I Can't Be Mated To Him

*Blanca*

I trail my fingertips along the rough stone wall of the dungeon as I walk briskly along, keeping my shoulders hunched and my head down. In my other hand, I carry a bucket of water and a ladle. Down here, I should be safe from the ridicule I face on the upper levels of the castle, but occasionally, a guard or two will mess with me. It’s easier to avoid them if I’m invisible.

When I was a little girl, I got it into my head that not looking at people somehow made them unable to see me. Now, I know better. Yet, I still find myself staring at my holey boots most of the time.

When I reach the first cell, I pause. “Water?” I offer the man caged inside of the small space the ladle. This cell has no windows, and it’s hard to see because the light from the few lanterns on the walls only reaches so far. But I know his face. I know his name. I know his story.

I know all of their stories.

He comes over and takes the ladle, drinking thirstily before I refill it, and he empties it again. “You’re an angel,” he whispers.

“You’re welcome, Clive.” I smile at him, glad to be appreciated, even if it is by alleged murderers and thieves, and then move to the next cell.

I make my way as quickly as I can, hoping to make it to every cell before I’m discovered and hauled back up the stairs. My parents have forbidden me to come down here, but I do it anyway. I’ve seen the slop and dirty water these poor people are given, and I can’t stand the thought of them suffering for a drink when I can help them. If there was ever such a thing as a trial in all of the kingdom of Dun’s Crossing, perhaps I wouldn’t feel so inclined to help, but in my mind, it should be innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around.

I move to one of the cells that has a window and pause to watch the man inside. Tall, with dark hair the same shade as my own, this prisoner has always been my favorite. When he makes a low humming sound in the back of his throat, several large black birds move to perch between the bars of the small opening high in the ceiling. I can never tell if they are ravens or crows, but their shimmering blue-black feathers are beautiful to me.

“Water?” I ask, like I always do.

He turns to look at me, an amused expression on his face as he saunters over. His long black tunic and pants are filthy and torn, but he looks majestic anyway, like he would be better suited for a wizard’s study or a throne room than a dirty dungeon beneath Wilbury Castle.

“Still playing fast and loose with the rules, huh, Princess?” he asks as he takes the ladle from my hand.

I shrug. “If I get in trouble, it wouldn’t be the first time, Mr. Blake.”

“How many times have I told you not to call me mister? You’re a princess and I’m–”

“What are you exactly?” I interrupt him. I’ve never been brave enough to ask the question of him. Unlike the others, his story is hazy in my mind because he doesn’t want to tell it. I tend not to speak to anyone when it can be avoided. While Mr. Blake has always made me feel comfortable, I’ve never asked that burning question. I’m not sure what makes me ask it today. Yet, here it is, falling from my lips.

Rather than offering me a suitable answer, he chuckles and finishes the water from the ladle. “I am a prisoner.”

“Yes, I know that.” I practically roll my eyes, but I don’t. Mother slaps me in the face when I do that. “I mean….” I gesture at the birds that are still sitting on the window ledge, patiently waiting for his attention. “What are you?”

“Some say I’m a madman,” he begins, dipping the ladle back in and taking another drink before he continues. “Others say I’m a murderer. Or a magician. The king thinks that I’m his arch nemesis.”

“But why?” I ask. “Why are you here?”

“Why are any of us here, my little raven?” He reaches up and tugs a strand of my hair the way a father might a beloved daughter. I smile up at him, wishing my own father would take such an interest in me. “Your king spoke the words, and now here I am. And here I shall be until he says otherwise.”

I want to tell him that when I am queen, I will release him, but we both know I’ll never have a chance to rule Dun’s Crossing. That honor will fall to Prince Kieran.

Even thinking of him makes my stomach tighten up. The high and mighty Kieran–Crown Prince of Dun’s Crossing. Tall, muscular, and handsome, with white-blond hair like the rest of the royal family. All the women want to be his mate, his bride. If they knew the truth–that he is mean, viscous, and cruel, they would gather their skirts and run.

He also happens to be my twin brother, but no one would ever guess that to look at us. And he treats me like he thinks I belong down here with the very prisoners I do my best to help.

“I wish I could let you out,” I whisper.

