The Anchor
1024 Words
Kaelthar Viremont
(Earlier the same day)
I stood before the glass wall of my mansion, hands braced against the marble windowsill as I stared out over lands that were mine.
And yet felt like they were slipping away.
“What do you see?” I asked without turning.
Behind me, silk shifted softly. The woman in white stepped closer, her long hair pinned in a loose, elegant bun.
“It does not work like that, my king,” she said gently.
“Then make it work.”
A faint sigh left her lips.
She joined me at the window, her gaze unfocusing slightly as she reached for something beyond sight.
“How much time do I have?” I asked.
There was no hesitation in her answer.
“A few weeks. Perhaps… two days.”
A humorless chuckle escaped me. “The Lycan King brought to his knees by fate—and a seer who offers riddles instead of solutions.”
Nymera pressed her lips together, though I heard the strain in her voice.
“I cannot help you if you refuse to help yourself, my king. Our fates are written—but we choose whether to walk toward them. Yours demands that you stop avoiding the path.”
“Fate. Destiny. Your divine Moon Goddess,” I muttered bitterly. “Do you believe in control at all? In shaping your own life?”
My fists clenched. I forced myself to breathe.
Nymera was not the cause of this curse.
“Fine,” I said at last. “I will look. But I promise nothing.”
Relief flickered in her eyes. She bowed her head slightly.
“Very well, my king. Do not ignore the signs this time.”
Half an hour later, I sat in the back seat of a black armored vehicle. Mateo, my beta, drove. Nymera sat beside me.
“What exactly are we searching for?” Mateo asked carefully.
I exhaled slowly.
“An anchor.”
His hands slipped slightly on the steering wheel. The car swerved before he corrected it.
“Mateo,” I said coolly, “I would rather not die in traffic.”
“My apologies, my king. But… what made you change your mind?”
I stared out the window as we took secluded roads to avoid attention. I needed silence. Space to think.
Nymera had proven herself time and again. If she believed something waited for me, I had to trust that.
Even if I hated it.
Five hours into the journey—
It struck.
Sudden. Violent.
My chest constricted as though invisible claws had wrapped around my ribs.
“Stop the car!”
The brakes screeched.
I shoved the door open before the vehicle fully halted. My boots hit pavement unevenly as I staggered toward a stone wall, dragging in ragged breaths.
What was happening to me?
I had faced war, betrayal, assassination attempts.
Nothing had ever felt like this.
Nymera and Mateo were at my side instantly.
“We are near something,” Nymera murmured, her eyes scanning the area.
I lifted my gaze.
A school.
Old. Unremarkable. Modest.
Impossible.
And yet the pull intensified.
“I’m fine,” I muttered, straightening.
“You are not,” Mateo replied flatly.
“We take a break here,” I ordered.
He stationed guards outside the gates while Nymera and I entered the dean’s office.
The dean nearly fell from his chair when he saw me.
“K-King Kaelthar Viremont—had we known you were coming, we would have arranged a reception—”
“We are only passing through,” Nymera cut in smoothly. “The king requires a short rest.”
I ignored the rambling.
The pull was stronger now.
I walked toward the window.
Outside, Mateo had lifted a lanky boy off the ground by his throat.
Of course he had.
I almost turned away.
Then I saw her.
A small figure pushing through the crowd.
She planted herself in front of Mateo without hesitation.
“Let him go!”
I paused.
Interesting.
Mateo ignored her.
She swung her backpack into his abdomen.
I smirked through the mind link. That must have hurt.
Mateo glanced toward me. Permission to bury them both?
Release the boy, I ordered.
But my attention was no longer on him.
It was on her.
Her hood slipped back as she bent to grab the bag again.
And I saw her face.
The same sharp pain from earlier tore through my chest—but this time it carried something else.
Relief.
Recognition.
Possession.
My lycan surged forward violently.
Mine.
The word was instinct, not thought.
She looked up.
Our eyes met.
And something ignited.
Not fully.
But enough.
Every nerve in my body roared with the urge to cross the distance between us. To pull her against me. To breathe her in.
She was small. Underdressed. Not adorned like the daughters of powerful packs.
But when she defended that boy—
There was fire in her.
Steel beneath softness.
Mateo released the boy and entered the building.
I barely noticed.
She helped her friend gather his belongings carefully. Protective. Gentle.
When she straightened—
She looked directly at me again.
And did not look away.
The bond tightened.
My breathing grew uneven.
I stepped back.
Nymera was instantly at my side.
“My king?”
But I could not answer.
Because she was walking away.
And my lycan was furious.
Go after her. Claim her. Do not let her leave.
The urge was overwhelming.
What was happening to me?
I had met princesses. Warriors. Alphas’ daughters.
None had stirred me.
None had shaken my beast into submission.
She glanced back once more before entering the building.
That single look nearly brought me to my knees.
“She is the anchor,” Nymera whispered softly.
My chest still burned.
But for the first time in years
It did not feel like death.
It felt like awakening.
And if fate believes I will turn away from her
It has gravely miscalculated.
Because whatever she is…
However hidden.
However broken.
She is mine.
And this time
I will not run.
- Writer
