Before the war

Mariana’s POV

I ran toward him without thinking. My knees hit the floor beside him, and I immediately reached for his head, pulling him gently into my arms. His breathing was uneven, his skin colder than it should have been, and there was still blood at the corner of his mouth.

“Zayan,” I whispered frantically, brushing his hair away from his face. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” For a man who had just been shot with a silver-laced arrow, beaten by his enemies, and nearly watched his entire kingdom fall apart, he somehow managed to look at me and smile.

Actually smile.

I stared at him in disbelief. “Why are you smiling?”

His smile only grew a little wider.

Tears immediately blurred my vision. I had spent the last few minutes convinced I was going to lose him, and now he was lying in my arms looking at me as though I were the one who needed comforting.

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it. Zayan lifted his trembling hand and wiped it away with his thumb. “I don’t like it when my little wolf cries,” he murmured. “So stop crying. I’m going to be fine.”

I shook my head, my voice breaking. “How can you say that when you’re bleeding like this?”

He gave me another small smile. “Because I know myself better than you do.”

I stared at him, still unable to understand how he could remain so calm. His eyes softened as he looked at me. “Besides, I always knew there was something special about you.” His fingers brushed my cheek. “You’re not only beautiful, Mariana. You’re strong. Stronger than you ever realized. I watched you stand in front of me today when you could have ran. I watched you protect me when you were terrified. And then…” His eyes flickered with something almost amused. “Then you turned into a wolf large enough to frighten half my soldiers.”

Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped me through my tears. “You saw that?”

“Little wolf,” he whispered, “I saw everything.”

My gaze dropped to the arrow still lodged in his chest. “Then let me take it out.” I reached toward it, but Zayan immediately caught my wrist.

“No.” His voice became serious.

“Don’t pull it out.” I frowned. “But maybe if we remove it, you’ll feel better.”

“If you pull it out now, the silver and whatever else they coated it with will spread through my blood faster.” He swallowed, fighting through another wave of pain. “There’s only one person who can help me with this.”

I immediately knew who he meant. “The pack doctor?”

He nodded. “Yes. We need to get him here.”

“But he’s far away,” I said, panic returning to my voice. “How are we supposed to—”

Zayan gave me an almost offended look. “Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”

I blinked.

“I’m a warlord, Mariana.” He drew in a shaky breath. “Distance doesn’t mean anything when I can call my own pack through the bond.”

His eyes suddenly began to glow.

A faint light spread beneath his skin, and the air around us seemed to change. I could feel his wolf stirring beneath the surface as he gathered what little strength remained in him. His body trembled violently, but he didn’t stop. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, everything around us became completely silent.

Then his voice seemed to echo inside my mind.

Doctor. Now.

The command carried through the pack bond with such force that I could almost feel it travel beyond the walls of the palace.

Zayan’s eyes opened and then his body went limp.

“Zayan!”

I caught him before he could fall completely. Panic seized my chest as I held him against me, checking desperately for a heartbeat. It was there.

Weak.

But there.

“He’s alive,” I whispered to myself, almost as though saying it would make it true. I pulled him closer, resting his head against my chest while I waited. “You’re going to be okay. You hear me? You’re going to be okay.”

I don’t know how long I sat there.

It felt like hours, then hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

A man in a healer’s robes appeared with several guards behind him. His expression changed the moment he saw Zayan.

“The Warlord called for me,” he said breathlessly before immediately kneeling beside us. His eyes moved to the arrow, then to the blood on Zayan’s clothes. “He’s in very serious condition. We need to get him to the royal chamber immediately.”

The guards carefully lifted Zayan from my arms and carried him away.

I followed.

I didn’t leave his side.

For days, Zayan didn’t wake.

The pack doctor worked tirelessly, changing his bandages, administering medicines, treating the silver poisoning, and doing everything possible to keep the poison from spreading. Every morning I woke up and went straight to his room. Every night I sat beside his bed until exhaustion forced me to sleep.

But he never moved.

Never opened his eyes.

And every time I looked at him, fear settled deeper inside me.

What if he didn’t wake up?

What if the man who had made me feel safe for the first time in my life was gone?

I refused to let myself finish that thought.

Then, one morning, sunlight streamed through the curtains directly into my eyes.

I groaned and turned my face away.

I had fallen asleep beside Zayan’s bed again, and I was absolutely not ready to wake up. I could feel the warmth of the sunlight against my skin, but then suddenly, the light disappeared.

A shadow covered my face and I slowly opened my eyes.A hand was shielding me from the sun.

I blinked, and then I saw him.

Zayan was sitting up,Smiling.

“Good morning, sleepy little wolf.”

For a moment, I simply stared. Then I threw my arms around him.

“Zayan!”

He laughed softly as I hugged him so tightly that he winced.

I immediately pulled back. “You’re awake!”

“Yes.”

“You’re actually awake!”

“I believe that’s what people generally do when they wake up.”

I hit his chest lightly with my palm.

“Don’t joke!”

“Ouch.”

“You scared me!” Tears filled my eyes again. “I thought you weren’t going to wake up. I thought—”

Zayan reached for me and pulled me closer. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like seeing my little wolf cry?”

