by Fawn Atondo
During Alex’s conversation with the Wiccan Elder, Luria had moved farther off. She was now standing on the other side of the large bonfire, her long red hair dancing in the firelight. Alex felt sure he had hurt her with his words earlier, but he had not intended to.
“She means to have you, Vampire,” the Elder whispered in his ear.
Alex was taken aback by the blunt statement.
“I can’t see how that could be true,” Alex snorted.
“You feel it. She wants you, but you already belong to someone else, this does not leave you free to be hers.”
“I wouldn’t wish to be hers, even if I were free!” Alex snapped.
And it was true; he had no wish to have the Binder girl. She was lovely enough – stunning even – but she was not for him. She did not make him want to break all the laws to have her. Only one woman did that, but she was out of his reach.
“Maybe you should tell her this before she stakes her claim on you?” the Elder suggested as Luria began to approach them.
“Um…” was all Alex said as Luria, dancing to the heavy beat of the drums, made her way to him.
“Alex!” she smiled.
Her face was flushed and it was clear that she had been drinking some of the wine which seemed to be in endless supply tonight.
“Luria, you’ve been drinking,” Alex pointed out.
She blushed a little pinker, then shrugged off his words as though they did not matter.
“Maybe I have, but even a Binder needs to have some fun once in a while, Alex. I mean Vampire. Sorry I’ve forgotten what you wish me to call you!” she said with an airy laugh.
“Come Luria, I wish to speak with you. Alone!” Alex dragged her away from the fire.
In the darkness she became bold. She grabbed him where no lady should grab a man who wasn’t hers. Alex let out a grunt.
“Luria!” he protested loudly, pulling her hand away. “You can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can. I’m a big girl, Alex. I want you and I know you find me pretty.”
“True, I do think you’re pretty but...”
Alex did not get to finish his statement because she pressed her lips to his in such a way that he was shocked into a stupor. As she moved her mouth over his, her hands locked in his hair. She was trying to shove him into the trees as she kissed him. Suddenly he bumped into something that was soft and most definitely not a tree. He came to his senses at once and pushed her away.
“Stop, Luria, we’re not alone!” he snapped at her, wiping at his mouth. He saw the hooded look in her eyes as she stared at whoever he had bumped into.
“Oh my! Forgive us, Your Ladyship,” Luria gasped.
Her words made Alex turn to look behind them. He could not make out a face but he did not miss the shapely body in green, her face hidden in the dark of her hood.
“No, I’m sorry, I was looking for...”
Her words stopped as she looked up at him. Alex was stunned. He could not gather his wits to say anything as he saw the face in the shadows of the hood before she threw it back and stepped into the moonlight.
“Falyn!” Alex roared so loud Luria covered her ears, looking between the two of them.
Falyn stood still. Her dark eyes drew into slits. She now realized what had been happening when they bumped into her, and Alex knew she was not happy about it.
“Alex,” she whispered as she looked at him.
He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, but could not bring himself to even touch her. He was frozen by his shock of seeing her here!
“Why are you here?” she asked him, the pain showing in her eyes but only for a second.
“I’m on a quest, for you.” he told her. Surely she knew that?
“Funny, me too.” She forced a smile.
She regarded Luria for a moment.
“Who is your friend, Alex?” she asked, with a lifted eyebrow.
“Luria, and she is not that kind of friend!” he said hotly.
Luria looked away, hurt once more clear in her eyes.
Damn it! Alex didn’t have time to deal with Luria and her misbegotten feelings.
“Seems like your type of friend to me, Alex,” Falyn hissed.
“Falyn, I...”
“Don’t, Alex. I’ve been walking for days. I need to see the Wiccans quickly about something. I couldn’t care less what you do!” she spat at him before pushing past.
Alex was about to chase after her when a tall man stepped out of the trees. He followed behind Falyn with a funny grin on his face, as though he enjoyed the fact she’d given Alex the brush off.
“And who is your bloody friend?!” Alex shouted after Falyn.
Alex furiously whipped round to tell Luria not to ever kiss him like that again, but she too had slipped away. Well, just bloody great! Now he was the ass in the minds of two lovely woman. However, there was only one of them he wanted to make it up to; the other he hoped to stay the hell away from!
Alex muttered a good few curses before he stumped back into the firelight. He came to a halt as he saw the Wiccans all bowing down in front of no other than… Falyn. Her blonde hair was in a long braid down her back. The green gown she wore made her look like a princess, and even before the Elder could utter the words out loud, Alex knew who the Druid Princess was: who The One was. For the second time in his life, the girl he was searching for was Falyn!
“Welcome, Princess!” the Elder said with a deep bow.
“Please, you don’t need to do that,” Falyn whispered, clearly embarrassed by the show of devotion from these strangers.
“Do not be so modest, Princess. We have waited a long time for you.”
Falyn looked astonished at this statement but she did not say anything.
“Soon you will have your powers and you will know who you are, but first you must drink from the well.” The Elder handed her a silver cup.
“How will this help me?” Falyn asked.
“When the Moon is at her peak, you must stand up there on those stones and the Moon Goddess will give you the answer you seek. She will make you whole.”
