by Wilde, Rhea
The man nodded his head and some of the wolves surrounding us shifted. They freed us from our bonds but I still didn’t feel completely safe.
“The Doras and the Capes will join you,” Irvine said to him. “But we will not fight unless it’s necessary.”
“You’re a little late,” Daric said. “I’m afraid that it is necessary.”
He held his hand up and beckoned for some of the wolves. I looked to the side, curious as to what he was motioning for. Some of the wolves disappeared into the forest. After a few moments, a few men returned in their place. But they weren’t alone. They arrived with another man who was bound. His face was bloody and bruised. The rest of his body didn’t look any better.
They threw the man down in front of us. He struggled against the ground, barely conscious. Irvine took a step closer to him and looked down.
“Who… is this man?” Irvine asked.
“There’s no point in preventing a war with the Nakas,” Daric smiled. “I’ve already started it.”
Chapter 19
Irvine knelt down and examined the man. Up close, his face looked even worse. One of his eyes was bruised and swollen shut. Lacerations covered the rest of his face. Several of his teeth were missing and the rest had been shattered. There wasn’t an inch of his body that didn’t have blood coming from it. There was still life in his eyes even though he was barely breathing. Even if the Nakas were murdering innocent people in the city, this kind of punishment was extreme.
“Why have you done this?” Irvine asked Daric.
“Because he was trespassing on my territory.”
“So you beat him within an inch of his life?”
“He was threatening my clan. I have no right to defend my people?”
“Why is he still alive? Why not kill him and be done with it?”
“Because I’m in the same position you are. I want answers. There’s no doubt the Nakas have been itching for conflict. I was only curious as to why they would decide to do it now.”
“And what did he say?”
Daric shrugged his shoulders and smirked.
“I will say one thing about the Nakas,” he said. “They train their soldiers to be loyal. I beat him to get answers out of him.”
“And what did he tell you?” Irvine asked.
“Like I said, they’re quite loyal. He didn’t say anything. You’re free to try and get some answers from him. But I doubt your interrogation tactics will be as… influential as ours.”
“We’ll see… Help me, everyone.”
Irvine started to free the man from his bonds. Everybody else tried to help him back up to his feet but the strength had left him. There was no way to move him from where he laid.
“Are you all right?” Irvine asked him. “Can you speak?”
The man looked nearly lifeless, the one eye that was visible beginning to glaze over.
“What’s your name?”
“…Ri…” the man struggled. “…Richter.”
“What are you doing here, Richter?”
“The Nakas… We have been… poisoned.”
“Poisoned? What? How?”
“He is influencing us…”
“Who is?”
Richter swallowed, blood beginning to pour from his mouth.
“Who Richter? Who is doing this?”
“Do not… kill… my brothers… They are not…”
“Richter?”
Irvine began shaking him, trying to get him to talk. But it was no use. The life was slowly beginning to fade from Richter. The blood streamed from his mouth and his eyes started to roll. His body trembled in Irvine’s arms before falling completely still. Just as quickly as we had met him, he was gone. Irvine closed the man’s eyes and laid him back down up on the ground. I could sense an anger coming from him as he turned his head back up toward Daric.
“This all could have been avoided if you hadn’t done this,” he said to Daric.
“If I hadn’t done this, he would still be under the influence of whatever it was that gave him the gall to step foot in my forest. I had no other choice.”
Irvine sighed in obvious frustration. He looked back at all of us. I was almost as upset as he was. We were that close to finding the reason to all of this.
“It’s all right,” I said. “This doesn’t matter, right? We can still stop the Nakas and negotiate a peace.”
Daric started to laugh at me from his chair.
“Human values always amuse me,” he said. “So passive. You’re more interested in avoiding conflict. I wonder sometimes whether your heart beats in your chest.”
“Just because I have no interest in death doesn’t mean I’m not alive.”
“Hmph…” the woman sneered at me then rolled her eyes.
I didn’t know who she was but watching the man die stirred something within me. We had run into the Nakas before. I watched Vaughn and Irvine kill them right in front of me. But this was different. I couldn’t explain it. I just knew that it was wrong.
“What now?” I asked.
Rio and Cyrus were silent. Irvine had his head down, the thoughts seemingly racing through his mind. Vaughn took a few steps forward then looked up at Daric in his chair.
“Okay,” Vaughn said to him. “You got what you wanted. The Doras, the Capes and the rest of us will fight for you to stop the Nakas. But you need all the help you can get. It’s up to you and your brothers to seek the allegiance of the smaller clans.”
“Do you hear that, my king?” the woman said to Daric. “Finally, the clans will be united. And you will be able to rule over them.”
“You will not rule over—”
Before Cyrus could protest, Vaughn held his hand up and stopped him. I could see the anger on Cyrus’s face as Vaughn shook his head to try and calm him down.
“Then we you agree?” Vaughn said to Daric. “You are prepared to do what is necessary to stop the Nakas?”
“I will do my part,” Daric said. “Just make sure that you do yours.”
“We will. Now if you’ll allow us to leave—”
“Not so fast.”
