The Wolf and the Maiden

Chapter 4

Being in the horse stalls, Rían felt like he was home again. Aside from the obvious differences, standing amongst the animals, the smell of hay, reminded him of their own stablehouse back in New York. His mother loved horses since she grew up around them herself, so his dad built her a huge equestrian site on their estate where they owned and bordered at least ten at any given time. Suffice to say, he and Rory knew their way around them too, and helped the groomsmen and stableboys prepare for their journey.

While he was assigned a massive black destrier named Griff, Rory was given a gorgeous chestnut-colored stallion named Huch. By way of how little they had to work with in this realm, Rían was impressed on how healthy and well-kept the horses appeared to be as well as the pristine upkeep of the barn. King Joel obviously knew the importance of a well-managed stable and took pride in his horses.

Before saddling Griff, he spent some time letting the animal get to know him, speaking softly, allowing him to get used to his smell. The horses back home were used to his Lycan scent and weren’t at all skittish about it, so with him being a dominant beast, it made Griff a bit uneasy in the beginning. It helped that his mom was a sort of horse whisperer that had taught him a few tricks to help soothe the stallion. Looking to his left in the adjoining stall, he noticed Rory doing much of the same with Huch.

He could hear the smirk in his voice, “Griff like you yet?” Rory said over his shoulder, probably feeling that he had been looking at him.

“He’s getting there. Mom would have had him wrapped around her finger by now.” Rían replied, continuing to pet his horse’s head with his eyes still pinned on Rory. It was the first time he had talked to him since this morning.

“Yeah, she would.”

After Rory’s bomb-drop confession about the queen being his kamará at breakfast, his brother had basically shut down, simmering within his confusion, despite Rían’s multiple attempts to help him dissect the discovery. Rían tried to bring it up again after the meal, but since King Joel ushered them into a type of war room to discuss their journey over a large map of Vafaren, the opportunity to speak to him alone just never presented itself.

But since it was just him and Rory alone at this end of the stables, since Isak and Chaz were a few stalls away grooming their own horses, now was probably the best time to try and reach out again.

In a low voice, just enough to keep it between them, “So, the queen, huh?” He saw Rory’s shoulders bristle and knew he was treading on thin ice. Not wanting him to close up again, Rían tried to be careful with his words. “Talk to me.”

“Not now, Ry,” his voice graveled.

“Yes, now. I don’t know what s**t we’re going to face out there, so we need you to get your head on straight before we leave.” There was silence for a bit, the only noise was the gentle stroke of the horsebrush as his brother swept it over Huch. When he sighed, Rían knew he was prepping himself to respond and waited patiently.

“Well, I’m not totally sure,” Rory growled as he exchanged the brush for a saddle that had been resting on the stall’s fencing. Tossing it onto the horse’s back, he busied with fastening the buckles, letting more silence bleed between them. After huffing again, “It was just the oddest feeling, you know? And then the overwhelming scent that seemed to sink right into my chest,” his hand rubbed over it, his eyes lost in the memory. “Sweet. Like the fresh spring jasmine in mom’s garden back home.”

“Wow, Ror.” Never in his twenty-four years had his younger brother ever looked so lost as he did now, and it spooked the s**t out of him. Something was definitely sending him off-tilt; insomuch, it made complete sense that this woman was Rory’s soulmate. But that was also a problem. She was already someone else’s wife. “Damn. What’re you going to do?”

Reality drew him out of his reverie; his frown dipping lower. “She’s already mated. There’s only one thing I can do now.” Over the past few decades, on occasion, it happened that a Lycan would find his kamará already bound to another, which majorly sucked, because there was only one soulmate for them. Only one destined mate. And Destiny was responsible for having the two meet by setting up countless scenarios, hoping one would finally have them collide.

Yet, sometimes, the meeting came too late…

“You going to reject her? Reject the bond?” which was the only way to break away from the union, which also brought on a good deal of emotional and physical pain. Rían had been taught that this punishment’s purpose was to make it so no one would take the rejection clause lightly, and so breaking away from a Goddess-made bond was said to be excruciating for both parties.

Which was unfair, in Rory’s case, because did he really have a choice? His kamará had been claimed by another, and her current mate wasn’t just some guy—he was a king! His brother would be letting go of his one true mate and feel his own heart break to pieces without even having a chance to really love her.

But, it was his only choice.

