Warlords, Witches and Wolves: A Fantasy Realms Anthology

by Michelle Diener

  ‘No. You’re wrong. There’s no vision. I’ve not had one for a month.’

  He’d been holding onto the horror of this vision for a month? Something flickered in his eyes—even though there was only the moonlight, she could see it. ‘But I can see the shadows of it. It’s making your life miserable.’

  ‘No. No, it’s not. I fixed it. It won’t happen anymore. It’s done.’

  ‘What’s done? What did you see?’

  He firmed his lips, shook his head and knocked her hand away. ‘Whatever I saw, it’s nothing to do with you.’ Then he disappeared again leaving her gaping at empty space, his words winding around in her mind.

  He was lying. She felt it in her soul. Her wolf was howling with the knowledge of it. Not only was he lying, but she knew suddenly without a doubt that he’d had a vision and whatever it was, it was about her.

  But why would he care about what happened to her?

  Her wolf whimpered and she wrapped her hands around her middle, suddenly chilled. Paul was gone and the horrifying sense of loss had retreated with him.

  Except, it hadn’t completely gone. An echo of it remained inside her.

  An echo that didn’t belong to Paul.

  No.

  That echo of grief was hers.

  Over the next week, Ivy began to notice that Paul was avoiding her. More than was usual.

  He didn’t come with Iris for the weekly dinner at her home—usually he and Stellan delighted in teasing her and giving her shit, even though she was a wolf-grown. He didn’t turn up at the pack meeting to discuss the vineyard and the farm and what to do with the milk from the dairy cows they’d bought last year. He didn’t even turn up at the lessons she and the other maternal wolves took with Abby, Iris and him to learn more about the healing they could do as maternal wolves.

  Nobody else commented on his absence though, so she could hardly ask. But it wasn’t difficult to put two and two together.

  He was avoiding her and it was because she’d pushed him and forced him into lying.

  Lying about something to do with her. Something horrible.

  She still couldn’t get her head around him caring so deeply that it would make him feel so sad, so much pain. Or the fact that she seemed to be the only one who’d noticed anything was wrong. It made no sense.

  She wished she could ask someone about it, but if she did that, then they’d go ask him and he’d deny it and then she’d look like the fool.

  She needed more proof that he was lying. That he was holding something back from them.

  Perhaps she should leave it alone. Was it really her job to find out what was wrong? He called her Poison Ivy and treated her horribly most of her life. She argued with herself about it over a few days, but each time the waves of grief hit her—which they were doing more and more—her argument fell apart and eventually, she gave in to the need to find a way to help. Besides, she had a feeling that the man she’d seen the night of Siobhan’s mating ceremony, the one filled with so much grief and despair, was different from the Paul who’d been so awful to her—and not only because of the turmoil of emotions emanating from him. It was something else. Something deeper. Something that echoed inside her. And she could not let that go.

  The next morning after this final resolution, she pulled herself out of bed—it was harder than it should have been, her energy levels still low—and during breakfast, asked Stellan what his plans were for the day. He was only on guard duty for Paul for the latter part of the day, but he did let slip that he was heading to the hot springs to meet up with Paul and a few other pack mates. Apparently, the witch from the McClune Pack was driving down from her King Lake compound to spend a couple of days here with a few friends and they thought going to the hot springs would be a good activity to do together.

  ‘That’s great. I’m glad they’re getting to know each other.’ She kept her smile in place even though that aching inside her throbbed, making her want to cry.

  ‘Yeah. Although Paul doesn’t seem to be as in to it as he was a week ago.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah. I don’t blame him, though. It must be super hard to have to deal with an arranged marriage.’

  ‘Paul knows the pack would not expect him to accept someone he didn’t like,’ Callum McVale said as he sipped his coffee.

  ‘He wants to do his duty, Dad,’ Stellan said, piling more strawberry jam than was necessary—or healthy—on his toast. ‘He knows how important it is for him to have children who follow in his footsteps and continue the Collins line. And we all know the best way of ensuring that is for him to handfast with a witch.’

  ‘But Paul’s happiness is important too. I hope he knows that.’

  Stellan shrugged. ‘I suppose so. We haven’t really discussed it.’