Daric stood up out of his chair. He walked back toward us and looked us up and down.
“I want to make something clear to you,” he said to all of us. “If you even think about crossing us, then you will pay for it with your lives. I will not allow you to use us. Especially you, humans.”
He glared at Irvine and me. The cold stare from his brown eyes sent a shiver through my spine. I couldn’t wait any longer to get out of his presence. It almost seemed as if he knew it and was forcing us to stay in the clearing longer than was necessary. His eyes lingered upon me curiously. I turned away from him but I knew that he was still looking at me.
“What are you doing here?” he asked me. “Why are you meddling in the affairs of wolves? This hunter has no honor and kills for money. That I can understand. But you…”
“She is my queen,” Vaughn said to him. “She stands beside me.”
“What?” the woman standing at the chair exclaimed. “You sully yourself by laying with human filth.”
“Watch your tongue!” Vaughn growled at her. “Or I will rip it out for you!”
“You will do no such thing,” Daric said to him. “But there’s no need to fight. Inez does get a little defensive, I’ll admit. Still, she does have a point.”
“I don’t have to explain my actions to you,” Vaughn said. “I am the Alpha of my clan and my decisions are not your concern.”
“You are an Alpha?” Daric asked him. “Of what clan?”
“I am Shadow of the Rucai.”
“Rucai?” Daric looked back at Inez. “Have you heard of that clan?”
“There are no more Rucai,” she said. “They have been extinguished.”
“Is this true, Shadow?” Daric asked him. “Are you lying to my queen?”
“The Rucai are gone but I survived. I represent my clan.”
“A lone wolf!”
Inez
’s eyes lit-up for a second before narrowing. She began to stare hard at Vaughn walking forward at the same time. She ended up right in front of him. I watched as she slowly put her hand up against his chest.
“Yes,” she said. “I can feel it. I feel how your heart beats. You are strong even though you are alone.”
“He is not alone!”
I shouted at her. I didn’t need to see anymore. It was clear what her intentions were and despite my obvious jealousy, I let my instincts cry out.
“Interesting,” Inez said to me. “The prisoner shows love for her captor.”
“I am not his prisoner and he is not my captor. We are equals.”
“Spare me your trifle euphemisms. You will never be equals. You are an ordinary human. You will never be his equal as such.”
I jumped out of my spot and leapt toward her in anger. Rio and Irvine grabbed me and held me back. I could feel my blood boiling. I was seething. I had already dealt with this with Shiva. To see another woman make a play for Vaughn had pushed me over the edge.
“Temper, temper,” Inez smirked at me. “Keep your queen in line.”
“Enough!” Cyrus yelled before anybody else could react. “We have no time for such petty bickering. Settle your differences later. Your lovers’ quarrel is not a concern.”
“Let go of me…”
I pulled myself free from Irvine and Rio’s grasp. Even though Inez was still staring at me with that same deceptive smile on her face, I managed to hold back and not do anything further.
“Very well,” Inez said. “This matter will be settled later. Just remember, Shadow. You have a place here with the Shidos. Daric is not so bold as to tame me. When his needs are satisfied, sometimes my appetite is not satiated. I can satisfy the arousal that I know burns in your heart.”
“And you have your place as well,” Daric said to me. “Only a woman as strong as you could capture the essence of a lone wolf. I am curious as to what kind of experience you could provide me.”
“I—”
“That’s enough.”
Before I could refuse their offers, Irvine grabbed my arm.
“Are we done here?” I asked.
“Yes, we’re done,” Irvine said. “Just make sure that you do your part to unite the smaller clans. They’re spread out on the edge of the city. When that is done, we will prepare for our meeting with the Nakas.”
“Yes,” Daric smiled, stroking his chin. “We will be prepared for that meeting.”
I took Vaughn’s hand into mine and we started to leave the clearing. The wolves surrounding us parted so that we could finally leave. I could still feel their eyes upon us as we walked away. Even though we had accomplished our mission, our meeting with the Shidos left a terrible taste in mouth. I couldn’t get away from them fast enough.
As we walked back through the forest to our destination, Vaughn was focused and silent. Everything Daric and Inez said to us continued to linger in my mind. The sound of the wilderness surrounding us wasn’t enough to distract my thoughts.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
“What?”
“A-are you all right, Vaughn?”
“Why would you ask me that?”
“Because of what they said.”
“What did they say, Ariel?”
“They said that they had never met anyone like you. You’re a lone wolf. I know that it pains you to speak of your clan—”
“It doesn’t pain me to speak of it…”
There was a low growl in his voice. I was worried that I might have upset him. I knew that it was a sore spot for him. We were in the middle of a city home to so many different clans. And he alone represented his clan by himself. I wished that I could be the one for him and provide for him what he needed.
“Then you’re all right?”
I asked him the same question I initially asked him and he stopped in his tracks. I could barely make out his blue eyes as he stared at me in the darkness of the forest. He sighed as he took both of my hands into his.
“I am fine unless I say otherwise,” he said. “We are here for business. If you want to discuss what they said to us, now is not the time.”
