Valiant Heart

by Angela Addams

  Ariana shifted her upper body, arms crossed. “Don’t wish them upon us too soon, Hunter. Trust me when I say we are not top of the chain here. A little humility would suit you well and probably save your life.” She held his stare for a heartbeat more before shifting back to her conversation.

  “So you’ve zapped us into dangerous territory and what? We just stand around and wait to become wolf meat?” He unsheathed his sword in a sweeping arc. “That’s not the way the Hunters do things, Huntress. I want to kick some wolf ass!”

  He knew he was acting like an ass but he couldn’t help it. He was used to being in charge, used to calling the shots, and instead he’d barfed up his breakfast and had no clue where the fuck he was or what the hell plan was in play. And instead of comforting him or at least attempting to make him feel less like a loser, his Huntress was freezing him out.

  “Keep your voice down, Hunter,” Ariana hissed as she turned and stormed toward him, putting herself at his sword tip. He immediately lowered his weapon, terrified that she’d thrust her body in harm’s way.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Harper has been scouting the area for the past couple of hours.” Ariana’s tone was hard, spitting her words like they were poison. “There is no immediate threat. We’ve been here before—we’ve got at least twenty-four hours before the wolves pick up on our presence. Maybe more since we have such small numbers. Stand down and put your damn weapon away before you skewer someone with it.”

  They glared at each other, Lance’s breath coming out hard and fast. Fuck if he didn’t want to throw her down and nail her right there on the grass. Everything about her frustrated him, her commanding attitude, her rejection of him, her frosty demeanor, and yet he knew what she hid from him. He knew there was warmth there. She felt the pull. He could see it in the way her eyes dilated, the way her nostrils flared, like she was sucking up his scent. He took a step closer.

  She took a step back, crossed her arms, shook her head.

  He held her stare for another heartbeat and then sheathed his sword.

  “We’re ready, Ariana.”

  Ariana looked over her shoulder. “Good.”

  She turned and walked to the women who Lance just noticed were seated facing each other, legs crossed, holding hands over a small, smoldering fire. Lance motioned for Kelly to move closer with him for a better look. Kelly gripped his biceps loosely, her eyes alight with curiosity.

  A third woman lifted a small satchel, opened it and dropped a pinch of something into the flame. The flame extinguished, or appeared to, and a plume of smoke rose. Both of the seated women leaned forward, inhaling deeply. The ones standing took a step back.

  “Don’t breathe the smoke in, Kelly. You aren’t ready for that yet,” Ariana said as she motioned Kelly away.

  Lance wanted to know what was going on but he kept his mouth shut, the pulse of magic rising up from the two women seated hand in hand enough to make him dizzy. Their chant started softly, a low vibration of sound that sent shivers up his body. Kelly ran her hand from his arm to his hand, gripping it as she no doubt felt the magic as well.

  Just as suddenly as it started, the chanting ended and an eerie silence fell. The forest itself grew quiet, as if blanketed by something. The hairs on Lance’s neck rose, like hackles warning of danger. Power crackled. The women who were seated snapped to attention, eyes suddenly open, vacant but staring into one another’s, lips moving, whispering. It was creepy as all hell.

  “Still here. The wolf is still here. Beware, Huntresses, keep watch. Blood sacrifice. She is here, closer to her destiny. Keep watch. Blood sacrifice.”

  And over and over the Huntresses repeated their chant. Their words a frenzy until they collapsed back, hands unlatching on a whoosh of breath.

  “What the hell was that?” Lance couldn’t help but gape, his eyes wide as he looked from the fallen women to Kelly to Ariana.

  Everyone ignored him. All shuddered as the magic evaporated. Including him.

  “That was a message from the Goddess,” Ariana said. She moved to help the two women rise. “You did well, sisters. The message was clear. Eat something and we’ll get moving shortly.”

  “The message was clear?” Lance frowned, wondering if Ariana had inhaled some of that smoke. “What Goddess?”