Mr. Blake reaches through the bars and pats my cheek. “You’re a good girl, little raven.” He always calls me that, probably because of my black hair.

I open my mouth to thank him, but I don’t get the words out before I hear footsteps pounding toward us and look over to see my brother coming toward us in a rage, his icy tresses flowing out around his shoulders as he rushes over. “There you are, you worthless filth. Father has us all searching the whole damn castle for you. Get your ass upstairs to the throne room now, you little bitch.”

For just a moment, as I stare into his light blue eyes, I wish one of those birds on the windowsill would fly over and poke his eye out. It’s a flash of a thought, one I’d feel embarrassed to admit I’ve ever had in my life. He is my brother, after all, and I shouldn’t be so cruel to him just because he hates me.

But before I can even open my mouth to tell him I’ll come along with him, I see a flash of black and blue careening toward him. Kieran raises his hands to protect himself as one of the birds comes flying at his face, squawking, raising its talons, and aiming directly for his eye!

“No!” I shout. Kieran swings at the bird, cursing and trying to knock it away. I cover my mouth in horror as blood drips from my brother’s face.

Mr. Blake makes that sound in the back of his throat, and the bird immediately flies back through the bars. Kieran stands there for a second, one hand pressed to his face, blood dripping down his arm.

“Are you okay?” I move to help him, but he swats at me, pushing me away.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” he says. “You stupid bitch! And you!” He turns toward Mr. Blake, one hand still pressed to his injured eye. “You did that, didn’t you, you psychotic asshole!”

“I’m sorry, Prince Kieran, but I can’t take credit for that,” Mr. Blake says calmly. “I wish I could.”

“You fucking jackass. You’re going to pay for this. Guards, give him fifty lashes!” Kieran shouts as he turns to walk back upstairs. I see some guards moving in Mr. Blake’s direction.

Turning to him, tears prickle in my eyes. “No!”

“It’s all right, little raven,” he assures me. “I will live to see you another day.”

My mouth drops open as the guards brush by me. I hear Kieran shouting for me near the stairwell and remember that my father has called for me. If I don’t go now, I’ll end up getting a beating myself. “I’m sorry,” I tell him.

He says, “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

The guards grab him and drag him to the back of his cell, and I have to go. I can’t stand here and watch them beat him for something he didn’t do.

One thought burns in my mind as I follow my brother up the stairs, his crimson droplets of blood on every other step: I hate Prince Kieran Solberg with all of my being.

*Kieran*

My cheek stings where that blasted bird pecked away my skin, but at least it didn’t get my eyeball. Because of my wolf shifter abilities, I feel it healing already. When I draw my hand away again, there’s no fresh blood.

I hear my twin sisters’ footsteps lightly following me up the stairs and can feel her glaring at me. It’s nothing new. We’ve been at each other’s throats since we were old enough to walk.

Well, that’s not exactly true.

I’ve been at her throat. She’s mostly passive, just stares at me. Sometimes she cries. I used to laugh hysterically when she’d cry. It made me want to hurt her more. Now that I’m older and more mature, it just makes me want to tell her to grow a pair.

We are finally out of the dungeon stairwell. I hurry along to my father’s office where the rest of the family is waiting. I know he will be displeased, especially when he sees my eye. Mother will likely start having a conniption. Perhaps I shall lie and say something else happened to me.

“There he is.” Father sounds annoyed, as if it’s my fault we are late, as I step into the room. I can’t help that Blanca is taking forever. I find a spot on the couch between my younger brother, Anwen, and my younger sister, Candace, who reluctantly scoots over a tad. The two younger siblings, Finn and Ingrid, sit across from us, with our father, King Gavin Solberg behind his desk, and our mother, Queen Rowena, standing behind him. I keep my hand pressed against the side of my face for now.

“Where is she?” Mother demands. “Did you find her?”

Before I can answer, Blanca bumbles through the door. “Pardon me.” She has lost the bucket and ladle at least, so they might not guess what she was up to. I’d say the filth on her long black dress should be enough of a tell, but then, she’s always filthy. She sits down on the floor next to the couch where our younger siblings sit, knowing she’s not allowed on the furniture in here. She is a stark contrast to the rest of us with her dark hair and eyes, her olive toned skin. The rest of us are blonde, blue eyed, fair to the point of almost being translucent.

