by Cloe Cullen
Bronwen waited patiently for Nyssa to answer, sipping on her tea and staring intense holes through Nyssa’s scalp, but when Nyssa refused to answer, she prodded the conversation herself. “It’s clear as the sunlight that streams through the Oldwood that you like him, and that he likes you. It’s why Remus gave him a warning.”
Nyssa rolled her eyes at the thought of Remus trying to be a good older brother and threaten her new love interest. “There’s nothing concrete between us just yet, like I mentioned. It’s true, I like him, but that could fade.”
“Then take it slow,” Bronwen said. “Maybe not as slow as me, but see to it that you genuinely fall for him. It seems like falling in love would be good for you right about now.”
Nyssa wanted to speak to Bronwen further, but panicked voices just outside caught their attention. Someone was shouting something quickly, and another voice, Jorah’s voice, was trying to calm the first down. Nyssa and Bronwen locked eyes, nodded to each other and leapt up from their seats, racing to the front door. Once outside, Nyssa saw that the owner of the frantic voice was none other than Finn, the chocolate skinned bear shifter from the Northern Mountains. His handsome appearance was marred by a wickedly twisted face and the onset of sweat. Jorah held onto Finn with both hands, trying to get Finn to calm down.
“Hey, just calm down and tell me what’s going on, Finn, okay?” Jorah said. “Take a deep breath.”
“No time!” Finn shouted. “I’ve come to warn you, Jorah. The Seers! The Seers ordered you captured and anyone else who knows about us to be killed. Nyx is leading a group with Keanu, though he’s more reluctant than me to just abandon that dumb mission.”
Stunned, Jorah stared at Finn. “What did you just say?”
Finn grabbed Jorah’s shoulders this time, shaking him. “Didn’t you hear me? It’s Nyx! She’s come to get you. Nyx is here right now to take you back to Dallan.”
Chapter Eighteen: Jorah
F inn was the last person Jorah expected to see down in the Oldwood. He didn’t expect any bear shifters to come down, not after Jorah had ran down at high speed with both Nyssa and Lowell in tow; he was sure Dallan and the other Seers would have prevented the outflux of just about anyone.
Jorah first noticed Finn sprinting in the distance, his arms flailing and his head scanning his surroundings for any sign of life. Upon seeing the house, and then Jorah, Finn’s caramel eyes went wide in surprise and practically ran Jorah down as he began to shout in his face. They were lucky enough to be far from the main hub of Gray Creek, lest a horde of wolf shifters heard them both.
“Finn?” Jorah exclaimed as Finn came to a sliding stop, clutching onto Jorah’s arms with his shaking hands. “What are you doing down here? How did you find me?” Finn tried to speak again, but coughed spittle flying from his lips. Sweat poured from his body, stinking up his scent and causing Jorah to wrinkle his nose in discomfort. He trembled, and as Jorah made to grab Finn’s shoulders with his own hands, Finn jerked away. “Hey, just calm down and tell me what’s going on, Finn, okay? Take a deep breath.”
“No time!” Finn shouted. Moments later, the door to Nyssa’s house swung open, crashing against the side of the house, but Jorah didn’t have the luxury to glance over at Nyssa or Bronwen. “I’ve come to warn you, Jorah! The Seers! The Seers ordered you captured and anyone else who knows about us to be killed. Nyx is leading a group with Keanu, though he’s more reluctant than me to just abandon that dumb mission.”
Stunned, Jorah stared at Finn. “What did you just say?”
Finn grabbed Jorah’s shoulders this time, shaking him. “Didn’t you hear me? It’s Nyx! She’s come to get you. Nyx is here right now to take you back to Dallan.”
Jorah’s wide eyes quickly turned to a frown. “Dallan and the other shifters ordered our clansmen to come down to the Oldwood, to bring me back and kill others? Are you kidding me?” Shaking his head, Jorah stepped back, Finn following. “No way...Dallan wouldn’t stoop that low.”
“Would I lie to you about something this serious, Jorah?” Finn said, his eyes gleaming with tears and his lips constantly running. “He ordered all three of us to look for you. Keanu and I wanted to say no, but Nyx agreed. She’s angry, or frustrated, or something, but she and a group of other bear shifters are on their way right now. It took them a little bit to pick up your trail, but eventually they did. I managed to slip away when Nyx wasn’t looking...Keanu shielded the sight of me fleeing with his big body, all so that I could come tell you.”
