Page 30 of Bonded

“Maybe.” He smiles and blows out a breath. “Your brother... I’ve known him years. More than you, I guess, but… your family. Can I trust him with her?”

The words feel weighted, like he absolutely needs the answer.

“He looks at the rest of the world with nothing but hate in his eyes, until they fall on her and soften. That’s how I know he loves her.”

I don’t know if my answer soothes him, but he thinks on it. His face is hard to read, but eventually he nods once.

“Thank you... she is every sea, river and brush of rain to me. I needed to know how he feels about her too, because he doesn’t say it and his actions are... chaos for her.” He straightens up. “I’ll bring some food back tomorrow and every day after until we get you out. Any requests?”

I shake my head.

“Well, have a think about it or I’ll just keep bringing random things. I’m coming back often, it’s good to scare the guards and remind them that we’re watching.”

“Thank you again. I know you’re only here for Meredith, but I appreciate it,” I murmur.

“I think any of us that managed to survive the Folkland should be considered friends at the very least. We went through some fucked up shit, Lizzy. We’re family and family should stick together, don’t you think? Even if Orion’s being a bit of an idiot right now.”

He winks at me before he turns and walks away.

Soon my guard comes back and he goes straight back to his position of standing silently at my bars. He only leaves for six hours at night, or what I assume is night because I can’t see much down here. One of Orion’s trusted guards replaces him, but he doesn’t speak either.

I go over to my bed and open the box of food. There are small cakes, slices of baked cheese and tomato bread that I love and usually had made for me when I was younger. I walk over to the bars with the box and clear my throat.

“Would you like to share some food with me? This is a lot of food and it’ll go out of date quick, especially if Reed is bringing back more tomorrow. I know you never eat much when you’re down here and you’re a wolf, so you need to eat. It’s not poisoned, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m not in here for poisoning someone.”

I’m rambling and because of the red helmet, I can’t even see my guard’s reaction.

He laughs — a deep, throaty laugh — before he takes off his helmet. He has the lightest brown hair I’ve seen, that almost looks red in the light, and his eyes are the usual glowing red, marking what pack he is from. He has high cheekbones and a classically handsome face that doesn’t match his bulky, big body under his armour.

“My name’s Bane. You’re Elizabeth, right?” He bows. “Princess.”

“I don’t think anyone counts me as a princess in this court anymore.” I laugh low. It’s better to laugh about it. I never cared much about the title anyway. “Bane, from the Crone pack. How did you end up here of all places? Got any family missing back home?”

He grunts. “Not sure it ever counted as a home to me, darling. I grew up in the castle as a bastard runt, smaller than most wolves and kicked around for being so. My mother is a maid, still is, and did her best to protect me, but all bastards are trained at age five to be potential guards, or die. I worked hard to make sure I beat every mean bastard in my path and didn’t die. My wolf grew with me and I had a growth spurt at twelve which helped me get along. I got lucky when not many others did.”

“And how on earth did you end up here?” I question.

For guards here, they are volunteers and paid very well. It’s a competitive job role, and more so to be a royal guard like Bane. Bane sits down outside the bars and leans against the wall. I do the same, stretching my legs out like he does, and I pass through half of the food, which he balances on his legs. He eats the fancy cakes first.

“It’s quite sad. It’s a tale of love and desperation,” he admits.

“Oh, so you have a lover,” I ask, curious.

He snorts. “Yes... no. I’m not sure what we are to each other at this point because she likely hates me.”

“Why?” I question.

“She’s human and I fell in love with her from the first moment I met her. She’s wild and free and reminds me of my own fire powers. She never let being human and the world she was in dampen her spirits.”

Reminds me of Meredith. He’d best not be in love with her too. I’m pretty sure one of the heirs will murder Bane.

“When the Folkland happened, everyone was pulled to the castle. We were told very simply we could not leave. We had to be on patrols constantly and to make sure it was safe. From what? None of us knew, but questioning the alpha was unacceptable. We did exactly as we were commanded and I was never able to get word to her. She must have thought I got what I wanted and ditched her. I tried to send letters, anything, but everything was blocked. No one else could get word out to their families either because the alpha said it wasn’t safe. It wasn’t just me, and really I didn’t want to attract too much attention in the palace. People that do, they usually end up dead. The Crone alpha has a temper.”

He holds his hand up, making a ball of flames in his hand. “I’m searching all the packs for my human. I’ve given my alliance to the prince and hoped for the best. I’ve still not found her yet, but I’m not giving up.”

“Why would you think she’d come here?” I don’t get it. If she is human, she’d be in the human district, surely.

“A rumour... and I can feel her in here.” He taps his chest. “I can’t explain the connection I have to her, it’s not just love, it’s more. I know she was here.”