8. Runa
Runa
After the Regulator’s funeral, we gather for a feast.
A large green urn filled with the ashes of the deceased alchemist sits on the dining room table.
It blocks my view of the Fireborn Alpha chatting with my mother, directly in front of me.
Next to him, my sister looks bored, but she’s staring behind me and to my left at the door through which her man’s going to come and join us any moment now.
It’s so obvious she’s expecting someone that I fear Ash Fireborn will figure out it’s Soren’s Regulator she’s looking forward to seeing. Ash will light us all up like candles. My only hope is that my brother can stop him.
And why does my dad have to sit all the way at the other end of the table?
My mother sure as heck shouldn’t be entertaining the Fireborn Alpha. If she gets any more wine in her, she might grope him. I’m going to die if that happens. No, really, I am.
Ash should sit beside my father. He should sit anywhere that’s not beside my mother, who’s on the second bottle of wine in a span of an hour. My sister is helping her with the bottle now, so I guess that’s a saving grace.
As Maren leans in toward Mom, she giggles at something Ash said, and I can barely contain the urge to yank her braid. We shouldn’t be laughing during a funeral dinner. Besides, the Fireborn Alpha’s jokes are stupid. She doesn’t even like him.
I lean to the right to see past the giant urn. Ash catches my movement, and our eyes meet.
Instantly, I lean back.
While my mother and sister drink with him, I pick at my potatoes. Ash doesn’t seem sad about his Regulator now, but I sensed sadness from him when he first found Peter’s body. I guess Ash grieves quickly, or maybe privately.
I wish I could do that.
When my childhood friend died in the wars, I couldn’t get out of bed for weeks. Maybe Ash has the same relationship with the Regulator that Soren has with his. Soren’s Regulators die on the job quite regularly. I hope Soren logs their deaths as work related so their families receive care for life.
When it comes to care, human society is brutal and materialistic.
If you can’t take care of yourself, nobody else will.
Those threats to safety and security make people live on the edge all the time.
A society that’s built on constant reminders to fear the future if they don’t save or make the kind of money that many of them can’t make right now isn’t healthy for anyone.
Their alchemy helps them cope. They don’t realize that much of what they do is motivated by fear, because that’s how they’ve always lived.
We’re not better than humans, but when it comes to taking care of the young and the elderly, we stick together as a pack. There are hundreds of pack mates who live in this castle with us. Someone is always around to lend a hand.
Which makes me wonder if Soren “helped” us achieve some goal with Ash Fireborn by drowning his Regulator in the pool. It could also be that someone will try to frame my brother for murder since Peter drowned, and water is the element my brother controls.
Are we even investigating it? Or did we all accept Peter’s death as a sad accident?
Ash chuckles. It’s a very inappropriately sexy sound that makes my body aware of his proximity. Or distance, if I’m being honest. I lean to the right. Again, he catches my gaze. This time, he winks.
I stick my tongue out at him.
Jerk. I want to tape his mouth shut so he can’t speak to anyone anymore.
I eat my potatoes. They’re yummy.
What’s really saving us from killing each other this evening is not the departed Regulator, but the departed Peacebroker.
If that man were still around, we’d have a major issue, and I bet he’d have caused a ruckus with Fireborn once Fireborn told the lie of how Peter died.
The Peacebroker would’ve been the one who would’ve handled Peter’s body.
With him gone, Ash did whatever he wanted with both the paperwork and the body. It occurs to me that we have no crematoriums in our pack. I can only imagine how he cremated Peter’s body.
I admit, I’m endlessly curious about the Fireborn Alpha’s elemental fire. I’m curious about most things, but I’m most curious about the elemental alphas. There are only three of them in the world, and they’re regulated by humans, so they rarely use their element.
I can’t remember the last time Soren made waves. When we were kids, my dad would craft waves that could reach the moon. Or so we thought when we were kids.
Alchemy regulates the use of elements, but there’s another reason Soren won’t manipulate water in front of others. It makes wolves uncomfortable. Raises the hackles even if we’re in our human form.
Sven Olsen walks in with Blade’s Regulator. They’re wearing white robes with black collars, which is human mourning attire. We quiet down when they join us at the dinner table.
My sister’s face lights up almost instantly.
God, she’s not even trying to hide her affection for Sven.