Falyn seemed to be looking for someone in the group for a moment. Alex wondered if maybe it was him, but when he saw it was the man who had followed her out of the woods, he wasn’t pleased. The man nodded to her, as if it was okay for her to go. As if she needed him to tell her it was!
Alex was holding back the urge to rush to her and shake her, to ask why she was here, to ask how long she’d known she was The One. He’d been looking for The One to find help for her, and she was The One all along! All he wanted to do now was talk to her but he could not, because even as he stood there, watching, she was led to the stones.
The moon was slowly moving across the sky. Soon it would shine its light down on the clearing and on Falyn, and she would become the most highly sought treasure in both worlds. And Alex had just vowed to follow her. Now he understood why the Elder had told him what he had, but Alex did not feel any remorse at his promise to follow her.
He had come to this world to find a cure for Falyn and now it seemed these Witches were going to help her fulfil her destiny. They removed a silver bracelet from her wrist, tossing it aside as the elder went on about how the Moon Goddess would make her whole. The Elder vowed she would have control over all her powers once she drank from the cup and stood in the light of the moon. Alex felt her fear and he was about to jump up there with her when the taste of her hope hit him.
Chapter Thirteen: Follow Me
Falyn was desperately trying to hide the fear she was feeling. She was standing on a large white stone in the middle of a forest with a group of people in white calling to her in a chant. The moonlight was inches from touching her and all this was to change her into herself… The One? Who wouldn’t feel worried?
She swallowed hard as she looked at the faces below her. Her pulse jumped wildly, so she took a deep breath as the moonlight hit her face. She felt the sting o
f it on her skin.
Just like when she changed to and from a wolf, the pain rolled over her. However, she had trained herself to let it run through her and it did. She knew at what moment she was standing on the stone as a huge wolf because of the look of awe on the people’s faces – and the one of shock on Lark’s was clear.
Then, with the snap of her bones, she was standing there, once more human, and in her heart she felt the clearest form of love and power she had ever known. She could sense all the Druids before her, understand nature around her, and the knowledge of the runes of her mother’s people became clear to her. She immediately knew all the secrets of the Druids. She vowed then, silently, to uphold them for those in her following – the ones kissed with light.
As the moonlight moved away from her, she looked around. On the palm of her hand was the symbol of a flower; it was an orchid of some kind. It was a rune marked on her skin. It showed she was the Chosen One. She had been touched by the light now, in a similar way to how, as a Lycan, she had been touched by the darkness of its shadow.
Falyn was Light who had previously been Darkness. This gave her the wisdom to lead the Children of the Moon. She would teach them to see they must become one nation and not be torn apart by how much of the moon ran in their bloods – whether they were pure blood Lycan, Bitten, half-bloods. It didn’t matter! They needed to unite.
Suddenly Falyn shook her head, trying to clear it. Something else, something new was happening to her now and it was terrifying. However, as quickly as it came, the sensation went again, and she couldn’t remember why it had frightened her.
Falyn saw Alex making his way toward her. She was a little shocked to discover she still felt angry with him. How dare he kiss another when he was hers? Hadn’t he come here to search for a way to cure her? Not to make out with some woman! She would forever be his, but she was not fool enough to think she could force him into caring for her. If he had moved on, then what could she do? Even if she was powerful enough to overthrow the Lycan laws about mating outside your bloodline, it would mean nothing if he wanted someone else.
“Falyn, are you ok?” Alex asked, his voice full of worry.
“Yes, Alex I’m more than ok. I now know who I am,” she assured him with a smile.
Alex let out a laugh. She could tell he was glad that she wasn’t harmed, but he was still wary. She was not sure why, but she could sense just how he was feeling and it was more than her wolf abilities allowing her to do so.
“You’re sure?” Alex asked her again.
Something in the back of her head screamed, “No, I’m not!” Falyn barely had time to be startled by it before it was gone.
“I’m sure, now let’s give it a rest!” she snapped.
“Forgive me for being worried, but for heaven’s sake, Falyn, nothing in this place seems right!” Alex’s voice was hard as he gave her a sharp glare.
“Worried about me? Ha! You just had your lips locked with some other girl’s!” she fumed.
Alex looked ready to kill someone, but before he could snarl anything back, Lark came to join them.
“Lark!” she smiled.
“Princess… or is it Lady Wolf?” he asked with a low bow.
“Don’t be silly, no need for such formalities. I’m still Falyn.”
“In that case…” He grinned, and before she could catch his meaning, he pulled her in for a kiss. She could have stopped it, but she knew Alex was watching and she was not above giving him a taste of his own medicine.
“Don’t do that again!” she warned Lark when he finally broke away.
“Of course,” Lark mumbled, a small blush on his cheeks.
“Because if you do, I will rip your heart out!” Alex growled from the sidelines.
Lark laughed, shaking his head.
“I will not touch her unless she asks me to, so calm down,” Lark told Alex as he moved away into the throng of people dancing around the fire.
“I can handle myself, Alex, thank you,” Falyn warned him.
“I’m sure you can, but I don’t like other men kissing you,” Alex stated.
