Chapter 69


    It was the first time Savannah had visited the northern castle since the fire, and the sight saddened her


    to the core of her soul. The  scent of smoke that was still present hit her nostrils, and when she saw the


    ckened walls stripped of curtains and other decorations,


    she clenched her fists, trying to control her fury. The royal lycan wished to be freed and bestow her


    vengeance on the ones responsible for  all of this.


    Savvy had grown to love this castle and the history it held; she loved noticing little details she had


    missed previously every time she  paid attention to a painting or to a carving. And now most of it was


    gone, leaving a little empty spot inside of her.


    For the first time, she realised that this ce was her home now and that her enemies had entered it and


    tried to wipe it off the face  of the earth, destroying everything and everyone she loved in the process.


    just a little That’s it.


    A on her hand tightened as he pulled her closer and whispered, “No wouses, Sak de est rése


    This castle has stood through worse times, trust me.”


    She rested her head against his chest just for a moment, breathing in his scent to calm down. “I just hate


    that it happened on our  can’t let them win after everything.”  watch. W


    “We won’t,” he assured her,cing his fingers in her hair. “We are the ones already winning.”


    He took her into the main hall, and she let out a sigh of relief when she saw all her friends inside. A little


    part of her was still afraid  that all this was a dream. They were discussing their war ns around an


    interactive table, moving the maps as they carefully nned  tha  strategies, and hadn’t even noticed the


    Northern King and his Queen at first. Until one set of familiar eyes locked with Savvy’s. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    “Rei She threw herself into the Western Beta’s arms. “I didn’t know you were here!”


    4 emerged behind her, and she instantly knew that it was Kai’s reaction to her hugging another man. She


    ignored it though.


    This was something he would have to get used to because Reid wasn’t a threat to him and he was


    family.


    “I’m not technically here,” her friendughed, patting her head as if she was still a child. Reid was like a


    father figure to her. When  her parents died, and Gideon was busy with his Lycan King duties, this man


    was the one to step in and raise her and Kyle. Unfortunately,  during those days, they couldn’t trust too


    many people and the Beta had to act as a babysitter as well.


    “You are not?” Savannah knitted her brows, puzzled slightly.


    “He is not,” Gideon smirked. “Right now, he’s trying to rule the western Kingdom in my stead because I’m


    dead. So sad-“He  grimaced and she chuckled in response to that.


    “Poor you,” Savvy rolled her eyes, but it was just a cover–up because her eyes started stinging from the


    tears forming in them. The memory of losing her sibling was still fresh in her mind and she was so happy


    that she got to tease him like that again.


    “What’s this on your neck?” Gideon grasped her hand and his sister closer to inspect her brand new and


    shiny North Star mark. It was still gleaming softly when the light grazed over it. “Did you mark my sister?”


    the Western King growled, nostrils ring and eyes  shining golden for a moment until he suppressed it.


    “Yes, I did,” Kai responded calmly and moved Savannah away from her brother, wrapping his hands


    around her to demonstrate their  closeness to everyone. “What did you think I was going to do with my


    mate?”


    “I still can’t believe the Moon Goddess punished her that much!” Gideon grumbled, but no one took it


    seriously because the next thing he did was ce his palms onto their shoulders and whisper with a


    wicked grin, “Hurt my sister and I will arrange her next marriage  in a heartbeat and make sure she gets


    half of your Kingdom in the process.”


    “Gideon,” Riannon reproached her husband as she strolled towards them with a bright smile, “leave them


    alone. Look how happy they are!” She then turned all her attention to the beaming couple and her eyes


    studied their marks as well. “They are very beautiful,”  she said honestly. “Just as marks of Divine Wolves


    should be.”


    “Divine Wolves?” Savannah’s eyes grew wide.


    “When the gods bless us, they give us a particle of their divine power,” Riannon informed them. “Any


    special ability we have  afterwardses from it. This is what being blessed truly means, and the way


    our marks looks is a sign of how we can recognise other


    Divine Wolves.”


    “How do you know all this?” Kai was impressed by the western Queen’s knowledge. “Was it a vision?”


    “When my wolf asks the Moon Goddess a question, sometimes she answers. After I found out that you


    have been blessed too, this was what we asked. It’s different from my visions, though. Because they


    come when they please and don’t depend on my wishes. But the powers develop slowly. The particles of


    divine power we receive grow or die–It depends on the person who received them and the intention of


    the god who blessed them. It can go either way.”


