Chapter 63

Roan

"Hold it together, lad," I told Creed. But if that was my advice, why was my voice shaking?

He'd taken her. The fucking bastard, Magnus, took our Jessalyn. My hand wrapped around my sword hilt, the wrapping embedding itself into my palm. It shouldn't come as such a shock that Magnus had dragged Jessalyn from the hall. It was what we knew would happen, so why did it feel like the king's fingers were sinking into my heart and squeezing, just like he had the soft white skin of her arm?

Creed didn't listen to me. His growl was a welcome echo of my own pain. Fur prickled across his skin, and the disturbing sound of his bones cracking as he prepared to shift was abruptly stopped by Silas' hands slapping down on his chest.

"Rein the wolf in." His jaw muscles were locked so tightly he could barely squeeze the words out. "We'll get her back." His focus shifted to Arik. "We're getting her back." But Arik didn't answer, just stared at the space where the king's carriage had been, his eyes cataloguing every mote of dust thrown up by their passing. "Commander!"

That seemed to break the spell Arik was under, his eyes meeting Silas'.

"We are getting Jessalyn back, aren't we?"

Upward management, that's what we called this. Silas appeared to assign control of the unit to Arik until the moment he didn't think we were doing the right thing. I'd seen that terrible certainty in those cat-green eyes of his before and knew what it meant. We would be getting Jessalyn back, with Arik, or without him.

"Brother…" My voice was ragged and hoarse. "It's time." I noted the way his jaw locked tight in response, the muscle jumping at the sudden tension. "Arik—"

"Your father assigned you to me for a reason, didn't he?" It was the commander demanding an answer from Silas, not Arik. "Why would the son and heir of The Guild's leader be sent to serve in the king's army, with a bunch of miscreants of all things?"

"You know he did," Silas replied quietly. "You know why I was placed there. Placed with you." His gaze softened, and he moved closer to Arik. "Father likes peace, consistency, prosperity, and the gods know we haven't seen that under your brother's rule. When the nation is fruitful, there's more money to be stolen, or swindled off the unsuspecting as they enter my father's dance halls and ale houses." He smiled bitterly. "Better for business. He sent me to you for a reason. I'm his eldest son and his heir, and I am a means for you to access all The Guild's many resources if you…"

He held his breath and so did I because we'd had this conversation too many times. Arik's response was always the same. He would never be king, would never allow himself to be a pawn for others to raise up and place on the throne. The life of a soldier was far preferable to becoming a puppet king. I caught the moment when Arik shook his head, like a horse resisting the bridle. That instinctive rejection of his heritage, would it rule him again or could he push past it?

"Do what you like." Creed's snarl was filled with contempt as he stared at the three of us for just a second. "I don't care about kings or crowns or The Guild's business. Nothing but Jessalyn." His gaze burned as he took in the lot of us. "He has her. That fucking bastard has my mate, so I know exactly what I must do, and you should too."

The wolf thrust himself forward, swallowing my brother and leaving just the beast. He shone in the moonlight, almost as bright, sniffing in our direction before wheeling away and running off into the night.

"Creed…!" Arik's shout echoed out, but Creed paid him no mind. I watched the commander search the darkness for sight of him before letting out a long sigh. "The Guild wants me to become king? Then send ravens to your father, to all your contacts en route to the capital. We'll need fresh horses waiting for us all along the way if we're to beat Magnus and his retinue home. If we're to beat the wolf."

"You'll travel to the capital?"

We all turned around to see Wren standing there, the rest of the community joining her. Girls in pretty dresses were held close by their mates and that just made my heart ache.

I should be holding Jessalyn the exact same way. If I'd been the one to throw myself over the table, to tackle those pricks head on, then at least I'd be saved this. The absolute fucking devastation that came from watching her leave in the hands of a madman. They'd have killed me, killed everyone in the hall, but still… I wouldn't feel like my heart was yanked out of my chest and then dumped, still pumping, on the ground.

"Of course, we'll go," I snapped, my anger directed at the wrong person, which just made everything worse. Shame joined fury and self-loathing, the emotions souring my guts. "We can't let him have her. We can't."

"We'll go." Arik's voice was full of a deadly calm, and he regarded the lot of us with a flat stare. "If taking the throne is the only way to save Jessalyn, then that's what I'll do. I'll become king of this cursed bloody kingdom and put my arse on that throne for her."

"We'll send an escort with you," Wren said. "This affront is not to be borne." People mumbled their agreement to this. "Coming onto packlands during our most sacred times? Threatening us with violence in our own dining hall!" Her lips became a thin line. "Our men have served this country, given their lives over and over. We have countless women with no mates, children with no fathers, but we have carried that burden willingly for the good of the country."

She shook her head sharply, the crowd getting louder in response.

"No more. I will send warriors to ride with you to the capital."

"No." Did Wren's heart jerk up to lodge in her throat like mine did when Arik replied? I couldn't tell. "Don't send your men with me, send them to the border." His eyes raked over the crowd. "To the garrisons and the training camps. To the supply bases and the mess halls. Send males to each and every place the armed forces contains a wolf shifter unit and spread the word of what was done here."

Gods, I'd always thought he would be a great king, but it was only now I really saw it. Arik's eyes shone in the dim light, bright as stars.

"Make clear how little the crown cares for their sacrifice. The terms of the accord between shifterkind and human have been broken. Magnus won't stand a chance in a court if he tries to pursue it, but it won't come to that."

Arik's focus shifted to Silas.

"Your father wants peace and prosperity? Well, he won't get it this way. What he wants? It'll only come about through civil war. The arrogant bastards that have upheld Magnus' rule thought themselves so invulnerable that they could enter the packlands illegitimately without consequence." He smiled slowly, showing his teeth. "They need to be reminded of what folly that is."

Ragged cheers went up around the group, all their repressed anger and fear now given a target to aim itself at, but I felt ice cold. Silas sent off his ravens and we collected our things, but as I swung myself up into the saddle, I caught sight of Silas' expression, seeing clearly that he felt the same way.

"You send word to the front about the broken treaty," he said to Arik. "The shifters will withdraw en masse."

"That's the plan," Arik said, grabbing hold of the reins.

"Our borders will be left vulnerable. Word will get to the Lanzenian king and the Mattenite emperor quickly."

"I know." He kicked his heels into his horse's sides, launching forward, forcing us to do the same. "I'm counting on it. My brother was never one for recognising what his continued rule relied upon. Maintaining a good relationship with the shifters and…" He stared at the road we were trotting down, then rose up in his saddle, ready to gallop. "Not putting me in a position where I was forced to challenge him. He won't be content until one of us is in the ground and the other on the throne. Before I didn't care which way or the other, but now…"

My horse started to dance beneath me, feeling the growing tension in my body.

"Now I do. If being king is what keeps Jessalyn safe, then that's what I'll be." He shook his head. "Something I think she's counting on." Arik glanced at Silas. "Those horses will be waiting for us at the next town?"

"You can say many things about The Guild, but we always deliver on our promises."

"Then we ride."

We'd spent the day fighting past obstacles on the arena floor, trying to prove our worth when we could've saved ourselves the effort. Our mate was a queen, and so she required far more than shows of bravery and cunning. My body ached, the bruises I'd earned making themselves known as I pushed my horse on, faster and faster down the road. Jessalyn would require nothing less than a kingdom laid at her feet and for the first time, I felt a flicker of hope. We'd do it or die trying, that much was clear.

Anything for our queen.