Chapter 7 Seven
Theron's POV
“Breathe,” I whispered through clenched teeth to myself. "Just breathe."
Gradually, the agony subsided to something he could tolerate. I blinked and looked down at the dusty old text splayed out in front of me. The same text I had been studying for decades, looking in vain for answers that never materialized.
The witch that cursed me had been explicit. Only your true mate would be able to break it. But Rhea was here now, and the curse was heavier than ever. If anything, her presence seemed to magnify it.
I brought the text to me and reread, for the hundredth time, the worn words. Then I saw it. A passage I hadn’t noticed before, the script written in letters so small that I had to squint as I read it.
"The bond must be complete. Body, mind, and spirit in perfect harmony. So shall the curse be broken."
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
"Come," I said, trying to make the sound of my voice sound natural.
My second in command Marcus came inside. He was older than most of my warriors, his hair streaked with gray and his face crisscrossed with scars that told the tales of a violent history. He had been serving me for three generations, and was among the few that knew the secret to my curse.
"Marcus," he began, his hawkish eyes wandering over me. "You look unwell."
"I'm fine."
"You're lying." He leaned in, his voice dropping. "The curse?"
I nodded once.
Marcus's expression darkened. "But the girl is here. Your mate. Shouldn't that help?"
"It's not that simple." I rose, and walking to the window, turned away from his anxious eyes.
"The connection has to be so complete. Body, mind, and soul. We hardly stand it from each other right now.”
"If only you would tell her the truth."
”“No.” I sounded more sharp than I meant to. “She’s been a pawn her whole life. The last thing I want to do is saddle her with the guilt for my curse.”
There was a pause before Marcus spoke. “The council d like to meet with you in the morning. They are worried about the Morwen girl.”
Of course they did. "What kind of concerns?"
"Alaric Morwen has sent word. He's declaring war on us if we don't return his daughter by the next full moon! He has the Twins and who knows? Their combined forces are considerable."
I had expected as much. "Let them come. My walls have withstood worse."
"There's more," Marcus continued. "The neighboring provinces are losing their minds to gossip. The word on the street is you've chosen a shifter hybrid for life. Some take it for a sign of weakness.”
I turned to look at him, allowing a small leak of my power so it turned visibly cold in here. So you think I'm a feeble man, Marcus?
He dropped his gaze immediately. "No, my lord. Never."
"Then spread a different rumor. Let them know that if anyone endangers what is mine, there will be consequences they cannot foresee.”
Marcus bowed his head. "As you command. There's one more thing. We’ve seen more and more rogue activity at the border. This was the third sighting in a week.”
That was unusual. Rogues typically avoided my territory. "Have they made any moves?"
"Not yet. But they're watching. Waiting for something."
I waved for him to go away, my head already considering the significance of this. War with Alaric. Rogues at my borders. And a mate who couldn’t stand me.
The curse throbbed again as a reminder of my shortness on time.
Sleep was impossible that night. I paced time in my study, re-examining the maps and strategies, trying to distract myself from the stubborn tug toward Rhea’s side of the right wing. The mate bond was making itself known, telling me to find her, take her, finish what the moon goddess had begun.
But I had made a vow to myself. I wouldn't force her. Not what the others had tried to.
No part of this situation was going well as dawn approached. I bathed and clothed myself in preparation for the council. On my way in the corridors, I felt my feet are taking me all the way to where we’d been at the courtyard.
And there she was.
Rhea was at the edge of the training area, where she had been yesterday, staring intently at my warriors. She was dressed in plain workout garb, with her brown hair pulled back into a practical braid. Even from here, I could make out the thoughtfulness in those beautiful eyes as she watched them.
One of my young warriors, a loud male I had named Derek saw her staring. He laughed and muttered something to a training partner close enough for her to hear.
"The Alpha's new pet. Bet she feels like silk.”
The other wolves laughed.
I felt my control slip. The temperature dropped. The shadows were pooling around the courtyard and my power continued to seep out.
And I came out of the passage into the brighest light.
The laughter died immediately. Derek’s face drained as he realized what he had done. He fell on his knees and bowed his head in reverence.
"Forgive me, my lord. I didn't mean—"
"You disrespected your future Luna," I stated, my voice deadly calm. "In my territory. In front of her."
"Please, I—"
"Get out of my sight." I didn’t have to shout it out. It was a command in itabsolute. "If I hear any less respect when you talk about her again, I will rip your throat out personally."
“It’s a delicate situation,” Elder Thomas said. He was the oldest, and his white hair and craggy face showed that he had persevered for centuries. "Alaric Morwen is gathering allies. The twins say that they will support him in every possible way. They are calling what you did an act of war.”
“Let them call it what they want,” I said. "Rhea came with me willingly. I broke no laws."
