by Cloe Cullen
Caught off guard by her devotion, Jorah let loose and chuckled, his laugh causing both Nyx and Bronwen to stare at him. “Man, I can always count on you, huh? Alright, then yeah, I’ll think of something for you to do to help me. But don’t worry, I’m not planning on losing. Count yourself lucky that I’m the one taking the challenge. It doesn’t matter who they throw at me, because either way I’m going to win and force those laws to disappear forever.”
Seeing his confidence back, Nyssa smiled, and the group continued along until they got back to the prison cave. The two guards standing outside yawned as Nyx approached, but promptly moved the large stone blocking the entrance to allow the trio back inside. Surprisingly, she went in with them, whether to speak to them or just Jorah she wasn’t sure. With the cave entrance wide open and the sunlight streaming in, Lowell, Finn, and Keanu covered their eyes with their hands and recoiled. Finn took a few steps back, hissing. “Are you here to take us away too? Just like you did the other three? I’ll get revenge for whatever you people did to them!”
“Relax, Finn,” Nyx said, sighing as they four entered the prison cave. “They’re all still here, alive, but we do have some news for you all.”
“News?” Lowell asked, finally able to lower his hand, his eyes squinting in the light, and stepping forward a bit.
Nyx nodded, but it was Nyssa who spoke next. “Yeah, we have a way to end to the isolation laws of the Bear Clan for good...and the responsibility rests solely on Jorah.”
“What do you mean?” Finn asked, glancing at Jorah.
Sighing, Jorah came forward, sitting on the ground, which had dried up considerably since the night before. Nyssa, Nyx, and the others followed suit, sitting in a wide circle around Jorah, giving him enough room to explain. “Well, we tried to convince the Seers to revoke the law, but ultimately Dallan decided it was a foolish idea, so I resorted to an idea I had originally. I invoked the contest of strength tradition.”
Sighing heavily, Keanu crossed his arms, but Finn and Lowell each glanced at each other, unsure of what to make of Jorah’s words. “What’s a contest of strength, again?” Finn asked.
“Oh, come on,” Nyx said. “I can understand if Lowell doesn’t know, but at least you should, Finn!” Blushing and scratching his head, Finn, mumbled something under his breath and looked away.
“So, then, want to explain it?” Lowell asked. “I’d like to know what we’re all hedging our bets on. I mean clearly it’s all on Jorah, but what does he have to do?”
“It’s pretty simple, really,” Jorah began. “The contest of strength tradition goes as far back as the beginning of our clan. As you all know, we’re led not by one shifter, but by a group of wise elders...well, at least they used to be wise, before the Vampires invaded the Blackwood.” He glanced at Bronwen briefly, who simply shrugged at the comment. “Typically, the Seers make all the laws, but of course there’s always a few who the laws greatly affect, or a few that simply don’t like the laws. So, a contest of strength was set up for any who wished to challenge the Seers. All the challenger had to do was enter a ring made in the dirt, or snow, in our case, and wrestle or fight to shove either a Seer or Seer representative out of the ring. Whoever is last in the ring wins the contest and can choose what to do with the law on hand. It’s a tradition, because typically this contest affects everyone.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad,” Lowell admitted, glancing from Jorah to Nyssa. “I mean, all you need to do is overpower whoever the Seers throw at you, right? Honestly it doesn’t sound all that different from our Alpha challenges back at Gray Creek…”
Keanu grunted. “It’s not that easy.”
“He’s right,” Nyx interjected. “The ring is the most troublesome part.”
Seeing his chance to pick up where he left off, Jorah continued. “The ring is drawn to be small. Small enough to where if, let’s say, I want to shift into a bear to suddenly swipe my opponent out of the ring, I could easily step out and lose the match.”
“It’s all about who is thrown out or steps outside first,” Nyx said, glancing towards the exit, at the two guards watching them. “I remember my sisters telling me tales of matches that went on for days, simply because neither opponent could get the other one to step out of the ring.”
“One could be knocked unconscious, but if they aren’t thrown out of the ring the contest won’t end.”
“Talk about brutal…” Bronwen said. “Though it’s nothing compared to Vampire games.”
