Page 82 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“No,” Kitsuki refused. “I have nothing to say to him.”
We have much to say, his dragon countered.Too much, perhaps.
It had been weeks of torture watching Maseo from afar as he fought alongside Valzerna’s forces. The silver ring Kitsuki had given him glinted in the sunlight during battles, a constant reminder of the protection it offered and of the distance Kitsuki forced himself to maintain. Each time Maseo emerged victorious from combat, Kitsuki felt both relief and a deeper ache that he refused to name.
The pup fights well, his dragon observed with pride.He has proven himself worthy.
“He has,” Kitsuki agreed. “But that changes nothing.”
His dragon growled in frustration.It changes everything. You cannot deny what we feel, what Auslin feels.
Kitsuki closed his eyes against the rising tide of emotions. “I can and I must. As a king, I have responsibilities that supersede personal desires.”
Water sloshed as he tried to find a position that might ease the tension that never left his body. The constant warfare had taken its toll. He wondered how his father had thrived on conquest. Tatsuki had been a warlord at heart, expanding Valzerna’s borders through strength of arms and will. Battle had energized him by clashing with opposing forces.
Kitsuki found it exhausting. Each skirmish, each confrontation with Nasume’s forces left him drained rather than exhilarated. He longed for the quiet halls of his castle in Tiora and days filled with governance, and not bloodshed. Yet he knew thatpeace could only be achieved through Nasume’s defeat. The wolf shifter king had made that clear.
“Your Majesty?” a voice called from beyond the privacy screen that separated the bathing area from the main quarters. “General Jaega requests an immediate audience.”
Kitsuki’s eyes snapped open, his heart quickening at the news. “He may enter.”
He rose from the bath, water sluicing from his frame. With a gesture, the moisture on his skin vanished into a wisp of steam, and he was dry. He dressed in black breeches and a silver-blue tunic, his movements efficient and precise.
He walked around the privacy screen into the main area, which served as both living quarters and command center. A large table dominated the space, covered with maps and strategic reports.
Jaega entered with weary relief. “I come bearing good news, nephew. Lieutenant Norkon has returned. He brings word of his mission.”
Before Kitsuki could respond, the tent flap opened again. Lieutenant Rylan Norkon entered, and Kitsuki’s breath caught in his throat. The raven shifter was not alone. His arm was slung over Maseo’s shoulders as they walked in together, their postures suggesting a camaraderie born of shared danger.
How dare he touch what is ours?Kitsuki’s dragon roared with possessive fury. But Kitsuki silenced his protests.
“Your Majesty,” Norkon said, releasing the half-wolf shifter to give a proper bow. Maseo followed suit, his movements more formal and hesitant. When he straightened, his gazemet Kitsuki’s before darting away, the shy contact twisting something in the dragon king’s chest.
“Lieutenant,” Kitsuki acknowledged, his voice betraying none of the turmoil within. “I see you have brought company.”
Norkon’s smile was bright, oblivious to the tension radiating from his king. “I took the liberty of bringing Maseo along, Your Majesty. His intelligence regarding the sewer systems proved instrumental to our success. I thought he deserved to hear firsthand how his information saved countless lives.”
Maseo stepped away from Norkon’s casual embrace, creating distance between them.
The movement did not go unnoticed by Kitsuki, whose dragon rumbled with approval.Good. He does not wish for the raven’s touch.
“I am pleased to see you returned,” Kitsuki said, gesturing toward the chairs. “Please sit and tell me about your mission.”
As they settled around the table, Kitsuki found his gaze drawn to Maseo. He looked tired but unharmed, his posture straight despite the fatigue in his eyes. He had changed in the weeks since their last private conversation, carrying himself with a quiet confidence that had not been there before.
“The mission was a success, Your Majesty,” Norkon began, drawing Kitsuki’s attention back to the matter at hand. “Through considerable risk and effort, we destroyed most of the ritual sites comprising the Deathward Constellation.”
“Not all of them?” Jaega asked.
“Unfortunately, it became more difficult once Nasume’s soldiers realized what we were doing,” Norkon explained. “Theyincreased patrols around the remaining areas, forcing us to be more selective in our targets. However, we destroyed enough critical nodes to ensure the constellation cannot be completed.”
Relief washed through Kitsuki, easing a tension he had carried for weeks. “Were there casualties?”
“None on our side, though there were some close calls,” Norkon replied. “The healers accompanying us saved our injured warriors. We lost no one, thanks to the detailed intelligence Maseo provided about the sewer systems and guard rotations.”
Maseo blushed at the praise.
Norkon continued. “As Maseo promised, the sewers were large enough for our teams to move through undetected, with access points near each of our priority targets. Without his knowledge, we would have been discovered much sooner, and the outcome might have been very different.” He raised his hand, a shimmer of dark energy gathering around his fingers. A leather bag materialized from the shadows, settling onto the table with a softthud. “The Enchanters insisted we bring these back.”
