*Isla*
Our room is… plain, but I am not too bothered. Framed oil paintings hang on the stone walls, and the smell of cleaner is sharp and acrid in the air. A fireplace takes up the far wall, and a simple, gray rug covers the stone pavers lining the floor.
Again, I wonder how old this place is, and who may have lived here before Maddox bought it.
I let out my breath, still tired from the journey and aching from being cramped in a car for what felt like hours. It's not musty or dark in the room, which is a miracle sent by the Goddess herself after spending several nights on the stuffy ship from Maatua.
I’d rather be home, however.
“Not bad,” Poppy muses, turning in a circle as she scans the room. “But it could use a little paint.”
“Hopefully we won’t be here long enough to justify painting the walls,” I say, smoothing my hand over the quilt folded at the foot of the four-poster bed. “Maybe we can go back to the castle in a few days.”
“You look like you only have a few days left to cook, Isla,” Poppy smirks, her voice lifted and teasing. “You should be more focused on resting and less worried about getting back to the castle.”
I smile as I sit down, happy to see her looking a little more relaxed than she had been on the boat.
“Now that Maddox and I are in a better place, I just thought I’d have our son back home… where we met. Where all of this began.” I wave my hand in a little, defeated circle, my chest tightening a bit. There was a time I was sure I was going to have our baby on Maatua, raising him by myself. That would’ve been my worst nightmare. Somehow, I’d managed to hold fast to that single glimmer of hope that Maddox and I would make things right between us, however.
And look at me now, trading one refuge for another, still far from home, with no plan whatsoever.
“I hate seeing you so stressed, Isla,” Poppy sighs, sitting down next to me.
“I hate seeing Maddox so stressed,” I reply, wrapping my arms around my huge belly. “I could help him, you know. I could use the whole might of my powers, and none of the Alphas would try their luck with him again. He just….” I taper off, my eyes flicking toward the heavy wooden door leading into our room, which Poppy had left ajar. Voices fill the hallway, mingling with the long, thundering stride of several men making their way in our direction.
Ben opens the door wide, striding in like he owns the place. Maddox remains in the hallway, talking to Commander Vember.
“Where’s Antony?” Poppy quirks, rising from the bed.
Ben shrugs, jabbing his thumb behind his shoulder. “Somewhere around here. This place has an odd layout. He probably went somewhere quiet to complain to himself about having to stay here inside of a gold plated castle and got lost.”
I roll my eyes, and Poppy gives me a sympathetic smile and squeezes my forearm before saying, “Rest, Isla.”
“I will,” I assure her, following her with my gaze as she squeezes past Ben and the men taking up the entire hallway outside of our room. I only recognize a few of them, but many of the faces are new.
With so many new soldiers milling about… how bad are things really back home?
“Dinner will be served soon. There is a staff on hand, if you need anything,” I hear Commander Vember say to Maddox.
“Is there a healer on staff?” Maddox asks in a whisper that seems to echo through the room despite his attempts to be discreet. I arch my brow, shifting my weight and leaning toward the doorway so I can hear the conversation better.
“Yes, why? Is anyone injured?”
Maddox looks at me, his eyes boring into mine before he slowly turns back to Commander Vember and leans in to discreetly whisper in his ear.
I try to stand, suspicious of what Maddox is plotting, but fatigue has already crept into my legs, and my large belly makes it hard to move quickly, anyway. Before I know it, Maddox is at my side, helping me upright.
“Why do you need another healer? Mystica is here,” I ask, panting slightly as I straighten the fabric of my shirt over the swell of my belly.
“In the event she needs help when the baby comes,” he says, looking me up and down. “Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m fine, Maddox,” I assure him, giving him my best smile. Inside, I want nothing more than to lay down and maybe eat a few pieces of chocolate, for whatever reason. An apple sounds nice too. And… toast, with jam. “So, what’s the plan?”
Earlier, Ben and I had called our mom, although the conversation was brief. We were safe, she was safe, she wanted to know if I’d given birth, so on and so forth. Maddox had stepped away to talk to Commander Vember, and I’d missed the conversation.
Now I want to know everything.
* * *
*Maddox*
Isla looks like hell. It was a long car ride from the port, but still. I worry, as I walk with her through the manor, whether or not I should have just done this on my own, and told her my plans after the meeting about to take place.
But she wants to be included. She is my Luna, and it is her right to not only rule, but to make decisions about our kingdom by my side.
She’s not going to be happy about the decision I made while she was on the phone with her mother, but it had to be done.
“How many soldiers do you have ready to make the journey back to the castle,” I say, leaning over the worn and tattered desk in the even more worn and tattered library in the manor.
“Thirty men, if we take them all,” one of my commanders replies.
“Ten will stay behind to protect Isla and the house,” I declare, glancing at Isla, who is stone-faced and looking right at me. “We can’t risk the roads, so this will need to happen on foot. Half the soldiers will go on foot, half as wolves… five of those wolves going ahead of us as scouts.” I look around the library at the men, many of them fresh-faced and likely just coming out of warrior training. I wonder how many have seen battle before, but this is all I have to work with now that my best soldiers are actively defending the castle.