A stranger wouldn’t think we were related at all, let alone twins.

Maybe that’s why no one has ever thought twice about treating her like she’s not part of the family.

“It’s about time.” Father glares at her. “You haven’t been down in the dungeon again, have you?”

She won’t lie. Instead, she drops her head and stares at her arms, folded around her knees. Slowly, she nods.

“I’ve told you a thousand times not to go down there!” Mother sounds like she’s about to cross the room to slap her. As she takes a step in that direction, Father raises a hand. It’ll have to wait until later.

Normally, it doesn’t bother me when someone slaps my sister in the face. She always deserves it, after all, but recently, I’ve felt a bit peculiar about it, like maybe I shouldn’t let it happen. It’s almost as if my wolf has decided to defend her. Perhaps that shouldn’t surprise me. She will be one of my subjects one day, after all, and my wolf has been taught from a young age to defend the weakest of our pack. But I can’t quite reason out what it is.

Father clears his throat and picks up several missives from his desk, stacking them loudly. “We’ve received word from the leaders in the conquered territories letting us know that a mist is forming around the borders. It’s already taken over our neighbors to the north and west and will envelop those in the south and east in a day or two.

Ingrid sucks in a deep breath. “Already?”

“Yes. The full moon is still about five days off, but it will take a while for it to settle in completely. This one will be different from months prior. This is a silver haze, named as such because it is the first haze to encompass us once a royal has become of age.” His heavy stare lands on my face, and I am compelled to lower my hand to look at him fully.

“Your eye!” Mother gasps, ruining the moment.

Again, Father puts a hand out to stop her. It’s already beginning to heal. I can feel it.

He continues. “As you know, as the haze settles on us, dignitaries from far and wide, as well as commoners and others who have recently reached their twenty-first birthday will descend upon the land. Everyone will be pining for their chance to be mated to the Crown Prince of Dun’s Crossing.”

I can’t help but lift my head a little. I’ve always been proud of my station. I would like to imagine one day soon I’ll be married to a princess from a distant land, one that will be a good ally to my kingdom. There aren’t many kingdoms left nearby since my father has a penchant for war. I think of all the areas he’s conquered even in my lifetime and wonder if I will ever be as mighty a king as he. Hopefully, my mate can help me fulfill my destiny as a great and powerful ruler.

“You four are too young,” Father says, gesturing at Anwen, Candace, Finn, and Ingrid. “You shall stay inside, out of the way.”

“Oh, but Father! Can’t we go outside and see all the magic taking place?” Candace whines. Normally, all she has to do is ask, and she gets her way.

It’s not to be this time. Our father fixes his darkest stare on her. “Absolutely not. A haze is no place for a young woman of your stature, not until you are old enough to find your mate. And even then–Goddess help me.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head. I know he can’t stand the thought of his little girls meeting their mates and being marked in a sexual romp out in the open–maybe in a tent if he gets lucky. I almost snicker and bite it back.

My eyes fall on my twin. Of course, she is old enough to take part because she is the exact same age as I am. But she doesn’t ask to be included, and no one says a word. I can’t imagine who she might be mated to anyway. Probably the son of some distant Beta. He will likely reject her. Marrying Blanca will not make a good match for anyone. Everyone knows she is the black sheep of our family.

“We need to get tents set up throughout the woods,” the king continues. He looks at me and Anwen. “You are in charge of that. I want as many as possible. The last thing we need is people frolicking all over the place.”

“Yes, Father,” we both say in unison.

“Borrow from the army if you need to. Remember, this is an important haze. Not an ordinary one. There will be tons of people here. We must make them feel welcome.”

It seems unlike my father to want to welcome anyone, but perhaps he has ideas about what to do with these visitors that he has yet to share with me. I agree with him again.

“Remember, we only have five days.” Mother wears a tight-lipped smile as she makes her unnecessary contribution to the conversation.

“You may go.”

As soon as Father dismisses us, I am up off the couch and through the door before Mother can even ask about my eye again. The only person who leaves faster than me is Blanca, and that’s because she knows if she sticks around, she’ll be punished for going back to the dungeon.

All of us walk together toward our quarters. Blanca’s room is in another wing of the castle, so she will break off eventually, but the others completely ignore her, as if she doesn’t exist. That’s better than hitting her or calling her names, which is what I usually do.

