Chapter 56


    56. The Ties That Bind


    Savannah was afraid to move even an inch because Bjorn still hadn’t left room. He stopped his


    narration, and a part of her was worried he would get back into bed with her. That was something she


    wanted to avoid at whatever cost.


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    “That man, The Serpent, quickly became my father’s most trusted advisor. My father was obsessed


    with the idea ol destroying the Fox king, and he was wasting all our resources on that, despite order


    from the lycans to avoid any confrontations. He ignored them, of course, and soon we found ourselves


    fighting on two fronts. The lycans did not like being contradicted.”


    He turned back to look at the moon shining brightly over the northern mountains.


    “was growing up in the middle of all this, training fiercely, knowing the reality i would have to live in. But


    most importantly, I couldn’t forget my Mother’s words about bing strong and powerful and bringing


    her back. Considering what my father was, wanted to have the only other family I had left, so I did


    everything possible for it to happen. When I was around fourteen, I thought I was ready. As an heir, I


    had people loyal to me, and I took them with me when I went on the mission of retrieving my Mother


    from the foxes. I already knew by then that the Fox King had gotten her back and punished her


    severely for escaping. She was his queen and his obsession, but she didn’t have a happy life with him.


    I found a house for her to live in for when I would bring her back. I knew my father would never ept


    her as his mate again. He did not marry again, but he had many mistresses to rece the need for his


    lost mate. Their bond was already long broken. It was a small butfortable cabin in the woods on


    one of the northern borders, and I was sure I could keep her safe there. Maybe even with my brother if


    she wanted toke him with her like thest time. It all yed out very nicely in my head, but, of


    course, the reality was different.


    I watched the foxes for quite some time before I became daring enough to go into their territory one


    night to try and retrieve my mother. Now I think I was foolish thinking it would be so easy to outfox the


    foxes. I got to her bedroom, and she was terrified to see me. She hadn’t seen me for years, but she


    didn’t even give me a hug because she knew that every second could cost me my life. She told me to


    run, but I refused to do so without her. This was when Castiel walked in on us with a broken lip,


    probably seeking somefort from her. He didn’t even know who I was back then, but Mother begced


    him not to tell anyone he saw me, and he swore on the spot.”


    The white bear inhaled sharply and went back to his sleeping princess. Savannah felt the mattress


    dipping as he sat beside her and ran his fingers through her silky hair. It seemed he couldn’t stop


    touching her the moment he got close. Luckily, she still felt nothing. which was bringing her some relief.


    Whatever he felt, whatever he was thinking, she did not share his beliels. He was no mate of hers.


    “Mother tried to make me leave before it was toote, but I was stubborn. I worked so hard for this and


    didn’t want it all to go to waste. I told them about the house and that I would keep them sale there until I


    got the bear crown. And that once I did, I would give them the life they deserve. Castiel asked Mother il


    we could really go. He was around seven back then and ready to leave his father in an instant and


    without hesitation.” Bjorn’s voice broke, and he took his hands out of her hair, running his palm over his


    tiredce and pausing when his lingers touched his missing eye.


    “They tried to hide me in the adjacent room, and my mother sent Castiel back to his chambers right


    before her fox husband arrived, but he-he didn’t buy the trick and found me within seconds, Foxes and


    their scent abilities… You can’t hide from them. Funnily enough, 1 thought I could still take him.


    Moreover, I almost did. I fought him and almost won. Almost-”


    Savvy dared to take a little peek at what was going on and saw Bjorn sitting next to her with his eyes


    closed. He looked as exhausted as she was, and for a mere second, she… considered trying to kill him


    now when his guard was so low.


    “We would hardly seed,” Athena cooled her down, disappointment washing over them both.


    Bjorn’s head snapped in her direction, and she barely managed to close her eyes in time. Savannah


    still had no idea if he knew she wasn’t sleeping and was sharing his sad story just to get it out, or


    maybe it was his tactic to make her see him as a huinan after everything he had done.


    She wasn’t impressed so far. This wasn’t enough. Nothing would ever be enough to make her forget


    Kai, Gideon, Riannon and Kyle’s deaths. As well as all the others.


    They dragged me to the dungeons and chained me in bronze-coated chains to weaken me,” Bjorn went


    on, trying to suppress the rising emotions inside him. “Then they starved me for a few days to ensure


    they had me in the condition they wanted me. And then… the tortures began. The beatings were all


    right. I underwent extensive training before that and could take it all. Even with my healing abilities


    substantially slowed down, I could still heal. So, that was when the lox started to experiment, searching


    for ways to leave marks on me. I didn’t understand at first why it was so important to him. I thought I


    would die in that dark, dump ce. Alone and forgotten because no one was visiting me there in


    between tortures. Until one day-”


    He took another moment to mather his thoughts and continued, “Castiel sneaked into the dungeon to


    try and set me free. By then. his father had already kicked any naive thoughts out of my head, and I


    told him to leave. I was ready to die, and I didn’t want to drag him with me. iberg-dum just like my


    mother berged me when she discovered me in her room. But the little fox thought he was too smart for


    his own food, it turned out that it was a test of luis loyalty. He didn’t just get there. His father wanted to


    see what he would do if given a chance. Of course, Castiel didn’t pass the test. The warriors broke in


    when he tried to get rid of my chains. His father asked him why he trwd to save me, dhe replied that he


    jusi wanted to see me… because I was his brother.”