  “She means Artemis, Lance,” Kelly said, her tone one of awe. When he glanced at her, he saw that she had tears in her eyes.

  “That’s right, Kelly, the Goddess, our Goddess,” Ariana said smugly.

  “You’re able to communicate with her?” Kelly moved past Lance, practically shoving him out of the way. “What does she tell you? Does she speak to you often? Can I speak to her?”

  Ariana chuckled. “She doesn’t always speak to us, no, but she has taken a bit of an interest in helping you, it seems. She values your gift and wants it strengthened.”

  “And that was her way of sending a message? You understood that?” Lance scoffed. That these women were in touch with Artemis was hard to swallow. “Are you sure your women weren’t high?”

  Ariana shot him one of the usual death glares but ignored him otherwise, addressing Kelly instead. “When the time is right, we’ll walk you through the ritual. See if she will speak with you directly. For now, though, we got what we need. Your wolf is still in the area. Now all we need to do is track him.”

  Kelly beamed, wiping a few tears from her cheeks. “Wow, so quickly. Thank you.”

  Ariana nodded. “We’ve got some water, protein snacks in the pack over there. Get yourselves something to fill your bellies. We won’t be stopping again until dusk.” As she walked away, she gave orders to her women. “Cat, I want you and Ella on point. Keep an eye out for a doe. We need a sacrifice tonight for the Goddess.”

  “You don’t believe that shit, do you?” Lance said to Kelly as Ariana moved out of earshot. He grabbed her arm so she would face him. “Kelly, seriously, you don’t think they were actually telling the truth, do you? I mean, I know they believe it but they’re fucking nuts…”

  “Why do you think they’re lying? Why do you distrust them so much? That’s your Huntress, Lance. You don’t trust what she’s telling you?”

  He flinched at the accusation. Of course he didn’t think his Huntress was nuts, just the rest of them. “My gut is telling me that we’re only getting half-truths most of the time. Lying by omission is still lying.” He let her go. “You need to be careful, Kelly. I see how enthralled you get by them. I just want you to be a little more guarded. Don’t trust so easily. Not even my Huntress.”

  She blinked, screwed up her face. “You think she’d do something to harm me? You?”

  “No, not directly. But this horseshit about the Goddess, really? You believe that? What came out of their mouths was gobbledygook. It made no sense.”

  “It made sense to me.” Kelly frowned, her eyes still glistening as she raised her hand to her chest. “And I felt it. Right here.” She tapped her heart.

  “What did you feel?”

  “Love. Unconditional, motherly love.”

  Chapter Eight

  My Hunter. Yeah right.

  I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

  Kelly’s hands all over Lance, comforting him, supporting him. What was going on between those two? Friendship for sure, but something more? Had to be. I watched them as they trekked ahead, walking side-by-side most of the time, his hand out to help her balance here and there over the rough terrain. Her hand on his arm to steady herself. At one point, when she almost fell, he wrapped his arm around her waist and kept it there for an exceedingly long time.

  It made me sick. I wanted to go over there and shove her out of the way. My Hunter. Mine.

  And then that thought made me feel sick as well. What the hell was wrong with me? Jealous? Ugh. As if. She could have him. It would help me in the end anyway.

  T
o make matters worse, Lance kept glancing at me, or staring when he thought I wasn’t aware. Was he after my attention? Was he trying to make me jealous? The problem was I liked his eyes on me. I liked the feeling of lust that came in waves, his gaze telling me more than words could ever say. I could picture him storming up to me, ripping off my clothes, slamming me against a tree and fucking my brains out. It made me wet and achy, my clit hard. He was dangerous for me. In so many different ways.

  Ella popped out from around a tree to my left, startling me from my fantasy. “I’ve found some things.” She tapped the satchel on her hip. “There are a few potential options to remedy your little problem.”

  I shot a glance at Kelly and Lance, still totally engrossed in talking to one another. “Good. I guess that means I should be considering it then, right?”

