Bound By Destiny - Thorian and Emmeral

[Thorian Thalric]

The icy wind howled through the peaks of the Blackfrost Range, carrying with it the scent of blood, fear, and something far more insidious... dark magic. The massive iron gates of Eboncrest Citadel stood firm against the elements, but within its walls, unrest stirred.

A Frostclaw warrior burst into the grand hall, his breath heaving in white puffs. He dropped to one knee, fist over heart in deference. “My King, survivors from another pack have stumbled into our lands... wounded, desperate. They bring warnings.”

Thorian Thalric stood from his seat, broad shoulders squared, piercing frostfire eyes narrowing. His presence alone was a force of command, the weight of his crown heavy but never wavering. “Where?”

“The eastern border, near the Veilwood. Our patrol intercepted them, but they refused to be turned away. They demand to speak to you.”

Without hesitation, Thorian strode past his warriors, his long cloak swirling behind him. His boots crunched against the frozen earth as he emerged into the open courtyard where a small group of battered werewolves had been held back by his warriors.

One of them... a grizzled male, barely standing, his fur streaked with the crimson of battle... lifted his head. “My King,” he rasped, bowing as best he could. “Please... you must listen. We are all that’s left.”

Thorian stepped forward, his towering form casting a shadow over the trembling wolves. “Speak.”

“They came at night. Rogues, but... they were not themselves. Their eyes, their movements... it was as if they were something else entirely. Dark magic turned them into monsters.” He swallowed hard. “They slaughtered everyone. Our Alpha fell, our Luna…” His voice cracked. “We barely escaped. And she...”

Thorian’s gaze sharpened. “Who?”

“Emmeral,” the wolf croaked. “She fought harder than any of us, held them back so we could run. If she lives, it is only because she is too stubborn to die.”

Something stirred in Thorian, a whisper at the edge of his mind, a pull deep in his bones. But he dismissed it for the moment.

His voice was cold and commanding. “Beta, gather warriors and meet me at the front gates. Now.”

Through their mind-link, his Beta responded immediately. As you command, my King.

Thorian turned back to the battered wolves. “You’re safe now. Tend to your wounds.” Without waiting for a response, he strode towards the gates.

Minutes later, his Beta and a dozen warriors arrived. With a sharp nod, Thorian shifted.

Bones snapped, muscle expanded, and in mere seconds, the man was gone... replaced by a towering beast of dark silver-gray fur, streaked with the faint, ethereal glow of blue that shimmered under the moonlight. His piercing eyes burned with a frostfire glow as Draco took full control. Without hesitation, the rest of the warriors followed, shifting into their wolves and taking off into the night.

Through the snow-laden pines they raced, silent shadows moving with purpose. Thorian led the charge, the scent of blood thick in the air. But then... something else. Faint, yet unmistakable.

A scent that sent a jolt through his entire being. "It can’t be." Thorian says confused. Draco growled, the sound raw and possessive. "Mate."

Thorian’s breath hitched, his powerful strides faltering for a mere second before instinct took over. His pulse thundered, denial warring with primal need. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not now. Not like this. They pushed harder, running at full speed toward the source of the scent. Every second mattered.

They found her at the base of a jagged rock outcrop, half-buried in the snow, blood soaking into the ice beneath her. Even in ruin, she was striking... dark hair tangled with frost, her body battered but unbroken in spirit. Shadow clung to her skin, shifting like living tendrils, fighting to keep her hidden from the world. Thorian shifted back, kneeling beside her. His hand hesitated only for a moment before he touched her, fingers brushing against her ice-cold skin. A force unlike anything he had ever known surged through him.

The air around them crackled. A blinding pulse of silver-blue energy erupted from where their skin met, sending a shockwave through the clearing. Frost spread outward in jagged veins, the ground beneath them quaking. For the first time in his reign, Thorian felt powerless against something greater than himself. Her body shuddered, and with a gasping breath, her eyes fluttered open. The moment their gazes met, the tether locked into place. Silence stretched between them, the weight of the moment sinking in. Disbelief warred in his chest, the reality of what had just happened pressing down like an iron weight.

His Beta’s voice cut through the frozen air. “Is she alive, my King?”

Thorian blinked, the spell of the moment breaking. He exhaled sharply. “She is.”

“No other survivors were found,” his Beta added grimly.

Thorian’s jaw clenched. “Send the trackers to the border. See if they can pick up any remaining trails.”

His Beta bowed his head. “And what of her?”

Thorian glanced down at the unconscious female in his arms, his emotions a storm of chaos. He should have felt victorious, relieved. Instead, rage simmered beneath his skin.

"Why now?" he thought bitterly. "Of all times, why now?"

Draco’s voice rumbled in his mind. "The Moon Goddess has decided. She is ours."

"She is a burden I cannot afford right now." Thorian responded. 

The wolf growled lowly. "She is fate."

Thorian exhaled sharply. This wasn’t a battle he would win. Not against destiny itself. With a final glance at his Beta, he made his decision.

“I’m taking her back to Eboncrest.” he said to his Beta without taking another glance back at him. Lifting her effortlessly into his arms, he turned and began the long trek back through the forest. Each step felt heavier than the last, the weight of what had just happened pressing down on him harder than ever before. 

As Thorian approached the gates of Eboncrest, he mind-linked his best healer "I need you in the infirmary now!" without waiting for the healer to respond Thorian made his way through the courtyard towards the infirmary. Without having to say a word the path was cleared for him. As he laid her down on the bed in the private room, Thorian couldn't help but stare at her. "Is Lunara serious right now?" he asks in a barely audible whisper. 

"The moon goddess knows what is best. And when." Draco responded. 

[Emmeral Langley]

Through the brush of whispering wind and crackling pops of ambered sparks filled her chambers.

Emmeral's sleep was disturbed in welcome to the ding upon the phone to the nightstand. Her slim fingers quick to grab as she flipped open to see his response, laying their in wake for a few moments longer before darkness captured her in exhaustion.

Her sleep capturing variant pulls of emotion, her lighthearted memories wielding darkness like her shadows.

With the amount of pain, suffering and sorrow Emmeral endured and resilience of remaining strong crumbled under her rested mind.

Her parents in happiness and laughter shattered to news of their sacrifice in battle.

Her best friend's ascension shattered to his fallen form surrounded by engulfing flames of her pack.

Even Thorian.

