by Haley Weir
Giddeon's posture deflated. "Madeu used Kodiak Island to brutalize shifters."
"He was doing what your father and Octavius taught him to do," she countered. "Now, are you willing to try this?"
Chapter Seventeen
Destiny, Alaska
Rina's boots crunched through the snow as she followed Caleb over the hills. The days seemed longer now that winter was coming to an end. She held the lantern out in front of her and stopped beside Caleb. He pushed aside some branches and let her pass him by. They stood within some sort of dome created by the trees. Caleb set down his lantern and took her hand. "The sun is going to rise soon."
"How will we see it?"
"We won't. We'll see something far more beautiful," he whispered. Caleb dipped his head and Rina slid her hands under his jacket. The heat of his abdomen soaked into her numb fingers and warmed her up. She kissed his neck and felt him shudder. "Keep touching me like this and we'll get distracted."
She inched her hands up his chest and felt his heartbeat. "I want to see you shift," Rina whispered. "You said it's who you are and I feel like I can never truly know you until I see it. When I watched you shift back into your human form on the mountain, I was afraid and nearly unconscious. I'm not afraid anymore."
Caleb stepped back and removed his jacket. He draped it over a nearby branch and reached for his buckle. The long expansion of muscle that covered his torso twitched in the cold. Rina licked her lips, tracking each of his movements as he dropped his pants and set his boots aside. Caleb stood naked in the faint light of the lanterns. The shadows sharpened his features as they contorted. Rina backed up.
His body was thrown to the ground with a great force. Caleb hunched over on his hands and feet. His body expanded and stretched beyond possible proportions as a thick coat of fur spread along his limbs. A piercing cry of pain reverberated in the space between them. Rina reached out for Caleb just as his screams turned into growls. A large bear stared at her from the other side of the dome. Rina moved closer and ran her fingers through his pelt. He was warm, solid, and...Caleb. Though he looked different, Rina felt the same rhythm pounding in his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Caleb laid down to rest with a quiet huff.
"I'm sorry it brings you pain," she whispered. It felt good to hold him in his truest form. Rina stroked his fur and curled up against Caleb's side. He laid a heavy arm over her and blinked exhaustedly. Rina buried her face in his pelt and breathed him in. It was easier to show her heart when he was in this form. "I think I'm falling in love with you..."
The bear beside her rumbled.
"I'm terrified of letting go and breaking down these walls that I've cowered behind for so long." Her breath caught, and Rina closed her eyes. Caleb trembled and shifted in her arms. Sunlight streamed in through the branches, bouncing off of the tendrils of ice that climbed up the branches. Light scattered around the dome, casting rainbows in a spectrum of color that glittered in Caleb's eyes. "This is why I like it here."
Rina gasped and looked around. She reached up to touch the fractals of light and felt the warmth of the sun even in the cavern of ice. Caleb tangled his fingers with hers, and Rina was swept away by memory...
Sarina rolled over. She felt the presence of her lover slumbering beside her and smiled. Her hands curled with his as she bit his shoulder playfully. Calleus opened his eyes, and she watched the sunrise in their depths. Hues of lavender washed over his face. Sarina leaned close to his ear. "I love you..."
The vision faded, and Rina found herself on her back with Caleb hovering over her. He brushed her hair aside. "You're all right. I got you," he said. "Breathe, Rina. Come on."
She gasped and clung to his arms. Caleb held her gently, soothing away the panic that always stole her control when the visions came. Rina touched his face, trying to see beyond the past. "It's hard not to think that what I'm feeling is just residual. I want to believe that I'm separate from Sarina, but I won't know until we bond."
"Until?"
Rina nodded. "I want to do it. I'm not sure about marriage yet, but I wouldn't mind being bonded with you."
"Marriage isn't an issue," he said happily. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. The law or religion has nothing to do with it. I've been alive long enough to know that the lines between them fade over time."
