2. Chapter Two

My hands grip the reins so tight, my knuckles blanch white. I am annoyed. Beyond annoyed–I'm pissed. This is a waste of my time. When my father and his wife sent me on this mission to detain a rebel shifter who evaded capture, I thought we'd be going after a hardened criminal. I did not expect to break into a young female's cottage and abduct her in the middle of the night. My eyes glance to her form shivering under her cloak before me. She's finally fallen into silence as we continue North towards Shadowvale. I'll be glad to deliver her to my father and return back to my real mission. My people and their protection.

As a shadow of moonlight slices through the trees, her petite form tenses. "Where are we? Why have you taken me? What does Shadowvale want with me?" She demands, twisting around in the saddle to face me.

I purse my lips in agitation, debating my choices. Of the questions I can answer, our location is the safest. All I was told was to get the rebel to my father's court so she could account for her crimes.

"What the kingdom of Shadowvale wants with you–well, it's–" I clear my throat. What does the Kingdom of Shadowvale want with her?

"At a loss of words now, Aramis?" the shifter quickly cuts in. "I don't even know who the King and Queen of Shadowvale are these days? Is it still King Mattheo and Queen Elanora?" she adds, frustration lacing her words.

"Well, actually," a young voice cuts in, one I had expressly told not to address the prisoner, "King Mattheo and Queen Elanora reigned Shadowvale until 350 years ago, when they tragically died of the vermillion fever. After them, their son King Lysander took the throne and married Queen Rosalind, but unfortunately—"

"That's enough with the history lesson, Edmund. We are almost at the clearing," I say curtly. "We will let the horses rest and then continue on our way to Shadowvale."

The shifter turns to the boy riding on our right and gives him a smile that makes my breath catch. "Thank you for the history lesson, Edmund. At least now I know who ordered my kidnapping," she then moves around in the saddle once more, making me flinch. My body stiffens and I curse the way this fool of a girl is twisting around as we are cantering through the forest. She's likely to break her neck if she falls off at this speed. So I keep my arms steady, caging her against my chest but careful enough to leave some distance between our bodies. I can't stand being this close to a shifter, not after what happened to my mother. Not after the destruction the rebels have caused to Shadowvale, trying to tear down my family's legacy, everything we built and strive for.

But, when Nero volunteered to contain her for the trip back…

My gut had clenched at his words. I need to keep her close. I cannot risk failing this mission by leaving her under someone else's protection. And what did she think she was going to accomplish–wriggling in my lap like some goddess forsaken siren? I would not touch shifter scum even if my life depended on it. But she is my responsibility and if she really is as dangerous as the court seer has predicted, then I have to put my pride aside and not let it get in the way of duty.

"That does not answer my question of why I'm in this situation," she replies after a moment. The strain is palpable within the silence, but I choose to continue ignoring her. I don't owe this prisoner a single answer. "Also," she continues, "I am hungry and thirsty." Her stomach gives out an audible rumble in protest.

"If you can not be quiet for five more minutes," I snap, my anger and temper getting the better of me, "You're going to find yourself gagged and trussed over the back of my stallion until we get there. Do you understand?" She huffs with anger, body tensing, but remains quiet. Goddess above, are all unicorns this needy and insistent?

We continue on towards the clearing and the silence is finally a welcome reprieve. My men and I pushed hard over the last two weeks on this mission, careful not to raise suspicion or be seen by Kallistar guards. Luckily, the goddess was on our side as we did not encounter any of the shadow beasts on the trip south, nor patrols that would have questioned our presence in this kingdom. I only pray we are as lucky as we were on the way back home.

Realizing the intensity with which I have been holding the reins for the last couple of hours, I stretch my hands one at a time. My neck and shoulders are stiff and there is a heavy weight pushing on my chest since the moment we left the shifter's cottage. I would be lying if I said that I accepted this mission lightheartedly. Secretly capturing a citizen of a neighboring kingdom on very vague grounds feels unjust. But if the risk is allowing this shifter to aid the rebels in destroying Shadowvale, I have no other choice but to trust Queen Tricella's orders. We might not like each other, but we both have the safety of the kingdom at heart.