“You’re so lucky,” Anwen tells me. “You finally get to find your mate and fuck her real good.”

My prim sisters squeal at his use of a swear word, but Finn laughs. I ignore him–as does Blanca. She seems to have something else on her mind.

“What the hell happened to your eye, anyway?” Finn asks me.

“Nothing.” I don’t want to explain it to him. Blanca breaks off and goes down a dark hallway by herself as the others head upstairs. I hesitate at the bottom of the stairs, realizing I need to know what my parents have planned for her. I’m not sure why, but if my sister is out there during the haze, I need to know about it. I may treat her like garbage, but if anyone else were to misuse her, I’d be pissed. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

I turn and head back to my father’s office. The door is ajar, and inside, I hear my parents talking. They aren’t bothering to keep their voices down, but I pause anyway. “We can’t let her anywhere near the Haze,” my father is saying. “If she were to discover the truth–”

“She won’t.” Mother interrupts him. “I’ll see to it.”

“Good. That is your only job.” My father’s voice is stern.

I stop, deciding not to interrupt them. Even though I have no idea who they are talking about, I suddenly feel like I no longer need to ask the question. I turn to go back to my room when I hear a scream peel through the castle. Instinctively, I take off running. I’d know that scream anywhere.

*Blanca*

I almost made it to my room.

When Nessa Winters steps out of the shadows near the last turn that takes me to my chambers, I leap backward, not out of fear but out of surprise. I hate it when she does that. Recently, she’s been doing it more and more. I’m not sure why. Maybe the fact that we are all twenty-one now and our wolves are more active has something to do with it. I don’t know, but I don’t like it.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the nasty bitch who calls herself a princess,” Nessa says, stepping closer to me. Out of other nearby shadows two of her friends appear. I’m outnumbered. That’s not unusual. Not that I ever fight back anyway. If I did, I’d get it worse from my parents.

Nessa’s father is an ambassador from an allied pack. They’ve been staying in the castle for years now, negotiating treaties or something like that. I don’t know why she’s here. I just know that she hates me.

“Leave me alone, please,” I say. “I’m just trying to go to my room.”

“Oh, is that what you’re doing?” Nessa’s dark eyes widen, and she shakes her head as she presses her lips together in a mocking fashion. In her best impersonation of my voice she says, “Just trying to go to your room?”

I take another step back and run into a wall. “That’s right.” I see one of the castle cats standing over in the distance, licking its paws beneath a table, and wish I could switch places with her. If I were a cat, all I’d have to do is sit around and eat scraps the cooks drop or maybe chase mice.

I wouldn’t be the one who is constantly being chased.

“Well, I’m afraid if you want to get to your room, you’ll have to get through us first, you fucking bitch!” Nessa swings her hand in a semi-closed fist so that her fingernails connect with my cheek.

My head snaps to the side, and my arms go up instinctively. I can’t hurt her, but I really don’t want to be hit anymore. “Stop!” I shout at her. “I mean it.”

“Stop!” She uses that mocking voice as her friends laugh, and she hits me again. I wish I could do something to protect myself that didn’t involve hurting her back, but the last time I hit her, my mother beat me so badly, I could hardly walk the next day.

I can’t take another beating like that. Not this close to the Haze. If I can find my mate, maybe I can get out of here.

As she hits me another time, I press myself against the wall and wish, for an instant, that the cat across the hall was a wolf or a bear, that it would attack her, sort of like that bird trying to peck Kieran’s eye out.

“Stop!” I say again, but before the word is even fully out of my mouth, I see a blur of gray fur and hear a hiss, and Nessa is no longer hitting me.

Instead, she’s falling to the floor, screaming so loudly, my ears ache. I cover my ears and plaster myself to the wall as her two friends begin to scream as well. Neither of them are trying to help her, though. I wish with all my might that that cat would stop attacking her. I know that I will get in trouble for this, even though I had nothing to do with it.

Did I?

I remember what happened with the bird and how Mr. Blake said he didn’t do that. Now, this cat has done something similar. Could I…?

No, there’s no way.

But just in case, I make that sound I heard Mr. Blake make in the back of his throat, the best I can, and wish that the cat would stop.