Her fated mate being found shattered to the appearance of a man who disregarded the natural nature of their species.

The remains of Emmeral's healing almost chewed at her mind in struggle, fighting the fever of the dark magic.

Within her exhausted state Emmeral welcomed what little blessed sleep she could get, cocooned within slumber as she tugged the warmth of blankets closer to her chest. The open balcony doors shifted closed by Aeris at some point that stilled the room in darkness, the fire crackled to form shifts of light within the chambers as the room temperature dropped to keep the cold from seeping in.

Upon Thorian's return Emmeral had not stirred in waking, the ever-present bond revealing awareness through her parted lips that exhaled a statement of relief as he caressed hair from her face. His scent slowly filling her space and set her tense muscles to relax.

Unaware of how much time had passed as Emmeral's sleepish gaze opened to peer towards a sleeping Thorian by her side. A few blinks verifying his presence as the hum of the bond second in confirmation.

"They are back" Andarna giddied within the back of her mind. Relief threading her words as Emmeral just laid there in watch.

Taking the time to map and memorize across every inch of his features as he remained asleep, his breath fanning against her face as his expression was peaceful. Ever dimple. Ever bit of hair. Every scar. Memorizing it all.

Around them drowned out in visuals as if eaten by her shadows and all that remained was him, his silhouette glowing by the embers of the fireplace that dimmed, the wood charred through its life.

The surge of the bond flaring excitedly beneath the surface as the pair was close in contact.

Emmeral's fingertips itched to reach out and touch.

Getting the better of her as her mind refused to stop her hand, her fingertips almost magnetically pulled forward as she caressed away a small smear of rogue blood to his cheek before the humming sensation of electricity that sparked through her body "His back."

Moments passing as Aeris slipped in with her dinner, paused seeing Thorian asleep, remaining quiet as Emmeral spoke up "Thankyou, Aeris. I will have him call you when he wakes. He will be eating with me" her polite and soft-spoken word held a hint of amusement using his terms for breakfast, she was using for dinner to ensure he was well rested and eaten. Aeris skilled in her movement as she backtracked out and left the two of them alone again.

Acknowledged to her feeling of fatigue and fever, Emmeral managed to adjust to a seated position without disturbing Thorian's rest and began nibbling upon her macaron she had remained to her bedside in treat. Ensuring not to awake Thorian as she simply watched him sleep, uncaring if he caught her staring.

[Thorian Thalric]

Sleep did not come easily for Thorian, even after battle. The adrenaline still simmered beneath his skin, the scent of blood... rogue and not... clinging to his memory like smoke. And yet, the moment he’d entered her chambers, his guard had fractured.

The scent of lavender and soft shadow welcomed him. Familiar now. Comforting.

She was asleep, cocooned in the sheets, her breath steady but laced with the lingering bite of fever. He'd approached her quietly, his movements a silent prayer not to wake her, and brushed a lock of hair from her face. Her skin was warm to the touch. Too warm. But her expression was soft, unguarded. The tension that usually lingered between her brows had eased.

And in that moment, Thorian stayed.

He didn’t remember the exact moment sleep took him, only the weight of exhaustion pressing down and the steady rhythm of her breathing beside him, anchoring him.

In his dreams, they were no longer surrounded by stone walls and frozen winds. The air was warmer, touched by silver moonlight and swaying grass. Emmeral stood at the edge of a still lake, the reflection of the moon shimmering on the water’s surface. Her hair danced in a breeze he could not feel, and when she turned to look at him, the bond between them surged... not as a tether, but a flame, leaping, alive.

“You were always mine,” she whispered.

And he... King, Alpha, beast... felt like a man, untethered by title or duty.

But even in dreams, the distance lingered. He stepped toward her... and shadows swelled at his feet, dragging him back.

“Thorian,” Draco rumbled, distant but present even in his dreams. “Why do you resist what the goddess has already written?”

Because he had spent a lifetime earning control. And now, Emmeral unraveled it with a glance.

A sharp pull in the bond tugged at his consciousness... a touch, featherlight across his cheek... and Thorian stirred. His lids fluttered open, adjusting to the dim light of the dying fire, to the soft hum of warmth beside him.

She was awake. Watching him. He blinked, unsure for a heartbeat if the dream had bled into reality, her gaze so full of thought it nearly mirrored the moonlit vision from moments before.

Did she feel it? The bond between them still hummed with the faint aftershock of his dream, and he couldn’t tell where his thoughts ended and hers began. That unsettled him more than he dared admit.

“You dream of her, and still you question the truth,” Draco murmured. “She is already beneath your skin, Thorian. You are hers, as much as she is yours.”

He didn’t move at first, content in a rare stillness as her eyes lingered. There was no shame in her watching. No masks worn. No carefully measured words. Just… quiet. And him. Then, slowly, he cleared his throat, voice a little rasped from sleep.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his gaze never leaving hers. “Did you rest well?”

His eyes flicked briefly to the small dessert in her hands. A macaron, delicate and pastel, cradled between her fingertips. Of course she’d found something sweet to nibble on while he slept beside her like a hulking shadow of war.

A faint breath escaped him... a laugh, though barely there...  before his expression softened.

“Your wounds…?” he asked, concern threading through the question even as he resisted the urge to reach out. “Eirik said you were healing well before I left.” 

But you still look tired. He didn’t speak the last part. Instead, he watched her carefully, still cataloging every small shift in her expression.

The fire cast her skin in gold and rose, her hair spilling around her like ink against snow. She was light and shadow both, the contradiction that haunted him.

And yet, here she sat, feeding him silent peace in a world that had given him nothing but blood and burden.

“I’ll speak to Aeris when she returns,” he added. “But… I’d rather hear it from you.”

A pause.Then, quieter: “Did you… feel anything? While I slept?”

It was a dangerous question. Vulnerable. One he wouldn’t have asked anyone else. But something in him needed to know—had she sensed the pull he’d felt in that dream? The way her voice had followed him, even there?

The fire cracked softly. The shadows danced. And Thorian waited, the weight of fate and bond caught in the stillness between them.

[Emmeral Langley]

Emmeral was enthralled with Thorian's expression as she was beginning to wonder if he ever knew another that wasn't the stern and detached expression he normally wore.

He appeared almost at peace.

