Chapter Sixty-Seven

KEYARA

The three of them kept the run relatively short. Now that everything with the new pack had been taken care of, they were eager to proceed with their plans for conquering the castle.

When they returned to the camp from their pack outing, Keyara immediately began packing for her and Ash to leave for Levia.

As she hastily sorted through their belongings, picking a few necessities that would fit in their small travel bags, she heard Ash in the background calling everyone together and outlining the plan for the next two days.

She tuned him out, focusing on filling their bags, her excitement at seeing Anne again soon palpable.

Ash came to join her just as she was done packing, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

She handed him his bag, and he slung it over his shoulder, turning to shake Mateo’s hand and promising to be in touch soon.

They said hasty goodbyes to everyone and started on their journey, wanting to make it to the woods outside of Anne’s home before daybreak. The patrols that traveled the closest to her cottage began at dawn.

They left their clothes behind at the camp, since Key had packed something for them to change into once they were close enough to shift back from their wolf form.

They were able to cover the ground quickly, running through the woods side by side. A few miles away from the castle, Ash slowed, and she matched his pace, looking sideways at him for instructions.

~“We’re approaching the edge of the patrol routes,”~ he explained. “~We should be careful from here.”~

She lifted her nose into the air and sniffed, scenting the group of guards closest to them.

~“About a mile to the northwest?” ~she guessed, looking to him for confirmation.

He huffed approvingly, nodding his white head in affirmation.

~“Maybe slightly closer,”~ he told her, ~“but good job. Follow me.”~

He took off again, though at a much slower pace than before, and she stayed on his heels. Every so often he would slow to a walk, lifting his head to sniff or listen to the wind for a moment.

She copied his actions whenever he did so, smelling and listening for herself, confirming his conclusions more often than not.

They made slight alterations to their route based on what they heard, but she was pleased that Mateo and Rowan had been very accurate in their observations of the patrol schedules and paths.

They were able to avoid getting too close to any of the guards along the way. While two wolves in the woods might not raise suspicion of an impending attack, they risked being hunted by any humans who laid eyes on them.

It was a few hours before sunrise when Anne’s cottage came into view. Ash paused once more, this time looking to her for how to proceed.

She peered through the trees at her childhood home. The windows were dark, and there was a faint scent of smoke from the fire in the hearth that had likely extinguished during the night.

~“She will be up before dawn. When we hear her rise, I will shift and speak with her. I should go alone. She may not tell me if you are with me.”~

He nodded his head before nuzzling the fur of her neck with his snout. ~“Get some sleep,” ~he told her.~ “I will keep watch.”~

~“I’ll stay up with you—” ~she began, before he cut her off with a sharp nudge of his nose.

~“You and the baby need rest. Sleep.”~

She knew he would not take no for an answer, so she curled up on the grass, wrapping her tail around herself. He sat beside her head, his gaze sweeping the forest, on alert.

As soon as she closed her eyes, weariness took over her body, and before she knew it, Ash was nudging her awake a few hours later.

When she opened her eyes and met his, he motioned toward the house. ~“She is awake,”~ he explained.

Keyara could smell the fire rekindled in the hearth, as well as the faint sounds of Anne moving about the house preparing for her day.

She rose from the ground and shook out her fur, shifting to her human form. She ran her hands through her hair and pulled it back into a quick braid before pulling her change of clothes from her bag.

She pulled on the pants and cotton tunic but didn’t bother with her shoes. She zipped up the pack once more, and Ash carefully picked it up between his jaws.

~“I will find a place where I will be out of sight,”~ he told her. ~“Link me when it’s safe for me to join you, and I will come when it is clear.”~

She nodded and stroked between his ears before he turned back into the woods. Key dashed through the edge of the trees, rushing to the door and tapping lightly on it.

She could hear footsteps on the wood floor as Anne approached. They paused when they reached the door, and Keyara heard a nervous exhale from the other side.

“Ma, it’s me, Keyara,” she whispered loudly, hoping her voice would carry through the thick wood of the door.

It must have, because the door suddenly flew open, and Anne’s cold hand closed around Key’s wrist, pulling her quickly into the kitchen of their small home.

Anne snapped the door closed and locked it, spinning to face Keyara in the next breath.

“Gods, child, what are you doing here?!” she exclaimed, drawing her into a tight hug.

“Hey, Ma,” Keyara replied, her eyes involuntary filling with tears at the feeling of her familiar embrace.