It doesn’t.

I reach down and grab the cat just as I hear my brother’s voice shouting down the hallway. “What in the world is going on?”

I fully expect the cat to rip my hands to shreds. Instead, as I hold it, it begins to purr. I set it down on the floor, and it runs away, just as Kieran arrives.

“You–you psychotic bitch!” Nessa shouts at me, wiping blood on the back of her hand as she scoots across the floor away from me on her ass. “You witch!”

“What the fuck happened?” Kieran asks as he looks from Nessa to me and then back again.

“It was a cat.” I wipe my own blood off my face on the back of my hand. Nessa hit me hard enough with her claws to draw blood from a few places. “It came at her, the same way the bird attacked you.”

Kieran’s eyes are practically glowing, he’s so mad. I know Nessa has a thing for him, but I always thought she wasn’t good enough for him. Now, I am beginning to wonder if maybe he likes her, too. “Go to your room right now, bitch. When father hears what you’ve done–”

Out of nowhere, the cat is back. I hadn’t wished for it to happen this time, but it jumps on Kieran’s back and sinks its claws in.

He shouts and reaches around to grab the cat. I scream, thinking he’ll kill it, but the kitty sinks its claws into his hands, and he shouts and lets it go.

I watch in shock for a moment before I decide not to press my luck any more. If Kieran thinks I did that, too, he’ll do more than slap me a few times. I rush between the girls and head toward my room, praying I can get there before he catches me.

I’m almost to my door when I feel his hand clamp down around my arm. He spins me to face him, pressing me up against the wall right next to my room. His eyes narrow as he lifts a hand and presses it against my neck.

It’s been a long time since Kieran hit me. He usually just calls me names and leaves the dirty work to someone else. But I can feel his wrath coursing through his veins as he seethes, his lips twitching with words of damnation he has yet to spew in my direction.

He’s so close to me, I can see the tiny flecks of blood on his nose that must’ve splattered there from the bird attack. He squeezes my throat, and I go completely still, staring into his icy eyes.

He leans in so that his nose is practically touching mine, and I know he’s either going to choke me out or punch me so hard I’ll crumple to the ground.

But he doesn’t do either of those things. He just stares at me. as if he’s in a trance of some sort.

Electricity prickles deep inside of me, my lower abdomen clutching in a way it never has before. My heart thrums in my chest. I can hear the blood whooshing through my ears.

Something strange is happening; I’ve never felt like this before–especially not when I was looking at my brother, but the wolf inside me stirs in a way she never does.

He must feel it too.

And as quickly as it comes, it goes–at least for me. I grab his arm trying to push him back, and even though he is much stronger than me, it works, in a way.

He releases me with a cry of anguish. “What the fuck? You little bitch! Have you been studying magic down there with that wretched Blake?”

Grasping my throat with both hands, I rasp out, “No! I didn’t do any of it. I don’t have any powers.” My legs feel weak beneath me, but I fight to stay upright.

“Whatever the fuck it is you’re doing to me, knock it off! I know how badly you want the throne. Father told me you’ve been scheming. Well, it won’t happen!” He turns his back to me, leaving me leaning against the wall wondering what the hell he’s talking about.

I want the throne? Why would I possibly think I could ever get the throne?

“Stay away from Nessa!” He turns around and glares at me. “Touch her again, and I’ll break your hand.”

I don’t wait around to see if he means it. Instead, I dart for my room, lock the door, even though I know he has a key, and sink to the floor. With my arms around my knees, I begin to sob. I have no idea what’s going on, but something strange is in the air.

I cry for several minutes before I remind myself that I have to be strong enough to survive this, to get out of here. Lifting my head, I look out the small window across my tiny room–and that’s when I see it for the first time.

A fine, light, misty cloud–of Haze.

*Kieran*

I can still feel the sharp rips in the skin of my back where that fucking cat sunk it’s claws in, and my hands ache from the scratches that forced me to let it go before I ripped it in half. I don’t know what the fuck is happening in this place, but something is wrong, and I don’t like it.

