by Kamryn Hart
“I want to reassure you that we will do everything we can to free you from the unfinished claim Prince Charles put on you. It will be removed, and he will have no power over you anymore.”
I thought about that bite on my neck. It wasn’t bothering me much anymore, not compared to how it felt back in Paws Peak. I didn’t like that the Mate Claim apparently had the power to turn a werea into a submissive. I didn’t like the pull the unfinished Mate Claim had toward Charles. I wanted to dig at the bite. I wanted to tell everyone that I would never let the Mate Claim control me, sealed or not. I didn’t belong to anyone. But I bit my tongue. My outburst in front of George hadn’t gone over so well, and I didn’t believe in repeating mistakes.
“How will you do that?” I asked. “Free me of the Mate Claim.”
“We’ll kill Prince Charles ve Paz of Paws Peak,” he said simply. The way he said it made me think of Caspian and how he had said that same thing before like killing wasn’t a big decision. They said it with detachment. “You needn’t worry about it. The situation is under control, so you should proceed as if you weren’t claimed. Live your life here. If you find a werewolf you wish to take as your mate, pursue him. I’ve asked you here to introduce you to my sons. Any one of them would be happy to show you around Wolf Bridge or answer any questions you might have. Come forward, my sons.”
Philip used different words than George, but the end goal was the same. He wanted me mated to one of his sons. He didn’t say that specifically, but why else would he shove them in my face like this? I pretended to be interested, to inspect each son from head to toe, but it was all a show. I had no interest in going through this again. I had no interest in looking for a mate. I wondered how long Philip’s patience would last. If he was anything like me, it wouldn’t last for long. That thought made my skin crawl. All I knew for sure was that I needed to recharge on the full moon tomorrow night so that I had another option if Wolf Bridge didn’t work out.
I thought of Phantom Fangs. I thought about how I wanted to see those four werewolves again. When I looked into one of the prince’s eyes, I could only think about how his eyes didn’t have those same luminous blue specks as Caspian’s. I thought about asking Philip about Caspian, but maybe that was something that would get me in trouble. I felt as if I were walking on a brittle rope. Speaking my mind, something I never had any trouble with, would send me plummeting into a deep, dark chasm. I decided to save my words for Phantom Fangs. They listened to me. I did not see the same thing happening with Philip or his chosen sons.
I did decide to risk one question though.
“Where is Phantom Fangs?”
“Indisposed,” Philip dismissed easily. He went on to tell me all the “wonderful” things about his sons, but I only pretended to listen.
Caspian said Phantom Fangs would see to breaking the Mate Claim personally. Had they already left? Were they really going back to Paws Peak for me? Was it for me at all? What if they died? Thoughts of Phantom Fangs consumed me, and I hoped for their safety. There were many things I wanted to know about them, like why thinking about them made me so warm, why my flesh tingled at the memory of their touch. I wanted to understand, and I wanted to believe they were genuine.
CHAPTER 17
RODRICK
“WE SHOULD JUST HEAD back to Paws Peak right now and kill Charles because the full moon is tomorrow night. It’ll make everything more of a hassle,” I argued. “Chances are they’re low on moonlight right now. When they recharge, the fight we’re taking on will get bigger.”
“Sure, Rodrick, but we don’t have much moonlight left either,” Caspian replied. His arms were folded, and he was leaning back against one of the obnoxious tan pillars that lined the inside of the Phantom Fangs Lair. Those pillars had no purpose aside from the “aesthetic.”
“We shouldn’t be hasty,” Aerre agreed. “They’ll have their defenses up higher. Maybe they’ve changed their system now or found a way to lock Todd out.”
“Doubtful,” Todd said. “That would require an entire system overhaul. I should be able to get in any time I want. With my modifications, we shouldn’t have a time limit either. The problem is my reach and power.”
“I’m just saying we need to consider everything.”
