A few hours later, a plane was prepared for Alwyn’s departure. Rachen accompanied Alwyn to the cliffside. His brother didn’t join them, something for which Rachen felt grateful. He was already humiliated and torn inside, and he didn’t want anyone to witness Alwyn’s departure in case he broke down completely.
Rachen led Alwyn to the plane and stopped in front of the aircraft. For a few seconds they just stared at each other. As he took in Alwyn’s familiar face, Rachen knew he could not let the sprite go. He wished he could be a better man, like his brothers, but he wasn’t.
“Stay,” he said. “Don’t leave me.”
Alwyn didn’t even try to say he wasn’t abandoning Rachen. “I don’t want to,” he replied, tears appearing in his dark eyes. “I can’t stay. If I do… I can’t explain it, Rachen.”
“Try,” Rachen insisted. “You know you can trust me.”
On impulse, Rachen took Alwyn’s hands and kissed them. A few months ago, he’d never have dared to do that, but now, it seemed natural. They’d never even shared any sexual touches beyond a few kisses, but Rachen still felt so very close to Alwyn. He truly didn’t think his mind would survive Alwyn’s departure.
He didn’t know what reaction he’d expected from Alwyn, but it certainly wasn’t a fierce embrace. “I can’t. It’s so complicated, and it’s not completely my story to tell.”
Rachen hugged Alwyn back, inhaling the sprite’s scent, wishing he could bottle it so that he’d at least have that when Alwyn was away. He didn’t push Alwyn into revealing anything his mate wasn’t ready to tell him.
“I want to ask you to come with me,” Alwyn confessed when he finally pulled away, “but it wouldn’t be fair to your people.”
Sudden knowledge sparked in Rachen’s mind. “You’re not going to see your family, are you?” he inquired.
Alwyn shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. It’s just…there’s something I really need to do.”
He didn’t even meet Rachen’s eyes as he spoke. Instead, he seemed to be staring at something beyond Rachen’s shoulder. Rachen stole a look behind himself, but he couldn’t see anyone standing there.
Shaking himself, Rachen faced Alwyn again. He cupped Alwyn’s chin and forced their gazes to meet. “Ask me. I’ll say yes. My brother will understand.”
Alwyn’s lower lip trembled. “I don’t want to be selfish. This isn’t about me.”
“Everything is about you,” Rachen impulsively answered.
Before Alwyn could answer to that, Rachen felt someone approaching them. This time, when he glanced away from Alwyn, he saw that Hareem had unexpectedly joined them on the cliff.
“Go,” Hareem said. “You need this. You need to be free.”
Rachen was torn. His loyalty to Ornoz and to his family reminded him that his presence was required if they were going to find a solution to the problem with the Ancient Horror. His dragon pointed out that nothing was more important than his mate.
There was nothing more Rachen would have liked but to go with what his beast demanded. But he saw the loneliness in Hareem’s eyes, and he realized that, beyond his duty as a soldier, he had one as a brother.
“I can’t just leave you,” he pointed out.
Hareem chuckled. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “I don’t need anyone to babysit me. Besides, Prince Kaelezrin is still here.”
Yes, but Kaelezrin was focused on his own mate, something that seemed entirely understandable given Talrasar’s condition. “The benandanti…” Rachen tried again.
“Drop by their lab again before you go,” Hareem said. “If they haven’t managed to find the Ancient Horror in the past months, it’s unlikely that a brief absence from your part will be a huge setback.” He arched a brow at Alwyn. “I do expect this visit to be as expedient as possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Alwyn answered, now sounding a little breathless. “Of course.”
Rachen couldn’t deny himself or Alwyn anymore. On impulse, he hugged his brother. “Thank you,” he said. “I won’t forget this.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” his brother replied. “I just want you to be happy.”
The embrace was a little awkward and a little too tight, but when Rachen released his sibling, he truly dared to think that, at last, he was part of a real family. And when Alwyn took his hand and squeezed, he suddenly knew that this departure wouldn’t be for naught. Somehow, throughout his trip, Rachen would manage to find the answers Hareem was looking for.
