Of Claws & Chaos, page 13
“Mates,” Clari sighed, shaking her head. “I think she comes out here just to mess with him. She never ends up getting to train, especially when other men are around.”
“So you both have mates?” I asked hesitantly. Her gaze darkened, and she shrugged.
“I know Rhaegal is my mate, yes.”
“But…”
“A story for another time,” she promised. Though she spoke to me, her gaze was narrowed on a spot across the field. Everyone out there was a man, just like she said, except for one group of women. One of whom was staring right at me.
Clari clucked her tongue in annoyance. “Ignore her. Actually, ignore most of these assholes—but particularly Dallina.”
“Interesting name,” I murmured.
“Not an interesting person. A bully, honestly,” Clari said. “Now come on, let’s go shif—”
“You must be Evera!”
The minute we turned our backs, Dallina ran up to us, her group of comrades watching with interest. Unlike Dallina, whose cruel gaze regarded me with disdain, the other women seemed friendly—or at least not so immediately judgemental. That was a start, I suppose.
“And you really have no reason to be talking to us,” Clari responded dismissively.
“Just figured I’d introduce myself to the individual our king is so captured with.” She offered a tight smile, her eyes momentarily narrowed on Clari before moving back to me. “I wanted to invite you to come train with us—we’re about to go on a run.”
“She doesn’t need to train with you. She’s far above any of you,” Clari said defensively.
“Maybe another time,” I offered.
Dallina’s expression turned dark. “Will it be another time?” she asked loudly. “Because I heard that the king’s mate can’t even shift. He waited for you this entire time, and now you don’t have any magic to speak of.”
My cheeks heated, and I noticed my guards tense. I gave them a small shake of my head, asking them to not intervene, as embarrassment flooded me.
“How is that any of your damn business?” Clari demanded.
“It’s everyone's business if the king can’t take a mate and produce heirs, especially when there are so many other women who could give him that.”
Her jealousy was beyond blatant, and I felt pain in my chest at the idea of Axel mating with anyone else. But I was gathering fairly quickly that all of this was highly dependent on my magic.
“Like I said, I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to go shift and train with Clari.” I turned and walked away without waiting for her reaction, Clari admonishing Dallina once more before following me.
“I hate her,” Clari growled. “She’s mad because she’s always wanted Axel.”
“She’s right, though—I can’t shift, and I’m guessing that means I can never be his mate?” Something she had essentially announced to everyone.
“Hey.” Clari pulled me to a stop and spoke softly. “You have been back here for two, maybe three days—it will come back to you eventually.”
“I hope so,” I whispered.
“We’ll just train every day until it does. I know that your ability to shift causes complications…but I don’t think that’s going to change how Axel feels.”
Axel said as much, but something would always be missing between us. Despite my limited memories, I could feel the absence of the connection that existed between our wolves. Similar to how I missed the feel of my own magic, I missed the ability for us to connect on that level.
Our kind had fated mates, but until the act of mating and the placement of a mating mark occurred, it was only a connection. It wasn’t official, and they could choose someone else to mate with—even if the connection would never be as strong.
As much as I hated it, Dallina made sense. If I had no magic I couldn’t be Axel’s mate, whether we were fated or not. And any children we had wouldn’t be true heirs.
“Why wouldn’t he tell me?” I demanded softly.
“Probably doesn’t want you worrying about it.” Clari shrugged. “Honestly, who the hell knows? Like I said before, men never know what they want or need.”
“I just need to clear my head,” I said, rubbing my hands over my arms as a chilled wind brushed over me, still feeling insecure.
“How about after training, we go out tonight with Kathleen. A local village, the one she grew up in, is holding a festival. It’ll be really fun, and we can worry about all of this tomorrow.”
I loved that idea.
“Sure.”
Although, the last time I’d gone out for a night, I’d landed myself in a different realm…so who knew what would happen.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AXEL
Ihadn’t thought it was possible for today to get worse, but I was being proven wrong at every turn. It had been hours since I’d seen Evera, and every second that passed created an anxious void in my chest. I wanted to leave this damn office, but unfortunately I was stuck. I was still the King of Nightfall, which meant I was responsible for addressing every single threat that faced us.
It would be all too easy to ignore them, though, especially after last night. And if Evera’s safety also hadn’t been in question…well, I would have happily buried my cock between her legs and forgotten about everything for weeks. And with how easily her body had responded to my touch, she may have just let me…if I hadn’t fucked it up.
I’d only ripped myself away from her afterwards in the shower because I couldn’t bear to admit the reason I hadn’t acted sooner in her past life, the truth that she would realize sooner or later: that I simply wasn’t good enough for her. I’d returned to the bedroom after she’d fallen into a deep sleep, watching and standing guard over her like I’d done from the moment I first met her. As I watched her peaceful, steady breaths, I realized I needed to tell her why I hadn’t done anything before—the full truth. Because after what happened between us, I didn’t want any other walls to exist. Nothing to separate us.
