Chapter 24 - Something is wrong

HADRIAN

The rays of sunlight dance around the pine trees and warm up my frigid body. Dirt and mud cover my hands and up to my elbows. I’ve discarded my jacket over a fallen tree. The storm from last night has wrecked two of the cabins in the West border base. We’ve worked all night to save as much as possible. My men are exhausted. I’m exhausted. My knees are aching from kneeling down on the cold hard ground and my clothes are drenched from the storm. Pine needles stick to my clothes. Fallen branches are scattered around the base. The scent of rain, pine and wood hangs heavy in the air.

The dawn has come and the storm has settled. This is the seventh dawn away from the palace, since the ceremony. I tear away a piece of wood from one of the wrecked cabins. It needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Fortunately, most of the cabins have come out of the storm unscathed.

“Excuse me, sir.” One of my lieutenants says.

I get up from the ground and blink away the dark spots in my vision. I ignore the ache in my exhausted muscles as I force them to work. “Speak.”

The lieutenant has mud stains on his uniform but looks better than I feel.

“The men have noticed that you haven’t taken a turn to rest, sir.”

I look around the base and most of the men look better than a few hours ago. They quickly look away when I find them watching me.

*“You need to rest.”* Nero says and I startle.

Nero has been ignoring me for the past six days. The only time he talked to me the past week was to tell me to go back to the palace. I know he’s hurting, but it’s for the best. I did what my father wanted, I marked and mated the human, but I don’t plan to see her more than necessary. It’s best for both of us if I stay away as much as possible.

*“That’s not true, you know how the mate bond works.”*

I grimace at the thought that Emma is hurting the same. Does she have the same hollow feeling that something is missing, and that longing for her mate to fill it?

*“She’s human, she’ll get over it.”* I say, but I know that will not be the same for Nero and me.

I nod at the lieutenant and walk toward my cabin. Every step I take is like daggers stabbing in my thighs. I grit my teeth and hold my head high and shoulders broad. I will not show any weakness.

My cabin is unscathed from the storm. I discard my wet clothes to the pile of laundry and take a quick shower. I scrub the dirt from my skin until my skin feels raw. The water is freezing cold and it numbs my body even further.

I exit the shower with a towel wrapped around my waist. I should sleep, but on my desk lies a stack of my other responsibilities. Border disputes. Alpha’s tend to believe that the world belongs to them and that the borders of their pack should be further. Civil war within the kingdom is unfortunately not an uncommon thing.

*“You need to sleep.”* Nero argues.

I grit my teeth. “I can’t.” It’s not a lie. Not because the kingdom cannot survive a few hours without me, but because I have not been able to sleep for the past seven nights. I tried, but every time the memories of the human keep me awake.

*“Emma. Her name is Emma.”* Nero growls

I ignore Nero, dress in a new uniform and make myself a cup of strong coffee. I take sips while I work my way through dispute after dispute. Hours pass, and the sun becomes stronger through the window of my cabin. My eyes are straining to stay open. When I try to pick up my third cup of coffee, I knock it over instead. *Shit.* Dark brown liquid spills all over my desk. I quickly get some tissues and I try to clean most of it up.

*“We have to get back.”* Nero whimpers.

I lean my fists against my desk and hang my head. *“Please, Nero. Stop.”*

Hearing my wolf in pain is tearing me apart. I can’t stay inside, so I join my men back outside. They give me surprised looks when they see me so soon. I walk around the perimeter of the base without a certain goal in mind. I check the damages of the storm and make mental notes of where to place the men and women of my troops.

My ears pick up the sound of growling wolves, through the melody of nature. Past the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves are harsh tones of struggle.

*Something is wrong.*

I push myself to jog the hundreds of yards toward the commotion. Between the trees are three wolves engaged in a fight. I push myself to run faster towards them. Growls rumble through the air and sharp canines are bared. Mud covers their paws and trees shake when they crash into them. Leaves from the oak trees fall down in an array of colors. Red, yellow and green. Two of the wolves are my soldiers. I recognize their wolves. The third wolf is unfamiliar to me.

A soldier comes up beside me and I turn to her.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Sir, a rogue is trying to pass the border.”

“Pass the border?” I ask in disbelief.

Every werewolf in the kingdom is prohibited from passing the border. The rule is set to protect the citizens of the kingdom. Only everything within the border is protected by the army of the king.

The two soldiers pin the rogue down and I walk closer to them. The rogue is growling and struggling to get free, but my soldiers have a strong hold on him.

*“Shift back and state your business here.”* I tell the rogue through a mind link.

Only wolves from the Royal bloodline can mind-link every werewolf in the kingdom. Most werewolves can only communicate within their pack or platoon.

*“Let me go, I need to find my daughter.”* The wolf growls.

If I was well-rested, I would’ve noticed the soldier losing his grip on the rogue. I would’ve been able to move quickly enough, out of the way. If I was well-rested, the rogue would’ve never been able to swing his claws at me. The fabric of my uniform tears when his claws grace along my abdomen.

The claws slice through my skin. The sharp pain is agonizing and I fall back on the ground. Two more soldiers shift to attack the rogue. Pinning it down and forcing him to shift.

I cover my hand over my stomach. The wounds aren’t deep, but blood coats my fingers and streams over my hand.

“Sir, you’re wounded.” One of the soldiers calls.

“I’ll be fine.” I grit out and bite through the pain to stand up. I ignore the helping hands around me. I won’t show any weakness.

I feel light in my head and I’m useless until I’m healed.

“I’m retreating to my room.” The wounds will take some minutes to heal.

“Of course, sir.” I hear behind me, but I’m already walking back to the base. I know my soldiers will take the rogue into custody and he’ll be punished accordingly. He has attacked a royal, so his punishment will not be light.

I keep the pressure on the wounds and sink down to a chair in my cabin. Blood drips on the floor and I let the minutes pass.

I try to move after a couple of minutes, but the pain is still as brutal. I look down at the wounds and the fabric of my uniform is soaked in blood. The red liquid keeps flowing from the gashes. Realization dawns on me.

*Shit, I’m not healing.*