The sensation was faint but Jinki still could feel it. Just under his ribs. One, two, three, four, five ribs down–right there. 

It was quiet in Minho’s room deep in the Dongbang Library, a room that still held his unique, indescribable scent.  A scent that kept him sane, grounded him, made him feel alive in the empty wake of death the war brought. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with it and closed his eyes. He drowned everything out and concentrated on the delicate pitter patter of his heart.

It was a strange thing being mated to someone, being connected to them deep down to the very fabrication of your soul. How, even though their hearts were synced completely, Jinki could still feel the unique presence of Minho’s heart in his chest. How he could still feel Minho’s emotions through it, how he could feel when he was happy or sad or lonely.

He could tell when Minho cried.

It wasn’t his only clue–he had Caelo. Whatever emotion Minho felt, Caelo seemed to empathetically present signs of it. When Minho was happy, Caelo was an unending source of energy, proverbial sunshine even when the clouds hung low over Prae. In the swell of his happiness he would bounce around their suite, offering eclectic but useful strategy tips.  When Minho was angry, Caelo was impatient and short tempered. When Minho was lonely, Caelo was clingy. Sad?  The brightness of the Wheph symbol on his forehead would dull or Caelo himself would dull, his energy listless, his voice throttled and lethargic. It was in those moments that Jinki hated everything. He hated that he’d been chosen as Alpha Prime of Prae. He hated that people looked up to him. He hated that people sought his opinion on everything and yearned for his leadership. He just wanted it all to go away. He understood his adoptive father more than ever now–the desire to throw everything away and be content with the person he loved.

He clenched his fist in annoyance and the bracelet around his wrist moved across the surface of the table, making a scratching noise and distracting him from his thoughts. The bracelet. He looked down at it. It was something simple that he’d picked up while in Durkhai to gift his mate with hoping to make him smile and in turn had became the one tangible thing that brought Jinki solace in Minho’s absence. Placing the bracelet around Minho’s wrist had been one of the last times he’d touched his mate in seven months.

Time moved differently for shifters. Seven months sometimes felt like seven days. On days like this, seven months felt like seven years.

The bracelet was pretty, twinkled when the light hit it and was cool against his wrist when he was hot with anger–much like Minho. The merchant said that the set was unique and no one had ever tried to buy it. The box it came in sat lonely in a corner, almost lost in the other pieces of jewelry. Jinki saw it and just knew that he and Minho needed to be the owners of them.

“Minho,” he whispered as he lowered his head to the table and breathed. He did nothing else but breathe. He wanted to drown everything out again.

He wouldn’t get that wish. There was a knock on the door, quiet and soft, but Jinki already knew who it was by their scent. The door creaked opened after Jinki didn’t answer with a command. Jinki raised his head and saw Kibum’s blond covered head pop in. “Jinki,” he said with all the familiarity that came from working so closely together for months. “Elder Changmin is calling for you. Elder Boa has arrived and it’s time.”

Jinki squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled. He nodded, he stood and slowly slid the chair under the table.

Although Kibum official role was as High Steward of Prae, Jinki continuously put him in positions that far exceeded his actual position, stretching his abilities to the limit. It was because he trusted Kibum. No one shifter had proven themselves like Kibum. Jonghyun was strong and wise, but he’d always been strong and wise. Yifan was thorough but…that was just who Yifan was. Nichkhun was resourceful, something that he learned as a youth and carried into adulthood. Kibum worked tirelessly as if he had something to prove, a perception he had to overcome. He never had a “no” for an answer, even if he was presented with a winless situation. He always had an alternate solution, always said the right things, did the right things when obstacles were stacked against him. Jinki saw a lot of Minho in Kibum…or he saw a lot of Kibum in Minho. Either way their influence on each other was priceless.

