The Heart of a Wolf

by Megan Smith

  He’d hoped to convince Allandra to marry him after some re-adjustment time but he couldn’t say he had any regret for the swiftness with which the Creators had sealed them together.

  After three days inside his room, they were well and truly Bound. Both he and his wolf were extremely satisfied with marriage life so far.

  Now, all that remained was how to go forward from here.

  Turning his head toward a breeze of cool air, he spotted Allandra sitting in the window seat, wearing his tunic with her legs tucked under a blanket she’d stolen from the bed. She’d pushed open the shutters to the cool, spring night but the low fire still crackling in the hearth kept the room comfortable. The soft breeze lifted the long, dark hair draped over one shoulder and he felt a sudden desire to trail his fingers through the silken mass.

  Shoving back the covers, he padded across the wood floor and slipped onto the place across from her. She turned her head with a soft smile for him, making his breath catch as it always did when faced with her beauty. Reaching out, he gave in to his need to touch her and rubbed a lock of hair between his fingers before lifting her feet onto his lap.

  Massaging them, she closed her eyes briefly in appreciation before amusement tilted her lips.

  “Trying to seduce me?” she murmured through the budding mental pathway that had opened between them after the Binding and Mingling ceremony.

  “Is it working?”

  “Yes.”

  He smiled wickedly back at her and continued to press his thumbs against the bottom of her feet, content to sit with the woman who had held his heart for centuries. He’d dreamed of evenings like this, just the two of them sitting in peace with the night air perfumed by early blooming spring flowers and new leaves budding on the trees.

  She watched him for a moment, their eyes speaking silently before she glanced back out the window.

  “It’s beautiful here. Peaceful. How did you find it?” she wondered.

  He shrugged, remembering those first few months of disorientation and fear when they’d come through the portal only to realize it wasn’t the safe haven they’d anticipated. Not with several races hunting them down indiscriminately.

  He’d searched desperately for a sanctuary, a place where they’d be safe and protected. He’d found it by chance-if he believed in that. In reality, the only explanation was something had guided them here.

  “The Creators brought us here. It was....difficult the first few months” he gave a short, humorless laugh, “the first several years, actually. Lone werewolves were running wild, the other races were exterminating any wolves they ran across-no questions asked. We felt just as hunted here as we did in the Night Realm” he admitted and her eyes darkened in sympathy.

  “I’m sorry. It can’t have been easy.”

  “No. We needed a refuge but there didn’t seem to be one in sight. And then, one day I just went running in wolf form. I went to the top of the mountain and found myself looking at a valley with golden light from the sun stretching across it and a lake that shimmered like sapphires. I knew as soon as I saw it that this was ours.”

  He paused, remembering the sense of homecoming he’d had just looking at the land. His wolf had approved and they’d howled long and loud, calling the others to him. Then, they’d run down the hill, staked their claim and it had been theirs ever since.

  Looking over at her, he felt a surge of happiness that she was finally here, in the home he’d built not just for his Pack, but for her. She tilted her head to one side, understanding in her gaze.

  “Kalvara. It means wolf’s home” she stated, a teasing smile touching her lips when he nodded, “not the smartest name if you were trying to hide out.”

  Answering amusement flickered in his aqua eyes. “Maybe not. But it certainly sends the message that we’re here and not going anywhere.”

  “There is that” she gave tugging her blanket up higher as a cool breeze wafted in.

  Kendrick moved his hands up to her calves, massaging gently as he went. All in the interest of warming her up, of course. She shot him a knowing look, letting him know she knew what he was doing despite the innocent look he gave her.

  She gave a tiny laugh, leaning her head back with a contented look in her eyes. “I’ve missed this. Sitting with you and just talking about everything and nothing,” she admitted with a sigh. “There were so many times I’d see or hear something I’d want to tell you. I ended up having a lot of conversations in my head” she confessed, “I’m not sure if they kept me sane or if it was a sign of a problem. Maybe I just knew inside you were still out there.”