  Ella cocked an eyebrow, smirking as she did. “What? Bonding with him?” She shrugged. “There are benefits, but it’s a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

  “No, not lightly,” I scoffed. “But one that I am considering, I guess. With his bond would come leadership, a team of my own, Queen Val’s approval.”

  Ella nodded. “If those things are important to you, then yes.”

  I frowned at her words. Of course those things were important to me. “Shouldn’t they be?”

  “Perhaps.” Ella gave one of her half smiles. “But severing the bond has repercussions, ones that you might not be appreciating to the full extent.”

  “Well, it’s not like I’m in love with him.”

  “No, thank the Goddess for that, right?” Ella’s words held a hint of sarcasm.

  “There’s no room in the tribe for Hunters and there’s no room in my heart for a man.” I flicked my hand toward Kelly and Lance. “What about a lust potion? You can do up one of those, right? Wouldn’t that work? Make him cheat, break the bond that way.”

  Ella shook her head vehemently. “No, a lust spell is not a good idea. You can’t control completely how it will react with the body’s desires.”

  “As long as he cheats. Goddess knows I can’t. There are no other men around for me to break the bond with.” And I wasn’t interested in entering that territory with any of the women. Not if I was going to become a leader to them in any capacity. “He seems to have some lustful thoughts toward the redhead.” Saying it out loud actually made me bare my teeth, a silent growl on my tongue. “That’s what I want. A lust potion.”

  Ella touched my arm, pulling my attention back to her. “No, Ariana, I won’t do that. If you want to get your bond and amp up your powers, fine. Do it. But I won’t be a party to severing the bond without the Hunter’s knowledge.”

  I screwed up my face, unsure I heard Ella correctly. “Without the Hunter’s knowledge?”

  “Have I ever told you the story about the twin warriors, Saska and Thia?” Ella picked a leaf from an overhanging branch, before twirling it between her fingers.

  “The priestesses from Akaia’s family?” I shrugged. “I’ve heard the story in broken pieces over the years.”

  Old folk tales told around campfires when I was growing up. Akaia was once an Amazon warrior. She was cast out by her tribe after being violated by her ex-lover, Lycaon, the first werewolf. Her vow to Artemis was the reason why Huntresses existed to begin with. The Goddess, hearing her cry for revenge, granted her and her descendants the power to hunt the beast. It came at a cost though. She’d failed to fulfill her original oath to hunt and kill her own son, Lazarus, who’d been conceived from the violent rape at the hands and claws of Lycaon. Artemis condemned her and all Huntresses going forward to lust for both Hunter and beast. To have to choose between the two and ultimately decide which side to fight on. Greer and Queen Val had circumvented that curse to a certain degree though. By getting their bite and murdering their Hunters, they had the power they needed but none of the emotional bond that came with a mating. Information that they passed on to us, their tribe. We all had bites from our beasts and otherwise avoided our Hunters to save us from the grief of the bond.

  Alkaia had died at the hands of her own son, a victim of that kind of emotional bond. She’d let him live when he should have been a sacrifice to Artemis, and Alkaia paid the ultimate price. Lazarus had ripped out his own mother’s heart and then had gone on to reign for centuries, a powerful foe who was skilled at tracking Huntresses and killing them before the Order could ever locate the woman. It was only with his recent death at the hands of his bride, a Huntress named Morgan, that his infamously strong pack had become a chaotic mess, seemingly easy pickings for Greer and the rest of us.

  But that was the back story; what Ella was referring to was a different folktale. Saska and Thia were twins born from Alkaia’s direct line, although several generations later. Considered ancients as far as the lore went, no one knew for certain if what we were hearing was merely folktales meant to teach a lesson or if these women were still alive. For all we knew they could still be haunting the forests in their immortality, searching for redemption. It was an old tale and I didn’t see the connection to Lance and me at all.

  “They were the first priestesses. You know, ones who blindly agreed to a vow without knowing the repercussions,” Ella said, pulling me from my thoughts.

