Christy knocked on the door, ignoring the stare from the guard who stood further down the hall.
Ronan opened the door, clad in only pyjama bottoms, hair wet from the shower.
She averted her eyes, cheeks flushing.
“Chris, what are you doing here?”
“I need to talk. Can I come in?”
“Sure.” He opened the door wider.
His room looked bare with only pale blue walls. The room contained nothing but a bed, wardrobe, a table and a chair.
“I know it’s late,” she muttered.
“It’s fine.” He grabbed a shirt out of the suitcase lying open on his bed.
She spotted the claw marks on his chest which had yet to fully heal. “What happened, Ro?”
“It’s nothing.” He pulled the grey t-shirt on to cover the marks.
She frowned. “I thought we agreed to get past this secrecy thing?”
His lips curved into a smile. “We did but…there’s a lot about me you don’t know.”
Tell me something I don’t know. “Good, why don’t you tell me then?” Christy slumped into the chair. “Who attacked you? Was it one of my father’s men?”
Ronan nodded, leaned closer. “Chris, we need to be careful what we say and do here,” he hissed. “I got this when I tried to leave earlier.”
“Why? Where were you going?” Christy frowned at him. “You were trying to see that mongrel again, why?”
“Chris, just trust me when I tell you there’s some things you’re better off not knowing.” Ronan ran a hand through his hair.
Great, more secrecy. Could she really trust anyone on this island? Even him?
She rose. “Fine, I’ll just go then.”
Ronan grabbed her arm. “Wait, why? I thought you wanted to talk?”
“I did, but I don’t know if I can trust you anymore.”
“Don’t let this place come between us,” Ronan said. “You can trust me, you know that.”
“Do I?” She arched an eyebrow. “You won’t even tell me who the guy in London was or why you were with him.”
“He’s – someone from my past.” He shook his head.
“Right, a past you won’t share with me.” Christy pulled her arm away. “You’re never going to tell me the truth. Just like you’re never going to take things any further between us.”
She turned and stormed out of the room.
Chapter 8
Ronan stretched as bone and muscle popped. His wolf sighed at finally being let free. He sniffed, checked to make sure no one was nearby, then took off out of the mansion grounds. He’d already been caught once trying to leave earlier that evening, that wouldn’t happen again. He reached the border within minutes, dodged any nearby scouts.
He knew the risk yet he had to know what Josh planned.
If Alec had been working with other mongrels, he had to find out why.
His wolf felt excited to run loose again. It felt like coming home. This had been home. Once.
Ronan followed the scent until he came to a small hut shaped like a tepee. Smoke billowed from one of the larger huts. A large, sandy coloured wolf growled warning as he approached.
Ronan growled back. I’m here to see Josh.
You’re not welcome here, traitor. The other wolf bared his teeth.
He knew that voice.
Caleb.
Caleb, I need to talk to him. Stay out of my way.
Caleb leapt at him. Ronan dodged it as he shifted into human form. He hadn’t come to fight nor did he have time to waste. Fire formed in his palm. “Back off or I’ll use this,” he warned.
Caleb bared his teeth. I’ll be seeing you, lapdog.
“Why are you here?” Josh demanded, storming out of the tent. “Come to bring the clans straight to us?”
“We need to talk. Some wolves attacked the alpha’s children earlier, was it the mongrels?”
Josh’s eyes flashed. “Do you really think we’re stupid enough to attack them?”
“Did you do it or not?” Ronan demanded.
“No, whoever attacked your precious princess it wasn’t us. Now get the hell out.”
He’d be damned if he left so fast. “Have Imperious wolves been coming here?”
“Both clans come here and torment us whenever they feel like it. Not get lost, Ronan.” Josh turned to leave.
“This is my home too, Josh.”
The other shifter’s eyes hardened. “It stopped being that when you joined the Stargaza.”
“I...”
A howl shook the night air. A warning before a strike.
People came running out to see what was going on.
Ronan shifted, letting his sleek red wolf take over. He felt his senses sharpen, expand as a dozen men came into the village with flaming torches.
Who are they? he thought. Imperious? Stargaza?
At that moment it didn’t matter.
He spotted Josh, bounded after his friend.
His mind flashed back to the night of his worst fears, pounding feet, the roar of fire, smoke filling his lungs… Ronan shook away the memory, leapt at the nearest man, tore into his throat. The tangy taste of blood filled his mouth as he took down the first shifter. Next, he latched onto the leg of another.
He knew the scent now. These were Imperious wolves come over from their side of the island to hunt the outsiders.
Ronan would make sure they left disappointed. He bit, clawed and mauled down each shifter as the sound of howls and shouting filled the air. A brilliant burst of blue light up the night sky.
Ronan stopped. The sight seemed familiar somehow. He watched Josh and the others take down two more intruders. He sprinted off in the opposite direction, following the pulsating light. Leaves and twigs caught on his fur as he raced through the woods.
He stopped as he approached the clearing, saw the outline of a ruined house.
He whined, heart pounding. Why had they come here? They had already destroyed the place he’d once called home.
