Chapter 1
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Chapter 1
Warlord stared at his phone, his thumb hovering over the screen. He had already entered the digits Arden had left on the card with her armband, but he couldn't find the courage to press 'call.' What if this was all a cruel prank? What if she didn’t truly want him? A dark thought gnawed at him: what if she was playing a game, waiting for him to drop his guard just to hurt him?
All of the ‘what if’ questions ran rampant through his mind as he sat on the edge of his bed in the townhome he shared with Fury and Poseidon. The atmosphere in the house was heavy. Fury was still wallowing in the hollow sorrow of rejection, while Poseidon was trying to enjoy life as best he could. It seemed all of his closest friends were struggling with the weight of the mate bond. Even Carter, the only one who appeared to have any luck, found his connection to Sarah, the pack Luna’s cousin, to be anything but easy because of the drama with her soon-to-be-ex.
After staring at the numbers for several more seconds, Warlord finally bit the bullet and pressed ‘call.’
The phone rang repeatedly, the silence between each tone making his heart sink further into his chest. Just as he was about to hang up, the ringing stopped, and a melodic voice drifted through the line.
“Hello?” Warlord froze. Despite his hopes, he hadn't truly expected an answer. He knew instantly by the voice that it was Arden.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” she prompted again.
“Uh… yeah… um… hi. It—it’s me. Uh… War… I mean, Westley,” he stammered. The hesitation was entirely uncharacteristic of a man known for his lethal confidence.
“I figured it was you based on the area code,” Arden replied, a smile evident in her tone. “To be honest, I didn’t think you would actually call.”
“And I didn’t think this was actually your number,” Westley admitted.
“Why would I give you a fake number?”
“I wasn’t sure if you truly wanted to be with me,” he answered honestly.
“Why would I lie about something like that?”
“Many people lie about many things,” he countered softly.
“Well, be that as it may, I don’t lie. I can’t,” Arden stated firmly. “Being a member of the fairy guard bars me from doing so. You can ask Princess Luna of the Yellow Moon Pack if you don't believe me.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Westley replied, his voice finally beginning to steady.
“I’m going to assume you found my armband?”
“Yeah, I did. I followed your scent until I found it. I’m guessing you knew I would do that?”
“I did,” Arden explained. “I would have stayed until the mission was over to wait for you, but Magnus, my commander, ordered us to move out. Our priority was to retrieve Princess Abigail and return her to Yellow Moon without deviation. Meeting you... Well, that was quite the deviation.”
“I can imagine. Meeting you was the last thing I ever expected.”
“Because I’m your mate, or because I’m a fairy?”
“Both. I always thought my mate would be a werewolf.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“Not at all. Surprised, but that’s about it. You? Are you disappointed that I’m not fairy?”
“Goddess, no. I didn’t want my partner to be a fairy. They’re so… Feminine even Commander Magnus. I didn’t think my true love would be a werewolf, but I’m just happy it’s not another fairy,” Arden said, her voice cringing at the thought of having a fellow as a mate.
“True…Love?” Warlord said with confusion.
“Yes. You call them mates, fairies call them true loves. Every species has a different title for its soulmate. But that doesn’t change what we are to each other, right?” Arden asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“No, I guess it doesn’t.”
A momentary pause stretched between them, and a slight awkwardness settled over the call. The courageous bounty hunter and the disciplined guard suddenly felt like two strangers treading on thin ice. It was Warlord who finally gathered the resolve to break the silence.
“So,” he began, his voice dropping a weary octave, “your commander, Magnus… he seemed to accept the bond. But that other guy? What’s-his-face? Doogie?”
“Douglas,” Arden corrected, though the tremor in her voice suggested she was fighting back a laugh at Warlord's intentional slip.
“Yeah, him. He didn’t seem exactly thrilled about this. And by this, I mean us—our bond.”
“Douglas is… old-fashioned, to say the least,” Arden replied. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, the frustration evident in her tone even if Warlord couldn’t see the gesture.
“What’s his deal? Why did he claim our pairing is forbidden?” Warlord asked, his brows furrowing.
“Because up until a few decades ago, it was. Fairies weren’t allowed to be with any other species other than their own,” Arden explained.
“Even if they were mated to someone else?” Warlord asked, unable to wrap his head around the barbaric nature of such a law. “They’d expect you to just… ignore the pull?”
“In the eyes of the old guard, duty to the bloodline always comes before the pull of the heart,” Arden said softly. “Douglas still lives in that world. His whole family does. To him, the fact that our Queen is a werewolf isn't progress.”
“What does he see it as, then?”
“A scandal he’s forced to accept if he wants to keep his job… And his life. But his disdain towards the Queen isn’t unknown. Many other fairies also agree with him. But unless they want to be executed for treason, they have to keep it to themselves.”
“Sounds like some of your kind don’t want to evolve,” Warlord said judgmentally.
“Don’t put it on all my kind, Westley. Werewolves aren’t angels, either.”
“That is very true,” Warlord admitted, knowing that some werewolves didn’t believe in interspecies bonds either. Another stretch of silence filled the call before Warlord broke it again. “Is this Dougie guy going to be a problem?” Arden chuckled at the shortened nickname that she knew Douglas hated.
“I honestly don’t know. Douglas isn’t harmless, but he’s not dangerous either. He’s one of the weaker guards. He’s more bark than bite,” Arden replied, her tone nonchalant and dismissive.
“I wouldn’t underestimate someone filled with that kind of resentment, Arden. My years as a bounty hunter have taught me that when people are pushed to accept things they hate, they eventually snap.”
“Well, it won’t matter soon, anyway. Once I finish my guard duties here, then I’ll be going to you. Douglas can’t do anything once you and I have marked each other,” Arden confidently replied.
“What do you mean you have to finish your guard duties?” Warlord asked, his brows furrowing.
“I hate to say it, Westley, but I can’t just up and leave the Royal Guard,” she stated, her voice dropping slightly.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m still serving a mandatory sentence.”
“What does that mean?” Warlord’s voice took on a protective edge.
“It means I signed a contract to serve for five years before I’m eligible for discharge,” Arden explained.
“Okay... so how much time is left?”
“A little less than six months.”
“SIX MONTHS?!” Warlord exclaimed, his disbelief echoing in the quiet room. “I have to wait six months for us to be together?”
“Unfortunately...” Arden sighed, the regret heavy in her voice.
“Can’t you just ask the King and Queen to absolve you of your duties?
“No, I can’t, because it’s the King’s law that keeps me here,” Arden answered.
“But wouldn’t this be considered an extenuating circumstance?”
“No, it’s not. An extenuating circumstance would be something medically related. Compromised health or even pregnancy.”
“Don’t give me any ideas, Arden,” Warlord said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register. “I will one-hundred percent put a pup in you if it means getting you here faster.”
Arden gasped, the sheer forwardness of his words catching her off guard. “You can’t be serious!”
“You’re my mate, Arden. I would do anything to get you here. And by anything, I mean anything,” Warlord growled into the receiver. The sound sent a delicious chill down Arden’s spine, vibrating through her in a way that made the six-month wait feel like an eternity.
“Well, that brings us to my next problem…”
“What now?” Warlord groaned.
“We can’t mate until I’m discharged from the guard.”
“WHAT!?”
“It’s part of the law. All fairies must maintain a rule of celibacy until discharged, unless they met their true love before joining. If you meet them while on active duty, you have to maintain abstinence or celibacy, whichever applies to the individual.”
“F*ckkkk…” Warlord drew out in frustration. “Wait, you said whichever applies to the individual.”
“I did.”
“Then… Which one applies to you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Arden said teasingly.
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