37. Runa
Runa
Knocking on the door rouses us from our tear-induced napping. When we ignore the knocks, whoever it is begins to bang.
“Go away,” Maren says.
“Your father sent me. He wants you to come to the gathering hall,” Maren’s friend, Gerdie, says from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?”
“Come in,” Maren says, then Gerdie walks in along with her sister, Lindsey, our healer.
“Runa,” Gerdie says, looking surprised and, dare I say, uncomfortable. “We didn’t know you’d be here.” They look from me to Maren, then at each other. Gerdie drops off the basket with my freshly washed and folded nesting supplies. The ones that smelled like Ash.
We lock eyes and, in that moment, I know they came here to tell my sister about Ash and me.
These are loyal Stormcrest wolves.
Unlike me, who showed the enemy the secret the royal family has kept for ages. Way to go, me. I betrayed my pack.
When Ash recovers and comes back for revenge against my brother, he can reach us through the royal tunnels that lead directly to the castle. These tunnels are also connected to our bedrooms. I couldn’t find the one that leads here on the way up, but I know it exists.
And yet, I don’t regret saving Ash’s life. He never should’ve been in jeopardy. If Ash and I had behaved ourselves and kept our distance from each other, then none of this would’ve happened. Soren wouldn’t have gone crazy on Ash.
“What news of our brother?” I ask.
“His body is fighting the poison,” Lindsey says. “But the poison nearly killed him. The recovery takes time.”
Behind my back, I cross my fingers, hoping my brother and Ash can pull through.
“Do you need help getting ready?” Gerdie asks.
“Maren knows I was with Ash,” I tell them.
Their eyes widen, and they stare at Maren, awaiting confirmation.
My sister nods. “It’s true.”
Gerdie and Lindsey plop onto the bed. “Thank the Moon. We didn’t know how to break the news.” Lindsey lifts an eyebrow. “Ash Fireborn? Really, Runa?”
I shrug. “Why not? He’s…” I pick at the edge of the sheet, not knowing what to say about him that would do him justice. “He has that brooding, emotionally unavailable alphahole thing going for him. I guess that’s my type.”
“How did you guys get together?” Maren asks.
“It’s the stupid bet I made. I didn’t realize it was him when I approached him at the reception. Remember that, Gerdie?”
Gerdie gasps. “That was him? The guy with the shades? The one who left you out cold?”
I nod. “That was him. His cousin was riding the sled.”
“Soren was right,” Maren says.
“What bet?” Lindsey asks.
“During the welcoming ceremony, Ash stood by himself watching the parade, pretending to be just another Fireborn wolf. We spotted him, and I thought he was cute, so I bet I could bag him at hello. They said I couldn’t, because he looked like a stuck-up asshole.”
“We were right about that part,” Gerdie says.
“Then what happened?” Maren shakes her head. “I always miss out on the fun stuff.”
“I offered him a beer, and we chatted, but once he found out I was your sister, he turned me down. I lost the bet and had to make his bed, his meals, do his laundry, etc.”
Maren smiles. “You guys’ children will love this story.”
My heart is breaking. A sob escapes. “I don’t want him to die.”
Maren frowns. “Is he not recovering?”
When I don’t answer, Maren looks to Lindsey, who admits, “I’m not allowed to treat him.”
“Oh no.” Maren hugs me. “This is why you’ve been crying. I bet you want to see him but can’t. Don’t you worry, sister. We’ll get you to him somehow. We will. Won’t we, girls?” Maren glares at them until they nod.
She wipes my tears with the corner of her comforter. “Ash will recover. That male almost killed our brother. He’s strong as fuck, maybe the strongest alpha in the world. A little projectile laced with alchemy can’t snuff out all that fire in his veins.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“In the meantime, we must keep everything a secret until the Fireborn Alpha recovers.” Maren steps into the bathroom. “Crap. I look like a strung-out bunny with my hair sticking out every which way. Did my father have any instructions on the dress code?”
“It’s a formal summons. Pack colors.” Lindsey turns to me. “You too, Runa.”