Suddenly the pounding of feet to Jorah’s left signaled the approach of Nyssa and Bronwen. “What’s wrong?” Nyssa said. “Why is Finn here? Are you okay?”
Jorah whirled on them. “Finn’s here with a warning, he says Dallan and the other Seers ordered Nyx and some others to come capture me and kill you and anyone else that might know about the bear shifters on top of the Northern Mountains.”
“Who in the hell are you?” Finn suddenly asked, his wide eyes searing holes into Bronwen.
Smiling simply, Bronwen curtsied. “Bronwen, the Vampire.”
“Vampire? Oh dear…” At the mention of Vampire, Finn collapsed into Jorah’s arms. Calling his name, Jorah placed a hand to his forehead, feeling the heat beneath his skin. Taking a closer look, Jorah spied scratch marks on his exposed arm.
“Fever, looks like, maybe got scratched by a slightly poisonous plant,” Jorah announced. “You need to sit and rest, Finn.”
Shaking his head violently, Finn bolted back upright. “No! No, I’m fine. I took some herbs already, before I got here, though it takes a few minutes for the effects to kick in. Nyx and her men will be here any minute. They split up into two groups...one to go to east and one west. Nyx is leading the western group, following your faded scent and trail marks. Keanu is leading the eastern one, heading towards the bigger settlement.”
Exchanging a scrunched-up look with Nyssa, Jorah let Finn go, who wobbled, but stayed on his feet. “Lowell and Remus!” Nyssa exclaimed. “They have to be going after them. My brother will be fine, but Lowell? He might have wandered into the woods, we need to find him! He’s still wounded.”
“Don’t forget Magnolia,” Bronwen said, her tone jovial. “Though I don’t really care about her, it would still do well to protect...though she doesn’t need protection. It would improve our relations with the other Vampires.”
“Like we have time to worry about another Vampire!” Jorah said, clenching his fist’s. Why Dallan? Why must he continue to pursue him? Next time Jorah saw his adoptive father, he promised himself to smack the man silly. “We need to tell your brother, and that leader of yours, Darius, right? If a group of bears are heading straight for Gray Creek, with no one suspecting, then a lot of innocents will die unknowingly.”
“Then we go, now!” Nyssa said, striping her clothes, shifting into a wolf and bounding away into the forest. Bronwen quickly followed, matching Nyssa’s pace with her own long-legged stride.
Jorah began to strip as well, not caring about how he left the clothes strewn about. “If you’re okay to come, then come, Finn,” Jorah said. “But if you don’t feel up to following then rest in that cabin.”
“No way, I’m coming along,” Finn proclaimed, stripping off his jerkin and pants. “But don’t wait for me to catch up. Just go, I’ll be right behind!”
So Jorah did, shifting into his giant, furry bear form and began to run after Nyssa and Bronwen. While they left just before him, he followed them by scent, keeping his nose low to the ground in order to not lose either of them. The tall trees and colorful foliage passed him by as he raced on, huffing and growling, barreling down the winding trails. Soon howls and roars pierced the air just ahead of him, sending a shiver down his spine, and hardening his resolve to push ahead. Nyx and her bears, it must be! While he steeled his resolve, he also shook at the thought of dueling with Nyx for real, trying to inflict real pain on the other. Back when they were together, they’d wrestle in snow until the sun sank deep below the earth...but tha
t was playful, and this was serious.
As Jorah turned a corner, he saw his fears come true, spying Nyssa and Bronwen fighting off around five big bears in total. All were a similar leather brown color, except for one. Ashen brown fur and a smaller build, yet still as muscular as the rest of her troupe, Nyx roared and stomped as her bears circled and swiped at Nyssa and Bronwen. It wasn’t until Jorah roared and lumbered forward that Nyx turned to grunt at him.
Stay away, she said through her growls.
But Jorah wasn’t having it; instead, Jorah rose on his hind legs and belched out the nastiest roar he could, shaking the trees and scaring off a flock of birds as well as stopping the rest of the shifters for half a moment, allowing Bronwen to latch on the neck of one with her arms and Nyssa to snap her maw around another’s back. Falling back down, Jorah’s weight shook the earth, and he charged forward, seeing red at the sight of Nyssa surrounded by would be murderers.
