Elis
Each morning, before the sun dared to rise, I was already there. I wiped her skin with warm cloth. Brushed her hair, slowly, gently, like a prayer spoken with my hands. I fed her myself, coaxing her lips open when she was too tired to chew. My fingers always lingered on her skin longer than they needed to. I told myself it was for her comfort, but it wasn't. It was for me. I needed to feel she was real. That she was healing.
She was. Her color had returned. Her breath was stronger. The light in her eyes was no longer a flicker but a growing flame. And still, I couldn't exhale. Not until she was on her feet again. Not until I was sure nothing could take her from me. That evening, while I was adjusting the pillows behind her back to help her sit up, she placed her hand over mine. "I need to tell you something," she said, voice soft, but steady.
I looked at her immediately, my heart already reacting before my mind could catch up. "What is it?"
She hesitated. I could see the tension gathering in her shoulders, the weight of whatever truth she was about to give me.
"While I was unconscious… I saw a face," she began. "A man cloaked in shadows. I couldn't see his eyes, but they burned, Elis. He wasn't just… anyone. He was ancient and powerful. I think he's the one who cursed your bloodline."
The words sliced clean through me. I didn't move. My grip on her hand tightened, just slightly. Enough to keep me grounded. "Who is he?" I asked.
Her eyes met mine. "His name is Zal."
A cold recognition crawled up my spine. I knew that name. The same name my spies heard from Jose's lips. The same name whispered like a death omen in the shadows. I clenched my jaw, the image of that hooded bastard flashing in my mind.
"He's behind all the attacks," she continued. "But he's not like the enemies you've faced. Zal isn't just a man. He's a sorcerer… one who uses dark magic. He might even be a shifter. He doesn't need swords or teeth, he bends reality. If you face him unprepared… you'll lose."
I took a slow breath. My voice was quiet when I asked, "So, what does he want?"
She hesitated. That alone chilled me more than her visions.Then she said, "Me."
The world stopped turning for a second. My body went stone-still. My grip on her hand turned to iron. "What do you mean?"
She drew in a breath. "He thinks… the curse is weakening. Because of me. Because of us."
My beast stirred instantly, claws brushing against my skin from the inside. Good. Let the bastard suffer. Let him feel his control unravel before I tear him limb from limb. "I'll kill him," I growled, barely keeping my voice human. "He won't lay a single finger on you."
But then she said the one thing I didn't expect. "Elis… Zal doesn't want to hurt me."
The rage in me twisted. I stared at her. "Then what does he want?"
She looked away for a beat, then back at me. "He wants my powers. He wants me for himself."
Silence. And then I snapped. The air thickened, pressing in on us. The walls seemed to narrow as my beast surged to the surface, demanding to be set loose. The bed trembled beneath us. My breath came out ragged, my hands curling into claws against the sheets. "Over my dead body." My voice barely resembled my own.
She didn't flinch. Of course she didn't. She held my gaze with steady, knowing eyes. "That's what I thought you'd say."
I was on my feet in an instant, pacing the room like a cornered wolf, too tightly wound to stay still. Everything inside me was screaming for war. "This changes everything," I muttered. "If he's watching, if he's waiting for the right moment…" I stopped. My fists clenched at my sides. "We're not waiting for him to make a move."
Lily's voice came calm, frustratingly calm. "Elis, you can't just charge at him. Zal doesn't fight fair. He doesn't fight with force; he twists the air, the shadows and the mind. You'll need magic. A spell to counter him."
I turned to her slowly. "Then I'll find one."
She let out a tired sigh and sank deeper into the pillows. "You already have one."
I blinked. "What?"
"You have me," she said simply. "But I need time. I need to practise and prepare."
"No."
She looked at me, surprised. "No?"
"You're staying here," I said, finality ringing through every syllable.
"Elis…"
"No." I moved closer to her side again, my voice lower but unyielding. "Not until I'm sure you're safe."
She stared at me, and I could see the resistance building in her expression.
"You really think you can keep me here forever?" she asked, a ghost of a smirk playing on her lips.
I met her gaze head-on. "Try me."
***
The candlelight flickered softly against the stone walls of my chambers as I stood by the window, my arms crossed and mind heavy with the weight of decisions that could either save or doom us all.
Douglas stood opposite me, tense, as always…loyal, competent, but often too impulsive when it came to matters of threat.
"I don't like this delay," he said. "The longer we wait, the bolder Zal becomes. My men are ready. Give the word, and we strike at the heart of the woods tonight."
I turned from the window, fixing my gaze on him. "Call off the plans for now, Douglas."
His brows rose sharply. "You can't be serious."
"I am," I said firmly. "We don't know what exactly we're fighting against. Zal is not just a wizard. He's also a shifter."
"A shifter?" he repeated, confused and curious. "You mean... he can change forms?"
I gave a slight nod. "Not just the usual dark sorcery. There's something more. Something heinous. He may be within our borders already. He may even be here, watching, listening, biding his time." I paused. "He could be in wolf form, hiding in plain sight."
That visibly shook him. "And how do you know this, king Elis?"
I hesitated. I couldn't tell him. Not about Lily. Not yet. Not when I was still unsure how deep this connection between her and Zal truly ran.
"I have an informer," I said simply. "Someone I trust."
Douglas stared at me a moment, reading me as he always tried to. Then he nodded, albeit reluctantly. "I see. Then perhaps… we were hasty in passing the anti-witchcraft laws."
His words surprised me, coming from him. But I could see the calculation in his eyes too. He wasn't wrong.
"I've thought the same," I admitted. "Zal is a sorcerer and a necrowitch. That's not ordinary magic. To defeat that kind of power, we may need someone equally gifted. Someone who knows how that kind of mind works."
Douglas tilted his head. "And that means… witchcraft?"
"It means whatever it takes."
He studied me for a long moment. "So, if the law bans all forms of witchcraft but witchcraft is what we need, then you will have to command it directly. You'll have to make an exception. Are you ready to do that, Alpha King?"
I didn't blink. "Yes."
We spoke for a while longer, about surveillance, more spies in the woods, securing the border without making the wolves feel under siege. Then he left.
He didn't know Lily had been in the adjoining chamber all along. No one did. Not the guards, not the court, not even my closest advisors.
And maybe that was for the best, for now.