"Then you can have me." She kissed him soundly. "I've run out of excuses and lies to tell myself. I can't hide how I'm feeling. Even if Sarina has influenced me, I like to think I know my heart enough to know I'll still want to be with you."
~*~
Castle Black, Alaska
Caleb and Giddeon met on the terrace only a few hours later. They stood side by side without a word spoken between them. Caleb was worried about Seth. He wanted the best for his brother, but he knew there was healing that Seth needed before he returned to the palace. "I think Rina's plan is sound enough. You would be a fool not to agree to it."
"No, she was right. I let my loyalty to father blind me from what was important," he admitted. "I doubt I'll ever view Madeu as a brother after what he has done, but I think peace needs to be an option."
"Then, when do we head to the island? I want this over with so I can claim Rina properly."
"Properly?" Giddeon chuckled. "I thought the world would end before I ever heard you say that word. Perhaps we should arrange a wedding in the courtyard for when the spring comes?"
"No...Rina isn't the sort to believe in marriage. Not like other women, anyway. She wants to be my mate, there's no issue there, but we have to go much slower than you and Casey."
"Is there anything I can do to help you?"
Caleb turned to his brother with shock evident on his face. "Giddeon, I don't know if this is some sort of game—”
"It isn't," he insisted. "God, have I been so horrible to you that you would question if my help was genuine? Casey set me straight the other night. I'm sorry, Caleb. I should have been a brother to you all these years, but I was too focused on being your king."
"It's all right...I just never expected this." Something stirred within him, and Caleb finally got the courage to tell his brother the truth. "The reason you didn't know father's true nature is because he kept you in the dark. I saw it...no, I bore the brunt of his anger until the day I submitted to it."
"What?"
"We fought Madeu in the arena during the Peloponnesian War," he confessed. "He was father's champion. You fought beside one another for years and you never knew it."
Giddeon gripped the railing and launched himself down into the courtyard. Caleb followed him down, unwilling to let his brother shut him out. "He saved your life on the battlefield. He saved you the day I met Sarina..."
"No."
"Yes, Giddeon. I know because I was there. I saw him. And when father killed Sarina—when he killed the woman I loved and shamed me—he hid the truth from you," he shouted. Giddeon stopped mid-stride. Caleb tore his shirt off and showed his brother the markings that still scarred his flesh. "You know what these are."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have listened? You were the beloved heir of the throne. Father kept you ignorant, and you reveled in the blissfulness of it." Caleb pointed to his scars. "Madeu has them. He bears the same scars as I do." Caleb grabbed his brother's arm and turned him around. "What now, Giddeon? Now that you know who our father really was, what now?"
"Now, we listen to your mate and take him from the island. What happens after is entirely up to him." Giddeon pulled Caleb into a warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Caleb. My ignorance is no excuse for how I've treated you."
"All right, Giddeon. You're forgiven. If you hug me for any longer, people might think we've finally gone insane." Caleb stepped back with a wet chuckle, and Giddeon released him. They wandered back into the palace and into the study where Balor and Rina whispered over a map that had been spread over the desk. Rina was so captivated by her work that she hadn't noticed his arrival.
Caleb kissed her should
er, and she jumped with a start. He was breathless at the sight of her smile. Rina kissed him shamelessly in front of his brothers and turned back to the map. "I assume you're hard at work," he grumbled at the loss of her warmth in his arms.
"Yes. There's an access point here that we can use." Rina pointed to an uninhabited portion of the island. "I can make my way along this small spring and find a camp. It won't take long before they'll fetch Octavius."
"He may try to harm you."
"Not if I offer to give him information that I learned while I was here," she suggested.
"But...you haven't learned anything of value." Balor crossed his arms and stared at Rina. "Have you?"
"Depends on what you consider value, but I know what Octavius would see as valuable. I've had tours of the palace. I know the entrances and exits, where there needs to be repairs in the walls, when the people gather in the temples, when Giddeon works in town...I know what makes this place weak," Rina replied. "But Octavius won't know what's a lie and what isn't. I'll tell him superficial details, things that wouldn't matter. Just enough to get him to believe me."
