Evander
I look down at a pair of familiar black gloves. They feel heavy in my hands, but that might just be the crushing ache of what's to come and why these have been given back to me.
The barracks in Moonrise suffered damage in the attack, but they’re still intact enough to house the unmarried and unmated warriors who reside in the city. I came here because I had to meet with Commander Artyom to get these fancy gloves back, and since every warrior is out in the city canvassing for hiding enemies, I’m alone.
I sit down on a random cot and stretch out my legs, going over the conversation I just had with King Ryatt.
I know this mission wasn’t given to me because I am the best in the field and the only chance of the Allied Kings finding this woman, whose name isn’t known. I am being forced away from Kenna while her father, the king, decides whether or not I’m worthy of her affection.
I don’t blame him. I don’t deserve her love. I’ve decided to live with that truth as long as it means I can still have her, but he’s right.
I slip my fingers into the gloves and flex my hands.
Footsteps sound nearby, and I turn to find Sydney walking steadily in my direction.
“You should sleep. You look like shit,” I grumble as he sits down on the cot opposite mine.
“I went to bat for you, you know. Ryatt isn’t seeing clearly right now given that my aunt is in captivity.”
“So is my mother,” I remind him, meeting his sapphire eyes.
He nods knowingly and sighs, “Do you think finding this woman is a good idea?”
“I’ve been tasked–”
“I’m asking you personally. Your mate made some very good points.”
“What does Kenna think?”
“That she doesn’t want to be found. As far as my father knows, from the rebels his forces apprehended, she crossed the border at the age of eleven and has been missing for nine years. She was just a child and likely had help escaping. I don’t think she’s a threat.”
“But if she is, we have to act.”
“I understand that,” Sydney grinds out but shakes his head. “It just doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Well, your role in this will be purely diplomatic.” I rise but notice him picking at his nails. I continue, “From what I was told, you have sway with the other packs in Crescent Falls. All you’ll be doing is researching their numbers, going through their population lists, and looking for possible female adoptees that are her age–”
“I met someone,” he says suddenly, refusing to meet my eyes.
I ease back onto the cot and stare at him. “Who?”
He lets out his breath in a rough exhale. “I believe… I don’t know. I didn’t catch her name. I was drunk,” he says with a short laugh. “I’ve never been that drunk before, and it was Ryan’s doing, honestly. But I met her at the same ball the rebels attacked. She was the reason I wasn’t there. I took her back to Ryan’s house, and I… we slept together, and I felt that tug, you know? I’ve been wondering if she’s my mate, but I have no idea who she is or where to find her.”
“And this situation has you thinking about her?”
“I’d rather be looking for her,” he says, meeting my gaze. “I agree with Kenna when it comes to Gabriel’s sister. She doesn’t want to be found. It’s likely she has no idea her brother is behind this, if she remembers him at all. Selfishly, I see this as an opportunity to find that woman from the ball. I’d have the necessary resources at my disposal.”
“Why didn’t you catch her name?” I ask.
“I’m sure she told me, I just don’t remember,” he groans, running a hand over his face. “I had Ryan look into it but he has no idea who she is, either. And he knows most of the women in Crescent Falls.”
I smirk, but Sydney looks withdrawn as he stands. “Enough about me. I just wanted to say I’m doing what I can to get you out of this but Ryatt is on a warpath and my Dad isn’t easy to sway, either. Once Ella is back and safe, I’m sure he’ll change his tune.”
“Don’t count on it.” I stand, taking off my gloves and slipping them into my pocket. “Do you know where my mate is?”
“She’s at the castle helping the other healers.” He follows me out of the barracks. The city is quiet and empty, which is an odd sight. “Look, you and I have to leave tomorrow morning. Don’t–don’t put yourself between Kenna and my uncle in the meantime.”
I eye him for a moment. “I already told him how I feel about that sentiment. She is mine.”
“He’s her father.”
“She is my mate.”
Sydney takes a breath and lets it out slowly. “I don’t envy you, Ev. Ryatt gives my father a run for his money when it comes to being protective of their children.”
“This is my battle to fight,” I tell him right before he edges around a corner and disappears into the city center.
I walk to the castle where I’m sure I’m not welcome. I don’t care. If Kenna and I have one night together, I mean to make the most of it.
I slip through the ballroom–past the families waiting to find new shelter since their homes were destroyed in the battle–and into the corridor lined with rooms now dedicated to healing the sick and wounded.
But I don’t find Kenna among the ranks of the healers who are far too busy to pay me any mind. But I stop one of them, taking her by the elbow. The young witch can’t be more than sixteen and stares up at me with a fearful expression. “Where is the princess?”
“She’s–she’s upstairs, in her quarters.”
This is odd, but I let the witch go and make my way up to Kenna’s rooms, which are tucked in a quiet, private wing dedicated to her personal use. She has a bedroom, of course. A large, airy bathroom. But she also has a small library and sitting room attached to her room, and that’s where I find her.
With the baby.
The sun sets in the distance, casting a hazy glare through the windows as the storm clouds from this morning finally part. Her eyes are closed, and her expression is soft, relaxed, as she gently rocks the sleeping infant in her arms.