    Biorn closed his eyes, remembering the day and how a sharp bronze knile was pressed apainst his eye


    while he was shackled. It wasn’t his punishment. It was Castiels. For disobedience, for thinking he was


    too smart for his own good.


    “Too bad your brother will not be able to see you anymore, Coss!” The Fox king sheered as he plunged


    the de into his flesh.


    He did not remember the pain anymore, but he remembered the fear Thal gul wrenching feeling that


    crawled up his spine and into butcheart and it seemed like it stayed there forever, that moment in time


    when the fox king was about to cut his second eveball out and blind him permanently, and he could do


    absolutely nothing about it


    -That man didn’t want us to like cach other, and he wasn’t going toke the insult of me, a white bear,


    being there on his territory and trying to take something he had stolen before. He was about to stali niy


    second eye when Castiel prowled and shifted into his red beast form for the first time in his life. It would


    have been a joyous asion only his parent didn’t hate me more than anything. He still tried to stab


    me, but Cas threw himself at him and tried to light luni despite them not being on equal terms. His


    father was so furious that when he finally caught him, he thrust the de in Castiel’s eye instead of


    mine in a race.”


    Guilt washed over him. He should have begged his little brother to stop, but he didn’t. In the hope that


    maybe, just maybe, he would be saved, but his moment of weakness resulted in his younger sibling


    being hurt in his stead.


    “Now you match with your bear brother, mutt!” The Fox king spat when he closed the doors behind


    himself, leaving them alone in the dungeon’s darkness, Castiel was still in his beast form, with a cor


    around his neck to keep him just like that. It was probably the won first shift in history.


    Bjorn opened his eyes and looked at Savannah again. Secing her helped soothe his heart, which was


    aching from the painful mcmones.


    “Cass and I were locked together for days, healing slowly. Il one could call it that, of course. My eye


    could never heal, and his fox lost his partially. I guess you noticed that only one of his eyes was


    glowing when his beast was getting through. He used to joke that he liked it better that way. That it


    made him look liercer” Bjornchuckled to himselt, remembering the good old days. “He couldn’t shift


    back to his human form, and i found sce in talking to him. To be honest, I feel like this was what kept


    me going back then. I was telling him stories of how we will be free from our fathers one day, how we


    will take our Mother to liver away from there, how no one will ever put us into this position again… As


    for our Mother, she pleaded with her husband, and he released Cassa lew dayster. So, I was back to


    counting the hours until i died in solitude. But to my surprise, after beating nie severely again, they


    threw me out on the border of the white bear territory. Our people had already been searching lor me


    for weeks, and one ol our warriors found me. My father was called almost instantly, but he only took


    one look at me and frowned. He told me that I was his biggest disappointment in life, even bigger than


    my Mother. And that I wasn’t good enough to wear his name.”


    Savvy knew that there was a reason he called himself Bjorn more than he used his first name. Now it


    made sense. It was a statement. The right he was deprived of by his father, the right he had to take


    back and own it.


    “After all that, myther started to look for a new wife. He announced that he wanted a new heir


    because I didn’t meet his expectations,” Bjorn solled bitterly. “Women started arriving at our castle


    hoping they would be chosen by him. In a way, he had his own Luna Trials, only with no rules or


    boundaries. And one ol these women turned out to be my first mate.”


    That… was a new development, and Savannah would have gasped if she could. ying dead was


    harder than ever.


    “Her name was Ingrid. She was beautiful, smart and strong, a perfect future Northern Queen, I


    recognised her at once as every fibre of my soul responded to her. She didn’t look iny way, and at first,


    I was happy because that meant my father would never know who she was. I thought I could keep her


    sale in that way.” Something changed in his voice, it became colder and somehow empty. “I never liked


    the Serpent before and tried to avoid him as much as possible. So, when he visited me unexpectedly, I


    was wary of him at first. But he told me that I had to see something and then after that, I had a decision


    to make. I followed him hesitantly as curiosity took over me. My father’s most trusted advisor wanted


    something to do with me all of a sudden. Who wouldn’t be intrigued? I was shocked when he presyd


    what looked like a random brick on the wall and opened a secret passage in my castle that I had no


    idea about. How was it possible that this man knew my own home better than I did? He brought me to


    a small room that I soon discovered was hidden behind my father’s bedroom, he motioned for me to be


    quiet and opened a little hole in the wall that allowed me to see what was going on wyd. My father was


    waiting for someone, and soon Ingrid arrived, wearing the most provocative dress.”