A whistle rents the air as Nero points towards a break in the trees, and I sigh with relief. We all could use a quick rinse in the small crystalline pool that lay at the edge of the clearing and the horses need to rest before we push onward. If we minimize our stops, we could shave a day or two from the journey back.

I dismount, leaving the girl high up in the saddle, before patting my stallion on the neck. He shakes his head at my touch before nudging me with his snout. I pat him once, but he snuffs loudly, nipping at my fingers. Is he agitated with me?

"Later boy," I whisper, then turn towards the others. "Make haste, we won't tarry more than a few hours. I want a fire set up. The horses watered and brushed down, food prepared. Sven, Charles, you're both on first watch. And Edmund, try not get into trouble please," the men laugh at the remark, and Charles affectionately elbows Edmund, who is struggling to unload his bags.

"What aboot the prisoner?" Nero asks by my side, glancing behind me.

"What about her?" I grunt, turning my head. Her features have taken on a weary, glazed look. Her body begins to lean to the side as she stares towards the water, her tongue darting up to lick at her lips, dry and cracking from the cold winter wind.

What is she doing!?

"Shit." Instinctively, I cast out my powers as her eyes roll into the back of her head and her body slips like a doll from the saddle. I barely cushion some of her fall with my wind, the brunt of her weight hitting the packed forest floor with an audible thump.

"Boy, those are quick reflexes," Nero whistles at my side as he walks closer to inspect. Moving the woman's unconscious figure into a more comfortable position, he carefully adjusts his cloak under her head. "Looks like she passed out, but she's breathing."

"She's lucky we need her alive." I storm over to my horse and start unloading the saddlebags.

Nero follows suit, but his glance keeps going back to the girl. "She's not that bad looking for a shifter."

"Nero, you fuck anything that walks," I scoff with amusement, leading the horse over to the pool to drink.

"Hey now, I have some preferences," he replies indignantly.

"What? Alive and breathing? With a second serving of dinner?" I chuckle, punching him lightly in the arm.

Nero rolls his eyes at me. "Ye know, asshole, I actually hope to find my mate one day." His words trail off as he glances down at Sybil's form on the ground.

"You can't possibly think–" My lips twitch in annoyance as I stare blankly at my friend. "That would be a cruel twist of fate to be mated to one of their kind."

"Of course no' a shifter, Aramis. But I can appreciate beauty when I see it, regardless of its kind" He turns away from me and pulls out a flask, taking a deep swallow. "But, I do hope to one day have what my parents shared. My mother used to tell me stories about the day she met my father and the instant pull she felt towards him. As if fate had tied a string between their two life forces, an eternal invisible bond." An instant tug. I shift my thoughts away from that notion.

"I didn't know you to be such a romantic," I scoff, but a smile turns on the corner of my lip. Mates are rare. You could go hundreds of years and never find one another. From the stories I've heard, my own mother and father were fated mates. Until he lost her at the hands of those fucking shifters. He's become a shell of the man he once was when they killed her. My hands clench at my side, anger rising in my chest.

The shifter attacks had become a growing problem in Shadowvale in the last fifteen years. Towns ransacked and destroyed, innocent women and children lost in the madness of it all. And all because they no longer feel protected by the peace treaty that was introduced to ensure mages and shifters coexist peacefully in the kingdom of Shadowvale after the Armaghdale war. The day I lost my mother I swore that, as the crown prince, I would never let another Shadowvale born child suffer the same pain I have endured. So I have taken it upon myself to find a way to stop this carnage for my people and my kingdom. I glance at the seemingly innocuous shifter laying on the ground and try to silence the voice in my head. But what about the missing shifters? It whispers. How can she be the one that will destroy Shadowvale? It asks all questions I don't have answers for.

Nero follows my gaze and crouches over her still form, brushing her chestnut hair from her face. "Oh great, she's bleeding."

Instinct overrides my senses as I look at her, my jaw clenching in concern when I see the blood sticking to her hairline. As I approach them, my lips twitch with a sneer when the worry grows stronger. She better not die on me after all we've been through to retrieve her. I lean down to inspect further, but don't touch her.

"They want her alive, " I grunt, annoyed as my heartbeat keeps racing. I step back from the shifter, feeling the need to move so that I can get her out of my sight as soon as possible. I look back at Nero, who's waiting for my instruction. I sigh, exasperated. "Do what you must. Make sure she is safe."