Chapter 4

Four

My heart freezes in my chest when the doors to the throne room open.

Rueven’s grip tightens enough for me to notice. I peer at him through the corner of my lashes. Looking at him, he appears almost perfectly calm, but up close the muscles thrashing in his jaw give away his unease. Why would the prince of the fae be uneasy in the presence of his own court?

I turn back just as they enter the room. The fae look like wolves, but they are tanned, and their skin almost reflects light in different colours. Their ears are pointy, some small but others high like spikes. They are even more beautiful than I imagined. All the books I read about them, and the paintings really don’t do them justice. The light seems to follow them as they stride into the hall one after the other. With so many members of court, it’s difficult to take them all in, but I do notice how Rueven is the only one with short hair. He keeps his fingers twisted through the dark strands as they take their seats. The servants stand off to the side, next to the pillars, where the light barely reaches them. It gravitates to the court, bending around them with soft, gentle rays.

Rueven’s slow clapping pulls my focus back to him. “Well done everyone. I’m quite impressed you managed to carry out my instructions without fucking up this time.” He grips the armrest with one hand and places his other on my waist again. The clear contempt in his tone seeps through his every word, placing them in poison. “Of course, I was beginning to doubt your obedience when my father attacked. Did neither of you know he had planned to do this?” Silence. Silence so deafening it makes me squirm in Rueven’s lap. “How disappointing,” he resumes with a snarl, “for here I believed your spies were better than those of my fathers. It seems you have all been lying to me.”

Members of his court lower their heads in shame. At least, I think it’s shame. They certainly look uncomfortable with what their prince is saying. I want to know what they did to make him so angry. It’s like he’s scolding a child the way he is talking to them.

“Have you nothing to say?” Rune snarls at them.

Finally, a member of his court stands up. His long red hair is distinct from the others because it’s one of two among them.

“My prince…”

Rune snaps his gaze onto him. A tight smile pulls at his lips that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Ah, Verin. My longest serving advisor. Have you come to accept blame or offer me excuses?”

Despite the clear awkwardness of the man’s posture, he remains standing, his dark eyes seeking out Reuven”s. Everyone else remains utterly silent as he gathers the courage to speak.

“My prince, I do not think any member of this court is deserving of blame. As you so stated yourself, we carried out our prince’s commands dutifully, and faithfully, and we did not attack the enemy stronghold. Even when our benevolent prince was taken prisoner, we awaited further instruction just as he commanded.”

Rueven scoffs at him. “Further instruction? My father’s invasion should have been evident enough to launch a counterattack! Your negligence has once again resulted in the loss of innocent lives, Lord Verin. Give me one good reason why I should spare you.”

The advisor’s face twists with panic, and disgust. “They were enemy lives. Werewolf scum.”

“They were still fucking innocent!” Rueven’s voice booming across the hall causes me to jump, along with some others among the court. His bellow echoes around me as he rubs his hand gently down my back soothingly, as if to apologise. “The fact you stand before me now, insulting my mate, is proof you are past your service to me.” Rueven waves his free hand dismissively. “You have served me all these years, but now is the time to relinquish those duties and pass them over to your son and heir. All land and assets will be passed to him too. You are hereby stripped of everything, Lord Verin, including your rank and title.”

The other red-haired male stands up and quickly bows his head. “Thank you for this great honour, my prince.”

Rune doesn’t take his eyes off the advisor. The male glares at his son before turning back to the prince. All the blood has drained from his face, and he looks like he’s going to be sick. I try not to smile but it creeps over my lips. Just like that, Lord Verin lost everything. I don’t feel sorry for him at all. He’s clearly the kind of person to allow the slaughter of innocent people because they are different to him. In my opinion, he deserves this, and more. Rueven has let him off lightly.

What did he mean when he said they didn’t attack Elias by order of their prince? Why would Rueven not want his people to rescue him? I make a note to ask him later when we’re alone.

Several guards approach Lord Verin with their spears at the ready. A single servant steps out from the shadows of the pillars, cloaked in a long red cloak. Although their face is hidden beneath the hood, there is something strangely familiar about their gait. They don’t approach the court like a dutiful, lowly servant. They stride towards it.

And then they drop their hood, and my world crashes to a halt.

It can’t be…

“Did I not warn you of this?” Verin yells, turning around to sneer at the court while pointing his finger at me. “Did I not say what would happen once we let in the omega slut, and she spread her filth over our lands?!”

