BOUND: Mates at War | 18+

34 Not to Plan

Romans POV

My anxiety is at an all time high as we move like shadows through the trees. The sun is rising, shining light through the branches as we get closer to the Kingdom. This place that was once my home feels like an alien planet. There are very few happy memories or comforting memories here but it was still my Kingdom. Now, with each step, I feel a heavy dread. It's hard to breathe the thick, stifling air. Was it always like this?

The majority of our plan is easy enough and not dangerous but leaving Solana with Aslyn and Oberon has me on edge. I know they will protect her if something happens but I'm so far away I can't even feel her. If she were to run into trouble, I wouldn't know. A rumble shakes my chest at the thought. I know there is a protective spell over our camp but I can't convince my wolf of that.

Talking with Oberon yesterday had me shaken and restless for the rest of the day. I can sense his caution when we talk, he's not sure how much to say or how it will be received. I can feel a connection to him similar to the one I can see between Solana and her father. If I could have had him in my life, grown up knowing him, I think I would be a better man for it.

We discussed owning up to our mistakes at length. We share a similar guilt over our past actions. I don't want to be too confident but if this goes well, I'm hopeful that what happens today will be the first step on a very long road to redemption.

I watch Miles and Cale break off from the rest of the group, moving into position.

We're separating at the tree line, each group entering through a different gate to cover more ground.

We each have a list of guards to find. We combed through the rosters, carefully choosing only the men and women we felt would believe us and take up our cause without a fight. Cale and Miles are going to get their mates out of the Kingdom. Cale's mate Maggie will be an asset to our team, she is one of the fastest wolves I've ever encountered.

Once we have a large enough group of wolves on our side Aslyn will join us, using magic to neutralize Melora. We can't fight her but they can fight each other. I can feel Aslyn's rage, she won't be caught off guard again, she will be prepared next time they face one another.

My shoulders tense as I step out of the cover of the trees into the open valley sprawling before the Kingdom walls. Something is very wrong.

Aslyn warned us that my mother would know that their bonds have been broken and we would need to be extremely cautious. I wasn't sure what to expect but it wasn't this. The Kingdom is cloaked in a strange orange haze, like fog. It moves and swirls through the air like a poisonous gas, then stops abruptly, like there is some invisible barrier.

Just beyond the haze the wall around the Kingdom is lined with wolves, standing on the ground in defensive positions. These aren't warriors or guards but citizens.

"Are you seeing this?" Cale growls through the link.

"New plan, meet us here," I scan the wolves in front of the wall, they're in defensive positions but they aren't moving, they look like statues. Untrained citizens shouldn't be this organized, their formations shouldn't be this precise.

"What the fuck is this?" Miles links as they approach. "They don't look real, I don't even think they're blinking."

"It's got to be magic. Lets move in closer but stay in formation, stay low, they're not trained warriors but they outnumber us fifty to one."

We move slowly through the valley, making our way toward the ominous mist. It's eerily quiet, not even the call of birds can be heard until a loud cackling laugh freezes my blood in my veins.

My mother is standing at a lookout point along the wall, staring down at me.

"Roman? My own son? When I was told that you betrayed me, I didn't believe it! Taitorous weakling." Her voice blows through the valley, clear and sharp like a bell echoing through a cave.

My wolf hunches furiously, ready to attack.

"She's bating you," Miles links, "don't lose focus."

I notice movement beside her, Melora steps up to the wall, her wild red hair looks like fire. I feel her power, the fog begins to swirl, moving like smoke in a glass. It never moves beyond the boundary she has set up but it rolls and billows in the air.

The loud clanging of metal draws my attention to the gate. Cale stiffens and lurches forward slightly. His wolf whines loudly as a blur of gray and white fur sprints from the gate. My heart pounds when I recognize who it is.

Maggie sprints toward us. Cale breaks formation and runs toward her. It only takes a moment to realize that she isn't slowing down, she's running at him like she's pursuing him, hunting him. They collide loudly, Maggie snarling and snapping at Cale. He won't fight back, not against her, he can't.

She is ruthless, clamping down on his neck, attacking him as if he were fighting back, as if he were her enemy. Dylan and Aric run forward to help him but his wolf snarls angrily. He won't let them touch her, even if it means she rips him apart.

"Mother! What have you done?" I let down the barrier in my mind, "stop this!"

"This Kingdom is mine," she answers loudly, her voice rolling through the valley, "you didn't expect the gates to be wide open to you, did you?"

I watch as Melora raises her hands in the air. A hot breeze blows over us, stinging our eyes and burning against our skin. Lighting whips through the sky and raindrops begin to fall. The first drops hit the ground with a sizzle. Each drop feels like acid against my skin.

We can't escape it. The drops fall like fire from the sky.

There isn't any cover in the valley, there is nowhere to go. Each drop rips at my skin, burning through my fur. Cale has blocked us from the link, refusing to fight or to flee. He won't leave Maggie here.

We run for the tree line, taking shelter under the canopy of branches and leaves. Everyone is bloody and torn, skin and fur dripping from our bodies like drops of water.

"We can't reach anyone," Aric despairs.

"We'll go back to Aslyn, we can't do this without her."

"I'm not leaving here while my mate is inside. I'll find a way in," Miles growls, rage in eyes.

"We'll be back," I nod to him, understanding like never before, why he can't leave.

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