No Merrick.
It’s been two days since he shifted in that village square, and he has not returned. Every single morning, I sit on the steps in front of the house, waiting for him to emerge from the trees. What I wouldn’t give to see his angry glare aimed up at me as I watch from my window just as it was those first few months I was here.
Today we leave for the swamps.
With no Merrick and a plan I seriously hope isn’t sending us straight to our deaths. But what other choice do we have?
Groaning, I set the book I was pretending to read down on his desk and study his workspace. It still smells like him. Lavender and leather, the potent combination that has had me weak at the knees whenever we’re together.
Everywhere I look, I’m reminded that he’s gone.
That there’s a chance he may never return.
“This just arrived,” Lea says as she breezes into the study and offers me a piece of paper. She stops at the edge of the desk and spins in a slow circle. “Never been in here before.”
I barely hear her through the pounding of my blood in my ears. The handwriting is unmistakable, the seal burned into my memory. Red wax boasting a crown and feather is still cool to the touch as I rip it open and scan the message scrawled.
Kiya Umbra, Princess of Aurum, Beta of the Shadow Lands.
Daughter, I fear we have forgotten that we are father and daughter in this foolish fight we’ve been having. I was having tea the morning of writing this and realized just how much my affection for you has clouded my actions.
I miss you.
Will you please come to see me within the next four days? We can sit down and discuss the regrettable deaths of Pallgard, Barclay, Ezra, and Bonnie, then come to an agreement that ends peacefully.
Should you choose to ignore this message, I will consider your absence a declaration that you do not wish to resolve this, without bloodshed, and act accordingly.
Your father,
King Leonard Julius III
“Dammit.” I crumble the letter in my hands, every muscle tensing for a fight. Four days. That’s barely enough time to find him at all! And if Merrick doesn’t return today, I’ll be facing him alone. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“Not good news, I take it?” Lea questions.
“The king is requesting my attendance in Aurum to discuss a peaceful resolution.”
“That is problematic.”
I glare up at her.
She takes a seat in the chair across from me. “What are you going to do?”
“He said if I don’t show, he will consider it an act of war.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly.” I push to my feet. “Going is foolish. That much is plain to see as I imagine he is not going to let me leave without incident. But staying means giving him every reason to attack.”
“This is a test?”
“It is. He’s trying to find a reason to attack us. And I can guarantee he will use my absence to do so.” I stand and begin to pace. “‘My poor daughter is being held at the mercy of a savage. She’s been brutalized, tormented, and we need to rescue her!’” I say, repeating words I can all too clearly hear coming from Julius’s mouth. “He’ll rally the entire kingdom behind an attack.”
“But if you’re captured, we’ve already lost.”
“Possibly.” I plop down in the chair. “It’s not like he gave me much time to consider.” Covering my face with both hands I try to consider all outcomes.
I don’t show? He attacks.
I do show and he captures me? He’ll use me to take the Shadow Lands.
There are no good options. Unless— “I’ll take Ferris and MacKenna with me. But I need to leave today so I can ensure I arrive on time.”
“You cannot seriously be going! First the swamps and then this? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“I have to. If he decides to attack before we’re ready, we’re all going to die. If he truly is using it as a show of force, he’ll see me cower to him, then move on. I will convince him I am not pregnant yet, but as soon as I am, I will let him know. The false promise should be enough to buy us more time. As for the swamps, I may need to stop waiting for Merrick. It is well past time I make that journey, too. I will do it on my way back. Once I’ve handled the king.”
“We won’t have any time left if he captures or kills you, Beta.”
I swallow hard. “We have to take that risk. Killing me won’t give him what he wants,” I remind her. “If I’m dead, it’s hard to procreate.”
“And if he believes you are lying? That you actually are with child? He could capture you! Hold you hostage!”
“Calculated risks, Lea. I have no choice.” I leave the room quickly, breezing down the stairs and past the wolves. The sun is bright overhead despite the early winter chill hanging in the air. By the time I reach the barn, Peter is already walking out.
“Hey, Kiya.”
“Can you help me prepare Boots? I need to go check in with Merrick.”
“Of course.” He turns on his heel and heads toward the stall, grabbing a lead on his way. After slipping it onto Boots, he opens the gate and guides the horse out. “Any idea when he’ll be back? I think this is the longest he’s been away since I came here.”
“Not sure. Hurry, please.” I’m short, but I don’t have time to wait.
The wolves come padding out, so I move away from Peter, stopping just short of the creatures I recognize as Maynard, Maverick, Madox, and MacKenna. “MacKenna, will you come with me to get Ferris? We’re going to ride to Aurum. The king sent a letter requesting my presence.”
All four wolves drop their snouts and growl.
“Yes, I get it. Bad idea. But we have no choice. I have a plan, but there is no time.”
MacKenna’s wolf steps forward, and he rubs his white snout against my hand.
“Great.”
“He’s ready.” I turn toward him then climb onto Boots and push the horse into a gallop as I race through the trees, MacKenna running beside me.
Lea is right. If there is no show of force, the king will not hesitate to keep me there until Merrick tears the kingdom apart to get to me.
Refusing his threat is not an option.
Going alone is not smart.
Going with only a wolf as a companion—also not smart. But a wolf and a man who can become one? Brilliant.
The town is empty by the time I arrive. It’s disheartening to see so many abandoned carts, to not see children playing in the streets, but knowing they are already in the caves gives me hope because it means they are far from where Julius can reach them.
Ferris steps out of his house at the same moment I’m sliding off of Boots.
“What is it?”
“I need you to come with me to Aurum.”
