Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Aneira

She pulled me into a narrow alley between two shops, and I followed helplessly behind her.

The moment we were hidden from the market, Lyra rounded on me.

“What in Nythera’s name are you doing back in Ashfang? Do you have a death wish?” she whisper yelled, her eyes darting toward the street as though she expected someone to appear at any second.

“I know what I’m doing,” I said.

“You clearly do not. There are rumors that you rejected the Alpha and because of that, he’s unstable. Ashfang is falling.”

I blinked.

For a moment, I just stared at her.

Alpha Kale?

Unstable?

The thought felt absurd.

Kale wasn’t supposed to be unstable.

He was Ashfang.

Mountains didn’t crack.

Storms didn’t bend.

And Alpha Kale had always felt like both.

The thought unsettled me more than it should have.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied.

“Oh, I think you do.”

Lyra folded her arms.

“And while some people think you should just come back, most want you dead.”

I froze.

Dead?

The word felt ridiculous.

Most of Ashfang had spent years pretending I didn’t exist.

Now they cared enough to hate me?

“What?” I asked, genuinely bewildered.

“They don’t want to accept that their Alpha is mated to an omega,” she said, lowering her voice even further.

“First of all, we are definitely not mated,” I interrupted immediately.

Lyra stared at me.

“Aneira.”

“We aren’t.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Come on, Aneira. This is serious. You need to leave. Now.”

The urgency in her voice chipped away at some of my stubbornness.

Then curiosity got the better of me.

“How did you recognize me?”

Lyra looked offended.

“Well, first of all, I wasn’t completely sure because you don’t smell like an omega anymore. But I saw you from across the market and thought that no one else walks like that.”

Relief immediately washed through me.

The tonic was working.

“And,” she continued, “I only know one person with the biggest, juiciest behind in all of Ashfang.”

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

Trust Lyra.

Of all the things she could have noticed.

“I’ve missed you,” I admitted.

Before I could think better of it, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.

For a second she stiffened.

Then she hugged me back just as tightly.

When we finally pulled apart, her eyes softened.

“You look different.”

I frowned.

“I do?”

“Yeah.”

She studied me for a moment.

Then smiled.

“You’re smiling.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“You never used to.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

“I’m so happy for you, Aneira,” she said quietly. “You deserve happiness.”

My throat tightened unexpectedly.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “I do love my new life.”

And I did.

More than I had realized.

“I’m here on urgent business, though. I can’t leave until I’m done.”

Lyra groaned dramatically.

“Aneira—”

“And don’t worry about me,” I added quickly. “Nobody’s recognized me. The tonic is working.”

“That is somehow the least reassuring thing you’ve said since I found you.”

I smiled.

She pointed a finger at me.

“Fine. If you’re going to ignore my excellent advice and stay, then we’re sticking together today.”

“Deal.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly.

“So,” she said, “what do you do now?”

The question made me smile before I could stop myself.

“I’m a healer.”

Lyra’s eyes widened.

“A healer?”

“I enjoy it.”

More than enjoy it.

It felt right.

For the first time in my life, it felt like I was doing something because I wanted to, not because I had to survive.

“And I have a black cat.”

Lyra blinked.

“A cat?”

“His name is Hex.”

The smile tugging at my lips grew despite myself.

“He’s the rudest thing you will ever meet. He hisses at my patients, steals food whenever possible, and acts like I’m a constant inconvenience.”

“Sounds delightful.”

“He’s terrible.”

“You love him.”

“I do.”

The admission came too easily.

Lyra’s expression softened again.

And suddenly I was grateful that someone from my old life could see who I had become.

Not the omega.

Not the rejected mate.

Just me.

“You should come visit sometime,” I said. “I can tell you where—”

“No.”

The response came so quickly it startled me.

Lyra’s expression had hardened completely.

I frowned.

“Why?”

“Because Rowan and I can’t know where you are.”

The seriousness in her voice immediately wiped away any amusement.

“What do you mean?”

Her jaw tightened.

“Rowan and I were taken in for questioning after you disappeared.”

The words hit like a bucket of cold water.

“What?”

“We were the closest people to you.”

My stomach dropped.

“The council questioned us for days.”

Guilt immediately twisted through me.

“I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t.”

Lyra sighed.

“The only thing that saved us was the fact that we genuinely didn’t know anything.”

She paused.

Then narrowed her eyes.

“Which brings me to another question.”

I groaned.

“No.”

“Oh yes.”

“No.”

“Aneira.”

I pointed at her.

“I already know where this is going.”

She folded her arms.

“Then explain how exactly you ended up being mated to the Alpha.”

“We are not mated.”

Lyra looked completely unimpressed.

“Fine,” she said. “Then explain how you accidentally became emotionally entangled with the most terrifying wolf in Ashfang.”

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it again.

Because honestly?

I wasn’t entirely sure how that had happened either.

“I think we’ve spent enough time discussing my terrible life choices.”

Lyra narrowed her eyes.

“Aneira—”

“No.”

“You cannot disappear for months, return looking suspiciously healthy and as the Alpha’s mate, might I add and then refuse to elaborate.”

I grabbed her arm and started pulling her back toward the market.

“Watch me.”

Lyra groaned loudly.

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

The market was even busier now than when I had first arrived. Wolves moved between stalls carrying baskets and crates while merchants shouted prices over one another. The scent of fresh bread, smoked meat, herbs, and damp wool filled the air.

For the first time since entering Ashfang, I felt myself relax slightly.

Not because I felt safe.

Because I had a purpose.

Something that didn’t involve thinking about Alpha Kale.