I edge toward her, careful not to make any noise, but one of her eyes opens. “Evander,” she whispers, a ghost of a smile touching her lips.
She looks beautiful. Her face, cast in the shadow of the sunset, is the most glorious thing I’ve ever seen. Her dark hair is loose and falling over her shoulder in thick, bouncy waves that touch her waist, and her eyes are alight on mine, as smooth and gray as polished silver.
I sit on a stool across from her and rest my elbows on my knees as I hold her gaze. “What are you doing, Kenna?”
She sighs, her gaze sweeping over the sleeping baby in her arms. “I don’t know,” she admits, adjusting the newborn's weight. “I couldn’t leave her alone down there. I didn’t want to be–to be parted from her. Not yet.”
I keep my gaze on Kenna’s face, watching a myriad of emotions play out behind her eyes.
“We believe the baby’s father might have been one of the warriors who perished last night,” she says in a whisper. “We’re still trying to find any family that might claim her, but so far, nothing.”
“Was her mother part of the coven?”
She shakes her head. “Her mother was a shifter. I think she might have come here with her mate for some reason, possibly with some of the Rogueland warriors for the festival…. I just don’t know.” She closes her eyes and heaves a breath. “There’s an orphanage here in the coven, but I can’t… I don’t want her to go there.”
A half empty bottle of milk sits on the table between our chairs, and the surface is cluttered with clothes and a few clean diapers that look impossibly small.
Still, seeing Kenna like this feels natural, like she was always meant to sit by a window holding a baby, rocking the child back to sleep.
My heart squeezes.
“You want to keep her, don’t you?”
Kenna shifts her weight, her eyes locked on the window beside us. “This happened to my Aunt Maddy. Did you know that?”
I shake my head.
“She was born at the castle in Crescent Falls when Grandma Isla was pregnant with Uncle Isaac. Her mother died in childbirth, and Grandma couldn’t save her, and her father… well, he was killed by Grandpa Maddox. I don’t know all the details but… they didn’t keep her. They found her a loving family but her adoptive parents died and she was… she grew up in the care of a stepmother who used her like a slave and sold her to breeder traders.”
I absently pop my knuckles as Kenna’s worry and grief rips through our bond.
“I don’t want that for her,” she whispers, holding the baby a little tighter. “I was there when she was born. She–she wrapped her tiny hand around my finger, and I just–I can’t–”
“Keep her.”
Her eyes meet mine. “What? But–”
I reach out and smooth my hand over the soft, peachy blonde hair on top of the baby’s head. Kenna goes perfectly still, watching every move I make as I lean forward to carefully take the baby from her arms. “Evander?”
But my focus hones in on the child. She’s smaller than average, especially for a wolf. I test her weight in my arms and sit back down with her, tucking her in the crook of my arm before meeting my mate’s gaze.
“She’s yours.”
“She’s not mine,” Kenna says with a little laugh.
“The Goddess works in mysterious ways. I know you believe that more than most.”
“Her parents died,” she argues, her eyes shining with tears.
“And you were there when she came into this world. Tell me, how many babies have you delivered?”
“Hundreds,” she chokes, confused.
“And how many mothers have been lost?”
She looks down at her lap. “Not–not many. Not in my care–”
“But those babies–those orphans, they didn’t have this kind of effect on you, Kenna. I can feel it through the bond–”
“But she’s not ours, Evander.” She looks suddenly broken, a silent plea shining through her tears. “She’s not your daughter.”
“Do you think that matters to me?” I lean forward, eye to eye with my mate.
“Does it not? She wouldn’t share our blood–”
“You are my mate, and if the Goddess has chosen you to raise this child as your own, then I am her father and will treat her as such. I will love her as my own. If this is what you want… if this is where your heart is, which I know it is, then she is ours, Kenna.”
Kenna swallows hard, her throat bobbing as silent tears slide down her cheeks. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Thinking I can just–just take this baby girl and say she’s mine–”
“Brie,” I say, my tongue rolling over the word as I look down at the baby, grazing her cheek with my knuckle. “Our daughter’s name is Brie.”
“Like… the cheese?”
I glare at Kenna. “Like the flower that grows in a river glen, in the old tongue.”
“Oh,” Kenna whispers, cracking a smile.
I look down at the baby and nod. It’s decided. Maybe, now that I’ve held her, I finally understand the strange sensation that’s been sending a hum through our bond since last night that had nothing to do with marking each other and everything to do with this.
This gift, I realize, as Brie startles awake and briefly opens her eyes.
But she settles back into my touch, her cheek resting against my chest.
Kenna slides off her chair and kneels in front of me. When she looks up at me, her eyes full and overflowing with tears, I feel her confusion, worry, and absolute despair flow down our bond.
The past day has been some of the best times of my life, and also the absolute worst. I know she feels the same.
She lays her head on my lap and hugs my leg, dissolving in silent sobs.
So, I sit there, holding my daughter and my mate, and look out the window at our city where I was raised and wonder what the fuck I can do to make this place safe for them again and banish the threats against Kenna, her family, and our kingdom.
Because I will, even if it kills me.