As they neared the border, they could smell something strange.
They approached the small clearing where his scouts were waiting.
The scent of the forest still clung to the air, but it was the scent of something else, something out of place, that made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.
The leader of the scouts stepped forward.
"Report," Thornak commanded.
Karv lowered his head slightly. His expression was grim.
"There is movement along the border. And we found this near the edge of the forest."
He held out a voodoo doll. Dain stepped closer and took the object.
The doll was made of rough linen, darkened and burned at the edges. Strange markings ran across it, half-erased by fire.
Thornak took it and turned it slowly in his hands. A strange scent rose from it.
His jaw tightened.
"This wasn't from a campfire," Dain said quietly. "It was burned on purpose."
Thornak's eyes darkened. "Blood magic," he said.
"Rogues don't use fire," Dain said quietly. "They tear. They maim. They don't burn."
"Exactly," Thornak replied.
He handed the doll back to Dain.
"You think this is connected to the patrol disappearances?" Dain asked.
"It's more than connected. It's the same hand behind it."
Thornak turned his head toward Karv.
"Are there tracks?"
"Yes, my King. But they look bigger than wolves. Nothing moves like that in these forests."
Thornak's eyes narrowed.
Something was out there. Something that did not belong to any known pack.
"Form a perimeter," he said at last. His voice was low. "No one moves without my order, and no one enters the forest alone."
The scouts moved immediately, disappearing into the trees like shadows.
Thornak stayed behind. His senses were sharp, searching for whatever was hunting them in the forest.
But his thoughts drifted back to the castle. Back to Lara.
Jax stirred restlessly within him, wanting to be by her side.
It made no sense. The Moon Goddess had chosen a wolfless mate for him. This was a contradiction in itself.
Yes, she was his woman. But would the kingdom accept her? Will he be able to convince the council that she will make a good queen.
The weight of it was staggering. His mind wanted to focus on the mission and to find out who had attacked his people and how to prevent any further threats to the kingdom, but he couldn't help thinking about her.
Someone is here, Jax growled, pulling Thornak from his thoughts.
He immediately went still. That was when he felt it.
Someone was truly there, just beyond the trees, watching them. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the forest for more people.
"Don't move," Thornak said quietly to the men around him.
The warriors froze at once. Everyone of them became alert.
Thornak kept his gaze fixed on the tree line. He could not see the person clearly. But he knew with absolute certainty that he was a threat.
Thornak took a slow step forward, his black fur bristling along his spine.
Behind him, Dain and his men flanked him.
From the dense treeline, a figure appeared. He was wearing a gray cloak with a hood covering his face. As he stepped into the clearing, the wind started moving slightly faster, swirling dead leaves around his feet and carrying with it the faint scent of rotten meat.
He stopped, maintaining a calculated distance.
"I was wondering when the Lycan King would finally grace us with his presence," the stranger said.
Thornak's golden eyes locked onto him.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The stranger let out a low, humorless laugh. "I am just a messenger."
"A messenger who dares to cross my borders, weave blood magic into the soil, and unleash rabid rogues upon my lands?"
The stranger tilted his head.
"Sometimes, King, a message must be delivered in a way that demands attention."
Several of the warriors behind Thornak growled. Thornak didn't look back, rather he took another step forward.
"And what message is worth the lives of my people?"
"A war is coming, King Thornak. And you are far from ready for it."
As he said that he disappeared. Literally vanished without a trace.
Dain emerged a second later from the trees, snarling in his Lycan form.
"Where did he go? He just... he just disappeared."
"What do we do, Sire?" a scout asked.
Thornak's eyes burned gold. "We find out what in the Goddess's name is going on here."
Back in the castle, a different kind of storm was brewing.
Prince Aedric strode into the Queen's chambers without waiting to be announced. The queen sat before a low table, sipping fragrant tea from a silver cup.
"Well?" she asked, not bothering to look up.
Aedric offered a small bow, then held out a parchment.
"Information, as requested. Our little... guest, has quite the humble beginnings. A backwater village south of Pine ridge. Her parents are common traders, they move around a lot, no one seems to recall in detail exactly when they arrived in that village."
Maravelle finally lifted her gaze, taking the parchment from him. She read in silence, her face betraying no reaction until she reached the end.
"A nobody," she said coldly. "No bloodline. No title. No worth."
"She fought off a pack of rogues, the guards say," Aedric added with a shrug. "Perhaps she's not entirely helpless."
Maravelle gave him a withering look. "Savage instincts do not make a queen."
Aedric smirked. "Even if she is his mate?"
"Even then."
She rose, letting the parchment fall to the floor like discarded refuse. "He may be king, but Vargorath is not his alone to command. He forgets what is expected. What is owed to our people. A throne cannot be shared with a girl raised in filth."
"What are your orders, Aunt?"
Maravelle strolled to the window.
"Watch her closely. I want to know everything she does. In a few days I will find a way to remove her myself."