No one did.
They just held each other like that for a while longer, and both didn’t want to move. They just swallowed each other down until they breathed as one. They were where they both wanted to be, and that was nowhere they now were.
4
“I am telling you that we must do this. He is out of control.” Michael Gorhan paced around the chamber of his home. His castle was on the other side of the ridge from Devish’s place, so he felt safe to discuss this. What he felt inside, well that was something else entirely. With what he just saw, with what Devish just did, he felt tired and burned out. He was growing very tired of Devish and burning mad with all of his ways. This had to stop.
“You knew he was like this Michael. You knew what he was all of those years ago. The blood thirst has destroyed his mind until now there is nearly nothing left of him. He is insane. You knew he was.” Nelda the Elder of the Veranna family listened carefully, and did agree with Michael, the leader of the Gorhan clans with at least with some of this. But what did he expect with him—with anything he does or ever did. She never trusted Devish. He shouldn’t have, but did.
“That is not everything.” He moved away from her and towards the only open door in the room. It led to his bedchamber and he knew it was unoccupied so it made him willing to keep talking. No one would hear this. No one would hear him. He still did fear Devish so he had to remain cautious. He couldn’t trust anyone, not even those of his own family. Any one of them was as dangerous as this ever was.
Veranna obviously did. “What else is there but this?” She thought he was overreacting as he always did when it came to Devish. Michael was always so in control of himself, but when it came to Devish he lost that ability. He did things to him that no one ever did. For a mind reader, for someone with his kind of gifts, it had to bother him with seeing inside a lost mind. It obviously was doing it again.
He looked through the doorway and stared at his bed. The canopy over it sparkled like the sun with an overreaching orange glow that lit up its white color with a full and powerful glory. It looked so peaceful seeing it. It didn’t help him relax at all.
“He has gone too far with all of this. Since the arrival of this wolf of his, he has grown even more arrogant, he has grown dangerous. Something is wrong with him and it goes beyond the thirst. It goes beyond his usual self.” He turned back to her and faced her. “Something is hidden about him—about the wolf that he is trying to protect. I do not know what it is, but I can feel it. It is dangerous, what he did to him.”
Their eyes met. She saw the worry in his eyes. “What is he doing that is different?”
He now looked down. “Killing and slaughtering the humans will only make them rise up again. He should fear this, and if he does not, than I do. We have no other choice.”
She shook her head. “The humans are no longer a threat to us Michael. We have the cure of his blood.” She crossed her arms over her chest and relaxed them there.
He saw this and just shook his head. He felt more alone than ever. “What if that cure decides to leave?”
This made her uncross her arms. “Why would that happen? It is Devish’s blood.” She just didn’t understand any of this, and it made her keep to her original ideas about all of this. Now that did make sense.
Michael shook his head again. “That is what he told us, but is it not unusual that he would find such a gift shortly after this black wolf comes to us? Is that not strange?” He looked back up, and again he met her stare. He now saw worry creeping up inside her too. Maybe he wasn’t alone after all. “I am telling you that it is the black wolf that has brought him that gift. He is the one that has changed the world.”
She did ponder the thought, but after doing so, she stuck to her normal thoughts. “Even if this is the case, the black wolf is not going anywhere. Devish keeps him close to him at all times.” Again, this made sense. “He is loyal to him and no one else.” She huffed some to prove her point on this. “No one is allowed to see the wolf without Devish there with him.”
But he knew better than that, didn’t he. “The black wolf has no intentions of staying with Devish. He is not on his side as he thinks he is.”
Again, she just shook her head. “I do not believe this.” After saying this, she really did begin to worry about all of this. Michael of course would know more about this than she did. He probably saw it in his mind, and now knew something that only he did. If he did, then she would believe him after all.
He looked down again. “The black wolf is not what he seems to be.” He turned from her and looked back towards his bedchamber, but saw nothing but his own thoughts flaring inside his head. He was never able to read the black wolf’s mind. Whatever he did to block him, however he has done it, he has done it well. He saw nothing, but that was not where he saw this. With everything happening, with Rana preoccupied with something else entirely, what that was he didn’t know but it was important to her; she has dropped Devish’s guard. With her powers waned, he could now see some of what was inside his head, and it wasn’t good. Devish was hiding something about the wolf. He also felt his fear of him too. He felt his need to keep him close to him. It told him a lot more than a simple whim.
“What is he?”
Michael turned again. “Devish is hiding something about him, I do not know what that is, but he fears it. He fears him and what he will do if he discovers the truth.” He moved to her and stopped right in front of her. “He is the answer to all of our needs.” He stared directly into her olive colored green eyes. “He is my answer.”
She watched his blue eyes sparkle, and knew instantly what he meant. “You are going to have him stand up against Devish.” It sounded unreal. It sounded wrong somehow too. It also felt dangerous to say it. She now had to point this out to him too. “You cannot be serious about this Michael. What makes you think that the black wolf would turn against Devish?”