Spellbound visually by his attractive qualities, consumed to memorize every inch of his skin, his scent drawing her in like it was her description of home, safety and peace. That of the bond brewed within the silence as if drawing forward with no resistance.

"Can you feel his reach?" Andarna whispered, as if she would affect his action herself in waking him despite only being in Emmeral's mind "His dreaming of you" Andarna's sureness that the surge within the bond was Thorian thinking of her in some way.

The humming of the bond beneath the surface of her skin, ascending to a greater desire - finding it harder to remain composed as he laid in rest.

Settling into the deepest parts of her body like an ember to a flame that only grew in tethering.

Their eyes meeting as Thorian's consciousness became alert, the electrifying surge recoiled to its usual slither beneath the skin as he woke from his slumber.

Words unnecessary. Something unspoken crawling, clawing beneath the surface of her skin. She was sure he could feel it too.

His concerns worded, breaking the silence. An appreciative smile rested to the edges of her full lips as she answered "More together." she admitted as she peered to the fireplace seeing its charring remains, adding "Quiet the rest, A few hours it seems. How were your travels?" she enquired as her eyes assessed him over as she gained more of his appearance than his sleeping form.

A relieved feeling easing through the bond that she was glad he was not harmed in his duties.

Small beads of sweat aligned her hairline, her stubbornness strong as a warrior but acknowledged verbally as she spoke truthfully, feeling his concern through the bond "My shoulder still hurts but I can move without feeling myself tearing apart" a soft unamused laugh whispered past her lips as her appearance still remained fatigued, her complexion more flushed than pale even within the warmth of her chamber.

The bond aided in her regeneration whilst they remained close over the past few hours, incompleted markings dealing harder to heal naturally "I can breath without my ribs pressing in, my legs feel better but my right thigh burns and I can't shake this fever" her brow furrowed as concern laced her words, Emmeral self aware but unknown to the dark magic claw from the rogue that was infecting her thigh from within. Overseen as his Luna having a higher resistence to dark magic but not immune to its affects.

She hadn't cheated death before though she knew she should be more active than current especially with Eirik's magical aid.

A comfortable silence settling between them again as Emmeral lowered the sweet treat that provided a fake sense of temporary energy with its sugary content upon the napkin to her bedside, replacing her hand with the almost empty glass of water and drinking before settling the clear crystal down.

"Whilst you slept?" Emmeral enquired almost cautious but was honest none the less in admission after a few passing ticks to the nearby clock "Yes." she simply stated. To not overwhelm him in recognition that he seemed untethered within the bond, testing it even in his sleep.

Respectful to not prod more as she changed the subject, as past stated, Thorian wasn't one who was deep in conversation "Aeris arrived with dinner, I asked her to return when you were ready to eat."

[Thorian Thalric]

The fire cracked softly beside him, its glow barely reaching across the chamber. Thorian remained still, head turned slightly to watch Emmeral as she spoke... voice gentle, words deliberate, and yet he could hear the fatigue beneath them, the strain masked beneath her quiet composure.

"More together."

That one phrase lodged somewhere deeper than he cared to admit.

Draco stirred, his presence brushing against Thorian’s consciousness. “She missed you.” The wolf’s voice was low, knowing.“And you missed her.”

He didn’t reply. Not out loud. Not even in thought. Because the wolf was right.

As she answered his questions, Thorian's eyes moved over her, inspecting more than observing. The tension at her temples. The flush in her cheeks that spoke of lingering fever. The way she sat straighter than her body seemed to allow.

He could feel her pain, not from the bond directly... but through instinct. Through the subtle changes in her scent. Through the bond's pull, like a low hum beneath his skin, stirring more the longer they remained in proximity.

Her laugh, though faint, tugged at something fragile in him. The image of her in his dream... the moonlight on her skin, the softness in her gaze... came unbidden. Too vivid.

He shifted, arm resting on the edge of the bed as he leaned slightly closer.

“You shouldn’t be burning like this,” he murmured. His voice, despite its gravel and weight, was touched with concern he didn’t bother masking. His gaze dropped briefly to the thigh she mentioned. Her right.

Pain radiated from it like smoke from embers.

Without thinking, without analyzing why... he reached forward, the words leaving him before he realized they were his.

“May I?” His voice had dropped, quiet as the fire.

He saw her stillness, her eyes meeting his, and when she gave the barest nod, he moved.

His hand found her thigh, resting gently atop the blanket that covered her. He could feel the heat through it... unnatural, wrong. His brows furrowed. Something gnawed beneath her skin, and the bond... gods, the bond... surged the moment he touched her. A rush of energy, crackling, ancient.

A quiet gasp from her lips. He heard it. Felt it in his spine.

“You feel it too,” Draco growled, pride swelling beneath the words. “You’re drawing it out. You’re healing her.”

No. That wasn’t possible. Was it?

He didn’t say anything. He just focused, grounding himself in the connection between them, channeling every instinct into willing her pain away. He felt something then... not magic in the traditional sense, but a divine force that threaded between them, guided by the bond, by Lunara herself.

Thorian gritted his teeth. He could feel the dark magic coiled like a sickness, resisting, but shrinking. Diminishing.

When he pulled his hand back, it wasn’t reluctance... it was restraint. He sat back in the chair, eyes still on her, his voice low.

“How does it feel now?” he asked, throat tight with the effort not to close the distance again. “Did it help?”

His hand still tingled faintly, like lightning had licked across his palm and left it wanting.

When she confirmed that she’d felt something while he was asleep, he inhaled slowly. Then exhaled even slower. There was no hiding it now. The bond had tethered itself in ways he could no longer pretend to deny.

He looked down, resting his forearms against his knees, his voice quieter now.

“…What did you feel?” he asked, eyes on the worn rug below him, as though her answer would alter something inside him.

While he waited, the images from his dream returned... Emmeral bathed in moonlight, her hair like shadow and silk, the feeling of home in her gaze. No blades. No blood. Just the weightless sensation of standing in a world that had been theirs, untouched.

He clenched his jaw. What did it mean? Was Lunara trying to tell him something? Or had his heart dared to hope beyond its bounds?

He looked up again when she mentioned Aeris’s earlier visit.

“You should’ve eaten,” he murmured, the scolding in his tone far gentler than usual. “You need your strength, Emmy.”

"You've given her a nickname now?" Draco joked teasing Thorian. But Thorian didn't respond.

