Arthur POV:

As the untimely darkness concealed my surroundings, I was defenceless against my memories. The sun was yet to set, but the clouds covered the sky, anticipating the end of the day. They weren’t alone. I wished this day never happened, too.

How will I face the families who lost their fathers and sons? How can we celebrate our triumph when it was at the cost of their loss? I wish the war ends when it ends. I wish victory doesn't load down a person this much?

We lost men today. I didn’t know how many, but soon I would know the exact number, and their names, and their faces. I would remember their quirks and every single detail that made their loss more painful and them irreplaceable. I’d carry them with me like every war scar I had, and I’d remember their stories and how they ended up on me. I was not the type to forget.

I tightened my hold on Blenda, burrowing my nose in her hair, seeking a home I never had.

My little spoon fits perfectly in my arms.

The fragrance of my shampoo on her soothed my wolf, causing a whine to escape my lips. Her breathing was soft. It set the rhythm for my heart to slow down, and for me to forget—or to pretend to forget. In that moment, everything was perfect like a haven in the middle of hell.

The darkness failed to take everything away. A faint light saved the outlines of the furniture, and my memory gave it definition. Unlike Blenda’s outline. Her details were mysteries that I would love to unravel one at a time. But I wasn’t raised like that. Omar would turn in his grave if I acted on my impulse. So, no. I would go to Blenda's pack and prove myself to her and to her people as per the werewolves' tradition.

I’ll make you proud, Blenda...If I survive, that is.

The Kämpfer pack didn’t get their reputation from braiding flower crowns. Their wolves were almost feral. Their people, almost savage. My wolf stirred at the thought. How did a savage pack produce such refined flower? I wouldn’t describe Blenda as savage, not even wild. She was more grounded than I was with an incredible self discipline. Different, that was how I'd describe her. Her pack, though....

They fought human governments, endangering the treaty we had with them. They cut all ties with not only the palace, but with the civilization as a whole.

Rumor had it that they lived in wolf form eversince. Some said they went extinct. Some said they never existed. Myths were made about them: A Kämpfer wolf, not like any wolf we knew, had followed a little girl in a red riding hood to her grandmother's house, and alone he ate her, her grandmother, and the whole village of hunters.

A shiver passed through Blenda’s body, bringing my attention back to her. I pulled the comforter up to her shoulders. It was colder in my office than down in the fort.
Through the small windows, red tainted the clouds like splashes of blood, hinting at the clandestine fight, but the world didn't understand the language of signs. Unlike me. I knew nothing would be the same after this day. The real war had started when the last bullet was shot and the last person hit the ground.

But first, I pulled Blenda impossibly close. One more minute.

Soon, they’d call us to the command room. Soon, Blenda would wake up, and I'd have to be strong for her, for my king, for my nation. I heaved a long sigh as a weight pressed on my chest. She stirred, and I realized how hard I was squeezing her. I relaxed my hold, and she turned in my arms, looking at me with droopy eyes. Her hair had escaped the braid she confined it in. I brushed my fingers through it, releasing the remaining strands. They reached the middle of her back, framing her body like a halo, and I promised myself. Just one minute.

“Can you not?” she said, forcing a frown on her pretty features.
“Can I not what?” my grin widened at her groggy voice and the hint of bashfulness she was trying to hide.
“Can you not smile when you wake up? It’s annoying.”
“Are you always grumpy when you wake up, Blenda bear?”

I shouldn’t have laughed this hard when she shoved me, but she was so adorable it brought a lump into my throat, or maybe I was losing my mind. A rogue tear fell from my eye and was swallowed by the darkness. I cleared my throat and said, “We have to go.”
She grabbed my cheeks, rubbing the wet trail, and said, “How do you feel?”
I kissed her palm and nodded. “We’ll go through this together.” I reminded her of her words, and she nodded back.
“I have some questions,” she said.

Understandable. She must be anxious about her friends.