He thought he would give something as difficult as today to someone else, to someone else who wasn’t as emotionally invested as Kibum was. Yet they both knew the truth and they both knew he was the best to handle it. It would be just as painful as the lie Jinki perpetrated the first time. This time it would be bigger and there would be more eyes on them. This was an official act. This was treasonous.

Kibum led him from the room, through the hallways and arches, by the Beam Room and across the athenaeum until they were at the doors of the Dongbang Library. A procession in all black greeted him. Jonghyun, Yifan and Nichkhun stepped forward, along with Yixing, Sehun, Tiffany and Victoria. Kyung and his guard stood at attention. Tao, the Magnus couple’s only other appointed advisor took a spot next to Kibum. Out beyond them he could see the winding path that led to courtyard and beyond that the gate. On the other side of the gate was a decision Jinki and Minho made together.

“I can’t lead if I’m gone from this world. It’s not forever. I can find the answer to this, find the solution. I can. I have to,” he said, his voice breaking. “I have to come back to you, to lead by your side. I can’t do that if you leave, too. Prae needs you more than I do.”

“Let’s go,” he said solemnly, taking the first few steps down the stairs. His retinue made way for him and Kyung’s crisp command had the Fortress Guard splitting like the Red Sea, making room for their Supreme Commander.

“Are you up to this,” Jonghyun whispered from behind him, the words floating over his shoulder as they walked forward.

“I don’t have a choice. It’s not like it’s his body. It’s just a memorial. It’s just a tablet.”

“It declares his ownership of this Fortress, Jinki.”

Jinki rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know,” he stressed. “You know. Kibum knows, Yifan and Nic and–everyone knows. We know he will always be an owner of this Fortress. I don’t want to do this at all, but I can’t push this out any further. It’s been seven months. He is coming back. This is just a stupid tablet,” Jinki grumbled low, definitively.

Jonghyun was silent for a moment before he spoke up again. “There was another revolt last night.”

 “We are at war. Of course there was another revolt.” Jinki sighed.” Who was it this time?”

“Wheph. In our favor. Sungmin may be a pacifist but there are many who don’t agree with his peace do-gooder leadership–mainly because it led to them to an eight month and counting long Iutus occupation.  Siwon’s son–“

Jinki frowned. “He had a son?”

“He has twenty sons.”

“Jesu.”

“All grown and all spread out across Prae. A few of them followed Julien to the Arctic. Apparently news about their father’s death was enough to spur the trip back to Wheph for some. Taehyung, his youngest, led the revolt. They were able to escape with a few from Wheph and the end result was one of Iutus’ rice storage houses being burnt to the ground. Taehyung and the group disappeared afterwards and we haven’t heard word from them.”

“That won’t do. Harvest is still weeks away so it runs the risk of Wheph starving. They have thousands of hostages. We don’t touch food–only weapons. I’ll speak with Minho. Hopefully he can get a message to those remaining. We can’t be reckless.”

“Agreed. Yet I hope it demoralized Iutus just a bit to know that even Wheph chooses to fight. Let’s just hope the next one is in our favor as well. The last three have been against us.”

“Dissention.” Jinki clenched his fist but continued walking.

“OPEN THE GATE. LORD JINKI OF MAGNUS HAS ARRIVED.”

In the past, Jinki would have been irritated but he smiled a bit because even as things in Prae changed, they always stayed the same.

The gate before him groaned open and just as before, the Elders of Prae were waiting for him. With slow measured steps, he approached them, bowing low as he reached them. Elder Boa smiled softly, sadly and reached for his hand.

“How are you doing, Jinki?”

Others had asked him that, his friends, those who served him, but the way she said it was gentler than anyone else had. “I…” he paused. He didn’t know how to answer the question. “I…don’t know.”

She nodded sagely. “To not have one’s mate is…traumatic. It changes you. My smile is tinged with Yunho’s memories because that’s all I have left. You will heal, my love. You will survive this.” She squeezed his hand and Jinki lifted it to his lips, laying a gentle kiss across her knuckles.

“Your support is without doubt a source of strength.”

