She shifted back at the same time Darius did, embarrassed to find out she could not clothe herself by magick as he could. Moonlight glinted his dark curls, and his blue eyes glowed in the darkness.
“That’s the punishment?” It wasn’t much. Sam wondered why they’d let her off so easily.
“We’re not done. Punishment in wolf form is more discipline, as we’d discipline our pups. We are much harder on adults who thwart my orders. The punishment must also be in Skin form,” Ryder said. “Darius, finish it. Ten lashes.”
Horror filled her. Darius was truly going to do this, hit her in front of the whole pack? Sam hugged herself and shook her head. “Don’t do this, Darius. Not like this, in front of everyone. Please.”
His mouth flattened and he jammed a hand through his thick hair. Darius looked at her, and then at Ryder.
“No,” he quietly said. “Wolf punishment is enough.”
Darius went to a nearby tree and gathered clothing. He thrust it at her. “Here, I figured you would need this.”
Sam quickly dressed, alarm filling her as she realized Ryder was quite angry.
“You promised to adhere to my rules, Darius. A blood oath. Not challenge my authority,” Ryder told him.
“And I promised myself I would never hurt Sam. I can’t keep my promise to myself and not break yours. So screw it. You have a problem with that?”
“Damnit, Darius.” The alpha advanced. “You will do as I say.”
Tension lay thick in the air. Low murmurs rippled through the pack as they waited, staring at Darius and Ryder facing each other.
“I brought Sam here to learn to defend herself as Lupine. Not punish her,” Darius told Ryder.
“You brought her here to learn pack rules and these are my rules. Do it.”
His shoulders stiffened. Darius glanced at her and his expression was filled with torment. He went to snap off a slender twig growing on a tree. As he touched the branch, he released a low curse. “No. I’m not doing it.”
“Then you will take her punishment and it’s going to hurt.” Ryder growled, and body slammed him against the tree.
Sam screamed as Ryder began beating Darius. Darius did not fight back, but took every punch Ryder slammed into his face. As she started toward them, needing to stop them, Kara pulled her back.
“Let them be,” the alpha’s mate told her quietly. “Ryder must do this or he’ll lose respect of his pack.”
“He’s going to kill him!”
“Darius is not going to die. He’s doing this for you, Sam, to spare you the punishment and the humiliation. Do you know what it takes a strong, proud alpha like Darius to humble himself like this?”
It was all her fault. A heavy weight settled on her chest. She’d caused this and Darius was suffering for her disobedience.
The other Lupines gathered close and growled. Fear knotted her stomach. These wolves could tear Darius apart. She imagined him lying on the ground, his throat a raw mess from the Lupines’ anger…a victim of their violence, all because of her actions.
She gave Kara a pleading look. The alpha’s mate called out to Ryder. “Stop it. Please.”
Ryder glanced up from punching Darius.
“Darius was only protecting his future mate, as you would do for me,” Kara told him.
The big male relaxed a little, and the thick tension eased in the air. The others nodded and murmured in agreement.
The alpha nodded and drew back. He held out a hand to Darius, helping him up. Sam gasped at his bruised and bleeding face. One eye was swollen shut and purpling.
He’d done this all to protect her, and had taken a far worse beating than she suspected she’d ever suffer.
The public display over, the pack began to drift away and discuss the hunting.
Sam looked at Darius. “He hurt you!”
Darius touched his mouth and winced. “He had to, because otherwise he would have lost respect among his pack. You may think our world is violent, Sam. It can be. But the rules exist for a reason. Ryder took it easy on me. He could have done far worse.”
Ryder slid an arm around Kara. “And the rules can be bent, when a loving mate intervenes.” The alpha’s expression turned soft. “I’d do anything for my lovely Kara.”
She understood and accepted why Ryder had issued punishment. Without discipline, the pack of Lupines could turn into a vicious, chaotic killing machine, putting other lives at risk. But oh, it hurt badly, knowing her actions could have cost Darius dearly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to him. “I never wanted you to get hurt.”
