POV: Rae
The breeze messed with Rae's hair as she walked the muddy path Jake told her to take. She wondered why he needed special plants from the northern field when they had plenty at home, but she believed him, Or at least, she used to.
A few hours later, when she got back holding the damp bag of plants, something felt strange. The house was silent, too silent. The fireplace wasn't burning, She couldn't smell Nyra's tea, and Jake's boots weren't by the door, She put the bag on the wooden table and quietly called out, "Nyra? Dad?"
No one answered,
Her chest tightened, She checked the back room, the kitchen, and the shed, No one was there. There wasn't even a note, Her stomach dropped, Something was wrong, Jake never left without telling her, And Nyra always waited for her.
She went outside again, smelling the air, and only caught faint smells, Jake and Nyra had gone east, towards where another group lived, Confused, she followed them, trying to be quiet in case she was wrong, Maybe they were just getting firewood,
But as she got close to the thick bushes by the ridge, she heard talking, It was people she knew, Jake's deep voice, and another man she didn't know right away.
She hid behind a tree, her heart racing,
"…the only way we can protect Rae is to give Nyra to them," Jake said, his voice strained and serious, "The Millennium Pack wants to join us, They'll help us with politics, If Kade's name is on the agreement, the leaders won't kick anyone out."
The other person laughed, "And Rae? Do you think she'll agree to that?"
Jake paused, "She won't find out, That's why I made her leave, This has to be secret, Kade still wants her, he really wants to keep the agreement, If we do it quickly, the council won't ask questions."
Rae gasped quietly,
Her fingers squeezed the tree bark, She couldn't move, but inside, she felt betrayed. She wanted to yell, but she couldn't, She walked backward, feeling numb, her heart breaking from the pain.
Her father had lied to her, He had sent her away to give her partner to someone else, to give Nyra away like something to trade, As if she wasn't important.
As if their love didn't matter,
As if everything Rae had risked was just a game to help the group survive.
POV: Kade
Kade was by himself under the tall, bright moonlight shining on the old council hall, walking back and forth. He was very confused and upset, Jake's words kept repeating in his head,"If we give them Nyra, the Millennium Pack will promise to keep us safe."
It seemed like a smart move for the government, It was simple, It was allowed by law, The older leaders would stop asking for someone to be kicked out, The Night Whisper family would be taken in and forgotten, And Rae, Rae could stay where she was, as the person Kade was meant to be with.
But every time Kade tried to picture it, Rae smiling next to him again, Nyra far away with some weak leader somewhere else, he felt terrible.
He hadn't seen Rae since the council meeting went crazy, Not having her around hurt more than anything else could, But he knew her well enough to guess how she would act if she found out about the plan, She would get very angry, She would fight all the older leaders with everything she had, And maybe that was why he hadn't said anything, Maybe that was why Jake's plan seemed like the only choice.
But it felt very wrong,
Nyra had always been calm, but her connection with Rae was strong now, easy to see in every look they shared, in every time Rae had stood up against what was expected. They had picked each other and Kade was being asked to break them up.
He sat on the side of the stone bowl, with his head in his hands.
Was Rae really supposed to be his? Or had he confused what he wanted with what was meant to be?
And Nyra, his little sister, was she really just a way to make peace?
He hated this, Every choice meant losing something he didn't want to lose, But, waiting any longer only made the situation worse.
He looked up and saw the fireflies moving outside the window, He felt a pain in his chest, The responsibility of his position,
He had told Jake he would think about it, But now he wasn't so sure.
He kept thinking about Rae's eyes, strong, passionate, and full of hope.
And Nyra, she had supported Rae without any hesitation, Even knowing what it could cost her.
He wasn't sure how much longer he could balance being a leader, and being a brother.
POV: Rae
Rae rushed quickly through the woods, with the cold wind hitting her face hard, The sound of Jake's voice kept playing in her head like a bad thing, Her chest hurt a lot, not from being tired, but from being betrayed, Her dad, the man who took care of her, was planning to give Nyra away, To give her to the Millennium Pack like she was something to be used in a deal.