“Yeah,” Jorah said. “It’s nothing short of being downright frustrating, especially when you and your opponent are evenly matched.”
“Then I suppose you have a battle plan to win the contest?” Lowell asked. “Knowing you, I’m sure you’ve been thinking of something, at the very least.”
Jorah groaned, glancing at the floor. “Of course, I have, but like we’ve mentioned, at the end of the day I need to overpower whoever I’ll be facing. And since I probably won’t know who I’ll be wrestling out of the ring until tomorrow morning, then I can’t come up with anything concrete just yet.”
“Wait, this contest isn’t until tomorrow morning?” Finn said. “Ugh! We have to spend another entire day in this stuffy cave? I think I might just pass out from boredom.”
Everyone laughed, their chuckles bouncing off the walls. “Well, do you want to change places with me?” Jorah asked playfully. “I’m sure you’ll do fine in the contest.”
“As if!” Finn shouted, causing another chorus of laughter to ring out.
Rising to her feet, Nyx’s smile softened a bit. “Well, I need to go, but I wish you luck in the contest, Jorah.” Jorah also got to his feet, throwing her a smile. “I hope you know...that I’m sorry about how I reacted to you leaving. I’ll be rooting for you.” With that, Nyx jogged out of the cave, calling back to them. “I’ll have others bring by food for you in a bit, okay?” Then she was gone, out of sight, and the two guards rolled the large boulder back over the entrance of the cave, subjecting them all to darkness, the only remaining light being that of the two torches and of the few rays that wiggled through the cracks of the boulder.
“She really is a good person,” Nyssa commented, watching Jorah’s expression. She meant it, truly. Before now, Nyssa had trouble thinking about how Nyx would be able to move forward, knowing she’d never truly be with Jorah the way she wanted to. But the female bear shifter had just proved her wrong twice now.
“Yeah, she is,” Jorah said, sitting back down and sighing. “She’s strong, so she’ll be able to move on with her life one way or another after the outcome of my contest tomorrow.”
Grabbing his hand again, Nyssa peered into his eyes. “You mean after you win, tomorrow.”
Smiling weakly, Jorah nodded. “Yeah, after I win.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Jorah
T o wait an entire day for a contest of strength was beyond excruciating. The hours they spent in the cave felt like eons.
To pass the time, they told stories to each other, tales from each clan present. Nyssa and Lowell each told a story they learned from their parents, each a tale mostly about scaring children about the dangers of wandering the Oldwood forest alone. Jorah found himself entranced by Nyssa’s words, her voice, the way she mused and rambled on, using her hands to make various symbols to help move along her story.
He found that listening to her speak calmed him more than any hopeful thought he came up with. The blazing fires from the torches amplified her and Lowell’s stories, each casting dancing shadows on the curved cave walls.
Eventually everyone took a turn once Nyssa and Lowell finished, with Jorah joining Finn and Keanu to tell a few tales of their own, some stories from before the Vampire invasion, and others from their current era atop the Northern Mountains, about how the older shifters had to learn to adapt to the harsh cold and scarce resources the peaks offered. It felt good to relax and stretch his lungs, to let his voice speak about something other than his impending challenge tomorrow. T
he whole while, Nyssa couldn’t take her eyes off him, and more than once he pretended to speak directly to her, seeing her lips slowly curl into a genuine, beautiful smile.
When they were finished, a bear shifter showed up at their prison cave with caskets of cooked meat and a few hideskin jugs of ale. It was then their stomachs howled in hunger, and they ravenously tore into the food, stuffing their faces and chewing nonstop. Even Bronwen appeared more than ready to dirty her hands and lick the juices off her fingers. As they ate, Bronwen began her own tale, rounding out the group.
