One: Liliana
“She’s dying,” I whispered as tears streaked down my face.
I clutched my sister’s hand in mine. It was cold, barely clutching mine. I squeezed hers and put my hand on her chest.
“Alara, can you hear me?” I croaked, looking down at her pale face. She lay on the soft bed, covered in white linen, flowers, and healing herbs.
But she wasn’t healing. Just like the others hadn’t.
Fae kind had healing magic, and it still healed broken bones, scrapes, bruises, and cuts. It didn’t heal this sickness.
Our lands were dying. There wasn’t enough magic in them anymore to keep us alive, and it was slowly taking us.
My sister had been playing in the meadowfields on the edge of Whisperwood, and the next day, it had been straw and she had fainted.
She was older than I. She was meant to be the strong one. But no fae had been strong enough to beat the sickness spreading through our lands.
My mother and father sat on the other side of the bed, tears on their skin, too.
We were locked in our chambers in our castle, we hadn’t left since Alara had fallen ill. Her bed lay in the direct sunlight, the rays spread over her body from the open stone window.
But it hadn’t worked.
Nothing had.
“Olyvar,” my mother sobbed into my father.
Alara’s lips were almost silver, her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful, her chest barely moving.
It wouldn’t be long now. My stomach turned, my heart aching. She was my best friend. I couldn’t lose her.
My father cleared his throat and wiped the tears from his cheek as he held my mother.
“I have sent word to the wolves. They’ll be here by nightfall.”
His voice was empty, like what he said wasn’t a death sentence. It was. The wolves couldn’t be trusted.
“Father-”
He held his hand up to stop me. “We have no other choice, Liliana. This sickness has taken too many of us. We don’t have the magic to fight it. The wolves do. We must make a deal with them.”
I stood. “And when have the wolves ever honored their word? They cannot be trusted.”
My father shook his head sadly, staring back at Alara. “We have no other choice.”
I looked back at my sister and knew that was true.
“They cut us off, Father. They are the reason this sickness spreads in the first place. If the new Alpha hadn’t withdrawn access to their shifting magic, none of this would have happened.”
My mother sat up then, dabbing her eyes with her tissue. “We need to hear the new alpha’s terms. Alpha Fenrir must have demands for access to the magic again. We will pay whatever price we have to.”
I swallowed. I was willing to pay whatever price I had to, as well, but it was terrifying. Since Alpha Fenrir had taken over the Fangwood Vale with his pack, we had heard of wolves fleeing from the violence.
He was ruthless, and I knew his price was going to be steep.
But my sister’s life depended on it. Not just her, but the fae kind in general did. Our lands relied on the shifting magic in the werewolves.
It was all connected despite being separate territories. The Thornhaven wolves had seen that as an opportunity to take control, and it had worked.
“We need to prepare Whisperwood for their arrival, then,” I murmured, sitting back down.
We didn’t have the weapons they did, nor the fighters. We were completely at their mercy without our magic.
It could be a massacre. But it could save our kind, and that was worth the risk.
My father nodded. “I have sent the orders out. We will meet in the throne room of the castle. They have declined the invitation to dine, so this will be a business meeting. Only the royals are allowed to be present.”
The wolves didn’t plan on staying long, then. That made me nervous.
I brushed down my hands over my white gown on my thighs. The vines over my fingers that ran up my forearm were twined with small daisies, and my throat closed. Alara wore matching vines.
We had them in our hair, braided into the blonde waves. But her hair was paler now.
I brushed my fingers through it, then leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“We’ll save you, Alara,” I whispered against her cold skin just as the wooden doors to the healing chambers burst open.
“Lord Olyvar,” Partridge panted, his face pale, his eyes wide. “The wolves just crossed into Whisperwood.”
My father gasped, clutching Mother. “They’re early.” He turned to my mother, “Gwendolyn, head to our chambers and dress quickly for their arrival. I will meet them at the drawbridge.”
She stood quickly. “We’ll meet you in the throne room, Darling.” She cleared her sniffles, then came around Alara’s bed to grab my hand.
“Partridge. Stay with Alara, don’t let anyone in her room. Understood?” My mother said.
Partridge nodded. “I will keep the princess safe, Lady Gwendolyn.”
She smiled and cupped his chubby cheek. “I know you will.”
Then she rushed me out, through the stone halls of the castle. The sun beamed in, highlighting the vines and flowers that decorated them. Branches stretched in from the outside, through the arched windows.
There was an old tree that stretched right up the middle of the castle. It grew out above it, and we worshipped it for the power it gave.
It was weak now, though, the leaves not as colored, the magic not as potent. It was dying too. Mother led me passed the tree and down the stairs to my chambers.
Hers were across the hall, and before she left me, her eyes full of tears, she met my eyes and grabbed my hands. “We must save our kind. They are family,” she whispered.
I nodded, squeezing her hands. “We will, Mother.”
She smiled, but her eyes welled with tears. “But at what cost?”
I couldn’t answer that. Instead, I pulled her in for a hug. She held me tightly against her and kissed the top of my head.
She had blonde hair like me and Alara. So did Father, but his was closer to silver now.
They both had our pale silver eyes.
It was a trait of royal blood. Silver eyes, the same colour as our blood.
“We will be okay. Now go, get ready. Wear your finest dress, Liliana. We must impress them.”
I nodded and stepped back into my room.
I closed the doors and went straight to my wardrobe. It was a huge oak closet with ornate carvings over the doors and vines stretching across the sides.