He sighed deeply. “I couldn’t hit you, Sam. But if you’re to survive, if something should happen to me, you must learn Lupine behavior and follow orders. When Ryder says stick with him, you stick with him.”
“I couldn’t help myself. The music of the Fairies called to me.”
Ryder looked at her. “What music?”
Darius looked at her, a question in his eyes. “I didn’t hear any music. I heard the call of pack. Nothing more.”
He winced again and touched his split lip.
“Stop talking, Darius. I’ll get something for that until you can heal.” Kara started away.
“It’s not necessary,” Sam told her. “This is my fault. I’ll make him better.”
Taking his hand, and placing her other hand gently on his injured face, she remembered the music of the fairies. She began to sing, each note mimicking the music of the Fae dancing on the wind currents in the hidden glade. The other Lupines drifted over to listen, sitting on the ground, their expressions awed. The notes twined around each other like a spider’s silk, soothing and peaceful. After a few minutes, she stopped. Shoulders slumped, she felt drained and exhausted.
Darius touched his now unmarked face. “You healed me.”
A lump rose in her throat. “Yes. Through song.”
Just as she’d healed the dead orchids in the forest long ago and healed Jon’s knee. Sudden knowledge filled her. She knew at last what she truly was.
“Lupines don’t heal through music. And Skins do not as well. Only one species does.” He looked at her, his gaze dark and troubled.
She drew in a deep breath. “Yes. Fae. I know what I am now. I’m not half Mage. I’m Elf.”
Chapter 16
Misery coiled in her stomach. The world of humans had kept her safe for years. She’d denied herself pack life and Lupine associations because it hurt too much and was far too dangerous with Maxim searching for her. Now she’d turned back to a Lupine life for protection.
Yet how could she remain among a pack with Elf blood all Lupines detested?
Ryder stared at her as if she were the enemy. Even Kara looked stunned. Anxiety tightened her stomach.
“You’re an Elf?” Ryder asked.
Knowing how he felt about the species, she backed away a few steps. Darius growled and shielded her with his body.
“Back off, Ryder.”
The alpha shook his head. “Shit, no wonder you have enemies.”
“I hate Elves,” one Lupine piped up. “Damn arrogant Elves, always looking down their noses at us.”
“I like Elves,” another murmured. “They can be quite tasty with salt and pepper.”
She sensed the gathering tension as the other Lupines studied her, their bodies tense. Sam cleared her throat. “Well, I’m only half Elf. Maybe you can just hate half of me.”
Murmurs rippled among the pack, most of them indicating what they’d like to do with her Elf half. And it was not good.
Finally Ryder bared his fangs at the pack. “Enough. Leave her be for now.”
For now. Sam’s heart raced. What about later?
“Take her back to the townhouse, Darius. You’ll stay with her tonight,” Ryder told him.
Darius clasped her hand and led her back to the townhouse. Once they were inside, he turned on all the lights, locked the doors and pulled down the shades.
Now she not only had someone after her who
wanted her dead, she had an entire wolf pack who thought Elves were on the same level as prey.
Sam felt more lost and alone than ever. At least she knew what she was, but didn’t know how to process that she was a half-blooded Elf, the Other hated most by Lupines. What a sucky day. Darius went into the kitchen and filled a glass with water from the tap.
“Darius.” She could barely speak past the thickness in her throat. She waited until he finished drinking. “Do you hate me?”
He startled. “What?”
“Because I’m not a pure Lupine, like you. Like Kara. Like the others. I’m a mutant.”
After setting down the glass, Darius shook his head. “Mutant? That’s for the movies and crazy kick-ass turtles. You’re my Sam.”
“Well, this sucks.”
At his raised eyebrows, she explained. “If I have to be Fae, can’t I be a kick-ass Elf? Who wants to be a wimpy Elf who sings and dances to music?”
He laughed and touched her nose with a fingertip. “You’re quite kick ass, in your own special way.”
They walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. Arm around her, Darius played with her hair. “Blonde hair. Should have suspected as much. Blonde Lupines are rare.”
“You don’t hate the fact that I’m half Elf?”
“Which half of you is Elf?” His grin was charming. Darius placed a hand over her right breast and her body tightened with sudden desire. “This half? I like this half, very much.”
He stroked a hand down her belly to the space between her legs. “And this half, I like very much as well. There’s something I’ve been dying to do, darling, ever since we were separated.”
Darius drew her into his arms and kissed her. It was such a warm, sweet kiss that her heart melted. When he broke it off, his eyes were filled with tenderness. “Elf or Lupine, you’re uniquely you, Sam. Always have been. That’s the Sam I love, the female who captured my heart years ago and refused to relinquish it.”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again, needing him as her anchor in a stormy, crazed sea of confusion. So much turbulence lately, but Darius remained a rock.
A hard knock at the front door drew them apart. Darius scowled. “Stay here. If that’s one of Ryder’s pack members, thinking to have you for dinner, I’ll take care of it.”
But when Darius returned to the living room, Ryder was with him. The big alpha looked upset.
“May I sit?” he asked quietly.
Sam moved over on the sofa, wondering what he wanted. Maybe he’d throw her out of the pack after all.
“We went to tuck our children into bed for the night and told them you’re half Elf. Jon was all excited. He said that’s why you could heal his knee. He said you sang to his…” The alpha stopped and gave an indulgent smile. “His boo-boo. Just like you did with Darius. You have a gift, Sam.”
“An Elven gift.” Darius sat beside her, his arm secure around her shoulders, his manner wary. “And?”
“Kara mentioned how wonderful such a gift is, and how the pack should be grateful you’re among us. And then she…” Ryder’s expression tightened. “It was just a small whisper. I barely caught it. She wished your gift could heal her face.”
Sam felt her eyes widen. “Her burn scar?”
“Alastair, her father, burned her when she was much younger. He was insane, and well, to make a long story bearable, he put salt on the injury so it would not heal and no male, especially me, would fall in love with her.”
“But you did.” She suddenly understood as he looked stricken.
“The scar doesn’t bother me. The kids, they don’t care. The pack loves her as she is. But in the Skin world…” Ryder swallowed hard. “We’re sending Jon to special classes so he can learn to read. It’s an individualized program where parents assist the students with their reading. Last week it was Kara’s first turn to help with the tutoring. The other mothers, they stared at her and whispered. And then the children whispered about her face.”
“Damn,” Darius said softly. “Stupid Skins.”
Ryder looked broken. “Jon told me what happened. Kara never said a word. But later that night, I heard her crying in the bathroom. It killed me inside. I’d give anything to make her feel better. Could you try to heal her?”
“Sam? It sounds like a huge complication. Are you okay with this?” Darius told her.
She glanced from one male to the other. “What good is having a gift if I can’t use it to help someone? I don’t know anything about being Elf. All I know is I can heal.” She took a deep breath. “I’d like to try, but I don’t want to disappoint Kara if this doesn’t work. I still don’t know how it works.”
“Maybe you don’t need to know how it works. Some magick, like Lupines learning to shift, comes naturally,” Darius told her.
Sam considered. “All right. Let’s do it. But at your townhouse, Ryder, not here. I need Kara to be in a place where she feels comfortable.”
They walked over to Ryder’s townhouse. Inside, Kara sat by the fireplace, staring into the flames. She looked so wistful, Sam’s heart twisted. She remembered the early days when she’d first left Maxim’s pack and felt like an oddball and an outcast.
Now I have to try, because if I can help her, it will make her hurt less.
Kara looked up, her expression partly fearful, partly hopeful. “Ryder talked to you. I told him not to.”
The alpha sat beside his mate and took her hand. “You should know by now I have a hearing problem when your welfare is concerned, sweetheart.”
“Where are the children?” Darius asked softly. “It’s best if they’re not here, distracting Sam.”