“When it comes to claimed mates, the law is not so clear cut,” Elder Sarah added. She was sharp and exacting and never hesitated to call me out. "The twins had a contract. A binding agreement."
"Which Rhea never consented to."
“Her agreement is not important to pack law,” Thomas bit out. "She was Alaric's daughter. His property to negotiate with."
My knuckles tightened around the armrests of my chair. "She is not property. She is my mate."
The elders exchanged glances. At last Marcus interposed, standing there by the door.
“Her background is also a source of concern. If the whispers are to be believed, and she has shifter blood, that might change things a bit. The shifters and those like us have been enemies for centuries."
“I know the history,” I replied curtly.
“So you see why we’re concerned,” Sarah pushed. “Siring a hybrid might be considered as desertion. It could divide the pack."
I rose to my feet gradually, allowing all of my energies to fill the air. The elders may have saved me for generations to come, but they were still my Alphas. Still their lord.
"Rhea is my mate. I didn't choose her, the moon goddess chose her for me. And anybody that has a problem with that can talk to me.” I turned my attention to each of them in succession. "Are we clear?"
They submitted their necks.
They murmured in unison, “Yes, my lord.”
I was inexplicably drawn back to the courtyard after we left the meeting. The warriors had filed out to the midday meal, and the room was empty save for a single figure.
Rhea.
She did a few stretches that were clumsy and unnatural. She was trying to teach herself this skill, I realized. Attempting to get stronger while remaining on your own.
Pride rose in my chest, hot and fierce.
I had to hide out in the shadows and all I could do was watch her pick up one of the training swords and feel its weight. Her form all wrong, she swung it experimentally. But there was grit, a refusal to quit in each step that reminded me of myself centuries past.
She had been deliberately weakened all her life. Suppressed. Controlled. But there was a warrior in her, ready to break out.
I began to move forward, to point the way. Then I stopped myself. She had asked for boundaries. For space. If I hammered at her too forcefully, too quickly, then she’d only run away.
And I needed her close. Other than the curse, and getting more so with each day. But for something else. One thing that I hadn’t felt in so long I had all but forgotten what it was.
Hope.
That night, I tried to sleep. But then, the pain came back worse than I could remember and pulled me out of unconsciousness with flaming talons. Crawling from my bed, I limped toward the privacy of my personal library where my legs finally buckled.
I crumpled against the bookshelves, fighting for breath. The ancient glyphs went blurry in front of me. I grabbed at one, needing something to keep me from floating away.
That was when I heard it. Light steps in the out-wall corridor.
I pushed myself to a standing positon, to prepare my face into something non-profiled. There was a knock on the door, and Rhea came in.
She hesitated, and there was no doubt that she wasn’t expecting to see me here. There was a long moment in which we simply looked at each other. Her hair hung around her face, and she was wearing only a basic nightgown that did little to add years to her youthful features.
"Couldn't sleep?" Proud that my voice came out steady, I inquired.
She raised her chin, and that look of defiance returned to her eyes. "I want you to train me."
The suggestion was completely off the wall for me. "What?"
“Teach me to fight,” she said, stepping away from the door toward the middle o:f the library. “Teach me to be strong so that no one will ever be able to use me again.”
I searched her eyes for any indication of second thoughts. But there was only machine-like determination.
"Why?" I asked quietly.
“It’s … because I’m sick of being weak.” Her fists were tight at her side. “Men telling me what I can and cannot do. What I'm capable of. I want to be strong, Theron. Strong enough to protect myself."
Something shifted in my chest. This woman, this small, stubborn, attractive woman was not going to be broken. For all that she had endured, she was still alive and kicking.
I moved closer to her, my feet bringing me toward her. She didn't back away.
“Training will not be easy,” I cautioned. “I’m not going to take it easy on you because we’re mates.”
"Good," she said simply. "I don't want you to."
The mate bond buzzed within us, stronger than earlier. In the moonlight that flowed through the windows of the library, she was both vulnerable and fierce. A paradox I found more intriguing than I wished to acknowledge.
I stretched out my hand slowly and let it stay there if she wanted to push them away. When she didn’t, I pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
"We leave tomorrow at sunrise," I whispered. "Be ready."
She nodded, her blue eyes disturbed just not mine. For a moment, I thought that she might come close to me. May just succumb to the tie that binds us.
Instead, she stepped back.
"Tomorrow then," she whispered.
She spun and headed for the door. I watched her leave, every fiber of my body urging me to call out for her, to pull her close and not let go.
But I didn't.
Because Rhea Morwen wasn’t the sort of woman anyone could just reach a hand out and take or win over. She had to find her way to me on her own terms.
And I would wait however long it took.
It might kill me first, even if it was a curse.