“I’ll answer them all later, trust me.” Most of her questions would be answered in the meeting anyway.
“Trust you?” She pondered, sitting up. “You want to hear something funny?” she said. Her eyes gleamed like when we first met. It made my hair stand on end.
“Sure,” I said, carefully.
“I wanted to kill you this morning.”
“Oh, ha ha. That’s not funny.” I should have seen this coming. I knew she’d be angry when I locked her up in the tunnels.

The skin on her temple moved up as she raised an eyebrow. “Mates can't kill each other, Blenda” I said, reaching up to the lamp behind the couch and turning it on. I had to see her face.

“My brother did.” She stretched like a flying squirrel with my shirt on. I didn’t mind the sight even if the stupid shirt hid almost everything, and she was talking about killing.

I leaned on my elbow, repeating slowly. “Your brother killed his mate?” What a messed up pack. It’s hard not to judge.
“Ja.” (yes) She brushed her hair with her fingers, spreading sunshine in the middle of the night.

“He woke up one morning and killed her?” I held back a growl. Extracting information from Blenda was like pulling teeth.

“No, he told us first.”
“Ah, that makes it better. And you let him?”
“Pff, of course not.” She looked at me in exasperation, then turned back to braiding her hair. “We’re his family. We assisted him, but he was the one who killed her.”

She finished her braid and threw it behind her, for it to start to separate the moment it hit her back. I took out one of my bracelets, scooted over behind her, and tied the braid with it.

“So, Blenda bear, you didn’t kill me because you have to tell Dad first?”

“I thought you betrayed me.” Her voice was cold it gave my aching heart frost bites. “You took me to my room, then I woke up with nineteen other people on a sinking boat. Only ten of us had survived. No one wanted to speak to us. Instead, we’ve been taken as prisoners. You were there, but you didn’t talk to me. You didn’t even look at me. You just left me there.”

If you put it like that, I really look like a jerk.

“When we’ve been attacked, I didn’t ask questions. I fought. If there is something to know about us, the Kämpfer pack…” She raised her head in dignity. “We don’t betray. No matter how many times we were let down by werewolves, no one will get to you through us.” She fixed me with a hard stare. “I deserve answers, Arthur. It’s only fair.”

My shoulders slouched forward. “It’s complicated. I can’t tell you everything. I don’t know everything.”
“Who’s been drowning us in the ocean?”
“Humans. They kidnapped the participants.”
“Humans?” She sprang to her feet. “I’m not following.”
“Julius brought humans to kill the king so he can take over the throne.”
“Julius? The one you killed?”
“Yes. It’s a long story. We’ve been informed that he’s planning a coup during the competition. We had our eyes on him, and so had he, but we didn’t know who exactly was the traitor. We couldn’t trust anyone outside of the king’s secret army.”

I walked around the bed and took her by the shoulders. She pulled away and turned to the window, creating miles between us that my office shouldn't be able to encompass. Her composure was cruel. I would have preferred if she rained hell on me, but that was not her style. I saw how she killed; She was cold, never lost focus. When she delivered it, she made it hurt, on purpose.

I couldn’t bear the distance. I took a step towards her, then stopped. “I had to keep you safe, Blenda.” I said, making amends for a fault that wasn’t mine. “You shouldn’t have been involved in this mess.”
“The humans killed them, hadn't they?” she said with a firm conviction that no consolation could shake. So I opted for the truth. “I hope not. Omar and his squad were sent to rescue them. We’ll hear the reports in the meeting. About the pups in the tunnels too. I don’t have information about them yet.”

“Let’s go, then.” She spun on her heels, falling into my arms, making everything right again. I held her, biting down on a joke she wouldn’t appreciate. I stoke her arms instead, calming her wolf and reassuring mine. “Let’s go. We’ll swing by your room, if you want to change your clothes.”

“No.” She clutched the shirt and brought it to her nose. “Ithasyourscent,” she mumbled into it as she walked to the stairs.

“What was that?”

“It has your scent,” she said without looking at me, but the tinge of pink on her cheek—that I certainly imagined—made me twenty feet tall. My chest expanded. I could grab the moon behind the clouds if I reached for it. There was nothing I couldn’t do.