“I have to reject her.” Rory smirked, shrugging. “Look on the bright side, though. I won’t be tied to one woman for the rest of my life, which is what I like.” Rían’s stomach gutted, not because of what he said, but because the mirth that normally would light up his brother’s eyes when he normally joked around hadn’t been there at all. He didn’t even feel the truth in his own words.

Rían left the stall, going into Rory’s. Clasping him on the shoulder, he nodded, “I don’t know what to say here or how to help. But—”

“—No, stop. Don’t.” He shrugged his hand away. “Just, don’t say anything. Don’t try to help. There isn’t anything— I can’t---” he struggled. Mushy emotions weren’t Rory’s thing; it’s a trait he got from their father. Always trying to act like the tough guy unaffected by life’s shitstorms. It’s why he relied on humor to always sugarcoat everything. “It’s simple, ok? It’s not like I can take her back to our realm with me anyway. I’ll just reject her and that’s that. Right?”

“Right,” Rían struggled with the lump in his throat. His brother acted like he could brush this aside as if it were easy. But letting go of a soulmate was the hardest thing for a Lycan to ever do.

Suddenly, Rory’s breath hitched, his shoulders feathering before he abruptly jerked around toward the stable’s entrance. Rían leaned to the side, looking beyond his brother to see what had caught him so off guard. There, in the large-mouthed doorway, stood the queen, flanked by her two ladies-in-waiting. For an eternity of seconds, they stared at each other, the air thick with anticipation.

“Oh s**t,” Rory whispered, his hands fisting, when Queen Marleina and her entourage started walking toward him, the light brushing of silken skirts rustling along the cobbled flooring in their wake. Stopping just a few feet away, the chilled mid-morning air escaping from her lips in visible puffs with each gentle breath, the cold also coloring the tips of her cheeks with a rosy blush, there was another moment of simply looking at each other, eyes endlessly locked.

Rían cleared his throat, bowing, “Queen Marleina.” Rory took his cue and nodded as well, though he never broke his stare, and neither did she. The Ladies at her side dipped in respectful curtsies, amid a string of giggles and shy glances roving over him and his brother.

“Excuse my intrusion,” her cherry lips begged. Though she spoke to both of them, her attention remained fully on Rory, as if there weren’t anyone else in the stable. “I know you are busy with your departure and all. But I wanted to meet all the princes personally.” Finally, her eyes flicked to Rían. “To express how forever grateful Castellan Sturdevant and all of Vafaren are for your help .”

“Well, we’ll see if we can help, first. Hopefully this Socius Esmond can enlighten us a bit more about what we’re up against.”

Her smile reached the delicate brown of her eyes, “I have complete faith in you,” looking again to Rory as she ended. Honestly, he looked like putty in her hands, his blue eyes hanging on to her every word. “But also, I would like to give you something for your journey. Lady Tamera,” her hand waved to her left, signaling the brunette woman at her side to edge forward and hand Rían a small leather pouch with a respected curtsy. He took it, his appreciative grin earning him a rosy blush from the Lady as she burned under hooded eyes. “I know that the ranger which King Joel has assigned to take you safely to Landreth has already prepared the necessary food and essentials for your travels, but I wanted to make sure you had a little something to keep on yourselves while you go. I am told salted, dried meat is a traveler's favorite?”

“Thank you, Queen Marleina.” Rían nodded respectfully. “I am sure it will be wonderful.” No, he didn’t know if it was a traveler’s favorite nor if it was at all wonderful, but he wasn’t about to admit that and possibly piss off the queen. His Lycan abilities made it possible to smell the meat’s scent through the leather, and from what he could sense, it smelled like jerky. He liked jerky, though he could only vouch for the manufactured, prepackaged type, and had a sinking feeling that what was in the pouch wasn’t even close.

The queen smiled. “Of course, Prince Rían. Lady Saaya…” Instead of having her Lady present it to him, Queen Marleina delivered it herself, opening her palm out and waiting for the petite blonde woman to hand her a similar pouch. “I hope you like it?” She presented it to Rory, who simply looked down at the offering like it was going to jump out and bite him. Rían whiffed his brother’s anxiety and knew what he was thinking. If he touched her… if he felt how wonderful it was to feel the rapture of the mate bond with her… then it would be hard to reject her. However, as the awkward seconds passed with the queen waiting for him to take it, and he simply gawking at it, Rían had to nudge him before Rory actually reached out for the offering, though trying to skillfully avoid contact.