Ronan stopped, unsure of what to do next. The man inside him felt rage that heated his blood, the wolf felt sorry for its lost kin.
Neither man nor beast wanted to set foot there again, yet Ronan found his paws moving forward.
He halted outside the house, keeping silent as the blue light intensified, becoming so bright now it almost blinded him.
Ronan crept inside, careful not to disturb the fallen debris and trees growing through the ruined building. He passed through what he remembered as the hallway into the living room, pausing just before he reached the entrance.
An old man stood inside, the blue light dancing between his palms.
Oren, the Imperious clan’s warlock.
Ronan bared his teeth, fury filled both wolf and man.
This warlock had taken everything from him. His family, his home, his clan.
Yet he remained rooted where he stood, motionless as light danced around the room.
“Damn it, where is it?” Oren muttered. “Show me!”
The rays of light shot around room, bouncing off the stonewalls in every direction.
“Have you found what you were looking for?” asked another voice.
Another man walked into the room face hidden by the shadows but Ronan recognised the beta, Alec of the Imperious clan.
“It’s not working,” Oren growled. “Damn it, I thought coming back here would help me find the source of the curse.”
Ronan’s ears pricked up. What could a two hundred-year-old curse have to do with his lost family? They hadn’t caused the curse, that had been an alpha – or so legend told.
Oren sighed. “It’s not enough. I need a link to the curse.”
Alec smiled, white teeth flashing in the dim light. “Christy will be mine in a couple of days. We’ll finally have full control over this island, then we’ll give them a war to remember when we wipe them and those filthy mongrels out of existence.” He threw his head back and laughed.
Christy. Ronan’s
heart stopped. They needed her for their plan to work.
He couldn’t allow the outsiders to get hurt either. Not again.
Ronan turned, raced back to the outsider encampment, relieved to see the Imperius wolves had gone. Josh! he called.
His friend appeared, bruised and bloodied but still breathing.
“What?” Josh demanded. “I thought you’d run off and abandoned us again.”
Josh, listen to me. You and the others need to get out of here, he told him. Get off the island if he can.
Josh snorted. “No way. We’ll never leave our land. So go back to your precious alpha. You’re not one of us anymore.”
Ronan shifted, grabbed Josh by the collar. “Listen, the Imperious wolves will come back. Only next time they may well have magic on their side,” he snapped. “Save everyone. Get off the island.”
“Like I said, we won’t leave. We will fight for our freedom.” Josh shoved him away. “Get out of here, Ronan.”
Ronan’s jaw clenched, damn it, why wouldn’t Josh listen? “You’re all going to die if you don’t leave here!” he shouted.
The other outsiders just stared at him. “You’re not our leader,” Caleb snarled, shifting into the form of a blonde-haired man. “Get out! You left us!”
Ronan walked away. Caleb was right. He had walked away, abandoned them. But he’d be damned if he’d just give up.
Ronan hurried back to the Stargaza mansion only to be grabbed by one of the guards. “Where have you been?” The man demanded. “You have blood on you.”
Here we go again!
“It’s not mine,” he muttered.
The other shifter gripped his arm. “Look at you, strutting around like you’re one of us. But you’re nothing, are you? Just a mongrel trying to worm his way into the princess’s bed.”
Ronan drew his arm back, punched the guard in the face. “I had a clan once before your alpha and that bastard Alec destroyed them.”
The guard lashed out, grabbing his shirt, trying to hold Ronan down as he raised his fist.
Ronan hit the guard on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious and headed straight to the alpha’s study.
Henric looked up from his book, surprised. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “Christiana…”
“She’s fine. Look, Alec is planning to start a war. You can’t give Christy to him.” Not that Christy was his to give away, she was a person not a possession.
The alpha laughed, low and harsh. “I knew you’d try something to stop her betrothal. Didn’t think it would sound as stupid as that though.”
“It’s true, sir. I saw Alec and Oren together.”
Henric’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”
Ronan hesitated. He couldn’t admit he’d gone to the Outland, he’d be thrown out or worse. “That’s not important. You have to do something,” he insisted. “Alec plans on taking control of the Stargaza too. You have to stop him.”
Henric dropped his book, rose. “When Christy mates with Alec and she will, you’re no longer welcome in my lands,” he said. “If you go near my daughter again after the mating, I’ll kill you myself. She is not yours to have.”
“She’s not yours to give away either,” Ronan retorted. “You don’t even know her. She’d save the clan if you let her, instead you condemn us all to death.”
Ronan stormed out, not caring what happened to him. He expected guards to follow him but they didn’t.
Instead, he headed up to Magda’s chambers. She still sat by the fire, dressed in a long white nightie. “It’s late for a visit, my boy.”
“You were right. War is coming.” He sat and told her what he’d seen. “I can’t let Christy marry Alec – but they’ll kill me if I try anything.”
Magda said nothing for a moment. “The truth will set you free.”
Ronan stared at her. “What does that mean?” he demanded.
He’d come therefore help, answers, guidance. Instead, she spoke in riddles. “Mags, I don’t know what to do. I want to go back to the outsiders, but they won’t have me and I can’t leave Christy here.” He sighed. “She wants to become human.”
