“Nonsense! A respectable lady cannot ride on horseback. It is unfortunate your father didn’t teach you the manners of the court after your mother’s passing, but I am willing to ignore this flaw. Lady Callum will be in charge of tutoring you from today. We cannot allow his wife’s deficiencies to humiliate my son.” Lord Callum laughed, amused by his joke.
Maeve was speechless. Every word that came out of the mouth of that pathetic lump of a man hurt or offended her. Lord Callum kept the same smug expression and ushered her into the carriage.
There wasn’t much she could do, so she squared her shoulders and took the first steps towards her new life.
Hakken
Sunny days reminded him of her. Her bright smile, warm skin, the freshness of her scent. Those were the happiest days because she was full of energy. They loved to spend hours roaming the Forest, walking along the Path, lying on the grass, and enjoying the sunshine.
Hakken hated sunny days.
The cloudy days like today matched his feelings a lot better. For whatever the reason, the gray sky caused the emptiness in his chest to swell, pushing every pleasant emotion out of him. The sensation was so crushing, some days Hakken wondered if he was actually ill.
Part of him wanted to shout, curse, break things. Another part only wanted to lay and sleep.
Hakken hated cloudy days.
He left the village seeking solitude among the trees. A few hours became a few days, and a few days seemed well on their way to becoming a week. Hakken found no reason to return to his people, even if some were waiting for him. The thought made him grimace, but he shrugged and told himself it would be better if they just stop worrying about his return.
He didn’t want to go back; he didn’t want to keep walking.
Another year had passed—another without her. Eleven years ago, he lost the love of his life in the middle of the war. He failed to protect her, and his punishment came in the form of emptiness and nightmares. He kept seeing her. Her bloodied, broken body was trembling in his arms while life left her eyes.
Thousands died, and the pain he felt had not been exclusive. Many lost family and lovers, but the years healed them or at least eased their sorrow. New families came to be, and, little by little, peace replaced the horrible passage of war.
Hakken couldn’t leave his pain behind. At first, he hoped for the day the anger and grief would dwindle, but the emotions were always raw in his chest. After some years, he realized he no longer suffered for her, for her absence. He got used to the pain, and after all those years, he didn’t know how to feel anything else.
Perhaps it was time to try harder. Find another mate, start a family. The painful memory of losing her turned him into a coward. Hakken didn’t want to risk living through that torment again.
Maybe death would take his misery away. Maybe that was why his feet took him to the dangerous ends of the Forest once again. Or maybe it was that stupid Path’s fault, insisting on appearing in his way.
The Path has its own will.
“Bah!” He didn’t care about the plans the Path had for him. But then again, starting a war of wills with a ridiculous trail that may or may not have mystical powers sounded equally bothersome.
He kept moving forward, immersed in his cloudy thoughts when an unfamiliar scent caught his attention. In front of him, a pack of wolves crossed the Path. Young males jogged in line around the females and the puppies while a few adult members examined the surroundings.
Seeing Hakken close didn’t bother them. The wolves and the half-breeds never quarreled. The alpha female of the pack approached him with an elegant pace, and Hakken knelt to greet her. Being bitter was not an excuse to be rude.
He let her sniff his arms and face for a moment before resting his forehead on hers and whispering. “Be careful little mother, we are near the border, and I smell humans nearby.”
The wolf stroked him with her muzzle before pulling away and returning with her pack. Hakken watched them walk away, motionless, until the last wolf disappeared into the foliage.
He escaped the Path, feeling even more miserable. The wolf had golden eyes; the same eye color tormenting his dreams.
CHAPTER V
BETROTHED
Maeve
Her entire life, Maeve never spent so much time in her room, and she was going crazy with boredom. The reality of living with the Callums overcame her worst nightmares.
Lord Callum was—for lack of a better expression—a tyrant. The way he managed his lands and his people were irrational and egotistical. When compared to her father, she could understand why both men never saw eye to eye.
An arrogant and greedy man who didn’t tolerate opinions or dissent. In a few months, Maeve witnessed him make business deals that would bankrupt the wealthiest of families. Lord Callum only dodged total ruin by exploiting his workers and living on debts. Debts that would forever remain unpaid.
The merging of his lands with those of her family turned out to be a gift from heaven for his finances.
Perceptive as she was, Maeve soon identified management failures. Within a year of hard work and austerity, she could have taken the Callums out of all their debts and improved their production. Then, of course, each of her suggestions fell on deaf ears. Lord Callum lost no opportunity to make her feel like an idiot. Oh! How she would love to erase that greasy smile from his face.
Lady Callum was a robust and nervous woman. Her brazen fanaticism would have overwhelmed the priestesses in the capital. She assigned herself the task of saving the souls of all the inhabitants of their lands. This meant hours of praying and the collection of large tithes.
Maeve was still unsure of the destination of the tithes, but a brief visit to the castle’s chapel
