The Darkness is being manifested by an unknown enemy, and prophecies of a war start coming true. The Protectors of the throne have been preparing for war for over 1300 years, but everyone is still wondering if the prophesized royal will emerge in time to protect the Osvald Kingdom. Rolf, a Regent Prince, has been hiding the fact he is a member of the Protector Family so he can earn his rank in the Lycan Army without the privilege he was born into. His world is turned upside down when he meets his mate and must decide if she is worth the exposure. Thyra has one mission in life, to avenge the slaying of her pack that happened five years ago. She doesn't have time for the pull she feels toward another soldier in the Officer Leadership Academy. Will he understand that her oath has to come before the distraction he brings? Or will she have to submit to him just so she can keep looking into his amber eyes...
View More***Rolf's POV***
"No, Uncle, the deal was I would have 10 years," I was exasperated with my uncle and trying to remain calm as I paced and talked to him on my cell phone. I was too far away for a mind link, completing training at a specialty hand-to-hand combat course for the Lycanthrope Army. He had called earlier and left a voice mail telling me it was time to come home and announce myself to the kingdom's court.
"That deal was made before the prophecies started coming true, and you have duties here that need to be handled," my uncle said. He is the patriarch of the Protector Family, and the King Regent of the Osvald Kingdom. I can hear the stress in his voice, and I realize I need to tread carefully. He could order the soldiers attending the course with me to hog tie me and carry me home if I gave him reason to get angry enough.
"I am not taking over for you. Can you please have Zev handle this as we planned? I still have 4 years left, and I want to use them as fully as I can before I am announced. Please Uncle, this means the world to me," I pled my case to him one more time. I know he and my Auntie have done everything they can to shield me from the notoriety of being a part of the Protector Family since I was a small child, and I am not ready to give that up.
"Your brother already has work he is doing, and preparing to take over the Regency from me on top of his training. I need to give him some time to find a wife, he will need a Queen Regent by his side." My uncle is starting to lose his patience. I need to end this call before it is too late.
"I have a leadership course that will bring me back to Capitol City in a week. Can we discuss this in person with Auntie Lyall and Zev then?" Maybe I can come up with a compromise or anything to keep me from the court. As soon as I am announced, my face will be associated with the Protector Family as a Regent Prince, and currently third in line to the throne. It was a miracle I was able to keep my anonymity until I was 16 let alone the additional 5 years. My 22nd birthday, and 6th year, is coming up in a few weeks. I went by my mother's family name of Stigarra, instead of the Protector Family name of Varg.
"I thought you might ask to do that. I have already coordinated for you to spend a week here in the palace and then go to the leadership course. I think you will benefit from it more than ever now," he sounded almost triumphant, this is not a good sign.
"Uncle, if I stay in the palace a week I will be a week late to the leadership course! The whole point of me staying out of the spotlight was so I could earn my rank on my own merit and give no one a reason to doubt that I am a great leader when I take over the Army." This is bad, this was the last course I needed before I could get my commission on my own. If I have to face this war on The Darkness, I want my Army to respect and follow me, not wonder if my Uncle paid for my training scores.
"Do not worry about that, General Onyx is the only one I dealt with, and he will ensure your alias holds... well, at least until we put out a press release." Now he is just teasing me, at least his mood has shifted for the better. "I will see you in a week, bring a suit," the King Regent got a final parting shot in before hanging up the phone. He knows I would rather just show up in uniform and stay as inconspicuous as possible.
I walk back toward the training facility, at least I have a way to calm my nerves and relive stress until then. When I get back to Capitol City, I will have to find time to spar with my best friend, Axel. He is stuck at the garrison there after he and the garrison commander found out he was dating the commander's daughter at the same time. After that, his request for specialized training courses kept getting lost or denied somehow.
***Thyra's POV***
"Goddess dammit!" I yelled as I landed on the side and heard the pop of my shoulder dislocating, "Kenyon, I told you not to go easy, I didn't say to try to maim me!" Kenny walked over to help me up, his long blonde hair was tied back at the nape of his neck and his golden brown eyes held some concern when he was looking me over. He and his twin sister are some of my best friends and two of the six of us that survived. He was also always just one step ahead of me when we sparred. I was getting better and have been training for 5 years. I got close to pinning him, but it seems that now he is fighting for real and not pulling the punches he would have just months ago.
"You're over training Thyra, you need to give yourself a break and a chance to recover from this non-stop training," he replied with that same concern in his voice. He also knew if he let me win just to let me win, I would count that as a betrayal. So he still mopped the floor with me. I am not mad about it, he is the only person I have trained with in the last year that is better at fighting than I am. Even the cadre for our morning training sessions could no longer win against me. I have gotten used to using their size against them, but Kenyon is built similar to me, thin with long lean muscles, almost a dancer's build. He is still a bit faster than me, though I am catching up.