Everything about the experience in the library had drawn out a primal and possessive urge that only existed when I was near Evera. I’d wanted everyone to hear her moans throughout the castle, to know that I was the one bringing her that level of pleasure, while also hating that anyone could hear it—wanting those noises to be completely mine. I hadn’t hesitated to mark her however I could, even sliding my cum into her after marking her beautiful skin. I should have felt barbaric, and maybe I did, but it also motivated me to end this bullshit more than ever before.
I wanted nothing separating Evera from me—including her parents.
Which was what they were doing right now. Rhaegal showed up this morning, before I had a chance to wake her, with the urgent message that we’d received a declaration of war.
Something that Xakery, who’d been waiting for us in the office, didn’t give a shit about, instead deciding to once again harp on the topic of Evera’s hidden magic. I knew it was hidden; I refused to believe it was gone. I’d almost killed my brother, my silent fury causing him to pale when he’d even suggested the concept of taking another.
Evera was it for me—the only woman I would ever have.
We just had to figure out how to coax her magic out. But I didn’t want her stressed about the process, which is why I refused to utter the concern—refused to poison her mind with doubts. All she needed to worry about was adjusting to being back in Vargr and making Nightfall and this castle her home.
There was always something to complicate it, though. Life could never be that easy for us, and this declaration of war was the perfect example.
I stared down at the letter that arrived this morning, the room silent as the council members, Rhaegal, and Captain Arnoux waited for my thoughts on how to move forward.
I didn’t have thoughts, though—just a red haze of fury that coated everything like I wanted her parents’ blood coating their fallen throne. I had to resist the urge to act immediately.
They wanted to take her from me—they wanted to take çiçeğim.
“This has been a long time coming. They’re using her as an excuse,” Dalziel, one of the oldest council members outside of Marx, pointed out. He paced by the windows, his gaze on the training field below.
The same one that Evera had walked across earlier. My lips almost twitched at the memory of the conflict I’d witnessed and the details her guards had given me after. It didn’t surprise me that Evera hadn’t risen to Dallina’s bait. Dallina was far less tactful than her father, which is probably why he was glaring down at the field with annoyance.
He was a smart man and had realized long ago that I had no interest in marrying his daughter—and therefore never brought it up to me. I appreciated that.
“They want her,” Marx argued, looking uncharacteristically serious. “They’ve waited fifty years. They want their daughter back.”
And maybe if they’d treated her kindly—as parents should treat a daughter—I would consider having peace talks. But they hadn’t, so I wouldn’t.
“When are they demanding she be returned?” Faybiena asked, her hands folded over her lap as she watched me with speculation. I knew she was waiting for me to do something reactionary, my usual when discussing anything related to the Kingdom of Eventide or Evera.
But I restrained myself, knowing we couldn’t afford to fuck this up.
“Two days,” I rumbled. “That’s not happening.”
“Of course not,” Jira agreed, her gaze on the letter in my hand. Despite being the youngest of the council members, I trusted her and Marx the most. “We just need to figure out how serious they are.”
“Serious,” I confirmed. I would’ve waged war to get Evera back, so their threat of one didn’t surprise me in the least. Inhaling, I looked down at the note and made my decision.
“We are not returning her. That isn’t even in question. Like Dalziel said, we’ve been expecting a war, and Evera is only an excuse to act. Whether she’s the entire reason or only part of it doesn’t matter—when she hasn’t been returned two days from now, they will wage war. Send the courier back with the message that we will not be returning their daughter and eagerly anticipate their next action.” I smirked and folded the declaration on my desk. “That is my decision.”
No one seemed surprised, and all the council members save for Marx left, each with their own assignments on how to enact our plan. Normally Kathleen would have handled crafting the response to the Kingdom of Eventide, but Captain Arnoux had mentioned she wasn’t feeling well this afternoon, so I assigned Marx the responsibility instead. I took a seat alongside Rhaegal, the captain, and Marx, leaning back into the chair with a long sigh.
“Well, this is going to be quite the event—Vargr at war once again,” Marx said. “I plan on resting tonight; I have a feeling I won’t be getting much in the future.”
“And I need to find Evera,” I murmured to myself in thought. He was right in the sense that we needed to make the most out of tonight, because come morning…
Marx chuckled, interrupting my train of thought. “Yes, but you will not be getting rest, Axel. Neither will the two of you.”
“What do you mean?” Captain Arnoux frowned, suddenly on high alert.
“I received word that Evera, Kathleen, and Clari left for one of the nearby villages about two hours ago. I made sure their guards didn’t go fetch them—figured you would want to do so.”
The room froze as my eyes narrowed on his amused expression. “They’re out there alone?”
“You didn’t stop them?” Arnoux growled. He stood so abruptly that his chair fell over, striding towards the door. “You didn’t even let their fucking guards follow them?”
“Why didn’t you stop them?” I asked Marx, Rhaegal standing slowly and moving towards the man. Shit. I needed Marx, and as annoying as his fucking actions were, I knew my kingdom was safe for now.
At least I thought it was. Fuck, I needed to go get her.
“That is not my responsibility.” He flashed a smile and turned towards Rhaegal. “And you would be smart to not try to kill me—Clari would be very upset.”
