Chapter 18 Eighteen
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Mira POV
The moon hung low over the forest as we made our way back toward the rebel camp. The night air carried the smell of pine and damp earth, but there was something else beneath it. A tension. A shift. The kind that warned experienced wolves to stay alert.
Jason walked beside me. He kept his distance out of respect, but not far enough that I could forget he was there. I could feel him. Every step. Every breath. Every glance he thought I would not notice.
My wolf responded to him before I did. She wanted to stay close. She wanted to circle him. She wanted him near.
I forced her down.
We had a mission. We had a Queen to bring down. And I refused to let my wolf complicate what already felt like an unraveling line between us.
Riven waited at the border of camp, two scouts beside him. When he saw us approach, his posture stiffened in concern.
“You took longer than expected,” he said.
“We were followed for a short distance,” I replied. “But they stopped near the river.”
Jason added, “They were royal guards. They did not push further inside rebel territory.”
Riven’s eyes narrowed slightly at Jason’s voice, but he nodded. “We increased patrols. The Queen is moving troops closer to the north road. She wants us boxed in.”
I felt my shadows stir. “She wants pressure. She wants us forced into choosing the wrong ground.”
Riven gave a grim smile. “Then we will not give her the luxury.”
The camp was quieter than usual. Wolves moved around with a sense of unease. The younger ones whispered in small clusters. The older ones sharpened weapons long past the point of necessity. When they looked at me, their tension eased. When they looked at Jason, their hostility sharpened.
I did not address it. I needed them focused, not comfortable.
Riven followed me to the strategy tent. “We need to discuss our next move.”
Jason stepped in behind us. Riven’s eyes flicked toward him, but he did not protest. He had learned by now that Jason would follow me regardless of who approved.
Inside the tent, the map table was covered with markers representing territories, patrol lines, and potential ambush sites. Riven pointed to the north line.
“The Queen has started rotating her guards along this path,” he said. “It is a diversion, but not the kind she expects us to believe.”
Jason leaned forward, studying the pattern. “She wants us to think she is preparing for an attack from the north road.”
I nodded. “But she is hiding something in the south.”
Riven pressed his finger to a barely marked clearing. “Here. A new outpost appeared overnight.”
Jason frowned. “She does not build outposts. She builds prisons and execution points.”
My shadows curled upward in agreement. “It is bait. For me.”
Riven hesitated. “It is too obvious, Mira.”
“She wants us to hesitate,” I said. “She wants me to choose caution.”
Jason crossed his arms. “Then we do not go near it.”
I turned to him. “We do not ignore it either.”
His jaw tightened. “You are not going alone.”
“I did not say I was.”
Riven stiffened in surprise. “Then who goes with you?”
My gaze drifted to Jason before I spoke. “A small team. Riven. Jason. And two scouts who know the south woods well.”
Jason met my eyes with a slow, firm nod. “I will stay at your side.”
There it was again. The spark in my chest that I tried to silence.
Riven glanced between us, suspicion in his expression, but he did not argue. “We leave before sunrise.”
I nodded. “Good.”
Once he left, Jason remained inside the tent with me. The silence stretched between us, thick with everything we had not said and everything we probably should avoid.
He stepped closer. Not too close, but close enough.
“You should rest,” he said. His voice was softer now, heavier with a concern that was starting to feel dangerous.
“I will,” I said.
“You said the same thing last night,” he said.
He knew me too well. I hated it.
“You do not need to monitor me,” I told him.
“I do not monitor you,” he said. “I worry.”
I clenched my hands. “That is not necessary.”
“It is,” he replied. “It always will be.”
His sincerity hit me in a way I was not ready to admit. I looked away, but he stepped a fraction closer, lowering his voice.
“Mira. Today, when the guards followed us, you put yourself ahead of me.”
“I did what was needed,” I said.
“You protected me,” he said quietly.
I felt my throat tighten. “Do not read into it.”
He did not move. “I am not blind.”
I finally looked at him. His eyes held mine, steady and unyielding, filled with something that made my wolf stir restlessly.
“We cannot do this now,” I said.
He nodded slowly. “I know. But it does not change what is here.”
I stepped back before the heat in my chest betrayed me. “Get ready for dawn. We have work to do.”
He bowed his head slightly, a mixture of respect and restraint in the movement. “As you command.”
He left the tent.
I exhaled slowly, pressing a hand over my chest. My wolf pressed upward again, demanding recognition.
He is ours.
I shut her out.
“No,” I whispered. “Not yet.”
Jason POV
I walked out into the cool night air, trying to clear my mind, but nothing helped. Mira’s scent lingered on my hands, in my memory, in the space she had occupied seconds ago. It was maddening.
There was a time when I believed she was dead. When I believed I had lost every chance to tell her I never wanted to choose the crown over her. Now she was here, alive, powerful, hardened, and more distant than ever.
And the bond between us was getting harder to ignore.
I headed toward the training circle where several rebels practiced late into the night. They glared at me when I approached, but they said nothing. Their distrust was understandable. I could accept their hatred. I had earned it.
I trained with them until sweat soaked my shirt. I fought until my muscles trembled. I pushed until my arms shook from strain.
Anything to drown out the thought of Mira’s touch on my cheek, her breath near mine, her lips still burning against my own.
Riven approached as I finished. His expression was unreadable.
“You push yourself like a wolf trying to outrun his past,” he said.
“Maybe I am,” I replied.
He studied me for a long moment. “You care about her.”
It was not a question.
I answered anyway. “Yes.”
His jaw tightened. “If your feelings distract her, this war becomes harder.”
“If my feelings help her fight, this war becomes easier,” I shot back.
He crossed his arms. “If you hurt her again, there will not be enough shadows in this world to hide you from me.”
“I do not plan to hurt her,” I said.
“Good,” he replied. “Because she has lost enough.”
He walked away.
I watched him go, then looked toward Mira’s tent. Her shadows flickered faintly from inside, reacting to her presence the way they always did. Protective. Alive.
My chest tightened.
I would not fail her again.