Anne stepped back, keeping her hands clasped tightly on Key’s arms, staring intently at her face.

“Why are you back here?” she asked again, her tone serious.

“I need you to tell me something, Ma,” Key replied, skirting around the subject. “I need to know where the tunnel is, the one you snuck me through when I was a baby.”

***

ASH

It wasn’t long before he received a link from Keyara, letting him know she had gotten the information they needed.

~“Come when you can. She knows we’re~…~together. But not what we are.”~

He listened closely for anyone nearby before crawling out of the depression he found between a few large rocks that he had hidden in.

He shifted and changed into his clothes, leaving their packs in his hiding spot before jogging to the cabin where Key waited.

She opened the door for him, sensing his approach, and he ducked through the doorway into the small cabin.

Anne looked at him sternly with her hands on her hips. Though her gaze wasn’t unfriendly, it was intimidating, and he fought the urge to back away from her.

“You better do right by my girl,” she told him, causing him to smile.

“Of course, ma’am,” he replied, slipping his arm around Keyara’s shoulders.

She rolled her eyes at them both and stepped out from under his grip, turning to face him.

“I know where the tunnel is, but Ma said its entrance outside of the castle wall has collapsed. We will have to see if we can clear it easily before we know if we can use it.”

He nodded in relief. The job would likely be easy for his men once they joined them.

“Pershing is in a state since his son disappeared,” Anne told them. “He barely leaves his chambers.”

“Well, that makes it easy,” Keyara muttered.

“Will the castle follow her?” Ash asked Anne.

“It’s hard to say,” she answered, her expression thoughtful. “Not many care for King Pershing, true enough, but I’m the only one who can verify who she really is. I doubt my word will count for much, seeing as I raised her.”

“What about Ash, as another king? Would they follow him?” Keyara asked, but Anne just shrugged.

He frowned at the question. The claim was hers, and he didn’t want to take it from her.

She looked over at him, likely sensing his hesitation and disapproval of the idea through their bond.

“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered quietly. “It will be both of ours in the end, no matter what.”

She turned back to Anne. “Thanks, Ma. Can we hide out here today while we wait for the others? Where’s Jenna? Is she already at work?”

“Of course you can,” Anne said, giving her a hug. “They moved Jenna into the castle. She’s cleaning now,” she continued, releasing Keyara from the hug and stepping away.

“I’ll tell her you’re here when I see her. Maybe she can sneak away to see you. I have to get to work.”

Anne turned to Ash with a soft smile. “Make yourself at home,” she told him, before leaving to walk to the castle.

The day passed slowly, drawn out longer by their impatience. Jenna was able to sneak down for a quick hello on the excuse of fetching something for Anne, but she only stayed a few minutes so as not to draw suspicion.

Key and Ash passed the time by talking about their future, how they would improve the kingdom once they took over, and baby names and hopes for their upcoming child.

Ash was happy to see that Keyara’s initial shock about learning she was pregnant had been replaced by hope and excitement.

Finally the sun went down, and Anne returned to the cabin, bringing them a hot vegetable stew with bread. It was thin and clearly meant only for the servants, but it filled their stomachs.

Once it was well into the night, they bid goodbye to Anne and left to examine the collapsed tunnel. Luckily, it wasn’t far from the cabin, and they stayed in their human forms in case Anne was watching them.

Their heightened senses allowed them to make their way easily in the dark. The mound of fallen stones that used to be the archway to the tunnel was nestled at the base of what appeared to be a small cave in the woods.

Ash began moving rocks and testing the balance to prevent further collapse as Keyara kept watch.

In just under an hour he had opened up a hole into the main tunnel. He peered inside, concentrating and shifting just enough to enhance his vision even more to adjust to the dark. The rest of the way seemed clear.

He backed up and joined Keyara where she stood a few paces away.

“It’s clear,” he told her, speaking too softly for human ears. “With a few more men we can open it enough to pass through in no time.”

She nodded, and they returned to the cabin. They let themselves in and locked the door behind them.

Anne was fast asleep in her room, and the two of them climbed lightly to the loft where the two small beds Keyara and Jenna slept in when they lived there waited.

~“Go to sleep,”~ he linked her. “~I’ll contact Mateo and make arrangements for the group to join us. If they leave soon, they can be here by dawn.”~

Keyara nodded, stifling a yawn, then lying down and pulling the blanket over herself. He sat beside her, stroking her hair lightly as she fell asleep before he linked Mateo to make ready to move camp.