“The answer is right front of you, my boy.”
He frowned, feeling more confused than ever. “Are you saying I should take her with me? No way, I can’t drag her away from her clan.”
“I’d say that was better than her becoming human.”
“Do you think she’d do that?”
“She’s determined. She needs to know the beauty of what she is, only you can show her that.”
“How? Alec is coming to the feast tomorrow. Henric will announce their match before both clans.”
“Then we don’t have much time.”
Ronan headed up to Christy’s room, amazed when no guards barred his way. He often watched her sleep when they’d lived together. It always calmed him. He burst to tell her everything about who he was, how they needed to get away. But seeing her there, he couldn’t do it.
He’d get them out of there, one way or another. Even if it meant her hating him forever.
Chapter 9
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Lola murmured.
“I didn’t expect you to,” Christy said.
They neared the three oak trees, the marker to the border of the Outland’s side of the island.
Her friend gaped at her. “Chris, you of all people can’t go wandering around here.”
“I need to know what happened to me.”
Lola frowned. “I thought you would have asked Ronan to go with you.”
Yes, she’d wanted to do just that. “I can’t – he’s keeping too many secrets from me.”
“Still, this is too dangerous. If the mongrels did kidnap you…”
“Would do you mean if? I know they did. I just need to find out who and why.”
Christy moved across the border into the Outland. She’d expected it to be just a small part of the north side of the island yet it seemed much larger – maybe even spanning same the length of the Stargaza lands.
“Do you even know where we’re going?” Lola asked.
Twigs and leaves caught at their clothing as they moved through the dense woodland.
“No,” she admitted.
Lola snorted. “How do expect to find anything then?”
She bit her lip. “I…I think I’ll know it when I see it – or at least I hope my wolf will.”
“Christy–”
Christy ignored her and marched ahead. She needed to find out what had happened her. The trees became so thick she struggled to push her way through the masses of branches and brambles.
“Wait for me!” Lola called.
She ignored her friend, hurried on. This she needed to do alone. She stumbled forward into a clearing, the trees parted and a grassy embankment led down onto the beach below. This was it, the place she’s seen in her dream where she and Lola had been exploring.
Now what? she wondered. The scents from fifteen years ago would be long gone. Her wolf whined at the memory. Shush! Christy snapped. Glancing back, she smelt Lola further behind her. Magic flared in her hand, she used it cover herself and mask her scent. She needed to be alone to do this.
Christy moved through the clearing. Her kidnappers must’ve taken her somewhere close by or they would have been getting close to the Imperious’s side of the island.
No, she couldn’t go there. She’d be walking right into Alec’s hands, but what if that was where she had been taken?
The west side of the island was just as alien to her as the Outland.
She carried on moving, trying to remember more of her dream. Yet the more she tried the hazier it became.
Christy stopped and she reached the small stretch of beach covered in smooth golden sand. She slumped down onto a rock. What had she expected? Her kidnapper wouldn’t just appear to give her all the answers or leave them lying around for her.
Christy? Lola called.
I’m fine, you can go home. She i
gnored any kind of response, wandering along the beach.
It felt peaceful here, nothing like she’d expected the Outland to be. She’d hoped coming here would have triggered something. Anything.
Sighing, she leaned against a tree. As peaceful as the island felt she knew she couldn’t stay there. It was time to ask Magda to make her human. After that she didn’t know what would happen. None of the old stories mentioned any shifter ever becoming mortal. Yet it had to be possible. Without her wolf, no one would come after her anymore. She’d be safe. Free.
Christy froze, scenting two shifters approaching. It brought her out of her thoughts and back to reality.
“What do we have here?” A blonde-haired lanky man strode forward, followed by another man. The man she’d seen in London with Ronan.
“You!” She gasped.
The other mongrel smiled at her. “Nice to see you again, princess. Enjoying a tour of the island?”
“I was just leaving.” She backed away. If she ran fast enough maybe she could get close enough to the border for help.
“Princess, huh?” The blonde man smirked. “I’ve always wanted a royal female.”
“Don’t!” His friend snapped. “I don’t know why you’re here, princess, but I suggest you leave now. Not all outsiders will be so lenient of your presence.”
They were letting her go? Why?
Christy backed up a few steps, unsure of their intentions. “Why did you meet with Ronan in London?” She blurted out for she could stop herself.
The mongrel’s jaw tightened. “There’s a lot about Ronan you don’t know.”
“I know that. So why not tell me?” She crossed her arms, raised her chin.
“A war is coming. Your precious clans have hunted and tormented us long enough,” the blonde one snarled. The edge in his voice made her heart skip a beat.
“Fascinating,” another voice said. Magda hobbled out from behind the trees. “Why don’t you boys run along?”
The blonde one backed away, but Ronan’s friend glared at her. “You have no business being here, witch.”
“She’s my business.” Magda motioned to Christy. “If you hurt her, you’ll answer to me. My punishment would be much worse than the alpha’s, Joshua. Now go. You too, Caleb.”
The Alpha's Daughter: Shifter Clans Series Book 1 Page 5