The First King

Prew's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her bedroom door closing. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the bright light that came in through her windows. Konrad walked over to the bed, chuckling at the sight of Prew's disheveled hair. He leaned over the edge of the bed and swiftly planted a kiss on her lips.

"Good afternoon, wife," he greeted with a smile.

"Afternoon!?" Prew gasped as she sat up. "Why did you not wake me?!"

"You looked so peaceful as you slept," he replied as he sat down on the mattress. "I didn't want to wake you. Plus, you needed the rest after yesterday."

"You needed the rest, too," she huffed as she crossed her arms.

"I'll be fine. There were things that I needed to discuss with your father and the present leader council members."

"I could have been there," she pouted as she glared at him. Konrad reached out and gave her cheek a gentle pinch, causing her to groan as she pulled away from him.

"Do you want to sit here and be upset, or would you like to know what we discussed?"

"I'm sure I still have a knife hidden away somewhere," she mumbled as she rubbed her cheek.

"I'll be sure to do a thorough search before sharing your bed again," Konrad retorted with an eye roll.

"Bold of you to assume I'll allow you in my room again," Prew scoffed.

"Well, I wasn't planning on sleeping in here for a while because you won't be."

"Wait, what?" She questioned as she looked at him, confused by his statement.

"On the way back from Huthwaite, we discovered that many of the witches were retreating to Thresnora. But it wasn't just them. We have also heard reports of vampires making their way to the volcano." Konrad explained.

"And you don't think they are retreating, do you?"

"No," he answered with a shake of his head. "I think they are gathering their forces, preparing for a big push, just like we are. Thankfully, right after the attack on the pack, Porter sent ravens out to summon all of the forces that we had. Rovia's men were on the border already, and they arrived earlier in the morning, as well as the witches from the Coven of the Lode Star. I am going to take my warriors, minus Rowan, and I will head back East. I will grab all of the soldiers from packs and kingdoms along the way. My goal will be to block the vampire's route and start the push toward Thresnora."

"You, though, will take Rovia and Guilford's soldiers and head north. Wrap your way around the Gantawa Range and attack the vampires from behind. Hopefully, my army pushing them from the East will send them running towards you. The fewer people that get to Thresnora, the better."

"And I am to leave today?" Prew questioned. "What about you? Are you going to take a day or two to rest up?"

"There is no time for resting," Konrad sighed. "The dark witches aren't resting, so neither are we. Originally, I had not planned on coming back at all. We were camped out near my pack's old lands when Rowan mind link about the attack reached me. I left my men there, and they are waiting for me to return."

"Alright," she nodded as she thought to herself. "I'll go north tonight. I'll stop by Alder's pack on the way so I can gather his warriors, too. Maybe I can get him to fight alongside me as well? What do you think?"

"Sure," Konrad growled as he stood from the bed. He stormed to the door, stopping only momentarily to glance back at her. "Just remember that you are mine!"

Prew flinched as Konrad slammed the door closed behind him. Her eyes rapidly blinked as she took in deep breaths. She was confused with what had just happened. Why was he suddenly furious? Her hands went to her chest, feeling the erratic beating of her heart. Had she done something to upset him? Said something? Was it because she mentioned Alder?

"Of course it was Alder," she scowled as she crawled off the bed. "The possessive fool."

As Prew got dressed, she grumbled as she thought to herself. Konrad had been so vulnerable and gentle with her yesterday, but he was the complete opposite today. All because she said the name of another man. No… it was not just another man, but another Alpha. She wanted to be angry with him, but she couldn't. Ava's words were in the back of her mind, reminding her that she was not a wolf. There were things that Konrad would do, that he would feel that she wouldn't understand.

Prew sighed as she quickly packed a bag with some clothes. As she did that, she thought of what she could say to Konrad, of how she could apologize to him. And though she wanted to scold him about his temper, now wasn't the time for that. He had just lost his grandmother and members of his pack. She was sure that he was on edge, just as much as she was.

With a heavy sack draped across her shoulders, Prew walked out of the castle. There were so many people on the lawn—wolves, humans, and witches. Never once could she remember a gathering this large ever taking place at Sella Castle. So many sounds filled the air, overwhelming her as she looked around. After a few minutes, she found Rowan standing with Sofia and her father.

"Our Luna!" Someone called out, causing the crowd around her to stop. Everyone turned to Prew, staring at her as she passed by.

"Our savior!" Another person shouted.

"Our Queen of Queens!"

Prew bit her lip as she listened to everyone cheer at her. They were so excited, so hopeful, and her heart felt heavy in her chest. Every single person here looked to her for support, for security. But why? She was just a human. It did not matter that she was a great archer, or that she was Konrad's wife. She was not remarkable. None of them were. And yet, they all looked to her. After the excitement died down, she was able to approach Rowan and the others.

"Where is Konrad?" She questioned as she tossed her sack of clothes to the ground.

"He left already," Rowan answered as he rose to his feet. Prew's face scrunched up with a mixture of sadness and anger. "I thought he said that he spoke with you?"

