by Jessica Cage
“That was brave,” Bruto laughed.
“Hush.” Rosie pinched his arm. “You better be good out there.”
“I promise to be on my best behavior.” He gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek, and growled into her ear, “You make sure you rest up for when I return!”
Ardyn and the chosen members that would make up his team, left the dining hall with Akasha and her crew as the tables were being restocked with grub for the others. Zaria lingered behind just long enough to snag herself another small plate and turned happily to make her exit before the guys descended on the table. As she left, waving at Inda, Ryesen returned to the room, and in passing she knocked her shoulder into Zaria. The plate in her hand fell to the floor and the entire room froze.
“Should watch where you’re going,” Ryesen snipped.
“Seems like you do a great enough job of that for both of us.” Zaria winked, leaving the mess on the floor, and swayed out of the room.
“You doing okay, honey?” Rosie caught the exchange between the wolf and the bird like everyone else had. She, however, was the only one brave enough to approach the brooding woman who took to the far corner of the room.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, just minding my business.” Ryesen rolled her eyes and slouched into her chair.
“Look, you don’t have to get all snippy about it. I just wanted to check in on you, seeing as we’re all supposed to be here working together. Having one of our team in a slump would be bad for the group, but I will just go back to minding my business.” Rosie turned to walk away and leave Ryesen to herself.
“Wait, I'm sorry. My temper is just so erratic lately.” Sighing, she straightened in her seat and took a deep breath to clear her head. “I feel like a damn baby wolf. I haven’t been this way in a long time.”
“I would say that no one noticed the temper, but I’d be lying.” Rosie pulled up a chair to join her.
“I know, and I do apologize. It’s not right that I take my frustrations out on everyone like this.”
“Hell, you don't have to apologize to me. I understand exactly what’s going on inside of that head of yours.”
“You do?”
“Yes, the love of your life vanishes, for god only knows how long. Then he waltzes back in on his high horse only to save another woman with plans to immediately leave again once he’s accomplished that. Not to mention the firebird girl that followed him here. None of that sits well on the tongue. Hell, if I were in your shoes, I’d likely have attacked her skinny little ass!”
Ryesen laughed. “I like you.”
“Most people do.” She winked. “It’s good to see you smile. I was beginning to think your face could only make one expression. So, tell me, what is it that you hope to accomplish with this sour puss attitude?”
“I know, it’s not helping anything, but I just can’t help it. I get so mad when I see his face. The one time I thought I would be able to squash it, that we could talk things through and move on, I show up only to find him out in the woods glowing, and with her. He’s always either with her or looking at her and every time I catch it, it’s like I’m getting punched in the gut.”
Rosie heard what Ryesen had to say but she wondered something. “Here's a question, do you want him?”
“What?” Ryesen wasn’t expecting the jarring words.
“I didn't start speaking French, honey. Is he someone that you want in your life? He has been away for all this time, you can’t tell me that you didn’t find a way to get past him. Do you still love him?”
“I don’t know. I had moved on, or at least I thought I had. I have a new mate, we’re planning on starting a family, just announced our engagement a few weeks back.” She stared at the bare space on her finger that just a few days prior was home to the prettiest emerald she’d ever laid eyes on. “The thing is, the moment I saw him in the field, mutated or not, it all came rushing back. The heat, the fire that burned inside of me for him since we were young, it reignited, and I wanted to celebrate it. What’s worse is I know in my heart that he didn’t have that same experience. He looked at me with regret, with apology, but not with love, not the way I hoped he would.”
“How do you know that he didn’t feel anything for you?”
“We’re wolves. We connect on a different level when we're mated … it is something that transcends everything else. That person becomes your reason for existing, they become the very thing that you were created to be on this earth for. Each thought, breath, heartbeat, it happens in unison from the moment the mated bond snaps into place. When Ardyn stepped foot on our territory, I felt him. I was in the middle of a run and my entire body froze. I damn near smacked into a tree! I was paralyzed with fear, love, excitement, anger. Every emotion I felt for him before he left and every one after, it came back to me. When I finally found him in the field with the others, I knew he had no idea I was there. It wasn’t until he saw me, and even then, there was nothing. Back then, when Ardyn would look at me, I felt it. I felt every bit of his love and desire for me. Now, it’s not the same, he’s not the same with me anymore.”
“Do you think it has something to do with the way he has been changed?” Rosie’s voice was soft, caring. She felt for the woman, longing for someone and knowing in her heart that he would never feel for her the way she felt for him.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it.” She caught sight of the other wolves who kept a close eye on her and the djinn. They felt the change in Ardyn as well, the entire pack did. “He isn’t the same man. That’s all I do know. He isn’t the same and he doesn’t love me like he did before. Hell, he didn’t even try to come back to me. All this time, if he was the same, nothing would have kept him from me. Either way, I need to get over this.”
“What about your new mate? How does he feel about all of this?” Rosie was curious about the wolf and she wanted to understand more about her story. She’d keep her talking as long as she was willing.