I rush past Nessa and her cronies where they still stand in the hall. One of them calls out to me, but I wave a dismissive hand. I don’t give a fuck if Nessa Winters is bleeding to death all over the Goddessdamn marble floor. What I do care about is my stupid sister getting herself into trouble again. How many times does she have to be told to stop fucking with Nessa? Last time, I thought Mother was going to break her legs. She came pretty damn close. Mother and her fucking fireplace poker. Thank the Goddess she never turned that on me or any of my other siblings.

Why is it okay that she beats the living shit out of Blanca then?

I don’t have an answer for that. It’s just always been that way. My parents have always treated her like garbage, except for the few times they’ve put a nice dress on her and made her stand with us on the platform to wave at the people below the balcony. The rest of the time, she’s treated worse than trash by them. By everybody.

By me.

A spark of electricity washes over me again, but I refuse to acknowledge it. That woman has gone too far this time. She’s been down there talking to Blake, finding out about his magic, and I don’t like it. Father told me a long time ago to keep an eye on her. She’s my twin, older than me by a few hours. She could try to claim the throne.

My throne.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” My best friend and will-be Beta, Taner, asks as he falls into step beside me. Thankfully, he’s walking on what will now be considered my “good” side and can’t see my fucking eye.

“Nowhere,” I tell him. “My room.”

“Did you hear about the Haze? It’s moving in so fast, it’ll be here before the full moon. It’s wild. Of course, nothing will happen until the moon is full, but it’s kind of crazy not to be able to see anything more than a few yards away.”

He continues to babble on about the fucking weather as I storm down the hallway. I fully intend to go to my room, but with Taner refusing to shut the fuck up, I storm right past the hallway. I have another idea of where to go.

Taner moves in front of me before I reach the dungeon door. “Hey, your room’s that way. Oh, fuck. What the hell happened to your eye?”

“Move, Taner. I have important matters to attend to.” I try to sidestep him, but he moves in front of me, fascinated with the condition of my face.

“Looks like a Goddessdamn bird tried to fucking peck your eyeball right out of your skull!” He chuckles, the mop of blond hair on his head dancing around as he does so.

“Get the fuck out of my way, asshole.” I push him aside, throw open the door, and take the steps two at a time. It’s dark down here and smells like body odor and shit. I have no idea why anyone would want to come down here, especially not a princess.

Not that we’ve ever treated Blanca like she’s a princess.

Thoughts of what happened between us in the hallway come to mind again. What the fuck was that? Something about being so close to her stirred my wolf in a way that I’ve never experienced before. Rather than squeezing her throat so tight she couldn’t breathe, I just stood there, staring into her black eyes.

They aren’t black, though. I noticed then that they have little flecks of silver and blue in them. They’re actually quite beautiful. My sister is beautiful.

“What the actual fuck?”

I say it aloud this time. My mind is all kinds of fucked up. I don’t know if it’s the Haze, the animal attacks, or the idea that there’s a psychotic magician living in our basement, but I need to seriously get a hold on myself.

“Your Majesty?” one of the guards says as I briskly walk by him. I don’t acknowledge his existence as I make my way down the dark corridor to Blake’s cell. He’s leaning against the far wall, his tattered clothes even more a mess since he was given a lashing earlier. I can hear the blood dripping on the stone floor. He doesn’t turn to face me, but I know he senses my presence, and I can assume he knows it’s me.

“Whatever the fuck you did… whoever the fuck you are… you need to leave Blanca alone. Life is already awful for her, if you haven’t noticed. If you continue to play your mind games with her, you’re going to end up getting her beaten–to death.”

He’s quiet for so long I think maybe his ears are ringing so loudly from the punishment that he can’t hear me, but then he speaks, in a low growl of a voice. “I have done nothing. But I find it amusing that you, of all people, pretend to care what happens to her.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I grab hold of the bars between us and shake them. Certainly, I have never been kind to my sister, but I haven’t beaten her like my mother has or locked her up without food or water for days like my father has.

He turns slowly, and I can see not only did they give him the lash, but his eyes are swollen to slits, dried blood caking his crooked nose and lips. “You have done nothing to help her, and that makes you just as guilty as the others.”

A squawking sound at the windows has me turning my head up. Four large ravens sit there on the sill, staring down at me. I want to dare the bastards to come at me so I can shift into my wolf and rip them in half, but my conversation with Blake is more important.

