That was when they ambushed me.
Andreas and his allies had brought their personal guards. Hidden them throughout the castle. The moment I started presenting the evidence, the throne room erupted into violence. Guards loyal to Andreas attacked guards loyal to me. Council members who supported the coup drew weapons. The beautiful throne room became a bloodbath within seconds.
They knew the proof would obliterate their chances of getting the throne through political maneuvering. So they had resorted to taking it by brute force.
Which was exactly what I had been hoping for. If we managed to beat them, I could execute or imprison them immediately without any more political games or waiting for them to make another mistake. Just clean, brutal justice delivered swiftly.
I was smiling as I fought, feral and vicious with my wolf close to the surface demanding blood.
But the rejection had weakened me more than I wanted to admit. Having Wen in another realm, having the bond buried deep where I could not access it, drained my strength in ways I had not anticipated. I had received too many strikes already. Cuts on my arms and sides. A gash on my thigh that was bleeding heavily. Bruises that would not heal properly without my mate nearby.
My guards were slowly diminishing Andreas’s men. We were winning. But I did not know if I would last long enough to see the victory.
I was fighting five of them at once. Two swords in my hands. Dancing between their strikes. My blades found flesh again and again but they kept coming. One caught my side with his sword and I felt the cut open deep. Another nearly got my throat but I deflected at the last second.
That was when I suddenly felt a rush of energy pour through me.
I was confused as to why. The bond was buried. Wen was in another realm. There should be no connection feeding me strength.
I used the burst of energy to press my attack harder. My right blade caught one attacker across the chest. My left took another in the throat. But there were still three more and I was tiring despite the mysterious energy boost.
I spun to face the next opponent but heard a growl from behind me. Too close. I would not turn in time to dodge. My muscles were screaming. My reflexes were a fraction too slow.
This is it, I thought. This is how I die. Without ever seeing her again. Without ever apologizing.
But then something massive and black crashed into my attacker from the side. Aurion in wolf form. His jaws closed around the wolf’s neck with crushing force and twisted viciously. The crack of breaking bone echoed through the chaos of the throne room.
My brother had just saved my life.
Relief flooded through me for half a second before my brain caught up with what his presence meant. Aurion was here. In Ravenor. Which meant he had left the human realm. Which meant he had left Wen.
Panic set in hard and fast.
No. NO. What was he doing here? If Aurion was here fighting beside me, that meant Wen was unprotected in that bookstore. It meant someone could sneak through the portal while we were distracted. Could find her alone and vulnerable. Could hurt her. Kill her. Take her from me permanently.
My mind literally shut down at the thought of her being injured. I could not breathe past the terror flooding my system. Could not think past the image of her bleeding and alone with no one to protect her.
I punched a wolf in the snout hard enough to send him stumbling backward. But my movements were mechanical now.My thoughts were spiraling. Why would Aurion leave her? What could possibly be important enough to abandon his post?
That was when I felt it. A tug on the bond. The mate bond I had buried deep but never actually severed because I could not bring myself to cut that connection completely.
I froze entirely as panic hit me harder than any physical blow I had taken today.
The massive doors to the throne room opened with a bang that somehow cut through the sounds of fighting. Which was madness. Pure madness. Given the violence occurring right now. Given the bodies on the floor and the blood coating the walls.
I was expecting backup but not for another ten minutes. That was how long it would take for the guards in the barracks to reach us after the alarm was raised.
But when I turned to look at the doorway, my heart stopped.
Gwendolyn. My Wen. Standing in the entrance to the throne room. Back in Lytopia. The place I had exiled her from. The place she was not supposed to return to until it was safe.
Time seemed to slow as I took her in. Her familiar face. Her dark hair. The way she stood frozen in the doorway with shock written across her features.
Fucking AURION. I was going to kill my brother. Slowly. Painfully. What had he been thinking bringing her back here? Bringing her into danger?
“Wen?” Her name came out as barely a whisper. Shock made my voice weak and broken.
Then my eyes traveled down and the panic and horror that had been building doubled and tripled and became something that threatened to destroy me completely.