Draco huffed inside his mind... something between a growl and a chuff of amusement. “She waits for you. She cares for us. You’d be a fool not to see it.”

tapping briefly into the mind-link. Aeris. Bring our meals. I need Emmeral to eat. “I told her to bring our food,” Thorian added, voice low but decisive.

Then he looked back at Emmeral, his gaze steady.

“Don’t argue. You need to eat. I’ll make sure Eirik checks on your fever after. Something’s still not right.” His voice darkened slightly, displeasure lacing the words... not at her, but at whatever dark magic still dared to touch what was his.

He didn’t elaborate on the possessive surge that thought brought.

Because if he admitted it aloud… It would be the beginning of something neither of them could ever undo.

And yet, as he watched her... flushed, fierce, and unwavering even in pain—he wondered if it hadn’t already begun long ago. Perhaps the very moment her shadows had stumbled across his borders, half-dead and unknowingly holding the rest of his soul.

[Emmeral Langley]

His choice of closure to their proximity of one another and concerning words verified her alarm bells of feeling unnatural within her current state.

Hands reached in instinct forward, words seconding desired action as he requested to touch her.

The thought tainting her mind in recall to the last time they touched, the feeling of his skin in direct contact to hers surged something deep within the bond, as if breathing life into her very soul.

Her head reacting where the words couldn't pass her windpipe in allowing as she slowly nodded.

Her stillness in react to the acknowledgement of followed pain. Her fever radiated in distance without the need to feel the surface of her skin - taking on its own growth of toxic darkness within her body.

The blanket metaphorically disappeared the closer Thorian's hand drew near, like a rising tide or the rumble just before thunder crackles across the sky. The bond engulfing what was deprived the moment his hand touched her.

An invisible flare of power drew from her flesh, a primal feeling awakening within as Emmeral gasped with tight lips that was hard to detain mixed emotions of pain and pleasure. A more comfortable shift of pressure lifting from her thigh, a tug desperate to remain within the host. The dark magic expelled and subsiding her pain, kickstarting her regenerative healing. Feeling through the weighted force within the bond Thorian's will for guiding strength as if calling to Lunara herself in aid. An indescribable feeling threading between the fated pair as she could simply watch on.

Emmeral's expression unreadable as he removed his hand. Reactive wasn't an instant into effect but she did appear less induced within the pain than she was moments ago. The burning sickness to her thigh was nulled to an ache more than s corch of pain, her eye sight staring towards her thigh "How did you..." barely a question or whisper within the space between them "... Yes... Better" although in appearance of question she hadn't appeared as undivided by fatigue.

Something within the bond felt magnified, like a puzzle piece had found its placement. A rebelliousness seeming to settle within the air between them. Unspoken but hung in silent awareness to both individuals. Inability of hiding as confirmation within the bond revealed Andarna proven right. He was dreaming of her.

"See" childlike in her presence, almost made Emmeral laugh aloud.

"Shut up!" Emmeral mentally laughed.

Mentally Andarna smiled before drifting towards the back to give them space to connect.

His actions creating a sort of shatter to any prior concealed emotions through the bond, still limited but she felt his feels almost blend into hers, unsure where she began and he ended.

As he enquired to what she felt whilst he was sleeping, her gaze slowly shifted from her thigh towards him, his gaze towards the floor, a sensation through the bond almost worried to what her words she spoke in meaning.

Careful in her choice of wording but was not shy of statement, suming to words that represented "Whole. Peace. Powerful" holding more of a sensational means than descriptive.

Mention to Aeris's presence and her lacked appetite had her instinctively roll her eyes as he scolded her gently. Her gaze shifting to the realisation of him nicknaming her Emmy but was acknowledged by simply gaze than words. Andarna prowling along the sidelines aching to connect, Emmeral ignored with a moment of pause before continuing her response "As do you" she stated in a matter of fact tone "When was the last time you ate?" rhetorical in recalling he had not eaten with her this morning.

Returning his same stubbornness he requested of her, back in statement "And don't argue."

Acknowledged to Eirik's revisit as honestly Emmeral should have called for him sooner but exhaustion and sleep kept her captive that was dangerous.

[Thorian Thalric]

Thorian remained still as her whispered answer hung between them like breath in winter air... fragile, real, and gone too quickly.

It shouldn’t have surprised him, not after the moment they’d just shared. But it did. The intensity of it. The way the bond surged when his hand met her skin, how it rushed through him... through them. Like wildfire tempered by ice. Like Lunara herself had stirred in answer.

He watched her, gaze cast to her thigh, to the place where darkness had once burned. Her voice had barely been more than a rasp, but what it meant was something deeper. A part of him didn’t want to acknowledge the truth... that he had drawn the sickness from her body as if it were his own.

Draco stirred in the hollow of his chest, pleased. "Told you," the wolf growled smugly. "You are her cure. We were forged for this... by Lunara, by fate. Why else would her body answer you like that?"

Thorian didn't answer right away. His hand hovered briefly where he’d touched her, as if the ghost of the magic lingered on his skin.

He exhaled deeply, jaw tight. “I don’t know how I did it,” he admitted, voice low, nearly gravel. “It just… felt right. Natural.” He paused, his gaze finally rising to hers. “Maybe it’s the bond,” he added, but his tone was still unsure, contemplative.

Something in the air had shifted... subtle but undeniable. The bond didn’t just exist now... it was interwoven, breathing and pulsing between them like a third presence. And he could feel it… the tether settling, as if one of its many frayed ends had found where it belonged.

He watched her slowly, his gaze meeting hers as she answered the question he hadn’t even wanted to ask... what she had felt while he was asleep. "Whole. Peace. Powerful." The words hit like a spear straight to the chest.

Thorian looked down, his hands tightening against his thighs. He hadn’t expected her to speak it so plainly. And yet… that was exactly what he’d felt, too.

“You’re going to tell her, then?” Draco prompted in the back of his mind. “Or are we going to continue pretending this is just instinct?”

Thorian drew in a breath, heavy with the weight of everything he was trying not to feel. “I… felt the same,” he said at last, each word scraped raw but honest. “I dreamt of you.”

He didn’t look at her this time... couldn’t. His eyes stayed trained on the firelight as it flickered against the stone.

“It was the first time in longer than I can remember that I wasn’t in battle. Or blood. You were… standing in the Veilwood. Surrounded by moonlight. Not running. Not afraid. Just there. And it was peaceful.”