"And then what?"
"I'll give the signal to begin the fight," she stated. "The men will follow the path I took to the camp and attack head on. Caleb and Balor will then get Madeu. It'll take both of you. With Damien's notes, we know when he goes running and the trail he takes."
"Giddeon will be here with the guards to get Madeu into the dungeon," Balor finished for her. He tapped his finger on the map and gestured for Caleb to join the discussion. It took a moment for him to recover from the shock of being invited. Caleb had been a black sheep for as long as he could remember.
He cleared his throat and stood beside the desk. "I don't know how much of a help I'll be when everything is already planned."
"You taught me how to do this," Rina said. "I want you at my side."
Chapter Eighteen
Kodiak Island
Alaska
The snow had all but melted on the island. Rina glanced over her shoulder and saw the other boats lying in wait. She removed the wet jacket she had thrown on and shoved it into her bag. Rina stuffed it beneath some foliage and secured her spear to her back. She stood up and crept along the ravine. Rushing waters led her to remnants of a camp that had been abandoned only hours ago. She used the skills Caleb had taught her during their training.
Her boots were nearly soaked through by the time she reached the Reckoning camp. Two shifters grabbed her, but Rina shook off their hold and held her spear at the ready. They eyed her warily and circled Rina. She kept them in her sights. "Where's Octavius?" she asked.
"What do you know of Octavius?"
"He'll be happy to hear the woman who destroyed your facility has come to turn herself over," she chuckled. The men scrambled to their feet and Rina heard rustling nearby. She peered over as the branches parted and Octavius stepped into the light. Steam streamed from her lips as mountain air blew through the forest. "Glad to see you."
"Why shouldn't I kill you?"
"Because I have what you failed to get out of Caleb and Seth," she boasted. "Information."
"You expect me to believe you? The one who destroyed our facilities?" Octavius advanced with wicked intent burning in his eyes. Rina dodged him, for Octavius hadn't expected her to defend herself. Recognition dawned when he saw the spear in her hand.
"Because I'm the mate of Caleb Black." She pressed the tip of the blade to Octavius's throat. The others closed in on her. "I've been in Castle Black. I've seen the maps and I've walked the halls of the palace."
"And you're offering this information freely?" he scoffed.
"Absolutely not. I want a position within your ranks. Giddeon and his brothers think I'm helpless because I'm human. You, on the other hand, know very well what I'm capable of."
Octavius smiled. He was rather handsome despite the evil that lingered just below the surface. "Indeed, I do. No ordinary woman could ever thwart my men and me. It's too bad you're mated..." Those soulless eyes flickered over her body. "Or else I'd have you for myself."
"Whether I'm mated or not, it doesn't change the fact that I'm here and I want power."
"We can't offer you the change. Neither can we offer you magic."
"I want none of that. I said I want rank," she replied. "And whatever comes with it."
Octavius nodded. "I need to know where the key is."
Rina schooled her features. She kept her staff steady in her firm grip and cocked her head to the side. "Do you? There are lots of keys in the palace. Which one are you referring to?"
"You know what key."
"Let's say that I do," she hedged. "What makes you think I'd offer it up without first securing my place?"
"Maybe because we outnumber you." He opened his arms and gestured to the men around him. Rina smiled and pulled the flare gun from her belt. She fired it and watched the grin slide from Octavius's face.
"I'm not alone."
The warriors broke through the trees and attacked. Rina knocked Octavius to the ground, and he spun away. She saw the shift begin and stabbed him before it was complete. The creature howled, and chaos erupted.
Bullets sprayed the camp.
Shifters dove for cover, and Rina smelled the scent of blood. She heard the roar of Octavius and hurried over to one of the injured fighters. Rina pressed her hand to his wound. "Careful. Don't move," she ordered. Rina knew some of them might not make it back, but she wasn't prepared to see such carnage.