He blinked hard and fast. He felt something, it wasn’t reading his mind, but he could feel a lot more from the wolf than just a normal thought. He could see it in his eyes. “The black wolf is torn. He is not with Devish.” He looked down and it caused his deep black hair to fall some in front of his face. He had to brush it with the back of his right hand in order to see the floor again. “He does not stand with Devish. I do not know how I know this, but I do.” He looked back up. “He has anger. He has had loss. He is very lost in life.”
She met his glaring eyes. “If he is torn, and you cannot see him clearly, then how do you know that he will stand up against Devish?” There was more to it than this too. “This is very dangerous Michael. If you are wrong about him, if you are wrong about his intentions, it could lead to the death of all of us.” She felt the need to point this out too. She didn’t feel like she had any other choice. Devish was the last of the Blood Walkers, and whether or not he had lost his mind with the blood thirst, he was still stronger than all of them combined. He could destroy them without even trying.
He couldn’t agree more. “I know.” He turned from her and moved to the door. “I must discover more about the wolf before I move against Devish. I must learn his secrets and all that he is. I must learn how to control him for the Elders.”
She watched him as he reached it. She felt shocked that he was leaving her without finishing this. “Where are you going my lord?”
He stopped at the door and opened it quickly. “I am going to go and find the black wolf. I am going to find out who and what he is.”
She hated this about him. When his mind was made up, it was hard to change it. She also feared this about him too. She didn’t have the powers he had, and without them, she only had his leadership and strength to guide her. She now feared that that wasn’t enough.
Without saying anything else, he left her standing there with a mind completely full of questions and concerns. She now also felt helpless. She loved Michael, hoped that he was right about all of this, but at the same time, she now feared the future, as she never has before.
5
She watched them from the trees, staying in her bat form as they made passionate love beneath her in the clearing. She hated watching them like this, as she has in the past. She had always known of the fire that he showed for her, and she didn’t understand it. It made her feel ill. It made her cringe. How could one of them ever show such a thing to a Wanderer? He was too powerful for such a disgusting thing.
Staying to the tree, staying downwind from him so he couldn’t smell her, he was a wolf after all, she listened to them as they talked. She heard every word. She heard every betrayal, and again, she cringed.
How could they speak so callously about Devish like that? She didn’t understand this either. It sounded so wrong. They sounded so bitter that she knew what she had to do about it. I must tell Devish of this. I must tell him about everything. She knew she had to do it, but there was more to it than that. Devish is in love with the Wanderer. She knew this too. He never spoke of it, he never told her anything that was inside of him, but he didn’t need to—she saw it in his eyes. She saw it in the way he spoke with her and acted around her. It was as clear as day. He will not like this, but he needs to know about them. He needs to know the truth. She only hoped that he would understand this—understand her. This was for his better interest. This was for his own good.
With them separated beneath her, Elizabeth pushed off, and soared high into the sky. She didn’t waste time. She flew fast and headed back to Devish to tell him that the black wolf and Rana are no longer on his side. They had conspired against him. They had shown how disloyal they really were. Again, he needed to know the truth and only she was left to give him what he needed.
6
She made it to Devish’s home quickly. She arrived there before they did. She slid back into her human form and rushed inside. With the sun just starting to come up for the day behind her, she knew where to find him. She rushed to his bedchamber and found him already in bed.
He was not asleep.
In fact, he already knew she was coming, as he always did. “What is it that is so important to tell me Elizabeth?” He kept his eyes to the rafters above him. He had trouble seeing them. All he saw was her rush, and need to talk. He didn’t see anything else, and this bothered him some. With all of his thinking, with all of his pandering to Michael and the other Elders, he was losing his strength at seeing other’s thoughts. He didn’t know what it meant other than that he was just tired. It happened sometimes, and now may be one of those times.
She stepped to the side of his bed. “I have come here to tell you something that I have seen.” She paused watching him closely. In all of the time since she has known him, he was always confident with his gifts. He knew things before she could tell him, but now, something felt very different about him and she didn’t know why. She wasn’t even sure if what she felt was real or not. It was just a thought.
He sat up, noticed that she was naked and admired the sight. If she wasn’t in her human form, he would have loved her more, but she wasn’t, so he only admired her instead.
She watched him, and saw wonderment in his eyes as he turned to her. He did not look confident. He did not look content. He didn’t look like he knew anything. The worry only grew in her heart and mind.
“I do not know how to tell you, my lord.” She wanted to test this feeling. She wanted to test him. If somehow he could no longer read one’s mind, things would become very dangerous for her. She didn’t like that, but it was the only thing that made sense to her as to why he didn’t seem to already know what she was there to tell him. In fact, she felt terrified by this very idea beyond words.
He stared her down. “What is it my dear?” He focused onto her mind but saw nothing. He must still be tried. It only made more sense.
She swallowed hard with this. She felt vindicated and more scared than ever. So much so, she now wasn’t sure how to tell him about what she saw. How would he take it? How would he deal with her with me giving him the message, it was all there. Every terrifying idea rushed into her at the same time. She didn’t know what to think.