She began with a story about a young Vampire, one that challenged one of the Thirteen Vampire Lords. The Vampire fought for love, for a female Vampire that fell under the Lord’s thumb. So, one day he confronted the Lord, intent on challenging him to a duel. Apparently, normally Lords didn’t accept challenges to duels from Vampires lower than them, but to his surprise the Lord accepted. The one condition the Lord had was that they duel right then and there, inside his castle. Happy that he would get a chance to win back his love, who watched on from the side of the room, the Vampire readied himself for the duel. But the duel didn’t quite go the way he planned; within seconds, the lowly Vampire was brutalized by the Lord, broken and beaten to a mushed blob. He didn’t survive the duel, and the Lord went on with his days, forgetting that lowly Vampire ever even existed.
Bronwen’s tale ended just like that, with her chuckling, causing everyone else to glance between each other. Sighing at the end of the tale, Jorah found his head hurting trying to ponder why Vampire’s sense of humor was so twisted.
After that, the others began to play games again, forming a circle close to the entrance of the cave, letting Jorah and Nyssa simply watch from the sidelines. Resting her head on his shoulder, Nyssa gripped onto his arm, and they both remained quiet. Her grip made his heart hammer, thoughts of the morning and how wrong it could go filling his mind.
As the hours waned, one by one the group laid back on the cave floor, doing their best to make themselves comfortable as they closed their eyes to oncoming sleep. Bronwen was the only one who didn’t shut her eyes, rather leaning herself against the cave wall and staring towards the entrance. Jorah was sure she was thinking of Remus, possibly wanting to spend the night with him rather than the five of them.
Jorah’s thoughts then turned to Remus, Nyssa’s tense older brother, and the warning he gave Jorah to never allow harm to come to Nyssa. So far Nyssa hadn’t truly been hurt, not physically or mentally, but then he thought of what would happen if Jorah failed the contest the next morning. Would exactly would the Seers do to Nyssa and the rest? Execute them, just like they planned all along? How would Remus react to that? Would war break out because of his loss?
Jorah’s features darkened as he stared at one of the torches, remembering how beautiful the Oldwood had been, all the shifters and creatures simply going about their lives unaware of what was going on atop the peaks of the Northern Mountains.
Thinking Nyssa to be asleep, he relaxed his body, glancing up at the ceiling, but that quickly changed when Nyssa’s hand grabbed his own, and her brilliant blue eyes locked onto him. “Are you still awake?” She whispered. Glancing back down, he smiled.
“Yeah, I’m still awake.”
“Then come on.” Untangling herself from Jorah, Nyssa gracefully rose to her feet, pulling Jorah up with her. He wanted to ask what was on her mind as she pulled him deftly further into the cave, picking up one of the torches as they went. Bronwen watched them as they left, but ultimately returned to gazing at the large boulder.
Nyssa’s hand tightly around his wrist, she dragged him on and on into the cave, all the way until they hit the back wall. Once there, Nyssa let go of Jorah, turning and placing the torch next to the wall. Curious as to her intentions, Jorah stepped forward. “I don’t suppose you brought me back here for any kind of reason…” But she didn’t answer him, instead whirling on him, grabbing his cheeks and rapidly pressing her lips to his. Catching him by surprise, she held him tight, her passion flowing into him like an invigorating elixir, warming his face and making his body tremble at the sudden pleasure. Releasing him moments later, Nyssa breathed hard, staring into his eyes.
“We don’t have forever,” she said, looking deep into his face. “I can’t take it! Just waiting to see whether you’ll survive the contest or not, or whether you’ll win or lose. I just...I need you right now. Alone.”
Struck by how suddenly the mood changed, his heart beginning to thump beneath his chest, Jorah did this best to grin. “What happened to all that confidence you had earlier?”
“It’s difficult to stay positive when all I can do is just sit in a cave and wait,” Nyssa said, her face drooping. “I mean, what if the Seers decided to just not take us up on the challenge, and just keep us in here? What if-”
Stopping her rollercoaster of words with a finger pressed to her lips, Jorah nodded back towards the way they came. “Quiet, now, or you’ll wake the others.”
Without waiting for her to respond, Jorah picked her up, causing her to stifle a shriek. Slamming her against the wall as softly and quietly as possible, Jorah locked his mouth onto hers once again. Her tender hands gripped the back of his head, caressing his neck and running through his hair, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His body bristling, he pressed his body to hers, letting her nymph-like curves morph and angle his torso.
