23

Even today, nervousness was my constant companion. I did all the tasks of the day with trembling hands. Most people put it down to the fact that the leader election was fast approaching.

But there was something else that unsettled me so much.

Last night I explained my plan to Kate. Before she could answer me, Thomas had returned.

Dinner had been quieter than usual, but otherwise everything had been normal. Joffrey had spoken a lot, Nero had been silent a lot. It got louder at the table for a brief moment when Thomas found out that Nero had skipped school, but then an almost overwhelming silence fell over us again.

I, too, had hardly spoken but watched Kate. I could see her struggling inside, not knowing if she dared to go along with my plan.

Dinner was almost over when Kate finally spoke up. "Treasure?" she addressed my brother. "You have another meeting tomorrow, right? Then I and Alexandra could cook dinner together. What would you like to eat?"

Even though she was talking to my brother, she was looking at me the whole time. A short but determined nod had supported her unobtrusive sentence and made it clear to me that she would help me.

So it was no wonder that everything I did today was only possible with trembling fingers. Even when I turned my back on the food fields in the afternoon and walked in the direction of the battlefield, it didn't seem to help.

I still enjoyed the feeling of holding a sword in my hand and the usual exercises at least helped me to calm down a bit, but even that couldn't calm me down completely.

Thomas would be at a meeting again today and the kids were staying with friends. So Kate and I would have our peace. For a moment I thought about going home, but I knew that Kate wouldn't be there yet. Since the production of the herbs was currently weak, the workers there were needed all day.

I preferred to stay on the field and practice before pacing the house for the next hour.

Still, I couldn't stand it for long. As soon as the sun slowly began to disappear behind the mountains, I started on my way home.

With trembling hands I put the tea on and waited. To my surprise, it didn't take long for Kate to finally come home. She was surprisingly calm, as if she had made her decision and was now willing to do anything to get it.

I was a bit worried at first when I realized she wasn't bringing a plant with her, but then she pulled a large light blue flower out of her sleeve.

"Balrin," she told me softly, even though it wasn't necessary. Without another word, she began to put water on and to dissect the flower neatly.

"Thank you," I murmured softly. "Thanks for helping me."

She nodded, smiling, and continued to work in silence. I didn't know what to do, so I leaned against the kitchen and just watched her. It really didn't take long. She skilfully threw the finely chopped flower parts into the pot, as she usually did with potatoes. The water bubbled and turned bluer and bluer.

"It needs to thicken." Kate explained calmly. "Then all we have to do is express it."

We let the liquid bubble for about 10 minutes before Kate filled the now thicker mush into a cloth. She skilfully squeezed the liquid out of the brew. A gel-like substance remained.

"He has to eat it." Kate explained and poured a small portion of the mixture into a sealable cup.

"And that will surely work?" I looked at Kate skeptically. Although I had no choice but to trust her, I eyed the wobbly stuff rather critically.

Kate nodded. She began pacing up and down in the kitchen nervously. After about 5 minutes she suddenly stopped again.

"You must go now." she almost yelled at me.

"What? I can't get in," I explained confused.

"It's the only way, after the meeting they will definitely all meet up and have a drink again. They always neglect the guards. But they only do that at the end of the month. The next few days it will be too late." Kate's voice almost cracked. She seemed really sure.

"Okay, I can just see if there are guards in front of it." I suggested softly, hoping that would calm Kate down.

After all, I wasn't forbidden to walk around outside, was it? If I saw guards, I could just turn back.

Kate impatiently handed me the small can of Balrin. I slipped it up my sleeve, just like Kate slipped the flower.

Slowly and as unobtrusively as possible, I made my way to the entrance to the dungeons. It was still pleasantly warm, even though the sun had almost entirely disappeared. However, the sky still shone in a beautiful light blue and made it possible for me to take in my surroundings without any problems.

I stopped behind a small tree and looked down the corridor, the only one that led to the prisons. In fact, no one seemed to be standing in front of it. But that didn't have to mean anything. Sometimes, Thomas had told me, the guards would do a few laps of the aisles to stretch their legs.

I was about to go and sneak into the tunnel when I saw a glow. A few seconds later a man appeared at the entrance holding a torch and stopped in front of it.

