Chapter5
1077 Words
Valeska Auden's
The sound of heavy, armored boots filled the downstairs hallway, followed by the splintering of wooden furniture.
I looked back and saw Dad turn toward the corner where his blacksmith tools leaned against the wall.
“Dad, don't,” I gasped, catching his forearm.
He ignored me.
His jaw tightened, and his knuckles turned white. His hands locked around the ash handle of his forge hammer.
“Get behind me, Valeska,” he said, stepping toward the doorway. “They aren't taking you. Not while I'm breathing.”
“Dad, they will kill you!”
I wrapped a woolen blanket around my shoulder to hide the glowing mark, pulling him back with all my weight.
“Put the hammer down!”
“They broke into my home!” he growled, trying to shove me behind him.
“I don't care!” I yelled, stepping into the doorway to block him. “Look at me! If you swing that hammer at a shifter warrior, they will tear you apart before you even finish the strike! Put it down!”
Heavy footsteps came pounding up the wooden steps.
Before Dad could grab me, a massive figure filled the bedroom doorway.
He was so broad he blocked the lantern light from the hall. Dark iron armor covered his shoulders over thick leather, and a massive broadsword was strapped across his back.
Two armed guards stood behind him with spears ready.
Dad raised the hammer high.
“Get away from my daughter!”
The commander didn't draw his sword.
He stepped into the room, his steel-blue eyes moving around before stopping on me.
“Thomas Auden,” the man said.
His voice was low and steady.
“Lower the iron.”
“Touch her and I'll break your skull!” Dad yelled.
I stepped forward and pressed my hand against the commander's iron chest plate.
The metal was cold from the rain, but I could feel the heat of his body through it.
“Don't touch him!” I shouted, staring into his blue eyes. “He's an old man! He's just trying to protect me!”
The commander froze.
He looked down at my muddy hand against his chest, then back at my face.
“I am Commander Dankwart Vance,” he said quietly. “I am not here to slaughter blacksmiths, girl. I am here for the bearer of the mark.”
“There's no mark here,” Dad lied, his voice breaking.
“Do not lie to me, human,” Dankwart said, his voice dropping. “The royal magic flared across the entire ridge ten minutes ago. Every alpha on the mountain felt it. It hasn't been triggered in fifty years. Show me.”
My heart pounded, and I struggled to breathe.
I kept my eyes on Dankwart as I slowly pulled the woolen blanket down from my right shoulder.
The silver crest flared in the dim light, pulsing against my skin.
“Valeska Auden,” Dankwart said, his voice suddenly formal. “By the authority of the ancient Covenant of Blackwood Ridge, you are bound to the Shadow Ridge Pack. You belong to King Elias Vance now.”
“No!” Dad roared, lunging forward with the forge hammer raised.
The guard on the right moved fast, driving the butt of his spear into Dad's chest.
Dad hit the floorboards with a dull thud, sliding against the bedpost and gasping for air as the hammer fell beside him.
“Dad!” I screamed, dropping to my knees beside him, but Dankwart's hand closed around my wrist.
“He is breathing,” Dankwart said coldly. “For now. If he reaches for that iron again, my men will not use the butt of the spear.”
“I'll go,” I blurted out, my voice shaking as my fingers gripped Dankwart's leather sleeve. “I'll go with you right now. No fighting, no running. But you leave my father alone. You leave Oakhaven alone. Give me your word as a commander.”
Dankwart looked down at me, his brow furrowing slightly.
“You are a captive human. You do not dictate terms.”
“I am the bride your king's magic picked,” I snapped, holding his gaze even though my knees were shaking. “If I walk into your court without a fight, it saves your pack a war. Leave my village alone, or you'll have to carry my corpse over the border.”
No one spoke for a moment.
Finally, Dankwart gave a firm nod.
“Agreed. Your father and your town will remain untouched by my unit.”
He pulled a pair of heavy iron manacles lined with fine silver wire from his belt.
“Hands.”
I held out my wrists.
The moment the iron snapped shut around my skin, the burning on my shoulder dulled to a heavy ache.
“It's going to be fine, Dad,” I said, forcing the words out clearly enough to calm him. “Stay inside.”
Dankwart pulled gently on the iron chain.
“We move.”
They led me down the ruined stairs, past our splintered front door, and out into the muddy street.
A large wooden transport wagon stood waiting, hitched to two massive black horses.
Dankwart opened the heavy wagon door and lifted me inside, the chains clanking against the floor.
As the door swung shut, I pressed my face to the small iron-barred window.
Someone was crouching between two grain silos near the edge of the square.
Julian.
He raised a heavy hunting crossbow, aiming the bolt straight at Dankwart's head.
“Julian, no!” I screamed through the bars.
THWACK.
The iron bolt flew through the dark rain.
Before it could hit Dankwart's neck, a hand reached out from the shadows behind the carriage and caught the bolt.
The wood broke easily in his grip.
Rain poured from his dark hood as he stepped closer.
His golden eyes met mine through the bars.
Dankwart immediately dropped to one knee in the mud.
“Your Majesty.”
The man ignored the commander.
He walked toward the carriage window, his golden eyes fixed on mine through the iron bars.
King Elias Vance.
He looked at the iron manacles on my wrists, t
hen at the glowing silver mark beneath my torn collar.
“So,” Elias said, his voice cutting through the rain. “This is my human bride.”
Chapter 6
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