WolfHeart

by Konstantina P.

  Jason finally reached Steven just as Kate took a fireball on the shoulder, Cora too busy shielding her mate. The three Werewolves formed a circle around the girl, not realizing she could now protect herself, and kept fighting, provoking the King who decided to take action. Cora lifted her head and looked around, peering through her protectors´ legs. The stench of blood made her gag and the cries of pain and despair from men dying or with severed limbs had shocked tears building a path through the grime on her cheeks. The colours from before had fainted, leaving behind smoke and destruction; not even the sun could make it past the death cloud surrounding the two armies. But it was still daylight and she desperately wished for the warmth of the sunbeams to reach her face and wash away the devastation she felt for losing so many people, Werewolves and Magics alike. She saw her father coming for her, each step bringing him closer, and she knew that Steven would die first before letting him pass. She needed to run, but it was more important to get her father out of there first.

  “Stop,” Cora yelled, hoarse from the tears that had stuck inside her throat. “Stop!” She yelled again, louder, forcing every Werewolf to hear her and obey. Larson lifted his own hand up ordering his men to stand down and the entire field of bleeding and bone-weary people turned to look at Cora. Steven´s boot connected with a Magic´s stomach, the Alpha freeing his claws from the man´s throat and letting him drop to the ground gurgling blood. Cora grimaced and turned her eyes away from the spectacle, fixing Steven with a desperate stare.

  “You have to let me go,” she said, forcing the Alpha to his knees. He grasped her chin, trying to make sense of what she was trying to tell him, smearing her face with the blood of the people he had killed for her.

  “You don´t mean that,” he said in an imperious tone, demanding from her to reconsider.

  “There is nothing for me here.” This wasn´t going according to plan; it had never crossed her mind to prepare goodbyes.

  “There is me.”

  “I don´t want you like this.” Cora looked around her and Steven had to follow her gaze, searching among the crowd for his closest friends. He tried to imagine a life without them. Although mostly unscathed, he knew their fate at that particular battlefield was doomed. Comparing that feeling with going back to a life without the spirit Cora had brought into it, he realized he couldn´t choose between them. He couldn´t choose who to save and who to let go only to end up losing them all.

  Cora gripped his hand tight in her own. “Kate was right. Again...” She tried for a sarcastic smile that had no place on her face and made Steven grimace at the wrongness of it. “No one else needs to die because of me.”

  What Steven could choose though was which battles to fight and which ones to leave for another day, despite the personal cost. He stood up in all his vicious Alpha glory and turned to Larson who had been watching the scene with a gleam in his eyes.

  “Does your offer still stand?” The Alpha said and everyone who knew him well enough could feel his anguish for giving up someone he was supposed to protect; of letting down the girl he had finally admitted loving.

  “Give her to me and you´ll never see me again,” Larson confirmed.

  Cora stood up in wobbly legs -Kate of all people lending a helping hand- and walked towards her father. She was unsure about what she was about to do, but it was inevitable. No... It was a one-way street. This should happen, and it would happen on her terms.

  “You can´t seriously trust him!” Jason exclaimed, trying to stop Cora from moving out of their reach. “He´s going to kill you this time!”

  “No, he won´t,” Cora said and looked at Larson confidently. “It´s too amusing to hear me scream.”

  The man smirked and grabbed her by the arms, throwing her to the closest Magics. They didn´t bother to restrain her, thinking her magic useless. Steven stood in the middle of the corpse-sown field and watched them walk away, desperately wanting to reach out but knowing that if he did, he´d risk losing her forever.

  25. AN ALPHA´S LOYALTY AND A SON´S LOVE

  It took the Werewolves two days to bury their dead. Steven and his pack were ill at ease, ready to leap out of their own skin at a single reference of Cora´s name after coming face to face with their failure persistently through the morbid duty of grave-digging. Like strangers in their own home, they were going through the motions ignoring their surroundings and focusing on paying their respects to the fallen, this time including their foes. In a mutual decision, they alone undertook the task of laying the Magics to rest in a large mass grave, honouring Cora´s wishes and holding her lineage in high regard despite their eternal conflict. Both sides had made mistakes and this particular pack never forgot it was the Werewolves that were responsible for the way the fate of their world had turned out.

  The afternoon the gruesome mission ended, Steven found himself seeking out the isolation of the hill overlooking the town. Instead of enjoying a well-earned rest, he sat there for hours, staring off into the distance and trying to formulate a plan that would bring Cora back to him. Jason found him when the sun was about to set, the cold slowly settling in his bones and making his overtired joints creak as they sought for a respite.

  “Jen called for a meeting,” the Beta said and positioned himself in front of his Alpha, blocking his stare off and forcing him to refocus his gaze.

  “When?” Steven frowned, realizing the time for reflection was over and he had to announce the choice that might as well burn all bridges with his family.

  “Sundown. You should talk to the others first. They are not handling things well.” Jason sat down and took a moment to let his Alpha gather his thoughts, noticing there was something he wanted to say; some sort of revelation that had left him dazed.