He bowed his head. “Well?”
She just shook hers. “I have…” she paused, and looked back to the door of his room. The heavy oak door was closed. With her rush to see him, she wasn’t sure if she had shut it or not. Seeing that she did, she turned back to him. She wanted no one else to hear what she was about to tell him. She trusted no one, and now, she could see that neither should he. “I have just come from the forest. I have seen Rana and Kalima together.” She bowed her eyes, and now waited. She didn’t know what to expect.
He listened and took it in. In fact, he had to catch his breaths some after he heard this. He had always known that they were seen together many times before, but he thought nothing of it. He didn’t have to nor want to truly know the truth. He left it at that, but now, hearing something else inside Elizabeth’s voice, it told him something else about his fears. Yes fears, he feared the two of them together and what they could do to him if they learned the full truth of their strength. He had to find out what that was.
“You saw them together? You saw them intimate.”
She looked back up with a careful glance. She kept her eyes somewhat lowered, almost cowered. Of course, she had to stay calm. She had to keep on his good side. With his irrational behavior, he could do anything. She didn’t want to find out what that was.
She answered him without needing to. He saw this much just by the sad look in her eyes.
“I see.” He moved his feet to the side of the bed, and let them fall to the floor. He then stood up, and moved past her without giving her the chance to back off from him.
He pushed her to the foot of the bed.
“I see.” He felt his mind bend. He felt his chest collapse into a mound of hollowness. His heart even seemed to skip several beats. He didn’t know what he was feeling, he had never felt the like before, but he did know that he didn’t like it. It made him feel suddenly small.
She saw this in him and knew what it meant. “I am sorry that you did not know about them my master. I am sorry that they have hurt you so much with their hiding and lies.” She even felt a tear fill up her right eye as she spoke this. She felt bad for him.
He heard this in her voice, and instantly scoffed at the idea of such a thing. “I am not upset for such things.” He moved out from the foot of the bed and headed out into the emptiness of the center of the room. The hardwood floors simply moaned beneath his feet. The sound he made was the same. Everything was no different than it had been on any other night. The world did not end. He was the same too. “Rana and Kalima can do and be what they wish. They do not need my permission for such things.”
She heard his voice crack several times. She didn’t understand emotions at times, but she did know this one. He was hurt. In fact, she felt him breaking in two.
“My lord?” she started with everything else. He needed to know everything. She just hoped he would continue to take it well. The blood thirst could send him reeling with anger at any moment. She feared being the only one there; his fear would only find her. She hated that thought. She loved him too much for him to feel death by his hands. “They were speaking of leaving you. They were speaking of some great pain that she had caused the black wolf by your will. They spoke of your distrust and anger.”
He listened and suddenly felt weak in the knees. He could have sworn he was about to fall down, but just at the last moment, he caught himself, and stayed standing. It just felt odd feeling like this. He, like everything else about this night, hadn’t felt such a thing before. He felt even smaller.
As for everything, as for the two of them being together, as she was meaning they were, he did know what that was. He did love Rana. He knew he did. She was far more than just beautiful, with her long black hair, and her golden colored cheeks, she was as strong as any god he had ever known. That power, that strength, cast her as nothing but the heat from the very sun. He felt that heat inside her. He f
elt in within himself. Was he hurt that she was giving something to his brother and not to him, well he was. Was he angry, absolutely yes? Was he weak, in this he most definitely was, but after hearing about everything else, the fact that they wanted to leave him—wanted to flee his presence, well that made everything feel a thousand times worse. He was not only angry—he was now completely enraged. How could they do such a thing or think such a thing about me?
Again, she saw everything she expected to see oozing out from his eyes. “I am so sorry my lord. What do you wish for me to do?” She so wanted to help him now. There was also more to it than that too. Right then, right at that moment, she felt true love for him, as she never had before. She felt it as strong as ever, and it told her that she would do anything for him. She would be anything for him. She would die for him if he wanted her to die. It felt undeniable. It felt universal. It only seemed to grow as she stood there and stared into his painful eyes.
He turned to her and took a deep breath. He was not about to give her the satisfaction of seeing what was burning inside him, so he turned to what had always worked the best for him. He lied. “I know about them, and all of their plans, my dear Elizabeth. There is no need to do anything. All has been taken care of to prevent anything they could do to me.”
She saw his face. She heard the words. She believed none of it. “My lord?” She was about to point this out to him, but he cut her off before she could.
“You may go now my dear. I need to rest.” He turned and headed back to his bed. He lied back down and turned over onto his side, and away from her.
She watched him and felt beyond confused. Why is he doing this? She truly had no ideas. He seemed lost. He felt confused. She just didn’t understand.
He said nothing else.
She shook her head softly, knowing this, feeling the quiet, and turned from the bed. She headed to the door and closed it after she left the room. She had no idea what to do or what to think. All she did know was that she would have to wait for him to come to her, and when he did, she would give him everything he wanted without question. Again, she would give him her life.
A Werewolf's Saga, The Beginning (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 53