say without preamble. "The mate bond separation is compromising my ability to track Jax, and the kingdom can't afford that weakness."
She nods slowly, gesturing for me to sit at her small wooden table. "The bond between mates runs deeper than most understand. Severing it abruptly, as you were forced to do for political necessity, creates... complications."
"Can you fix them?"
"Fix?" She tilts her head. "No, child. But I can provide temporary relief. The question is whether you're prepared for the consequences of that choice."
I lean forward, studying her weathered face. "What consequences?"
"Suppressing the mate bond's effects requires dampening your emotional responses across the spectrum. You'll be able to focus, to function without the physical symptoms—but you'll also find it difficult to feel... much of anything. Grief, rage, love, joy—all of it will be muted."
The trade-off is stark. Lose my emotional connection to everything in exchange for the clarity needed to hunt Jax.
"For how long?"
"As long as the suppression spell remains active. Weeks, months—however long you need to complete your task."
I think of my parents lying cold in the royal crypts, their killers still free. I think of the pack leaders questioning my fitness while Jax potentially gathers strength for another attack. I think of the kingdom that needs a strong ruler, not one crippled by magical side effects.
"Do it."
Lina studies my face for a long moment. "Are you certain? Once this path is chosen, finding your way back to what you felt before... it may prove more difficult than you expect."
"My parents are dead because I wasn't strong enough to stop Jax when I had the chance. I won't fail them again." The words come out harder than stone, final as a funeral pyre. "I don't need to feel anything except the satisfaction of seeing justice served."
She nods slowly and rises to prepare her materials. "Very well, Your Majesty. But before that, there is something about Aubrey I feel I should share with you first."
"What about Aubrey?"
Lina moves to her workbench, gathering vials and herbs with practiced efficiency. "The blood oath that bound her—it wasn't just about preventing her from speaking the truth. It was designed to ensure her death the moment she revealed Jax's plans."
I feel something crack inside my chest. "What do you mean?"
"The spell was cast using her mother's life as the medium," Lina continues, her voice heavy with ancient sadness. "The cruelest binding possible—one that would kill her instantly if she broke her silence. Yet somehow, she found the courage to warn you anyway."
The revelation hits me like a physical blow. All this time, I'd been angry about her betrayal, hurt by her deception. But she had been facing a death sentence every moment she spent protecting me instead of following Jax's orders.
"She chose to die rather than let you be harmed," Lina says quietly, not looking at me as she prepares her materials. "That's the kind of love most people spend lifetimes searching for, Your Majesty."
I sink into the wooden chair, my mind reeling. "But she's still alive. How is that possible?"
"The spell is weakening—her genuine feelings for you have been eroding its power for months.
Love, you see, is one of the few forces that can challenge even the darkest magic.
" Lina finally turns to face me, her ancient eyes grave.
"But it's not completely broken. And now that Jax knows she defied him. .."
"He'll try to trigger it himself." The pieces fall into place with sickening clarity. "That's why he hasn't been caught. He's not running—he's hunting her."
"I've sensed a great catastrophe approaching," Lina confirms. "The magical disturbances across the kingdom are growing stronger. Aubrey is at the center of it all—both the key to stopping Jax and his most vulnerable target."
Before I can respond, Lina suddenly doubles over, violent coughing wracking her frame. Blood stains her lips as she gasps for air.
"The Moon Goddess punishes those who reveal her secrets," she manages between coughs. "But some truths are worth the price."
I move to help her, but she waves me off with a shaking hand.
"There's no time," she whispers, divine retribution taking its toll. "Find Aubrey—before it's too late. The blood oath makes her easy to track, and Jax will use that connection to drag her back into his web."
Regret crashes over me like a tidal wave. I had abandoned her to face this nightmare alone, too proud and hurt to see past my own pain to hers. She had been trapped between saving me and saving herself, and when she chose me, I'd turned my back on her.
I wouldn't make that mistake again.