It matched my four-post bed in the middle of the room, the wooden posts spreading into the ceiling.
I dropped my white dress from my body and stood there in my undergarments. A white silk shift dress.
I yanked out my braid and pulled my fingers through the soft, blonde waves that reached my waist.
I was about to go for my finest dress that was in silver and had a sheer outline to it when noise outside reached my pointed ears.
I tucked my hair behind it and listened.
Heavy footsteps clumped across the drawbridge.
The wolves were here.
I sucked in a breath and ran over to the window- I had never seen them before. Mother and Father had always taken Alara to meetings with the last Alpha. We’d never had a meeting with the new pack.
I peered out, looking down at the entrance to the castle from my tower.
The Thornhaven Pack.
They were all dressed in browns, leathers, furs, and weapons.
All of them carried swords at their hips, and most of them were undressed on top.
Despite finding the wolves terrifying and dishonorable, they presented well.
I squinted against the sun to get a better look.
The two at the front of the pack were scowling.
That front wolf was the biggest. Alpha Fenrir.
And next to him was a woman with muscle and bronzed skin. She looked fierce, and I knew she was Luna Ralphina. Her reputation preceded her.
I shuddered at the feelings they gave me. They weren’t good. Darkness surrounded them, power radiated from their bodies.
Alpha Fenrir leaned back to talk to the wolf behind him.
He caught my attention instantly. He was almost as big. But his aura wasn’t the same. It was grey and…was streaked with silver.
I frowned. I’d never seen an aura like that before. It intrigued me.
I leaned on the stone of my window, staring at the werewolf. He had no shirt on, only leather pants and boots. He had a sword at his hip and a strap across his chest that held a bow and quiver at his back.
His tawny skin was glowing in the sinking sunlight, and I couldn’t help how warm that made me.
I was no stranger to attraction, I just hadn’t felt it for anything other than a Fae before. I licked my lips and gripped the window frame.
The werewolf I watched, whispered back to Fenrir, which is when I noticed the resemblance. They were related.
I took in the strong jaw, the stubble, the high cheekbones, the dark eyes. He had dark brown hair that brushed down to his shoulder blades in shaggy waves.
He was the son. It had to be.
Cyrus Thornhaven.
As soon as I thought it, he turned his head.
He looked directly at me, his eyes narrowed.
I gasped and spun out of the window frame. I hid, leaning up against the stone, my heart racing at the idea of getting caught staring.
Had he seen me? Had he felt me? I’d heard stories. Wolves were highly attuned to pheromones, and since fae lived on those, it made me nervous.
Would they be offended if I were attracted?
Fae were inherently sexual creatures. The chemical our body produced during sex, Oxytocin, kept us alive. It was not just a leisurely activity for us like it was for the wolves. We needed it.
So our bodies craved it.
We were not shy about that fact, but somehow I didn’t think the wolves would take kindly to being involved in that narrative.
Anything to do with fae, the Thornhaven wolves recoiled from.
Taking calming breaths, I peered around the window frame to see if the pack had moved on. A rush of relief filled me when I saw Cyrus moving in through the branched archway to our castle-away from my line of sight, with his pack.
I touched my hand to my chest, taking a minute before I went over to the wardrobe.
I had changed my mind. Not silver.
There was a knock on my door then.
“Come in,” I called.
It was Hassan. I smiled at him, pulling out my brown dress. “My lady. I felt your call. Did you need my help before the meeting?”
I blushed. He had felt my body, smelled my pheromones rise. As soon as attraction hit, our bodies released the pheromones that called to our kind, letting them know we needed sating.
Usually, I loved it, happy to indulge.
But right now, it was embarrassing because I had been having those feelings for a werewolf.
I shook my head at Hassan. “Thank you, Hassan. No, I’ll manage and maybe come find you after.”
He grimaced and hesitated from leaving. “Are you sure, Lily?” he dropped the formalities, using his tone he did when we slept together. “You’re sending out some intense signals.”
I blushed harder. Great.
I sighed and bit my lip. I didn’t want to go in there smelling like I did. But I couldn’t be late.
I pulled on my brown dress with a corset front and long flowing skirts, then nodded.
“I’ll be okay. Thanks.”
He came over and pulled me in. He pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You’ll be weaker if you don’t listen to what your body needs, Lily. You know that.”
I pulled out of his grasp and went to my glass. I stared at my reflection. My hair was down, sitting in neat waves, with a floral headpiece.
I switched it for the one with branches.
Browns seemed to be the werewolf thing, and I wanted to seem relatable to them. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work, but I had to hope. I had to try everything.
“We are not weak. Our pheromones make them weak,” I smirked into the reflection.
Hassan chuckled. “You’re going to make them desire you until they agree to give us our magic back?”
I shrugged. “I doubt that would work, but having them slightly distracted could help.”
Hassan nodded then bowed, “You are radiant.”
I grinned and did a turn for him. “Now I must go. Find me after?”
He nodded and bowed. “Of course.”
I smiled, then left toward the throne room.
Mother waited for me at the end of the hall. She frowned at my dress, hers of silver.
“You’re in your village dress?”
I nodded but offered no explanation. There was no time to change or question my decision.
We made our way to the throne room.
We entered together, coming face to face with the three royals of the Thornhaven pack and my father.
The doors shut behind us with a solid thud, and my throat closed.
The Thornhaven wolves were much bigger in person.