"Come on guys! Stop fighting for a moment and I will look at that shoulder," Kenny's sister, Otsana, yelled from the bleachers surrounding the training grounds. She was the opposite of Kenny in almost every way. Except for our coloring, Kenny and I looked more alike than he did with Otsana. Her hair was as dark as mine, and cropped even shorter in a pixie cut full of wild curls. She was short and full of curves that made men stop in their tracks to watch. Which is exactly what happened as she bounced down the bleachers and walked toward us. There were not as many soldiers on the training ground this late in the evening on a Friday night, but Kenny and I had a bet going, and he just won again.
"Ana, it's ok. I just need to pop it back in." I hollered over to her as she walked up. This is going to hurt but at least it will heal quickly. At 16 our senses started getting stronger, but at 18 when we met our wolves, our healing was faster and better. Physically, we were faster and stronger as well. Ana manipulated my arm until we heard the shoulder pop back into place.
"Ana, ever notice how she calls out our full names when she is mad," laughed Kenny. "It is almost like hearing mom yell across the fields for us to come in at dark. Maybe we should start calling her mom instead." Kenny and Ana talk about home more and more, they seem to have been better able to move on than me. When he mentioned his mom, it felt like he punched me in the stomach all over again. I have gotten really good at keeping my mask up when our pack gets brought up. It took me years to stop flinching and having my eyes fill up with tears. I even have the twins fooled.
"I have to go, gonna hop into a shower and then finish up on my reading for the battle strategy class I have that leadership course starting in a week. After that I am heading to bed, y'all have a good night." I got the words out coolly enough to hide any emotion. But as I walked to the showers my rage was building so fast that I knew a cold shower was in my near future. In my head visions of battling the rogues that torched my pack is what I am running strategy scenarios against.
"We have to get her out of the Garrison and doing something fun in town soon, she is getting way to detached." I hear Ana whisper to Kenny.
"She is ok, did you hear her slip and say y'all? It has been a while since I heard that accent. And she almost had me in a lock before I threw her off me. I was too close to needing to tap out." Kenny replied as the visions in my head took over my full attention. Except for the small part of my mind that always heard the last words my father said to me, 'family first, and always.'
***Unknown POV*** This is interesting. I was getting settled in for the day and reading through correspondence from the evening before and came across a flash order sent from General Onyx. That wasn’t the interesting part, the interesting part is catching her name on the orders. Why would General Onyx even know about this little pest? And then to care enough to get adjust her training at the leadership academy? I knew there was something going on after she was awarded the spot at the academy over me. Maybe she has a special thing going with the General. If I can get some evidence of that, I already have evidence of preferential treatment. Now I just have to decide if I should call this out when I send my next update to the warlock. Maybe I should just wait until I have more so that I can really impress him. That is what I will do, but now I need to reach out to my contact in the palace to see if he can get any more information. ***Thyra’s POV*** Seems like all it took was for me
***Thyra’s POV*** The sleep I got was the most restful sleep I have had in years. It was amazing to wake up and one of the first things I thought about was how if this plan is real then I am on my way to fulfilling the vow I made. That was the only rough part about getting ready this morning. Remembering that vow brought me to when I made it. While I was helping bury my family, the memorial I chose for my parents and brother read ‘Family First, and Always’. Reading that over and over, I vowed to my family that I would do whatever I needed to so that their horrific deaths would be avenged. The guys were waiting for me in the lobby when I made my way downstairs from my apartment. Reed was leaning against the wall by the door watching as the elevator door opened. As soon as I caught his eye, he smiled. His entire face lit up, and I could feel mine start to blush. As I approached them I said, “Morning you two. Any news on our plans?” “Sure is, you should get your reassignment to our s
***Rolf’s POV*** I can see the look in her eyes shift from suspicion to ambition. I am going have a long talk with Onyx after this. I hope he understands and doesn’t put up any roadblocks. “There is a condition,” she looks back at me some of the suspicion returning. “I want you on our squad at the academy. We can start evaluating others from there, the three of us. And I don’t want you to have to put up with the jerk on your squad anymore.” My admission seems to make sense to her, I am trying to be as honest as I can. Considering all the secrets I am already keeping from her. And lies I am telling. It is starting to make me feel ill. “Do you have enough pull to make that happen? I don’t know about this, I don’t want it to affect how I am looked at by the instructors here,” she goes from looking like she will say yes to pulling up walls again. “That is why we wanted to talk to you about this first, before reaching out to Onyx,” I have to be careful here not to scare her away. “We w
***Thyra’s POV*** As I was approaching the apartment door, that familiar scent seemed to pull me closer. That is when it hit me, this was the first time something that reminded me of