And Kade, Kade had said yes,
A branch broke under her feet, with a loud and final sound, She got back to the shelter, pushing the door open harder than she needed to, The bag of herbs was still sitting on the table, not touched, The fire was still not lit, The room was the same, but everything else was different.
She walked back and forth like an animal in a cage, not able to sit down or think clearly. Her hands squeezed tight, and her wolf came out, yelling in anger deep inside her. She had gone against the council, She had risked everything she had, For Nyra.
Where was Nyra at?
The sun had gone down behind the trees now, and the woods outside looked like dark shapes on top of each other. Rae went back outside and followed their weak scents again, Jake's and Nyra's, going north this time. Her body moved faster than her thoughts did, The need to see Nyra and keep her safe was the only thing that mattered now.
After looking for ten minutes, she found them,
They were standing on a hill, looking at each other, Jake was holding Nyra's hands gently, talking quietly and calmly,
"I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think it was the only way," Jake said, "Rae won't know, this keeps her safe too."
Nyra's face was pale but hard to read, Her lips moved, but Rae couldn't hear what she said.
It didn't matter anyway,
Rae walked forward, loud and on purpose this time, "Don't lie to her," she said sharply, her voice shaking with anger, "And don't you even think about lying to me."
Jake turned around first, surprised, Nyra turned too, her eyes wide when she saw Rae, Her lips opened, but she didn't say anything.
"I heard all of it," Rae said, walking toward them, "The plan, The suggestion, The deal with the Millennium Pack."
Nyra took a step toward her. "Rae..."
"You were going to give her away," Rae snapped at Jake, stopping her from talking, "To another Alpha, Without me knowing, You sent me away so you could sell her like she was property."
Jake's face got darker, "You don't know what's at risk."
"I know perfectly well," Rae said angrily, "You don't care who gets hurt as long as your perfect little groups stay together."
"I did it to keep you safe," he said back,
"By giving up the person I love?"
Nyra's hand reached for Rae's, shaking. Rae took it right away, holding it tight.
"I picked her," Rae said, her voice breaking but strong, "I picked her in front of the whole pack, The Moon Goddess knows it, And you think I'd let you take it all back?"
Jake breathed out loudly, "The group is getting closer. They want someone to pay. If we don't do something now,"
"We will figure out something else," Rae stated strongly, "A plan that won't require us to turn against Nyra."
Jake glanced at the two of them, hands together, supporting each other even with the trouble all around, His mouth became tense.
"You are both wrong," he whispered, "The others won't allow this to happen."
"Let them attempt it," Rae replied, holding Nyra nearer. "They will have to get past me first."
Jake turned around and left without saying anything else.
POV: Kade
Kade was back in the big room, standing by himself in his room, gazing at the woods glowing with silver light, The light from the moon shone on his desk, lighting up the closed paper Jake had given him earlier that night. The marriage agreement.
He hadn't opened it up,
It wasn't because he didn't get what was happening, but because he kind of already knew what it said, A bargain, Something for something else, Nyra's name written by some leader's as if that could take away what she and Rae had said in front of everyone.
He grabbed the paper, his hands shaking, and slowly broke the wax seal, What was inside was easy to understand, a marriage between Nyra and the fake leader of the Millennium group, In exchange, safety.
His inner wolf made a soft, angry sound.
Kade squeezed the paper into a ball in his hand.
He went to the fire and threw it in.
The paper caught fire right away, turning into black ash.
He wasn't ready to stand up for Rae, not when the council was watching. But he couldn't stand to give Nyra away, either, She was his sister, She had gone against him, yes, but she had always been good at heart, Always nice, The way she looked at Rae, that wasn't fake. That wasn't a trick.
That was true,
And Kade, leader or not, wasn't sure he could be the one to end that connection.
Even if everyone in the group was waiting for him to do just that.
He turned back to the window, the stars above shining in his dark eyes.
The next day, he would have to make a choice.
But tonight, he let the fire burn the paper until all that was left was the soft sound of burning promises.