by T. F. Walsh
It wasn’t really her style to like anyone. And, despite her slight hysteria over her subconscious motivations, it definitely wasn’t in her to obsess about someone who treated her badly. She just didn’t have the patience for that. She got enough criticism from her dad. There simply wasn’t room in her life for any more noise about how she didn’t measure up. She had a basic rule: any person who gave her a hard time she couldn’t trust. So why was she still thinking about Caleb in that way?
It was frustrating, but she was beginning to think that maybe what she really liked about him was that he didn’t care. All her life, she had been measured — and been found wanting — against everyone’s expectations of the pack heir. But the boy, she thought that he had actually seen her, just her. When she was with Caleb, she felt what it was like to be measured for herself and not for her title. It was a strange feeling, but a welcome one. Maybe she didn’t want steamy glances. Maybe she just wanted honesty.
She’d always been a bit of a freak. She was probably destined to be a freak in love, too, right? Who was she kidding, love? Ok, maybe not love, maybe not even like … well, at least not yet.
A noise came from outside, almost like someone was on the roof ledge outside her window. Was it Caleb? She secretly hoped it was. She ran toward the window and tossed open the curtain.
“Good evening, pack heir.” Lukas stood on the flat roof below her. The area had served sometimes as her own little balcony when she was a child. She had spent many evenings out there as a kid, staring up into the sky.
“What do you want, Lukas?”
“No time for niceties even for your own pack?”
“We don’t need to pretend we’re friends. I know exactly how you feel about me.”
“You do, do you? I think, pack heir, even with all your gifts,” he said mockingly, “you still cannot even begin to comprehend how I feel about you.” His face was a mask of disgust. Clearly he didn’t think much of her or her gifts. “But if you prefer the death of politeness and pleasantries, so be it. I want you to withdraw. You should not join the trials. A wolf needs to know his place. It’s time you recognized yours.”
“I know my place, Lukas. It’s you who does not know yours. I will be pack heir, and I will not forget this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you aren’t even going to survive the trials. You can’t even shift, can you? You have been trying to use their weapons. I’ve seen you. But you can’t hope to master in a few years a skill that the vampires have spent generations perfecting, can you?”
“Lukas, please, just go. I’ve heard this a hundred times from my father. I’ve said it to myself. Just go.” If she cried in front of Lukas she would never forgive herself. And besides, she had no choice. Her father would not allow her to withdraw anyway. This whole conversation was pointless. She was pack heir or nothing.
“You’re upset. So you see what I see? You know you cannot do this, don’t you? Don’t you?” he said desperately, grabbing her arm, almost pulling her out of the window and onto the roof with him.
He clawed at her so hard it hurt. Tears sprang into her eyes and she winced. “Let me go, Lukas. Please, just stop it. We’re not kids anymore, ok? You can’t bully me into quitting. Ow, stop! Lukas!”
“No, You’re going to die out there!” he yelled.
Moving so quickly that, for a moment, Libby couldn’t tell what was happening, Caleb moved between her and Lukas, standing just outside her window, almost blocking the entire opening. Knocking away Lukas’s arm and releasing her from his grip, Caleb pulled her solidly behind him, letting her ease back into her room. He hissed at Lukas, “Her future is of no concern to you, mutt.”
“I was told of this, too, Elisabeth,” Lukas said while trying to peer at her behind Caleb’s back, trying to act as though Caleb wasn’t there. “That vampire has been following you. Gathering information. Libby, you see what we all see, don’t you?”
Caleb seethed with aggression. His face was taut, his stance open, his knees slightly bent as if, at any moment, he might spring. His teeth were bared. “Leave her,” he growled. “She has told you to go.”
“Elisabeth. Listen to me. For once, please, listen to me. Don’t trust this vampire, and do not enter the trials.”
“Go!” Caleb barked. “She has nothing to say to you.”
“Lukas, he’s right. I have nothing to say to you, and you have said too much. Go.”
“Fine. But don’t be a fool, Elisabeth. This vampire is a spy. He is not your friend.” He jumped from the roof, shifting in mid-air and hitting the ground as a wolf, and ran into the forest.
“Are you all right? Libby?” Caleb asked.
She didn’t answer him; she couldn’t. She just backed away from the window, sat on her bed, and rubbed her arm.
“Libby, are you ok?” He was leaning in the window, his arms resting on the casement as though he wanted to come in, but couldn’t.
“So is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“That vampires can’t come in unless you invite them.”
“Oh, that,” he said, not laughing, not smiling, but with a voice lighter and less concerned. “No, that’s not true. Just a myth.”
“Then why aren’t you coming in?”
“Can I?”
“Are you sure you’re not just trying to get my permission while hiding this very important vampire secret?”
“I am sure. I am not trying to hide anything. I am trying to be honorable and consider your feelings.”
