“If you spot Matthew or Tyler, tell them we miss them. Stay safe, Dodge.” I kissed his soft nose and watched him fly away.
Jasper’s arms snaked around me and he rested his chin on my head. “Are you alright?”
I took a deep breath. “Will it get better? How long until everyone stops hurting?”
He turned me around and kissed me lightly. “I’m not sure, Sholva.” I looked up into his sky blue eyes and brushed a dark brown curl out of the way. Nina tugged on my sleeve to get my attention then pointed to the west. I smiled.
“Yes, we’d better go. I’d hate for your grandma and grandpa to get lost trying to get here on their own.” After adopting Nina and Daniel, we’d decided that the best way to keep my parents in our life was to give them crossing stones so they could come visit us. Putting our children through the pain Jasper had felt just wasn’t an option. Thankfully, we’d discovered that if a human with no magic had a cross stone, they were able to stay in Quelondain without getting their energy sucked out of them.
Nina grinned and cocked her head to the side as Daniel shifted into his wolf and loped off ahead of us. She gazed back at us, a slight frown on her pretty face. Her jaw clenched, I saw her take a deep breath, and I gasped as her form blurred and she shifted into her grizzly cub. She stood completely still, staring straight ahead. Daniel stopped short and looked back toward his sister. His tongue lolled out of his mouth in an open grin and he let out a quick bark. Nina took one step, and another, and started to shuffle after her brother. He waited until she was at his side before giving another excited yip and then loping through the woods ahead of us toward the cross trail. Nina’s shuffle turned into the powerful rolling run that only a bear could pull off.
Jasper gave my shoulder a squeeze, shifted into his tiger, and bound off after our children. I smiled and watched my family for a moment then let my tigress take over. I felt my bones rearrange, my body shift, and finally blinked my cat eyes.
As I leapt off after the man I loved and the children I adored, I started to purr. If Nina, who had lost so much and been through so much pain, could find the strength to break through the fear and anguish that trapped her, then I was sure that Tyler, Matthew, Ternach, hell, Quelondain, given the time, would be able to do the same.
Books by Mireille Chester
The Chosen One Trilogy
Crossover
Journey
Destiny
Also coming soon, two new series:
Tales of Quelondain (for young adults)
and
The Witteck Chronicles
Over a hundred thousand years ago, the Wittecks were called to rid the world of an unspeakable evil. As their magical orbs start to reappear throughout the land, the question arises; is Quelondain in danger once again? Come along as some of Hayden’s original pack members, as well as new ones, travel across the three continents in search of answers. Can they hope to stop the final destruction of the beautiful and magical world we’ve all come to love?
A Witteck’s Dream
The Witteck Chronicles: Book One
Ternach moved under his blankets so he could see where Sarah was lying. He felt the smile pull at the sides of his mouth and he put his arm over his face, the sight of her completely hidden except for a foot sticking out of the blankets imprinted on his mind. He found a small stone, probably the same one that had managed to dig into his back for most of the night, and lobbed it softly in her direction. She groaned and rolled over, her slender foot tucked back under the blankets.
“Go away.”
Ternach chuckled at her muffled order. “Come on, now. Cass and Peter are already dressed and gone.”
She grunted. “Go, then. I’ll catch up to you.”
His grin widened. “I have no doubt that you could.” He supposed there were distinct advantages to being a cheetah. He watched as she stretched, her back arching so he could see her slender shape under the covers. He coughed to hide the groan that made its way up his throat. By the moons, it was getting harder and harder not to make his way to her blankets during the night. Well, it’s your own damn fault, he chided himself. You’re the one who’s decided not to pursue this.
He looked away from where she lay and proceeded to make himself a cup of coffee. You have enough issues to deal with without adding a possible mate to the pile, he argued back to himself.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?”
Sarah sat up and Ternach couldn’t help but smile. Her long auburn hair lay in a mess around her face and shoulders. She ran her hands over her face and yawned.
“Please. That would be fantastic.” She reached into her pack, found her brush, and proceeded to try and tame her hair. By the time he had gotten her coffee made she had managed to put it into one long braid down the middle of her back. She took the cup gratefully and took a sip. Her fingers touched his and she looked up to see his reaction. By the moons, the man was confusing. How did a being go from sharing an unbelievable kiss like the one they’d shared to absolutely nothing?
