86- When the Wolves Remember
POV Lunara Grimwald:
“Maybe yes, maybe no. If he talked about her with you, maybe he’ll tell you a little more. Just know that he hadn’t spoken her name to anyone until now,” Lyris concluded, turning back to the nearly finished wooden sculpture.
I couldn’t decide what to think about that. Even though he had told me about Catalina, it was only a small part of the story. And besides, I had told him about Elowen. I shared a secret, and he shared one with me. It wasn’t anything extraordinary; it didn’t mean more than it should.
“It must’ve been because we almost died,” I said. “He’s over three hundred years old—must’ve been desperate for him to realize his life was about to fall apart.”
“Lord Edric isn’t afraid of death,” Nicoleta protested. “He loves life because of his sense of duty to us—his pack.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “And how do you know that?”
From the damned moment we met and mated, he’d emphasized every second that an entire pack depended on him, that death was not an option. Not even the ritual to remove the mark had been something he’d considered.
“Because when Lady Catalina died, he was ready to go to war, even if it cost him his life.”
“Well… he must have been devastated, losing his destined mate…”
“No, no,” she interrupted. “It was his honor and duty that came into question.”
“What do you mean?”
“The role of a male is to protect his female and provide her with everything she needs. When Lady Catalina died, Lord Edric went into self-imposed diligence. He felt he had failed his most important mission,” she explained.
“After the laws changed and we were forbidden from entering other territories, it took him years to reassume all his responsibilities as a leader. He didn’t attend council meetings or even the festivals of lust. Aldren was the only one who went and told him what had been discussed, keeping him informed,” Lyris added.
I blinked, eyes widening. “Sullivan said he mourned for fifty years.”
They nodded.
“It wasn’t exactly mourning, but it wasn’t not mourning either. Sullivan mocks him for the time Edric was absent,” Lyris murmured.
“That’s kind of cruel,” I whispered.
They laughed.
“You’ll find out, Lunara, that the older an alpha gets, the crueler he becomes. The males of our kind tend to behave that way,” Lyris retorted.
They returned to carving their small statues, while I sat there watching. I wasn’t the least bit skilled with crafts—my abilities were limited to cooking, and that was that.
I ran a hand through my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear.
“How did Edric and Catalina meet?” I asked after a moment.
“He had just turned a hundred when he saw her at a Beltane festival. She and her family, as well as Thalira’s, had recently arrived to join the Eldoria clan. They fell in love almost instantly,” Nicoleta said.
“Catalina helped Edric build the pack, creating rules that kept us in order,” Lyris added. “Despite her arrogance, she did a good job by his side.”
“Even so, the Eldoria wolves don’t feel grateful to her?” I asked.
Lyris licked her lips. “Her death almost destroyed our alpha. Some resent her for that, while others blame her for not telling him about Cosmin.”
“And yes, she helped a lot, but she kind of demanded recognition for everything she did, you know? It was as if everyone were obligated to feel eternal gratitude toward her,” Celindra murmured.
“And she also knew that everyone wanted to please Edric, so she used her status as the leader’s bride to get whatever she wanted,” Lyris huffed.
I rested my elbows on the table, setting my chin on my hands with an exasperated sigh.
“I can’t understand why they were so offended by that damn dress.”
“Because, like I just said, they’ll always want to please the leader. And as long as the leader doesn’t show respect or consideration for you, none of them will either.”
“There’s also Thalira and all her sabotage. She wants everyone to think you’re terrible, unworthy of Edric,” Celindra stated.
Lyris laughed mockingly. “Of course—because she’d be perfect, right?”
I laughed softly. “I don’t care about Thalira or Edric, and I don’t want to take Catalina’s place in the pack. I just want to live in peace and get through the rest of my days the best I can.”
“I don’t think that’s an option,” Celindra said with a sigh.
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean, not an option?”
Nicoleta turned toward me, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Everyone felt his roar,” she whispered, her voice barely a thread. “It was… terrifying. I started praying, begging for your lives.”
“It had been fifty years since we’d felt anything like that,” Celindra murmured.
Lyris nodded.
Even though I’d been hurt, it didn’t seem that bad to me—or was I wrong? Well… I had felt weak and thought I was dying, but Edric had arrived in time. That had been enough to save me.
“It must’ve been my injuries,” I said, twisting a strand of hair around my finger. “They hurt a lot—he must’ve felt my pain.”
“It was more than that,” Lyris cut in.
“It wasn’t just physical—it was emotional too,” Nicoleta whispered.
I opened my mouth to protest but stayed quiet.
My chest tightened. I straightened, adjusting my body in the chair. I grabbed a piece of wood quickly, pretending to be very busy with it.
“Is he coming?” Celindra whispered.
I nodded, still keeping my eyes fixed on the object in my hands.
The door opened, and Edric entered, followed by Anton and Andrei. They stopped near the table. I felt the weight of his gaze on me. He walked to my side, placed his hands on the back of the chair at the end of the table, and leaned forward, examining the figurines.
“Even though I love Samhain, I prefer Beltane,” Andrei commented.
“Who doesn’t?” Lyris teased. I glanced at him, still ignoring Edric.
“Is the festival better?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Almost the same thing. I just prefer it because of the reason it’s celebrated. While Samhain marks the beginning of winter, Beltane marks the start of summer,” he explained.
I smiled. “In that case, I’ll prefer Beltane too.”
“Because of the lake?” Celindra asked.
“Was it that obvious?”
“Very,” Lyris agreed, and they all laughed.
It wasn’t my fault the lake—and the solitude that came with it—felt so comforting.
“I ordered our borders to be isolated,” Edric declared. “There are more guards patrolling, with orders to kill anything that isn’t human.”
I swallowed hard and finally raised my eyes to meet his for the first time since he arrived. I saw a storm brewing in them.
“And what if it’s a wolf from another pack’s territory?” I asked.
I understood that he was trying to protect his people, but innocent lives could be lost because of that.
“Then we’ll have even more reason to kill him,” he said firmly.
“No one has the right to wander around,” Andrei remarked. “If a wolf from any other pack—other than the leader—comes to us, he knows he’ll meet certain death. It’s a sign of disrespect toward our laws and the elders.”
The respect they held for the elders and the laws they had created was admirable. Maybe that was the reason why the packs worked so well—by respecting the rules that bound them.
“And what about the festival?” Celindra asked.
“We’ll keep it, but with doubled security. If you see any suspicious wolf who doesn’t belong to the pack, report it immediately to one of the guards. That’s the rule established to preserve Samhain,” Anton said.
I lowered my head and stared at my hands, feeling a bit uneasy about all of it.
“Do you really think there’s a chance they’ll attack the festival?” I asked in a whisper.
There would be pups at the celebration, females, and many members of the pack there just to enjoy themselves. No one else needed to die because of me.