It was only the maid coming in with a bag of diapers and wipes and other infant supplies as well as a tray of food for me. She didn't speak, just dropped the items off on the floor inside the door before retreating.
Warily, I inspected everything. The baby stuff seemed okay, and I couldn't smell anything in the food. Deciding to chance it because going without wouldn't help me feed Stella, I tried a few bites and waited. When nothing happened, I finished the meal and changed and fed Stella before climbing under the covers.
A FITFUL NIGHT'S REST punctuated with a baby who woke up every few hours and the worry nagging me left me exhausted the next morning. Several days followed in the same manner, and no one except the maid came by.
My milk came in, and with the more frequent diaper changes, the smell began to bother my wolf. Needing fresh air as it would be hours before the maid did her afternoon cleaning, I laid Stella down for a nap and opened the window.I'd frequently, over the time I'd been kept in the room, hung out the window to help the crazy from taking over.
Apparently, it was the chance the Alpha had been waiting for. A quick movement from the adjacent tower, and pain spread through my chest, followed by full-on paralysis. My legs gave out, and I slumped to the floor in a heap, hitting my head on the sill on the way down. On my side with my legs bent awkwardly under me, I watched as the door opened.
"Get up! Get up, now!" The entity screamed its demands in my head, but I couldn't so much as twitch an eyelid.
The guard Corbin entered, followed by the Alpha and Angela. While Corbin tried to stay stoic, his eyes strayed to me more than once, pity in his gaze. The Alpha backed off when I lit up, but the glow couldn't reach far enough to encompass the bed where my Stella laid. He watched as Angela bundled the baby up and turned to leave the room.
I managed to get a noise past my throat, and alarm filled their eyes. My healing was burning through whatever had been in the dart that was still stuck in my chest. I was sure the entity was helping as well.
The woman scurried from the room without waking my Stella, and the Alpha only lingered long enough to give yet another demand.
"Stop this nonsense and learn your place, Mariana. You're lucky I don't have it destroyed." He left as rage suffused my body at the threat to Stella.
I could move my fingers now, and the guard was quick to notice.
"I'll protect her with my life, little Heir. I promise. And I'm sorry." He shut the door, and the lock clicked into place before I could do much more than straighten my legs.
It took several more minutes before I could remove the dart and get up, but when I did, I raged. The room was destroyed, the only things still intact the baby items left behind. And what I had made for Stella. I curled up in a corner of the room, clutching them as I sobbed.
No one could get near me unless I was asleep. Not even for food. I alternated between trying to break down the thick door to screaming from the window. I eventually gave that up after the third time I was shot with a dart. At those times, the Alpha and a maid would come in, and he would berate me for disturbing the pack while the maid cleaned my mess and left a meal.
I wasn't even allowed to express milk into a bottle for the baby. For all I knew, she was already dead. Those thoughts sent me spiraling, but the entity was sure she wasn't. I begged it to go to her. Tried everything to set it free but nothing worked.
Finally, it explained to me that while I lived, it could not leave me. I was still the Starlight Heir, and without the ceremony to free its binding, it couldn't do more than protect the host.
I began to suspect it had known something of what events would unfold when it forced my wolf down and allowed the Vae to capture me. It wouldn't confirm my accusations, but it didn't deny them either. It had planted the seeds for a plan to grow, and a week after my Stella was stolen from me, I knew what I had to do.
My wolf didn't agree as what I considered was anathema to her and any shifter. As soon as she understood what I meant to do, she took over, and I spent the next two days shifted into my wolf form. I wasn't sure if the entity couldn't, or wouldn't, force her like it had done before, but for whatever reason, he didn't.
It did take over and push her down as soon as she was too exhausted to hold on any longer, and maybe it was a kindness for her not to witness it.
"You will protect her, right? None can harm her?"
"Nothing will happen that should not."
"That's not good enough. I want your vow to protect her. Guide her and not let my fate befall her." It wasn't giving me what I wanted, and I felt its worry that I might back out. "What are you hiding?"
