Shadow

Raedwulf Dolph

Night befell the castle, fires are lit in many of the great rooms and cold wind whips around each corridor. The halls stayed dark as candles were used mainly in libraries, studies, and bedchambers. By the time I made my way from my study to the bedchamber, everyone had already been tucked away for the night. The only sounds of the castle were few flickering fires, a prowling cat, and my boots on the ground.

However, when I open the grand double doors to the bedchamber, it is dark, cold, and empty. Taking a deep, irritated, breath, I light the fire and make sure it is roaring to heat the room.

After another hour of waiting, there is no word from Idonia. When I try to speak to her, I find out bond blocked off on her end. She won’t listen to me. I know why she’s angry, but I have every right to keep her safe. The whole reason I killed that shadowbeast was to prove my strength to her. Now all she must do is trust that my strength stays true.

The job of a Khanelea is not to train, it is to learn to connect. The Madams in the court hardly know my mate, which is bad. These females are mated or related to influential males. The Viker of the Khannun, the Aerals of the land, rich Masters who provide for our people with goods. She must be close with them or they will turn on her. If none of them like her, then there will be issues with respect when I take the crown.

There is a knock and I stand to the door. Before I can utter a word of entrance, the door opens. I hope for Idonia, to speak with her and reason with her. But the female that enters is not my mate by a long shot.

“Meabh?”

“Good evening, Khanel,” she curtsies in front of me before closing the door behind her. “You’ve had a hard day.”

“What are you doing here?” I ask her as she saunters further into my room.

“Raedwulf,” she purrs, lifting her head so her eyes peer up at me through her long lashes. “We both know why I’m here.”

“You should leave,” I tell her, but she keeps stepping closer to me.

“Neither of us wants me to leave.” Her hands land on my chest as she pushes me back to the bed. “That mate of yours is no good.”

“Watch your tongue,” I growl at her.

A sultry giggle leaves her lips and she leans down. “This tongue?” she asks as her wet mouth encircles my ear before her tongue runs up along the rim. My beast urges me to stop. His growl bubbles up inside of me and expresses itself as I push Meabh off me.

“Stop it,” I order her, stand from the bed. “You need to leave. I have a mate.”

“That female is no Khanelea. The gods made a mistake it should be me with a crown, not her.”

“That isn’t true, leave now before I make you,” I threaten her.

“Come on now, Raedwulf, if you really wanted me to leave, you’d make me.” Her slim fingers run their way up my torso. “We both know you want me more than her.”

“I love my mate, Meabh. Whatever we were before her is nothing now,” I state with total truth. I have loved Idonia since I met her. Maybe not since the first touch, but once I truly got to know her. The female of my heart is the most powerful creature in existence. She’s vibrant and strong-willed. Smart, funny, beautiful. Most importantly, she would never give up. Even through all our fights and hard times, she never quit at being my mate. “I love Idonia and I need you to leave.”

I leave Meabh’s side to open the door.

Only the hall is no longer empty, Idonia stands on the other side of the door, frozen. She steps inside to see Meabh standing there is loose silks, her hair a wild mess.

Idonia’s jaw clenches. Her fists follow. Then, with a head held high, she growls in the most feminine way possible, “Get out.”

As Meabh starts to saunter out, she whispers to Idonia, “He’ll never be yours in full.”

My mate’s eyes shot to meet Meabh’s directly. “You should run before I rip out your throat.” In a small show of self control, her eyes flash amber and she bares her fangs.

Meabh hustles out of the room, me closing the door behind her.

Idonia says nothing, she just goes to the wardrobe and starts undressing. Once she puts on a nightgown and a warm pair of night stocking, she goes to our bed and turns down the linens. The anger waves off of her like heat to a blazing fire.

“Where have you been?” I ask, but she doesn’t answer. Instead she pulls the braids from her hair and starts brushing it back. Her long black hair has only grown more in the months that she’s been in Bethlianna, reaching down to her perky ass.

“The library,” she bites out.

“What were you doing?”

Her eyes flash again, at me this time. “Reading.”

I drop the line of questioning and simply disrobe for bed. A long white cotton tunic is put on for sleep before I sit on the bed with her, our backs facing one another. I can hear her breathing, it is slow but labored. Her anger, her beast, still has a hold on her status and until she is completely calm, Idonia won’t sleep. Though usually mates help calm one another, I know I am the reason for her distress.

“Who was she?”

“Meabh Konald, sister of Aeral Ganger Konald of Asar.”

“No, Rae. Who is she to you?”

“A friend.”

“You’ve fucked her.” It was no question, Idonia already knows. “You wanted her to be your mate.”

“At a time, yes. But I don’t want her--”

“Shut up,” she demands, leaving me silent in my seat. “The other females know about her. That’s why they always...”

“Always what?”

“They know she’s your little bitch, or maybe I’m the bitch,” I can hear the bite in her tone.

“Idonia--”

“I said shut up!” The bed dips as she rises, I turn to face her, seeing the amber eyes and fangs extend more. But it isn’t just this half shift that all lycan can do. No, Idonia starts to form black fur on her hands as claws grow and knuckles pop.

“Idonia, what the hell--”

Before I can finish, she roars. Not a growl, not a grumble, but an roar of a beast. It reminds me of the time at Last End when this same noises kept me up all night. Her fangs bite harshly into her lips and blood stars pools in her mouth to run down her chin. It takes a few minutes, but eventually she returns to normal.

The blood on her face is joined by a few soft tears, “I want to go home.”

“You are home, Idonia,” I try to tell her, but she won’t hear it.

“No, home doesn’t feel this way.”

“Please listen to me, Idonia.”

“No!” she yells at me. Her blue eyes cry as they meet mine, she whimpers and lets out a small sob. “I’ve tried, I’ve tried so hard. I can’t be this Khanelea for you. Not the one you want.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is,” she puts an emphasis on each word, staring at me with hurt and anger burning behind her icy blues. “I was never meant to be a southerner. I was never meant to be away from the snow and the shadowbeasts.”

“But you were meant to be with me.”

“The Isles need you, they don’t need me.”

“I need you!” I yell, making her take a step back. Our breathing comes our uneven as I make my way to her side. “I need you, every part of you.”

“You forbid me from training,” she reminds me.

“I can’t stand you being hurt. I can’t risk--”

“It’s not your risk.”

“Yes,” I tell her, grabbing her shoulders. “Yes, it is.”

“You really love me?”

“I’ve told you before that I love you.”

“How?”

“How could I not.”