A silence followed, thick but not heavy. Shared. He would’ve said more, but her next words interrupted him... not verbally, but through action. That little exhale, that eye roll when he gently scolded her about not eating. Her expression said enough.

He blinked slowly, caught slightly off guard when she countered his concern with the same stubbornness he’d just used on her. “When was the last time you ate?”  “And don’t argue.”

Thorian was about to answer when Draco let out a barking laugh from inside him.

“Ha! Put in your place by our mate. Go on, say it... ‘I haven’t eaten since the morning because I was too broody and noble.’”

Thorian sighed internally, rubbing his brow. He said nothing—just gave her a slight nod in defeat.

“Smart male,” Draco said. “Keep it up, and she might let us live through the night.”

A knock came at the chamber doors just then. “Aeris,” Thorian called, clearing his throat. “You may enter.”

The young woman moved with the grace of familiarity, arms full with covered trays and warm scents that filled the room. Thorian rose to meet her, gesturing to the small table near the hearth.

“Here, thank you. That will do.”

She nodded politely, setting everything down in quiet efficiency, her eyes flicking briefly between the pair of them before she offered a respectful bow. “Is there anything else you require, Your Majesty?”

Thorian shook his head. “No. You’re dismissed for the evening.”

“Of course.” Aeris offered Emmeral a small smile before quietly slipping out. The chamber was quiet again.

Thorian turned back, eyes falling to Emmeral. She looked stronger than earlier... still flushed, still pale around the edges, but… something had shifted. Her body was mending. He could feel it through the bond, as clearly as he felt the cold when the mountain winds stirred outside.

He stepped toward her, offering his hand, palm up. His voice softened, warmer than most ever heard from him.

“Come. Let’s eat, Emmy.” The name passed from his lips like it belonged there. No hesitation. No armor.

And somewhere deep inside him, Draco rumbled, pleased. “We’re not just healing her,” the wolf whispered. “She’s healing us too.”

Thorian didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. Not tonight.

[Emmeral Langley]

The bond alive beneath the surface of her skin, intensified by his touch.

His action a natural reaction with unknowing means.

Her body like an addict in need of more, fighting to remain in stillness despite every part of her wanted to yield under his touch.

Their gaze in meeting as confusion arose as the dark magic that plagued her internally had been cast out.

Acknowledged to the slow exhale that shook past her parted lips that it rattled something deep within her and the space between them seemed to change as well. Both in silent knowledge to its existence as the bonds tethering settled in.

The tighten to his jawline as her admission within his slumber was second feeling it too.

Softly knitted brows as Emmeral could see the metaphoric chains around him like a second skin, loosening from the pressures upon his shoulder as he recognised and became vulnerable, impressions through the bond of not refusing the words she spoke. Her gaze appreciative towards his feelings she knew he was hard of admitting. To her he was made no less of a king, leader or man for it.

Emmeral raised as a strong figure within her family, her pack, she did not shy from her emotions and reasoning. Its part of what made her a strong leader within the Night Shade pack. And evidently, to Lunara who chose her for this new pathing with Thorian.

She found it brave within his baby steps towards her. Within the body was agreeable to the words that formed past his lips.

Her words soft, no humour, no tease. Nothing but curiosity and admitted surprise. Her lips turned upwards finding it adorable how he shy'd from his gaze "You dreamt of me?" rhetorical but humbled as he spoke of what he had dreamt.

Silence welcomed as Emmeral saw it was helpful when Thorian was... vulnerable... to give him some time in process before she spoke. The still air not awkward but as if they were telepathically communicating through the silent space between them by just a glance. Deliberate in softness as her finger tips tingled to reach out as she drew the covers towards her hips. Fingers curled in holding the fur to suppress her reaching for him, her words instead filling the space between them "Sounds wonderful."

His hunger admitted by a mere nod had her features soften in her small victory.

Their connection interrupted by a knock at the door.

A moment of frustration as Emmeral was unable to get up and aid at setting their dinner and simply watched on as she finished the final bite of her macaron and water as Thorian and Aeris exchanged.

Emmeral and Aeris meeting gazes for a moment as Emmeral felt her cheeks burn as she respectfully bowed back towards Aeris in thankfulness before she was dismissed.

His gaze assessing, a fleeting hint of a gleam in his eyes as she must of appeared in better terms today than this morning. Admittedly whatever he had done had eased some healing within, some strength in her movement as she moved to swing her legs out from under the blankets, slow but more in ease, forgetting she was still within the dress she had tried on earlier.

His kind gesture of reach set her body aflame in memory of their skin to skin contact, she wondered if that would ever go away. Part of her hoped not as she reached out and placed her hand in his. Feeling the instant coil of the bond snap between them, surge powerfully anew. Almost making her buckle at the knees as she rose to her feet.

Calculated movements as the weight of her nickname passed his lips effortlessly in belonging. Her head swimming to remain present than be lost within the feel of his skin upon hers "Thankyou, Thor" a moment of pause in statement to his name, a hint within her tone almost teased to state formality but she knew they were beyond that at this point and she too had to meet him in the middle.

"Now we are getting somewhere" Andarna amused from within her core.

Emmeral ignored as she was aided to sit towards the furnace that now laid dormant in charred remains. Much like the poison within her. Unalive.

[Thorian Thalric]

The warmth of her hand in his sent a pulse through Thorian's chest like a war drum silenced too long.

It was not the first time he'd touched her. But it was the first time he felt himself crave the contact with such immediacy, with such bone-deep need. His fingers curled gently around hers, calloused palm enveloping the delicate strength of her grip as he helped her rise.

And in that instant... gods... the bond surged. A coiled storm of power, rising from where their skin met, thunderous and unrelenting. It shot through his spine like lightning, his breath catching as he instinctively braced her by the waist when her knees threatened to buckle.

He didn’t speak. Couldn’t.

“Again,” Draco breathed, his voice low with reverence. “Did you feel it? That wasn’t just energy, Thorian. That was her soul reaching for yours.”

He had. He felt it still... lingering beneath the skin, an aftershock humming through his bloodstream. His grip firmed slightly as he steadied her, and when she finally met his eyes with those burnished irises full of something unspoken, her next words nearly undid him "Thank you, Thor."