"There are things you cannot know. I promise to help her find happiness and protect her from what I can. I can assure you she will reach adulthood, and her mates will come for her."
It would have to be enough. I could sense that it told the truth about not being able to leave me.
"Please, tell her about me? Make sure she knows I love her to pieces, always."
"Of course, Mari. I will keep a part of you when I go and use it to shower her with your love and comfort. You will be able to watch over her, always."
I knew I had to be quick; the guard would stop me otherwise, even if it were inadvertently with the darts. Throwing open the window, I darted back to the side. A dart sailed in, missing its mark. Backing up for a full run since it would take more effort than usual with my wolf subdued, I gathered my courage.
"I love you, my Stella, my little star. Shine bright, darling," I whispered as I launched myself from the window. A dart hit me even as I managed to turn head down, but the entity stole my consciousness before the end.
Chapter Three
Present Day - Stella
"Mad Mary, Mad Mary,
Locked in her Bower.
Mad Mary, Mad Mary,
Leapt from her tower."
It was always the same thing. You'd think as the children who’d teased me grew up it would have stopped. But no, even at twenty years old the chant still followed me through the younger generation. And they couldn't even get my mother's name right. It was Mar-ee not Mary.
Normally, I avoided anything to do with being around others if at all possible, but with the celebration coming with the Elders’ visit, I needed blood from the kitchen. I couldn't go hunt for it with the Alpha's decree that I not leave the village that surrounded the manor. So the kitchens it was, where hopefully there would be fresh blood from all the butchering that had been done in preparation.
Besides the horrid nursery rhyme, whispers of dhampir and half-breed followed wherever I encountered those who didn't care for my existence or the fact that I remained in the pack. Which was most of them. It hadn't been as bad when I was little, but around the time I hit puberty, the cravings started. Snack on one bratty girl and suddenly the pitchforks and torches came out in force. Thankfully, my glowy buddy came to the rescue.
Taking the servants’ entrance, I slipped into the halls and down to the kitchen. One of the helpers got the attention of the cook, and a hush settled over the room.
"Umm..." I didn't want to ask out loud, but the cook knew what I was after.
"You'll have to come back in a few hours, girl. Everything was already used or disposed of. Somebody took it upon themselves to decide what is and isn't needed." A pointed glance at a servant I knew to be friends with my adopted mom, Angela, didn't even try to look contrite. She'd probably done it on purpose.
I sighed but nodded and left anyway. I'd be in so much trouble if I got caught showing my face while the Elders were here. Last time I'd been young enough to have a sitter while Angela and Corbin attended the feast.
Deciding to find a new book to occupy my time, I made my way to the small library in the village. I'd seen others with electronics they could read on like phones and tablets, but I'd never been permitted to have one. Angela didn't think educating the half-breed was necessary. Corbin helped where he could, but he was usually on-duty and couldn't police her every move. At least he did st
ick up for me. It was okay though, the smell of the books was almost as good as the stories themselves.
I'd gotten three new books that had just come in. The librarian was one of the few who didn't have an issue with my presence and ordered books I liked often. More intent on the books than my surroundings, I ran into one of the people I'd have liked to avoid the most.
Malachi. The Alpha's son was as pleasant as the Alpha himself, puffed up with his self-importance.
"Stella, my dear. Looking forward to our mating?" The creep loved to remind me I'd been promised to him since his birth.
As soon as we turned twenty-one we'd be mates, and the supposed vast power I held would be given to the pack. Power, my big toe. If I had anything besides an imaginary friend and a tendency to glow in self-defense, surely it would have been apparent by now.
"Go away, Malachi. Shouldn't you be getting ready for the Elders’ visit anyway? Or did Daddy kick you out while he handled the adult things?" I smirked as I watched him turn red, his wolf flaring in his eyes.
It didn't matter; neither he nor anyone else could touch me unless I allowed it. I wiggled my flowing fingertips just in case he needed a reminder. It worked as it usually did, and he stalked off, mumbling about bitches knowing their place. I ignored him and got back home, sneaking to my room to avoid Angela who was getting ready in hers.