“Good. I hope to offer as much as possible for I’m sure you’ll need every ounce of it.”

Elder Changmin swept his hand past the gate. Waiting for Jinki was an all-black low bed wagon covered in sunflowers. A painting of Minho seated in the Great Hall sat in a ring of fresh green moss. Technically, the closest of kin to Minho available was Sungmin but with the war raging he would be unable to attend so Chanyeol, Minho’s former first, would stand in his place. The young man had been severely depressed these last few months, especially considering he was left behind in Wheph when Minho “died.” One day he would be able to tell Chanyeol the truth. “Usually the other Alphas are here, but wartime prevents them from all being in one place.”

“I sent messages out to excuse their presence today.”

“Very well. The procession will travel through Prae so that the villagers can pay their respects. Once we return here, you will begin the tablet removal ceremony.”

Jinki nodded and began towards the wagon but Changmin stopped him with a steel grip around his wrist. “Keep that tablet near,” he said quietly. “Unharmed and in one piece. It will return to that wall soon,” he finished with meaning. Without another word he turned sharply and headed towards the front of the procession.

It was a somber thing from what Jinki could recall through his utter disdain for the charade. Flowers were tossed onto the wagon, women collapsed and wept as it passed and men either shook with anger or despair. “Come back to us!” was heard from the crowd, a guttural cry laced with sorrow. Changmin had gone through great lengths to make sure the memorial was filled with Minho loyalist–The Wives of Prae, Sons of Valor, Animus and the Moon Maidens. He’d also taken great pains in removing those who’d instigated the mob calling for Minho months ago that had caused him to flee.

Jinki wanted to console them, tell them that it wasn’t hopeless, that everything would be okay but he couldn’t. He didn’t know. All he had were his plans but plans never meant victory. They were just...plans.

They circled back through the last throughway and approached the gates again. The sentry did not bellow for the gates to be opened. Jinki walked up to it and stared up at its length. It felt as tall and wide as the obstacles he faced. It had begun to rain but he paid it no mind, letting the cool water fall on his face. His hand trembled when he raised it to Minho’s tablet. His fingers grazed it and a strange strangled sound came out of his mouth. His hand shook harder and harder.

Do it, Jinki. It’s just a tablet. Your mate is alive. This doesn’t change anything. He is still your mate. He is still a leader of this clan, Caelo said calmly.

I know that.

Then why are you hesitating? People are watching you.

Damn them. I feel like if I remove this, I remove him, his legacy. He may not be able to come back, Caleo!

You know that is now true because you will make a way. Because you are our leader, you are my Alpha and I wouldn’t recognize that if you didn’t have the strength to move mountains. This is your strength. This is your power. Show it. Remove the tablet, Jinki.

Jinki inhaled deeply and steadied his hand as he lifted the tablet off the hook that kept it in place. Kibum appeared with a cushioned box and Jinki carefully laid it down. Kibum covered it with a layer of soft cotton and silk before closing the box. He looked up at Jinki and he could see the effort it took for Kibum to smile, but he did it nonetheless.

It was final.

Officially, Minho was no longer the Alpha Beta of Prae.

Jinki felt like he needed to say something reassuring, something that would heal and assuage. This was the time. He turned towards the mourners who had followed Minho’s memorial to the gates of the Fortress. “Those who are of Prae, hear me. I–“

Jinki was interrupted when an angry “LEE JINKI!” ripped through the air. He could feel Caleo tensing, his energy hot under his skin. He wondered if the wolf would make an appearance despite the commands not to do so in public. Minho was supposed to be dead but Caleo’s job was to protect Jinki and he would do so at all cost. He tried to soothe the wolf as Kyung’s guard marched to a wedge in front of him, shielding him from the danger and anger he could feel coming from somewhere in the crowd. Jinki thought it was overkill but Kyung had been especially sensitive to threats since Minho’s death. 

