Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Mätrang

The dining room was hazy with the scent of mushroom stew, roasted chicken, and fresh wine.

Along the rough stone walls hung yellow banners, decorated with the sigil of the Säli pack, stitched in black thread.

A beautiful young woman played the piano while we ate dinner. She was dressed in a white chiffon gown that spilled around her feet like flowers. The scarf coiled around her throat as though to conceal a secret within. Her slender fingers danced across the keyboard, playing an ancient Ngäerawa song.

I thought of her as the most beautiful Säli female until more females flocked into the room, all dressed beautifully.

The Säli females were infamous for their stories that pervaded one with dread and fascination. They were different beings, and everyone in this realm knew about their tales.

"Your Grace," the new Alpha, Kaluen, regarded me from where he sat. His lips twitched with amusement as he sipped from his goblet.

I caught a trace of sweetness in the air, honey fused with cinnamon. I indulged in the saccharine of the scent and, almost at once, the hairs on my skin stood on end.

"I did not anticipate your arrival so soon," Kaluen drawled.

"The weather was compassionate enough to hasten the journey," my Beta, Txänux, spoke for me. "Albeit, we also wanted to surprise you."

Kaluen continued to paint that smile on his face like polish on a shoe.

He beckoned for the females to sit, and I studied them patiently as they settled down. A disquieting thought I could not name began to masticate my mind. One of the females locked eyes with me, her gaze a silent missive I couldn't decipher.

"Whispers of trouble in Säli pack spread around the realm," Txänux continued.

Kaluen cocked his head. "Ah, yes. A throng of malcontent rebels rose to snatch power from our Alpha. They murdered Alpha Wyränkla and his brother, Mätxin."

I regarded him with a wary look. "And the first thing that crossed your mind was claiming the position as yours?" I questioned. "You couldn't seek the King first?"

"Your Grace, forgive me, but I thought it wise to claim the position and handle the traitors myself. We were expecting the arrival of the King, and we needed an Alpha to prepare ourselves for the visit too."

"Hmm."

"But rest assured, the matter is solved. The traitors await retribution in the cell," Kaluen said with equanimity.

"We would like to see these prisoners ourselves before our retirement to bed," Ngänila interjected. "You must be cognizant that His Highness does not condone rebels in his realm."

She was one of my warriors, a beautiful Wingälkäli (Gods Pack) member, with honed cheekbones and, of course, those striking icy blue eyes that peered from her arched brows. Next to her, Nuxigilä, my other female warrior, watched. Her ebon face was framed with thick locks, and her striking blue eyes looked slightly slanted.

"Of course," he said. "But His Grace need not distress himself tonight. Tomorrow, I will lead you to these rebel females. They will suffer precisely as the law of Säli demands."

"Rebel females?" I asked, a hint of surprise in my voice.

He nodded. "Your Grace, you would be more surprised to hear the atrocities these females commit in the pack daily. Most of them are nuisances."

I leaned back in my chair, studying the women as I drank from my goblet. They appeared tranquil. It would be difficult for one to discern that these women, in reality, were savages.

The wine flowed into my mouth, and I indulged in the saccharine of it. Säli wine possessed a richer flavour, as though it were prepared by the goddess herself.

Conversation swallowed our attention as the night dragged on, but I could not pull my eyes from the females. One of them, beautiful like a porcelain doll with blond hair, flinched subtly when Kaluen lifted his hand to her. But the moment he trailed his fingers along her smooth face, shoving locks behind her ear, she hid the horrified expression with a brittle smile.

My jaw tightened.

Nuxigilä's gaze flashed to mine. She'd sensed it too. Something was not right here. Why did the females gaze at their Alpha with trepidation?

"Is something amiss?" Nuxigilä asked softly, her eyes focused on Kaluen's face.

He furnished a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Not at all."

"She looks like she's terrified of you."

"Terrified?" His laugh was dry. He turned to the female, and when he touched her face again, she smiled broadly. "You misapprehend. It should be the contrary. You know the tales of Säli females—"

"Let her speak," I cut in.

The smile on the female's face had slipped, and she looked at me with a hint of horror.

"Are you well?" I asked.

Her lips trembled to speak. "Your Grace... I beseech pardon for my impertinent behaviour. I do not fear Alpha Kaluen. He has demonstrated nothing but benevolence. We owe him gratitude."

Her lie unfurled across her face like a banner. The females tried to maintain their smiles, but their eyes and bodies betrayed them.

'Something is suppurating here,' I sent through the mind link.

'I noticed too,' Ngänila responded, scratching her red hair.

The Säli females are not cowards. They do not tremble from fear, Nuxigilä's voice joined the mind conversation.

I will feign weariness. When midnight comes, search every corner for information. Let no eye witness you.