“He isn't pleased with me right now, for obvious reasons.” Ryesen dropped her gaze to her hands.
“You called off your engagement.” Rosie noted the missing ring from her finger. “Aren't you mated to him now?”
“I was, until Ardyn came back. I was happy with Marcus, but something happened. It was like the bond I had with Ardyn was triggered and it blocked out everything else in the world. I can’t feel him anymore, and I don’t know what to do about it. It didn’t help that he tried to challenge Ardyn in front of the entire pack and lost!”
“Damn, girl, you got it bad.” Rosie tapped the table, and two pink shot glasses and a bottle of tequila appeared.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Ryesen knocked back the offered shot and then held her glass out for another.
“Now that we have our teams together, we can begin,” Akasha addressed the group that joined her in what the guards liked to call the war room though it had been a long time since it was used for that purpose. “It will take us a few hours to get to the border. As I stated before, once we are there, we will be greeted by the jaguar guard, who will escort us to Magua. Once we state our case, he will determine if we can proceed or not. Without his approval, this search party will go no further.”
“And you said the odds of him approving this are low.” Jinn shook his head. “We need a contingency plan if that happens.”
“If I am honest, yes, I believe they are low. I do have scouts that are running the perimeter of Magua’s area to see if perhaps your friend passed through and exited. If she did, they will be able to pick up her scent. Hers is the only fae that we’ve had around here in quite some time.”
“Great, at least there is that.” Jinn rubbed the charm hanging around his neck absentmindedly. For so long he’d used it to connect to the fae girl who claimed him as her friend from the moment they met. When she fell into the ocean, chained to a dying djinn, the connection died. He rolled the stone between his fingers and whispered her
name more times than he could count, but she never answered.
“Look, we have to take the shot. Praia wouldn’t give up now, neither will we,” Rick demanded, and Akasha nodded. He already voiced his issue on the amount of time they’d lost in their quest to find her. “When do we leave?”
“We leave now. As you have made very clear, there is no time to waste. We must arrive there before the sun begins to set. If we come after nightfall, it may be taken as a direct threat. This is not something we want.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go.” Rick stood from the table and exited the room, and Jax laughed.
“He’s a man on a mission! Let’s go!” he barked, and laughter filled the air as they followed the hurried footsteps of the dragon.
Outside of the palace doors, the guard lined the steps and saluted them as they descended to climb aboard their transports. It was their custom to see off the queen whenever she left. As they boarded, the guards turned to the east, in the direction they were headed, and watched as they rode away.
The ride to the jaguar territory was shorter than the one to get to the panther city. The sun had just started its descent when they reached the path that crossed over from Felidae to Lagial, home of the jaguars. The transports faded into the ground just in front of a walkway lined with bones, a warning to anyone who came near. The path ended beneath two massive stones carved into fangs that hung from an arch of two trees. There, two guards waited. Having seen and heard the visitors approaching and recognizing Akasha was there, they had already alerted their leader and called for reinforcements in case things went south.
“Akasha,” the woman who held a thick staff in her hand called out. She, like all of Magua’s guards, was dressed in black, head to toe. The same silver that coated her staff accented her attire.
“Danis, it's good to see you again,” Akasha greeted the guard who nodded.
“Yes, I’m sure it is. And to what do we owe the pleasure of having you grace us with your presence?”
“I come to speak with Magua. He should be aware of my arrival as I sent word before my departure.”
“Do you expect me to believe you’ve simply come here for a favor?” Danis was always protective of Magua. The two were very close growing up—so close that everyone thought they would end up together. Danis had other ideas of how her life would be and it didn’t include sitting on a throne looking pretty for a man.
“Why wouldn’t you believe me?” Akasha took offense to the accusation. “Have I ever lied to you before, Danis?”
“With the rumors of uprisings, why should we think you’re doing anything but coming here to cut people down before they can do it to you?”
“I have no such desires here,” the queen spoke. “I must say, it hurts me to see your sudden distaste for me. I remember a time when we were friends.”
“Times change,” Danis sneered.
“Danis, settle down.” The baritone voice of their leader sounded before he appeared, reverberating off the trees around them. What looked like a forest behind the guards shifted and revealed two walls that opened on a mechanical pulley system. Behind them they revealed the true city of the jaguars and also their king.
Magua moved forward with his men flanking him. The king sported long dreadlocks that fell to his waist, past a body that looked like it was sculpted from the same stone of the fangs that hung above them. His skin was onyx, which set in strong contrast to the ice green eyes that stared at them. He wore an unbuttoned white shirt that showed off his chest and muscled core, and a pair of black pants. If not for the fanged crown atop his head, no one would have guessed he was royalty.
“Magua, it is good to see you.” Akasha smiled.
"Akasha, old friend,” he touched Danis’ shoulder and she stepped aside, allowing him to fully greet his guest, “it is good to see you as well. How have you been?”
“Busy, but you know how it is,” she continued with the small talk.
“Yes, I do. Who would have thought the two of us would grow to be rulers?” He laughed, and again the sound filled the space. “So, tell me, why are you here?”