  “She saved Kate,” Steven finally said, hoping his friend would understand without having to explain any further. Jason was confused though, not sure why the Alpha was stating what -to him- was obvious.

  “You thought that she wouldn´t?”

  Steven shook his head. “She was jealous of her, I could tell. I could smell it on her. She should have thought of her as a threat.”

  “You mean the bond should have thought of her as a threat.” It finally dawned on Jason what was really tormenting his Alpha´s mind. “You think that her impulsive reaction should be to let Kate die.”

  “She didn´t.” Steven´s tone was full of wonder and it annoyed his friend.

  “She never would. Welcome to what the rest of us already knew.” Jason patted his Alpha on the shoulder patronizingly. “Come on, your sister is waiting.” He stood up and started climbing down the cliff.

  “Jason...” Steven´s voice stopped him and he turned back to look at him.

  “I know,” the Beta said before the older man had the chance to ask. “I´m in. We are all in.” He spoke with a confidence the Alpha was reluctant to embrace. Nevertheless, Steven nodded and, side by side, they went back to the lair to lay down the plan.

  Everyone had gathered once again in the council room. Jen, seeing her brother for the first time after the battle, rushed to him and pulled him into a comforting hug, trying to convey both her sympathy and gratitude. But the time for platitudes was over and Steven allowed himself only a moment of her warm embrace before stepping back and addressing the room. “I´m going after them.”

  “I was afraid you would say that,” Jen said. “But you can´t... She´s gone for good... If you risk your life trying to get her back you will just throw away her sacrifice.”

  “It´s my life!” Steven raised his voice and walked farther away from his sister when she tried to touch him again, her offered comfort feeling poisonous.

  “No one is going anywhere.” Moira´s tone was angry, her voice getting a commanding tint that hadn´t appeared since she gave up her Alpha powers. But Steven didn´t back down.

  “With all due respect, mom, it´s not your choice to make,” he spat. “What the hell are you people thinking? She saved us! Doesn´t she at least deserve the effort?”


  “Let´s pretend for a second that you do catch up with them. Do you think you´ll just grab her and get away? He will come after you. He will keep coming after you until he gets her back and you would have to live with his shadow over your head forever.”

  “Not if he´s dead,” Steven said determined, his voice dangerously low. “He would already be dead if his army wasn´t outside our town. But with only my life on the line, I won´t make the mistake of letting him walk away again.”

  “Our lives,” Danny said, looking at the rest of his pack who stepped up next to him in agreement. “We are coming with you.”

  “That´s your big plan,” John said looking at his son dumbfounded, disapproval in his every word. “Hoping to catch Larson off guard, not surrounded by a fleet of Magics, long enough to kill him.”

  “Actually, this is our big plan,” Mark said reaching into his backpack and throwing a pair of handcuffs on the table. “Do you recognise those?” He asked Jen. Even Steven was surprised at his pack´s actions, believing they would blindly follow him without thinking it through. But they were already prepared and, once again, a feeling of appreciation and satisfaction rose in him for them.

  “You will never get that close to him.” Jen shook her head irritated and turned to her brother. “I feel for her, I really do. God knows I owe her so much. But chances are she´s already dead. And it´s not like you can´t live without her. You can´t feel her as-”

  “My mate?” Steven interrupted. “I think we already had this conversation, only in reverse. And you are the one who told me that it doesn´t matter.”

  “That was then, when I hoped you would fall in love with her and settle your wolf. This is now. And now I´m asking you to let it go!” The Queen demanded. “Don´t risk your life for a whim. For a wrong sense of duty...”

  “Then I guess you don´t have to worry about it. She stopped being a whim a while ago. And she hasn´t been a duty after the first time you sent me searching for her.”

  Jen saw the seriousness in her brother´s eyes, smelled the conviction coming out of his every pore and realized she had to try a different approach if she didn´t want to lose him. If Steven was long past reason and entreaties, there was still something she could always count on; his strong sense of loyalty. “I´m your Queen and I order you to stand down.”

  Steven took in a sharp breath, not quite comprehending why his sister was so adamant. If she really just feared for him, she should understand he was in no more danger than when he undertook one of her missions. Was it possible she was jealous? That if she was destined to spend the rest of her life alone, she wished for him the same fate? He shook that thought off his mind quickly, vehemently believing she was not capable of such low feelings. That only left one thing; something he had been feeling ever since he met Cora but was afraid to acknowledge, let alone allow himself to think about. The dynamics had shifted, the division between the two Anders packs was clearer than ever and, if Jen was so desperate to cling to their previous relationship to let an innocent girl die, it was time for him to finally voice it.

  “Then I guess you are no longer my Queen.” So be it. It was time to find his own way. Maybe this rebellion wouldn´t have happened if he hadn´t become an Alpha but who´s to say that wasn´t who he was from the get-go. The night he could have just walked away, he chose to help Jason instead. He chose to take on a stronger Werewolf to save a boy´s life, just like he chose to save the rest of his Betas. And he managed to keep them together by sheer will alone and a huge effort to understand their individual needs. Not a single one of them was born into the supernatural life like the Werewolves in Jen´s pack and yet they had never failed him. His instincts had been proved right each time, something his sister couldn´t say for so many of her own choices, sending her own mate to his death included.