    “That exins why you and Kai have special marks,” Savannah chimed in. “But why do Gideon and me?


    We aren’t the blessed wolves, but our marks are the same as yours.”


    “That’s because we’re mates, of course,” Ria smiled gently, and her eyes found her husband. “A mating


    bond is a special connection. between two souls. When one of the mates gets hurt, their mate feels it.


    When one mate feels happy, so does the other one. It works the same. When one of the mates bes


    a divine wolf, so does the other, Mates share everything, including divine blessings, because it’s spiritual


    and given to a soul, not a body. And a mark is a reflection of that spiritual bond.”


    “If I understand it correctly, Gideon sees the future too now?” Kai looked at his old rival, arching his brow


    curiously.


    “Not really,” the Western Lycan King admitted. “But some things are different for me now.”


    “Like what?” The northerner wondered, scratching his beard that needed some trimming desperately, but


    he chose not to waste his time on that this morning and stole a few extra minutes to spend with his


    Queen.


    “The return from the third form,” Savannah whispered, but in a room full of wolves, everyone heard her. It


    was so logical. Since she was little, she had the worst control of her third form, Compared to Gideon, her


    control of the beast was weak. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad. It was just how things were. For as long as


    she could remember, she was trained not to let her beast out because everyone knew that


    it was possible the Princess wouldn’t be able to get back to her human form. The royal transformation


    could cost her too much and mostly, it was not worth it, considering she was a good enough fighter in her


    second form. But just one day ago, she was ready to sacrifice herself for her friends when she shifted


    into her third form in Bjorn’s castle. Savannah knew there would be no return from that. There  wasn’t


    supposed to be a return from that…


    Yet here she was.


    Because of him.


    She nced at Kai, and he squeezed her palm. A simple motion, but with such a deep meaning behind


    it. He received Fenrir’s blessing, and the same Wolf God made them mates. He connected their souls


    with the help of the mysterious bead at the best of times, thus, helping Savvy to turn back the moment


    she saw her mate in the woods. The same thing happened to her brother a few months ago. He stayed


    in his third form for longer than it was safe during a brutal battle, and they almost lost him that day.


    However, Riannon found him on the battlefield and as if by some miracle, Gideon came back. They


    never connected the dots back then, but now it was clear.


    as day. The royal curse was broken by divine wolf mates.


    And that meant one thing – they were given an ultimate weapon in the uing war.


    They wished they could talk about all this more, but unfortunately, they had more pressing matters at


    hand. The bears would


    retaliate one way or another. No one had any illusions about resolving this matter peacefully.


    Savannah and Kai joined the rest of the team at the table and started going through what had been


    nned so far. A few hourster, all of them were exhausted, but they knew that so much more had to


    be done still. Somewhere into the eighth hour of their


    strategizing, the doors burst open and in came Chloe and ude.


    The TV presenters looked troubled and everyone knew that the news wouldn’t be good.


    “You have to see this!” Chloe insisted and passed a tablet into her king’s hands.


    Kai gave her a nce that told her he still wasn’t sure whether he forgave them for theirtest actions,


    and the siblings bowed apologetically without saying anything.


    However, all that became irrelevant the moment he saw the face of his enemy staring right at him from


    the screen. It took him a  minute to realise that it wasn’t an old video. His eyes went to the bottom of the


    screen where the date was showcased. This was recorded  today.


    Bjorn was alive. Which could mean only one thing – he would be back very soon, and all their ns had


    to be adjusted  ordingly.


    “What can you say about the recent video of Savannah Stormhold circling on the web,” a reporter asked


    him, and Bjorn’s expression  darkened.


    “Queen Savannah Bjorn,” he corrected the journalist with a frown. “Savannah is my mate and my Queen.


    She will always stay my  mate and my Queen. You should address her ording to her status.”


    The words made Kai grip the tablet so hard that it cracked under pressure in a few ces.