“It’s never been my place to question the king and queen–her own parents.” I feel weak speaking the words, knowing they aren’t the truth. As a child, I could’ve done nothing to help Blanca, but we are twenty-one years old now. In the last several years, I could’ve done something.

I could’ve done anything.

Blake wheels around to face me, and even though he should be weak from the punishment, he stalks toward me on steady legs. “You may think you know who I am, boy. But you don’t. Your father has filled your head so full of lies, you wouldn’t know the truth if it tried to peck your eyes out. This haze that’s accumulating right now will change everything for you, and when it clears, I hope your eyes are no longer blinded to the truth.”

“What the fuck are you–”

He interrupts me. “None are so blind as those who choose not to see!” Behind him, the birds begin to squawk. He takes another step toward me. “If something sounds false, looks false, and feels false, Prince Kieran, how can it be the truth?”

“Hey! Get away from the prince!” I hear a guard shout as Blake is practically nose to nose with me through the cell bars.

I want to reach between them, grab his throat, and squeeze as hard as I can. I want to feel the life evaporate from him, to leave my father’s mortal enemy that he captured on the battlefield over twenty years ago nothing but a rotting carcass lying on the floor of this dungy, Goddess-forsaken dungeon.

But this close to him, even in the dim light casting shadows from the lantern on the wall, I can see his eyes. They’re black like obsidian, deep, pools laced with insanity–and power.

But that’s not what catches my attention.

Dancing around in that black pool of nothingness, I see something familiar, something that sends a bolt of shock down my spine.

Little flecks of silver and blue.

*Blanca*

It’s been five days since the incident in the dungeon, which was followed by the incident with Nessa–and then the incident with my brother.

I’ve hardly left my room since then.

I have chores I must do every day, like muck the royal stables and scrub the toilets in my parents’ bathrooms. I’ve done those things and then swung by the kitchen to take a little food. The chef there is nice to me. She never scolds me for plucking an apple or even a turkey leg.

That’s it, though. The rest of the time I’ve spent sitting on the edge of my thin mattress staring out the window at the disappearing landscape. The misty fog has continued to roll in, its thick fingers moving mysteriously to intertwine around every building, every tree, every creature that dares to step out into it.

It’s not a normal fog. The first time I went out to make my way to the barns and encountered it, I could feel it wrapping around me, the energy inside of it pulsating, moving. Breathing. I had to close my eyes for a moment to get my bearings. Not only could I see nothing through its milky whiteness, I lost my ability to think clearly.

It seeps into a person and changes who they are on the inside.

And it only has one purpose, one intention.

To find a mate.

Why the Moon Goddess saw fit to create such a wild, feral phenomenon to match people up, I can’t say, but now, as a sliver of silver begins to appear in the sky, I know that the full moon is out there. I just can’t see it through the misty magical mayhem that is the Haze. Once the moon hits her apex, chaos will ensue.

I close my eyes for a moment and draw my knees to my chest. In my mind’s eye, I picture my wolf, black and sleek, gliding through the fog, guided by the same all-encompassing sensation I’d felt every time I’d walked through the Haze. Paired with the full moon, that feeling will be even more intense until I’m not even able to register a clear thought of my own. I will cut through the rolling dense barrier until I find him.

I have no idea who my mate may be, but in my mind, he is a large silver wolf with blue eyes. It’s not a stretch to think he would be. Most of the people in my kingdom have blue eyes–like my family. Most of the wolves are white, gray, or silver. Though only those with great strength are the latter.

Like my father.

Like my brother.

I physically shake my head. No. I can’t think about Kieran. He’ll be out there, but he’ll be paired off with his own mate, likely a beautiful white wolf with crystalline eyes.

Back to my mystery mate. I picture the two of us finding a tent on the outskirts of the forest. We go inside, shift, and fall into one another’s arms. I’m not exactly sure what happens during a mating ceremony since my mother would rather lick the underside of a livery worker’s boot than speak to me about anything important, but I know that it’s magical.

It’s wonderful.

And it will get me out of here.

Once I’ve found my mate, and he’s marked me, that’s it. I’ll belong to him. Not as his property, but as his family. Nothing can undo that. We will be bound together. There’s no rejection or divorce in our world. We simply trust that the Moon Goddess knows what She’s doing.