  ‘Perhaps you should,’ Callum said, eyebrows lowered. ‘That’s what a true friend would do.’

  Stellan’s brows creased, his jaw squaring. ‘I am a true friend.’

  ‘Are you? Sometimes I think you and those other two reprobates we bound to him as guardians, don’t take your role seriously. Paul is under a great deal of pressure. He needs friends more than guardians now. You are bonded to him. You should be there for him more than any others.’

  ‘He’s not talking at the moment, Dad.’

  ‘Well you and Jackson and Luke need to find a way to make him talk. I can’t say he seemed very happy at the mating celebration. He didn’t dance or participate as he usually would. Not to mention he hasn’t been participating in pack life.’

  So, she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed Paul wasn’t acting normally. Although, she didn’t think her father had noticed the depth of change that she had. But this was fascinating and went a long way towards backing up her determination to get to the bottom of it. For the health of the pack of course. She still couldn’t stand Paul for himself.

  As their father continued to lecture Stellan about his obligations as friend and guardian to their lone Pack Warlock, Ivy ate her breakfast and pretended not to listen, flipping through the newspaper.

  ‘I get it, Dad. We’ll try harder.’

  ‘See that you do.’ Callum swallowed down the last of his coffee and stood. ‘I better get going. David is keen to create the new pinot, so if your mother asks when she gets back from helping Abby,’ he said, looking at Ivy, ‘Tell her I’ll be gone all day.’

  Ivy nodded. ‘I’ll leave her a note.’

  Her father raised his brows. ‘You’re going out?’

  She glanced at Stellan. ‘I was kind of hoping to go to the springs with Stellan.’ She rubbed her arms and rolled her shoulders. ‘I’m feeling a bit achy and could do with a soak.’

  Stellan’s spoon hovered halfway to his mouth as his attention snapped to her, worry lining his face.

  ‘Are you unwell?’ Her father rounded the table to put his hand on her forehead.

  Shit, she hadn’t thought about their worry—she’d been too busy hatching her plan to get close to Paul and watch him. ‘I’m fine,’ she said, taking her father’s hand in hers. ‘I just sat at my desk too long yesterday trying to catch up with study. Don’t be a worry-wart.’

  Callum smiled wryly. ‘That’s my job, darling girl.’ He bent and kissed her forehead. ‘If you feel tired, remember to rest, okay? We don’t want you overdoing things.’

  ‘I won’t.’

  He pointed at Stellan. ‘Help your sister clean up the dishes.’

  ‘Of course,’ Stellan said.

  Chapter 7

  When their father had gone, Stellan angled her a look. ‘You weren’t bullshitting him, were you? You do look a bit pale.’

  ‘Too much inside and not enough outside,’ she said, waving her hand. ‘Can I come with you today? A long hot soak sounds like heaven.’ It did actually. She really was aching.

  ‘Of course you can come if you’re up to it. Do you need a massage now?’

  She shook her head, hiding her smile. Since her illness, Stellan had been super nice a
nd solicitous all the time—the big idiot did love her. ‘Do you mind if I ask Siobhan and Chloe along as well?’ Her friend would help her watch Paul and tell her if she thought he was acting strangely. Also, Chloe, being the Pack Librarian, was really good at finding out gossip. She would undoubtedly know some gossip Ivy hadn’t heard while being laid-up.

  ‘If you can get them out of their cottage, sure.’

  He winked at her and she winked back. Then together they cleaned up the breakfast dishes and made plans to meet up in an hour down by the garage. The wolves could have run to the private hot springs that were on a nearby piece of land the pack had recently purchased, but Paul and the members from the McClune Coven wouldn’t make the hike easily, so they would use a couple of the 4WDs to get there.

  Ivy changed into bathers and grabbed a towel, then headed off to ask Siobhan and Chloe to come with her and word them up about watching Paul. She wouldn’t tell them exactly why she was worried—her dad’s concern had given her a legitimate reason to have them spy with her.