“They’re over at Marcus’ house for the night. His mate had a sleepover for all the young because we ran tonight.” Kara’s mouth trembled. “Can you really do this for me?”
“I can’t make promises. All I can do is try. I don’t know if I can heal scar tissue. Will you allow me to try?”
Kara nodded.
Looking around the living room, she considered options. The room had a natural, outdoorsy feel to it. But it wasn’t enough. Maybe being close to nature would help.
“Do you have a garden?”
Ryder looked confused. “A small one, but all the flowers are half dead. No one’s been around to water them and it’s been dry.”
“Doesn’t matter. Take me there.”
The garden was adjacent to the porch, overlooking the river. Clumps of mostly dead flowers were clustered together near young trees and bushes. There was a small pond with water spilling over rocks and a bench overlooking the pond. As Ryder and Darius hovered near the pond, Sam sat on the bench. Kara joined her. Moonlight spilled over the Lupine’s face, showing her frank apprehension.
Sam removed her shoes and placed her bare feet on the ground.
“What do you need from me?” Kara asked.
“Maybe if you close your eyes and relax, and think of something you enjoy, it will help.”
She waited until Kara closed her eyes. A soft smile touched her mouth. Sam placed one hand on Kara’s scarred cheek and with her other hand, touched Kara’s hand.
She thought of Kara’s burn mark and how it made her sad, and how the Lupine had helped her. She thought of the pack and their loyalty for Kara and Ryder.
And then she thought of the Fairies with their lovely dance of light and life in the forest. Sam began to sing, pulling deep from inside her, the notes blending and melding together. The music swelled inside her like magick, and she felt an infusion of raw, powerful energy. She felt connected, a tiny part of something greater than herself, like a small, but important thread weaving together a beautiful tapestry.
She sang harder, imagining Kara’s face whole and healed, all her past pain vanished like winter snow beneath the strong spring sunlight. She envisioned Kara in Skin form, walking proudly among others, her head held high.
She sang until the glow inside her faded and died. Exhausted, she shrank against the bench and rel
eased Kara.
Darius rushed over. “Sam, you okay?”
“Fine. Just a little tired.”
A little? Exhausted more like it. But it was worth it. She didn’t need to look at Kara. Instinctively, she knew what had happened.
Kara opened her eyes and touched her face. She ran inside to the living room and the gilded mirror hanging on the wall. The rest of them followed.
Smooth skin had replaced the ugly, red burned flesh. Wonder filled the Lupine’s eyes as she turned from the mirror. “Ryder! Look at me! I’m beautiful!”
Sam’s chest tightened as she looked at Ryder. Tears swam in his blue eyes. “You always were to me, sweetheart. Always.”
He went to his mate and kissed her.
Darius squeezed her hand. “You are amazing.”
When Ryder and Kara broke apart, the alpha regarded her with a steady look. “Thank you. There aren’t sufficient words for my gratitude, but whatever you need from me, anything, it is yours. I give you my loyalty, always.”
Darius gave him a critical look. “Anything?”
“I give you my word of honor,” Ryder told him.
“Good. Then call off the dogs in your pack who don’t like Sam because she’s half-Elf. We need everyone unified on protecting her.”
“You’re right. Whoever is after Sam will find out where she’s hiding now.”
“How?” Kara looked worried.
“That music in the forest,” Ryder explained. “Fairies, especially Sprites, communicate through music. It’s like a pipeline and Fairies love to gossip. If they saw you, Sam, chances are the entire northeast coast knows where you are now.”
Her stomach squeezed tight. “I should leave.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Ryder declared. “I’m giving orders for everyone to watch your six.”
“That will help, but how can they watch her all the time? She needs power. Healing me drained her.” Kara looked upset.
“She’s right,” Sam admitted. “I’m exhausted.”
“We can do a power infusion. Ancient ritual, calling for the blood of an alpha to protect a weaker pack member. Two alphas would be better. Your blood and mine.” Ryder exchanged glances with Darius.
The Mating Rite (Big, Beautiful Werewolf) (Werewolves of Montana) Page 23