This was my first visit to the Säli pack, and the walls seemed infused with a cascade of secrets. It had always been the King who conducted the annual visits to Säli. Now, I couldn't help but wonder if he had ever discerned any of this.

...

That night, sleep eluded me. For the fifteenth time, I closed my eyes, willing drowsiness to claim me. Instead, a scent unfurled; honey and cinnamon. Though it was faint, the scent was impossible to ignore.

Restless, I rose, draping a coat over my shoulders, and left the room.

I followed the scent, my boots silent against the cobblestone.

As I walked, I noticed a perturbed pattern: only males strolled around, their laughter filling the night air. Not a single female crossed my path. Every youngster sparring by the bonfire was male.

My frown deepened. I turned to a guard, intending to question him when a voice broke through the silence.

"I curse you, brother…"

The voice of a female drew my attention.

I turned, tracking the voice to a clearing where the moon fell on their faces. There were males and females present here. I crept behind a trunk, peering through its branches.

I immediately recognized the female's voice. A slender, average-height woman, her back to me, her hands lifted, pointing at someone, the new Alpha of Säli pack. He collapsed to the ground, his sword fumbling in his grasp. He thrashed, but fog swaddled around him, thickening with every word she spat.

Tales of Säli females had circulated around the realm, even to the human kingdom, for generations. But never once had I visualized them like this. When she turned, I gasped.

She was the archetype of what a goddess of beauty would look like if one existed. Her braided curls shone close to her scalp. Dots of brown freckles adorned the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Her golden eyes were dark, glowing with rage. Her butterfly lips were full and carved beautifully.

I nearly made myself known when Txänux's voice filled my mind.

Your Grace, you were right. This pack is a theatre of slavery…

I wasn't listening to the words Txänux spoke. My focus was on the female. She spoke, each word spat like a curse. Males fell to their knees, clutching their chests and throats.

I stepped forward.

Advancing nearer, I focused on her, crossing the walls of her consciousness. I unlatched the door to her mind, winnowing through an inundation of memories. For a moment, her face distorted with horror. Her eyes narrowed with dread. Yet just as I prepared to reinforce magic in her mind, she abruptly turned to me.

"Get out," she commanded. All of a sudden, an unseen force evicted me from her mind.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, glancing at the males whose screams filled the air. One male, frenziedly clawed through his chest, pulling out his heart to end his life. Another collapsed to the ground. Then another. And another. In a span of minutes, more than twenty males were lying dead.

"Conferring them a taste of what centuries of torture feel like," she said.

Centuries of torture?

"Desist this now," I ordered.

"Or what?" She tilted her head.

I tipped my chin. "Or you'll regret it."

For a transient moment, she considered me, staring as though contemplating whether sanity might dominate the foolishness in her at the realization that she faced the Crowned Prince of Ngäerawa, the Alpha of Wingälkäli pack.

But then she sneered. "I am not stopping."

Fuck.

"Kneel," she commanded, her voice sounding like that of an ancient.

I was bemused. "I beg your pardon?" I asked. "You have no idea who you are dealing with."

"Oh, I know precisely who you are," she replied. "Alpha Mätrang, the Crowned Prince of Ngäerawa. Säli has been whispering to me."

"Now kneel before the daughter of Säli, the first of her kind."

"The goddess forbid me from kneeling—" My knees were already kissing the ground before I could continue. My eyes widened with disbelief.

"This… this is impossible," I said.Agonizing pain seared my lower back as strings of words unfurled from her mouth. The mist crept towards me slowly. My skin scalded where the mist kissed. Each breath I drew felt like my last.

She cocked her head. "Nothing is impossible for Säli."

I struggled to rise, but the force held me rooted to the ground.

By the goddess, what the fuck was happening here?

My skin scalded where the mist licked me. Each breath I drew felt like my last.

I forced my head up, locking my eyes with hers, mustering my will to batter through the invincible force. But when she looked at me, something sparked inside me, like a wilted plant needing water to survive. It felt as though I were just realizing I'd been thirsty all my life, and she was my water.

Something foreign and ravenous ignited inside me. My heart pounded like a burning flame, flooding my body with heat. It spiraled across my skin, goosebumps forming. My body was coated in her warmth. The feeling was so intense I could melt from one touch.

I frowned, shaking my head free of the reverie. When I looked at her again, my eyes widened. Realization sparked across her face, and she stumbled backward.

"Mate," the wolf in me growled.

All of a sudden, a figure emerged behind her, driving claws through her back. She froze, a strangled cry escaping her lips. Ngänila caught her before she fell.

Gasping, I clutched my chest. Every breath I drew felt like flames in my lungs. Around me, the massacre was stark; more than a hundred males lay dead on the ground, their skin melted from the flames.

This catastrophe would have to wait for a while. There was a complication at hand.

Why would Säli bind me to this monster?