Yet, when he heard his brother’s soft gasp in unison with the queen, Rían noticed that her fingers had actually touched Rory’s hand. Skin to skin. Their reactions were typical of a Lycan touching their kamará, with that special energy steeping between two soulmates, that insatiable electric hum chasing through the nerves and racing the blood through their veins. The scânteie was meant to galvanize passions and ensure that mating ensued. The gentle rise and fall of Rory’s shoulders, the firm line of his lips, betrayed the inner turmoil he fought inside while masking himself with a stoic expression.

And Rían hadn’t felt so jealous, so heartbroken, for Rory, all at once. Because even though he found the one for him, there was no next step.

As she moved to withdraw, Rory clamped his other hand over hers, keeping her there. When her eyes grew wide, Rían wondered if his brother had overstepped, been too bold. She was, after all, the queen and he was touching her without permission. But she didn’t pull her hand away either, letting him hold it. As they delved into another minute of simply staring at each other, Rían had nearly crept away, feeling that awkward buzz that he was intruding on their privacy. But when Lady Tamera gently coughed at her side, it seemed to break the budding spell between them.

“Thank you,” Rory breathed, his alarmed expression blooming into a gentle smile which encouraged one of her own. “I am sure I’ll like it.”

The queen cleared her throat, delicately pulling her hand away. “Of course, Prince Rory. We can’t have our Kingsmen going without necessities on their journey.” She eyed her palm a moment, drawing everyone’s attention to it as her lips pursed at the dirty mark, its black smudge prominently maring her milky skin. When Rory looked at his own hand and noticed the grime, he lightly growled when he realized he had been the culprit. That subtle, deep vibration drew her curious eyes immediately to his.

The queen didn’t know what her husband knew. She didn’t know they were wolves and that his reaction was completely normal for their kind. But, they needed to keep who they were under wraps; they couldn’t afford to have any sort of limelight on the fact that they were different, in order to remain hidden from those who were targeting magic users, so Rory needed to keep his beast in check! Rían nudged his brother, and with the way he looked at him, a quick understanding passed between them.

Clearing his throat, “I’m so sorry,” he apologized immediately. Embarrassed, Rory began rubbing his dirtied palm on the side of his pants.

“No, it’s quite alright,” she chuckled as she removed a silken white handkerchief from the long sleeve of her gown and brushed it over her hand for a few seconds before she reached out and grabbed him. Again, they froze for a moment when she touched him, but the queen was first to relax as she began brushing the cloth over his hand. “I am sure the stables aren’t the most cleanly quarters of the palace,” she mused. Instead of replacing the handkerchief back in her sleeve, she balled it into his hand, smiling as she helped him curl his fingers around it. “Keep it. I know how dirty a road trip can get.”

Sounding more like breath than words.“Yeah,” was all Rory could manage.

It looked as though it pained her to leave, and pained him to watch her go, but after bidding them a safe journey with a cursory curtsey, the queen moved on to the other princes further down the stable.

“Now’s a good time, ya know.” Rían whispered at his brother’s side. Rory watched her interact with Isak and Chaz, still tethered to her every movement. Interestingly, the queen bade them a safe journey but did not bestow any gifts. “You should do it, now. Rip that band-aid off, Ror. Reject her and move on.” Even he couldn’t believe what he was telling his brother to do. But it would help Rory focus if he would, even if Rían knew it wasn’t as easy as that. Letting go of a soulmate would be like carving his own heart out and watching it bleed to death in his hand. A slow, painful goodbye.

The queen peeked up at them then, as if she knew they were talking about her. It was a short glance, perhaps feeling their eyes following her around, perhaps just wanting to look at Rory. Hearing his brother react, his breath quickening as he watched her check him out with a simple shift of her eyes raking over his body under the flutter of her lashes, Rían’s frown deepened.

This wasn't good.

The queen was definitely in to him, too. Though, she most definitely didn’t understand the scânteie’s pheromones being used to seduce her, either. But this was all sorts of messed up— this can’t happen! She’s already claimed by what humans would consider an alpha male amongst their kind.

“You gotta think logically about this, Rory,” he continued to encourage. His brother nodded, but it looked like he was far from listening to him. Because this was different. The queen wasn’t just some girlfriend he needed to break up with or an estranged wife he needed to finally divorce. This was his soulmate! His kamará. So, logic was far from reach when the heart was involved.

Rory finally spoke, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I know I can’t ever have her, Ry,” his voice hoarse. “But right now, I can’t reject her either.”