Chapter 85
Chapter Eighty-Five
Eldrick
Eldrick’s chest ached as he blinked awake.
Outside the infirmary’s window, snow fell in delicate sheets.
The Drengr Village bustled with winter activity.
Farmers dragged fire logs through the icy streets.
Children threw snowballs, their smiles wide.
The distant ting, ting, ting of the smithery could be made out over the whistling wind.
It almost—almost—appeared to be a serene winter afternoon.
No curse. No scáth attacks. No war on the horizon.
Yet, fate was far crueler. Eldrick spied only Drengr navy amongst the werewolves. No shields with Drabek amethyst or breastplates painted Johannes green. How long had he been out?
“Three days,” his father said, as if reading his thoughts.
Aramis stood in the doorway with arms crossed and a tiredness etched into his frown.
He entered the infirmary, and the snow collecting in his furs dried instantly from the heat emitting from the center fire.
Embers zigzagged up and up into the tiny opening carved into the ceiling, hissing as heat and cold collided.
Eldrick sat up, fighting the stiffness in his sore muscles. “Lorkan?”
“I received word that your brother is safe.” Aramis pulled a stool up next to his bedside. “All thanks to you.”
“Bjorn?” he asked next.
His father sighed. “Ascended as Earl not an hour after your mother dragged you to the infirmary.”
Eldrick waited for bitterness to coat his tongue. It never came, and instead, a heaviness clung to his limbs. What now?
Restlessness bristled through Eldrick, and he swung his legs out of bed, planting his feet on the floorboards. He gripped the mattress for balance and studied the grooves in the wood, as if they might have answers.
“I don’t regret my decision,” he said without meeting his father’s stare.
“I figured as much,” Aramis said, “considering you asked about your brother first instead of the Earl seat. You care deeply, Eldrick. Always have.”
Eldrick scoffed. “Can you at least sound disappointed?”
“That would be an impossible feat when it is the farthest thing I feel.”
Eldrick shook his head, glaring at his father. “But I lost the vote and failed our pack. Failed the Vadon Mountains.”
“The first is true—and I, too, am to blame, Eldrick—but the latter is yet to be seen.” His father glanced out the window. “Why aren’t you angry with me?”
Eldrick debated, his shoulders loosening as he said, “Because I respect your decision to keep Lorkan safe.”
His father hummed. “Yet, I led you both astray, and for that, I’m deeply sorry.”
Eldrick’s heart skipped a beat. “Your more than forgiven, father.”
Aramis sighed as if he’d released a thousand tons off his shoulders. “Thank you, son.”
For a moment they sat in the welcomed silence.
Eventually, Eldrick sighed. “How am I to take orders from a male like Bjorn? How can I keep my head held high and lead the Drengr Pack after such a defeat?”
“Perhaps there’s a way you can avoid all of that.”
Both Eldrick and Aramis snapped their attention to Sam Johannes, who stood with his arms crossed leaning in the doorway.
The young werewolf had healed, aside from a greenish bruise lingering around his once closed-shut eye.
He wore leathers more suited for a battle and adorned with an interesting color choice: lilac.
Behind him, a few other young werewolves lingered—Siv, Gyda, and Erik—their gear dotted with a similar shade.
“How do you propose I do that?”
Sam entered the infirmary. “You’re not the only one who doesn’t agree with my father, Eldrick. There are werewolves who wish to fight to free Sorin of the curse, alongside the vampyrs.”
Never set foot on my lands again, he’d told the vampyr queen. Yet, he no longer had such authority nor a guarantee they’d be allies. Perhaps accepting a marriage proposal from Flynn had been for the better—
Eldrick pushed images of Tovi to the back of his mind. His body ached too much for him to linger on his bruised heart, and now his head spun with Sam’s suggestion.
“I can’t disobey your father as Earl. It is woven within the magic of the werewolves,” Eldrick said.
“Perhaps if you remained an alpha,” Sam said, lips twitching. “But speaking as a banished wolf, I’m not bound by the magic of these mountains any longer, and it’s quite liberating.”
Eldrick shot to his feet, unable to hide the bite in his tone. “Are you suggesting I leave my pack and let them face your father’s wrath?”
“No,” Sam said, his tone far too hard for someone his age. “But perhaps you can forge a new path for yourself, one more befitting for where you truly belong.”
