Chapter 21

Arlys

The wind whips through my fur as Drogo, Rinan, and I run through the forest. My energy is high as adrenaline courses through me. We haven't been on a run like this in a long time. It usually helps to clear my mind, something I desperately need right now.

I wish my mind was free and clear, but the bloodied image of Princess Tara and Rinan in that bedroom keeps coming into view, clouding my thoughts. It could have killed them. Without Tara, it would have.

The bear appears in my mind, and I shiver. One wolf alone has never had the strength to take down a bear shifter. Even, usually, an alpha wolf. If a bear and a wolf fight, the wolf dies. Fortunately for us, we move in packs, so there's strength in numbers. A woman with a sword and a wolf shifter shouldn't have been enough either, but I'm relieved they were. I almost lost one of my best friends and the woman I married.

A woman I married as a Peace Bride. One I barely know. But one I like.

When I'm around her, I feel an intense passion unlike anything I've ever felt before. And there's a possessiveness that burns through me. Even her scent calls to me like the most intoxicating meal, begging me to enjoy her. I shouldn't feel that way about her. But every time I look at her, it's there, a sensation that she belongs to me, and that it's my job to take care of her.

I can't feel like that. She's a tool. Our pathway to a cure. That's all. These feelings need to go away.

The problem is she comes in a sexy package, with curves, wit, and intelligence. I actually want to spend time with her, but the three of us have an agreement. No one falls for her. No one fucks her. So once she cures the Illness, this marriage can be annulled. We can be free to find our mate and live our lives the way we always wanted.

I'm not so sure that's the smartest plan anymore. Not when my wolf likes her. Not when my body aches for her. Not when Rinan keeps staring at her like she's the most beautiful creature to ever walk our lands.

Drogo's voice is suddenly in my head. I know you're upset.

I ignore him, not wanting to have this conversation right now. This is my time to escape my problems as a human. This is my time as a wolf. I glance at him on my left while we run, keeping pace with me, his eyes seeking me out.

Remember, it's us against the world. There's no room for anyone else, especially not some witch. She's our enemy. Don't let your soft heart feel sorry for her.Drogo looks at me, then forward again.

Now Rinan joins in. Agreeing not to fuck her doesn't mean we have to treat her like shit. I like her. She fought that fucking bear to save me even though she could have just run or worse, watched it kill me. She was terrified, but she still did everything she could to save my life.

She killed a bear.

Damn, he's right. That never even occurred to me. If she's a witch, and our enemy, it would have been a massive help to her side to take out one of the princes of the wolf packs. And she wouldn't even have to kill him herself, she could have run or just watched the bear rip Rinan apart.

She did neither. She fought to save his life.

Drogo growls low in my mind. Witches use spells, and both of you are falling under hers. She's tricking you. We owe her nothing. We're being kind by not beating her, by not punishing her for all the wolves her people have killed with their spells and tricks.

She's not using tricks though. Drogo's argument doesn"t make sense. Rinan and I aren't smitten with her like we would be if love spells were real, we simply… like her.

Suddenly, Rinan makes a distressed noise in our mind.

Rinan?

No answer. My heart pounds as I race to catch up with him, worried about yet another bear attack in our territory. Or maybe something worse.

But when we reach him, he's simply sitting at the side of the river. Staring. I run closer, spotting something lying behind the bushes. A shifter.

It looks like a dead body until I get closer and hear the young man's shallow breaths. He looks unharmed. And yet, something's wrong.

We shift into our human form as we approach. There's no sign of injury, no blood anywhere on him, but he looks sickly: thin and pale. He can't hold himself up. His eyes open, and he rasps for us to stay back, then coughs and sputters.

Coughs? What the hell? This doesn't make sense.

"I have the Illness," he manages between rasps.

We exchange a confused look. There's no way. He can't be older than us, and the Illness only affects the elderly. There must be something else going on.

"That's impossible. You're too young," I tell him gently. "Did you bump your head? Are you injured?"

"No–" He shakes his head.

We exchange another look.

"You're wrong," he pants. "The Illness is… spreading." He coughs again, harder, just like my father, and blood splatters his mouth.

I move forward, and Drogo hauls me back.

The young man continues, his skin a shade paler than any I've seen before. "The young are getting it too. Even pups. Tell the King…Warn…the Kin…"

He dies before he can finish his last word, collapsing into a heap. We all stare. We keep staring. Watching for the rise and fall of his chest, but there is none. This is impossible. This man had many good years ahead of him.

None of this is possible.

The Illness… it can't be…

We stand over his withered body. He's young. Much too young to die from this.

Drogo's voice is clear and edged with anger as he speaks. "It's spreading. The fucking thing is spreading!"

Rinan rubs his eyes, turning away from the body.

I stand, staring in disbelief.

Drogo slams his fist into a tree and turns back to us, "We need that witch to find the cure now. No matter what we have to do to her."

Rinan keeps his back to us. "Drogo–"

"Tell me her comfort is more valuable than the lives of our people!"

Neither of us speak.

He growls and paces beside us. "That's what I thought. Now, grow a pair. We need to handle our little wife."

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