Maybe Later, I Will Take You Home

Chapter 38

Kabar had just finished reading Nalani’s letter when he felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

The rumors about the vicious creatures in Mond’s forest were true, and Nalani had once again escaped death. His hands trembled slightly as he folded the letter, his feelings were mixed.

How could she be so reckless? He thought, pacing back and forth in her cluttered room.

Thousands of worries rushed through him, each one more worrisome than the last. He had always told himself that he didn’t care, that Nalani’s fate was her own business.

Yet here he was, his heart pounded with a fear she cula6 hardly admit to.
Kabar plopped down on the deerskin couch by the window, staring blankly at the dense forest outside. It was infuriating – he was constantly dealing with death, the reckless courage that seemed to follow his every step.

However, even more infuriating was the worry gnawing at his chest.

He picked up the letter again, reading Nalani’s hurried words about the creature, its victims, and how it attacked Nalani that night.

His eyes were glued to the sentence where Nalani described the attack and her luck that the creature left her just as Karyan arrived. Karyan. He snorted. A tight knot formed in his stomach.

“Damn it, Nalani,” he muttered to himself. “Why do you always put yourself in such danger? Apparently not enough an assassin, now a vicious creature from the forest?”

He leaned back, scratching a head that wasn’t actually itchy. He had never been one to worry. He had always been a pragmatic person, one who remained detached, who saw things from a safe distance.

But Nalani-she had a way of penetrating that distance, making him feel things he was not ready to admit.

Kabar stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the wooden floor. He shouted for Bran, one of his best friends and his advisor.

Bran, a werewolf with reddish-brown hair, appeared three minutes later. “What’s wrong, Alpha?” he asked. “You’re howling like a heartbroken wolf.”

“What?” Kabar glared. “Say it again.” He glared.

“I’m not. I’m sorry,” Bran said hurriedly. He joked because he thought the alpha just wanted to have a normal conversation. It turned out that his face was so serious.

“What made you call me?
Karyan tossed Nalani’s letter to Bran. “Read it.”

Bran read the letter. He was one of the closest people to Kabar who could read Nalani’s letter, but never in front of the alpha directly.

“Oh, no,” complained Bran who immediately understood why Kabar was upset. “She almost died again.”

“Yeah,” Kabar grumbled. “I sent her there to be a spy, not a target for assassination.”

“But, aren’t you interested in the news about that creature? It turns out that the creature does exist in their forest. I thought it was just rumors all along.”

Kabar noticed Nalani’s letter in Bran’s hand. Nalani’s neat handwriting detailed the extraordinary creatures she had encountered in Mond.

“That creature is very interesting indeed,” she said.

Bran nodded. His presence was simple as always. He was a man of few words, yet his mind was sharp and his loyalty unwavering.

Bran’s eyes scanned the pages quickly. “A creature of great power,” he murmured, looking at Kabar. “Do you believe it’s real?”

Kabar’s eyes twinkled with conviction. “If Nalani wrote about it, I believe her. She described it vividly-its power, its agility. A creature like that could be very valuable to us.”

Bran nodded thoughtfully. “You’re considering bringing it here? To Inverno?”

Kabar leaned back in his chair, a plan already formed in his mind. “Yes, imagine the benefits we would have with such a creature under our control. It could guard our territory, hunt us, even fight alongside us.”

Bran considered this for a moment. “Capturing it won’t be easy. And there’s the matter of getting it safely back to Inverno.”

Kabar’s expression hardened. “We’ll need a team-our best hunters and mages. If it has anything to do with Mond’s magic, we must be prepared for that as well.”
Bran nodded. “But there’s something you should consider, Kabar. Bringing a creature of such power into our midst could have unforeseen consequences.”
Kabar waved his hand dismissively.

“Every action has a consequence, Bran. We’ll deal with them when they come. For now, focus on finding a way to capture him.”

Bran bowed slightly and turned to leave, but Kabar called him back.

“And Bran,” Kabar added, his voice low and serious, “make sure in your plan that Nalani stays safe. Her role in this is crucial.”

Bran nodded briefly and left the room, Kabar’s mind already racing with the logistics of their new mission. Kabar watched the flames of the dancing candles, his thoughts drifting to Nalani.

***
Kabar sat in the great hall, his mind drifting back to the day when he decided to move Nalani from the kitchen to the castle wing where he lived.

He had always found Nalani's innocence endearing. As a Mirean, Nalani had no magical abilities, and Kabar found comfort in that.

He was tired of women who could unleash their power whenever they were angry.

His last date with a witch who almost turned him into a frog for flirting with another woman was enough to make him wary.

"You'll turn back into a werewolf if I decide to kiss you again," she sneered.

The memories still sent chills down his spine. With Nalani, he felt safe. She was pure and simple like a human.

For seven years, people speculated that he would make Nalani his mate. They didn't understand that his feelings for Nalani were far from romantic.

To him, Nalani was a trophy, a symbol of his father's victory over the Morvena witches.

He had never touched her beyond an affectionate kiss, a gesture meant to keep her hopeful and complacent with false promises.

He remembered that day vividly. Nalani stood before him, dirty in her kitchen clothes. Yet her face looked up at Kabar with admiration. When he approached, she looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"Nalani, you will be moving to a new room," he said, his voice soft yet firm. "It's next to my room."

"Really? Why?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

"It's safer there," he replied, not wanting to delve into the complexities of his decision. He couldn't let her know that his lack of strength was his only attraction in her eyes, an attraction that made him feel no threat.

She nodded, accepting his words without question. That was another thing he appreciated about her-her unquestioning obedience.

That day as he watched her walk away to collect her things from the kitchen, he felt something like a strange sense of pleasure.

Stay alive, he thought after Bran left. Maybe later I'll take you home.
***