“Arya?”
Snapping herself out of it, she gave him a dazzling smile. “Yes… yes. I’d love to, Lucas.”
* * *
Creeping through the forest, they used no torches, no candles, blending with the darkness in order to become one with the night. Though they were silent, the night was not, and he gritted his teeth at the sound of howls pealing through the air—the beasts were out, and as usual, they wanted blood.
He knew they were not normal creatures, though regular wolves were bad enough—they picked off sheep from the nearby flocks and caused general mayhem. But these were something more—the uncanny intelligence in their eyes and the way they communicated were proof of that. Not to mention the one night he’d been alone, simply enjoying a walk, and he’d watched from the cover of the bushes as one had changed into a man right before his eyes.
No, these creatures were not protected by God. They were just another spawn of the Devil, and as such they needed to be destroyed.
Of course, when wearing the skin of wolves they traveled in packs, which made it difficult. Their keen noses could scent an enemy or prey from afar, and they had to be very careful that they stayed downwind. And though they picked off the demons using long-range weapons, they often found that precaution to be not enough as the wolves were fast, much faster than humans.
Not a sound, he mouthed to his fellow hunters as they got into position at the edge of a clearing. Sure enough, the demon-wolves were right on schedule, singing their terrible song of death as they emerged out into the open. Smiling tightly, he readied his crossbow, and soon the air filled with his preferred brand of music—the sound of bolts and arrows singing through the air, and the death howls that followed.
They felled several of the wolves before the beasts caught onto their position and charged. Cursing, he and his men switched to close quarter weapons, but rather than staying to fight they turned and ran, knowing they would at least have a bit of a head start. Heart racing, he zigzagged through the trees as he and his men had practiced—it forced the wolves to go slower and gave them a better chance at escaping the edge of the trees unharmed. The wolves never came out of the woods, so they would be safe.
A root snagged on his boot and he went down, his face smashing into the unforgiving ground. Cursing, he struggled to his feet, and then howled with pain as one of the wolves sank his teeth into his leg. The wolf pulled hard, and he would have gone down again if he hadn’t the foresight to grab one of the thick branches on a nearby tree. Snarling, he lashed out with his knife, embedding it deeply into the wolf’s shoulder, and the wolf was forced to release him as he howled with pain.
“Come on!” one of his fellow hunters hissed, grabbing him and continuing to pull him through the woods.
* * *
The next day, after her aunt retired for another afternoon nap, Arya headed out to find Kellan. She found herself moving quickly across the field, her eyes darting about almost guiltily as she watched for any sign of Lucas. He hadn’t appeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Yesterday’s ride had been fun, but the experience had been marred by the kernel of guilt constantly brushing up against her consciousness, like a pebble in her shoe she so desperately wanted to remove, but couldn’t. She’d been frustrated with herself because she knew that unless she wanted to lead Lucas to their secret village, she needed to stay with him, but apparently her emotions didn’t agree with her logic.
Last night she’d had no dreams that she could remember, but had bolted up from her bed with her heart in her throat and sweat breaking out over her forehead in a panic. She felt as though something had gone terribly wrong, and when she had listened to the howls and heard the pain and fear in them, knew that something bad had happened out there. She’d been of half a mind to throw caution to the wind and head into the forest then and there, but she knew doing such a thing would be both foolish and dangerous, and had forced herself to wait until morning.
She navigated the maze swiftly this time, as though she’d been doing it for years even though this was really only her third time. When she emerged in front of the village entrance, it was to find the village almost deathly silent, with a heavy pall hanging over the air. The two guards standing by wore grim expressions, and her heart sunk into her shoes.
Stepping forward cautiously, for they looked rather bloodthirsty today, she spread her hands to show she meant no harm. “What has happened? I… I can feel that something has gone wrong.”
Something moved in the guards’ eyes. “An attack,” one of them finally growled. “By your people.”
Arya frowned. “My people?”
“Humans,” the other ones spat. “We keep to ourselves, leaving the village only to hunt at night, and yet they are determined to hunt us to extinction.”
Arya didn’t know what to say, twisting her fingers nervously. She had no idea there was a group of humans hunting the shifters, but if that were the case it would explain their animosity toward the human race. Biting her lip, she wondered if she should try to go into the village or not.
“There she is!” a female voice cried, and Arya turned, startled, to see a woman standing several yards away, pointing an accusing finger at her. She was tall and willowy, with inky black hair that flowed to her hips. Her blue eyes glowed with hatred, and her otherwise pretty mouth was twisted into a sneer. “The filthy human responsible for the attack last night!”
“What?” Arya took a step back. “I had nothing to do…”
“How do we know that’s not true?” A man stepped forward beside the woman. “You could have easily told them of our location. We hunted very close to home last night, and they still managed to find us. Three dead, five severely wounded.”
More clan members came out to hurdle accusations at her, and Arya began to tremble violently as their voices rose, tears filling her eyes. She’d never felt such intense animosity being sent her way before, and didn’t know what to do with it. She knew she was innocent, but these people didn’t seem to want to listen to reason—rather they were looking for an outlet for their anger, grief and frustration, and she was the perfect target.
