38. Wild

Wild

"She's not dead," Sea insisted after we popped into the cliffside stone circle and found… nothing. Just a cold, dark morning with no sign of our Flower. "We'd feel it if she was gone."

I wished I could be so sure.

Usually, my faith in the prophecy kept me steady as a rock when it came to knowing how things would turn out with the queen the three gods had delivered upon us.

But I hadn't warned her.

I'd forbidden her. I'd threatened her. But I hadn't warned her.

My chest squeezed tight, and regret cut up my guts like a knife swallowed.

Instead of answering Sea, I scanned the valley stretched out before us, squinting under the dim light of the new moon. Hoping but not daring to pray to the three gods after what I'd done.

Sea had told me that one of the advantages of placing the castle tower under this stone circle was the clear sightlines it provided — nothing could sneak up on the secret kingdom, whether by land, sea, or air.

But even with my wolf vision, I couldn't see our Flower. North, south, or east… there was no sign…

My heart dropped to my boots as the ocean crashed behind me. No sign of her at all.

"She's not out here," I told Sea.

"We should go into town." Sea's voice sounded rough, and I doubted it was due to the coastal wind scratching his throat. "You saw how fast she ran last time. With that speed and her wolf vision, she might've made it to Aillte Faoilmar before dawn."

"Possible." I scanned the human town on the far side of Loch Chlocha na nDéithe, the Gods' Stones Lake. Ten kilometers at least from where we stood. "But not likely."

"Come on," Sea said, grinding his jaw like he does when he's trying to keep his head. "We'll check the town. Then, if we need to, we'll dive into the lake."

I hesitated. But Sea didn't wait for my answer.

"Neither of us will rest until we know for sure anyway," he called over his shoulder.

It was a long trek down the cliff into the valley, where Aillte Faoilmar sat nestled on the other side of the mountain. Took us a couple of hours just to reach the road leading up to the lake.

My mood darkened with the breaking dawn. Did Sea really think she'd made it all the way to town in the few hours she'd had after her escape?

For reasons beyond me, the True King chose that moment to start talking in hypotheticals. "What'll you do if we find her in Aillte Faoilmar, holed up in some hotel? Clever thing probably already figured out how to call Scotland. We'll have to come up with a plan to avoid an all-out war when we bring her back."

Her having kicked off a war with the Scots would be the best-case scenario, actually. The worst? Finding her body at the bottom of the Gods' Stones Lake.

"This is all my fault," I choked out. "If she's dead, then that's on me."

Sea stopped walking. "Wild…"

"No, don't try to cheer me up. I don't deserve it." Guilt chewed away at my insides. "Why didn't I explain things to her? Not just the tower with the red door. All of it?"

"Wild, shut up and look. Do you see what I'm seeing?"

Sea's urgent question made me raise my eyes, and I tilted my head when I saw where the other king was pointing — toward a lone brick house on the south side of the lake, sitting in the middle of nowhere, with no farm in sight.

We Wild Wolves rarely ventured into this part of Ireland anymore, whether trekking above or below.

Both stone circles near these "protected cliffs" had been removed from our never-ending ritual trek.

Because of the two-story residence we stood in front of now.

The Belfast House…

It loomed before me. Like a curse.

Why had Sea stopped us here?

Made me look at the place where my entire life had fallen apart when our queen was missing and possibly drowned at the bottom of a lake.

"What does this place have to do with finding our…" I started to ask.

Only to trail off when I, too, noticed what had likely made Sea stop walking in front of the place I only ever saw in nightmares.

"If the house doesn't belong to the Belfast Priest anymore, why's there smoke wisping out of the chimney?"

"And a car parked in the driveway?" Sea added.

We both stared at the residence, putting two and two together.

Then Sea asked, "Do you think she might have…"

I tore off, running toward the house before he could finish the sentence.

Only to slow when I reached the driveway, where one of those sleek, electric cars that only city folk drive was parked in the gravel out front.

It wasn't hesitation that slowed my steps, though. It was the smell.

Unmistakable and potent.

Heat . There was no doubt about it.

My heart squeezed as if a fist had wrapped around it.

Our Flower had finally gone into heat.

Inside a house with another male!

Suddenly, the ocean's roar was no longer behind mebut inside my ears.

"Wild, wait…" I heard Sea order .

Sea. The True King, my father, and every other Cursed King since the time of Mairinua had sworn a blood vow to obey. But I couldn't bring myself to heed him.

The world had turned red.

Knowing she was in there. In full heat with another.

The next thing I knew, instead of holding back as commanded, I was at the entrance of the meeting house, grabbing the handle. The door was locked.

It didn't matter. One wolf-backed kick and that barrier was done.

"Wild!" Sea called out again. "Wild, stop. Hold on!"

The True King was the one who couldn't control his wolf. But in this case, I couldn't control my human.

I tore toward the stairs, planning to take them two at a time and rip our Flower away from whatever male had been nearby when she went into the heat meant for her three kings.

But a voice stopped me cold before I could reach the first step.

"Is leatsa mise, agus is liomsa tú. Go deo. Geallaim duit mo bhrón. Go deo … Please…" the soft voice begged. "Is leatsa mise, agus is liomsa tú. Go deo. Geallaim duit mo bhrón. Go deo … oh God, please… Is leatsa mise, agus is liomsa tú. Go deo. Geallaim duit mo bhrón. Go deo … "

That was when I realized the heat smell wasn't coming from the bedroom.

The mating pledge of troth and treasure. Someone was saying it — more like begging it. Over and over again.

Not just someone. Our Flower .

I found her outside a closed door, and my heart turned to stone at the sight of her.

Completely naked. One hand desperately rubbing at her sex. The other was bloody, likely from scratching at the door, which now had grooves in it.

Is leatsa mise, agus is liomsa tú. Go deo. Geallaim duit mo bhrón. Go deo … please come out." Flower's voice was little more than a croak as she begged whoever was on the other side of the door to open it. But she said the pledge again, like some kind of chant. "Is leatsa mise, agus is liomsa tú. Go deo. Geallaim duit mo bhrón. Go deo."

How long had she been here? Been like this?

"Wild," Sea's voice called out somewhere behind me. "I think that might be Dublin's car — by the gods…"

I heard, rather than saw, Sea stumble in behind me.

But even finding out that the male behind the door was likely the one I'd been planning to head-bag just a few hours ago couldn't tear my eyes away from our Flower.

All remorse had vanished. Punishment was now the only thing on my mind.

Punishment for denying us.

Punishment for running.

Punishment for making me wait several century-long days to finally put this question to her.

Will you have me, Flower? Will you give me your pledge?