A lone figured separated himself from the crowd of mourners. Some of the men looked at him with restrained anger. The women looked down at him with disgust. He could tell they wanted to handle it themselves, attack the one who dared to disrupt their Alpha’s memorial service but they didn’t. He appreciated their constraint. The man’s face wasn’t wet with tears like the others however there was a simmering rage and a look of determination. “Those of Prae, you say?” he spat as he took another step from the crowd. “What is Prae? Prae is broken! War-torn and lost!”

Jinki frowned. “Who are you?”

“Udine!” he bellowed, turning towards the crowd. “Udine of Tulle! The lands you abandoned to those mercenaries, mages and Vampyres!”

Jinki’s frown deepened. That isn’t true. No one had abandoned Tulle. It was a small settlement on the west banks of Mott Argan. They had not been forgotten. Prae simply could not get to them. Udine should consider himself lucky that he was able to escape.

“Well, Udine, whatever grievances and misinformation you have would best be served at a different time,” Elder Changmin stated from the left of the wedge. “The Alpha Prime is grieving for his deceased mate for the love of the gods! Respect that! Now I welcome you to The Fortress later if you would like to–“

“WAR IS AT OUR FRONT DOORS! MY MATE IS DEAD! MY CHILDREN ARE DEAD! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ANOTHER TIME! THERE IS ONLY RIGHT NOW!”

Jinki held out his hands.  “I feel your pain, Udine. I honestly do. As you can see, you are interrupting my own grieving.”

“Damn your pain! What does your pain have to do with mine?”

“You son of a !” Yifan stormed. “Take back your disrespect!” The crowd agreed and began to voice their displeasure. The restraint Jinki noticed from earlier was quickly dissipating.

Growling in the back of his throat, Jinki walked around the protection of the guard. Jonghyun voiced his displeasure with a low growl, but Jinki held out his hand, placating him. He faced Udine.  “Make your point and make it quick,” he said lowly, his fist clenching.

“This clan collective needs new leadership.”

Jinki resisted the temptation to sigh. “And who do you think that person is Udine?”

The taller shifted rolled his shoulders and his cloak fell to the ground. Jinki could smell the Alpha on him. He was shirtless underneath and huge bulking muscles glistened as rain continued to fall from the sky. He clenched his fist and bared his fangs. “That person is I and I challenge your spot as Alpha!”

Kibum laughed, his tone lofty and mocking. “That is not how this works! That is not how any of this works! Prae is not Durkhai! It is not Dinfire! We do not fight for the seat of Alpha Prime or Beta! This is prophetic! This is–“

“Prophetic, Omega?” Udine matched his laughter. “Even if we are to believe that Minho was a true Alpha,” he scoffed, pulling out a long dagger,” Your words are about a prophecy that doesn’t even exist anymore! The prophecy, like Prae, is broken! It is in shambles. We have but one Alpha leader and he is costing us this war! Our other useless weak leader is dead! I will fix this! I will make Prae stronger!”

“You’re absolutely, right, Udine. You will,” Jinki said. “Caleo,” he called.

I’m here. Go.

It happened faster than Jinki could actually account for. One moment he was standing between Udine and the gates of Prae, the gates Udine wanted to take away from him and from Minho, and the next moment he was facing the crowd. Their faces were drawn together in horror at the blood dripping across Jinki, to Udine’s body crumpled at his feet.

“Someone send for a healer!” a person shouted.

“Not a soul moves unless you want to join him!” Jinki yelled, his hand still clenched around Espada. “Let him die! Let his blood soak this earth! Let him rot. Take his body and throw it in the fields! That is the penalty for challenging me and the legacy of my mate! Death is the answer!” He bent low and growled at the crowd, baring his fangs at them. Some recoiled, some ran away. Good. He wanted them to be scared. He wanted their reaction to this to be horror. “This is the fourth challenger this season alone! Four! Four shifters foolish enough to challenge me! Four shifters to die by my hands! If you continue to think this is the correct course of action, by all means, keep challenging me,” he threatened as his eyes danced around the crowd, connecting stares with every wolf he could. “You will try and you will die. I will show you why I am the Alpha Prime of Prae and not you,” he spat, kicking Udine’s lifeless body. “WE ARE AT WAR, PRAE. WAR! YOU ARE BEARING YOUR FANGS AT THE WRONG PERSON! BEAR THEM FORWARD! TO THE ENEMY! WE MUST FIGHT TOGETHER!”

