*Isaac*
I watch her leave my office, taking note of the way she moves, the way her long red hair nearly touches her waist as it sways. She looks at me over her shoulder before slipping out of the room, and those stormy blue eyes settle on mine.
She is familiar. But is she really the young woman I danced with at the ball all those years ago?
If so, maybe this is a gift from the Goddess in lieu of allowing me to find my true mate. But that spark isn’t there behind her eyes anymore. That coy smile doesn’t tilt at the edges or reach her eyes.
Madeline. That’s her name, and I believe her.
I let out my breath and sink into the chair behind my desk, running a hand over my face before reaching for my phone.
Cassian is correct in that I need to woo her. If we’re ever going to have sex without it being an absolutely grating and stale experience for both of us, I need to do something to show her I appreciate her… sacrifice… to my kingdom.
Arranged marriages happen every day, but very few, I’m sure, are arranged by the groom.
“Sweetheart,” Mom’s voice says into my ear.
I squeeze the phone tightly, taking a moment. “Hey, Mom.”
“How are you? Is Ella with you? I haven’t heard from her in days.”
Mom sounds so happy to hear my voice. She always does. Breaking her heart in a few seconds isn’t going to be easy, but I mean to make this conversation brief and to the point.
“She’s not, and she’s been busy. We have a guest at the castle.”
“Oh, who? I heard Rosie is coming to stay–”
“Not Rosie.” I sigh heavily, trying to stifle a groan. If the war doesn’t kill me, I find it likely my own mother will. “My–I’m getting married.”
Deafening silence fills the line before she says with pinched excitement, “You found your mate? You found her?”
“Uhm. No, we’re not mates. But we’re getting married, tomorrow–”
“Tomorrow?” Her voice breaks with shock. “Isaac, what the hell is going on?”
“I found someone who can fill the role of Luna.”
“What are you doing, Isaac?”
Losing my patience, I say, “I’m doing what needs to be done for our kingdom. I assumed you and Dad would understand, given what you went through.”
“Do not turn this back around on me,” she snaps, but her voice shakes with despair. It rips into my heart. “Don’t you remember what I told you?”
“It was a dream, Mom. Before I was even born.”
“A vision, Isaac. It’s different. You know that.”
“No, I don’t. I’m not like you and Ella. This is my decision. I’ve chosen wisely. We’re on the same page.”
“Who is she?” Her voice sounds suddenly small. “Why would she agree to this?”
“Because it benefits her in more ways than one. Anyway–” I swallow hard, hating every second of breaking her heart. “I need to speak to Dad. Is he around?”
“No, he’s not.”
“Then pass along a message for me–”
“We need to talk about this–”
“I need Antony to send me his entire fleet and those forces he can gather from KiloKilo. It’s imperative they reach Crescent Fall as soon as possible.” I pause, then say, “I’m not asking. This must happen.”
“Isaac–”
“I need you to trust me, Mom.”
I hear her swallow and know for a fact that she’s crying. It guts me, but I pull myself together long enough to tell her I love her, and that I’m sorry I couldn’t wait, and then I hang up the phone.
I leave my office a few minutes later, unable to sit still. I know what's going to happen next. She’ll come. She’ll drag Dad off his island paradise and get him here as soon as possible. I mean to have the marriage sealed by then so there can be no argument about the validity of my choice.
Had I been worried in the slightest about this decision, I wouldn’t have told her until it was done. But I have a feeling she’ll like Madeline, and that in whatever she can, she could help her find her dormant wolf.
It’s odd not sensing a wolf in someone. I’ve heard it can happen, but it’s rare, and the consequences are normally deadly. It was actually Elijah, my father’s Beta, who told me a story of a man who’d lost his mate. The man, once a brutal, bloodthirsty warrior, was never able to shift again. He lost his mind slowly, painfully, until there was nothing left of him.
How true the story is, well, that’s up for debate. Moorn, being so close to the ancient homelands of our kind and their creepy temples, let along the mountain range that sits before the veil of King Kane’s Kingdom, is full of folklore and stories of times long forgotten.
I’ve seen mates rejected. I’ve seen men and women lose their mates, but their wolves remain, and they even go on to find new mates, destined by the Goddess, in some situations.
Like my father finding my mother.
So, why does Madeline not have a wolf? How, and why, did she lose that sacred ability?