Reuven’s grip’s digs painfully into my hips, but I’m not looking at him, or the advisor. I’m looking at Mera. Slowly she pulls out a familiar blade from under her cloak and the red blade gleams in the light. Tears sting my eyes, and my heart feels like it’s going to burst out from behind my ribs. How is it possible that she’s here, out of all places? The guards don’t seem to notice her, or the weapon concealed in her hand. They focus on dragging the advisor away from the rest of the court. But then I hear it, the sound of steel cutting through flesh, and the screams that follow.

I blink down at Rueven’s hand stretched out in front of me, just as Lord Verin’s body collapses on the ground, twitching and gasping for air. Blood pools around him, and the knife sticking out from his throat doesn’t belong to Mera.

It belongs to the prince. Rueven just killed a member of his own court.

“Anyone else wish to insult my mate?” Rune’s eyes skim the shocked, ashen faces of his people, but nobody speaks. Only the sound of Lord Verin’s ragged gasps fills the silence stretching between them. It’s a sickening noise, but a deserving fate. “Then let that be a lesson to those who do. The gods have chosen who will rule this kingdom beside me once my father is dead, and if he objects—or anyone objects, for that matter—be prepared for the blood I will spill over the realms.” He tugs me against him, his eyes flicking up to mine. “Verena is my mate and future queen. I will show no mercy to those who stand in the way of that/stand between us. Now leave. Except for you,” he says to Mera. “It appears my mate knows your face and I want to find out why that is.”

Once the court has withdrawn, and only Mera remains, flanked by two guards, Rueven turns to her again. My heart pounds in my ears like a drum.

“Speak your name,” he commands, “and don’t bother pulling that dagger out again. I’m a lot quicker than you think, wolf.”

Mera opens her mouth to reply but I end up speaking for her.

“Her name is Mera,” I say, my lips trembling. “She’s… She’s, my mum.”

Even though I keep my eyes on Mera, Rueven looks between us, and I can sense his confusion. I’m just as confused as him. I have so many questions to ask Mera. First and foremost, did she know what the alpha had planned for me? For Kris, too? And when she said she was headed north, did she mean into the fae lands? How did she end up in Rune’s court of all places?

“I thought your pack was wiped out?” Rueven’s whisper brushes my cheek.

“It was, at least… I thought it was.” I can no longer restrain the tears that race down my cheeks. “I need to talk to her.”

I glance up at Rueven as he watches the tears slip from my lashes with a frown. To my relief, he nods.

“Only if you promise to stay out of trouble.”

I can only nod in return, too stunned to say anything else.

Rune turns to the guards. “My mate wishes to retire. See that she is escorted to her quarters and stand guard until I instruct otherwise.”

He helps me off the throne. However, before I can move away from him, he pulls me back, his eyes looking through mine as if searching for something.

“I’ll come for you once I’m done. I meant it when I said stay out of trouble. Do you think you can do that for me this time, Mercy?”

I try to give him a reassuring smile. “I’ll try. Just don’t hold your breath on it, Dark Fae.”

He slowly releases me, the edge of his mouth twitching. As I follow the guards out, stepping over Lord Vermin’s body on the way, the dead fae’s dying, rasping breaths enter my mind again. He’s not the first fae to want to hurt me and he won’t be the last. I saw the way Rune’s court looked at me. They were either frightened or disgusted. The fact their prince has claimed me as his mate is unlikely to change that. Wolves and fae have always despised each other.

Today was just another bloody reminder.

The second thatwe’re alone, there are a million things I want to say to Mera.

A thousand questions needing answers.

But the only words that reach past my lips are?—

“You left us.” Three simple words, and it’s like a dam has burst inside me as tears pour violently from my eyes, and all the sobs I’ve been holding back shudder in the back of my throat, desperate to escape. “Why? Why did you leave us when we needed you most?”

My vision blurs as tears glaze my eyes, making it hard to see Mera. But I keep going. It’s as if all the pain I’ve been burying deep down has ripped to the surface and is bursting its way out of me. I can’t hold it back anymore.

“I needed you,” I choke out. “We needed you, Mera, but you were gone, and he — he took everything from us. He took everything!”

Everything we ever loved. Our home and the sweet, amazing, wonderful person we had built it with.