He stumbled back, trying not to let his anger control him.

“Because if we do not fight together, we will die. You, your mates, your children, your friends and your family. We will all die.”

He turned hard on his heels and marched towards the gates. The sentries scrambled to get the gates open and Jinki barely let them open enough before he was marching through them. Jonghyun made to follow him but Jinki held up his hand and continued walking. He slung the blood off his face as he continued past the Dongbang Library, down the path and to the Magnus Suite.

He slammed his bedroom door closed and took a seat next to it. His bracelet jingled.

He tried breathing again; trying to remember Minho’s scent so he could calm down but he couldn’t catch a whiff of it. His composure broke, his face crumpled and then he cried–for Udine. For every challenger he’d killed. For every mate, child and family member of his people he’d let die. For himself. For Prae.

He cried. 

----

Boa and Changmin sat in his guest room by the kitchens, sipping on chilled spiced cider and staring out the window. It had been exactly one year since she’d vacated the Fortress for the Rockfall. She’d enjoyed herself since then. It had been peaceful. Rockfall was far removed from politics. Its location on the other side of the Salt Kys Mountains had been chosen for that very reason. It was a way to give a former Alpha of Prae the rest they deserved while also removing their influence from the politics of Prae.

Unfortunately for Boa, her time of peace and exclusion was cut short with the announcement of the death of the Alpha Beta of Prae seven months ago. For seven months she believed him to be dead. Today, she learned the truth.

“Is that why the memorial took so long?” she asked as she placed her cider down.

“No. Jinki will tell you that but originally it was scheduled to take place immediately after Jinki’s return. There was the…small matter of Jinki’s recklessness in freeing the Alpha Beta of trial for his alleged true status, but once that was settled, we planned to honor Minho at that time. Then the revolts started to spring up. Then those who challenged Jinki as Alpha began to sprout up.”

“That is not our way. I wonder what is getting into these foolish shifters heads.”

“I have an idea but I’m waiting for Minho to confirm it.”

Boa leaned back into the cushions of her chair, not once taking her eyes off the Salt Kys Mountains that loomed faintly in the foreground. “I knew there was something special about that wolf,” she murmured quietly. “I’ve always known but I never knew how it would manifest. To think, he’s been outwitting the Blue Crescents all his life. A group we knew so little about. And he’s still doing it.”

“That’s what we are hoping for. With Iutus army now eclipsing us in size, strategy and morale, we are praying that Minho will learn something that will help us with this war.”

“He will,” Boa said. “The prophecy demands it.”

---

“Says who?!”

“Says me! I’m the only one who has actually ever been a bodyguard before, dip!”

Onew craned his head to the side, his topknot balled as tightly as his fist. “What the does that even mean? Who have you protected? You don’t even stay home long enough to have friends!”

Eunsook balked at his statement before she lashed out and tried to stomp on Onew’s foot. Onew rolled his eyes and moved his foot out of the way before she could. “That’s mature, Sook.”

“Don’t–don’t call me that!”

Taeyeon plopped her head down. “Jesu, they are loud. Do Taemin and I sound like this when we argue?” Taeyeon murmured from the end of the table, looking at Eunsook and Onew go at it like two mutts fighting over a bone. Which, for the two of them, was an everyday occurrence. Jackson looked at the pair like they were insane when Eunsook took a swing at Onew.

“No. Not with Taemin,” Minho answered from the head of the table. “You and Jonghyun on the other hand? Exactly like that.”