  It took a lot of banging on Siobhan and Chloe’s front door to get them to open up, but when they heard a trip to the hot springs was in the offing, they both agreed to come and raced around to get changed into bathers, throw on flowing matching kaftans—when had her friend had time to get all matchy-matchy with her mate?—and grab towels. As they walked to the garage, she filled them in on the conversation between Stellan and her dad. ‘Have you heard anything?’

  Siobhan looked at her askance. ‘You’re concerned about Paul? Since when did this happen?’

  Ivy shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. ‘Just because he’s an arsehole much of the time doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about him. He’s pack. He’s ours to look after. Also, he’s the last of the Collins line.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Chloe said. ‘We all know what happens to a pack that doesn’t look after its coven.’

  Ivy leaned into Siobhan and whispered, ‘Morghanna Cantrae’s Curse.’

  Siobhan shuddered dramatically and they both snickered.

  Chloe frowned at her. ‘It’s not something to laugh over.’

  Siobhan, instantly contrite, wrapped her arm around her mate’s shoulder and kissed her cheek. ‘I’m sorry, Chlo. We know how serious it is, but it doesn’t help to be doom and gloom about it, does it?’

  Chloe dipped her head. ‘No. But you shouldn’t make fun of the Curse either. It destroyed the entire McCrae pack five-hundred years ago. And if something happens to Paul before he can have offspring, we could trigger the Curse to enact on all the McVales.’ She glanced over at Ivy. ‘If there is something making Paul unhappy, it is our job to find out what and do something about it. It’s good of you to want to help him, even though you don’t get along,’ she said to Ivy. ‘And you can count on me. I will help you.’

  ‘So will I,’ Siobhan said, slinging her other arm over Ivy’s shoulder. ‘So, what’s the plan of attack?’

  Ivy shook her head. ‘Just watch for now and listen to anything he does or says, or anything others say.’

  ‘And if we hear anything that’s worrying, we’ll report it to Iris,’ Chloe said.

  ‘Sure,’ Ivy said, even though, at this point, she’d rather Iris not be told because then Iris would want to interview her and she wasn’t sure she could keep from their coven’s leader the strange feeling Paul created within her—as if they were connected in some way.

  Paul wasn’t at the garage when they got there. Stellan was though, leaning against a wall and chatting with the three witches and one warlock who were standing beside a McClune Wineries 4WD.

  ‘Hey, sis. Have you met Mariella?’

  ‘No, I haven’t. Hi, I’m Ivy.’ The lovely diminutive witch who was set to marry Paul was like a pixie, all big eyes and heart-shaped face and wild-curling strawberry blonde hair, her dress swaying around her legs with every balletic movement as she moved forward, hand outstretched. Ivy felt suddenly big and clumsy.

  Her wolf growled inside her as she shook hands with the witch. Mariella frowned—hell, had she heard that? Claws pricked under her skin and she snatched her hand away before she could hurt the witch with them. ‘This is Siobhan and Chloe.’ She gestured quickly at her friends.

  Mariella greeted them. ‘You had your mating ceremony last week I hear? Congratulations. May your love be eternal.’

  Siobhan and Chloe each returned the traditional greeting of, ‘And may you find your eternal love,’ touching brow, lip and heart.

  Mariella introduced her friends, Joseline, Frankie and Tony, and as they offered their congratulations to Siobhan and Chloe, Ivy took a moment to subdue the bitter sensation in her chest while watching Mariella closely. She had power—it rippled out from her, making Ivy’s wolf hum inside and itch to get out—but she wasn’t brash with it. In fact, if anything, she seemed kind of shy.

  Siobhan—Goddess love her—punched Stellan in the arm and said, ‘Hey, Drooler.’

  Stellan rolled his eyes as the McClune visitors all smirked and Mariella asked, ‘Drooler?’

  He glared at Siobhan. ‘Thanks, Ghoul.’

  She grinned up at him. ‘My pleasure. Always keen to warn others of your drooling problem.’

  ‘I do not have a drooling problem.’

  ‘Oh yeah. Steph says otherwise.’

  He lifted his hands and made a squeezing motion with them as the McClune visitors snickered. ‘You’ll get yours,’ he snarled.

  Siobhan jumped behind Chloe and shook in mock fear, ‘Oh no! Drooler’s coming after me. Help, Chlo. Help.’

