Chapter 107
Xander’s POV
The hall is quiet, but that doesn’t mean work has stopped, it’s still going o
- on.
There are scrolls and reports in front of me that are open on the stone table. The ink on them has barely dried on many of them, and the scent of wax and parchment hangs heavily in the air.
My eyes ache from reading, and my hands twitch with the need to do something more than just sign my name.
Leadership was never supposed to feel this suffocating, but since bringing Serafine back, since knotting her, claiming her again, I’ve begun to feel the pressure of time moving faster.
Too many things are breaking at once, and as Alpha, it’s not only their job to fix things in this pack, but to help with issues outside it if it appears to possibly cause harm here.
“She’s Threadborn,” a voice echoes in the back of my mind. It’s something I still don’t know much about. Not enough to pass judgment or to do anything about it.
The issue is that the world seems to be shifting around her because of it, and from what we’ve heard, people are both wary of this and want to use her for their own gain.
A knock comes at the open archway before I’ve even sensed the presence.
One of the border guards, Lior, steps into the room. His dark eyes meet mine, and he stands with his shoulders straight, but there’s a nervousness in the way that his fingers twitch against his sides.
“Alpha,” he says carefully, “another report just came in.”
I already know what kind of report, which isn’t a good thing.
“Where?” I ask,
“At the Easter border. The Twinpine territory, their outer fields are failing. We’ve had reports that their crops have blackened and become brittle overnight. That’s the fourth pack in less than a week.
My hand tightens around the parchment. It’s spreading, whatever it is, and I hate to admit it, but whatever she is.
“Is there word of how far wide the damage has spread?” I ask, even though that doesn’t matter. Every incident is the same, there have been no signs of rot, no drought and no warning. Just life that has turned to ash in the dark.
“Four acres, Alpha. Same as the other places, it happened in silence, no one saw anything, no one heard anything.”
I nod once, then dismiss him with a motion of my hand. He hesitates like he wants to say more, but the command in my posture holds, and he leaves without another word. This isn’t going away.
The moment the door shuts behind him, I let the tension bleed into my body. Staring down at the map that’s stretched on the table, which divides land, shows borders, and now, circles drawn on where the dead earth is. Sighing, I draw another circle.
I know I can’t wait any more.
1
Something is coming, or waking, or maybe it already has, which is why it’s all dying?
I find the maid who is waiting just outside the door in the corridor. I still have Eryx in my arms, and I pass him over gently, and she carefully gathers him
in her arms.
“Keep him with you,” I say, quieter than I mean to, but she hears the urgency.
1/2
Chapter 107
She looks up at me, her eyes searching mine briefly. She nods and shifts him into her arms with practiced ease. “Should I prepare anything for —
“No, interrupt. “Just ensure you keep him close and safe, please.”
She doesn’t question me, and she turns and walks off. A door clicks as she walks through it, and I begin to make my way down the hallway. As I get closer to the room, I can feel a thick heat.
It’s subtle, like someone has left a fire burning for too long. As I walk more though, it thickens, it becomes heavy, and I realize the warmth in the walls or the hearth. It’s in the air, hanging, it’s alive and clinging to every surface like a second skin.
I pause at the bend in the corridor that leads to our shared room, and the moment I round the corner, the breath leaves my chest. I’ve only been gone for
few hours.
a
The windows here are completely fogged up, and every pane is kissed with condensation that drips in steady trails down the glass. The iron sconces on the walls have melted halfway down as well, the wax pooling in uneven puddles along the stone floor.
The door to the bedroom is still closed, but even through the thick wood, I can feel the pressure humming like a storm pressed into silence.
It’s her.
1
“Serafine,” I murmur under my breath, moving quickly to the door. I had ensured everyone knew to stay away from this side of the pack house. All week, I wanted her to rest, so everyone was banned from this side. Had I not done that, maybe someone else would have noticed the heat hours ago?
I push the door open, and the heat hits me like a wave. It’s not sharp, but it is stifling, like I’ve walked into a forge. The air smells faintly of wildflowers and ash, two scents that should never blend, and yet they twist together now like a warning. It’s strange, and almost like a warning itself.
The bed is the first thing I see. Then I see her body, it’s tangled in the sheets. It’s like she’s tossed and turned until the fabric twist around her limbs. Her skin is slick with sweat and glowing faintly gold in the candlelight. Her hair is spread out over the pillow in dark waves. It’s damp and in some places it clings to her face.
I look at her face and notice her lips are parted, small breathless whispers escaping her that I don’t understand, but she’s clutching the sheets, her hands fisted, her back arched with her head tipped to the side.
The heat, it’s pouring from her, it’s coming from her.
The air around her ripples like a mirage, and I can see flickers of gold light dancing just above her skin. Magic, and without a form, without permission, that’s not good at all.
“Serafine,” I say again, louder this time as I step closer.
The floor beneath my boots groans as if the stones are heating from the inside out, and every instinct in me tells me to be careful. But even I know right now, she doesn’t need fear, she needs me, she needs safety and reassurance.
Striding forward, I kneel beside the bed and reach for her with both hands, carefully but firmly. The moment that I touch her fingers, I can feel it.
It’s a pulse, like something inside of her is begging and trying to be let out. For the first time since I claimed her again, I feel her magic isn’t something hidden or buried, but now it’s awake and scratching to get free.