BY THE TIME I DEEMED it long enough to go get the blood, I was nearly starved. Regular food was still needed, but so was blood several times a week. Animal blood wasn't quite satisfying, but it worked.
I crept through the streets and into the back of the manor, retracing the same route I'd taken earlier. I made it into the kitchen and got what I needed without a hiccup. Until I was almost past the door that led to the dining hall.
I'd been so thirsty, and the hall was deserted, so I'd thought it would be okay to take the edge off.
Wrong. The door opened, and the servant bringing a tray full of empty dishes ran directly into me. Spilling the blood and glassware everywhere. The servant and I went down in a tangle and landed in front of the open door in direct view of the table.
The servant raised a hand to slap me, but my trusty glow kicked in and burnt her everywhere it touched. Her shrieks brought more attention, and then the yelling started. I had to consciously pull the light back as others tried to assess what was happening. They didn't catch at first that the blood was from a deer and not either of us sitting amid the sea of broken glass.
That would have all been bad enough except we'd caught the attention of the Elders. Or one of them at least.
"Alpha Larimer you said the Starlight Heir was dead!"The shout came from a man I didn't recognize. He had some gray strands in his dark hair, so I knew he was older. The aging process was very slow and made it hard to figure out unless you knew the person.
The Alpha glared in my direction, and I saw Corbin rushing toward me with a panicked expression on his face.
"This is not Mariana. She did indeed pass on." The Alpha conveniently left out that he was the cause.
Corbin reached for me while other servants helped the girl and started to clean the mess.
"Come on, Stella. You know you shouldn't be here." He spoke low enough that his voice wouldn't travel in the room of wolves with their excellent hearing.
I nodded and let him lead me out, booking it back to the house and leaving him to go back in and face the crowd alone.
Angela was going to kill me. Or try anyway.
RIDDICK
The shock of Elder Balfor's accusation only echoed my own at the revelation. There was obviously something very shady going on with Alpha Larimer and my former pack. It was already surreal to be here after losing my place at the Starlight Heir's side, be it as her mate or her guard. The former Alphas, the Elders, and I had been here twice since the debacle with the vampires and being relegated as the Elders’ lackeys.
Taking matters into my own hands after a glance at my fellow Alpha knights, I questioned Larimer.
"Then who exactly was that? And why was she rushed out of here, brother?" I raised a dark brown in his direction.
Eyes darting from person to person, Larimer finally settled his irate gaze on mine. "She is Stella. Mariana's daughter."
The hall erupted into a cacophony of questions and accusations.
I only had one.
"If she's her daughter, and she has the Starlight, is she not now the Heir and one of the Alpha knights’ mates?" I couldn't include myself as I was her uncle, and even our culture, as backward as it could be, wasn't that bad.
Silence fell over the dining hall as everyone zeroed in on the Elders.
"This is highly unexpected, but Riddick is not wrong. Why have you hidden her, Alpha Larimer?" Elder Martin was polite, but he held himself rigidly, and his wolf peeked from his eyes.
Larimer started and stopped several times before he got his explanation out.
"She's tainted. I am not her sire." My hope soared. She isn't related to me.
Elder Balfor was the first to recover. "And who is her sire?" The Alpha paled and looked around at his pack members in attendance. They all had a variation of guilt when faced with us and the Elders. "Wait. I would prefer to move to a meeting room." The Alpha nodded and stood from his seat, waiting while the rest of us followed suit.
Chapter Four
When we were seated around the meeting room, deja vu struck. We'd all been in a similar setup two decades ago, and now the wrongs from that day might be righted.
The Elders didn't even have to ask again before the Alpha of the Silversbane Pack spilled.
"The Vae is her father? In what scenario did you think you had the authority to hide that information? Not to mention the pregnancy should have been terminated. Crossbreeds are forbidden, you know this!" Elder Balfor was irate. The rest of us, I think, just realized one of us would be mating a dhampir.