Ternach smiled and went back to his blankets. “Peter said they’d be back in about an hour.” He looked up and her hazel eyes met his white green ones. She held his gaze for an instant and looked back into her cup.
“Did they go hunting?”
He shook his head then realized she couldn’t see him. “No. They said something about filling the canteens.”
She grinned and raised an eyebrow at him. “An hour to fill canteens?”
He shrugged and smiled. “I’m just relaying the information I was given.” He took a sip of his coffee. “You said you’re from Bliar, yeah?
She nodded.
“Is there anybody in particular you’ll be visiting when we get there?”
She blinked and looked up and blushed at the way he was watching her. “No.” Inwardly, she groaned. Did she have to act like such a twit when he looked at her? And what exactly was it he was asking? Did he think she had a mate there? She took a sip of her drink. Well, there was only one way to find out. “Ternach…”
“Hmmm?”
She took a deep breath. “It’s just… I was thinking about…” She stopped short and looked up as Peter and Cassandra came trotting back into camp. Their forms shimmered and the panther and wolf turned into the smiling couple.
“You’ll never guess what just happened to us!” Peter set his pack down and poured two cups of coffee.
Ternach managed to tear his gaze away from Sarah’s and grinned at his friend’s obvious excitement. “You’re right. I have not a clue.”
“We were just stopped by a pack of Namaels.”
Ternach frowned. “And?”
“And they asked us about the orbs!” Cassandra took a cup from Peter and sat beside him.
Sarah jumped where she sat. “Damn it!” She used her blankets to soak up some of the coffee spilled with the motion. “What did you tell them?” She looked from Peter to Cassandra and tried to ignore the fact that Ternach was frowning at her.
Peter grunted. “Nothing.”
“It was strange, really. The pack’s captain was Roland. He was in Sageden just before we marched north. Anyhow, he’s a good man. He said they had orders from Taylor to find out anything they could about the orb that was found in Paradin.”
Ternach’s frown deepened. “What’s odd about that?”
“The order didn’t come from Melana.” Sarah’s eyes were saucers in her head. “Why would the orders be from Taylor? Orders are always carried out in Melana’s name.”
Cassandra was nodding. “That’s what struck me as wrong. I told him we hadn’t heard anything but that we’d be sure to let any pack we ran into know if we did.”
Peter pulled the yellow orb from his pack and gazed at it with newfound amazement. “Now, why would Taylor be interested in you?”
“Love, put it away.” Cassandra opened his pack and held it open so he could slip the orb back into hiding. She looked at her mate. “We have to let Marilynn know. Maybe she coul
d tell us what’s going on.”
He nodded. “We can send a bluebird with a message when we get to Bliar.”
Everyone packed their things and the small group started on their way.
“So what was it you wanted to talk about before Peter and Cassandra came back?”
Sarah glanced sideways at Ternach then back to the trail ahead of her. “Hmm? I can’t remember. It mustn’t have been important.”
Ternach raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. “Do you know what I can’t wait to get to Bliar for?”
“What’s that?”
“A cold mug of sloan and some deer steaks. It seems like forever since I’ve had deer meat.” He shook his head. “By the moons, what a stupid thing to say.”
“Why?”
“Because I know what forever feels like. It’s only been a few months.”
Sarah reached over and put a hand on his arm. “Maybe you should head to Sageden. Maybe Hayden’s right about finding your magic.”
He grunted. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
Peter glanced back at the pair and grinned. “The pair of you are unbelievable.”
Sarah ignored him and linked her arm through Ternach’s. “No, I’m not trying to get rid of you.”
He looked down at her, smiled, and left it at that.
*****
Look for ‘A Witteck’s Dream’, coming in 2013
My young adult series comes at the request of my niece who asked me to write a book she was allowed to read. I had so much fun writing Tyler’s story, I decided to keep going with it. Come along for the journey as Quelondain’s younger generation gets itself caught up in all sorts of adventures.
Tales of Quelondain
Tyler’s Story
Tyler knelt beside Jenna, a frown squinting his dark brown eyes.
“I’m fine.” She shifted her weight and sucked in a breath. He put more pressure on the gash on her leg, trying to get the bleeding to stop.