The door opened and Minho heard Areum heave a loud sigh as she and Danye walked into the gathering room. Normally it was a room for meditating but with Areum’s permission– they didn’t make any move without Areum’s permission–they had transformed it into a meeting room of sorts.

Whenever Minho had shown up and patiently explained their situation, Areum at first was hesitant. This was their land. No government, no wars, no politics had ever played a part in it and she didn’t want that to start now. Eventually Eunsook convinced her. Minho didn’t know how but he was grateful. Now she attended all the meetings, maybe out of curiosity, as an authority figure or maybe just to make sure her children didn’t kill each other. Danye on the other hand joined their meetings as an advisor. Along with Kang Inwoo, they served as the two he had.

Areum paused to give her children a long withering glare before sitting down. “It was always a blessing that they wandered at different times. That way they never come back at the same time. That way I never experienced…this.”

“I know you are but what am I?” Onew said, sticking his tongue out. He grabbed Eunsook’s weapon, a heavy looking battle axe, and held it above his head.

“They’ve been arguing about who is going to be my bodyguard for three hours,” Minho pointed out, his head resting in his head in his palm. “I tried to explain to them that Onew isn’t my bodyguard, he’s a specter of my mate and a protector and it’s different and that I have a literal guard–Torch–who won’t even let me take a piss in the godforsaken bushes by myself because apparently Blue Crescents are “everywhere” and we can’t be too careful.”

“We can’t,” Junghee said from her post in the corner. Gwiboon nodded as if she were annoyed they had to keep answering the question.

“That hurt, you !” Onew roared suddenly.

“That’s what you get you overgrown mutt!”

Aerum sighed again. “I think they just miss each other…although I’m not sure how you can miss someone you only knew for a few days before they went missing.”

“They are your two eldest children,” Typhoon said as he joined them. He was followed by Inwoo, who despite being the top advisor to two blood thirsty alphas, was a pretty easy going.  The Mott Argan ambassador took his seat to Minho’s left and propped his head on palm and smiled at everyone. Typhoon kicked back a chair a few seats down and plopped down heavily, leaning back and kicking up his feet. He watched Eunsook and Onew bicker like children with a fond smile. “Me and my brother used to fight like wolves, too. Dirty. Sneaky. Sometimes there was blood.

Areum gasped.

“Hey, Hana!” Typhoon raised a folded sheet of parchment in the air. “Some of the messengers are back.”

Eunsook’s face lip up and she whipped around. She ran towards them but not before scoring one last hit on Onew, an elbow to a rib. “Good! They are getting the messages back even faster than before!”

Inwoo craned his head. “Tell me again how this is managed? Your improvements on my original idea sounded silly but it’s working.”

“Easy, my friend. In my travels I visited a bunch of places and I know Prae probably better than all of you. So when Minho showed me a map with all that crap about who owned what and who operated out of where, I mapped out a perfect route for information flow.” She paused and held up a clenched fist. “A circle. Jessica, an ally of yours, operates a cathouse out of the Salt Kys Mountains, just north of Prae. Everyone gets their wet there. And from the information I stole from that Sulli girl, it’s a hub of information.”

“Is she talking yet?” Danye asked.

Typhoon shook his head. “Not to me. She will only talk to Inwoo. That little fire spit won’t stop talking but it’s nothing we want to hear. Those Blue Crescent people are eerily loyal to that bull.”

“Yeah,” Minho agreed, his voice low. “They are. So,” he said, addressing Eunsook again. He thought about the messages that came back, indicating that Blue Crescents were urging disgruntled Alphas to challenge his mate. Fools. They didn’t understand that they would be disposed of too if his uncle won. “So,” he said, coming back to the conversation. “That’s how this works? A loop.”