Falyn looked pointedly at Luria and her meaning was not lost on him.
“I didn’t kiss her, she damn well attacked me!” he snapped.
Falyn sensed the truth of his words, and her lips almost gave way to a smile. But she was not ready to let him off the hook yet.
“Don’t worry, Alex. I won’t make you follow me. If you want to be your own man, then go ahead.” She waved her hands toward the fire.
Alex narrowed his eyes before his hands went to the buttons at his shirt. Falyn watched in bemusement as he pulled the shirt off his shoulders. On one shoulder blade were three dark half circles.
“Do you know what this is?” Alex asked.
“No,” she answered.
“It’s your mark. A claim on me as your mate.”
“What!” Her voice cracked.
Alex pulled his shirt back up and re-buttoned it. He glanced around, as if checking to see no one was watching them.
“You heard me! It means you want me, Falyn, so don’t stand there and act like you don’t care! You’ve all but marked me for death if your bloody Court ever learns about ‘us’,” he frowned.
Falyn didn’t know what to say for a moment. She had no idea she could mark someone as a soul mate!
“I’m not planning on telling the Court about us or what we did,” Falyn told him.
“The Court isn’t going to be in the dark about you forever. The mystics already know about you, your father and God knows who else. It’s not ‘if’ but ‘when’ they come seeking you, they will know about us because I’m not the only one marked!” Alex informed her.
“I have the mark too?” Falyn whispered.
Alex spun her around and pulled aside the fabric on her shoulder. His fingers tracing three perfectly shaped half circles on her shoulder blade.
“Yep,” Alex confirmed, his hands still on her shoulders.
Falyn turned to face him once more, her eyes meeting his. If she bore the mark too, then anyone else who saw the marks would know they had been together.
“You won’t have to tell them about me, they will know. If what I was once told by a friend is true, and I believe it is, they can seek out the truth from anyone. The Lycan like their rules, Falyn, and since you’re one of them, even if only half, you can’t think they won’t hold you to their laws,” Alex told her.
“I outrank even the Court. With me being the last of the Druids of Light, Alex, part of my line gets it powers from the sun. I don’t have to follow their rules!” Falyn’s voice was hard
“You’re meant to bring the races together, Falyn. You can’t expect them to follow you if go around throwing the fact in their faces that you broke the Lycan law and mated outside your bloodline. And with a vampire at that! We may not be at war, but no good blood flows between our kinds,” Alex reminded her.
Panic was growing in her stomach at what Alex said. It was indeed her duty to unite the races, not give them more reason to fight and stand apart.
The girl who had been lip-locked with Alex approached them now. She seemed a little wary.
“Alex, I need to talk to you.” A slight color rushed to her face.
Alex looked less than thrilled to be alone with Luria. Falyn decided to put the girl in her place. Even before she said the words, Falyn knew it was a bad idea but she could not help herself. It was as if she was being control by someone else.
Falyn stepped in front of Luria. She was a little taller and the girl had to look up to meet her stare.
“See this?” Falyn turned slightly showing Luria the mark on her shoulder.
“Falyn!” Alex hissed in her ear.
Falyn did not pay him any mind. She turned to him next and tugged his shirt down enough to show the girl the same mark on his shoulder.
“This means we belong to each other, so back off!” Falyn made sure her voice w
as hard and let the glow in her eyes show.
The poor girl nearly tripped over her own feet in a hurry to get away from Falyn. Once she disappeared again, Falyn turned to face Alex.
“Don’t give me that look! If she truly was after you then you should be thanking me!” Falyn spat out.
“Thank you,” he said tightly. “But that wasn’t wise.”
Alex took a deep breath. He looked troubled, and that hurt her more than it should, not knowing what was bugging him.
“Falyn, I’m not sure how this is going to work out,” Alex whispered, reaching out to touch her hand.
Her breath stopped for a moment. He was not sure how it was going to work? Falyn’s mind repeated to her. Well, forget him then! I nearly lost everything and now he cares about the laws? Falyn snapped inside but she kept herself together on the outside.
“Stop right there, Alex, I don’t... No, I can’t bear you telling me that you can’t stay. We have more important matters to deal with than our own little issues, don’t you agree?”
“That’s not what I meant...”
She did not let him finish.
“No, Alex not now!” she warned him, before turning away to go and find the Elder.
She hid the tear that slipped down her face and told herself to get a grip.
Later. Later I’ll get Alex to tell me what he’s worried about and I’ll have to deal with it, whatever it is. Right now, I need to finish what I’ve started.
The Wiccan Elder was sitting by the fire.
“Ask me whatever it is you need to know, Princess.”
“How do I find the exit gate from this world?”
“That won’t be an easy trip, I fear. You need to travel right into the heart of the Dark Druids’ lands,” the Elder replied.
“Are they a threat to me?” Falyn asked.
She was the Druid Princess; could these Dark Ones even touch her?
“Um, yes. They use the same magic, Princess, but they went to the dark side. They can hurt you, just like you can hurt them.”
Falyn nodded. So, she would have to be on her guard when she passed through their land. And since they had the same Druid power as she did, then her skills as a wolf might be the only thing she could use to beat them.