The nickname curled around his name like a flame around old, dry kindling. For the first time since they met, she had not called him My King. Not Alpha, not Thalric... but Thor. Shortened. Personal. Intimate in the way it struck deeper than any title ever could.

His lips twitched. Just a little. A rare, fleeting smile ghosted across his face, subtle as moonlight but real.

“She called us Thor,” Draco grinned, thoroughly pleased. “That’s it. I like her. Keep her.”

“I was never letting her go,” Thorian thought back, the words quiet but certain.

He guided her with care, assisting her to the chair closest to the low table now laid with food. The scent of roasted venison, herbs, and spiced vegetables lingered thick in the air, a testament to Aeris’ diligence. He pulled out the second chair and sat opposite her, careful not to let his gaze linger too long... but unable to stop entirely.

She looked… alive. Still tired, yes. Still healing. But more herself than this morning. Her shoulders didn’t slope as much with exhaustion. Her cheeks, though faintly flushed, had regained the barest hint of color.

And yet, what occupied his thoughts more than anything was that moment... when he’d touched her thigh, and the sickness receded beneath his palm like frost under flame.

“It was her magic,” he told himself. “Her power, reacting to mine.”

“No,” Draco answered, almost solemn for once. “It was the bond. The moment your skin met hers, everything aligned. That wasn’t just instinct. It was divine.”

He hadn't spoken aloud, but she had to feel something too... because even now, when she glanced up from her plate and caught his gaze, there was a question in her eyes. A silent wondering, the same one burning in his mind.

He didn’t shy from her stare this time. “I wanted to tell you something,” he said, voice steady but quiet, breaking the silence between them gently. “While we eat.”

He reached for a piece of bread and tore it absently, more for distraction than hunger. “You’re entitled to know what’s happening. I won’t keep you in the dark.”

Her expression shifted subtly, a slight narrowing of the eyes, lips parting in attention... but not alarm. He leaned slightly forward, elbows on the table, his voice lowered in consideration of the intimacy now woven between them.

“Earlier, before I returned… we captured a rogue. He’s being held under watch now. We’re hoping to extract something from him... how he got so deep into our lands, what he knows, why he was tracking toward Eboncrest.” He paused, jaw tight. “He was… marked. The same way those that attacked your pack were.”

“The darkness in him was thick. Almost alive. But not as deep as what infected you. That was something worse. Stronger.”

He watched her reaction carefully, but kept speaking. “We don’t know how it spreads yet, or where it originates. But I want you to know… I won’t hide what we learn. Not from you. We’re bonded. And I will honor that.”

She didn’t speak... didn’t need to. The bond vibrated softly, like a heartbeat in the distance. It was as though she appreciated the truth.

“And,” he added, his tone gentling further, “you can ask me anything. I’ll be honest with you, always. Eirik’s right… we need to know each other. I said I would try. And I will.”

“Careful,” Draco drawled, half amused, half serious. “You keep talking like this, she’s going to think you have feelings.”

“I do, you insufferable beast,” Thorian bit back, sharp and internal. “I just… don’t know what to do with them.”

“Let her show you.”

He exhaled softly, resisting the urge to scrub a hand down his face. This wasn’t who he was... he wasn’t vulnerable, wasn’t soft. But something about her peeled back those layers without even trying.

“You're right... I haven’t eaten all day,” he admitted suddenly, catching her gaze again.

He shook his head, answering before she could scold him. “Not because I wasn’t hungry. I just… couldn’t. I was too focused on you. And the threat. I couldn’t think of anything else.”

“You’re going to give her a complex,” Draco said, but there was a hum of approval beneath his teasing.

Thorian didn’t care. It was the truth. He reached for his plate and finally began to eat, slowly, methodically, but he never truly stopped watching her. Not protectively. Just… drawn. Drawn to the quiet strength she carried even as she healed. Drawn to the way she met his honesty with a calm that disarmed him more than any weapon ever could.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, the echo of that moment... his hand on her thigh, the sickness retreating, the bond snapping alive between them like a bolt of light... lingered.

Whatever they were becoming… it had already begun. And this time, he didn’t fight it.

[Emmeral Langley]

Emmeral internally flared, under the weight of the bond and Thorian's gaze that heated the very edges of her body.

Still in the wake of his touch, ever present despite disconnect physically.

Threaded within the bond it fought in tug, dilatorily surging beneath the skins surface, his touch leaving their marking to comfortably seer. Thorian's feelings mimicked hers that fueled within the bond like gasoline.

"His staring" Andarna amused, pleased.

Emmeral remained silently thankful as they began divulging within the presented food that made her stomach crave but couldn't help but to flick her eyes towards his direction, unable to look away as he sat across from her and for once, he did not look away.

"You can feel him, he's word strong. He is trying" Andarna prowled along the edge of her mind, prideful of them both before settling "But, his touch... the dark magic... We feel stronger" statement as something Andarna was not telling her of its means. Irritation of her wolf knowing all about Lunara's design and reasoning but silent to tell what was happening to them.

"In due time, Em" Andarna lightheartedness softened through their connection.

Scanning the masterpiece of sorts between them, Emmeral grabbed some potatoes, a mix of vegetables and meats - a small pile to ease into.

His voice filling the comfortable silence in telling.

Her gaze alert in wonder but attentive to his findings in absence.

Immersed as Emmeral's brows knitted, a flicker of sorrow within her gaze, within the bond a shot of pain unable to riddle her core before she controlled herself - clear the events still harbored heavy and understandably so "He was coming here?" Emmeral's confused tone wondering why. Any wolf would be idiotic to take on the larger Capital of packs. Why attempt at the biggest? Home to the King of wolves none the less!

Could he of been one of the ones who escaped the attack on her pack? ...Surely not... Even so it didn't make sense. Dark magic was unpredictable in drive, reasoning unknown. 

Shifting through the bond Emmeral disdained the idea of Thorian being anywhere near the dark magic rogue but knew it was rooted in the fear.

Thankful Thorian did not steer from conversation and open about his findings.

Revelation through the bond evident to Thorian meeting her in the middle "Thankyou, Thor" her words settled within the moment, seeing it was hard for Thorian to be vulnerable. Knowing he had his reasons. Her a mere gentle pressure in support to get through whatever Lunara had planned for them.

As if already in understanding of her, her mouth opened and closed just as quickly as she was going to scold him for not eating but he already knew she was going to, a twitch to the edges of her lips as she listened to him practically scold himself within reasoning.