“Yeah. For the record, my idea but the model I lifted off the Blue Crescent chick as well. Since I’ve dispatched a hundred or so of Wanderers around Prae, it has been easier to keep a constant circle of information coming in and out of The Cathouse. Cuts down on all the waiting. After I got messages to Jieun and Yongi, it’s been easy breezy. They’ve been handling the ground work so I can stay here and protect Minho.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Do you want me to arrange that, mutt?” She hissed over her shoulder.

Minho opened his mouth to protest but just shook his head and let the meeting progress.

“I wish you didn’t involve your siblings, Hana. They still have so much to learn in their wandering.”

“My name is Eunsook,” she gritted out. “And I know they still have much to learn but we have no choice but to join in Prae’s war, Mom. We are harboring one of the Kings of Prae, and I don’t take that lightly! And even more importantly, in his belly are the little Princes of Prae! We have to protect them! Hey,” she pivoted towards Minho. “If you’re a King, and those are princes, then does that make me an aunty princess?”

Jackson frowned. “What the hell is an aunty Princess?”

“The aunt of Princes? Duh.”

Taeyeon’s head perked up. “Would that make me an Aunty Princess, too?”

“You damn straight it would, Tae-baby!”

As always, Minho let them draw up their own conclusions. They were convinced that he and Jinki were Kings and their children would be Princes. How they were so convinced was beyond him. Minho didn’t even know the of his children. He could feel them, both of them; however they felt more like energy patterns that he recognized rather than beings. Oh, he could feel their kicks, alright, but those tiny moments of movement were eclipsed by the energy they created. He could feel their personalities the most in their energy. One was stubborn, willful and proud. The other was quiet and calm. Total opposites. He wondered if she had survived would Iseul’s twin have been her opposite. Even Taemin and Taeyeon were oil and water at times.

Was that a trait of twins born to an Omega mage?

He remembered his first night back at the village after a long and brutal ride from Morocco Song. They had to wait along the outskirts of the city for a guide because Morocco Song is too dangerous to travel into without one. That guide had been Kang Inwoo, the High Ambassador of Morocco Song, and the very same ambassador who had come to warn him of the flyers revealing his secret. He got them through the quick sand whirlpools with an ease of someone who’d long lost the fear of falling into one. Along the way to Jungmyung and Joo Won’s treehouse complex, Minho noticed the cages that swung over marked quicksand whirlpools. There were an assortment of prisoners, some in Morocco Song colors, others in black.  Most screamed for water. Others were silent. Death had snatched their tongues.

Despite the treatment of the prisoners, The Alpha leader of Morocco Song was a lovely woman. Kind, smart, and loyal. She seemed even tempered but she stated her loyalty to certain things was enough to make her lose her composure. Her mate chuckled at it and shrugged. “She had a hard childhood,” was all he said. After they’d been fed and allowed to bathe, Jungmyung and Joo Won had been gracious offer them clothing, especially after eyeing Minho’s torn clothing, and offer them horses to get them through the longer leg journey north. Jungmyung hadn’t questioned anything, hadn’t asked him any tough questions. Just supported him. He would remember that.

The trip north had been hard. They departed two days later, giving Taeyeon and Jackson enough time to travel to them. Jinki decided that it would be important to have a Mageis with him. Lend some credibility to his name if this was ever found out. Along with his sister and her newly assigned bodyguard, Kang Inwoo was dispatched to their riding party, riding easily with the bevy of Torch members escorting Minho.  But still even with the provisions, traveling with such a large party proved very difficult in times of war. For many days they had to stop and hide, conceal Minho from other travelers and ride slow.

When they arrived, Aerum eyes almost bugged out of her head. “Minho and Onew are having a baby?” she asked, shocked. Upon learning that Eunsook–Jinki’s sister he would learn– had knocked four or five guards down to get to Minho, only to lay her ear against his belly. When he asked what the hell she was doing, she shushed him and continued…doing whatever the hell she was doing.