I frown. “Why me?”
She shrugs. “That’s what he said.”
Maren walks out of the bathroom. “Sven won’t talk.”
“He knows about Runa and Ash?” Gerdie asks, a pinch of fear in her voice.
I cringe, hoping Maren doesn’t join our girls-tell-all party and spill about her affair.
Maren evades by speaking directly to me.
“Sven won’t tell anyone, even if he noticed something.
He’s not stupid. If he says anything, he’ll be blamed for not reporting it sooner.
In the best-case scenario, Sven will be ostracized, stripped of all his diplomas and his livelihood, and be forbidden from practicing alchemy. ”
“You think so?” I ask.
Maren nods. “He’s smart. He’ll use the situation as a stepping stone to climb into a higher role.”
Sven is a survivor, I’ll give him that.
“Can’t you just take Maren’s place?” Lindsey asks. “They could redraft the treaty, and it could all work out the same.”
“The Peacebroker will want Maren. If it’s not her, they’ll consider it a breach of treaty.”
“Yes, but why?” she asks.
Maren sighs. “They’re on a power trip. I wish they would whore themselves out and leave me out of their deal.”
“Maren…” I warn as she puts on her pants. “Dad said pack colors. That means a blue dress.”
“He’ll get blue jeans,” Maren counters. She finds a white blouse, pulls up her hair in an elegant bun, and applies red lipstick. Effortlessly pretty.
I match Maren. I won’t wear a dress if she’s wearing pants. We can be equally defiant, a small protest against the men and werewolf males who want to control our lives. I wear blue slacks and a matching shirt, and Maren and I descend the staircase.
Guards in black uniforms stand at the doors of our gathering hall. Never seen those uniforms before. Uncertain, I look at Maren, who bites her lip.
Just when I think she’ll slow down, my sister strides right up to the tallest one standing in the middle and turns up her nose to sniff. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? A wolfblood.”
Part wolf, part human. The man glances at me. His bright hazel eyes tell me his mother must’ve been an omega wolf, which means his father is human. Most of the mixed unions broke up under the political weight of the war.
“Spread your legs and lift your hands,” the man says. “I need to search you for weapons.”
Maren and I don’t object, and the man pats us down then opens the door.
I walk in, but Maren stops and snaps her teeth right beside his neck.
Thinking she might actually bite him for touching her, I pull her by the hand.
Dread accumulates in my belly at the sight of my father surrounded by uniformed men while he sits at the head of the table. The Peacebroker, a tall, brown-haired man wearing a white two-piece uniform and a green scarf, stands by the window.
No cocktails or food are served. My father signals his displeasure that way. Guests get a warm welcome. Armed men do not.
Instead of a tray of food, the treaty Maren signed lies on the table. I count three werewolves and about three dozen Wardens in the hall. Fear makes me want to pee my pants.
“Daddy, what’s going on?” Maren says.
My dad’s expression is unreadable. “Join me.” He spreads his arms, and Maren and I sit on either side of him.
I glance at the scroll that I assumed was the peace treaty we had already signed with Ash, but the signatures are missing. This isn’t the same treaty, and since I can’t read the scrolls in ancient werewolf writing, I don’t know what this says.
Judging by Maren’s expression, namely how the blood slowly drains from her face, it’s bad news.
Maren looks up at the Peacebroker. “What do you want with her?” my sister shouts.
“Maren,” my dad says in a warning tone.
Maren leans back. “Detaining a Stormcrest royal omega can’t be done without reason. Showing up here with Wardens means you expect resistance. Consider this resistance. Why are you detaining her?”
“Maren!” my father barks.
My sister’s cheeks color pink. “Daddy, we can’t just let them take Runa.”
“Take me? What’s the scroll say?”
“It says you trespassed into a controlled space during a dangerous purge and that you pose a threat to humanity. This is punishable by imprisonment. Doesn’t say how long.”
I swallow.
Maren’s eyes widen when I don’t immediately deny it. I did interrupt Ash’s purge, but I didn’t do it on purpose.