“I've come to request safe passage for my friends who are looking for one of their own. Her scent is what led my trackers to your door.”
“Interesting. I did get your message about the fae girl, but I have no record of any such being coming through here.” He looked over his shoulder at Danis who shook her head, confirming that she hadn’t seen a fae and none was ever reported.
“Perhaps she was cloaked?” Ardyn offered.
“Wait a damn minute,” Magua’s voice boomed, and the others froze before he laughed again. “Is that who I think it is?”
“Yes, Magua. Sorry, I forgot to mention in my note that Ardyn has returned.” Akasha confirmed what she knew Magua had meant.
“Well, damn, this is a cause for celebration. The lost one is back!” he pounded his chest and roared. “Though, he smells a bit funny now. Not so much like a mutt, which I’m not complaining about.”
“That alone is an interesting story. If you allow us passage, we will fill you in,”Akasha offered.
“For you, not a chance in hell, but for wolfy here, of course!” Magua threw his arm around Ardyn’s neck. “Brother, you know you’re about the only wolf I ever liked. How could you leave me like that?”
“It wasn’t my choice, trust me.”
“Great, I’ll send word to the others.” Frowning, Akasha turned to Joe who headed back in the direction he came. When Jinn’s eyes followed him, she explained, “He will escort the others back here so that Danis knows who she can trust.”
“Others? There are more of you?” Magua confronted the panther queen.
“Yes. It’s just a handful more who will be joining us. Friends of Ardyn and the others.”
“Ah, of course, get my agreement then invade us!” he laughed, arm still around Ardyn.
“It's nothing like that,” she replied.
“Ah, yes, you’re no fool. Anyway, do what you must.” He waved a dismissive hand at Akasha, whose jaws tightened at the disrespectful gesture. “Come on, Ardyn, fill me in on the missing years! And you do still owe me $100 I believe. That bet about that stick up Akasha’s ass … still there!” He laughed as they walked and Ardyn couldn’t help but join him. Magua had always been a boisterous man, it seemed becoming king of his prowl didn’t change that.
The shifters differed from their wildlife cousins in the way that they stayed together. Wild jaguars were solitary beings, preferring to be alone until mating season. The shifters, however, let their human side lead their desire to be connected with one another. For this reason, the outskirts of Lagial was home to the wild ones. Magua issued the standard warning about not agitating them.
The moment they passed through the mechanical doors, Jax and Rick were uncomfortable. The jaguar slice of shifter land was a rainforest. The tropical temperatures were hard on the dragons. By the time they made it to their rides, vans like the ones they used in the wolf area, both men were dripping with sweat.
“Are they going to be okay?” Magua pointed to Jax and his partner.
“Just having some difficulty adjusting to the heat here.” Jax wiped his forehead but seconds later another coat of sheen was there.
“Maybe I can help.” Nitara walked over to Jax and touched his forehead. A shimmer of purple wrapped around his entire frame and instantly cooled him.
“Better?” she asked.
“I could do without the purple highlight, but yes, much better. Thank you.”
“No problem.” She moved to Rick and did the same. “It’s your own little climate control setting, kinda like what works here for the different areas, only this one will travel with you.”
“It’s a lot different here than in Felidae.” Leaning against the van, Bruto looked off in the distance. “I don’t see any high rises out there.”
“No, we prefer a simpler landscape here. Everything here is built or constructed with our own hands. We don’t rel
y on the magic of others to advance our people.” The comment was meant as it was taken, as a judgement on the way that Akasha and the others lived. “Everybody load up!”
They drove for twenty minutes through the forested outskirts before they made it to the center of their land. As Magua stated, they led a completely different life than the others. The roads were dirt paved. The scenery flush with nature. Trees, foliage, everything you would think to imagine of a thriving land. Magua and his people were in tune with the nature around them. Just as with every other shifter territory, the inhabitants took both forms as they lived their lives. Not all were shifters, but the wild ones seemed a lot more at rest. They didn’t view the newcomers as threats to their lives. They trusted Magua.
“This place is insane.” Bruto stepped from his van. At the heart of Lagial was a massive waterfall that emptied into a small lake where people swam and small children threw skipping stones. Their laughter echoed off the trees, creating a musical sound.
“It really is beautiful,” Nitara agreed.
“Well, thank you. A compliment from a beautiful woman such as yourself is quite flattering.”
Jinn grabbed Nitara’s hand. “Yes, I agree.”
She laughed and nudged his side with her elbow. After all they’d been through the man still found it in himself to be jealous.
Lagial was unlike Felidae entirely. In the middle of the forest, the jaguars had carved out a little area for themselves, using only the space they required and allowing the nature that surrounded them to thrive. The waterfall was its central focus. Magua lived in a modest home that only slightly varied from the ones his people dwelled in. Each home was constructed by members of the prowl, using the natural resources that surrounded them and the technology that they developed over time. Each home sat with the front door pointed toward the waterfall. It was there in the small field by the lake that they held their most important meetings. Small, wooden benches lined the space—seating for the population whenever a meeting was called.