*Ryatt*
I tap my pen against my thigh as I lean back in my desk chair. The view beyond the windows in my office is blurred by a gray haze of drizzling rain. It’s late winter, dawning on spring, which means it’s the rainy season in Veiled Valley. Every morning the sun shines and gives a false sense of warmer weather before the clouds roll in off the mountains–heavy and dark–and rattle the entire valley with storms.
Ella doesn’t seem to mind the rain. She likes the thunder and lightning, from what I’ve gathered. The weeks we’ve spent in Veiled Valley have been slow and relatively easy now that we’ve come to some kind of an agreement about the nature of our relationship.
Still, war is looming. A few skirmishes on the border of the Roguelands and Rifthold have required my attention in the past month. But so far, King Kane hasn’t made any moves to invade my territory, and I’m not ready to wage a full assault on his kingdom, not yet.
Granger comes into my office with a handful of rolled up maps in his arms. He dumps them unceremoniously on the couch in the center of the room and dusts off his hands, saying, “Commander Nytos has returned to Veiled Valley with his unit for their two-week long leave. General Thorne and Commander Reinheed are rotating with the forces near the Deadlands to give the warriors stationed in Granite Rise and those surrounding packs some front-line action in Twin Rivers.”
“Good,” I nod, tearing my gaze from the window.
Granger straightens a bit and takes a breath, picking at the seams of his leather armor. “I have a request, Alpha.”
“There’s no need for such formality, Granger.”
Granger looks down at his hands before stuffing them in his pockets, his shoulders relaxing. “I’d like to take Amanda home to Granite Rise for a visit.”
I inhale, letting my breath out through my nose as I fix him with a look.
He continues, “She’d like to tell her parents the news in person, as well as…” He grinds his teeth, obviously feeling uncomfortable with whatever he’s feeling and trying to say. Finally, he meets my eyes with that bright green gaze and says, “Their pack has a particular binding ceremony that we’ve talked about participating in during the Spring Equinox. It’s for all the couples who mated during the winter months outside of the summer mating season. Her father would be more keen on the idea of… of us, if we participated.”
Binding ceremonies were the equivalent of weddings, at least compared to the culture Ella grew up in. They were almost always performed as group ceremonies that took place during specific times of year.
“Is that what you want, Granger, or are you doing this to appease the Alpha of Granite Rise?”
Granger’s mouth ticks into a smile; it's obvious he’s trying to fight it. “It’s what I want.”
I’m surprised, but not really. He and Amanda are close, very close, even if they still sneer at each other in the presence of others. Something happened between them during the Rite that went further than the physical, and I’m happy for him.
“Her parents don’t know she’s pregnant, and she’d like to tell them in person. I told her it might not be possible given the… political environment in the Roguelands right now. I’m not too keen on the idea of sending my maaa–my wife into a possible war zone.” The word mate nearly slipped out.
This catches my attention, but I don’t let it show. “The coven has been asking about her. If you travel, you’ll need to make a stop in Moonrise.”
Granger looks slightly ill, but nods. “What can Amanda and I expect to happen there?”
I shrug. “I would try to get in touch with Commander Nytos before you leave. Artyom was conceived during the Rite, and Nytos and his mate would have gone through whatever ritual the coven has in store for Amanda, I’m assuming.”
Granger’s body tightens at the mention of a second ritual. “Do we have to?”
I sigh heavily, running my hand down my face. It’s been a long month, to say the least. Ella’s pregnancy was confirmed three weeks ago when her cycle proved to be late. I’d done the math, and our child had also been conceived on the night of the Lunar Eclipse. Amanda’s pregnancy was confirmed only a few days later, and now I have two pregnant women in my castle, both of them miserable and in the throes of something Ella calls “morning sickness.”
The coven doesn’t know about Ella’s pregnancy. No one but Granger, Commander Westfall, Amanda, and the royal healers know, in fact. I mean to keep it that way for as long as possible.
“Yes, you have to,” I say. “But only if she’s fit to travel.”
Granger purses his lips as he sits down on the armrest of a chair in front of my desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “I believe she is, at least right now. She seems to have her good days, at least.”
“Send word to our forces in the Roguelands. You’ll return to Granite Rise when Nytos and his men return to the battle front after their leave. He’ll act as an escort through the Deadlands.”
“I don’t think the witches will take too kindly to a legion of warriors showing up in the coven.”