"He did," she retorted curtly.

"Is everything alright?"

"Fine," she stated as she looked at Sofia curiously. "Why did you not go with him?"

"Well, I was supposed to, but right before he left, he requested that I go with you and remain by your side," Sofia replied. "I tried to tell him that there are several healers going with you already, but he argued that he wanted the best healer with his wife."

"Oh," Prew whispered as her voice softened. Even though Konrad was furious when he left, he still thought of her safety.

"Did he tell you about the signals that we came up with?" Sofia inquired.

"Signals? No."

"So, a few of our witches have the ability to manipulate air, forcing it into any direction they desire. For signaling, we have colored powders that we can shoot into the air, and with our witches, we can make the powder go high into the sky. "

"How far away can someone see our signals?"

"Theoretically, for many miles. We have different colors for each group. Red for his majesty, green for you, and yellow for the group that went south to Etiba."

"Etiba?" Prew questioned as she pursed her lips. There was so much that Konrad had not said before he stormed from her room. "Why is a group going south?"

"To head to the far east," Porter explained. "Julius and his warriors will board ships in Etiba and will exit at a port in Yousef's kingdom. From there, the two of them will push west. That way, Thresnora is being converged on from three sides."

"What about the north?" Rowan inquired curiously. "Why are we not sending a push from that direction?"

"Because of Caelfall," Sofia answered with a frown. Rowan stared at her, confused by her answer.

"What in the hells is Caelfall, and why does it matter?"

"It is where the dark witches originated," Prew explained. "It lies just Northwest of the volcano."

"Not only that but the human kingdom to the north was never attacked by the Coven of Stardust," Sofia added.

"And you think that the humans would fight against us if we stepped onto their territory?"

"There is a chance you are going to be fighting them no matter what," Porter stated as he looked at the young wolf. "Any time ravens were sent to them, the birds would return with no answer. At best, they are just a neutral party…"

"And at worst, we are fighting against vampires, witches, and humans on the battlefield," Prew interjected as she rubbed her temple. "Rowan, gather the men who are following me. I'd like to get as close as we can to the Frostpaws before nightfall."

"Yes, my Luna," Rowan replied as he hurried off, followed closely by Sofia.

Porter stood there, looking at his daughter, who looked as if she was lost in thought. This was not the first time that Prew had been sent off to fight, but this would be the biggest challenge that she had ever faced. He sighed as he felt the familiar twinge in his left leg. It was an old injury from a horse accident many years ago. It made it difficult to ride and nearly impossible to fight.

Prew looked up, noticing her father looking at her. His eyes were soft, and his lips were quivering. She instantly knew that he was holding back his worries and concerns. He was trying to appear strong as he sent his daughter off to war. But, after Konrad, after not getting to tell him goodbye, she was not going to do the same to her father. Prew stepped to Porter, embracing him tightly. She could feel his body tense up and his heart rate increase as she pressed her cheek into his chest.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I shall be surrounded by some of the best fighters in this realm. You need not worry about me."

"I sometimes regret putting your name on that list," he admitted in a whisper. "I regret putting you in this position. So much is expected of you, and you never wanted this. If you go out there and die, I will never forgive myself."

Prew's grip tightened as she blinked back her own tears. She did not want to think about her death, about how her father would grow old, alone and broken. But then, hearing that he regretted putting her name on the list was like a knife to her heart. Prew had hated her father for it, but now… did she regret it?

"My Luna? We are ready to go!" Rowan called out from a distance. Prew pulled back away from her father and quickly wiped her eyes.

"I'll send a raven when I can," she stated as she grabbed her bag of clothes. "I promise to return home."

Porter nodded his head solemnly as he looked down at the ground. Prew opened her mouth, wanting to comfort her father further, but she couldn't. If she continued to speak, to reassure him, it would break her. All she could do was walk away, commanding her heart to be calm as she went. It felt as if every emotion wanted to flow through her at that very moment. Prew wanted to cry with her father, to have him hold her as if she were a child. There was no doubting that she was scared, afraid for what might happen, for what the end of this would be. As she climbed onto Meeka, she took one last look at Porter. He stared at her, and though she could not see it, tears flowed down his cheeks. For all Porter knew, this would be the last time he saw his daughter. He knew what happened during wars, and it did not matter how many healers accompanied her. This was probably it, and he wanted the image of Prew on her stallion to be burned into his memory. And as she rode away, fading into the distance, he fell to his knees. There was nothing more he could do other than wait and pray to the gods that watched from above.

That last bit with Porter and Prew really got to me… 😭 I hadn't expected it, but as I wrote it, I thought of my last memory with my dad 🥺

Well, to end this chapter, let's have a song! I listened to this a lot, and it really speaks to how Prew feels for Konrad. I'm debating whether it is a bit of a spoiler, but at the same time, I think I have hinted at this for a while now.

Poetry Glass by Peyton Parrish. Even if you don't listen to the song but read the lyrics, you'll get an understanding of how Prew feels for Konrad ❤️