My mother pours another glass of wine. My dad glares at the men, who are late for dinner, but he’s not the kind of alpha who will wait for anyone.
Dinner was scheduled at nine, and it’s not his problem that they couldn’t make it on time.
Sven sits next to me and apologizes for his lateness, citing the long report they’ve had to write about Peter’s death. He mentions a video call with the Peacebroker.
“Not a problem,” my father’s deep voice booms from the other side of the table. “You know the rules. We don’t wait for anyone.”
Sven apologizes again and pours a drink before picking out his food. When I look up, I catch Ash leaning around the urn to look at me.
I jerk my chin up. What are you looking at?
“Runa,” Sven says between bites. “The Peacebroker had a few questions for you. If I could come by after dinner, I could file the report tonight and get Peter on his way to his family.”
“I’ve given you a full report,” Ash interjects before I can answer.
Sven wipes his mouth. “I have to take her statement.”
“Did you take the statement of the women who found Peter?”
“I have, yes.”
“That’s enough, then, wouldn’t you say?”
“The Peacebroker asked for Runa’s statement.”
“Which she must give you after dinner. In private?” Ash asks.
“Well…” Sven fidgets with his napkin. “Yes, that is how statements of this sort are collected.”
“I’ll do it,” I say.
“I said it wasn’t necessary,” Ash barks.
“It’s not a big deal. I want to help.”
“You’re not helping.” Ash’s tone could cut glass, and everyone falls silent.
“Actually,” Sven says, “I need her statement, or the report is incomplete.”
“Says who?”
“The Peacebroker.”
I tilt my body to the right so I can see Ash grinding his teeth.
“The Council wants to speak with you,” Sven says, his voice wobbling a bit. Ash is agitated. He’s scary when that happens.
“I’ve got nothing to say,” Ash says. “Have them send Peter’s replacement. Tell them I want a family man. Wife, kids, a dog. My conditions for picking out a Regulator haven’t changed.”
Soren smiles. “Sven is not your secretary. Meet with the Peacebroker and tell him yourself.”
After a moment, Ash says, “The Peacebroker and I don’t have a good relationship. It’s in everyone’s best interest that he stays far away from me. I won’t speak with him unless the world is burning.” A pause. “Again.”
“If I may,” Blade’s Regulator says, his voice steady and calm. “The Council intends to send their best alchemist, who happens to be a single older gentleman I’ve known for many years, with a gentle temper and a wealth of knowledge in alchemy. He would match your energy.”
“If my conditions aren’t met, I’ll send him back no matter how good he is.”
“You can’t refuse a Regulator,” my father says. “The world depends on the humans who regulate your element.”
Ash chuckles, but this time, the sound of it sets off my alarms. “Are you telling me what to do?”
Blade intercedes. “They’re right, Ash. You can’t miss doses. None of us can.”
Ash tosses the napkin onto the table. “I’ll purge.”
“Purge?” my mother shrieks.
“I’ll do it in a place where it’s safe,” Ash says.
“You’ll take me with you,” Soren says.
“Are you my secretary?”
A smile tugs at my lips, and I look down at my plate to hide it.
“I’m curious,” Maren says, “about your specific request for a family man. Why does it have to be a man who has a family?”
“He’d have a lot to lose if he tried to poison me,” Ash says.
Maren and I make eyes across the table, and I shake my head, telling her without words that she ought to stop probing Ash about this.
“But if you’re poisoned, the Regulator wins, not loses,” Maren says.
“I’m very hard to kill.”
I don’t like where this conversation is going. Maren places a hand on Ash’s biceps, squeezing the solid muscle. I can’t see his face, but I wish I could. What the hell is my sister doing, touching her fiancé in front of her lover?
Next to me, Sven grips a knife. Oh no. This is bad. This is very bad.
“Hey, can you pass me more meat?” I ask Sven.
Sven blinks. “Of course.” He reaches for the serving fork, and I shake my head at Maren. It’s obvious I’m trying to halt her conversation, but she ignores me.
Maren continues, “I only ask because we have a perfectly capable Regulator who’s proven his loyalty to my brother and sworn an oath already. It seems only fair that Soren offers his Regulator to you since yours died in our territory. Don’t you think, brother?”
Holy crap.
HOLY CRAPOLA.