I stopped wasting my breath, and I stopped listening. Aerre would have us all spinning in circles for Gods knew how long. All of this deliberation was pointless. It would be so easy if they would just look at the obvious white and black, the right and wrong decisions. It frustrated me, but the squad didn’t see the world as clearly as I did. And how could they? They were werewolves and a confused tethered.
I sat back and looked at the wall Todd filled with mounted monitors. I didn’t know why he bothered when he hardly spent any time here. They monitored Wolf Bridge from the vantage points of various cameras. We weren’t the guard. We didn’t take care of domestic issues. Maybe it was for Aerre’s benefit because plenty of the cameras were watching over the Tech Off Zone, the human only zone; the lair was located on a border between that zone and the Tech On Zone near the castle, walking distances. I didn’t know Aerre’s whole issue because I didn’t care to, but he liked to keep his eyes on his mother and older sister. That was the source of his constant homesickness. If he thought werewolves were so untrustworthy, I couldn’t fathom why he was so against me and my “agitator buddies.”
I saw things clearly, but not clear to the point that I knew the details behind everything. I knew Aerre was my enemy, an enemy of the rebels, and therefore wrong. It was really that simple.
We were all supposed to live in the lair, but more than half of the time that didn’t seem to be the case. Aside from Aerre, Todd was always off in the Heart, Caspian was always sulking outside or inside of the castle, and I was always sneaking out. We were a single unit, but it was a rare occasion for us to actually be together outside of our missions. That suited me just fine.
“We just need time to prepare,” Todd said when I started listening again. “I’m working on a larger tech field, one cast out by the Heart. Give me a couple days to see what I can do. If I can hack Paws Peak from here and reconnect with those bugs we planted, we’ll have better intel for planning an attack. We’ll know when to strike.”
“You really think you can do that?” Caspian asked. “Paws Peak is miles away.”
“That sounds like a huge leap from where you are,” Aerre said. “Are a couple days really enough? We’re kind of on a time limit.”
Todd averted his gaze. It was a childish action, something he did when he didn’t have a good answer.
Aerre continued, “Paws Peak could attack us well before you figure that out. They know we have the Lost Princess, but they still have a half-claim on her—or an actual claim. We don’t even know.”
He shot Caspian a glare, and Caspian replied with a growl that showed off his white teeth. “Enough, Aerre. I told you it’s not a big deal. We’re going to fix it. Stop fighting me.”
It wasn’t like our alpha to react aggressively to anything we did. He wasn’t the type to play the power card because he liked to play at being the peacemaker—or he just liked the role of a mother. He hardly ever showed off his strength or “superiority.” He never used moonlight to make us submit unless he deemed it absolutely necessary and he certainly never brought up breeding. He never brought up the fact that Aerre and I were tethered. He also never brought up Todd’s ancestors being maneaters. As far as raw power, involving moonlight, Caspian outranked Todd spectacularly too. That was because of breeding. But Todd’s whole thing with tech made him irreplaceable, strangely important in a culture that valued brute strength. It was because Philip understood the importance of strength in brains too.
We were quite a crew of misfits. But that was what made Phantom Fangs interesting. We somehow worked together.
“We’re going to give Todd a couple days,” Caspian concluded. “If he can do it, Wolf Bridge has as good as won the Prime War. He’ll also prepare a contingency plan b
ecause we can’t wait too long to solve the princess’s problem.”
“And everyone will start fresh with new moonlight,” I said, offering my last reminder of that crucial fucking detail. Werewolves relied way too much on their damn moonlight.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re going to wait and guard Sorissa until then.”
That slip-up, the fact that he didn’t use her title, got him stares from the rest of us. Caspian never missed titles—even with his own bastard father. Using the princess’s name casually like they were old friends or maybe even lovers… it made my gut burn. I ignored it, but I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the subtle shift in our already precarious balance caused by the Lost Princess. Caspian wasn’t thinking with a clear head. Maybe none of us were.
“Caspian,” Aerre warned, “she’s got an entire kingdom to guard her. We don’t need to be her designated bodyguards. We need to break that claim.”