Chapter Eleven
A few days later
Taryn bared his fangs at the wolf in front of him, anger coursing hot and bright through him. He couldn’t speak in this form, but he didn’t need words to communicate his fury. He’d grown tired of the other shifter’s clumsy attempts to seduce him. How many times did he have to say no for the guy to get the message?
Sadly, he couldn’t actually pounce on the other wolf to teach him a lesson. He was in the last stages of his pregnancy, which meant that he was not only easily riled, but also quite fat and far clumsier than he’d have liked.
It was perhaps fortunate that his brother got between them before things could escalate further. “That’s enough,” Monroe said through his mental abilities. “Andrew, go with the rest of the pack. I don’t want to see you approaching my brother again. If you do, I’ll take it as a challenge to my authority. Do I make myself clear?”
The other wolf whined slowly and started to back away. Even so, when Monroe turned his back, Taryn spotted his would-be suitor glancing his way again. He didn’t react in any way, knowing it would only encourage the older wolf. He just went with his brother, forcing himself not to think about what would happen if Andrew tried again. Likely, Monroe would be forced to banish yet another member from the pack.
As his pregnancy advanced, Taryn’s wolf grew increasingly restless and needy. He acutely felt his mate’s absence and yearned for Hareem’s touch. Hareem’s few visits soothed the ache but couldn’t completely satisfy the craving. Wolves were tactile creatures, and through his separation from Hareem, Taryn had lost something very important to him. His hormones were all over the place, and they were affecting the rest of the pack. More than once, other wolves had tried to mount him, and only Monroe’s intervention had kept him safe. He often hid from everyone else, just so that he could touch himself and imagine Hareem’s hands on him.
It didn’t help that he had no real clue regarding when he’d give birth. There were very few records of how it had been for previous Lovingtons. In fact, Taryn didn’t even know if there had been male pregnancies in his line before him. It didn’t help that his baby would be a draechen half-breed, further confusing him. Werewolves usually had short gestation times, but dragons laid eggs, and they even had to hatch them after that.
Feeling lonely and stressed, Taryn reached out with his mind to his mate. “Do you ever wish you’d mated a draechen?” he asked morosely.
“I wish for many things, sweeting,” Hareem answered, “but not one of them implies changing you. I’d like for the Directive to be gone, for the Ancient Horror to have stayed dead, for me to be just a regular dragon. But I won’t ever doubt that you’re perfect just the way you are.”
Taryn whined softly. He wished he could believe that, but the fact remained that he’d been the one to send Hareem away. Even if it had all been for a good reason, he couldn’t help but doubt himself.
“Don’t,” Hareem told him. “As much as I miss you, things are toxic in Draechenburg right now. I don’t think it would have been a safe environment for you anyway. What with Rachen and Alwyn leaving, it seems to have gotten worse.”
“Your brother will be fine,” Taryn said, even though he was a little angry with Rachen for abandoning Hareem now of all times. “He’s with his mate, and he is keeping in touch with you.”
“Yes, but the draechen lords don’t realize that. In any case, sweeting, I’ll handle it. Just relax.”
Taryn listened to soothing tone of Hareem’s voice and sat in
the shade of a tree. He was distantly aware of his brother keeping watch over him. With Monroe’s quiet strength nearby and Hareem’s love flooding their bond, Taryn soon found himself dozing off. In the end, who cared about what his pack thought? Taryn certainly didn’t. He’d just worry about his baby and take things as they came.
He was startled from his comfortable snoozing by a loud roar. Instantly, he shot up. Monroe was already directing the rest of the pack to take cover, and Taryn followed after his brother. To his shock, draechen started to appear out of nowhere, cutting off their retreat.
Taryn would have thought that his mate had sent someone after him, but he knew better. These shifters weren’t their friends, and were likely not inclined to help Taryn in any way.
Through his bond with Hareem, Taryn could sense his mate’s panic. “Run, sweeting. Go.”
It was, of course, a useless demand, since Taryn was already running. He and the other wolves slipped into the forest, and Taryn hoped that the draechen would lose their trail in the thick undergrowth.