The Reckoning took cover and reloaded their weapons. Rina felt the heat of a bullet graze her arm and gritted her teeth. She felt sick, but she kept her hand pressed to the shifter's wound. Balor appeared by her side and tore the sleeve from his shirt. He wrapped it around the male's middle and dragged her to safety. "Caleb is transporting Madeu back to the kingdom."
"You left him alone?"
"I knocked Madeu out with a spell," Balor explained. "He should be fine until they make it back. I have to admit...now that I've seen him, I can't deny how much he looks like Giddeon."
"But he has dark hair like you and Seth."
"I noticed." Balor healed the wound on her arm and turned his attention to the fight. He ran to the center of the clearing and roared. The fighters moved to their prince's side. Rina grabbed her spear and charged after Balor. She fought just as hard as the others. Many of them declared their respect for her skill by pounding their chests. Rina stabbed her spear into the ground and launched herself at Octavius.
She felt a searing pain in her side, but Rina snatched the talisman from around his neck before he tossed her through the air. Balor shifted and caught her before she hit the ground. She clutched her side and groaned as he called for a retreat. Balor rushed through the forest and crossed the stream with a splash. He carried her on his back to the boats before he shifted back. They climbed into the boats and hurried to the palace. Rina shivered as she lifted the talisman and handed it to Balor.
"Hold on," Balor said. "We're almost there. Giddeon can heal you. Just hold on, Rina."
She held his hand and stared up at the clear blue sky. Rina watched as nightfall approached. In the back of her mind, she wondered how her life would have been if she hadn't denied her feelings for Caleb for so long. "Am I dying?"
"No. We won't let you."
~*~
Castle Black
Destiny, Alaska
Caleb leaned against the wall as he stared into the cell where Madeu stirred from the effects of the spell Balor had struck him with. He expected some sort of sick pleasure to come from seeing Madeu locked up, but he felt nothing but pity for the brother he had never truly known. Water dripped from the ceiling, splattering onto Madeu’s bare chest until the male opened his eyes. He jumped up and rushed towards Caleb, but the magical wards on the dungeon knocked him back before he reached the bars. “It won’t do you any good to try to escape,” Caleb warned. “This isn’t an underground fortress built out of the scraps left behind by scientists. It
’s a dungeon built to hold creatures far more powerful than you.”
Madeu’s chest heaved with the force of his ragged breaths. Caleb couldn’t deny that the man was truly a sight to behold. There was a natural Alpha energy to Madeu that he had only seen in very few males. It was the sort of energy that couldn’t be inherited through bloodlines. “So, this is it? This is the legendary Castle Black. I’ve heard many things about the secrets this palace holds. Once a flourishing kingdom, wasn’t it?”
“It was. Now our numbers have dwindled due to human hunters and far too many wars. Wars that could have been avoided if men like my—our father,” he corrected, “had simply listened to wiser words than their own egos.”
Madeu approached the bars once more. He braced his arms on the metal and stared at Caleb with curiosity. “I’d bet my life that you don’t know the true power of this place. I can feel the magic vibrating in the very stone that was used to build these walls.”
The door at the top of the stairs opened, and Giddeon stepped into the light. He walked down the stairs with an expression that bordered on the edge of boredom. Caleb saw the very moment Giddeon recognized Madeu. His eldest brothers stood in front of one another like near perfect mirror images. The only obvious difference was the color and length of their hair. Other than that...the resemblance was uncanny. “I wanted to simply execute you for what you did to my brothers, but Caleb tells me that there’s more to the story than I’m aware of. So, why don’t you enlighten me? I’d be interested to hear what you say to justify your actions.”
“And why would I try to justify them?” Madeu asked in response. “I’m simply doing what I was trained to do, brother. Hate me all you like, but I know the shade of blood that stains your hands. Was it not you who slaughtered an entire village of wolves simply because he asked it of you? Don’t act so righteous when your actions are anything but.”
“I never claimed to be a saint.”