    “I have a perfectly good exnation as to why my mate attacked me in the middle of the mating


    ceremony,” the white bear  growled, showing off his teeth, but then he got his emotions under control and


    continued, “We were so happy and nned to spend our  whole life together. It’s a blessing to find a


    mate, and I am sure everyone understands our euphoria. Just when I left her that morning, she  kissed


    me goodbye and said that she couldn’t wait to get my mark on her neck. She couldn’t wait for it to


    happen, but when I saw her  again, she attacked me, and it broke my heart. Savannah stabbed me and


    ran away, leaving only questions in her wake. But luckily, a  good friend of mine helped me to understand


    that something was wrong with her. She wasn’t acting like herself. I was worried sick about  my Queen,


    and of course, I followed her the second I healed. I couldn’t leave the love of my life like that. My soldiers


    tried to help her, but  she tried to kill everyone who approached her. Thta was the state she was in. When


    I finally managed to reach her, I understood what was  going on and who had done this to her. There was


    this… creature. There are no other words to describe him. He made her believe in the  things that


    weren’t real. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. A mutated wolf with a distorted body and horns


    covered with ice. I am  not sure he was a wolf anymore, but when he shifted, he looked like the


    deceased Lycan King of the North.”


    “So, do you confirm that King Kai Fiongh is alive?” the reporter asked emotionlessly, and Chloe


    clicked her tongue in annoyance.  It probably wasn’t the first time she heard it all because she had her


    hands crossed over her chest and didn’t seem impressed.


    “He can’t be alive,” Bjorn said confidently. “We fought, and I personally put a silver spear through his


    heart. It was recorded back  then, so it’s undeniable.”


    “But how can you exin what you saw then?” the journalist seemed eager to get to the bottom of


    things, and everyone in the  room tensed, waiting for the reply.


    “How else?” Bjorn quirked his silver brow up. “To be raised from the dead, he had to take part in some


    dark ritual and sell his soul to  a demon. Or maybe it’s just a rotting corpse walking after some witch used


    him for necromancy purposes. Witchcraft and demons would  exin why Savannah was deluded. I am


    sure that her mind was manipted while I was gone.”


    “Is there a chance that you will ever forgive her?” the woman asked her next question.


    “There is nothing to forgive,” Bjorn smiled, and Savvy cringed watching this. “She is my mate. All I need


    to do is to destroy the spell  on her and kill the monster who tried to break us apart. Once it’s done, we’ll


    be together again, and no one will stand between us. This is  how the mate bond works.”


    After these words, he looked directly into the camera as if he knew whom he was saying all this for.


    going.


    “Does it mean that you will go to war?” The reporter’s voice trembled for the first time as she realised


    where all of this was


    “We are already at war,” Bjorn went back to being reserved. “I am just going to end it this time.”


    “Enough!” Gideon took the tablet and smashed it over the nearby wall as ude let out a little whimper.


    It was probably his gadget.


    “This is why you kill guys like him when you have a chance. And then CHECK it! And if he is alive, you


    kill him AGAIN!”


    Kai darted his eyes at the Western King. “Believe it or not, but when a deity tells me to get the hell out of


    somewhere, I listen.


    Savannah was there, and she was more important than anything. As for Bjorn, I’d dly kill him. AGAIN.


    And then AGAIN and AGAIN.


    They all got quite in the aftermath of the news.


    “Well, we don’t have time to waste,” Riannon tried to organise everyone again. “Our strategies definitely


    need some tweaking if that  bear is alive.”


    “I don’t like this,” L sighed heavily, wrapping his arms tighter around Zara.


    “Neither do I,” Kyle agreed. “He is trying to y the public opinion and tries to reduce our troops‘ morale


    in this way. Believe it or not, but some people will start doubting whether they are on the right side. In the


    meantime, the bears do not have this problem and  think they have a hero king.”


    “We can do an interview too,” ude interjected. “When people see King Kai and Princess Savannah


    together, it will be proof  enough.”


    “Right,” Chloe nodded. “Especially the new shiny marks.”


    “No,” Elene’s voice sounded for the first time during the whole day. She was in the room together with all


    of them the whole time but spoke only now. “They can exin marks on TV with ease. They would say


    it’s just make–up.”


    “The Princess is right,” Evelyn agreed. “Considering what we have just heard-”


    “I can turn things upside down too,” Kyle sneered but the woman ignored him as if he didn’t say


    anything.


    “It’s true, though,” Ash agreed. “We have the footage of everything that happened. We can y it to our


    advantage.”


    “You don’t get it,” Elene insisted, and they all looked at her again. “The North needs a miracle. They got it


    in the form of Amarok.


    They will followhim. They will fight for what is right. We just… we need to prove to them it’s real.”


    “And how would we do that, Elene?” Kai was probably the only one who gazed at his sister with trust in


    his eyes. “Do you have a  n?”


    “I do,” she confirmed with a nod. “But you will have to trust me. And we will have to do this tonight.”