Her breath, hot and heavy, washed over his neck and collar, making his blood surge and boil. Eventually their kissing became so rough that neither could hold themselves back any longer, and so Nyssa pushed back on the cave wall with her palms, causing Jorah to stumble backwards, his legs giving out, and them both falling to the ground. They landed on Jorah’s back, the smooth cave floor slapping his skin. Nyssa remained in his arms, straddling his torso, her slender hands flat against his abs, only his fabric tunic blocking her from fingering his muscles beneath.
“Do you think this’ll give you the energy to pull through the contest at dawn?” Nyssa breathed as she swiftly fumbled with trying to pull his shirt off.
Jorah chuckled as they slipped his tunic over his head, his skin. “Maybe...I guess we’ll have to see after, huh?”
Nyssa’s hands once again touched his body, though now the touch sizzled and drew him in as he leaned up to kiss her. Her back arched at the taste of his lips, and his hands gently helped her undress, revealing her bright skin and slim features. Losing himself in her, he rolled her over onto her back staring down into her glowing blue eyes, tiny fires dancing in her eyes. They waited a moment, simply taking in each other's figure, letting their hearts sync and beat as one, until finally Jorah pulled off his pants and they connected as one.
Their lovemaking brewed hotter than the flames of the torch that rested to the side, each covering each other’s mouths in an attempt to smother their moans, to keep their skin slapping from waking the others.
Neither knew how much time passed as they lay with each other; they were both so caught up in each other’s embrace that time become a foreign concept, an excuse to leave each other’s touch.
However long it was, their lovemaking ended on a high note, one last push that sent shivers through each of their bodies. With his muscles aching and his charming grin plastered to his face, he collapsed on top of Nyssa. They breathed heavily, together as one, smiling and giggling and kissing each other once more before Jorah lifted himself to the side, wrapping his arms around Nyssa and laying still while they caught their breaths and returned to simply holding each other.
Just like every time before he got lost in Nyssa, all he could think about was never letting her go, never leaving her. Now that he’d spent the night with her, perusing each other’s bodies, he knew he didn’t want this to be the last time they lay together.
“So, how was it?” Nyssa asked, rolling over to look at him, her face covered in shadows.
Jorah’s grin grew from ear to ear, and he couldn’t help but plant a single kiss on her forehead. “It w
asn’t half bad.”
Rolling her eyes, Nyssa burst out into a fit of giggles, causing Jorah to laugh as well.
“Should we go back?” She asked suddenly.
“No... let’s just stay here until they call for us, okay?” Jorah said, unwilling to let this moment break.
Nyssa simply smiled in response, staring at him. “I love you, you know.”
“I love you too,” Jorah replied.
It wouldn’t be long now until Nyx would come calling for the contest of strength. Waiting was still his only option, but for now he felt content, ready to step into the snow for a match that would decide his clan’s fate. Jorah wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nyssa
S he couldn’t have said when they fell asleep in each other’s arms that night, but Nyssa dreamed once again.
In the past, her dreams were always filled with heroic visions of Darius, imagining life if Darius had chosen her instead of Amara, how she could be the Alpha’s mate instead of a cat shifter. Those dreams were dark and misty, with the only light being Darius as he turned his back to her.
But this time her dream was nothing of the sort, instead a vision of pure white snow, with tracks circling her. Instead of Darius walking away from her, a great, massive bear circled her, watching, its dark eyes never leaving her sight. Anyone else might have trembled at the beast circling her, but Nyssa remained steadfast, even briskly striding towards in, cupping its great head and pulling it to her chest, its warm, grizzly fur engulfing her and tickling her skin. As the sun rose and the snow melted, the bear transformed into a man, into the dark-eyed Jorah, his charming smile never breaking, his ginormous arms gently wrapping around her. As they kissed, their bodies lit on fire, tall flames scorching their bodies on the tallest peak of the Northern Mountains.
And then she awoke to the sound of voices calling her name. Her eyes fluttered open to find no Jorah in front of her, her hands sifting through nothing but air. Instead as she rose and stretched from the cool cave floor, she spied Jorah pushing his head and tied back hair through his tunic.