Northern Lands: Bound by fate

Chapter 30

ZANDER

Priamos continued his ominous statement, adding a cocky wink. "To sever the weaker link and remove the contendent for my throne."

"How?" Cal asked, and my ears tilted to tune in.

"We were afraid that if you were hand fasted to Tybalt, the new bond would annul the one with Zander as you haven't been marked and it's not completed on werewolf terms." Ilaria explained, using two finger hooks to put the emphasis on the last two words. "But, as we have all witnessed, there is nothing wrong with your mate bond. Stronger than ever." A smile graced her lips, genuinely happy for us.

I understood what was left unspoken from the mage's lips. If the handfasting had broken our bond, it would be the same as a rejection. The thought was devastating, but the consequences were even more shattering. Our souls wouldn't be able to touch again, going through every reincarnation of our spirits, knowing our fated mate was out there but never finding each other.

For a werewolf, the inability to find the match our Moon Goddess had picked out to link your soul to was maddening.

"Which may have to do with the two moons of Asterion and making the wolf spirit more powerful, and suppressing part of the human." Kenna added, smothering a little laugh with her hand at my expense, knowing my skin was crawling because of being too long in my wolf form. "The Moon Goddess' mate bond, the souls tied together—" the witch brought her hands together, weaving her fingers like a web, "—is directly on spirit level. Conan in this realm has the upper hand, sort of speaking, so it makes sense that you can talk to him."

"And now if we can cut the chitchat and try to not get anyone killed, that would be marvelous." Allerick called for our attention as the troops had turned around the barricade and were now barreling towards us through the hallway. Tybalt, surprisingly, joined them in the front and was not hiding in a corner like a little bitch. I had misinterpreted his role in this standoff as someone that delegated other people to do his bidding. As I thought it, it was quite unsettling. Or he was a confident dumbass, or he had another trick up his sleeve.

Conan ~ Let's vote for the first option.

I bared my canines and uttered a menacing growl, urging my pack members to get into formation. We formed a protective barrier around the magic wielders, as they needed to concentrate on using their spells and enchantments.

Priamos spread his sparkling fae wings out and blocked our view as he faced off the incoming men and Tybalt. To reclaim the throne, he had to be the one to engage him in battle and win, as he had now taken control of the position through the marriage to Calandra. The fae politics were mingled deeply into this conflict, also the reason why the guards of the castle couldn't interfere on either behalf until the matter was settled.

Conan ~ I'm not happy with this. I want to put my teeth in the bastard.

Zander ~ Nothing we can do about it. Let's fight to get our mate back so we can mark her.

Calandra ~ I'm right here...

If a wolf could somehow smirk, I was doing that right now. Inside, I preened at the fact that my mate and I could communicate through the mate bond without it being completed. The hardships we had faced were all worth it, because she was the one for me.

In every possible way, Calandra completed me, something that became clear as she jumped over my back to face a soldier, trapping him in between summoned pixies and growing the plants from the greenhouse behind us to ensnare their feet and immobilize them to the ground. The motion fluid, as we battled, like it couldn't be any other way. She was the hilt of the sword, sharp and brilliant, and I was the heft, sturdy and potent. Together, the perfect balance of a well-forged blade.