And there’s no magic strong enough to mess that up either. Sure, there are people who have some sort of magical powers. I think about Mr. Blake and his birds, and what I somehow did with the animals myself, but no one is stronger than the Moon Goddess. What She says goes.

So… I will be free of this place in a matter of hours, and the thought has a genuine smile grazing my face for the first time.

I’ll know it’s time to go when the longing inside of me begins to burn. I’ll try to get outside before my wolf bursts free, but I can’t promise anything. I haven’t had much of an opportunity to shift since I found my wolf at eighteen, a few weeks before my brother found his, which is odd, but I know how to do it. I can’t wait to run free and feel the wind whipping through my fur again.

I take a deep breath and try to remain calm. It’s hard to believe it’ll all be over soon, and the man who can save me will hold me in his arms.

As the hours go by, and the moon continues to climb, I feel that fire inside of me igniting, and I know it’s almost time. The night sky fills with howls, some echoing out in the distance, others much closer to the castle. The urge to answer in kind bubbles up inside of me. I need to shift into my wolf. I need to feel the warmth of the silver light of the moon wash over my fur. I need to tear through the night and search for my mate.

And I need to do it now.

Even though I’ve yet to step foot into the Haze tonight, I can feel the carnal urges within me beginning to take over, clouding my mental acuity. I’m operating completely on instinct.

In a flurry, I rush to the door and yank on the handle, intending to fling it open, already planning to head out into the hallway to the closest exit to the castle.

But when I grip the doorknob and pull, nothing happens. I check to see if it’s locked from the inside, but it’s not. Confused, I pull it again. It doesn’t budge. “Is it locked?” I don’t know who I’m asking, and it doesn’t matter because it’s clear, even to my discombobulated mind, that the door is locked.

I’m trapped.

“No!” Inside me, that burning itch to escape grows stronger. I want to scratch my chest and stomach, as if I could somehow claw that uncomfortable feeling out of my body. I can’t stop pulling on the unyielding door, though. With my other hand, I slap the wood. “Hey! Is anyone out there? Anyone?”

There’s no answer.

Frustrated, I spin around and rush to the window. I’m on the fourth floor of the castle, and there are no roofs beneath me. Even if I shift, I won’t be able to safely leap down to the ground below me. I have to get out through the door.

For a moment, I think I should use the mind-link to contact my parents and let them know I’m locked in my room. This has to be some sort of a mistake, after all. Everyone knows I’m twenty-one. I belong out there in the Haze with the others.

Where my mate is.

But the mind-link has never worked for me. I’ve never been able to get it to work to even contact my twin, and I’ve never heard another voice in my head. I have no idea why that is the case, but it sucks, because now would be the perfect time for me to be able to get someone on the other side of this door to let me out.

Not that they’d probably come to help me anyway.

Desperate to get out into the Haze, I return to the door and bang on it with my fists. “Hey! Is anyone out there? The door won’t open! I need out!”

I’m met with only silence.

Actually, that’s not true.

Leaning against the door, I can hear my heart thundering, my breath coming in loud, shallow bursts.

But that’s not the only thing I hear. I also hear a sharp squeaking sound. Confused, I look around and see that my distress seems to have alerted a few of the mice that inhabit my room. They’re sort of like pets to me. We all live here together, and I share my food with them. I’ve even given them names.

“Sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean to alarm you,” I tell the one looking at me with wide eyes from the corner. Behind him, Zelda peeps out of the hole in the wall, and I can see the shadow of Ralph behind her. “I can’t get out.”

The three of them come closer, their faces somehow seeming concerned–if mice are even capable of expressions.

I slide down the door in defeat, fighting tears. “I’ve got to get out of here, and the door is locked.”

The trio scurry over to me. I lay my palm on the floor and they climb up so I can pet them with my other hand. “I wish that you could help me.”

Before I even get the full sentence out, all three of them scamper out of my hand and disappear under the door. Confused, I lie down on the floor and peer under it. I see them running up the wall next to the door where they disappear from my sight. A second later, I hear a jingling sound, and then my mice friends reappear–carrying something.

They slide back under the door carrying that metal object.

My mouth drops open as I see what they’ve managed to retrieve from the hook in the hallway.

It’s a key.