None the less.

Her words soft in teasing acknowledged statement "Seems both of us can't get the other out of their heads."

Andarna laughing within the back of her mind in observation "Play nicely."

Emmeral mentally rolling her eyes "I am."

Andarna continued to laugh "Humans, make things more complicated than it needs to be."

Emmeral smirked visually as her hands lowered to lift a potato, drawing it to her lips, savoring the taste of the covered herbs as she chewed.

Soon to add casually "What are todays plans?"

[Thorian Thalric]

Thorian felt her gaze on him like a hand brushing across the skin of his jaw. Soft. Curious. Unflinching. And for once... he didn’t look away.

Couldn’t.

Something about the way her eyes lingered stirred an ache in his chest he hadn’t known existed until she filled it with the weight of her presence. Her energy shimmered beneath her skin, laced with the lingering remnants of their earlier connection, pulsing softly within the bond that refused to settle. 

“She’s watching you,” Draco murmured with smug amusement. “You like it.” 

“I didn’t say I didn’t,” Thorian replied quietly within his mind, eyes still on her. She looked stronger, more herself. But there was a tired weight behind her lashes, a flicker of something she was hiding. He saw it. Felt it.

And yet... gods help him... it didn’t dim her. If anything, it made her shine all the more.

Fire and frost, she was beautiful. Not just in appearance, but in presence. In the way she held herself even through exhaustion. In the way she gave him the one thing no one else dared... truth, without fear.

He chewed slowly as she began to eat, the simple act of her finally taking nourishment causing something to relax inside him. A tightness that had wound itself around his ribs since the moment he carried her in, half dead, half divine.

The silence between them was not uncomfortable... it felt sacred. But when her voice broke it, her confusion laced with that familiar thread of pain, Thorian’s shoulders shifted subtly. He could sense her worry. 

He nodded, setting his utensil down and allowing his forearms to rest against the edge of the table. “He was.” His voice was low. Even. But there was steel beneath it. “He wasn’t wandering. He was heading toward the heart of the Dominion. Toward me.”

There. He said it. It sounded ludicrous even as he admitted it. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t ignore the truth.

“The timing is too precise. Your pack was attacked. You barely made it into my territory. And now, not even two days later, a rogue bearing the same corruption makes a straight line for the capital? That’s not coincidence.” 

“It’s a message,” Draco growled low, his presence coiled tight in Thorian’s chest. “They’re testing our defenses. Or worse... trying to separate us.” 

“Let them try.” He glanced at her again. “They will not touch her again.”

And then, almost without warning, her voice cut gently into his thoughts again: “Thank you, Thor.”

The way she said his name... Thor.... wasn’t casual. It was intentional. Soft but certain. Like it belonged on her tongue.

And it did. 

“You hear that?” Draco preened. “She’s accepting us.” 

“I don’t deserve it,” Thorian admitted quietly within himself. “But I’ll earn it.”

He didn’t know how. But he would. Somehow.

Then, her teasing remark... subtle, playful, like the flick of a dagger turned flat against the skin. Causing him to nearly choke on his drink. 

“She’s bold,” Draco barked a laugh. “And I love it.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched as he masked the flicker of surprise, his expression betraying little, but a glint of rare amusement tugged at the corner of his mouth before he raised his glass to take another measured sip. His throat was dry again. Damn her.

“She’s not wrong,” he muttered to himself before responding aloud, his voice quieter this time... low, intimate. “You’re… hard to ignore.”

More truth than tease.

He watched as she savored a bite of the potatoes, her expression softening just slightly as she chewed. He could have watched her forever. 

“I didn’t want a mate,” Thorian admitted silently, eyes on her. “I didn’t ask for this. But here I am. Can't seem to stop thinking about her” 

“Neither did she,” Draco answered. “And yet, here you both are. Maybe… that’s the point.” 

“Maybe.”

He let out a slow breath through his nose, bracing himself as she asked lightly: “What are today’s plans?”

That question, so casual on the surface, dug deeper. Her inclusion in that we... today’s plans... it meant she was beginning to settle into the idea that she was here. That she was part of this. Of him.

“Nothing extensive,” he answered after a beat. “We’ll begin interrogation of the rogue soon. I want to be there. I need to hear for myself what he knows. Anything he reveals could help us understand what’s coming.”

He paused. Hesitated.

Then added, with a rare, vulnerable quiet: “But that can wait. I…” He shifted slightly in his seat, something uncertain threading through his voice even as he tried to keep it steady. “Well... once you're well enough, I was hoping to… show you the castle.”

His eyes met hers, this time fully... no mask, no distance.

“The halls. The gardens. The view from the northern terrace. They say the moonlight reflects off the stone like silver fire.”

“Smooth,” Draco purred.

“Shut up.” Thorian told him.

“I thought… maybe you’d like to see it.” A faint rumble in his chest. “It would be good for you to stretch your legs. Get fresh air. And… I’d like to walk with you.”

There. The truth of it. Vulnerable and unguarded.

He leaned back slightly, studying her again... not as a leader assessing a threat or an asset... but as a man seeing the woman who now held a piece of his soul.

His mate. “I’ll adjust,” he told himself again. “For her, I’ll become what I never planned to be.”

And even though it terrified him... this slow unraveling of walls, this soft invasion of something as wild and unrelenting as fate... he did not pull away.

[Emmeral Langley]

Grateful Thorian welcomed the scent of the meal and began to eat. A shift in her shoulders relaxed in please of him taking care of himself.

The bond first in reveal to her emotional flare of the rogues travels.

Temporary pause in her own eating as her eyes lifted towards his.

Her brows knitted as the bond simmered with mixed emotions before her brows raised "If he held drive" taking all that was before them evidently as she pondered "Would the dark magic in me of drawn him here?" it sounded silly but she wasn't wrong in her process.

Little did the pairing know the now dormant claw within her thigh belonged to the darkened rogue in holding, ownership to Emmeral falling in defense of her people "Dark magic thrives on power, feeds within itself and draws from it - The Night Shades held the largest magical shifters in the land. You holding divine power. Seeing the most powerful packs and lure of dark magic within would reason?" she wondered if her thoughts were in correct, it was unknown to the extent of dark magics properties, unpredictable but it made sense with what information they had in front of them.

Her teasing remark testament to almost making him choke on his water that had her stifle a laugh beneath her breath.