Unsurprisingly, Nyx rose to meet his challenge, though she clearly was no match for him now. Just as she roared herself and leapt at him with an outstretched paw, Jorah jumped to the side and smacked her across the stomach with his own massive paw, sending her crashing in the dirt with a thud. Seeing their leader get knocked around, another bear shifter charged Jorah, this one bigger and bulkier. Not backing down, Jorah stood just as the other did and the two locked into a roaring and swatting fest, their paws and teeth lashing at each other’s necks and chests. The other bear shifter cut Jorah deep just above the heart, causing him to growl at the surge of hot pain, but Jorah returned the favor by battering the bear’s head with a flurry of his paws. The shifter backed away, grunting at the pain, blood dripping from a hastily shut eye.
Jorah turned to help out Nyssa and Bronwen with their end, but found them standing victorious over the remaining, swaying and flailing three bears, each grunting and huffing for breath. Nyssa growled at them, and Bronwen’s twisted face glared at the bears in anger. The bears, rising to their feet, glanced to each other, backing away.
“Enough!” Nyx shouted from behind Jorah. He swirled quickly to catch Nyx in her birthday suit, pointing into the woodland beyond them. “Just run, we vastly underestimated them all! Come on! The remaining bears bolted into the forest, grunting sounds of pain and frustration. Nyx leveled one last glare at Jorah before following, causing Jorah to quickly shift to his human form and race after her.
“Nyx, wait!” He shouted.
Jorah knew he should have just let her go, but impulse drove his legs to sprint ahead at full speed, the winding smacking him as he ran. Trailing her through the trees, he caught up to her in no time, bending over and clasping her knees for air. Normally that would have been a pretty sight to Jorah, but right now all he saw was red. “Nyx, please!” He called. “Just hear me out.”
Shaking, Nyx turned quickly, her white teeth clenched and tears rolling down her eyes. “What? What did you want to say to me? Don’t you want to hurt me? I just attacked your new friends, you idiot! We weren’t expecting...I wasn’t expecting they’d send us after you and those dumb wolves.”
Stopping a dozen yards away, not daring to draw too close lest Nyx bolt away again, Jorah outstretched his arms to show his friendliness. “Why are you following their orders, Nyx? Finn ran away, Keanu helped him! So why are you seriously going after us? Weren’t we loyal to each other?”
“Once!” Nyx spat. “Back when I meant something to you...back when I wasn’t just some odd friend of yours, but the woman you loved most.” Now tears stung her darkened eyes, dirt caking her ghostly skin. If Nyssa was the sunny, forest nymph, Nyx had to be opposite, a moon nymph, the kind from Bear Clan legend. Her stark image amongst the greenery made his heart beat too fast, and waves of memories filled his mind, fluttering about and leaving a bad taste in his mouth. So that’s what this was all about? About how Nyx still felt something for him, a fire that no longer kindled inside of Jorah.
“I know it’s unfair of me, but when I saw how you reacted to that pretty, strange blonde girl...I just...didn’t know what to do,” Nyx said. “Though it doesn’t matter right now. Stay down here, in this foreign land, Jorah. You’ll never have to see me again.” With that, Nyx took off.
Calling out to her again, Jorah took a step forward, but collapsed to his knee in sharp pain. A muscle must have snapped, for his leg lit on fire and burned with such an intensity that when Jorah looked back up, Nyx was nowhere to be seen.
Swelling in fury, Jorah rose to his feet and smashed a hole in a nearby three with his bare fist, turning to limp back to the trail where Nyssa and Bronwen awaited.
Chapter Nineteen: Nyssa
F inn arrived moments after Jorah ran after Nyx, disappearing into the forest. Nyssa had ached to follow after, but both Bronwen and Finn held her back, saying to let Jorah speak to Nyx on his own.
“They have a history,” Finn explained. “Just...give them some time.”
But only a minute after Jorah had left, he re-emerged under the shade of the trees, holding his leg and limping forward, his expression downcast and head hung. As Bronwen finally released Nyssa from her clutches, she raced over to him, looking him up and down and patting him all over, looking for red spots or black and blue bruises.
