Shadow

Raedwulf Dolph

We arrive in Dunrin with nightfall. The innkeeper recognized Idonia immediately and got us two rooms. The horses got taken to the stables to be brushed and fed while we settled in our rooms. When we got to the side-by-side rooms, Idonia looked up at me and opened the first door.

She nods her head, gesturing into the room, “Are you coming?” I smile and nod, following her into the room.

She and I both take off our cloaks and boots. A maid comes in with firewood and lights the logs. She dips her head once before leaving us in privacy. Idonia sits on the bed and removed both her tall socks and drapes them over a rack by the fire.

“Are you okay?” I ask her as I watch her massage her bare feet.

“Just stiff, I haven’t made a two-day ride in a while,” she thinks for a minute before continuing. “And we still have four more days traveling north.”

“How far to Caesting?”

“Day and a half.”

“And then two and a half more to The Last End?”

“There are a few other towns along the way, but Caesting is home to the Hoyes. They will let us stay in their homestead.”

“The Hoyes, I was set to visit them. They have, what, four daughters?”

“Seven,” she groans with utter disgust. “Each one more finicky than the last. The Master and Madam of the homestead have always been good to me. Mother used to take me to Caesting all the time before I started training.”

I chuckle at her comment about their daughters. Uncle Ragnvald had told me there were two types of women. The strong kind and the docile kind. Idonia is the perfect kind. She’s smart and strong; she’s kind and thoughtful.

“So we stop to see them. Is there anyone else we need to meet?”

“Yes,” she turns back to me. “When we return from the north, you should finish your tour of Theris.”

“Why?” I look down at her confused.

“Because they were prepared to meet their future Khannun,” she stood and put her hand gently on my cheek. “And they deserve that.”

“You will come?”

Idonia nods once, “I will come with you. Plus, I know Theris and the families here. And it will be good for my people to see a Khanel with a northern daughter.”

“What do you mean?”

“My mother told me connections are everything. The past three Khaneas have been from the south,” she looks up at me with serious eyes. While I know my mate is strong and could probably match me in a fight, Idonia stands almost a foot shorter than me. “Northerners do not respect or trust the Southerners. Their lives are posh and full of warmth and sunshine. Father always told me southerners were weak.”

“Bethlianna is in the south. Am I weak?”

“Still yet to be seen,” she states before stepping back from me. “Khannun’s need to prove themselves in the eyes of Northerners.”

“And so,” I smirk at her, stepping forward to be directly in front of her. “I am proving myself to you.”

“And to the rest of Theris, Minxa, and Jokulsa.”

The three most northern Isles in my father’s reign. Theris being the northernmost, the coldest. My mate matched her homeland in many ways. Her exterior can be icy, but I see the caring heart she had, even if it doesn’t care too much for me. I know she will come around though, she can love me eventually. After all, mateships are never wrong.

She is my destiny, even if she’s fighting it.

“Do you know where Theris got its name?” I hope to impress my mate with the knowledge I have of our history. She is impressed by strength and wit, hopefully, me knowing about her past, her home, will help me get to her heart.

“It was the last Isle the sun reached. The last to thaw, but the first to have lycans. The ancient humans sailed here when the shadowbeasts still ruled the land. A human touch one and was consumed by it. He shifted, changed creating a being neither human nor shadowbeast.”

“And soon enough. The rest of the humans followed suit. If they didn’t change, then the gene was passed down through bloodlines. The ancient humans went extinct. But since then, our beasts have lost our true form and we no longer have the ability to shift. The name Theris means 'those that were'.”

“Mother always said...” She stops herself, turning away from me and going closer to the fire.

“What?”

“She always said the humans were still a part of us, the same way our beasts are still a part of the shadow.”

“My mother told me we were descended from the first lycan.”

Idonia laughs, a truly amused laugh. “My father said the same thing. He always told me that Torbets came from the first lycan.”

“Interesting,” I narrow my eyes and turn away from her. “There could be an old overlaying bloodline.”

“No,” she shakes her head. “I know our lineage, there is no royal blood in the Torbet line.”

“Then you and I will be the first,” I smile at her, walking up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist. My beast and I feel content at the feeling of her in our arms, pressed against our chest. She seems to hum a bit at the contact, but she doesn’t lean in for more. Instead, she pulls away after a few mere seconds.

I swear spending time with her is like a game of cat and mouse. She runs and I chase. She challenges and I accept. She pushes me back and I charge forward.

There has to be something I can do to make her fall for me. Yes, I haven’t proven myself yet, but isn’t the fact that I’m here enough? I could have been a real ass and just sailed her back to Bethilanna with me.

Like many lycan would do in my case, I could have forced her.

I was raised better though. If I came home with a mate I forced into my bed, Mother would never forgive me. Uncle Ragnvald certainly would have helped her hide my body. Though neither wants my younger brother to assume the crown, so they would probably just make my life hell for years to come.

“Idonia,” I purr at her. “What can I do to make you love me?”

She hugs her body, keeping her back towards me. “Do you love me?”

“With all I am, can’t you see that,” I argue with her, raising my voice slightly. I reach out and turn her to face me. “You are my mate, but it is more than that. I admire you more than anything, you are smart, strong, caring, and the best sister I have ever seen to Olen. I know one day you will be the best Khanea to the Bethley Isles and the best mother to our pups.

“But more than anything,” I squeeze her arms. “I know you will be, no, you are the best mate I could ever ask for.”