“I can get this tech field to work. The Heart will make it work,” Todd insisted.
“How come you never brought it up before now? It must be a huge undertaking.”
Suddenly, the clarity I had of the situation was gone. It all seemed so muddy aside from the princess herself, but decisions about the princess for the princess weren’t how this was supposed to work. I had tried to ignore it, to forget her and focus on our task, but she had done something to me. All of us. She wasn’t the Moonlight Child blessed by Lureine for nothing. I shouldn’t have allowed her to get so close to me. I shouldn’t have let her sleep against my arm in the roader, but I couldn’t bring myself to move away and wake her.
I knew what I had to do. I had to hand her over to the rebels. That had nothing to do with breaking this claim on her. In fact, if Phantom Fangs postponed the whole hunting-Prince-Charles-down thing, that would work better for me. I should have been supporting it.
I had just been fighting for the wrong choice. For the wrong side.
Because the princess wasn’t like other werewolves. She wasn’t like anyone. She was pure, an outsider in a war that had tainted everyone involved with the shadow of death. She hadn’t been corrupted, not by war and not by the witch or her witchcraft back in the Witch Woods.
I had to hand the Lost Princess over to the rebels. That was the right thing to do. It had to be.
But what would they do to her?
I was a human. I never knew my blood family because of werewolves and vampires. My only family was the rebels. The only right in this world was the rebels’ goal to put an end to those monsters, who couldn’t see reason, and this filthy war before everything was destroyed beyond repair. Even knowing all of that, even knowing the right choice, I didn’t want to hand the princess over to them.
They wouldn’t treat her well, to say the least, even though she hadn’t committed any crimes. Even though she was innocent. The princess changed everything because I had never met a werewolf who was innocent, but this werea was. And she was malleable.
“Rodrick, are you listening?” Caspian asked.
I snapped to attention. “Nope.”
“We’re calling it a night. Todd’s going to see what he can do with the Heart while preparing that contingency plan.”
“We’re not taking a vote?”
“No, we’re not.”
Upset balance for sure. Caspian was pulling on those power strings, making the decision he wanted, not considering the opinions of his squad because he had already made up his mind. I had the sneaking suspicion that he chose this route so he could stay closer to the princess for a little longer. It was possible he really was thinking of the end game, but I seriously doubted it.
All because of “Sorissa.”
The Full Moon Banquet was tomorrow night. Caspian’s decision worked out better for the rebels than mine would have.
No one stayed at the lair after the meeting, another thing that worked out well for me. I slipped out onto the streets at night, left my inteliband, commsbud, and any other tech behind, and no one gave a damn.
The moon was bright, only one night away from being full. Tomorrow night, all werewolves would bask in its light and recharge. Even as a tethered, a lesser werewolf, I would do the same. My body was already humming with the energy, but I couldn’t fully absorb any succulent moonlight until the alignment was perfect. I had to admit the stuff was addicting. I had to fight off a shiver at the thought of consuming that power.
I kept to the shadows, avoiding the electrical lights and their lit pathways. More importantly, I avoided important surveillance cameras. I knew all of Todd’s dead spots. The guy was a genius, but he wasn’t infallible—it also helped that Todd was Todd. He didn’t care so much about what the denizens of Wolf Bridge were up to in every nook and cranny. He cared about tech and what he could make it do. It was convenient for me and perhaps a careless oversight on Philip’s part—that or the king respected his citizens’ privacy, though I highly doubted it.
As I took small back roads and stuck to shadows, I thought about how I’d deliver the princess to the rebels. It would be risky, but tomorrow night was what I had to shoot for. It was dangerous because all these werewolves would be replenishing their moonlight reserves, but that was also what made it perfect. Everyone got distracted on a full moon.
The Full Moon Banquet would be held, so there was also a party to distract them. Then there was the act of absorbing moonlight itself. It required stillness and concentration when the alignment was perfect. That was often joined by silence, closed eyes and ears, that sort of thing. It would have to work. It would be short notice for the rebels, but they’d get ready in time since I was on my way to meet with Jobe right now. All they’d really need to prepare for was transportation anyway. I’d tell him the plan. It was better to get everything done quickly and take everyone by surprise.