The action natural in her comforts.

Sorrow and pain still threading around her but she was not silly towards the direction she was leading. No packless and mated. It was clear where she was belonging, the bond flared beneath the surface of her skin in constant knowing where she found home again.

Acknowledged to the interrogation of the rogue tugged within Emmeral, wanting to see for herself one who brought down her pack and almost killed her but it remained a thought as despite not knowing Thorian, he wouldn't allow her present within the interrogation.

Her words falling from her mouth as quickly as they came to thought "I want to know why" simple, short in statement as her eyes rose to meet his before silence fell between them.

The faintest dying of the final cracks of the hearth turning the room into complete silence.

The slight fiddle of his utensil revealing Thorian in thought as his words shortly followed, his words not as confident as normal making Emmeral's eyes soften and a smile threaten the edges of her lips.

"Awwwe, say yes!" Andarna gleefully pressed against her mind.

"You know I am gonna" Emmeral laughed, mentally pushing Andarna back before she leapt too excitedly.

"Good, I heard its beautiful" Andarna almost swooned heavenly.

Ensuring to not intentionally tease the passing of time with silence, Emmeral spoke up "I'd love to" her voice humbled by his kind gesture "I'd like for Eirik to visit first. Given he is the one whose read about the Oath, maybe he can give some insight into what you had done for me before" her eyes lowering to his hands before adding "I don't feel as disconnected to my body. To Andarna. I don't feel like I am losing myself anymore" honest within her words.

The dark magic had plagued her in suffering beyond known acknowledgement that if left she'd be just like the rogue in holding. Easier for dark magic to control rogues who were not tethered to Alphas.

Her hand rested over her thigh that remained bandaged, the pressure still there but it no longer burned, no longer fevered her features.

[Thorian Thalric]

The shift in her shoulders did not go unnoticed. A minute release of tension... barely there... but in the way a sentry wolf watches for a twig to snap in the forest, he caught it. Because it was her. And Thorian was aware of her every breath.

“She’s pleased you’re eating,” Draco observed, smug. “She worries. Just like we do.” 

“She doesn’t need to,” Thorian answered, yet he found the thought warming. Anchoring.

Then her voice came, soft but threaded with quiet speculation.

Thorian’s eyes lifted to hers, brows narrowing thoughtfully as he paused mid-cut of the roasted meat. The bond between them stirred... her emotions lapping against his own like an unseen tide, curling around his instincts, awakening more questions than answers.

She wasn’t wrong to ask it. In fact, it made unsettling sense.

He set his utensils down and leaned back, exhaling slowly through his nose as he absorbed her theory.

“Dark magic feeds off strength. Ambition. Power,” he said carefully. “If what you carry was awakened when you fled, it’s possible it created a beacon of sorts. Especially if the magic inside the rogue... recognized it.”

He hated how plausible it sounded. Thorian’s eyes dropped briefly to her hand resting over her thigh, to the place he knew bore the most enduring wound. A wound that hadn’t responded to traditional healing. Something had embedded itself deep, something dormant... waiting.

His gaze lifted again. “And the Night Shades… they were powerful, yes. If your people were one of the largest magical shifter packs… that would make your blood a target.”

His jaw ticked. The idea that she had been hunted for the strength in her blood made him want to tear something apart.

“She’s not prey,” Draco growled. “She’s ours. Let them come and try again.”

“They won’t make it past the gates.” Thorian responded. 

When she stifled a laugh at his earlier choking fit, something unfamiliar curled at the edges of his lips—a smile. Brief, but real. It surprised even him. Gods, she had no idea what she was doing to him.

“You’re acting like a pup.” Draco teased. 

“Shut up,” Thorian shot back at Draco, but even his wolf was too elated to argue.

Then, as expected... she asked the one thing he knew she would. “I want to know why.”

Her voice cut through the soft quiet of the room. No rage. No demand. Just a need for answers. He didn’t respond immediately, letting the silence sit between them as the hearth's last embers crackled and faded to dull glow. His hand idly toyed with his utensil, brows drawn in thought.

“I know,” he said finally, his voice low. “And I can feel that you want to see him. The rogue.” He met her eyes, unwavering. “But not yet.”

A pause. “He’s not stable. And I won’t risk exposing you to that darkness again until we know exactly what we’re dealing with. Especially after what happened to you.”

“She’s strong,” Draco offered. 

“Yes. But she’s still healing.” Thorian countered. 

He studied her again. The wolf in her eyes. The fire. But also the faint fragility that still clung to her spirit like mist after a storm. “We will find out why,” he said firmly, voice edged in quiet command. “One way or another. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Never again,” Draco whispered.

And then... her response to his offer. The soft “I’d love to,” accompanied by a smile so unguarded, it made something deep in his chest twist and settle all at once. Thorian didn’t even try to stop the smile that pulled faintly at his lips.

“She said yes,” Draco all but howled. “Walks in the garden, mate time, maybe a moonlit kiss...”

“Draco, I swear—” Thorian started but was cut off by his wolf. 

“—I’m getting a flower crown.” Draco mused. 

He huffed lightly and shook his head, and yet the warmth spreading through him wouldn’t fade. He hadn’t known how much he’d wanted her to say yes until she had. Then she mentioned Eirik.

Thorian’s expression shifted into something quieter. More grounded.

“You’re right,” he said. “After what happened… his insight could help us make sense of what this bond has begun to do. I think we both feel... more connected because of the oath.”

His eyes flickered to her hand again, then back to her face. “Whatever power it unleashed… it’s protecting you now. And it may be doing more than that.”

He reached inward, opening the tether that connected his mind to the Elder healer. The bond link shimmered like frost across water.

"She’s asking for you. Emmeral. Come to her room"

The old wolf’s reply was immediate, his voice calm but laced with warmth.

"Yes, my King. I shall be there at once. Let her know I bring her some tea as well."

Thorian exhaled, a quiet breath of appreciation.

“He’s coming,” he said, eyes back on Emmeral. “With tea, apparently.”

His gaze lingered. “You’ve endured what would’ve broken most. Whatever Eirik reveals... we’ll face it together.”

And as she sat there, stronger than before, still bearing scars but no longer consumed by them, Thorian knew something with the certainty of a True Alpha’s vow.

This bond wasn’t just about fate. It was about choice. And he would choose her. Again and again.