Chapter 8: Sick Father
1323 Words
Rowen POV
When I stepped into the king’s chamber, I was immediately hit by the familiar scent of his wolf.
But there was another scent now, something more ancient lingered, the scent of the curse. It was growing stronger.
My father, once a fearless warrior, now lay weak, his strength slipping away, his hair now completely white, a sign his power was slipping away from him.
The sight of him like this sent a sharp pain through my chest.
Dropping to my knees beside his bed, “Father…” my voice was barely above a whisper.
My brothers, Ansel and Asher, knelt beside me, their expressions a mirror of my own pain.
He gave us a weary smile, his voice hoarse.
“My sons… I’m sorry you have to see me like this. I am trying to hold on, but I grow weaker by the day. I can barely even hear my wolf speak anymore…”
Fear shot through my body like lightning, making me feel sick. Even Ansel sucked in a sharp breath.
We all knew what it meant when a werewolf began losing connection with his wolf. And it wasn’t good.
“Father… are you no longer able to shift?” Asher asked.
The king’s gaze swept over us before settling on Asher. A heavy silence filled the room before he finally spoke.
“You are right,” he said, his voice rough with exhaustion.
“The curse is severing my connection to my wolf. I can feel it slipping away.”
His eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw something that terrified me more than anything. It was fear; the king was afraid.
A lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I would not let this break me. I would not show my fear to the world.
I won’t let my father die. There must be a way. There must be something that can break this curse.
“I don’t want to scare you, my sons, but now more than ever, you must be united,” our father said, his voice heavy with the weight of his fading strength.
“I can no longer protect our people. You are their only hope.
My heart pounded. We had always relied on him, the strongest of us all. Now, he was leaving everything to us.
His gaze hardened.
“Tell me, are you aware of the other supernaturals in the world?”
“We have heard of them, father,” I admitted, exchanging a glance with my brothers.
“Stories passed down of creatures beyond our borders… but we have never seen them with our own eyes.”
“Let me tell you a story,” Father said, his voice rasping as he coughed.
“Father, please rest,” I urged,
He shook his head weakly. “No, Rowan. This is important, you have to listen.”
I fell silent, my brothers listening closely as he continued.
“There are many other supernatural creatures besides werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, mermaids, fae, and many others.”
“Dad, why are you telling us this?” I asked, unease creeping into my voice.
He held up a trembling hand. “Be patient, my child.” He took a labored breath before going on with his story.
“Long ago, a great war broke out among the supernatural races. They fought for land, for power, for dominance. It was a brutal war with losses on all sides, one that ended with each race bound to their own lands, forced into an uneasy peace.”
A heavy silence followed. Then his next words sent a chill through me.
“But recently, we’ve heard whispers… the vampires are crossing borders, invading other lands, leaving destruction in their wake. Even the fae are under attack as we speak.”
I felt my throat tighten with fear. If the balance of power was shifting, then our world was in far greater danger than we had imagined.
“I am not telling you this to scare you, but to prepare you,” Father said, his voice steady despite his weakening state.
“You must stand united. And you need to find your mates as soon as possible. Only then can you draw strength from one another.”
I felt myself grow stiff. He didn’t know about Raven. He didn’t know that the three of us shared the same mate.
That has never happened before in the history of our kind.
We had chosen not to tell him, not wanting to add more pressure to his already burdened shoulders.
But a thought gnawed at the edges of my mind: What if this was part of the curse? What if being tied to the same mate wasn’t a blessing, but a warning?
Why were we bound to her? What did it mean for us? For our people?
For now, things are okay between my brothers and me. We had not yet allowed Raven to come between us. But how long would that peace last?
Not that it mattered to me.
Fate, mates, I didn’t care for either.
My brothers could have her. I wasn’t even worthy of their presence, let alone hers.
I had more important things to worry about.
Still… I was filled with doubt.
Was she sent by Selena to weaken us?
I was lost in my own turmoil, battling these thoughts, and yet a greater war loomed on the horizon.
“I want you, the princes of this land, to begin training warriors and fortifying our army,” Father said, his voice laced with urgency.
“We don’t know what’s coming, but we must be prepared. I can no longer defend our people,you are all they have now.”
His words settled over us like a heavy weight, the reality sinking in.
He took a ragged breath before continuing. “I do not know when I shall return to the Eternal Forest.”
“Father, please don’t speak of death,” I interrupted, my voice strained. “There might still be a way through this.”
Desperation clung to my words, but deep down, I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince,him or myself.
Father started coughing violently just as the healer stepped through the door.
The man barely spared us a glance before bowing slightly and moving toward our father.
A moment later, we were ushered out of the room.
The door had barely shut behind us when,
“f**k!” Ansel snarled, his frustration boiling over.
He turned, slamming his fist into the wall, the force leaving a deep crack in the stone.
I exhaled sharply.
“Brother, be calm,” I said, stepping closer. “We need to face this with a clear mind, or we’ll never succeed.”
“Rowan, too much is happening all at once,” Ansel snapped.
“The Moon-shade Pack is breathing down our necks, and now there are possibilities of an even greater war.
Without thinking, I grabbed him by the back of the neck and pressed my forehead against his.
A grounding gesture. A reminder of who we were.
“Calm your temper, brother,” I murmured.
We couldn’t afford to lose ourselves now. Not when everything was already falling apart.
“Don’t worry, brother. We have each other,we’ll be okay,” I said once I was sure Ansel had calmed enough not to break anything or anyone in his rage.
That was when I heard Asher’s voice, laced with concern. “Where is Raven?”
My blood ran cold, not necessarily out of fear but the bond that binds us together makes it so.
Shit.
We left her alone.
Panic surged through me as realization hit: Raven hadn’t been marked yet.
She didn’t carry our pack’s scent. To anyone else, she was nothing more than an intruder.
And intruders weren’t treated kindly.
Without another word, I spun on my heel and ran.
- Writer