I exhaled annoyed. That was probably it with my chance. My thoughts drifted off and I wondered if I couldn't overpower the one. Now that I had come this far, I really wasn't willing to wait any longer.

A noise behind me made me sit up and take notice, but before I could turn around, I felt a sudden ache on the back of my head. Then everything went black.

"How so?" my voice sounded dry, as if I hadn't had a drink in days.

I could see the pain in Kate's eyes. She didn't speak, but her look says more than enough. She was sorry that she betrayed me.

"How so?" I repeated again. The only word I had spoken since waking up. I hadn't been unconscious for long, but I only vaguely remembered that my brother Thomas had knocked me out with a well-aimed blow to the back of the head.

Now I'm sitting in my bedroom, tied to a wooden chair and wondering why Kate betrayed me.

I didn't know how to proceed now. Thomas had to leave quickly so that his absence would not be noticed. So I was alone with Kate.

"How so?" the same word, the same dry voice, the same answer - icy silence.

"You owe me at least an explanation" I tried with a whole sentence. But the blonde was still silent.

"I was so sure you meant it." I then murmured to myself. "That you finally want to put an end to this war. That you want to be your mate."

Lost in thought, I hadn't even noticed that Kate had started to cry. No sound came across her face and at first I thought I was wrong. But little by little, small tears rolled out of the corner of the mother's eyes.

"Kate, why?" I spoke urgently again. "You could have started a new life with your mate."

"Do you know how much I love him?" Kate raised her voice after a short silence.

"Thomas? or your mate?" I asked confused. "I thought you didn't love Thomas anymore and you could have helped your mate if you had helped me."

"No." only replies Kate. She starts pacing up and down the room nervously. "Mate, husband, whatever. They're just men. Maybe I love one of them, maybe I love both, or neither. I haven't known for a long time. But I know one thing for sure, I love my son. "

"Sons" I corrected. " And they too could have built a new life, the wolves have always shown mercy to children. "

"Joffrey would have had the chance, but I doubt he could live among the wolves for even a day. All they learn here is to hate wolves, and they're not wrong about that. Wolves are terrible creatures." towards the end Kate's voice got quieter and quieter.

"How can you say that? You feel the bond to your mate too. And Nero is clever, he would certainly make it."

"No. He wouldn't. Even if my mate agreed to keep and accept my children. They would tear Nero apart, they would torture him. I love him. I never thought it was possible, but I love this boy ."

"Kate? What are you not telling me? Why do you think Nero would be worse off than Joffrey?"

Silence.

I hardly dared to breathe for fear of missing Kate's reply. But she didn't answer, there was silence.

Seconds became minutes. I could see how much the blond woman seemed to be struggling with herself.

She began pacing up and down the room nervously again. A few times she stopped, looked at me and opened her mouth, but not a word came out.

I, too, remained silent and thus gave the mother time to find the right words. Whatever she would say to me next, it certainly wasn't good.

Was this secret that was burning on Kate's soul to blame for the fact that she was so pale? Never really smiled? Always seemed tired?

I had simply blamed her mate's absence, but now I realized that I just didn't know Kate well enough. There was only one thing I was sure of now, this woman was broken. Something or someone had managed to crush her into a shambles that would never grow back together.

"Nero violates one of the supreme laws of wolves."

I slowly realized what she was trying to tell me. Even if my knowledge of wolves wasn't that great, of course I also knew the most important laws. Still, I needed to hear it from Kate's mouth.

"Nero is a half-wolf," Kate blurted out. "I was just lucky that the wolfish side didn't prevail."

And then Kate broke down. She just dropped to her knees and a sea of tears rolled down my face. She whimpered and gasped desperately for air.

I looked at the woman in shock. I would like to help Kate, but I didn't know the right words, nor could I get up from the wooden chair I was tied to.

So all I could do was sit there and wait. My anger at Kate's betrayal had completely evaporated.

She had had the choice between a life with her mate, where she had the chance to be happy, and a life here, with her family, with her son, even though she knew that she would never be happy here herself.

And she had chosen Nero.

No, I really wasn't mad at Kate. I admired her for the decision she made, even if that decision will probably mean my death now.