Chapter 31

Chapter

Thirty-One

GOVEK

" G ovek, hold for me."

Govek ignored his cousin's demand and continued to pound through the woods, leaves and twigs crunched under his feet. His claws dug harshly into his palms as his terror mounted.

"Govek, for fuck's sake!"

Govek couldn't think, couldn't breathe. He wanted to rip the whole forest down.

Because of Miranda.

He couldn't lose her.

"Do not make me tackle you!"

"Fuck off!" he snarled, still going.

"You really want to leave your mate to her own devices right now?"

Fuck no. He wanted to go back and blast sense into her. To hold her tight and demand she bend to his will. To force her hand. To hide her away where no other could ever find her.

And destroy everything they had built in the process. Destroy the trust he had gained.

But fuck, he could not lose her.

"Govek." A hand gripped his shoulder and turned him around. Karthoc pushed him, slammed his back into a tree. "Fucking stop ! You're not in your right mind. You're going to lose that woman if you don't?—"

"I'm going to lose her if I stay!" Govek pushed Karthoc off, only to have Karthoc grab him again. "I'll destroy our trust if I yell at her. Now let me fucking go ."

"No!" Karthoc bellowed. "I won't let you go. You love that woman. She lights you up, Govek. And this dredging with Evythiken will happen whether you want it to or not!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Govek raged. "I watched her fall out of the fucking sky. I know that this is what they want her to do, but why did they make me love her? Why did they make this such agony on her? On me? I hate them for what they are forcing on her, and I want to praise them to the ends of the mist for giving her to me. How can they expect me to just stand next to her and watch as she suffers through this? How can they ask for me to just let it happen?"

"You aren't meant to stand by and watch, Govek."

"What the fuck else am I supposed to do?"

"You support her."

Karthoc's words stopped him cold, made him tremble.

"You are her support, Govek. That much is very clear. And if she has any hope of coming out of this, she will need you by her side once again."

Govek made a strangled sound when he tried to argue, so he just shut his mouth and raked his hands through his hair. His palms were bloodied and raw from his claws.

He couldn't lose her.

He wouldn't .

"It is a difficult trial, being imprinted. The longing to take command of everything is thick through it. The raging need to protect is like an inferno, but you must fight it, or you will lose her, Govek. Of that I can be certain."

He may have lost her already.

"Maybe we shouldn't be mates." Fuck!

"You know, I've always envied you, Govek."

Shocked, Govek straightened, eyes wide. The male was looking up at the trees, eyes softer than usual.

"You live here, in these blessed woods. With only the day's hunt and the cold of night to haunt you." Govek tensed and his cousin cut in. "I know that's not the whole truth of it, but I liked to pretend that it was."

Karthoc stopped and looked Govek dead in the eyes. Their depths soaked into his gut, brought Govek to attention, reminding him that this male lead legions and showed him exactly how he was able to accomplish it.

With pure truth and open determination.

"I saw how that bastard Ergoth was treating you years ago, but I was too caught up in war to delve further. I should have. I am truly sorry."

Govek was stunned. He searched his cousin's face for a glimpse of the hardness he saw so often behind the congenial mask of Ergoth's apologies, looking for any similarities between the tones and expressions.

The only similarity he saw between Ergoth's saccharine lies and Karthoc's gruff regret were the words themselves.

Karthoc put a heavy hand on Govek's shoulder. "I promise, Govek, I will never allow anything like this to happen again. I vow to look out for you from this moment on. The way I should always have done."

Govek swallowed thickly. "You speak as if you are forty summers my senior rather than four."

Karthoc snorted, tension breaking.

Govek sought to ease it further. "I could have left at any time, Karthoc. I could have joined you at your forge or another clan, and I chose not to. It is not your fault, nor was it your place to force me away."

Karthoc huffed out a laugh. "Fuck, sometimes I wonder who is truly wiser. Are you certain you don't want to lead your clan?"

Govek blinked rapidly in shock.

"Don't fuck around. I know you haven't changed your mind. I can see it written all over you. Tell me I am wrong?"

"You are not wrong. Even in the face of all these uncovered truths, I do not want to be a leader."

"You are far different from me." Karthoc looked out into the woods. "I would have wanted to take control over those who oppressed me. I would have wanted to take their power as they took mine."

Govek's gut twisted at the thought.

"I know," Karthoc said with a nod. "You don't want that. I can tell. But I want to hear the words clear. Do you want to become chief of Rove Wood Clan, Govek?"

"No," Govek said. No hesitation, no regret.

"Then you will not. I have already made the move to put Brovdir and Sythcol in command. Two chiefs with equal power, working in tandem."

Govek was flummoxed. He could not believe what he heard .

"You disagree?"

Govek worked the idea over in his mind. "No. I do not. I think it will work fine."

"Good. So do I."

They stood in silence for a long time, staring off into the beauty of the Rove Woods. Wind whistled through the trees and a chill descended on the land. A chill that had ebbed from Govek since Miranda had come into his life. One he was facing all over again. His throat burned.

"I will ask you another question, Govek," Karthoc said, still looking up to the tree canopy. "You have two options. Either you risk losing your mate and support her as she moves through her fate, or you certainly lose her by fighting against her. Which do you pick?"

Govek's stomach dropped. He knew instantly what he had to choose.

Karthoc examined his face for a moment and then looked away. "I was in your place once, and I chose wrong. I let my pride get in the way and I have regretted it every moment since. My every breath is laced with it. I do not want that fate for you, Govek. It is a horrible one."

Govek was stunned once again. His mind worked to form a picture of Karthoc's words.

"After Clairton, you told me you had broken your imprint on Yerina, but it could not have been a true imprint, then. Because the real ones, the ones that go deep and hook right into your soul, those never break. No matter how hard you try."

"You... were imprinted?" Govek asked. "You had a mate ?"

Karthoc looked away, eyes brooding, and Govek realized this was not the question he should be musing on. These were not the truths he should be seeking.

Miranda's face flashed in his mind. Her imprint hummed in his chest and beckoned him.

He and Miranda were both pushing forward in tandem the best way they knew how. Supporting each other as their hearts and souls stitched and became whole again. Together. Side by side.

That healing wasn't easy, but it was worth it. Govek sucked in a hard breath and pushed past his own selfish fear.

Could he really deny Miranda her chance to heal , her chance to do what she thought was right, simply because he feared the risks? Or worse, would he force her to face her fate alone? Would he ever forgive himself if he abandoned her in her most vulnerable moments?

The walls in his mind cracked open and soaked his body in warmth and light.

Never. He would never abandon her.

"Karthoc! Govek! There you are!"

Brovdir rushed toward them through the woods, eyes frantic, claws extended.

"Brother, what is wrong?"

"It's Ergoth!" Brovdir said. "We ungagged him to eat, and he muttered an incantation in the wind."

Govek's whole body went cold.

"He's sent a wild cat. To kill Miranda. "