However, the draechen seemed quite determined. A bolt of fire hit a tree right next to Taryn, and for the first time since the vampire attack, Taryn truly feared for his life.
He tried to run faster, but in his condition, he got tired easier than before. The rest of the wolves were already in front of him, scattering through the bushes to avoid getting a serious case of third-degree burns.
What could have gone wrong? They’d been so very careful. Taryn was sure of it. They moved around a lot, never staying in one place for too long. The only one who always knew where they were was Hareem, but Hareem hadn’t shared that information with anyone.
Had someone followed Hareem from Draechenburg during one of his visits? No, that couldn’t be possible. Hareem would have felt any pursuer. A million questions swirled through Taryn’s mind, but he couldn’t focus on them. A tree collapsed in front of him, cutting off his escape. Taryn yelped and tried to leap right, but an ice spell kept him from advancing. He turned, only to find himself facing three huge dragons.
There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Out of all the possible things that could have happened, Taryn had never expected this. The whole point of him leaving Draechenburg had been to avoid it.
The three dragons eyed him with predatory expressions. The red one released a loud roar and opened his snout, obviously readying himself to use his magic on Taryn. But Taryn wasn’t about to wait to be barbecued, though. He leapt forward, crawling between the legs of the creatures, using his smaller size to his advantage.
A huge tail swept through the air, and Taryn rolled away just in time, barely managing to avoid being struck. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and his paws began to sink into the dirt, threatening to swallow Taryn whole.
Whining in panic, Taryn tried to free himself, but he simply couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. It seemed obvious that the third dragon’s affinity was with earth, and that was a power Taryn couldn’t escape so easily.
The fire dragon turned toward Taryn again, its eyes glowing threateningly. Just as a fire blast left his snout, though, a large black wolf appeared out of nowhere, jumping straight for the throat of the fire dragon. His attack didn’t stop the fire ball, but it did change its trajectory. Instead of hitting Taryn, the spell struck the tree next to him. It erupted into flames and flew back, crashing against others, threatening to set the entire forest ablaze. Taryn couldn’t even imagine what the enchantment would have done to him had it hit its target.
Fortunately, Monroe—because he was, of course, Taryn’s savior—managed to distract the earth dragon, and Taryn succeeded in freeing himself from the trap.
“Run,” Monroe sent to him, still dodging the spells of the draechen. “Go to the cave. It’s very close. If you get there, you can make your escape. Not even the earth dragon can find you in there.”
Taryn hesitated. His brother was likely correct in that the cave could protect him. It had been the refuge of their pack for as long as they’d existed. It was among the few sanctuaries they shared with the group led by their parents, as its use could be traced back to the first Lovington werewolf. The cave and other places like it had magic that kept the people inside them safe. However, Taryn didn’t want to abandon his brother to the mercy of the dragons. If he left now, Monroe would be killed. But what could he do? He couldn’t even protect himself, let alone Monroe.
His vacillation cost him. The fire dragon managed to dislodge Monroe and tossed him away dismissively. Monroe hit one of the trees with a nauseating crack, and the sound made Taryn stomach roil and his heart break. When the dragons faced him again, Taryn realized he’d had enough.
He couldn’t hope to defeat them through physical strength, but he had something else on his side. The same magic that existed within the caves stirred inside him, a power he hadn’t even been aware of. He didn’t even know where it had appeared from, because he hadn’t felt it during the vampire attack. Now, though, it burned through him, fueled by his anger, his loss, his protectiveness, and more than anything, his bond with his mate.
Mercifully, his mate didn’t ask him to run like Monroe had. Instead, he infused Taryn with affection, whispering, “I love you so much. I love you, and I trust you.”
“I love you, too,” Taryn answered.
Just as he finished speaking, a huge ice dragon appeared in the sky above him and landed straight in front of Taryn. The other draechen froze at the sight, obviously taken aback. Their shock seemed to melt into terror when the new arrival spoke out, “Shift!”
