A full week of heavy traveling across Harvenk finally got them to the border. They were given safe passage from King Finley so no one got into much trouble. They were even given a squad of Harvenk soldier-wolves but the animosity between them and the Oclan wolves was a palpable thing. There were a lot of not-so-subtle complaints, insults, and more than a few times, fights almost broke out. Despite what happened at the Pit, Drake’s downfall, and the truth coming out about Lola, the centuries of hate between Oclans and Harvenks wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“I don’t trust them,” Maks said the night before they were to arrive at the border. “They keep up their shit-talking, sneers, and dirty looks, I’m gonna snap.”

“Not the time. Not the place,” Russel replied although he felt the same. It was hard to ignore all the crap being slung their way but this was their country. Besides, if the situation were reversed, Oclan wolves would absolutely act the same way. Especially if Harvenk had one of their princes in chains like Drake. Not only that, there was the fact that the uneasy truce between the major werewolf and human kingdoms had grown even more tenuous thanks to the maniac’s actions. Everyone’s nerves were on edge.

“When is it going to be the time and the place?” Roland asked. There was a note of bitterness to his voice that immediately irritated Russel’s already aggravated nerves. He forced himself to take deep breaths just to calm himself down.

“You want to start a war?” Lola asked. “You want to be the one responsible for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of deaths?”

“Shut your mouth,” Roland snarled and then in a much quieter voice, “Half-breed bitch.”

Without warning, Russel flung out a hand and grabbed his brother by the throat. He was so fast, the man didn’t have any time to react. Immediately, Roland started to let out gurgling, choked gasps.

Lola was shocked at how casual, how lazy, the move had looked. It showed a lot of power and strength, more so than she realized he had. Killing his father for the throne and the status of alpha must have come with certain boosts.

“I’d apologize if I were you,” Russel whispered, his fingers tightening. Blood started to trickle down Roland’s neck. “You weren’t in there at the Pit when she fought Drake so you don’t fully grasp just how powerful she is. Maybe think about that before you start throwing out slurs like that.”

He jerked his brother close so their faces were just a few inches apart. Despite wanting to struggle, Roland didn’t. He submitted.

“Do I make myself clear to you? Is your feeble brain able to comprehend my order?” Russel asked.

“Y…yes,” Roland finally said. His eyes were narrowed and his brow was furrowed with anger but the word came out.

“Yes what?” Russel asked, humiliating his brother even further.

“Yes, my king.”

Russel looked into Roland’s eyes as if judging how genuine and truthful his words were. After seemingly being satisfied, his fingers opened and Roland fell backward, clutching at his throat. It healed just a few seconds later but the humiliation he suffered was much harder to get over.

The next couple of hours went by without much incident. Ray started telling stories of past fights he’d been in, including a fight where he had been surrounded by some human knights. “Barely made it out that one alive,” he proudly declared after the story concluded. Roland went sulkily to his tent for the evening. Maks, Ays, and Lilith were getting drunk, laughing, and having a good time. Lola, however, immediately picked up on the fact that despite having fun, their eyes never seemed to stop taking in everything around them, especially the Harvenk wolves. Tris and Kurt, along with a pair of Harvenk wolves that Lola couldn’t remember the names of, were guarding Drake. The rest of the Harvenks were scattered around three or four different campfires, talking and laughing among themselves.

“I’m getting tired,” Lola said after a couple of hours. She had just finished up a plate of food. It was her third one. Ever since the fight at the Pit, she found herself hungrier than ever. Everyone told her that was normal though. Shifting took a lot of energy and that needed to be replaced in the form of scarfing down pretty much anything in sight. Russel and some of the Oclan wolves she’d gotten close to like Ays, Tris, and Maks, all reassured her she’d be fine in a couple of days. Once her body regains all that lost energy, she should feel pretty much back to normal again.

“I’ll head to bed too,” Russel said, which was met with a lot of juvenile kissing noises and such from his friends. Lola laughed with them. Then she grabbed his hand and led him through the camp toward their tent.

“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” she said when they were far enough away from the others they couldn’t be heard.

“I wanted to. Besides, with everything that’s happened recently, I feel like we haven’t had as much time together as I’d like.” He looked at her, a genuine warmth and feeling of love coming from him. “I know it’s been hard on you. I want you to know I’m still here, always. You, Lola Tarnvol, are my true priority.”

“You can’t say things like that anymore, King of Oclan,” she whispered. She was going for a light, joking tone but it came out much more serious than she thought it would.

“As true as that may be, it’s how I feel. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” He turned his head away from her now, his voice solemn. “It’s funny, you know. I never thought this was where I’d end up after helping a random girl of Alcroft in a forest near a human village. I never thought I would be King of Oclan. I never thought I would be in love with the daughter of our biggest and most hated rival. And I sure as hell never expected to feel like I found my other half.”

“Your other half?” she asked. She’d never heard of that saying before. “Also, I never thought I’d be here either, trust me. Being…whatever it is I am…was never even a consideration back on the farm in Gloucester.”

“Even knowing what we would be going through, I would still come to your rescue if I had a chance to do it all over again,” he said. “I would go through all the rings of hell just to meet you.”

She leaned in closer to him when he said that, putting her head on his shoulder as they walked. She felt the same way. There was just something about him, something that fit and matched her as perfectly as anything in the world had a right to be. As they walked into their tent, she became even more curious about what he’d told her. She laid him down on the cot and then got in next, snuggling up close to him as much as the cot would allow. It wasn’t very comfortable but at the same time, she didn’t really care. Being close to him, feeling his warmth against her, was like finding her own section of heaven.

“What did you mean by ‘other half?’” she asked, her eyes already starting to drift closed.

“That comes from one of our oldest tales, handed down for countless generations. It even comes from a time before the three werewolf kingdoms first separated. My mother used to tell it to me when I was a child, right before bedtime.” He folded her in closer and kissed her earlobe softly. Then he started to tell the story. “Back when our world was being formed, the gods created the races to inhabit their new creation. The first, according to the legend, were the werewolves. Luna, the goddess that made us, wanted her creations to be like her. Part animal and part human. To do this, she split a human apart and a wolf apart. Taking these two halves of a larger whole, she merged them together and created werewolves. In doing so, she created two complete beings from four halves. It is said that the halves are forever searching for each other, hoping one day to reunite. When I am with you, I feel that way. Like I have found my other half.”

Lola listened to his story and couldn’t help but feel emotional. Tears dropped from her eyes and that feeling of love and warmth spread all through her body.

“That is one of the best stories I think I’ve ever heard,” she whispered back. Then she turned so she could look him in the eyes. It was difficult to do but she managed it eventually. “Do you still think that, even though I’m…whatever it is I am? You haven’t said much about that since we left my…uh…father’s castle.”

“Because I don’t give a rat’s ass, Lola. I don’t care who your father is. I don’t care that you’re a werewolf, or a special kind of werewolf. I’m still unsure on that part but we’ll figure it out at some point. I wouldn’t even care if you ended up being just human. None of that matters to me because I love you, Lola. I think I’ve loved you from the second I saw you. Nothing in this world will ever change that.” He gently pulled her face up to his with a thumb and forefinger on her chin.

Then he kissed her. Deeply.

“I love you too,” Lola told him back after their kiss ended.

As soon as it did, loud coughing explosions suddenly erupted from everywhere. Light flared up every couple of seconds. They came in bursts of vaguely orange color seen through the fabric of their canvas tent.

Then the ground started to shake.