  “This is your home,” Moira said when Jen remained speechless at her brother´s dismissal. “Whatever you decide to do, this will always be your home.”

  “No, it´s not,” Steven whispered regretfully. And it was true. The monster under his skin had been chewing on his flesh for days. With Cora gone, the land itself was spitting his pack out.

  Moira felt in her bones the loss of her son but there was no wishful thinking left for her to cling to. She had just lost her son´s loyalty; she would not lose his love too. So she let him go.

  “What time are we leaving?” Kate said, breaking the stare contest between the two Alpha siblings. Every single person in the room turned to her, surprise clearly painted in their features. “What?” She shrugged. “The girl saved my life. As far as I´m concerned I owe her a blood debt.”

  “We leave at dawn.” Steven gave her an appreciative nod and walked out of the council room. Kate followed quickly in order to arrange for her pack to move out of the Anders´ territory and designate a new person to lead them until her return. With the Anders out of danger her duty lay elsewhere.

  “She´s still alive,” Ian said before the pack left to prepare. “We can feel her now too. Like another Werewolf.”

  “The farther away she is the stronger we are drawn to her,” Erin filled in, solidifying the fact that Steven and his pack were no longer bound to their land but to Cora.

  26. WHERE IS HOME?

  After four days of slow walking and eating on the road, Larson ordered his men to make camp at a familiar place. Although nothing more but a glorified prison cell, the site had left its mark on Cora because the moment the door opened for the first time after years of forced seclusion, in walked two men who had saved her in so many ways. She was missing the pack and her heart was fighting her mind for dominance. Part of her kept looking back, hoping to catch a glimpse of five angry Werewolves coming for her. But the most rational part hoped they would remain safe away from her; keep living their lives like she never existed, happy and, most importantly, alive. Leave her to her own devices so that she could return to them as a winner, free of everything holding her back. And then there was her tired and parched and starving side, the one ready to give up. That part desperately wanted to be put back into a dark cage and not see anyone till the last of her days. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was red. It was one thing to be the one in pain and a whole different thing to be the cause of other people´s suffering. No... If she had to live with that, maybe it was preferable to be locked away along with her nightmares.

  A man startled her out of her confusing thoughts. “Here my lady.” She was tied to a tree at the edge of the camp, the rope so tight around her hands that it had cut off all circulation, making them numb. The stranger kneeled in front of her and held a flask to her mouth urging her to drink. “It´s just water.”

  Cora took the lip of the flask in her mouth and drank greedily, cold water flooding the inside of her cheeks and soothing the pressure that had started gathering inside her head. “Thank you,” she rasped, coughing out the last sip unable to hold it all in after days of dehydration.

  The man lifted the corner of his shirt and wiped her chin gently. “We don´t want to see you hurt.” His voice was weary yet kind, making Cora relax and nod in acceptance, trusting.

  “You should go before someone sees you,” she said and the man left with a promise to come back, letting her fall into a fitful sleep.

  The next time she woke up there was a burning sensation down her back. She opened her eyes to the treetops moving above her and realized she was being dragged across the forest ground, hands bound in front of her. She tried to kick her legs free but whoever was holding her was too strong to overpower without using magic. She screamed in pain as the fallen branches dug into the skin of her back tearing it open again and again before it stitched itself back together, leaving a blood trail behind. After she was laughed at by the men nearest to her, she tried to keep every sound in, not wanting to give anyone the satisfaction her torment caused.

  The Magics came to a stop at a small clearing and Cora was finally able to catch a glimpse of the sky. The sun was shrouded by a thick laye
r of clouds and the air was too damp, giving the place a sickly look.

  “Welcome home,” she heard her father say from somewhere around her and she struggled to sit up, using her elbows as leverage. The men snickered at her ungraceful movements but a quick look around showed her what she was hoping to find; something she had never quite lost her faith in. Many of her people had chosen to take a step back, stay on the sidelines with their gazes purposefully averted, talking quietly among themselves. The help she received the previous night was not a fluke. There was still good in many of the Magics who had not been corrupted by power, but it was buried under tons of fear and uncertainty. The time had finally come, even if her original plan to face her father alone when she felt most ready was sidetracked.

  “It´s beautiful, isn´t it?”

  Cora followed Larson´s gaze and realized she had been unconscious for much longer than she had originally thought. The Magic capital lay beneath their feet, its outskirts in ruins from the negligence of arrogant people who thought it was acceptable to let everything around them fall apart simply because they could rebuild it without lifting a finger. But as time passed, they had grown content inside their own bubbles, each person for themselves yet still coming together when her father commanded. Perhaps that was the only good thing that had come out of Larson´s leadership; the union of a species consisting of so many people strong enough to be rulers on their own merit. As it turned out, vindictiveness was a more engaging trait in a man than any other actual skill, considering there were far more powerful Magics out there to follow than their current leader.