“Prove it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Are you still asking for permission?”
He hopped through the window. “Satisfied now?” he said, raising his arms and turning in a slow circle so that she could see he was fine. He was teasing her, but what Lukas had said still hurt. And now she couldn’t just enjoy being with Caleb. Lukas was right — not about everything, but she should be more cautious.
“Why are you here, Caleb?”
“It seemed he was hurting you, I — ”
“No, I mean, why are you here? Why were you close enough to know that he was anywhere near me?”
“Well, I … ”
“Come on, Caleb. I have no more energy for games tonight.”
“What he said about me is true. I am trying to get information about you. But I … ” He was surprised, his eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly.
“What?”
“Getting information … that is not really the reason I am following you around. I … I can’t honestly say what’s happening here, but I am sorry that Lukas said all that he said.”
Whether he was shocked by his willingness to share that information or with the emotional revelation itself, she couldn’t be sure. She could feel that he was trying to be honest. She knew that good actors could simulate human feelings, but Caleb was not a good actor. Having known him for just a little while, she knew that he would not be able to create convincing shows of emotion — emotions were far too confusing for him.
“I am sorry, too.” For a long time they stayed like that together, her sitting on the bed, him standing near her, unmoving. Finally, he whispered good night and then left. Tomorrow was the first day of the trials.
• • •
“So, we will face only one group?” asked Caleb, sounding impressed and perhaps a little pleased.
“Yes. You and Conall will not fight until — ”
“So the other groups will have to fight more than us?” Libby interrupted, not waiting for the beta to answer.
“Yes,” he answered to both questions.
Caleb and she were staring at the bracket layout of the trials. There were fifteen pairs all together, and all of the pairs were going to fight a match, and the winners of each match would advance. Every pair but one. She a
nd Caleb were not part of the first round. In fact, the first week of the trials was set aside for the matches, one each evening, but she and Caleb would not be fighting at all, not until the first day of next week, when the second round began.
“But I don’t understand why. That’s not normal … is it?” she asked, concerned that her father had bent the rules to protect her from fighting. “Why are we not fighting the first round?”
“I am merely following orders,” the beta said a little shakily, casting Libby a sideways glance. “I was told the pack heir and the vampire prince would not fight until the final bracket. While it is not precisely normal … it is to be assumed that the future leaders of our kinds would dominate.” He continued talking, but all that he said was lost in her confusion. The world seemed to spin.
How could Caleb possibly be their prince? She had heard terrible rumors about the vampire prince. He was viscous. Mad. Unstable. The wolves feared him desperately; her people said that he had no mercy and no control over his dark nature. They said even other vampires thought him evil and wished him dead. She had heard over the years that he was the leader of prophecy, the one whose anger would rip apart the worlds both kinds knew. It was hard to reconcile this version of him with the man she knew. Was he truly their prince? Was she blind to his true nature? Was she really like one of those silly females in heat — females so desperate for a mate that they ignored all good sense and good counsel and pledged themselves to some terrible mongrel?
But he just didn’t seem like the creature everyone had told her he was; he didn’t seem like the end of everything. If she admitted the truth to herself, she had started to see him a little along the lines of the answer to everything. The dear expressionless face of the boy she had met couldn’t possibly be the Prince of Darkness that everyone thought him, could he?
No. No. She could trust her abilities to read others, and she felt sure and certain in her appraisal of him.
“Libby?” Caleb prompted.
“Yes?” she answered distractedly.
“Are you all right?
“Uh, sure.”
“‘Uh, sure?’ What’s wrong?”
She couldn’t possibly admit that, this entire time, she hadn’t known who he was. So she said the first thing that came to mind. “I think I’m going to die.”
“What? Seriously, are you ok?”
“Yeah. Yes. Great. Fine.”
“What do you mean you’re going to die?”
“We’re against wolf-hater and Lukas, right?”
“Who’s wolf-hater?”
“You know … that wolf at the start of the trials that was all ‘I hate wolves. I want them all dead. Blah blah blah.’ That guy. And then there’s Lukas. They’re both going to be after me. I’m probably gonna die.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Opponents neutralize the strongest enemy first. It’s the strategic choice. And, while I’ve grown to recognize your skill, and it is considerable, I am still stronger. They will target me. And I can teach you to dodge any attacks ‘wolf-hater’ might make. And you know Lukas, yes? We’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”
• • •
He would take her to watch them at the practice ground. She would understand better if she could see it. He still wasn’t sure why he wanted to help her. Yet, here he was, in the forest, sneaking up on one of his own kind, with a wolf.
“Come on. Quietly now. I thought wolves had more stealth. You sound like an elephant dancing through the forest.”
“Nice metaphor, jerk. I’m nervous, ok? The last time I tried watching Lukas practice, he caught me and broke my nose.”