“Well, if they want to see Amanda, they will have to deal with it.” My head throbs with a sudden ache that forces me to close my eyes. All I want to be doing right now is lying in bed with my mate while she naps the day away, but I have work to do.
For the next hour, Granger fills me in on whatever news there's to be had in the Roguelands. A few battles have taken place along the borders, but my father’s forces always retreat back into their own territory. This is a game to him, a game he’s trying to get me to play. I’m not making any moves right now, however. I currently have spies in Rifthold trying to get as many women and children out of the kingdom as possible, spreading them throughout the Roguelands. Once I know the innocent civilians and slaves trapped in Rifthold are safely in my kingdom, I will act.
I pray it’s soon because each new battle becomes bloodier as time crawls on.
“You look like hell, Ryatt,” Granger says sometime later.
“I’ve had a headache all day,” I admit, pinching the bridge of my nose. In reality, I’ve had a creeping sensation that something is amiss, but I’ve had a hard time untangling my intuition from my nerves about my pregnant mate upstairs. My powers are already strained, but I’ve placed a ward on Ella to stop others from picking up her scent. She still likes to go into town with Amanda every day for a nice long walk, and while I trust that my city is safe from Rifthold’s spies, I’m not taking any chances.
“Westfall and I are supposed to meet with Nytos for dinner in the city,” I continue, closing my eyes tight against the pain tearing through my temples. “You should go instead of me. I think I’m going to go lie down–” I can barely finish the words.
I hear Granger stand. He says something, but I can’t hear him past the sudden hammer-like pounding in my ears as the headache spikes and radiates through my skull.
“Ryatt? Alpha!”
I grunt in pain as my powers surge. “S-somethings off, Granger. Secure the–where’s Ella?” Each word is a struggle as my shadows and my wolf fight to take control. Something’s not right. I sway as I rise to my feet, opening my eyes to slits just in time to see the chandelier tremble, and books start to slide off my desk.
My office door flies open, the house beckoning–no, begging–us to leave the room.
A snapping sensation erupts in my head, and the headache explodes, along with my powers, as a shift of energy ripples through the castle.
I’ve only felt this kind of energy once.
“Someone just broke through my wards around Veiled Valley,” I choke, and then I’m running at a full sprint out of my office, Granger beside me. Screaming Ella’s name at the top of my lungs, I round a corner, terror gripping my heart as I desperately try to prepare myself for the worst.
Had she somehow gone through the veil itself? If so, it would have been an accident, I’m sure. Or, had someone else broken through the veil of magic I’d placed around the city to hide it from my father?
Could he be here now?
“ELLA!” I cry out, rounding a corner to find the room where I keep that Goddess forsaken magic mirror hidden away wide open, the door broken into shards of half-burned wood.
I told her not to use the mirror without me. The magic inside of it is tremendous, and the few times she’s used it to quietly check in on her family in Crescent Falls made her so weak she had to spend the remainder of those days in bed, practically knocked out cold.
I catch Granger with my arm, forcing him to stop. We stare into the room, into the black abyss choking out the power of the mirror to keep it under control.
I’d been here this morning for a moment, using it to peer into the city of Rifthold.
We walk into the room. I draw my sword. Granger curls his hands into fists as total silence swirls around us.
A groan sounds somewhere nearby, followed by shuffling footsteps. I let my power flow into my sword, igniting it with thrumming violet light, and raise it to illuminate the room.
A glint of silver catches my eye before a man comes into view. Unruly dark auburn curls surround his chiseled face and strong, wide jaw. His shirt is nearly burned away, revealing a thickly muscled chest and arms–arm.
One of his arms is made of metal that gleams against the light of my powers.
His eyes meet mine, delirious and full of pain, before he slumps to his knees and falls face first onto the cold stone ground.
“Get him up,” I tell Granger.
This stranger is familiar somehow, but I can’t place him.
Granger and I drag the unconscious man out of the mirror room and through the lower level of the castle, which is now quiet. The raging headache has gone away as well, to my relief.
‘Get to the castle, now,’ I say down the mind-link to Commander Westfall before stopping in front of a huge door made of dark wood. The house responds to my silent demand and opens the door to my dungeon.
Stone steps descend into total darkness.
“Who is this man?” Granger grunts as we drag him down the steps.
“We’re going to find out.”