Or mate bonds.

Or the fact that half the territory apparently wanted me dead.

I stopped at the first herbal stall.

The elderly wolf behind the counter barely glanced at me.

Perfect.

“I’ll take all of your dried moonroot.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“All of it?”

“Every piece.”

Beside me, Lyra stared.

“Aneira.”

I ignored her.

“And the silverweed.”

The merchant blinked.

“The silverweed too?”

“Yes.”

“Aneira.”

“Not now.”

I continued pointing.

“Those juniper bundles. The frostleaf. The valerian root.”

The merchant looked delighted.

Lyra looked horrified.

“Are you opening a hospital?”

“I might.”

The merchant began gathering everything while trying very hard not to smile too much.

We repeated the process at four different stalls.

By midday, my coin pouch felt significantly lighter, my bag felt significantly heavier and Lyra was beginning to look concerned.

“How many patients do you have?”

“A lot.”

“You live in a cottage.”

“A busy cottage.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“You’re avoiding my questions.”

“Correct.”

“You used to be terrible at lying.”

“I’ve had practice.”

Lyra snorted.

The afternoon passed surprisingly quickly.

We bought herbs, dried food, bandages, medicinal oils.

Several items I absolutely didn’t need but convinced myself I might eventually use.

By the time we finished, I had acquired enough supplies to last months.

Possibly longer.

The problem was carrying them.

“You bought entirely too much,” Lyra informed me.

“I bought exactly enough.”

“You said that three stalls ago.”

“And I meant it every time.”

Eventually, we made our way toward the border.

There was no way we could walk around with this much load and I wasn’t risking my supplies for anything.

The farther we moved from the village, the quieter everything became.

Soon the sounds of the market disappeared entirely.

Snow crunched beneath our boots as we entered the trees.

A few hundred yards from the road, we found a cluster of large rocks partially buried beneath snow.

Perfect.

Together, we hid the supplies beneath a thick pine and covered everything with branches.

“If someone steals all of this, I’m blaming you,” I said.

Lyra folded her arms.

“If someone steals all of this, I’m blaming your shopping addiction.”

I gasped.

“I don’t have a shopping addiction.”

“You bought three different kinds of dried herbs that do the same thing.”

“They do not.”

“They absolutely do.”

Before I could defend myself, a familiar voice drifted through the trees.

“Well.”

I froze.

Lyra froze.

Both of us turned.

Darius stepped out from between the pines.

Snow clung to his dark coat and his grin appeared almost immediately when he spotted me.

“You’re alive.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“A little.”

Then his attention shifted to Lyra and his grin disappeared.

Lyra stared.

Darius stared.

The silence stretched.

Something strange passed between them.

And that made me instantly suspicious.

Darius recovered first.

“Friend of yours?”

Lyra crossed her arms.

“Who are you?”

Typical Lyra. Straight to interrogation. Darius seemed equally amused.

“Darius.”

Lyra didn’t offer her name.

“You’re a rogue.”

Darius smiled lazily.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“I say it because it’s true. And yes, it is a bad thing.”

The smile widened.

And for some reason that made Lyra look even more annoyed.

I glanced between them.

Oh no.

I recognized that look. I’d seen wolves size each other up before. And it was usually seconds before a fight.

Or something significantly more complicated.

“Aneira,” Lyra said without taking her eyes off him.

“Yes?”

“Why are you traveling with a rogue?”

Darius answered before I could.

“Because she likes me.”

“I tolerate you.”

“Same thing.”

Lyra looked horrified.

Darius looked pleased with himself.

I suddenly had a headache.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to dwell on whatever strange thing was happening between them.

Darius finally looked at me.

“Did you get everything?”

I nodded toward the supplies hidden beneath the pine branches.

“Most of it.”

“Good.”

Something in his expression immediately made me uneasy.

The relief was gone.

For the first time since I’d met him, he looked serious.

Lyra seemed to notice it too.

“What?” she asked.

Darius hesitated.

Then he looked at me.

“We should deal with the other thing before sunrise tomorrow.”

A familiar feeling of dread settled in my stomach.

I had almost forgotten about the second half of our arrangement.

Lyra frowned.

“What other thing?”

I shot Darius a warning look.

He ignored it.

“Something was taken from me.”

Lyra folded her arms.

“What kind of something?”

For a moment, Darius didn’t answer.

When he finally did, his voice was quieter.

“My family crest.”

The grin he wore so easily was gone now.

Completely.

“Last winter, my group was attacked near Ashfang territory.”

My attention sharpened. Darius rarely volunteered information about himself.

“The wolf who led the attack took it.”

Lyra’s expression shifted slightly.

“A crest?”

Darius nodded once.

“It belonged to my father.”

Something in the way he said it made it clear this wasn’t just some piece of metal.

It mattered.

A lot.

“And now?” I asked.

A humorless smile touched his mouth.

“Now I know where it is. The scroll I gave you contains a sketch of the crest and the markings around the place it was hidden.”

His gaze met mine.

“It’s still there.”

I already hated where this was going.

“Where?”

Darius looked directly at me.

“The Full Moon Grounds.”

For a second, I thought I had misheard him.

Then the meaning settled in.

The Full Moon Grounds.

The place where pack ceremonies were held, where wolves gathered during festivals, where hundreds of wolves passed through every month.

I stared at him.

Then stared harder.

“No.”

“Aneira—”

“No.”

“It’s hidden near the old ceremonial stones.”

“Absolutely not.”

I pointed at him.

“You left out a shocking amount of information when we made this deal.”

“Probably.”

“Probably?”

“Definitely.”