Chapter 165 Roar

Chapter 165 Roar
Nyx’s POV

The ceiling disappeared several stories above us, supported by thick columns carved with wolves, mountains and what looked like scenes from old Lykae history. 

There were no polished marble floors like Noctharys. The stone here was rougher, warmer beneath my feet, and every few metres there were sections of wood built into the walls. Draegan noticed me staring.

“Lykae don’t like places that feel dead,” he explained as he walked. “Stone is useful. Wood is better. We keep the palace open wherever possible. Air matters to us.”

“Because of your senses?”

“Partly. Smell, hearing, instinct. A closed room can feel wrong if you spend enough time in one.”

I looked around again. That explained the open balconies. The huge windows. The lack of heavy doors. Even the corridors were wider than they needed to be.

“How many Lykae live here?” I asked.

“In the palace?”

“Yes.”

“Nearly five hundred.” I stopped walking and Draegan took another two steps before noticing.

“Five hundred?”

“Approximately.”

I stared at him. “That is a lot of wolves.”

His mouth twitched. “It is.”

Caelan laughed quietly beside me. I turned toward him. “Why are you laughing?”

“You’ve spent months travelling through the Lore and somehow this is the first thing that has genuinely impressed you.”

“I have never seen five hundred wolves living in one palace.”

“Fair.”

Draegan continued walking. “The palace is only the centre. There are villages throughout the territory. Hunting grounds. Training grounds. Family territories. Some clans never come here unless there is a council.”

“Family territories?”

“Lykae families are large.”

“How large?”

Draegan gave me a look. “Very.”

“That tells me nothing.”

“Some families have twenty members. Some have two hundred.”

My mouth opened. He continued before I could speak.

“We don’t separate children from the larger pack as easily as other species do. Everyone knows everyone. Older Lykae raise the young together. The strongest protect the territory. The hunters provide food. Those with healing abilities work with the injured.”

“So everyone has a role.”

“Everyone contributes.”

There was something about the way he said it that made me understand this wasn’t simply tradition. It was instinct.

A Lykae could be powerful alone but they were built around the idea of belonging to something larger than themselves.

I watched two younger Lykae wrestle near the edge of a training yard. They were both in wolf form, huge paws striking the ground as they pushed and rolled over one another. Neither seemed angry. An older Lykae sat nearby watching them, occasionally making a low sound when one became too rough.

“Do they fight like that all the time?” I asked.

“Children do.”

“What about adults?”

Draegan looked toward the training yard. “Adults fight with more purpose.”

That answer made me smile. We continued through the palace until Draegan brought us to a balcony overlooking the eastern grounds.

I stopped again. The view was enormous.

The palace sat high enough that I could see beyond the forest and into a valley covered in mist. Mountains rose in the distance, dark against the afternoon sky and the forest below seemed endless. Small groups of Lykae moved through it, some walking upright, others running on four legs.

One wolf suddenly sprinted across the clearing. Another followed. Then another.

Within seconds, six of them were running together, their bodies moving with such speed and coordination that I couldn’t stop watching.

“They’re beautiful,” I whispered.

Draegan leaned against the railing. “They’re dangerous.”

“I know.”

“You haven’t seen them hunt.”

“No.”

His expression became more serious. “Lykae are not like vampires. We don’t separate instinct from action as easily. When a Lykae decides something is prey, hesitation isn’t part of the process.”

I looked at him. “So you don’t feel guilt?”

“We feel everything.” His voice was quieter now. “That’s the problem. A Lykae can love deeply enough to tear apart the world for someone. The same instincts that make us protect can make us destroy.”

I glanced toward the wolves below. “And the mate bond?”

His expression changed because that is a sour subject for Draegan. His mate his ran away for some reason I don’t know about. It seems like he doesn’t want to tell anybody either. 

“The mate bond is sacred here.”

“How sacred?”

Draegan looked at me for a moment before answering. “More than law. More than rank. More than the throne.”

I thought about Caelan. He was standing slightly behind me, his attention on the valley but I knew he was listening.

“What happens if someone rejects their mate?”

Draegan’s jaw tightened. “It hurts.”

“That sounds obvious.”

“It can kill.” My smile disappeared. “A Lykae who loses a true mate can become physically ill. Some never recover and others die. Some become dangerous. Some spend their entire lives looking.”

I glanced at him. He looked back toward the forest. And suddenly I understood why Draegan had spent so long searching. He is not going to give up too. 

“That’s why you’ve been looking all this time.”

He didn’t answer immediately. Then he gave a small nod. “Yes.”

I didn’t tease him after that. Instead, I reached over and touched his arm. “I hope you find her.”

Draegan looked down at my hand. His expression softened. “So do I.”

Caelan’s hand found mine a moment later. His fingers slipped between mine naturally, almost absent-mindedly but when I squeezed his hand he squeezed back. I looked at our hands. Then at him.

He was watching the valley but there was a faint smile on his face.

“You’re enjoying this,” I murmured.

His eyes moved toward me.

“Very much.”

“Even though Draegan has complained about us ruining his hunt?”

“I believe he will survive.”

Draegan glanced over his shoulder. “I can hear you.”

I laughed. Caelan’s smile widened. For a moment, standing there above the Lykae territory with the wildest creatures in the Lore moving below us, everything felt strangely peaceful.

Then a roar came from somewhere deep in the forest. It wasn’t a wolf. It was too deep and way too powerful. The entire balcony went quiet.

I felt the sound in my chest. Caelan’s fingers tightened around mine while Draegan straightened.

“What was that?”

His eyes had gone completely still. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

I stared at him. That was exactly the sort of answer that guaranteed I was going to worry about it. And judging from the way Caelan’s expression had changed beside me, he had reached the same conclusion.