Vaughn dropped one of my hands and continued to lead me through the forest.
“So there is something to discuss then?”
“There is nothing to discuss on my part, Ariel. But you have my ear. I only ask that if you wish to talk about this, we wait until we get out of here. We are still in Shido territory. I don’t completely trust Daric. If my instincts are correct, there are wolves still tracking us.”
“Your instincts do not lie,” Rio said to us. “I can smell the presence of their clan near us. But it’s not just them. The Nakas still linger here.”
“There was one of them here though,” I said. “The one who died.”
“I know, Ariel. I can sense others though. We must make our way out of here as quickly as we can.”
“But what if—”
“Enough talk!” Cyrus shouted. “You bicker and gossip like children. What’s done is done. I have no interest in listening to you try and settle your personal affairs. Save your breath.”
Cyrus’s authoritative voice silenced everyone. I still had questions that needed to be answered. I started to hurry through the trees and head back to the van so that it could take us back to Sosa’s den. But my desire to get out of the forest wasn’t fueled solely from wanting to get away from danger. I felt a compelling need to be alone with Vaughn.
It was a long night. So much had been accomplished. I still felt like our journey was far from over. Whatever was out there waiting for us, we needed to prepare. Out of everybody here, I was the one who felt most vulnerable.
We finally got through the forest and out of Shido territory. I sat in the van and leaned close to Vaughn, hoping and waiting for all of this to finally end.
Chapter 20
We returned to Sosa’s den late in the evening. The energy had been completely drained from me after our long treks into both forests. I was glad for the chance to rest finally. I could feel how red my eyes still were from the intimate time I shared with Vaughn. Though my craving for him would never go away, my desire was to get away from all of this more than anything else.
When we stepped inside of the cave, there were more wolves than the Capes to greet us. I was happy to see Yung’s smiling face in the cave.
“The rest of the Doras are here as well,” he said.
“Under whose authority was this done?” Cyrus asked him. “You are not in charge, old man.”
“It wasn’t my decision, Cyrus. Your queen is the one who made this decision.”
Shiva made her way from around the corner and stirred feelings inside of me that I was trying to forget. The perfectly proportioned blonde made her way to Cyrus and kissed him softly upon the lips.
“I apologize for not telling you, my Alpha,” she whispered to him. “But I could sense that you have succeeded. I figure it only appropriate that we spend time with the clan we will be working together with.”
“Your senses don’t deceive you, Shiva,” Cyrus said to her. “You were right to come here. We have a right to the comforts of this cave. There is no reason for them to keep this all to themselves.”
He looked over to Rio, who began searching the crowded cave.
“I don’t think anybody even noticed you were here,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to discuss what happened with Sosa.”
Rio left and walked past all of the men that were now laying around the floor of the cave.
“I missed you,” Shiva whispered to Cyrus.
She kissed him over and over upon his cheek and chin, her tongue swirling around the edge of his ear. But while she did it, her eyes were shifted toward Vaughn. I looked at him and saw that he was staring back at her, his eyes focused. I clenched my jaw at the sight, remembering what she said to me in the forest. Vaughn’s behavior was more than curious. I instinctively grabbed his hand and tug
ged on it.
“Irvine, we need a moment to rest,” I said to him. “Vaughn and I need to save our strength. We’ll be away for the moment.”
“Of course, Ms. Everhart,” he said to me. “While some of the larger clans have accepted to be part of our alliance, there is still much work to be done. I will be here near the entrance if you need anything.”
Irvine nodded to Vaughn and me then sat at the entrance of the long tunnel that led back into the forest. I glanced at Shiva for only a split-second but it was long enough to see the deceit in her eyes as she continued to comfort Cyrus. I pulled Vaughn away as quickly as I could and led him to an empty spot at the end of the cavern. We took a seat next to one another against the wall.
There were hundreds of men and women lounging around in front of us. They were all shapes, sizes and colors. The Capes and the Doras were mixed together in harmony. They certainly had nothing to complain about. The large cave provided a comfort that made you forget about how cold it was outside. I could sense a peace among them that I couldn’t describe. It felt as if the room was filled with nothing but positive energy.
As I watched the display of men and women enjoying the quiet away from the situation waiting for all of us, I leaned in close to Vaughn with my arms wrapped around one of his. I rested my head upon his shoulder and sighed.
“We’re almost finished,” he said.
“It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve been back home but it’s only been a few days.”
“When this is all over, we’ll go back home and we can relax. We will end this threat, Ariel. I promise.”
“Yeah, I know.”
All of the men and women were lying down in front of us. The only two people standing were Cyrus and Shiva. The blonde couple was enjoying the company of one another without any shame. I remembered what I felt when I saw it just days earlier. All of the feelings that stirred within me. Because of everything that happened, it almost felt like I was losing Vaughn.
“Vaughn…”
I pulled my arms away from him and sat up. I looked into his eyes as he stared back at me inquisitively.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me.
“Nothing is wrong. It’s just… What happened back with the Shidos… With Inez and Daric.”