His brows furrow. “Aurum, why?”
“The king sent a letter demanding my presence to negotiate terms of a peaceful resolution,” I tell him. “Since Merrick is not able to attend with me, I need company.”
He looks from me to MacKenna. “Why the hell are you going? Just ignore the fucker.”
“I can’t. He gave us four days, Ferris. Four days and then he’s going to consider it an act of war. We’re not ready for that fight yet. I have to buy us more time, and since the brothers cannot speak during the day—”
“You need me.”
“Can you come with me?”
He runs a hand over his hair. “Of course I’ll come. Fuck, this is a mess. First Merrick, now this? I yearn for long, lazy days.”
“With any luck, we will have them.” I study the empty house behind him through the door left ajar. “Faera get out okay?”
“They left this morning. None of them happy about it, I can tell you that much.”
“How did everything go in regards to Devrona?”
He sighs. “They had questions. Lots and lots of questions. But all of them seemed to understand. To be honest, I’m quite surprised myself. Don’t know that I would have been quite so understanding if I’d discovered the man leading me was a monster of nightmares.”
“Merrick protected them when they had nowhere else to go,” I remind him. “That kind of loyalty does not disappear overnight.”
“And isn’t that lucky for us?”
My gaze drifts to the house where Vares is being held.
“He’s dead.”
“What?”
Ferris runs a hand over the back of his head. “The beast got him.”
“Karver? Was he—”
“Not back yet, thankfully. Though Merrick’s beast painted the walls with things I will never be able to wash off.”
“I can’t say I’m entirely bothered by that, though he could have been helpful.”
“Doubtful,” Ferris replies. “I think he said all he had to say.” He sighs. “When do you wish to leave?”
“I need to return to the house and pack a satchel but soon after that. We’re not taking a carriage, so bring your horse.”
He nods curtly. “Pack light. I’ll meet you at the house.”
Four hours later, when the sun is high in the sky, Ferris and I guide our horses down the path, leaving the Shadow Lands. MacKenna trots beside us, his ears forward. On the steps behind us, Lea stands with the rest of the wolves surrounding her. They all watch us, which is not surprising, given the number of times Madox tried to put himself between me and Boots.
None of them understand the king like I do, though. Not showing up would have given him every excuse to attack us, and his supporters would have hailed him a hero for doing so. There’s no doubt in my mind it would have gone down exactly as I told Lea it would. A twisted tale of vengeance for his only daughter the barbaric leader insisted on keeping.
An alliance formed in blood.
That cost him his child.
Fucking bastard.
“You all right?” Ferris questions as he rides beside me.
“Not even a little,” I reply. “The king—”
“Is not going to get his hands on you,” he replies. “Don’t forget, I may not be cursed, but I do still have the ability to rip a throat out.” His gaze burns brightly, his own wolf lingering just beneath the surface of his skin.
It’s easy to forget that he’s a force to be reckoned with as well. A wolf in man’s clothing.
MacKenna lets out a low growl.
“Yes, yes, and we happen to have the best swordsman in this realm alongside us.”
“Best swordsman?” I question.
I don’t think wolves can grin, but I swear MacKenna does when he looks up at me.
“Oh, yes. MacKenna is even better with a sword than Merrick. The latter is better hand-to-hand, though. No doubt about that.”
Smiling, I try not to think too heavily on the fact that there’s been no sign of Merrick. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“No need to thank me; you’re family.”
We ride in silence for a few more minutes with nothing but the echoes of birds to fill the passing time. By not bringing a carriage, I am hoping to have shaved off at least a day from our time, but we’ll still need to stop and rest the horses. Arriving early is a power move, though. And one the king will not see coming.
He expects me to behave as the pampered princess everyone in the kingdom believes me to be. What the bastard fails to understand, though, is I’ve never been her. Not truly. It only took marrying Merrick to bring me back to the survivor I was before Pallgard ever found me.
“What happened? Between you and Merrick?” I question. When he turns to look at me in confusion, I add, “You said you’d failed him before and didn’t want to do it again.”
Realization dawns, and Ferris sighs before returning his gaze to the road ahead. “Merrick came to me with concerns about his father. He wanted to challenge him for the position of Alpha and wanted my support. I told him no. That doing so would just put more pressure on his mother and he needed to bide his time.”
“What kind of concerns? Did you know about—”
“The witch?” He shakes his head. “Had I, I would have killed the bastard myself. The urge was there, had been since I was a child, and he was a bully. I knew he was an ass. That he got off on flexing his power, but it never occurred to me he was a rapist.” Ferris shifts in his saddle. “Grif chased most of our pack away when he became Alpha. We have very few families left, but standing up to him would have put Lark at risk.”
“And you didn’t want to cause your sister to experience any more pain.”
“Yet, I caused her far more than I will ever realize.”
“She doesn’t care much for me,” I tell him honestly. “I went off on her after I got back from town the day Merrick went missing.”
“Lark has a hard head,” Ferris says. “She will never admit she’s in the wrong. My sister’s peaceful ideology has no place in this realm. But Lark will never understand that. She will never see that in order to keep the peace, you must be prepared to kill for it.”
“I won’t let anything like what happened before take place again,” I tell him. “Even if that means standing up to your sister.”
His gaze levels on me, and in it, I’m surprised to see pride. A small smile spreads over his face. “And that is what makes you the perfect beta, Kiya. Because you, too, can be a savage.”
Savage. When I first found out I was being traded in marriage to Merrick, I’d called him that. Referred to him as a brute. A ruthless warrior. Then, being referred to as such would have made me angry. Now? That word empowers me.
Savage?
I like it.