These new soldiers must come from the smaller packs surrounding my territory, some likely going against their own Alphas to stand behind me, their Alpha King.
I’ll reward them handsomely for their loyalty. I will not forget their faces.
“There are tunnels beneath the castle,” I continue, sliding my finger across the map, “but I’m not entirely sure how far into the forest they go before they end, either with exits or dead ends. They were built long before my family held the title.”
“May I speak, Alpha King?” says a young man standing in the rear of the library, his tawny blond hair curling over his ears. He can’t be more than twenty-two, and is rather scrawny. I nod my assent.
The young man steps forward and peers down at the map, pointing to a wooded area roughly a half mile away from the castle. “There’s an old mine shaft here, at least that’s what I thought it was. My brothers and I used to dare each other to go inside and see how far we could go without getting scared. My older brother said he found a door once, but I never confirmed it.”
“Could that be an entrance to the tunnels?” Commander Vember asks, his eyes focused on mine.
“Possibly,” I say, exhaling as I turn my eyes toward the young soldier. “What is your name?”
“Leo,” he says, bobbing his head. “Leo Fendley.”
“What pack do you hail from?” I command, wondering if I can trust this pup's word. He gives me a tight, unsure smile.
“No pack, my King. My father was a rogue.”
A ripple of murmurs fills the room. I glance at Isla, who is listening intently. I’ve been pushing back on her feelings about Trinity, but Isla has a keen awareness of a person's true intentions. She catches my gaze and nods, turning her attention back to Leo.
“Could you find this place again, and at night?” I ask. Leo nods with conviction. “Then, it’s settled. Fendley will go with the scouts, and someone will circle back to me and the foot soldiers with news about whether we can access the tunnel and get into the castle. Otherwise–” I turn to Isla, my jaw clenching as I bite down on my words, “we will clear a path and go through my front door.”
Isla stiffens, but says nothing. I’m sure I will hear all about her opinions on the matter tonight.
“Now, the temple,” I say, exhaling as I eye the map. “My estimation is a week-long journey if nothing goes wrong.” A soft ripple of murmured laughter passes through the room. “But, the chances of that happening are close to zero, I assume.” I look over at Vember, who purses his lips in consideration.
“It’s not an easy journey, the land is treacherous, and if the weather is bad–” he points to a river on the map, miles and miles away from my castle. “We have to cross it, but if the river is running high, it’ll be nearly impossible.”
I can sense Isla fidgeting in her seat, but she says nothing.
“If we can cross the river in one piece, it’s only a day or two journey for the average wolf to the temple, but…” Vember sighs, tucking his hands in his pockets. “We battle to keep control of the castle tomorrow night, my King. There are several packs who claim territory between the castle and the temple who may not be on your side. That is our biggest obstacle.”
“I’ve dealt with worse,” I say, rolling up the map. “Have twenty men ready by sundown tomorrow night. Once we secure the perimeter of the castle, I will send for Isla.”
I don’t look at her as she audibly growls at me from her perch near the hearth.
“Yes, Alpha King,” Vember says, bobbing his head before motioning for his warriors to follow him to wherever he’s set them up for the night.
“Fendley,” I say sharply, and the group turns around, the scrawny blond soldier flushing with nerves. “Stay.”
“Yes, Alpha King.” Leo straightens his shoulders, putting on a brave face I know all too well. I was young once, scrawny and overconfident, until I had to face my first trials.
“What pack did your mother belong to?” I ask, tucking the map in the pocket of my suit jacket.
“Willow Pack, my King.”
“And why did she deflect and become a rogue?”
“She was never a rogue,” he says quickly, swallowing so hard I see the muscles in the column of his throat contract. “She pledged loyalty to her pack until the day she died.”
“And your brothers?” I ask. “Who do they pledge their loyalty to?”
“No one,” Leo says, his voice cracking. “They’re dead.”
I stare at the young man, watching as he tries to subdue a wave of sudden emotion.
“You’re brave for being honest with me about being the son of a rogue,” I admit after a moment. “I’m putting an incredible amount of trust in you– the lives of myself and my men. Can I trust your word?”
“Yes, my King,” he says, nodding his head, his curls trembling with the movement.
“Good,” I say, more to myself than to the soldier. “Get some rest.”
Leo bows, then turns on his heel and rushes to the door, closing it behind him. I glance at Isla, who is looking after the man.
“I wasn’t too hard on him, was I?”
“You scared the living daylights out of him, Maddox,” she replies, turning her head to give me a scolding look. “He’s just a pup.”
“A pup who is our only shot of getting into the castle without bloodshed.”
“You’re not leaving me behind, Maddox,” Isla states, looking down at her fingernails.
“And you’re not using your magic,” I argue, watching her beautiful eyes slowly meet my own.
“We’ll talk about it,” she gripes, holding out her arm so I can help her out of her chair. Oh, I’m sure we will.