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Chapter Fourteen

RENALL

M y eyes adapt to the darkness of the room in seconds as Zev leads me over to the chairs on the balcony overlooking Luna Lake. It’s quiet today as I lean over the stone railing, the only sounds emanating from it are the bubbling of the waves and the rustling of the trees below. The golden glow from the sacred tree illuminates the gardens and warm lake below. I haven’t been away from the cavern for this long in centuries, but I always miss it. Rawe-tum would love this view. My jaw clenches. I have to physically stop myself from walking back to her. Rawe-tum is safe with Lupe. It’s only been a few weeks since she called me, but already her claws have sunk into me and taken purchase.

“This one has got a hold on you.” Zev eyes me suspiciously.

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” I whisper, my knuckles growing white against the stone balcony.

“True Guardians are rare; you should count yourself lucky you found something like me and Lupe.”

“This is different, I’ve never seen you like this with Lupe. I can’t stop myself from answering her heartcall. I feel her sorrow as closely as if it were my own. It’s never been like this before with ...”

“Lupe and I are soulbonded. We are as close as wolf and Guardian can get.” His voice raises defensively.

“And yet, would you have left the cave to rescue her? Would you have the power to disobey an Alpha order?” I turn to face him. Something is different with this bond, something special about me and Rawe-tum.

“No, and you shouldn’t have either,” Zev snaps, his eyes narrowing. There’s no more time for pleasantries. I’m unleashing the true Alpha side of my dearest friend.

“That’s what I’m telling you, Zev, I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t not answer her call.”

“There is always willpower one must have. Will you always bend to her beck and call?”

“Always,” I respond without hesitation. “Rawe-tum holds my heart in hers, even if she doesn’t feel it yet. Once the pain of losing her loved one subsides, she will be able to hear how her heart beats for me now. I’ve heard it. We beat in tune and share one heart now.”

Zev rises and paces before me. “You are walking on dangerous ground. How does this look, one of my ancients, the last of the Warrior Clan, becoming mush at the hands of some human Guardian outsider? Others have already begun to speak. They call me weak. You disobeyed an Alpha order and were allowed to leave.”

There’s a pause as Zev’s eyes meet mine intensely, sizing me up. We have been friends for a long time, but we both know the Warrior Clan blood in me is blessed by the Gods themselves. I’m lethal. I trained the last four Alphas, including Zev. Even though he’s bigger than me. There is no competition, and we both know it. Zev’s glare softens.

“No one allowed me to leave,” I finally state. “I don’t even understand how I did it.”

“Exactly, but they don’t know that. All they see is that you have left and returned with her ,” Zev spits that last word out venomously.

I growl and my fangs extend. No one talks about my Guardian that way. I lean forward slowly, still gripping the balcony, keeping myself from jumping on my pack Alpha and starting an all-out clan war. “Rawe-tum is my everything. If you talk about her with that tone again, I will rip your throat out and feed it to Lupe.”

There’s a pause as we both stare silently at each other. This is it. Is it my time to finally become the Alpha? Is Rawe-tum ready for that? Will it protect her or make her a higher target? Worse, will she hate me for forcing this upon her? No. Rawe-tum doesn’t need more change. Not now.

Zev laughs, a deep, throaty laugh, breaking the tension. “Wow, she does have her claws in you if you threaten to rip the Alpha’s throat out. That’s treason, you know.” Then Zev smirks. “I had to make sure it was real my friend, you understand.”

“This was a test?” There’s no way he was sizing me up. But that’s what I would do.

“That was, yes, you are my oldest friend. The leader of my warriors. If something were to happen to you, the clan would be at a great loss. That’s why I couldn’t grant you that request. I didn’t want you to leave for a Guardian who was so far away. It was too dangerous.”

“I could do it. I did do it.”

“I know, I see that now. But I made it an Alpha order. If there are no consequences, others will deem me a weak Alpha. That is the last thing we need at this time.”

Fear floods my veins because this is it. This is the fate I made for myself. I risked everything for Rawe-tum, and now I will not truly bond with her. What have I done? “I understand.”

“It needs to be public, so my opinion and our friendship aren’t questioned.”

“A Clan Trial?”

Zev nods. “A trial is our best option. You have many friends who would vote for you. Many others understand the pain of being unable to leave and find their Guardian. I think a trial is our best option here to maintain peace and show that an Alpha order shall not be disobeyed.”

There are many who would understand, of that I have no doubt. But there are others who have wanted me dead since Zev became Alpha and named me Clan Warrior over someone older. Our friendship has always been called into question. Our motives as well. I know deep down that the trial itself makes Zev appear weak. He should have ripped me to shreds as soon as I walked back through the waterfall. Truth is, Zev is weak. They know it. I’ve always known it. But because of my past, I could never have been Alpha without a fight and without a Guardian. A fight to the death with my oldest friend to prove my worth serves no one.

“A trial, it is.” I nod in acceptance and hold out my hand.

Zev shakes it once and pulls me into a bear hug. “Now, tell me about your journey and this Rawe-tum who is worth losing your life over.”

“Gladly.”

Rawe-tum is a subject I will always be happy to discuss. Plus, my Alpha needs to be aware of how close the hunters are growing and the tactics they are using. Because in my heart I know that war is coming, and we must be prepared.

That is, if I survive the trial.