Page 6 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
The space between them seemed to shrink of its own accord, and for a moment, the rest of the world faded until there wasnothing but Maseo’s jade eyes looking up at Kitsuki with trust and gratitude.
It made him aware of their compromised position. Kitsuki’s hand fell from Maseo’s face. His dragon snarled in protest at the loss of contact, but Kitsuki shoved him back into the depths of his consciousness, slamming every mental barrier he possessed into place.
His eyes shifted from silver to their normal blue as he fought to regain control of himself. What was wrong with him? He had a beloved mate who lay sleeping only a few feet away. Auslin was everything he had waited centuries to find. So why was his dragon reacting to Maseo with such fierce protectiveness? Why did touching the half-wolf shifter feel so natural?
“My apologies for my dragon.” Kitsuki cleared his throat and tried again, forcing his tone back into its usual controlled cadence. “He has been unsettled for months that we might have caused Nasume to harm you. Seeing you in such a dire state was alarming. I did not intend to humor his need for physical reassurance that you are fine now.”
It was a reasonable explanation, one that contained enough truth to satisfy his conscience while hiding the deeper currents he didn’t dare acknowledge. What Kitsuki couldn’t explain, even to himself, was why that protectiveness felt so personal.
“I don’t mind.” Maseo’s wan smile tugged at something deep in Kitsuki’s chest he refused to name. “It’s nice to know someone gives a damn about me. It was hard to keep going when I thought everyone would be glad I was gone.”
The casual way Maseo spoke of his own worthlessness made Kitsuki’s dragon rage against his restraints. How couldsomebody so kind believe himself to be so unwanted? How many years of cruelty and rejection had it taken to convince Maseo that his life held no value?
“Auslin would be deeply distressed to hear that,” Kitsuki said. He wanted to add himself to the list of people who would mourn Maseo’s loss, but the words were too dangerous and revealing. He had already exposed too much of his dragon’s attachment.
Maseo shook his head in amazement. “I still find that hard to believe. He should hate me more than anyone.”
“I suspect you have more allies than you think,” Kitsuki replied.
“It’s enough for me that neither of you hates me. Wanting anything more would be greedy.” Maseo twisted the dragon-shaped band on his finger. “Thank you for your ring. It saved me quite a few times, giving me the strength to escape from Kunushi.”
Pride swelled in Kitsuki’s chest at the knowledge that his magic had protected Maseo when he couldn’t be there himself. “I regret it was necessary, but I am relieved it kept you safe when you needed it most.”
His dragon preened at the confirmation that their gift had served its purpose. Even across vast distances, when Maseo had faced his father’s worst cruelties, Kitsuki’s power had been there to shield him. It was a connection that went deeper than mere magical protection, though Kitsuki wasn’t ready to examine what that might mean.
Maseo ran his thumb over the silver dragon head that crowned the ring, and Kitsuki felt an echo of that touch through the magical bond linking him to his creation. “Am I supposed to give it back now?”
The question sent a spike of panic through Kitsuki’s dragon. The thought of Maseo being defenseless again, vulnerable to magical attack without protection, was unbearable. “No, it is yours to keep, even after we defeat your father.”
The relief that crossed Maseo’s features told Kitsuki he had made the right choice. The ring would continue to protect him and serve as a tangible reminder that he wasn’t alone in the world. Someone cared enough to shield him from harm.
“Does that mean he wasn’t bluffing about a war?” Maseo asked, his expression growing serious.
Kitsuki’s jaw tightened as he considered the intelligence they had gathered, the disturbing reports that painted a picture of an escalating threat. “After what we discovered recently, I cannot stay my hand. We will go to war with Nasume as soon as we can prepare our troops.”
It wasn’t a prospect he relished. War meant death, putting his people at risk, and losing everything he held dear. But Nasume had crossed too many lines and proven himself too dangerous to continue unchecked.
“I ran into one of my father’s high-ranking soldiers in Alsari named Junbe,” Maseo said, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. “He bragged that war was coming and that he had been tasked with killing Auslin.”
Rage exploded through Kitsuki’s consciousness. His dragon roared with fury, the sound reverberating through every fiber of his being as protective instincts older than civilization itself took hold. The temperature plummeted as ice crystals formed on the nearby grass, responding to the contained storm of his emotions.
“I would sooner kill him myself than allow him to get near my mate,” Kitsuki said, his voice deadly quiet despite the inferno burning in his chest. The threat wasn’t hyperbole; he would tear apart anyone who dared to threaten Auslin with his bare hands if necessary.
“My father said that in a few months, he’ll bring his army of dead souls down on Valzerna.” Maseo’s frown deepened as he spoke. “But I don’t know what he means by that.”
The phrase sent a chill down Kitsuki’s spine that had nothing to do with his own ice magic. Dead souls. It was a term that carried implications too terrible to contemplate yet too specific to dismiss as mere bluster.
“There are legends about a lone necromancer who survived the war when the rest of his kind were wiped out. We believe your father may be conspiring with him.”
“A necromancer?” Maseo’s expression mirrored his surprise. “I didn’t actually think there was anyone left in this realm who could use that forbidden magic.”
“There should be no one left who can command dead souls, but my instincts tell me something nefarious awaits us in Kunushi.” The possibility of facing a legion of reanimated corpses would intimidate even the most battle-hardened warrior, but Kitsuki wouldn’t let it deter him. “I will do whatever it takes to defeat him. He cannot continue unchecked, especially if the rumors prove true and he is in allegiance with Ishibiya.”
“Since I was a pup, I’ve heard people say Ishibiya lived in the western mountains of Kunushi, but I always assumed it was a lie parents told their children to make them behave. I can’t tell you how many times Father threatened to send me to Ishibiya whenI was growing up so he could steal my soul and turn me into a skeleton marionette to do his evil bidding. I never imagined the man was real.”
Kitsuki’s dragon snarled at the casual mention of such threats against a child. What kind of father used the specter of necromantic torture to discipline his son? The more he learned about Nasume’s treatment of Maseo, the more his resolve hardened to end the wolf shifter’s reign of terror. “Normally, I would dismiss it as childish superstition, but I refuse to rule anything out with your father.”
Maseo nodded in agreement. “That’s wise. My father will stoop to any low to claim his victory.”