home didn’t wake my rage monster. It just calmed me. I stood there for a moment before the door opened, and he was standing there in front of me. He was 3 or 4 inches taller than me, and so handsome that it made me feel awkward to stare at him but not enough to look away. His dark olive skin radiates a warm, sun-kissed hue that accentuates his features. His chiseled jawline held a shadow of a day's growth, adding an alluring ruggedness to his appearance. Even though his dark hair was cut short, it was thick with curls that made me want to reach up and run my hand through it. But what is most striking are his amber hued eyes, they look like polished amber and are framed by strong, defined brows. His presence exuded a quiet confidence, and with every movement, there was a certain grace that commanded atte
***Rolf’s POV*** It was a long day. The obstacle course was typical as compared to the ones at Lyngvi. Nanook was right about being good at the courses. She was good enough that she was able to take charge and help get the weaker creatures across as a first time go. Meaning we passed the course on our first time trying it. The other squads were not so lucky. Even though we had a pass, the squad captain had us run it another 5 times. We made it back to the apartment about 30 minutes ago. Both Axel and I decided it would be a good idea to get a shower and change out of our sweaty uniforms before sitting down to talk. Our rooms have ensuite bathrooms, when I was finished and left my bedroom Axel was already waiting on the couch. “I’ll go ahead and jump right into the issue bro. You can’t rush in and start dictating her life to her. I can’t imagine what you are going through, but I believe you about it being a fated mate bond,” Axel started. “I have been texting with her friend Ana,” n
***Thyra’s POV*** “Great idea cadet, you all should be getting to know each other. Asking questions is the most efficient way to do that.” Hollis instructed the class. It looked like Klaus missed the sarcasm in ‘Great idea’. Hollis said it like that should have already been understood. “How can you not be good at stealth to be one of the six that survived Onyxbite?” Klaus asks me with a smirk. The male that was to the right of me and responded to me being from Onyxbite let out a low warning growl. I don’t know how to respond to all of this. But one thing I do know, the rage monster has been awoken. I haven’t felt her poking around since this morning before coming into the academy. I have to take a deep breath. In through my nose, hold for a few seconds, release while staring down Klaus. “I suspect it had something to do with being a 15-year-old pup and off in the woods with friends instead of at the pack. Then again, I wasn’t worried about being stealthy, when I got back to my fam
***Thyra’s POV*** The squad rooms are pretty big. The part the entrance leads into is a sitting area, with couches a television, and a big whiteboard with markers. Behind that are tables, and a small kitchenette with a couple microwaves, a fridge, cabinets and a sink. Further behind that there are equipment storage lockers. They are set up with fencing material from floor to ceiling. Almost like small closet shaped cages, and there are enough for each of us to have one. I am the second to last cadet to enter. And an instructor closes the door behind the male that enters a few moments behind me. Thank goddess I am not last, I am really trying to just blend in at least for the first few weeks until I can better understand what we will be doing here. “Cadets, go ahead and take a seat on the couches. We will get started with some introductions. Today is an easy one, you will not start lectures until next week. This week we will focus on team building,” explains the instructor. “The in
***Thyra’s POV*** We arrive at the auditorium, and almost like they planned it Axel and Reed flank me in the seats. I don’t have the energy to argue with their overbearing behavior. I guess I don’t need to as long as they don’t distract from my training. We still have a few moments before the instructors will start breaking us all out into our squads. I feel tingles run across the back of my shoulders as Reed stretches his arm around resting on top of my chair. Before I even realize what I am doing, I lean into him. I really need to pay attention to this, so I don’t let these weird impulses become a problem too. I feel my phone buzz, and pull it out to see an alert from Ana. Dr. Ana Medical Extraordinaire: Axel says you two look like the cutest couple. Give him a chance, maybe it all fits in with your plans. 😉 Me: Don’t make me change your name to Dr. Ana Love Therapist Disappointment. Gotta go training is starting. I look up from my phone to see Reed reading the text as wel
***Thyra’s POV*** “What do you all think?” I ask my three friends, who are on a video call with me from my old barracks suite. I had just finished giving a quick rundown of what happened in the last hour. All three of them start talking at the same time and I am not able to hear what any of them are saying. “Guys, stop talking all at once, I can’t understand any of you,” I interrupt the chaos. “Is he at least hot?” Kenny asks first after they all stop talking. “Yes,” I sigh. “I mean that isn’t even important at this point.” “You said his name is Reed?” Ana asks. I nod, and she continues. “Oh, I met him with Axel on the training fields. He is hot.” “Ana, Kenny! This isn’t why I called. I don’t know what to do. I have too much going on to entertain some relationship,” I say exasperatedly. “You’re right and wrong,” Mak interjects. “Just like what Axel said, what if this is part of the prophecy, and with your visions it makes sense that you would be a bigger part of it all. “I ha
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