I have a sudden flashback of dancing with her at the ball, and my heart nearly stops. I steady myself with a hand on the wall in a hallway leading toward the second floor foyer.
I remember her sliding her hand into mine, and it felt like her hand was made to fit there, perfectly. Her scent, like a warm spring day when the flowers and grasses are just coming into bloom–fresh and light. It was… startling. I couldn’t shake her from my mind, even still.
Why hadn’t I recognized her? Was it because she lost her wolf?
“No,” I say aloud, shaking the thought from my mind. That can only mean one thing, and I’m going to allow myself to believe that is the truth. I need to focus on the here and now. I need to focus on the war, on defending the villages near Moorn, which is essentially the gate to my own kingdom. If Moorn falls, Kane will walk right into my territory and wreak havoc.
From what we know of his warriors, their power rivals that of the people of Maatua and KiloKilo. That’s why I need Antony’s armies. That’s why he must go to KiloKilo and ask for their help as well, even if their relationship hasn’t been exactly friendly ever since the war that took place there shortly after my birth.
If Kane’s forces overwhelm us, they’ll take Maatua and KiloKilo next. Antony knows that, even if he is up to his usual tricks and insisting everything is fine, and there is no threat.
The last time we spoke, he asked what this Kane character wanted.
That’s been the question on everyone’s mind for twenty years, and we still don’t know.
“Mom just called me and ripped me to shreds for not telling her about your little plans,” Ella’s voice quips behind me. I roll my eyes down to her as she steps to my side. “This is proof I didn’t tell them anything, you know. I can keep a secret.”
“I appreciate it, Ella, I do. Thank you.”
“Well,” she laughs, her face smudged with ink and paint like usual, “that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in months.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole. I don’t have an excuse.”
“Hmm….” She looks me up and down. “She came to talk to you, didn’t she?”
“Madeline? Yeah, she did.”
“Who the hell is Madeline?” Ella narrows her eyes at me.
“Jenny isn’t her name. We’ve been calling her that this whole time, and it was never her name.” I can’t help but laugh, a sound I haven’t heard in quite a while. “Her name is Madeline. And we’re getting married tomorrow night. The temple near the castle grounds should work well. I’ll make sure the priestesses are prepared for us.”
Ella grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop. “Tomorrow? Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to help her find a dress in that amount of time?”
“I doubt it matters that much to her.”
“Did you even ask?”
“I told her it would be tomorrow, and she didn’t say anything.”
“Goddess!” Ella let go of my arm. “You men and your thick skulls. Nothing gets in there, does it?”
“What are we talking about?”
We turn to the voice coming up the stairs. Ella sighs in relief as Rosie, the daughter of Elijah and Trinity, steps foot on the second floor landing with a suitcase in hand.
“Thank you Goddess you’re here early. Hurry, there’s someone you need to meet and then we’re going into the city–”
“I’ll send for a seamstress to come to the castle–”
“Absolutely not, Isaac,” Ella cuts me off. She waves a hand in dismal, annoyance hardening her features. “I’m taking Madeline out tonight to do some shopping. We’ll be getting dinner in the village. Send your guards, if that makes you feel better.”
I watch Ella and Rosie walk away, their heads bent and words rapid as they disappear around a corner.
“Am I not the king?” I ask a passing maid, who blushes and scurries out of sight.
I spend the rest of the evening alone. Cassian is at the training center with a few units of my royal forces, running drills in their wolf forms.
I eat dinner by myself as well. I go sit in the library afterward and have a drink. I try not to let my mind wander back to Madeline, and the strange ache in my chest when I think of her, especially now that she’s confirmed that we’ve met before.
“Why keep it a secret?” I say to myself as I walk back to my office. I can’t bring myself to sleep, not when my mind is moving a hundred miles an hour.
I open the office door and pause for the briefest of seconds before slowly closing it behind me.
“Who are you?”
A man is leaning on the edge of my desk. He’s dressed in black leathers over finely tailored black pants and a matching shirt. His leather armor, so like the kind we wear to train or battle when we’re not in our wolf forms, hugs his shoulders and arms and glints in the firelight.
Eyes the color of iron meet mine. His skin–a golden tan–is a sharp contrast to his black hair and sharp features.
“I think you know,” he says. His stance is completely casual and unthreatening, but my body goes rigid the second he moves, if only to examine his nails. “We need to talk, don’t we, young king?”