Filed to story: My Kidnapper Is the Wolf King
“When the first men invaded the Northlands, the Elderwolf was gravely injured. The Moon left her post in the sky to come to him-though it was forbidden. She shared her wild and dangerous power with him, and he was able to transform-to heal, and to seek vengeance on those who had tried to kill him.” I hear the smile in his voice. “It was a blessing.”
“A blessing? You said you were cursed.”
“Aye, we were. But the ability to transform into a wolf was not the curse.”
“So what was the curse?”
It is fascinating to hear this story from the alpha’s perspective. In the south, our religious texts tell us the power to shift was the punishment for the Elderwolf’s betrayal and the story ends there.
In the north, it seems, there is a whole other chapter.
“The Elderwolf embraced his new power,” he continues. “You see, it felt as if the wolf was part of him all along. And perhaps it was. Perhaps that was why he and the Moon were drawn to one another in the first place. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. Because the Sun is a jealous and vengeful goddess.”
I flinch. If I am honest with myself, I have had blasphemous thoughts about the Goddess of the Southlands. Usually while being made to repent for my sins by the High Priest.
But to voice those thoughts aloud. . .
“When the Sun found out, she set out to punish them both. The Moon was banished. She was given to the God of Night to be locked within his prison in the sky. And the Elderwolf? Well, the wolf inside him was caged-only ever able to break free of his chains when the Moon was the closest and her power could reach him.”
“On the night of a full moon.” The wind rustling through the trees almost swallows my words.
“Aye.”
My eyebrows knit as I piece together what he’s telling me, and why he’s telling me.
“You’re saying the Elderwolf was once able to change whenever he wanted,” I say. “That the curse wasn’t that he had to transform into a wolf, but that the power was taken away from him.”
“Aye.” The alpha’s voice comes out low and dark. “But the Sun had underestimated the power of the Moon’s love. So distraught to have been parted from him, to see him suffer from her prison in the sky, she ripped out her own heart. She cast it down to the earth so he could keep it, and he could always be close to her power.”
I frown. “And he found it?”
“He did. It landed in the center of Glen Ghealach, high up in the Northlands,
and created the valley itself. And when he found it, he kept it close. Until one day, the Sun led the first men to him. Though he fought bravely, though he protected the heart that had been entrusted to him, there were too many of them. He was slaughtered, and the Moon’s heart was stolen.”
“You think it’s real?”
“Aye, we do. Of course, the story is steeped in myth-but there is evidence throughout history of a relic that has passed between hands. A type of rock, we think.” He swallows. “And there is evidence it holds the power for us to shift whenever we choose, to be free.”
His longing for freedom stirs something inside me as I finally understand.
“You think Sebastian has it. That’s why you planned the siege at his castle. That’s why you took me. That’s what you want to trade me for.”
“Aye,” he says, his voice dark as shadow and laced with intent. “We’re searching for the
Cridhe na Ghealach
-the Heart of the Moon. Because with it, we’ll have the power to shift when we want. With it, we’ll have the power to win this war.
“
Chapter Nine
We’ll have the power to win this war.
We ride onward.
The night is quiet except for the sound of the horse’s hooves and the whisper of the wind in the trees. It emphasizes how alone we are out here. How alone I am-with a man who is plotting against my father.
His chest rises and falls steadily against my back.
“What makes you so sure Sebastian has what you’re looking for?” I ask.
I sense him deciding whether or not to answer. “I have my sources.”
“You have spies in Sebastian’s castle, you mean.” I recall his certainty that he was going to escape when I tended to Ryan’s wounds. “They let you out of the kennels, I presume?”
“Aye. And they confirm what . . . what someone from the Lowfell Clan has been telling us.” His tone darkens and I get the impression that whoever this someone is, the alpha doesn’t care too much for them.
“But you didn’t find it.”
“It wasn’t where we thought it would be.”
I think of the carnage we left behind at Sebastian’s castle; the dead guards in the entrance hall, the flames in the courtyard, the shouting and the cries of death. “Your siege was pointless, then.”
His arm tightens around my waist. “I wouldn’t say that.”
My heart thuds faster as I realize I may be out of my depth.
I have no doubt Sebastian will wage war to get me back. I am his property, and I have been stolen from him. He will not let that go unanswered. But he does not care whether I live or die. Not really.
And the alpha is naïve if he thinks Sebastian will trade this powerful relic for me.
I am worth nothing.
I wonder what will happen to me when the Wolves finally figure that out.
***
We stop in a clearing by the bank of the loch, and the alpha dismounts.
It’s so dark all I can make out is his shadowy form. The air is thick with the scent of pine and grass, and water moves and ripples somewhere behind him.
“We’re resting here until morning. Come,” he says.
I fold my arms. “You do realize both Sebastian and my father will send their armies north to find me? They’ll ride day and night to capture my kidnapper. It won’t end well for you if they do.”
It won’t end well for me, either.
“People really don’t talk to me that way.”
“Yes, you said.”
“They call this place Glen Marb-the Valley of Death,” says the alpha. “It was a battleground, centuries go. They say the souls of the Wolves who died here haunt the valley, seeking vengeance. If you listen carefully, you can hear them howling.”
My insides tighten when I hear hollow wails in the distance. I snap my head toward him, alarmed.
He grins. “Just the wind. A silly superstition, but Sebastian believes it. He won’t send his men here. We’re safe until morning. Come.”
This time, when he puts his hands around my waist and lowers me to the ground, I don’t fight him.
I am a princess, and he stole me from my bed and brought me here. He should be serving me. That’s what I tell myself, anyway. I am fed up of feeling weak.
If we were in the palace, and I was dressed up in one of my favorite dresses at one of the balls, things would be quite different, I’m sure.
I wince when my feet touch the sodden earth. The alpha’s big hands tighten around my hips, the heat seeping through my nightdress. My cheeks flush. Men are not supposed to stand this close to me. Especially big alpha warrior men who are plotting against my father.