A War of Carnal Lies

Torin's POV The air grows thinner the further we travel out of the forest. Perhaps that's why my skin is covered with small chills. Perhaps it's because I’m aware of the very real possibility I may never make it back. Surprisingly, the thought of not returning doesn't sting as I would expect. Not that I would ever be allowed to be a rogue wolf. No, after the death of my mate, Miles, the title of heir or ‘heiress’ in my case falls to me. I would be appointed Alpha of the Sequoia Moon pack and take my seat on the board when the time came. The board consisted of all four district rulers as well as five speakers from each district that were appointed by the people. Together we lead the Kingdom of Vallant into peace and prosperity. At least that was the idea. Tension is always palpable leading up to the decennial summit. Some of the district rulers were feeling stagnant in their positions. They wanted power. We had once been at war for far less than power and title. The meeting place was always the same, we all traveled to the central city in the land. The city of Zison was diverse in its population. All species were permitted to live in the flourishing city. Many accommodations were made throughout to cater to all supernatural life. A ravine was carved and flowed along many streets out to the sea for all of the merpeople. A large section was planted with towering pine trees to mimic the forest for the shifters. Building permits were restricted to 140 ft height to allow open airspace for those capable of flying or preferred air travel. The underground city life was popular for those who were sensitive to light or typically were nocturnal. Yes, Zison was home to many and belonged to all. I had rarely been allowed to travel from the pack. Even less so when Miles passed away. My chest squeezed as his sweet face flashed back to me. My throat grew tight every time I thought of him. It was nearly impossible to speak of him now. That was the worst part. His name deserved to be spoken, his stories shared. I couldn't bring myself to do so. The wound was still too deep to bare. Miles and I were inseparable. From morning until our parents forced us apart at night. It had been that way since we could walk. We started sneaking into each other's rooms in the pack house at age 12. It was a miracle our parents never discovered our midnight rendezvous. We were so immensely in love with each other from such a young age. It was a child's love though, until our last year together. We shared many kisses growing up. Our last year they became more frequent and heated than they had before. He started to look at me differently, and I him.. Miles had grown quite tall and had started to broaden in the shoulders. And I had grown rather fond of the dimple that appeared when he smiled softly at me. He was just two months shy of his 18th birthday. We would have known for sure if we were fated mates that day. Everyone said we were, that we had been attached to each other for too long to not be mates. I had secretly hoped they were right. Miles and I refused to talk about being mates with each other. I think we were both afraid of jinxing fate. It was six in the morning when it happened. The sun was just reaching for the horizon and the light was limited. On any normal day we would have been halfway through our daily run, but that night our hands had grown fervent. I wanted it to be uninterrupted and unhurried. I convinced Miles to follow me out into the woods to our favorite spot by the lake. We laid down blankets and slowly undressed each other. I can still remember the heat on my face as I sat completely bare and tried to take in the full sight of him. I had never seen him so nervous. I had never been so nervous. We kissed, rubbed, and held each other until I built up the courage to lay back and let him in. My eyes stung with tears as he tried so hard to be gentle. His hands softly wiped every runaway tear while I adjusted. Once I could take a deep breath, I nodded that I was ready for him to move. Pain and pleasure ripped through me once again. The pain slowly faded out as our animalistic needs overcame us both. Afterward, he held me in his arms and told me he loved me. He softly spoke about all the times he realized he did. We talked about our future and the possibility of being mates. He made promises to love me even if we weren't. I still like to think that he was telling the truth. That he would have loved me even if the mate bond never snapped in place. We repeated those events again and again and again until the sun started to peak towards the horizon. Perhaps it was because we were still immersed with each other, perhaps it was the shadows still littering the forest floor that kept us from sensing the rabid wolves approaching. His scream wrenched me from sleep, followed quickly by the sound of snapping teeth and breaking bones. We were surrounded. Three rogue and seemingly feral wolves had us surrounded. I was still naked, trying to wrap myself in the grass-covered blanket. Miles in his wolf form towered in front of me. His tail swatted mere inches above my head. Blood flooded from his hind leg. A deep growl emitted from his chest as the three attackers started to close in on us. Howls rang out from behind us. Miles had alerted the pack house, guards would be coming, our dads would be coming. The wolf on the right snapped and all hell broke loose. I shifted faster than I ever had before, but I found myself pinned to the tree behind me. The two others were trying to pin Miles down. I had never seen feral wolves work in tandem like this. They were always too deteriorated mentally to think past basic instinct. A whine escaped from me as my head collided with the tree behind me. That was enough to distract Miles. The two wolves managed to get the upper hand on him. One bit down on his uninjured hind leg. One wrapped his jaw around his throat. The crunch that followed still wakes me most nights. He fell limp as we were surrounded by wolves from our pack. His body turned back into his human form. A battle continued around me as I shifted and crawled to Miles' dead body. There was no sound. The screams coming out of my mouth made no sound. The wolves fighting around us were silent. Hands came around my shoulder and tried to lift me away from him. I couldn't let go. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. He was going to my mate. My mate. My Mate. MY MATE. I woke up the next day in the pack hospital. Apparently, I had to be sedated so they could move me away from Miles’ body. The back of my head had ten staples and a cut deep enough to need stitches ran from my temple to the bottom of my cheek bone. I couldn’t feel it. They had no pain, I had no voice. Just this deep, ever-expanding emptiness in my chest that threatened to swallow me whole.