Claiming the mind-bound human bride

Chapter3

Valeska Auden's

The wolf leaped forward.

I grabbed the leather pouch from my belt, ripped the seam open with my thumb, and threw the powder right at its snout.

A cloud of wolfsbane and pepper dust filled the air.

The wolf landed in the mud a few feet away, sneezing and shaking its head. It let out a sharp cry of pain.

I turned and ran.

I scrambled up the slippery shale slope, my boots sliding in the mud. Every breath hurt, but I kept running as I heard the wolf close behind me.

The wolf was already getting back up.

I saw the white border stone ahead and threw myself forward, crashing face-first into the mud on the human side.

Then the noise behind me stopped.

I rolled onto my back and struggled to catch my breath.

The giant black wolf stood five feet beyond the line, covered in mud. It growled at me but stayed on the other side of the line.

“Who’s there? Get up!”

Torchlight came through the trees.

Three militia men walked onto the path, with Julian in front. His hand was on his sword.

Almost forty men from the village stood behind them, carrying pitchforks and axes.

“Valeska?”

Julian stepped forward. He looked at my torn clothes and bloody hands.

“What are you doing out here? Jonas said you went over the line?”

“Julian,” I gasped, dragging myself up on one knee. The old mine. Gero is at the old mine.

I looked past Julian at the forty terrified farmers behind him.

If I told him where Gero was, he would lead all forty of them straight down that narrow ravine into an ambush. Gero would get caught in the fight.

No.

I couldn't tell them. I had to turn these men back and go for Gero myself.

“Did you find him?” Julian demanded, stepping into my face.

“Where is he?”

“I didn't find him,” I lied, making my voice shake. “Julian, turn these men back. The rain washed away all the tracks on the slope. There’s no trail.”

“No trail?” Julian said. “Then why did you cross the line, Valeska? If the law is so important to you, why did you risk your life over a cold trail?”

“Because I was stupid enough to hope I'd find him!” I yelled back, standing up. “And I found nothing! Just mud and shale. If you march forty armed men across that stone without proof, you're violating Treaty Law. The pack will treat us like an invading force and wipe this town off the map!”

Julian clenched his jaw. He grabbed my forearm, digging his fingers in.

“You break the law when it suits you,” he shouted, raising his voice so everyone could hear. “But when it's time to defend this town, you want us to hide in our kitchens! Your mother died near their border, and you still make excuses! Gero is the third person gone this month. I'm not waiting until they drag the rest of us out of our beds!”

“Julian, stop it! You don't even have a trail!”

“I'm keeping this town alive!”

Julian threw my arm down and drew his broadsword.

“We march at midnight!”

The men cheered and raised their pitchforks.

Julian turned to two militia guards.

“Take her back to her father's house. Lock the door from the outside.”

“Julian, no!”

“Move her,” he said without looking at me.

They dragged me down the muddy road.

Ten minutes later, our front door slammed shut, and the heavy iron bolt slid home.

The moment the guards walked off, my dad came rushing out of the forge into the kitchen.

He dropped the hammer with a loud bang.

“Valeska!”

His face was pale, his cheeks streaked with soot. He grabbed my shoulders, his hands shaking as he looked at my torn clothes and bloody palms.

“Where were you?” he yelled, his voice shaking. “Old Miller said Jonas saw you head toward the boundary stone! Tell me you didn't cross it!”

“Dad, calm down—”

“Don't tell me to calm down!” Tears filled his eyes. “Your coat is soaked! You're bleeding! Answer me!”

I looked down at his soot-stained boots.

If I told him the truth, he would drag me to the cellar and bolt the trapdoor himself.

“I didn't go far,” I lied. “I was checking the herb beds by the fence. I slipped on the rocks.”

Dad let out a shuddering breath and pressed his forehead against mine.

“You terrified me,” he whispered. “When Miller said you went toward the ridge... I thought I lost you, Valeska. I sat at that forge praying you'd walk through the door.”

“I'm here,” I murmured, hugging him tight.

He stepped back and stared at the locked door.

“Julian locked us in. He thinks he's in charge now. Taking those men up to the line at midnight...”

“He's going to get them killed,” I said.

“Then let him,” Dad snapped, throwing logs into the stove. “You're staying in this house. Get out of those wet clothes and stay away from that door. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, Dad,” I lied.

He turned his back to grab the kettle.

The second he looked away, I reached down to unlace my wet boot, eyeing the small cellar window behind the pantry.

Suddenly, I felt something.

Not pain at first, but a sudden, burning heat right over my right shoulder blade.

I froze.

The heat spread across my shoulder and burned deeper into me.

I dropped my boot and collapsed sideways onto the floor.

I cried out before I could stop myself.

“Valeska!”

Dad dropped the kettle, scrambling across the floor.

“Valeska, what's wrong?!”

It felt like something hot was burning through my skin and moving toward my neck.

I clutched my shirt, heaving for air.

“Dad...” I choked out.

Through my tears, I

looked down at my reflection in the dark glass of the oven door.

Under my wet shirt, my skin was glowing.

Thin silver lines glowed under my skin.