“That still doesn’t ensure the well-being of the Drengrs.” Despite Sam’s enticing idea, every fiber of Eldrick’s being fought against abandoning them.
“What if they had a new alpha?” Sam smirked. “Someone who could fight his command.”
Eldrick scoffed, placing his hands on his hips. “What werewolf has that power? They’d have to be more god than werewolf—“ He stopped short, rearing straighter as the realization shot through him. “Kade . . .”
Aramis scratched his beard. “If your brother is alpha and doesn’t answer to Bjorn, neither do the Drengrs.”
Sam crossed his arms, a newfound glint shining in his eyes. “That’s an entire pack who’ll go to war, regardless of Bjorn’s choice. That doesn’t include those that’ll follow you, Eldrick. Trust me, there are more than you think.”
The promise of a certain future rippled through him while a word echoed through his mind.
Choice.
Could he rise to the occasion? Would he rebel against the path fate had laid out for him?
After a storm between mistaken enemies,
the wolf and dove, the clash of the light and night,
those of these lands will unite.
The whispers of the prophecy tickled the back of his neck, like the stanza carried on the breeze drafting through the infirmary.
For the first time in his life, Eldrick saw the world with crystal-clear sight.
Perhaps fate had presented a path all along, but he’d let titles and duty get in the way.
Eldrick’s heart sang as he realized his rightful place.
With an axe in hand, fighting for his lands .
. . all by the side of the woman he loved. Yet—
“Kade must want this, too,” he said. “I’ll not thrust a title onto someone unless they truly wish for it.”
A deep rumble vibrated through Aramis’s chest. “You can ask him yourself. Blair wrote to him about what happened, and he and Evelyn arrived yesterday evening. You’ll find both of them at the cottage.
” His father grasped his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“I’ve learned recently there are certain things not worth sacrificing, Eldrick.
Our hearts are certainly not one of them.
Go after her, or you’ll regret it for the rest of your days. ”
Eldrick nodded, the emotions rising within him too fierce for words.
Sam stepped out of the infirmary. “We’re staying at the Shield-maiden. Find us when you’re ready.”
Later, flurries danced around Eldrick as he marched through the forest to Kade and Evelyn’s cottage.
He’d dressed for a long journey ahead—traveling leathers, a thick wool tunic, boots that molded shin high, and a fur-lined cloak.
Not a hint of Drengr navy adorned his ensemble aside from a thin piece of fabric newly tied to his axe’s shaft.
“A reminder,” his father had said, “where you came from and are always welcome.”
Farewell tasted crisp like the start of spring, and as Eldrick’s boots trudged through the snow, he spied creeping phlox underneath the cold. The purple flowers contrasting against white quickened his gait. It was as if the land said go.
Kade stood with arms crossed in the doorway, one brow raised. “Shouldn’t you be resting in the infirmary?”
“I’m afraid I have something to ask of you and Evelyn,” Eldrick said.
Kade assessed him hood to boots. “I see. Come in.”
The door shut behind Eldrick, and the warmth from the hearth encompassed him. In the kitchenette, Evelyn prepared coffee. Her and Kade’s power brimmed in the quaint space, and Eldrick wondered if either of them was aware of how much they’d truly changed in the last weeks.
A King and Queen will emerge,
With the seeds sown from elsewhere . . .
Eldrick fought a smile. Perhaps they were, and he was the one late in accepting the prophecy.
“This ask seems serious,” Evelyn said, handing him a steaming mug.
She took her place next to Kade, and their shoulders touched ever so slightly.
Kade tilted his head, studying him. “You’re leaving.”
Eldrick nodded. “I wish to, yes, but I refuse to leave our pack without a leader. The alpha baritone has never worked on you, Kade, but now more than ever, you’re strong enough to fight the Earl’s command.
” A nervous laugh escaped him. “If you ask me the truth, I think you’ve been the rightful leader of the Drengrs all along, but” —Eldrick turned to his brother’s mate— “this also affects you, Evelyn, and if it is not something you both wish for, then I respect your decision.”
Because if Kade accepted and Eldrick gave his brother the title, Evelyn would become the female alpha of the Drengr Pack.
Evelyn gave Kade a small smile, and by the unsaid words shining in their eyes, Eldrick guessed they discussed his ask over mind-linking.
Kade nodded and approached Eldrick with his outstretched. “I’ll happily agree to it, brother, but where will you go?”
Eldrick’s heart swelled. “I intend to find the woman I love.”