  Remorse flooded through him at the lonely sadness darkening her hazel gaze. He understood what she was feeling, the anguish of separation, but at least he’d known there was a chance of finding each other again. He didn’t think he would have survived the Hunts thinking she’d been killed.

  The decision he’d made to put off finding her right away had taken precious years away from them, but at the time he hadn’t felt like he had a choice. It had taken all his strength-physically, magically, emotionally-to wrest a new race into being.

  They had no traditions, no history-and no way of knowing what their limits, strengths or even what their future held. It was through trial and error that the new werewolves had begun to get a feel for who they were and what they could do-something that continued to this day.

  Sometimes it felt like the Packs survived simply because of his sheer force of will.

  It had had to be done, but he couldn’t honestly say that there hadn’t been an ache of regret for lost time those years had taken from the two of them.

  “I’m sorry it took so long to find you” he answered quietly and she tilted her head, studying him in the firelight. “I would have given much to hunt you down when we first crossed, but the wolves...”

  She shook her head, understanding in her expression. “I understand, Kendrick. The paths we take are rarely straight. And ours doesn’t look like it’s suddenly going to any time soon.”

  “Sounds like a quote” he remarked and one side of her lips tilted up.

  “Cadrian. He’s full of them, being as old as he is” she answered with amusement.

  He felt a pang of jealously, his wolf growling in agreement. The leader of the Blackstar Guardians might be nothing more than a friend and brother-in-arms to Allandra, but he still didn’t care for the note of affection and comradeship in her voice.

  Allandra was his wife and neither he, nor his wolf, wanted a drop of her warmth to fall to another man.

  Reaching out suddenly, he tugged her up and across the seat to his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

  She gave a startled yelp, a laugh on her lips before it died after looking up into his face. “Kendrick! What-“

  He knew his eyes were more glowing green then aqua, his wolf very close to the surface and feeling intensely possessive.

  “Kendrick?” she repeated carefully, one hand resting lightly against his chest.

  “Mine. Not his” he growled roughly and her eyes widened in response before slowly shifting to straddle his lap and look him directly in the eye.

  “I have always been yours, Kendrick” she told him quietly, “once or twice, I considered marrying a friend for companionship, for children, but I never could. You were always there in my head. In my heart.”

  She paused before one eyebrow rose up. “What about you?”

  “There has only ever been you.”

  He knew he was reacting with animal instinct, but couldn’t stop the knee-jerk reaction or the intense desire to pull her behind him and snarl at any male who dared to look at her.

  He shuddered, fighting to bring his suddenly raging emotions under control. His wolf resisted, the animal half fiercely unhappy at the thought of another male having any of the affection that should be reserved for him.

  Tilting his head, he rested his forehead against hers while pushing his fingers through her hair to cup the side of her head. “Havin
g you here, finally in my arms...my wolf and I are on edge,” he admitted slowly and she nodded, understanding in her gaze.

  “I’ve seen how other werewolves who are newly mated react. You have the dual reactions of emotion and instinct at work. I can’t say that I won’t react the same way when faced with a woman in your vicinity” she admitted with a ghost of a smile, “but I am a Guardian and I’ve had centuries to build relationships of love and trust with them. It’s a sibling love and never has been anything else. You are the only one who has ever made my soul sing.”

  He nodded, but shot her an unhappy look. “I don’t like it. But, we’ll try to remember that. Just don’t...touch them just yet.”

  A soft smile blossomed on her face as she lifted up so her lips were a hairsbreadth from his. He tugged her tightly up against him as their lips met and tangled.

  “Only you, Kendrick. Only you.”

  Chapter 5

  THE NEXT MORNING FOUND Allandra walking down the stone stairs to the bottom floor, her hand tangled with Kendrick’s. He led the way, his stance protective and wary, even in his own home, surrounded by his Pack.