  Ivy shook her head at them as the others laughed. ‘Idiots.’

  ‘I thought you’d grown out of baiting each other,’ Chloe said, still chuckling.

  ‘Never,’ Stellan said.

  ‘Too much fun.’ Siobhan stopped cowering and slung her arm over Chloe’s shoulder. She glanced around. ‘Where’s Paul and the others? I thought they were coming.’

  Stellan dropped his hands and said, ‘Paul’s gone with Luke and Jackson to set up and do a temperature check of the different springs.’

  ‘Why do they need to do that?’ Frankie—a tall, dark-haired witch with startlingly blue eyes—asked.

  He smiled down at her, his smile gentle—since when did her brother smile like that?

  ‘The springs are all different temperatures and the temps can go up and down,’ he explained gently.

  ‘Is it dangerous?’ Joseline asked, gripping Tony’s arm.

  ‘No. You won’t get boiled or freeze,’ Stellan assured her. ‘But you just don’t want to sit in one that’s too hot for too long, so we do regular checks before we go in.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’

  ‘It sounds marvellous,’ Mariella said. ‘Should we get going?’

  ‘I was just waiting for the baskets of food to get here—and here they are,’ he said as Charlie and Max ran into the garage, holding two large picnic baskets, one each, and lugging a big esky between them.

  Ivy went to grab a basket from Max to put it into the boot of the 4WD, but Stellan whisked it out of her hand. She would have snapped at him that she was capable of carrying a heavy basket a few paces to the car, but the big idiot was worried about her, so she just let it be and hopped into the 4WD with Chloe and Siobhan.

  A few moments later, with Stellan in the McClune 4WD and Charlie and Max in theirs, they set off to the hot springs.

  As they drove closer, Ivy’s nerves sparked through her and she found it harder and harder to concentrate on the conversation going on around her. She plastered a smile to her face and tried to ignore the feeling growing inside her: dread.

  But why dread?

  Was it because she was afraid to find out what was wrong with Paul? She didn’t think that was it. Her determination on that front hadn’t wavered. Was she afraid to see Paul after that moment on the hill with him? She didn’t think so. Nothing had happened. It wasn’t like he’d seen into her soul or anything.

  But as they drove closer to the springs, she struggl
ed against leaping out and running as far away from the springs as she possibly could get.

  Which made no sense at all. She was someone who faced things, especially when she’d made a determination to do so.

  So why was the idea of seeing Paul now filling her with such dread?

  It wasn’t until they got to the springs and she tumbled out of the car that she realised that like the feeling of pain and grief she’d felt on the night of the mating ceremony, the feeling of dread wasn’t hers.

  As Paul came up to the cars to greet Mariella, the sense of dread deepened. He greeted her, smiling all the while, kissing the petite witch’s cheek and helping her out of the car.

  Ivy’s wolf whimpered and a stab of something nasty and bitter drove through her.

  Paul’s head whipped up. His gaze met Ivy’s.

  For a brief moment, the overwhelming sense of dread was replaced by a piercing joy that made Ivy clutch at her chest, a little sound escaping her lips.

  ‘Are you okay, Ivs?’ Siobhan asked, her arm going around Ivy’s shoulders as if to steady her.

  ‘Fine,’ she managed to get out as she returned Paul’s gaze, unable to break it.

  Mariella touched Paul’s arm, drawing his attention back to her and the moment was broken.

  She looked around. Had anyone else noticed? But everyone else was chatting and laughing as they headed up to the cabin that housed the change rooms. The only person who seemed the least concerned was Siobhan—and her concern was aimed at Ivy.

  ‘I’m fine. I promise.’ Siobhan’s frown deepened into a ‘don’t shit me’ look. ‘The bumpy ride here just made me feel a little car sick, that’s all,’ Ivy lied. ‘I just need some air.’ She gestured up the hill where Paul and Mariella were almost at the cabin. ‘Come on. We can’t find out anything down here.’

  Siobhan nodded, but kept her arm around Ivy as they went up the hill—bloody protective soldier. She really did love her friend, but she was being ridiculous. There was nothing to worry about. Whatever had made her sick had gone and she was fine. Just needed to build up her strength again, that was all.