“I tried to stop him,” I say, as one of my sobs manages to escape from me. “I really did, but I couldn’t… he wouldn’t…”

Mera pulls me into her arms and hushes me like I’m a child again. I shake my head, desperately wanting to know the truth, to tell her the truth, tell her what our alpha took from us. Who he took. But I can only cry in her arms, and she holds me tightly as her own tears splash onto the top of my head. This is all I’ve wanted since the nightmare began. A hug.

“There is so much we need to discuss. I know he hurt you,” she whispers softly. “He hurt us all, for so many years, but I promise that will never happen ever again.” She kisses the top of my head and runs her hand soothingly through my hair, saying quietly, “We’re going to him pay for what he put us through, but first, we’re getting the fuck out of here.” She pulls back and looks at me as she wipes the tears from my face with the corner of her sleeve, just like she used to do when I was a child. “Do you still believe in me, Ver? Do you trust me?”

Mera is the only one I’ve ever believed in, and I trust her completely. Far more than I trust myself at this rate. My instincts can no longer be trusted—especially around Elias and Lazuri. I blink back my tears and nod.

“Always.”

“Then let’s go back home, Verbear.”

I wince at the word home. At the very least, doesn’t she know we don’t have a home anymore? How can she be so oblivious to everything that happened? I guess I need to know what happened to her first.

I watch Mera open the wardrobe and rummage through the back of it. She pulls out a tan satchel and checks the contents inside. With a nod, she hands me the bag. It’s heavy but not unbearable.

“I had your maid pack this for you. It’s a long walk where we’re headed, and our supplies are limited so we’ve got to be scarce with them.”

I don’t look inside the bag. I simply pull the strap over my shoulder. “Where are we going?”

“Remember the assignment the alpha sent me on the day I left?” A disgusted look crosses over her face. “Well, it turned out that it was a trap. I should’ve known when he sent me to barter for healing supplies with a bunch of fae. But they were good people. An elderly couple took me in, gave me food and shelter, and housed me until I had to leave. We’re headed back there. They know we’re coming.”

Mera hands me several items of clothing and a pair of boots. I take them and begin to strip off my own clothes. “What happened to you after you left them? How did you end up a servant?”

“The old bastard Verin caught me. He had the Guild drag me here to the palace where I was to be killed or enslaved. When he found out about my healing and hunting skills, he chose the latter. He was a fool but sometimes he was a wise fool. I’ll give him credit for that.” She turns around to face me. A tattered grey cloak, like the one she’s wearing, hangs over her arm. “I almost killed him in his sleep one night. But then I heard the servants talking about how the fae prince had brought another wolf into their lands. I just knew in my gut it was you or Kris. I just knew it.”

My heart sinks at the mention of Kris. “Mera, I need to tell you?—”

“No more time. You can tell me everything later.” She looks me over. “Are you ready? Is there anything here you want to bring?”

I bite my trembling lip and shake my head, more to keep myself from crying. She doesn’t know about Kris. Of course she wouldn’t. How am I going to tell her? I swallow down my sobs and focus on tying the laces on the boots. Mera nods and hands me a dark, big cloak that looks like she stole it from a guard.

“The plan is to just walk out of here by using these,” she shows me two stones. I’ve seen them before; she always uses them when we are hunting. She said they bring her luck. “They contain fae magic that makes anyone who looks at us, just look away. We will be able to walk out of the door, the town and keep going. He won’t be able to track us at all.” I don’t dare tell her that I think he can track me anywhere. That I believe he is my mate. I felt the bond when I shifted for the first time. “There is a town in the west. Once we’re there, we’ll be able to reach out to the nearest pack and I can send word for Kris. I tried doing it the last time I was there, but Verin found me before I could get a reply.” The sound of the guard coughing outside draws her attention briefly away. “We need to go, now.”

I tug on the cloak, take her hand and let her walk us out of the room. She is right, with the stone in my hand and the same one in hers, no one even looks at us. We easily walk out of the castle, through the streets and the front gates like ghosts.

I know it won’t be long until Rune figures out, I’m not in my room.

But hopefully the stones will confuse him.

There is so much Mera doesn’t know about. The fae attacking the pack and leaving barely any survivors. My strange, explosive power. My mates. But most important and gut-wrenching of all—the fact Kris is now dead.

How do I tell a mother that her child was murdered? Because that’s what it was in the end. My sister’s death was never a sacrifice to the gods.

It was murder, plain and simple, and we will make the alpha pay for what he did. But first, I’ve got to get out of here before telling Mera everything.

Once I do, she will shatter like I did.