Technically speaking, Taryn shouldn’t have been able to hear it, because the dragon was using mental speech. However, he did, for one very simple reason which he couldn’t let his attackers realize. If they did, he, his baby, and Monroe would pay the price.
Thankfully they didn’t seem to think the situation was in any way strange. Perhaps they realized that what they were doing was wrong and against what their emperor would want of them. In any case, they melted in to their human forms, just like they had been told.
As it always happened for draechen, the shift took some time because of the difference in sizes. Taryn used the opening to rush to his brother’s side. Fortunately, Monroe was just shaking off the shock of being tossed against the tree. He blinked at the sight of the ice dragon now creating a barrier between them and their attackers.
“What in the world is your mate doing here?” he asked through his mental abilities.
Taryn couldn’t exactly reply, since he was still in wolf form. He just nudged his brother with his snout, gesturing for Monroe to head out. Monroe fortunately complied, and not a moment too soon. The illusion of Hareem’s presence flickered briefly, Taryn’s strength starting to fail him.
The draechen didn’t notice immediately. After all, how could they? They couldn’t have possibly guessed that the Lovington line gave Taryn some sprite illusion magic. Taryn himself hadn’t known. He took advantage of it to steal one last look at them and register who exactly the people who’d assaulted him had been. He only recognized one of them, a female draechen. Elina Eretar. She was the fire dragon who Taryn had at first thought was male.
Taryn supposed it didn’t really surprise him that she’d come after him. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But what did take him aback was that her conversation with Hareem had only been a few days back. How had she managed to find him with such ease?
He couldn’t dwell on those questions, though. Both he and Monroe began to run as the spell collapsed, Hareem’s image vanishing completely. As they made their way through the forest, Taryn realized something was very wrong. Horrible waves of pain assaulted him, coming from his abdomen.
With a choked whine, Taryn collapsed, unable to move another muscle. Monroe shifted into his human form and took him into his arms. “Is it the baby?” Monroe asked as he started to carry him toward the caves.
If he could have, Taryn might have felt inclined to kick Monroe’s ass for asking stupid questions.
As it was, he just whimpered, confused, in pain, and more than anything, terrified. He loved his baby so much. He didn’t know what he’d do if something happened to his beloved child.
“Breathe, sweeting,” Hareem’s voice came in his mind. “I’m coming. I won’t let you go through this alone.”
“You’re an ocean away, Hareem,” Taryn answered. “There’s no way…” He trailed off as another wave of pain struck him. “Hareem…”
Something was terribly wrong. Taryn was sure of it now. It could have been the magic, or simply the stress caused by the attack. Whatever the cause, he was so very afraid. He didn’t remember ever feeling such terror in his life.
Behind him, he heard the angry roar of a dragon. Or perhaps it was the howl of his wolf, protesting the agony, trying to fight it back. A coppery scent reached his nostrils, the smell his own blood coming from wounds he couldn’t remember receiving. In his mind, Hareem whispered a litany of his name. “Stay with me. Taryn. Sweeting. Taryn.”
Taryn clung to his mate’s voice, trying to keep a hold on his consciousness. The baby wanted to come out, whether Taryn accepted it or not, and Taryn had to hold on, to make sure his child was going to be okay.
Darkness descended upon him. At first, Taryn thought he was losing the battle for his awareness, but then, he realized he and his brother had finally reached the caves. Voices sounded around them.
“What happened?”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Gods… Was it the emperor?”
Monroe didn’t answer. Or maybe he did. Taryn couldn’t hear anything anymore. White noise clouded his senses, submerging him into an abyss of pain. He stubbornly forced it all back, focusing on his baby, doing his best to soothe the child.
At one point, Monroe put him down on something soft, possibly a nest of blankets. They had been getting ready for this for months. Although Taryn had hoped to have his mate by his side when the time came to bring their son to the world, he and his brother had made all the possible preparations. They had supplied their hideouts—this cave included—with medicine and the equipment they would need. Everything a werewolf child required had been readied beforehand. They hadn’t expected a problematic birth, but Taryn had to believe in his brother.
Emperor's Consort [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 5] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) Page 19