ULRIC KNIGHT
The air here still smells like her.
I stand at the edge of the dock, in the exact spot where she sat, legs dangling above the water, her lips curled up into her breathtaking smile.
My boots are planted where hers were, and it's like I can almost see her, hair shifting with the breeze, sunlight catching on her smooth skin but the longer I stare, the more that image flickers...the more it turns into the moment that stole her from me.
The boards creak under my weight as I take a slow step forward, eyes scanning every inch of the lake and the woods surrounding it. My gaze catches on the faintest scuff, but when I crouch and touch it, it's nothing. Just a mark from the river's debris.
No claw marks, no drag, no blood, nothing that could lead me to her. It's like she stood up and simply ceased to exist and that doesn't sit right with me.
The water moves gently below me, carrying the reflection of the gray sky across its surface. I search it like it's going to give me an answer, It doesn't.
Arius stirs low inside me, his growl not loud, just a rumble beneath the surface, She was here. Someone was here. We missed it.
I close my eyes, steadying my breath, and let my fingers graze the railing. The wood is cool and damp.
I focus, on her, on the way she smells, on the sound of her voice when she calls my name.
I pull on the bond, the invisible string between us, that ties us together.
It's not fully formed, we haven't… finished it but the mark should still be something. It should still be enough to find her, to reach her, to let her know I'm coming.
I push my mind toward hers, the way I would with any mindlink.
Luna…
Nothing.
I take a deep breath and push harder, the pressure building in my head. I send everything I can...her name, my voice, my promise.
Aelia, hear me. I'm here. I'm coming for you.
.....
Still nothing.
The emptiness that comes back is worse than silence. Silence and absence killing me like she's too far away… or something is standing between us.
I open my eyes, my jaw tight, my hands curling against the railing until the wood creaks.
She's out there. I can feel it. Even if the bond is quiet, I know she's breathing somewhere.
And whoever is keeping her from answering me…
Arius growls low, finishing the thought for me. …will wish they'd never touched her.
I hear footsteps crunch on the dirt behind me.
"Alpha," a voice calls, low but urgent.
I don't look right away. My eyes stay fixed on the river until the air in my lungs starts to burn, then I turn.
One of my patrols stands there, chest rising and falling hard. "We've picked up rogue activity near the east border. Tracks, fresh. They've crossed inside the border."
My jaw tightens. "Where exactly?"
"About a mile of the east border. They're moving slow, should we dispose of them or would you like something specific ."
I don't ask what they're doing here. I don't care and normally I would let my patrols have their way but with everything already going on, I need something to calm myself down.
My lips curl into a smirk. Poor rogues, wrong day to be on my land. "Show me."
The run there is short. My wolf is already clawing at the surface by the time we reach the clearing. The scent hits me first, sharp, unwashed, feral. Rogues.
They're already on their knees when I get there, three rogues, hands bound, dirt smeared across their faces. The air reeks of blood, sweat, and something fouler... cowardice.
"Alpha," one of my men says, keeping his knee pressed into the back of the nearest rogue's neck. "Caught them past the east border. Tried to bolt when they saw us."
I take my time stepping closer, boots crunching over gravel until I'm standing in front of them. "East border." My tone is flat. "That's a long way from anywhere you should be."
The one in the middle speaks first. "We–we didn't mean–"
I cut him off, crouching down so we're eye-to-eye. "Don't start with excuses. They taste worse than the blood you're about to choke on."
His jaw locks, but I can see the tremor in his hands.
"Tell me the truth," I say quietly, "or I'll pull it out of you piece by piece."
Arius stirs, growling low inside me, impatient for the kill.
The one on the right breaks first. "We were sent."
My gaze sharpens. "By who?"
His head falls down in hesitation.
I reach out, grip his chin, and squeeze until he's forced to look at me. "You've got three seconds before I break your neck and ask the next one."
"Alpha Kieran!" he spits finally. "Wanted us to watch your borders. Count your patrols."
I release him with a shove, my lip curling. "So… spies."
The one in the middle, the loudest so far, decides he's braver than he is. He smirks, a twisted little curl of his mouth. "Word is… your mate's gone missing. Guess your pack's not as untouchable as you think."
Something inside me snaps.
Arius roars, shoving forward in my chest until my vision edges black and my fangs are bared. The air around me drops ten degrees.
"What," I say, my voice nothing but a low growl, "did you just say?"
He grins wider, like he's already accepted the pain. "Kieran says an Alpha who can't keep his mate safe doesn't deser–"
I don't let him finish. My hand clamps around his throat, lifting him clean off the ground. Bone creaks under my grip, his legs kicking uselessly.
"You don't get to speak her name," I snarl, each word vibrating with Arius's fury. "You don't get to breathe in the same air she's breathed."
I slam him into the ground hard enough to make the earth shudder, and then it's nothing but blood, snarls, and the satisfying sound of bones breaking under my hands.
The others try to beg. They don't get far.
When it's done, I'm standing in the wreckage of what used to be three spies, chest heaving, Arius still prowling under my skin.
That's when I hear it.
Ulric…
Her voice, Trembling and faint. Threading into my mind through the bond I thought was too weak to reach.
I freeze.
Aelia.
❦︎ To Be Continued ❦︎