Rhaegal’s gaze narrowed, and Marx chuckled again as he left us. Nodding towards the door, I put my crown on my desk and followed him out. We didn’t need to talk about our plan; we were going to go get them and bring them back to the castle.
I knew Evera was confused about everything going on, but I was about to make it extremely simple.
Leaving the castle without fanfare was a lot harder than you would imagine, but having Captain Arnoux with us made a lot of the guards feel better about the concept. Despite being the most terrifying thing in this kingdom, they felt responsible for my safety, and it wasn’t something I’d ever purposely tried to quash. I knew it came down to loyalty.
My hood and dark clothing, much like Rhaegal and the captain’s, hid me in the shadows as we made our way out of the castle and into the night. Arnoux knew the way to the village, having mentioned it was the one Kathleen had grown up in, so we followed his lead. When we were only about a mile out of the castle boundaries, the forested path grew less dense, revealing a village ahead.
From our distance, I could hear the sound of celebratory cheering, the tune of music, and the scent of food. Fairy lights lit up the night, and I felt a surge of contentment knowing that those living under my rule were able to enjoy themselves like this. I was even glad that Evera was getting to experience it.
I wanted her to fall in love with Nightfall.
What I hated? The idea of her being around men without me—men who didn’t realize she was taken. Men who didn’t see my mating mark on her neck and assumed she was available. Men who didn’t realize she was under my protection—that she was their future queen.
“You’re growling,” my brother said, his voice flat. As relaxed as he tried to appear, I could tell he was tense—and more than anything, pissed the fuck off. Probably because he and Clari had been going back and forth since she arrived in my kingdom two years ago after having escaped her own problems back in Eventide.
“No shit,” I snarled. “My mate is at an event with other men. Unprotected. Unmarked. If she wanted to go to a party, we could’ve held something at the castle. We’re about to wage war—who knows if the courier brought anyone else with him.”
It was a consideration that now weighed on me heavily. I knew this hadn’t been done with poor intent, but I hated the idea of Evera being out there alone. And while the courier himself was being held comfortably in our dungeon and none of our soldiers had reported seeing anyone traveling with him, it didn’t eliminate the possibility of others with ill will in our midst.
“This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t believed Kathleen when she said she was sick,” Arnoux grumbled, furious with himself.
“This was Clari’s idea,” Rhaegal interjected. “I know it. The brat has absolutely no limit. I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
He said the last part was more to himself, so I didn’t comment on it.
“Then just mark her as your mate,” Arnoux said simply. I knew he’d marked Kathleen recently, one of his assignments having brought him to a village within castle territory where his mate had been living right under his nose.
“Like it’s that simple.” Rhaegal shook his head, and I clasped my brother’s shoulder in understanding.
As we reached the entrance of the village, my eyes darted around the civilian filled town square as I inhaled, trying to catch her scent. When I did, I moved without holding back, pushing my way through the crowd as people naturally parted for me.
I’d planned on finding Evera, throwing her over my shoulder, and immediately taking her back to the castle, but when we found the women, I stayed rooted to the spot. I found I couldn’t interrupt them, not at this moment, because Evera’s smile was lighting up the entire damn place. Gold magic seemed to glitter across her skin from the lights above, and her head fell back as she turned, dancing with the other two.
Putting a hand out to stop Rhaegal and Arnoux, we stayed at the edge of the pavilion, my eyes tracking the way Evera moved—the ease and grace, the fluidity. It was perfection, and my wolf rattled inside of me, reaching out for hers.
I swear, for the faintest second I felt her wolf respond, but then the wall she had up collapsed over the connection, making me grunt.
“We should get them,” Rhaegal said, his body poised to surge forward to grab his mate—but I didn’t remove the physical barrier I had put up.
I knew he was right, but I wanted my girl to enjoy this moment, especially knowing what was coming next. When we woke in the morning, we would be preparing for war with her own damn family.
Right at that moment, a younger group of assholes approached them, and I saw one in particular go straight for Evera. He approached her from behind and went to wrap a hand around her waist, probably thinking he could dance with her, and that was when my patience and tolerance for this laid-back atmosphere ran out. I moved faster than I ever had outside of battle, stopping his hand in an effortless snap, the sound of bones breaking filling the air as the music cut off with a painful screech.
His cry of pain echoed through the square as a sound left my throat that had everyone scattering, my hand going to the back of his jacket and lifting him up so he was choking, trying to grasp for some stability. Evera turned around, wide eyes staring up at me with absolutely no fear, only surprise—her gaze going to the man I was holding before furrowing in confusion.
I had no idea what Arnoux and Rhaegal had done with their mates, but everyone was giving us a clear space, the magic coming off of me making it all too obvious that there was another predator, one far more dangerous than them, in the area. As I looked over the bastard hanging in front of me, my lip drew back in disgust. Either he was drunk or had a death wish.
“Axel…”
“He was trying to touch you,” I said simply, the breeze wafting through the clearing surrounding me with her scent as my hood fell back. Instantly, the village square filled with chatter as the man I was holding up paled. Impressive, since the hold I had on his collar was turning him blue.