  She knew that came from his animal side-the wolf that cared for his Pack but protected his mate at all costs. She’d seen it over the years with not only with werewolves, but with dragons as well. For those races, their animal half was an intrinsic part of who they were.

  Dragons and werewolves were part animal with all its characteristics and habits, unlike other races that could shapechange but remained who they were before the shift. Their inclination to react even before thinking it through was a natural part of who they were, with the animal noticing dangers before the person had.

  It upset them to see another touching their mate or even getting too close. The urge to keep them safe as well as publicly claim their spouse rode them hard, sometimes even up to a year, before their wolves calmed enough to be comfortable with another getting close.

  It made things tricky when interacting with other races who didn’t experience or understand that. She’d dealt enough with newly mated werewolves and dragons over the years to know that the over-protectiveness would never go away, but the threat would fade with time.

  So, even though she was perfectly capable of defending herself against anything that came at them, she was willing to let him herd her protectively. At least for now.

  “Who’s waiting for us downstairs?” she asked again and he glanced back with a pleased smile.

  “My Sentinels. They’re looking forward to meeting you.”

  She hoped so. After years of being part of a tight-knit group, it wouldn’t surprise her if at least some of them were unhappy with an interloper joining them. Especially one not a werewolf.

  She paused on the bottom step to peer at the great hall appreciatively. Sunlight streamed in through floor to ceiling windows set in deep stone walls, filling the expansive room with streams of golden light and giving the whole space a warm feeling of a home open to the outdoors. Perfect for a people so perfectly aligned with nature.

  It shouldn’t have surprised her that a race of people who craved a feeling of home, of belonging, would work to make their stronghold one that spoke of comfort.

  Six people sprawled across the various couches, chairs and rugs strewn on the wood floor in front of the hearth, every one of them watching her with the cautious, assessing gazes of a predator.

  She recognized Declan, of course, but none of the others. These would be Kendrick’s original team from the Night Realm who had chosen to become werewolves, to be a Pack. They were his Sentinels, warriors who fulfilled various positions and responsibilities, but who were essentially his right hand in running the Kalvara Pack as well as liaisons to the other ones.

  Every Pack had Sentinels, werewolves with a strong dominance and power topped only by an Alpha. They were relatively small in number and were chosen because of their unmatched cunning and leadership abilities. Alpha’s selected Sentinels who would make the pack healthy and strong among those who consciously chose to give their loyalty to the Pack.

  They had an innate desire to protect running through their veins, making them a perfect guard for the Pack, which consisted of a variety of dominance levels from the confident to the extremely shy. Allandra had been fascinated by the dynamic of their social structure, how each werewolf seemed to instinctively know where they fell in terms of order and dominance.

  “Sorry we’re late!”

  Glancing over, she saw a couple hurrying into the room with apologetic expressions, both of them carrying worn brown leather satchels. Kendrick gave them a nod of understanding as they came to a halt behind one of the couches.

  “This is our Healer, Lachlan and his apprentice, Lyssia.”

  They sent her cautiously friendly smiles and nods, which she returned before turning back to the others.

  “And, these are my Sentinels. Declan you’ve met. This is Brogan, Cason, Garin, Abbie and Nera” he paused and dragged in a breath, “and this, is Allandra.”

  There was a breath of silence before Abbie, a petite woman with chestnut braids wrapped around her head gave a tentative smile, her dark green eyes friendly.

  “Welcome to the Pack, Allandra. We’ve heard much of you.”

  Her quiet words broke the awkwardness and everyone expelled audible breaths of air among slight laughs.

  “Hopefully at least some of it was true. Kendrick has always been extremely creative” she answered with a teasing look tossed his way.

  Kendrick nudged her toward the large, unoccupied chair, tugging her down to sit on his lap. It should have been uncomfortable to sit so intimately among strangers, but it felt natural. Wolves were very tactile, finding strength and comfort through touch so the others didn’t even bat an eye at the seating arrangement. She flashed him a quiet smile before turning back to the others.