They immediately took them in and fed them while Minho confessed a very long and complicated secret to his mother and sister in law.  Areum said she could smell the breeder in him and that his secret was no secret. When confronted with the dangers of his secret, Eunsook said that Prae’s laws were idiotic and no one would ever lay a hand on him. He had grinned, her speech reminding him of Onew.

Now, seven months later and with the secondary seat of government Jinki had secured established and flourishing under Minho’s leadership, Minho was engaged in a complex espionage campaign that stoking the fires of rebellion with the messages he passed to those he knew where still loyal to him. He knew Jinki wouldn’t approve of it, the consequences of such as a campaign, but Prae was still Minho responsibility. It was a place he pledged his life to serve. Yet and still, he was careful. Two lives where nestled inside of him. He had to be careful.

“Are you going to read the latest message, Lady Eunsook?”

“Yikes,” she said, her lip hitched at Inwoo. “You’re still doing that Lady thing. Look here guy, I’m no lady. I’m not even sure what a lady is so if you could stop doing that? It’s creeping me out.”

Inwoo raised a brow. “If a lady doesn’t want to be called a lady, who am I to call her a lady?”

Eunsook frowned at him before unfolding the piece of paper then took a moment to decode the message. “Rebeus led the revolt in the main village of Wheph two nights ago and got about forty five people freed,” Eunsook informed.

Rebeus was Taehyun’s codename, a firespit that had pledged loyalty to Jinki. Said he’d found out about Minho’s mate through Julien Kang and was very much hoping to meet the Alpha and train under him one day. Until then he would fight on their behalf.

“He says he is disappointed with the number but he is planning on meeting up with his older brother Jimin so they can come up with another plan.”

Inwoo rubbed his chin. “If it’s his brother, tell him any further communication from Jimin needs to be under the name Saphir. We also need more information on him, so he can pass that along on his next message.”

Eunsook nodded. “Gotcha.” She continued to read. “He is delivering the reclaimed hostages to the Lark’s Nest sanctuary. He also says that the plan Typhoon passed along to attack smaller regiments of the Blue Crescents will not work. No act they commit will have a large impact on Iutus’s overall military campaigns. They are just too big. The revolts are working as diversion to free hostages as planned.  There will be dual campaigns in both Wheph and Mott Argan starting next month.”

Minho drummed his fingers along the table. “Tell him to continue but we must find a way to free more hostages at a time. The fewer hostages Iutus has the better. Any word from Sangre?

Inwoo shook his head. “Yejin is still trying to convince Rhyna Ghali to leave their borders to join them in attacking the Vampyres out east. Both she and Fatima will stay in Prae until they come to a decision. So far there have been no reports of any of the hostages being turned but at no point do I put it past them.”

“We need to get them out of there as soon as possible then.” Minho sighed and put his head down. “Damn it. I was hoping to have good news for Jinki this time.”

“You being safe is good news to him. Every day. Remember that.”

“I do remember that, Tae,” he agreed with softly. “I also remember that I am still a leader of Prae and I have a duty to it during the war. I have to find a solution to what he has tasked me with.” Minho stood and it as then he remember how prominent his belly was. Gestation for shifters was very fast and his twelve months were almost up. It would explain why he was so damn tired.  “I’m going to lie down and catch my breath.” The twins were taking up so much room in his body that breathing was difficult at times. “Taeyeon, continue to comb through the messages to see if we can learn anymore about the dark mages Iutus has hired.  We are sending spies into The Den the moment we can to try and smoke Domonkos out. That information will be helpful. Eunsook, please work with Inwoo to figure out any other rebel tactics that might be useful to Taehyung and Jimin. I want as much insurgency in the lands Iutus holds as possible. If you need to summon Taehyung here to get that accomplished, then do so.”

“What about me?” Onew asked, sulking and Minho rolled his eyes. It wasn’t that Onew wanted something to do; he just hated it when Eunsook had a big important job and he didn’t.

“Make sure Eunsook doesn’t start a third war?” he tried.

“Hey!”

Onew grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Got it!"