  I frowned, cocked my head to the side. “What vow?” This was not the version I had heard so many times before. Already Ella’s story was veering from the norm. Just like her—something not quite right with the woman.

  Ella tucked the leaf into her satchel. “The sisters were formable fighters, both having found their Hunters early on, had spent many blissful years tracking and cutting down beasts. Their pelt count was far higher than any other Huntress’s at the time. They were known across the land as being the most feared, the most powerful. Also the most arrogant, which is an unfortunate byproduct of such skill and power. The story goes that one day while the girls were on a hunt, venturing out without their Hunters as they liked to do, they encountered a wood nymph. Now, this nymph was a beautiful little thing, petite and childlike, with white crystal lined curls and blood red lips. She coaxed them into her little cove, enticing them with the promise of a great boon.”

  “Yes, I remember this part now. The sisters were offered the gift of all power. Magic abilities that would surpass anything their sister Huntresses had ever been gifted.” The memory of my mother was vivid all of a sudden, whispering this story on so many nights as I fell asleep. Recalling the tones of her voice bought back other memories, ones that made me miss my mom all the more.

  “Yes, and of course they couldn’t refuse. Not even when the wood nymph told them that they would have to give up their most cherished possession.”

  “Their Hunters,” I whispered. I shivered as I had when I was a child.

  “Exactly. Although the idea did give them pause, the power they’d already tasted was merely a tease of ability that the nymph offered them. It was ultimately too much to walk away from. They craved to be the best Huntresses above all others, and what better way than to have the ultimate powers offered to them? And so they accepted, condemning themselves to an eternity of loneliness, never again able to feel the warmth and love of their Hunters.”

  “They sacrificed their hearts for their tribe. An honorable decision.” I scowled.

  Ella scoffed softly. “And after centuries of never feeling that rush of excitement, that pulse of their heart, that fluttering kick in their gut when they beheld the one they loved, after so long of reveling in the power they had been gifted, the sisters became depressed, mired by a sadness so profound that they couldn’t raise a sword against a beast. Could barely function in their daily lives.”

  “Until they found their beasts.” The story took a more sinister tone as I remembered the times that my father told it to me. No love story there. No, his message was harsh.

  “Their other half, the mate destined for them. A union that could heal their hear
ts,” Ella said.

  I gulped down a rising lump of bile. Sickening story. Why was she telling me this? “Heal their hearts? A union that turned them traitor to their own kind, you mean.”

  Ella frowned as she looked at me finally. “Traitors,” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “But that is how the story goes, isn’t it? They were so lonely that they sought out their beasts and mated with them. Living among the pack, no longer hunting our sworn enemies but being bonded to them. Blasphemy, right? So what are you trying to tell me? That I need to cherish a bond with my Hunter or risk bonding with a beast?” I snorted. “My beast is dead.”

  Ella nodded.

  “My father always told me that those Huntresses should have been hunted and killed for their betrayal. Some people believe that they ended up working with Lazarus, helping him to find his bride time and time again. That if they are still alive, they deserve to meet the end of a sword.”

  “And what do you believe?” Ella asked as she pulled another leaf from a tree. “Do you think they should be punished for their actions?”

  “I think that if I ever encountered one I’d cut her down with her beast.” I sneered. “I’d never turn traitor to my tribe.”

  A heartbeat passed. Ella slowly nodded before letting the leaf fall from her hand to the forest floor. “Well, it sounds like you know where your heart lies. Go ahead and get your bond. Your leadership awaits.”

  I opened my mouth to question her but she slipped away, bounding into the forest, moving fluidly through the trees until she just disappeared.

  It was kind of creepy if you asked me. I scanned ahead, seeing nothing that would suggest she was around. Long gone. I shivered. Ella was odd. One of the warriors that I could never quite get close enough to. And now she was showing an undercurrent of…what? Questioning my authority? Well, if I had my bond, double marked by Hunter and werewolf, then I wouldn’t face any disagreement. My power over the Huntresses would prevent any insubordination.