I buried my face against him.

Then he suddenly groaned.

“Ugh.”

I pulled away immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“My body still aches.”

My eyes widened. “I’m sorry! I forgot you were still injured.”

He smiled.

“Maybe there’s one thing that could make me feel better.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “What?”

He leaned closer.

“Maybe if My lady warmed me up a little.”

I stared at him.

“Zayan!”

He laughed.

“You cannot possibly be thinking about that right now!”

“I’ve been lying in this bed for days,” he protested. “You can’t blame me for having priorities.”

Before I could finish scolding him, he pulled me closer and kissed me.

It was gentle at first, almost hesitant, but the moment I felt his warmth against me, all the fear of the past few days came rushing out. I wrapped my arms around him, careful not to hurt his wounds, and kissed him back.

When we finally separated, his forehead rested against mine.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I missed you too.”

A few more days passed before the pack doctor finally allowed Zayan to leave the bed for longer periods. He was still bandaged, still taking medicine, and still recovering from the silver poisoning, but he was stronger.

Strong enough for the council and apparently, stubborn enough to insist I come with him.

“You’re coming with me,” he said one morning as he prepared for the meeting.

I stared at him. “To the council?”

“Yes.”

“What do I know about council matters?”

He looked at me as though the answer were obvious. “You’re my Luna.”

I folded my arms. “That doesn’t mean I know anything about politics.”

“You’ll learn.”

I sighed.

He held out his hand.

I took it,together , we walked into the council chamber.The moment the doors opened, every council member rose.

“Welcome, Warlord Zayan Alastor.”

Their voices echoed through the chamber.

Then their eyes turned toward me.

“Welcome, our Luna.”

I felt Zayan’s fingers tighten around mine.We walked toward the high table together.

Zayan took his seat, but he didn’t release my hand.

“The Graham family has made a grave mistake,” he said, his voice carrying through the room. “They believed they could invade Frostcrest, kill its ruler, and simply take what they wanted.”

The council members murmured angrily.

“They underestimated us,” one said.

“They will pay for this,” another added.

Zayan’s expression hardened. “Every member of the Graham force who participated in this attack will answer for what they have done. They came into our home believing they would leave victorious. They will learn exactly what happens when someone threatens Frostcrest.”

“Yes, Warlord!”

“They cannot take us for granted!”

“Frostcrest will stand!”

The voices rose around the chamber.Then one council member slowly raised his hand.

“Warlord, may I ask something?”

Zayan gave him a sideways glance. “What is it?”

The man looked toward me.

“There has been something we witnessed during the attack.”

The chamber quieted.

“Our beloved Luna possesses the Golden Phoenix Wolf.”

Silence.

The council members exchanged stunned looks.

“The bloodline believed extinct for centuries,” the man continued. “Yet she manifested it before our eyes.”

I looked at Zayan.

He smiled.

“Yes,” he said simply.

The council erupted into whispers.Zayan’s thumb brushed over the back of my hand beneath the table.

“My Luna is stronger than anyone ever believed.”

I looked at him, and warmth spread through my chest.

Later, when we left the council chamber, I stopped him.

“I’m coming with you.”

He turned.

“To the battlefield.”

“No…you are not.”

“Yes.”

“Mariana.”

“I am not a puppet you can leave in a room while everyone else fights.”

His jaw tightened. “You’re my Luna. That is precisely why I need you safe.”

“And I’m your mate,” I replied firmly. “Which means I’m not staying behind while you walk into a battlefield alone.”

He stared at me for several seconds.

Finally, he sighed.

“Fine.”

I smiled.

“But you’re staying close to me.And if I tell you to move, you move.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Warlord.”

He smiled.

“Good.”

That evening, I stood by the window watching the preparations below. Soldiers moved through the courtyard, weapons being prepared, horses being saddled, banners lifted in the wind.

I knew war was coming.

And for the first time, I wasn’t afraid of what it could take from me.

Zayan came up behind me.

“Are you worried?”

I turned toward him.

“About the war?”

He nodded.

I looked back outside.

“As much as I don’t care about most of the people in Mountcrest anymore, I don’t think I want all of them destroyed.” I paused. “Maybe there can still be a peaceful solution. Maybe I can speak to my father first. Maybe I can make him understand what he’s doing before anyone gets hurt.”

Zayan was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded.

“Five minutes.”

I looked at him.

“What?”

“I’ll give you five minutes to speak to your father before I strike.”

I smiled softly.

“Thank you.”

He stepped closer.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything,little wolf.”

“I do.”

He brushed a strand of hair from my face.

“You changed everything for me, Mariana.”

I looked into his eyes.

“And you changed everything for me too.”

He pulled me into his arms.

“I love you.”

My heart fluttered.

“I love you too.”

Outside, the moon rose above Frostcrest, casting silver light across the kingdom that had become my home.

Zayan held me beneath it, his arms wrapped securely around my waist, and for one quiet moment, there was nothing else going through my mind.

Only us.

But somewhere beyond those walls, an army was preparing to march.

And neither of us knew just how much our lives were about to change.