I came up on the south wall after passing through the Tech Off Zone on the west side of the Quicksilver River. It was quieter than the Tech On Zone at night since werewolves tended to be night owls and humans were encouraged to clock in and out with the sun. There was also less tech to deal with, even though they still had electrical lights to light the streets—not their houses—and cameras set up here and there. The Tech Off Zone felt like a medieval castle town aside from those two things. The Tech On Zone felt like a modern civilization prevalent with tech of all kinds. There was unity in the structures all throughout Wolf Bridge, but the architecture was the only unity. Wolf Bridge werewolves claimed to be shields. They treated humans just well enough to win them over. They kept them safe from maneaters and bloodsuckers and gave them decent lives so fighting for their freedom seemed detrimental. It was better to “fight for Wolf Bridge.” Aerre fell into that trap.
Philip was a conniving king.
The south towers were sitting on either side of the Quicksilver River. They were ready to shoot down any intruders with the brilliant idea of scaling the steep fifty-foot drop off into the river to get inside the kingdom. They had rotating lights in their heads, basically making them armored lighthouses. I had the brilliant idea of scaling the slick river wall to get outside of the kingdom. I had done it before, so I knew it was possible. It just had to be timed perfectly. Thanks to my peak physical condition, that was possible. I was accused of being a carefree and impulsive brawler, and while that wasn’t inaccurate, it didn’t make me a meathead. Fighting wasn’t just a way to blow off steam. It kept me sharp.
I waited for a moment to analyze how the lights rotated. The next time they shined my way, I reached into my moonlight reserves and sent the stuff to my eyes. When highly concentrated like this, I could keep the consequential blue flames of active moonlight to a minimum. With the night as clear as day, I tailed after the rotating lights to the edge of the drop-off and slid down, scaling the nearly horizontal natural rock wall with my hands extended and my feet planted firmly. If I fell into the Quicksilver River, it’d be over. The water rushed by at a lethal speed. It kept the rocks wet and slippery as it angrily spat over fifty feet up in the air.
I stopped sliding when I hit what would have been an undetectable narrow ledge had I not been enhancing my eyesight. I pressed back into the river wall and inched my way forward. The searchlights couldn’t reach me here. I was hidden in shadows. All I had to worry about here was keeping my footing and being patient. Once I made it past the kingdom wall, I timed my ascension with the searchlights. Then I ran for the trees nearby. I blinked and shut off my moonlight consumption as if flicking a light switch. And just like that, I snuck out of Wolf Bridge.
I navigated through the trees until I reached a large stone marking the spot where Jobe and I met regularly. He was Merik Rexx’s main runner. He got the job done, so I didn’t mind him, but I did miss reporting directly to Merik, leader of the rebels and the man who took me in when no one else would have. Orphans were often more of a nuisance than anything, but the rebels didn’t feel that way. The rebels were made from families broken by werewolves and vampires.
“Rodrick.” Jobe stepped out from behind the stone. The bridge of his corkscrewed nose and a pink scar on his right cheek peeked out from under his large hood. He wore all black and had become a shadow during his work as a runner. If I hadn’t known for a fact that his skin was a medium brown, I would have said it was gray because of the tricks shadows played on the eyes. It didn’t help that he looked like some harbinger of death.
He asked, “Is it true? Is the Lost Princess real?”
“Yes,” I replied. “She’s inside Wolf Bridge right now. I can break her out tomorrow night, or at least bring her to the south wall where I always sneak out. I might need your help from there, but I can probably get her out myself if I knock her out. I’ll need to return to Freedom with you because my cover will definitely be blown after a stunt like that.”
Jobe nodded, and his cloak rippled around him. “You really think doing this on a full moon is the best idea?”
“It’s the only option. Do I need to explain it to you?”