“What exactly do you have in mind?” Ash asks.
I want to throw up. I swallow hard and try to meet Maren’s eyes, but she avoids eye contact.
“A gesture of goodwill and a much faster replacement than finding another Regulator who may or may not meet your needs just before our wedding. If Soren agrees, Sven could arrange for his transfer tomorrow.”
Under the table, I kick Maren.
Ash jumps in his seat. The urn wobbles, threatening to fall, but Ash’s quick reflexes snatch it before it crashes. He tucks the urn under his arm and then widens his eyes at me.
I meant to kick Maren. Fuck. Why is his foot all the way over here? Why is he six seven with long legs that stretch under the table? Gah, I hate that he’s everywhere.
“What an excellent idea, Maren,” my father says, looking like he’s shocked.
You know what I hate more than alpha assholes?
A condescending alpha asshole. My dad shouldn’t be shocked that Maren came up with this.
She’s calculating and smart. She has very little freedom or power over decisions, so she’s found other ways to manipulate alphas into creating freedom and relinquishing power.
Sometimes I wish I were like her. Sneaky about what I want. Instead, I just open my mouth and state my piece. Honesty is the best policy, isn’t it? No, it’s not. Take it from me, and bury your truth.
“Sven, do you have something to say?” Soren asks.
“Maren’s idea solves a lot of bottlenecks for everyone here.
” Sven looks at my sister, and she almost melts.
“I swore an oath to serve the world in a Regulatory capacity. I will go wherever I’m needed.
It seems to me the Fireborn Alpha needs my services most. I’m happy to audition. Perhaps during the purge?”
“You would accompany me on a purge?” Ash asks.
Sven nods. “I don’t live in denial of your power or autonomy. You will purge with or without my approval. I would rather work with you than against you.”
Oh please! The humble servant. I suppress an eye roll.
Ash runs a thumb over his bottom lip.
He’s considering this. Oh no. No. Maren and Sven, together and in the Fireborn territory, will absolutely get caught sneaking around.
Ash will kill my sister, and if nobody else would go to war with him over that, I would have to.
And then I’ll die because he can end me with a flick of his claw. A lick of his flame.
“Sven doesn’t meet the conditions,” I state. “He’s single.”
“I have a son,” Sven counters. “His mother is deceased, and he lives with my sister.”
I flip my braid over my shoulder. “No, that doesn’t meet the conditions.” Does it?
Ash tilts his head the way a wolf might. “Maren’s idea is solid.”
Shit. “What about your conditions?” Do I sound as desperate as I am? I’m pretty desperate.
“He has a child,” Ash explains. “And a sister he cares about. Stormcrest pack vouches for him. That’s enough for me.”
“But he’s single. As in not married. It’s not the same. You said wife, children, a dog.” My palms are sweating.
“What is your problem?” Maren bites out.
I narrow my eyes at her. “Are you kidding me?” I push back my seat. “Sven can’t go with Ash. He’s indispensable to Soren. Who are they going to send for Soren, huh? Some dimwit we’ll kill off in the wild just so we can get a Regulator who can handle living with wolves in freezing conditions.”
“Runa,” my mother warns. “Watch your tongue.”
“Why do you want Sven to stay so badly?” Ash asks.
“Because he is indispensable to my brother.”
“Bullshit. Do you like him?” Ash asks. Point blank. In front of everyone.
My dad jumps out of his seat. Soren joins him. They shout at Ash, defending my honor.
But wait. I shouldn’t be honest when Ash is telling me a lie that I can spin to justify my argument. Nothing else makes sense. He’s saved me with this, and all I have to do is not fight it since I already sound like I’m losing a lover if Sven leaves the pack.
But I can’t say I like Sven in front of my family.
I also hate lying. Yet, I can’t have him travel with Maren to Ash’s pack.
I can’t deny Ash’s accusation because I need him to think I like Sven.
It is a good diversion from Maren so she can survive this ordeal before the couple travels.
I decide silence, not honesty, is the best policy.
I lower my head, pretending to be defeated and embarrassed that Ash called me out like that.
My father’s jaw hangs open.
Soren curses.
Maren stares.
“That’s unacceptable,” my father finally says.
Ash smiles, showing all his teeth. “I wholeheartedly agree. Pack your shit, Sven. You’re not staying.”