“We should kill her!” another man shouted, stepping forward with his teeth bared and his fist rose. “The humans kill us with abandon, so why shouldn’t we take one of their own in exchange for the lives lost!”
“If you lay a hand on her, your life is the one that will be lost!” Kellan stepped out from the crowds and gripped the man’s outstretched arm. The crowd froze, all shouts and cries ceasing instantly, but the man did not back down despite the precarious position he suddenly found himself facing.
“And what of my wife and her unborn children?” the man demanded, and Arya’s heart clenched at the pain in his voice, at the tears suddenly shining in his furious gaze. “What of their lives? Do they mean nothing to you?”
Kellan released the man’s arm and squeezed his shoulder sympathetically. “You know that isn’t true,” he said softly. “But Arya is destined to be my mate, and it falls to me or the Alpha to mete out any punishment she deserves. However,” he said, raising his voice so that it was clear he was addressing the rest of the crowd, “I would ask you all to remember we are not barbarians, and we do not punish or put to death anyone without proof they are deserving of it first. Or are we to prove the humans right, who think we are demons and barbarians to be expunged from this earth?”
He met the eyes of each individual member of the crowd, who were all quick to look down. Mutters spread throughout their ranks, but eventually they began to dissipate. The man who had threatened to kill Arya gave her one last fulminating look, then turned on his heel to join them.
As Kellan turned to Arya, she noticed that his shirt was stained with blood at the shoulder, and gasped, rushing forward. “You’ve been hurt!”
Kellan glanced down, and then winced as Arya grabbed his arm. “It’s alright,” he said, prying her fingers from his forearm and then tugging her along. “Let’s go back to
my cabin.”
He stopped by the communal well for a bucket of water, and then led her indoors. Arya watched as he stripped his shirt off, revealing tawny skin poured over muscles. The hair that dusted his chest lightly failed to obscure the scars on his body—three jagged claw marks slashing across his side, and what looked like a nasty bite wound on his left shoulder. She blushed despite herself, having never seen the naked chest of a man before. The thick, bloodstained cloth bandage circled around his right shoulder and beneath his arm.
He took out some more cloth and then reached up to pull of the bandage, but Arya stepped up and laid her hands on the bandage before he could. “Let me,” she said softly.
Kellan blinked, his hands stilling at the compassion and… guilt in her eyes? “Unless you actually did betray our location, this isn’t your fault,” he said gruffly. “You don’t need to feel obligated to tend me.”
Annoyance flashed briefly in her eyes, and then she sighed. “I did no such thing, but the fact that humans did this to you makes me feel ashamed,” she said as she removed the bandage carefully from his shoulder. “Plus, I may as well make myself useful since it is obvious that no one outside will want to have anything to do with me right now.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Kellan said, trying to ignore the tingles running through his body as her delicate fingers brushed his skin. He held himself very still as she cleaned the dried blood away from his wound. “We are distrustful of humans to begin with, and incidents like this only make it worse.”
“I can imagine.” Arya finished cleaning the wound, and then gasped, her eyes going wide. “This… this is almost healed!”
Kellan chuckled. “Shifters tend to heal very quickly.”
“How fortunate.” Arya took a fresh cloth and redressed the wound. “It seems as though you won’t be needing this for very long, after all.”
He took her hands in his, brushing the knuckles softly with the pads of his thumbs. “Even so, thank you for doing it.”
Arya opened her mouth to respond, but she couldn’t find any words—her senses seemed to have gone into overload at being in close proximity to him. She was hyper-aware of everything about him—the touch of his hands against hers, the powerful thigh muscles pressed against her hips, the way his eyes locked with hers. She was drowning in the depths of his irises, and taking a deep breath, was drawn closer to him by the mix of spice and musk that was his scent.
“Arya,” Kellan murmured, recognizing the dilation of her pupils and the racing of her heart rate for what it was—similar to her reaction when she was lying, but he could smell the scent of a woman’s desire along with it. Her reaction was inevitable—the mating bond would push them together into completing the ritual regardless of their personal feelings for one another.
“I shouldn’t be this close to you,” she said softly, but made no move to get away from him. “I don’t know anything about you at all.” Her lips hovered a scant inch from his.
“No, you don’t,” he agreed, but his voice sounded distant, as though it were coming from another room, perhaps even another place entirely. “And I know nothing about you.”
They stood there for a long time, Kellan holding himself rigid, knowing that even the tiniest movement could send him tumbling over the edge of temptation. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, resisting a woman when her body was practically offering itself up to him. But through her hooded eyes, through the desire lurking there, he could see her internal struggle, and he knew she needed to make the choice. He refused to take advantage of her.
Eventually, Arya stepped back with a sigh, pulling her hands away from him. “I think it might be best if you put a shirt on. I can’t seem to think very clearly right now.”