“You let him break your nose?” How could she be found so unaware and defenseless? She really didn’t have any instinct for self-preservation.
“I didn’t let him anything. He was so fast I could barely see him. Wolf one second, boy the next. His fist was raised and at my nose before I even knew what was happening.”
“So he surprised you. You were defenseless and he sprang on you. While your lack of reaction time is still problematic, I will accept this answer. You were young. And what did you do to him in answer?” He hoped she had bludgeoned the fool.
“I was eight. I cried. What else? What would you have done? Told your mom?”
“You wouldn’t believe what I was capable of at that age.”
“Oh, really?” she asked, excited, interested, smiling, probably imagining him doing some kind of tactical tricks in a vampire schoolhouse.
There was no way he was admitting that he had already killed men at that age. “Oh, sure. Sure. I would have thrown mud in his eye for starters. Just crying? Ridiculous. There should have been some kind of retribution.”
She laughed. “Well, if we beat him soundly this time, I can call it even, right?”
“First we’ve got to sneak up on them. Do you think you could manage that? You’re killing me here.”
“Ok, ok.” She clasped her hands together, and wind suddenly whipped around, but only on her. Her hair was slapping against her face, but he couldn’t even feel a breeze on himself. Then she bent her knees and jumped into a nearby tree, balancing naturally on a limb easily ten feet above him. “I’m quieter up here. Slower, but quieter. Is this ok?”
“You never cease to amaze me. Just when I think I know who you are, what you are, you do something like this. And I have no idea again.”
“Come on, you can feel it, right? The storm that’s coming.” She nodded her head in the direction that was in front of them. “I’m just borrowing it a little. It will be here soon, so I just kind of pretend it’s here already. It’s no big deal, I’m just good — ”
“With the in-betweens. Yeah, I know. I just don’t understand it.”
She laughed, but he didn’t know why. She was always laughing, with no rhyme or reason. He was used to it. “I suppose that will do, though. You can move up there, can’t you?”
The wind built up slightly around her again, and she leapt into another tree and then another. She was yards away from him now. She jumped again and then turned, putting her hands on her hips in a silent challenge. She was too far away to talk to, so instead he just nodded his head at her and took off, full speed toward the practice field. Although she was almost completely silent, he could hear the slightest rustling in the trees beside him, and she ran with him that way, side by side, a vampire and his wolf, hunting together.
His father had suspected that Libby might be susceptible to the charms of vampires: he saw her as weak, foolish, easily manipulated. But he would never have seen her this way, strong, swift, his son’s equal. They approached their prey with ease and silence unlike any Caleb had ever experienced in battle before, and he had fought with the best of his kind.
Mile after mile they ran, next to each other, keeping pace with the other, shifting directions at the same time, staying with the developing wind, keeping themselves hidden from their prey in the field ahead, until, as they approached their target, she slowed and dropped softly to the floor.
He was confused; it must have showed on his face because she immediately answered his unspoken question. “Lukas will know something’s wrong if he hears the wind. He knows me. He’ll know what I’m doing. So we’ll have to walk the rest of the way in,” she said quietly. “The real wind is building, though. Soon it will cover our smell and carry our voices away. It will be blowing over them and past us, so it will give us some protection.”
He nodded his head, showing he understood her.
“Fun, right?” she asked, grinning.
He nodded again. It was fun, although he wasn’t sure why.
“Let’s go see what we can see, shall we?” she asked excitedly. Her enthusiasm bubbled out over everything, and like with her laughter, he had grown used to it. He wouldn’t even chastise her about it or warn her to be quiet. He wanted t
o give himself credit for developing patience, but that wasn’t it. He had simply learned that she would do what she would regardless of anything he might say. So, instead of trying to figure out what there was to be happy or eager about, he turned and led them toward the clearing ahead.
In front of them, Caleb could hear the sounds of grunting — whether from pain or mere effort he couldn’t tell, but it was obvious that he and Libby would find the two pounding at each other. He looked at Libby. She seemed uncomfortable. Her eyebrows were pinched together. Was she worried about getting punched again, about getting found out? Or was she worried because it sounded as though the two warriors were actually hurting each other? Knowing her, it was the latter. Either way, he and Libby were in luck — with the wind coming, and with the practice being held in a small valley below, they could easily hide anywhere and have a clear view of their opponents. Choosing a rock clearing to the left, he angled them that way.
• • •
As they settled in to lie flat against the rocks that Caleb had found, she got a glimpse of the fight below. It was as bad as it sounded. They didn’t look like they were practicing. They looked like they were trying to kill each other. Lukas was in his wolf form. Massive. Dark. His yellow eyes staring out from fur the color of night, a black so dark it was slightly purple. He was driven, seeing only the conquest, the potential kill. Soon he would look at her with those eyes.
Caleb spoke, shaking her up and out of her fear. “Is that Lukas?”