    Savvy knew where this story was going, and she did not like it.


    “Halready told you, my innocence died when I was in captivity. I stopped believing in the good in


    people, so the moment I saw her enten the room. I knew why she was there,” he chuckled as if it was


    funny. “He asked her if she was indeed my male, and she contumedat, looking straight into his eyes.


    And when he asked her whom she would choose, she chose him without as much as blinking. Ht dhe


    to prove it and she did right then and there. On her knees-“Bjorn grunted as if the memory alone made


    him sick. “After She wa? done proving the told her that he would make her his queen if she seeded


    with the task he gave her. The task, of coury was to helpturalnd of me. I stood there, shattered by the


    betrayal, and listened to them discuss how she would do ilundmate


    with me and inject me in the prous, billing, me off while I was still in pain. She didn’t have a problem


    with any of that. But the more ustid, the more fealiydthalle was going buy her for this meant that there


    was absolutely no way he could do it himself. That bowiedy uberated me ledy-dihavo matter what was


    telling me, I already had enough power for him to be aliaid of nie. So,


    wten ingid arrived of my doorsteptampi weled her with open arms. I gave her anest chance to save


    hersell, but she Yerlied


    w d to you with anythe’s n. So, I allowed her to vreme the way she served him, and she was


    happy to do it, thing that was on her way to be the bear queen of the nortlurejected her while her


    mouth was still busy and broke her ned when she gasped for the vioad tried to pull away I got out the


    de we had tucked salely into the stocking of her thigh and called the guards, wing the tried to kill me.


    No one had anyteam not to believe me, und my tather’s brilliant n went to waste:


    even got a loval vassal in the end. I had to kill Ingrid’s n for reason, lut I chose to show mercy and


    gained their forever servitude aca result. All thanks to that snake! The Serpent suddenly chose me over


    myther, and my life became much easier after that hannened i never trusted hinipletely, ol


    course, seeing how casy lic switched udes. Uplo this day, we have a barter rtionship, but it works.


    He was the one who helped me to orchestrate the battle where Kai and Elene’s purents, the lommer


    King and Queen, were killed and me it alt on my father, cornering him between the foxes and the


    lycans”


    Savannah’schest tightened. She expected many things, but this was one of them.


    “Keep calmi” Athen.atunci in het mind. “Thisni be just a provocation, and you will give yoursell away if


    you react! This doesn’t change anything lot in ludon’t chan anything for him!”


    The princess had to chan the words in lier mind to keep her ws from growing, she just prayed to the


    Moon Goddess for this night to be over soon so she auld linally take a break.


    Horn was silenl, watching her intently, but she didn’t move or do anything that could indicate she wasn’t


    sleeping after all.


    “Our Mother died a year before all that, and I was finally able to meet my brother again since he was


    almost ol age and was allowed more freedom. Neither of us was favoured by our fathers, which


    potentially meant death. We decided to do something about that, and this was probably the only


    alliance I could trust in my life. I helped him a lot, and Castiel had his talents too. Thanks to him. I


    became untraceable. The research he had done on scents is irreceable. Did you know that we could


    all change our scents if we wanted to? All that is required is a little DNA sharing procedure and the


    scents you want to initate. I have about a dozen scents injected in me now, and I feel I will add more in


    the future.”


    He sighed heavily, and suddenly Savannah felt him close to her. Too close for her liking.


    “I talk too much, don’t 17” His lips brushed gently over her cheek, and his hot breath made the hairs at


    the back of her neck rise. “I only had that with Castiel. And now you. My first mate may have been a


    mistake or a test to see how much I could take and if I am worthy of beconing the king of thesends,


    but I intend to pass it. I intend to make it work, no matter what it takes, Savannah. You and me – we’re


    right together. It feels righi. And you will leelit soon too. You will recover, and the bond will snap in its


    ce.”


    He continued talking for some time, telling her about his favourite battles and tactics, about the things


    he had to do and some bits and pieces about Castiel. She tried to listen, but it was too much, and she


    was too exhausted. She didn’t even know how she drifted off to


    sleep or when …


    Savannah woke up in the same room the following day and was happy to see just one of the maids


    from before watching over her. The girl jumped to her feet when she saw her open her eyes.


    “Would you like breakfast, my queen?” She asked, trembling slightly. “The king told us you have to eat


    something today.” She knew what it really meant. If she didn’t eat, they would be punished.


    “I’ll eat,” Savvy smiled and tilted her head to look at the maid, knowing that this werebear was at her


    mercy. A little n had already formed in her head. “But before I do, I want to speak to someone, and


    you will bring this person to this room.”