“I told you I was only going to be gone a few minutes. What in the world was so important it couldn’t wait until I got back?”
“I wanted a drink.”
Tyler’s gaze softened. “I’m sorry. I should have put the packs closer to where you could reach them.”
She shook her head. “I should have just waited.” She tried to hide the pain as he put more pressure on the cut. “I still think you should have gone with the pack. You can tell them which way to go.” Jenna’s light grey eyes caught his and his heart jumped. He made himself more comfortable and shook his head.
“Trent put me in charge of guarding you. I don’t think leaving you alone in the woods with injuries qualifies as keeping you safe.” He gave her a lopsided grin and was rewarded with a snort. She tucked her long dark brown hair behind her ears. He frowned and shook his head. “Good guardian I turned out to be…”
Jenna laughed and he glanced at her before turning his attention back to her leg. He was sure the bleeding was slowing but didn’t want to take the pressure off to check.
“You were fighting three of them when this happened to me. What were you supposed to do? Ask them to hang on a minute while you came to give me a hand? Besides, you got the one that did this.” She touched his arm lightly. His heart gave its customary jump at the feel of her hand. He felt the blood start to rise into his face and he looked away from her.
By the moons, she’s your brother’s mate, he scowled at himself. Or at least she would be as soon as all of the fighting was done and Trent made his way back home. Damn his twin for leaving him in this situation. He’d had a good thing going with Bree. No. It had been a good thing for Bree. By the moons, how could a woman be so ignorant? No. If he ever did find anyone, he hoped it would be someone like Jenna, or his Aunt Hayden. He wanted to laugh at himself; someone like his mom. A woman who could fight, hunt, and fish; one who didn’t mind a little hard work.
He concentrated on the blood under his hands which helped keep his mind off of the fact that Jenna was sitting, leaning back against a tree and that he was kneeling between her legs. His heart was still pounding with the adrenaline of the fight and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
“Are you alright?” She rubbed his arm and even though his head knew she couldn’t feel anything for him because she was fated to Trent, his body refused to agree.
“I’m fine.”
She shrugged, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Do you think we stand a chance?”
He nodded then realized she couldn’t see him. “Yes. I do. If there’s anyone out there who can do this, it’s Aunt Hayden.”
“But if Braw touches her with his staff…” She let the comment hang in the air.
“If that happens, I suppose you won’t have to worry about the great scar that gash is going to leave on your leg. I can’t believe they killed Marie. Everyone knows a healer isn’t to be harmed.” A small growl made its way up his throat.
“Maybe that was the point. If she was dead, then more of the injured would have less of a chance of living.”
“True.”
Tyler felt a pressure in his chest and he took a deep breath to get rid of it. When that didn’t work, he rolled his shoulders and stretched from side to side.
“What’s wrong?” Jenna was frowning. She leaned towards him.
“Nothing. I just… I must have pulled something during the fight.” The pressure in his chest was getting stronger. He struggled to suck in his breaths.
“Tyler!”
He felt heat waves roll through him, his head started to spin and his vision gradually blurred.
“Tyler!” Somewhere in the fog he heard Jenna yell his name before he felt the ground hit his back as he fell. He heard someone scream and realized it was himself. Something deep inside of him ripped apart and everything momentarily went dark.
“Ty…!” Jenna’s yell cut off just as the pain receded. He lay on his back, his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath. A sob raked through him and Jenna’s echoed his.
“Trent!” The name escaped his lips as a moan. He reached up and pulled Jenna to his chest, her tears soaking into his tunic. “Please, no,” he whispered. But even as he said the words, he wrapped his arms around her and knew. His brother, his twin, wouldn’t be coming back.
Look for ‘Tyler’s Story’, coming in 2012
About Author
Mireille Chester is an Ottawa born French Canadian now loving life on the prairies. Her love of reading and writing blossomed at an early age and developed into a passion which she pursued by authoring fantasy novels.
Mireille lives in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan with the greatest of her loves, her family, which includes her husband, Kyle, and their three children, Anthony, Emery, and Ashtynn.
She can be reached by email at [email protected] or through her website www.mireillechester.com and blog www.mireillechester.blogspot.com
Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) Page 34