  “Thank you. This is not what I expected to happen when I came to meet him” she admitted, curling her legs up to nestle closer to Kendrick.

  “Ending up married isn’t a normal part of negotiations?” Cason remarked with amusement lighting his golden eyes and she laughed.

  “No. People would be extremely cautious about accepting invitations otherwise!”

  “Well, you’re Pack now” Declan remarked quietly and she stilled at the simple statement, realizing perhaps for the first time in days that her life had suddenly gotten infinitely more complicated.

  Discovering Kendrick was miraculous-a truly breathtaking gift from the Creators-but her sudden marriage also opened up a whole host of complications.

  She was not only Pack now-she was the Ascendant Alpha’s mate-a position that carried a host of responsibilities. But, she had already chosen to become a Blackstar Guardian, sealed with Creator magic. She’d vowed to protect the earth and all its inhabitants against those who sought to enslave and dominate. The distinctive frosted glass ring on her hand not only declared to the world what she was, it served as a reminder of the promises she’d made and her responsibility to do whatever she needed to to safeguard the Blackstar and all who lived upon it.

  There was no way to step back from that.

  The question now remained...how did she balance those two lives?

  Kendrick’s breath brushed against her brow as he leaned closer. “What’s the matter?”

  She shook her head, not wanting to discuss it so openly until she’d had time to think. “Nothing. Just...thinking.”

  He studied her face, a slight frown darkening his eyes before he nodded, letting her have her space.

  “Ah, food! Alaine, you have a gift for timing!”

  Cason jumped to his feet with a happy grin and swiftly crossed the room as a petite woman carrying a heavily laden wooden tray entered the room, followed by a young man with a second one. Taking the tray, he brought it over and set it down on a low table in front of the fire.

  “You’re a flatterer, Cason” she remarked with a pleased glow and the others piped up, either agreeing with her or givin
g their own praise for her cooking. Allandra laughed, reminded happily of how much her fellow Guardians acted similarly to the Sentinels. Anytime a cook appeared with food, they became the most important part of any group.

  She caught the woman’s openly curious look and gave her a friendly smile. “I’m Allandra.”

  “Alaine. I’m head cook for the Pack. And this is my son, Christopher.”

  “It smells delicious and I imagine you were responsible for the trays that mysteriously appeared by Kendrick’s room. Thank you.”

  The other woman curtsied slightly, her eyes alight with pleased warmth. “It was my pleasure. We are so happy the Ascendant has found his mate. We should discuss soon what you’d like at the celebration.”

  Allandra blinked in surprise before glancing at Kendrick. “Oh. I hadn’t even thought about that, actually.”

  Though she’d never witnessed one, she knew that all matings had a celebratory gathering. They were private affairs where only the Pack attended. Given she’d just married the Ascendant, she imagined any celebration they held would be larger than normal, most likely with other Alpha’s attending.

  Kendrick just gave her a faint smile, reading the emotion flitting across her face before glancing at Alaine. “Perhaps later this week, Alaine?”

  “Of course. We won’t try to overwhelm you until you’ve settled in, but I should warn you that word has already spread. It won’t be long before we’ll get inquiries about when it will be held.”

  “You’ll have to forgive our eagerness, Allandra” Lachlan pipped up with an amused smile lighting his tanned face, “but we take matings very seriously around here. Each one is a gift and we tend to go all out when celebrating them.”

  She smiled back, liking the Healer’s kind eyes and sense of calm competence he projected. The healing Gift came with a difficult price-any serious injuries were absorbed into their body before being absorbed and dissipated, often causing extreme personal pain. She knew several people who shunned their Gift for that very reason while those who accepted it, learned to adjust and extend their power to its fullest extent. For that reason alone, Healers were often held in high esteem and were counted as fellow leaders in all races.