Larimer continued that the Starlight had interceded and prevented any harm to the baby or Mariana. But upon her birth, she had fits of rage and had to be tranquilized with darts that could withstand the light long enough to work. Then she'd jumped from her tower, leaving the child an orphan. The Starlight had seemed to have transferred.
His story was plausible for the situation except something wasn't ringing quite true. Elder Martin picked up on it as well and further questioned the Alpha.
"So, Mariana killed herself for no apparent reason, and then you decided not to inform the Elders that she had borne a child? A female at that? And your entire pack kept the secret for twenty years and multiple visits from us? I think you'd better elaborate, Alpha Larimer."
The Alpha, seeing no one was coming to his rescue, admitted his part in it. He even bared his neck slightly in the wake of so many in the room who held more dominance than he did.
"Katrina, my first mate then, had more support than I did after my actions, and I caved to her desires to keep my pack running smoothly. Mariana was never permitted out of her room other than check-ups with the doctor and when she gave birth. She never set foot outside after the day she arrived here." He paused and jutted his chin out in defiance for the rest as if that hadn't been bad enough. "My mate refused to have Mariana in the public, shaming her, and since Mariana wasn't allowed to complete the binding ceremony... she was relegated for one use."
The Alpha winced at the berating he received. That was not what was supposed to have happened. It was done as a punishment, yes, but even the Elders looked contrite now for the results of their decree from years ago. Anger was mixed in their expressions as well toward him and his mate— there was a reason females weren't supposed to run things.
"Alpha Larimer," Elder Martin addressed him, quieting the group, "you should be stripped of your title and position at the least. I'm reading between the lines that you thought to keep the girl for yourself?"
Quietly, the Alpha answered, "She's betrothed to my son."
"Not any longer, she's not," snapped Elder Balfor, causing the Alpha to wince. "Does s
he bear the mark?"
"Yes, on her ankle."
"Then it's settled. Fetch the girl, and we'll have the choosing done here. Make arrangements for her belongings to be packed and ready by morning. We'll depart before midday. You will make the announcement tonight to your pack." The Alpha winced again at Elder Balfor's words, but frankly, he was getting off easy with a bit of public humiliation.
"Yes, Elder." The Alpha went to the door and spoke with the guard there about finding the girl, Stella, immediately. He came back and resumed his seat. "She'll be here shortly."
A COMMOTION COULD BE heard in the corridor. Two irate females and a male were arguing about the "half-breed". Sighing, I got to my feet to pull the door open to find the Alpha's mate, Katrina, and another woman trying to stop the girl who had been glowing in the dining hall from entering. The guard was berating the woman with Katrina.
"Angela! Cease immediately and return home. We're no longer responsible for Stella. And don't think I won't deal with you later for interfering." A tall woman, who would be pleasant to look on were it not for her features being pinched in an unbecoming manner, gaped for a moment at the guard until she realized I was staring at her from the meeting room. At that point she paled and scurried off, abandoning Katrina. The same guard addressed Alpha Larimer's mate.
"Mistress, please return to your quarters." She wasn't cowed until the Alpha barked at her to leave. "My apologies, Elders, Alphas, my mate and I have raised Stella here, and one of us is obviously more fond of her than the other." The man turned to the girl and spoke in a softer tone to her. "Go on now, Stella. It'll be okay. I promised your mama that I’d protect you, and I won't break it now."
The man was brave, I'd give him that. At least someone had tried to help Stella's mother. I tried to distance myself from thinking it was Mariana that one of us had been intended for and how much older we were than Stella.
The girl hesitantly entered, eyeing the Alpha as she stepped through the door but squeezing the guard’s hand in affection as she went. I'd most likely need to request a change of packs for him if he were amenable. Alpha Larimer didn't look too pleased with the revelation that his guard might be more loyal to her than him.
Bound to Change: A Limited Edition Spring Shifter Romance Collection Page 36