Despite his sexual frustration, he couldn’t help but laugh. “You have no idea what words like that do for a man’s ego,” he told her, getting up and retrieving a shirt from the wooden trunk at the foot of his bed.
“I’m sure you don’t need to be told that you’re very handsome, Kellan,” she told him as she sat down on the edge of the bed, but there was a thread of amusement beneath her brisk tone.
“And I’m sure you don’t need to be told that you’re beautiful,” he said after he’d pulled a new shirt on.
Arya smiled, but this time there was an edge of bitterness to it. “Such a flirt. You remind me of the men who used to request my company. They were far too easy with compliments, although I knew their only real interest in me was the inheritance that I was due.”
“Your inheritance?” Kellan frowned.
“My father was an earl. He’d inherited a rather poor estate from my grandfather, who had been a heavy drinker and gambler, but had a fine head for business and had been in the process of renewing the family fortune. Unfortunately, he was a very strong supporter of the King, and because of that our family was attacked by a group of rebels who are very upset with the current regime. All our money and belongings were taken, and our house burned to the ground.”
Kellan’s heart clenched at the pain in Arya’s voice. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m sure you’ve heard the words a thousand times, and I know they don’t take the pain away. Is that why you came out here?”
“My aunt offered to take me in. It was a better alternative to being forced into life as a companion or a governess.” Arya shook her head. “Sometimes I still wonder if this is all a dream—if I will wake up and find myself back in my bed on my father’s estate, listening to the birds singing outside my window. I’d get dressed and go downstairs to find my father reading the morning paper at the breakfast table and my mother sewing.” Her throat tightened with tears, and she looked down, finding herself unable to speak any more.
“I wouldn’t know what that kind of life is like,” Kellan admitted, “but I do know what it’s like to lose your parents. A few years ago, both of my parents were slaughtered by hunters. For a long time, I couldn’t get a handle on my grief and I allowed it to consume me. But I realized that I was dishonoring their memory by throwing my life away… by not treasuring every moment… every second.”
“I’m so sorry, Kellan,” Arya whispered, feeling the connection between them now, more than ever. “I’m surprised you can stand to look at me, never mind any other human.”
“If you and I had come together right after my parents had died, I wouldn’t have been able to. And even now it’s not easy… but my instincts tell me you’re not one of them, and I’ve always trusted my instincts.”
The desire in his words washed over her and Arya stood, nervously. “I… perhaps it would be best if you walked me back to the entrance now. I know I’m not welcome here on a good day, and that today, after your people have been attacked, it is even worse. Perhaps I should come back in a few days.”
Kellan nodded. “I don’t think it would be good for either of us for you to miss a few days. You were supposed to come yesterday, too.” And he’d been unreasonably disappointed when she hadn’t shown up.
Arya lowered her eyes. “I was seen by one of my neighbors on my way to the forest, who asked me to join them for a ride. I couldn’t get away without the risk of being followed. It’s possible it might happen again, and there isn’t much I can do about it save for coming at night”
Kellan nodded. “I’ll walk you out.”
* * *
The next day Eve did not take her usual afternoon nap—she declared loudly that they were very behind on the chores and the winter preparation for the house, and so she and Arya ran themselves ragged. By the time night had fallen, Arya was so exhausted that she fell into a mercifully dreamless sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and didn’t wake until her aunt finally shook her awake.
Still, the good night’s sleep put her in a relatively cheery mood, and she whistled through the day’s work. They finished up the winter chores, and by the time mid-afternoon rolled around her aunt was ready for a nap again.
“Go enjoy yourself, Arya,” she said, and Arya noticed th
at her face seemed a bit pale. “I just need a bit of rest.”
As soon as Arya stepped outside, she noticed Lucas walking toward the house. It looked as though he had a slight limp, his shoulders slumped, and his steps careful.
“Well, hello,” he smiled, his eyes bright. “It’s been a few days, so I thought I’d drop by. What are you up to?”
Arya raised her eyebrows, but couldn’t help but smile. “I was just heading out for some fresh air. What happened?”
Lucas grimaced and pulled up his pant leg to show a bandage wrapped around his leg. “I had to lay low for a bit after I came away with this bit of nastiness—mother wouldn’t let me out of bed, never mind the house.”
“Oh, Lucas,” Arya breathed, “How did this happen?”
“Two of our newer dogs got into a fight, and I managed to place myself on the wrong end of a pair of jaws while trying to break it up,” he said. “Unfortunate, but thankfully not life-threatening. Hurt like nobody’s business.”
“I’m sure it did.” Arya frowned. “You really shouldn’t have walked all the way out here in your condition. That leg needs to heal.”
Lucas grinned. “I wanted to see you, but… oh,” he groaned. “I think I need to sit down for a bit.”
Arya took one of his arms and allowed him to lean some of his weight on her. “You’re a fool,” she scolded, a smile tugging at her lips as they made their way across the field.
“Well, I won’t deny that.” Lucas chuckled, his eyes locking onto Arya’s face. “I’m a fool for you.”
Chapter Seven
Happily Ever Alpha: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Page 6