“For Moon’s sake,” Maren says, “what happened?”
My shoulders slump. “It was an accident. I slipped and fell into the cave occupied by Ash. He was purging at the time, and Sven was on a live call with the Peacebroker, who was watching it all happen. Ash’s control slipped, and the fire exploded.
Eventually, he reined it back in, and that’s all. It was an accident.”
“Where was this?” my sister asks.
“In one of the caves.”
“In our territory?” Maren asks.
“Of course. It happened right before the storm hit.”
“What were you doing out there?” my dad asks.
“That’s not important,” Maren interrupts. “What matters is that they can’t claim trespassing if Runa is on Stormcrest territory.”
“The trespassing charge,” the Peacebroker says, speaking for the first time, “is due to the fact that you entered a controlled space around an elemental werewolf where the element was being used in the presence of a Regulator, who is one of our personnel.”
Maren snorts. “You do realize that my brother is an elemental and that we grew up inside this controlled space.” She makes air quotes.
“That is of no interest to me. Your sister could’ve caused another disaster. I hear you’re a problem child too, but I’m willing to overlook your transgression.”
“I’m an adult wolf female,” Maren says. “Not a child.”
“Perhaps you will join her in detention, then. I’m within my rights to detain both of you.”
“You can detain me. But you can’t have my sister.”
She stole my line, but also, my big sister makes me sit up straight with pride.
“Wait a minute.” My father interrupts the heated exchange. “Maren is innocent.”
Maren glares at the Peacebroker.
The Peacebroker smirks. “Not according to Sven Olsen.”
Sven sold her out. We don’t know what he said, but he said enough. “It’s not true,” I say. “He’s lying.”
My father watches Maren, who sits in silence, letting men speculate and grow weary of her.
“What does he mean by that?” my father asks, his nails forming claws. The Wardens draw their weapons.
“No.” I stand slowly so I don’t get shot by these men who are fast to shoot at werewolves. If we shift, they’ll kill us. My brother is down, so he can’t help. We’re on our own.
“We will speak of this later,” Father says to Maren, then turns to the Peacebroker. I can tell he’s itching to get up and confront the man who stands calmly by the window, but if my dad rises, they’ll consider it a threat and shoot him.
“You told me you’re here for the Fireborn Alpha,” my dad says.
“I’ve kept him here during the storm. It’s your job to find him now.
I suggest you take your army with you and take him down while he’s suffering from the injuries my son inflicted.
You may never get another chance. If Ash decides on revenge, you will need us to keep the fire at bay. ”
“You had the Fireborn in a state of perfect submission, wounded and weakened with poison that my Regulator inflicted. Ash will take a week or more to recover. But you lost him. It’s as if he’s vanished.
You’re lucky I don’t execute you for treason, because I know you watch your territory like a hawk, and Ash couldn’t have escaped without you showing him the way out. ”
Cold sweat bathes my body. My father looks from me to Maren, lingering on me for a second longer. He knows. Guilt must be written on my forehead.
“Ash likely escaped by sea,” my dad says. “You should send your navy.”
“Regardless, Runa is coming with me, today.”
“Over my dead body,” Maren and my dad say at the same time.
My father rises, but I leap out of the chair and push down his shoulder. “I will go with you.”
The Wardens rush me, sticking their rifles in my face, just as the doors swing open and my mom runs inside. She’s in her robe with curlers in her hair, and she opens her mouth to say something, but a rifle fires at her.
The bullet hits my mother in the chest, and she jolts to a stop, shocked. More shots ring out. My dad attacks the Shackler who fired on her. Outside, our pack’s guards howl. I sprint after Maren, who’s covering my mother’s body while blood pools around her on the floor.
“Mom, Mom!” Maren shakes her.
Someone picks me up. I fight them with my fists, shift and bite the man who curses as my teeth pierce his protective armor and draw blood. The taste of it makes me feral, and I bite down harder, feeling the satisfying crunch of his bones.
The butt of a rifle slams into the side of my head.
Lights. Out.