“I’m fine,” Jorah said, grabbing one of her wrists and throwing her a grin.
“But Nyx attacked you! She really attacked you, attacked us. You’re limping, and you look like you saw a ghost,” Nyssa said through bated breaths.
“This was all unexpected, is all,” Jorah said, his usual jovial tone vanished from his voice. Instead, all she got was a rough, gravelly sound and a look of pure, twisted frustration. A pain she felt herself, one that jumped from him to her. Just as her head dropped, so did her heart, and its thumping made her uneasy.
In a fit of uncontrollable rage and frustration on her part, she grabbed both of his cheeks, forcing him to look at her, his lips becoming fish like because of how hard she was holding on to him. Eyes widened he stared at her. “You can tell me!” Nyssa said staring up at him. “This isn’t why you helped me come back to my home, right? So let me do you a favor, and tell me everything. Confide in me.”
With eyes wide, Jorah remained speechless, but eventually his fishlike lips curled into a strange, almost demon-like smile.
Before any more could be said, though, heavy footfalls came sprinting towards them from just down the trail. Finn and Jorah immediately grew defensive, their bodies tensing at the sounds, but as a group of wolves and cougars came into sight, Nyssa calmed them. She easily recognized the group’s leaders: Darius in his unique gray fur, her brother’s stark blonde stride, and then surprisingly Lowell. Three other shifters ran behind, with satchels, probably full of clothes, and... someone tied up and strapped to one of the wolves’ back. Nyssa couldn’t get a good look until Darius and the others shifted to their naked human forms, marching forward, dissatisfied frowns on all of their faces...well, a very mean one from Darius, one that sent shivers down Nyssa’s spine when she realized his glare was aimed partially at her.
“Keanu…” Nyssa whispered.
“What? Are you sure?” Jorah asked.
“What the hell is going on?” Darius commanded to know, catching a pair of leather pants from Remus and pulling them on quickly. “Nyssa, Bronwen...and whoever you two are…” Darius came forward, arms crossed, leveling a deadly, snarling look at Jorah. “Start talking.”
Jorah gulped behind her, grabbing her wrist, trying to stand as tall as possible, and moved in front of Nyssa. “So, you’re Darius, Alpha of the Pack, right? I’m Jorah, nice to meet you.” Extending a hand, Nyssa saw Darius make no move to do the same, so Jorah’s hand remained quivering in the air. Rooted to the ground, Darius, glanced between Nyssa and him, and then Finn and Bronwen. Finn shook from the sheer malicious look in Darius’ gaze, but Bronwen glided over in attempt to appease the Pack’s Alpha.
“Don’t look so angry, dearie,” Bronwen said with her usual smile. “There isn’t anything wrong her
e. We even repelled the bears that attacked us just now, so we’re all safe and sound.”
Suddenly appearing at Darius’ side, Lowell’s face twisted with concern, specifically aimed at Nyssa. She saw his bandages and wounds were mostly healed, thanks to Gray Creek’s healers, though a few bandages and bruises remained clear as day. “You guys were attacked too?” He looked to Nyssa, moving forward. “Are you hurt? How many attacked?” Then he shot a dangerous glance in Jorah’s way, clearly meaning to blame him for what happened, but instead Nyssa pulled a Jorah and stepped in front of him, blocking both Darius and Lowell from getting any closer to Jorah.
“Look, we were attacked, and you clearly were as well,” she said. “But Jorah has no blame in this.”
Darius groaned. “I don’t care about blame, what I care about is how the hell bear shifters who were extinct just an hour ago are suddenly alive and attacking my home. Do any of you have any kind of information about any of this?” He pointed with a thumb over his shoulder. “This guy we captured says they were after you lot. So…” Darius plopped on the ground. “Someone start talking.”
Remus finally came over, wearing trousers just like Darius and throwing clothes at everyone else. “Before that, clothe yourself, I’m not staring at my sister naked for this conversation.”
Once they were all dressed, Nyssa and Jorah sat down on the dirt trail, sunlight streaming from the treetops and speckling their bodies. Everyone sat in a large circle, while the other three wolves watched Keanu and circled the group, standing guard. They began at the beginning, since Darius was new to their entire tale. The story didn’t take long, as they skipped over minute details, and soon enough Darius was nodding with complete understanding.