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Shattered Dreams

Page 6

by Melissa Kay Clarke


  “Please continue,” she nodded to him.

  “As I was saying, I don't know what happened. It's no secret that I wasn't happy with this decision to force Carson into a mate run, and yes I did argue against it. However, when all was said and done, I obeyed the will of the council, this council. As for thinking I did something, “ his eyes fell on the still fuming Elder, “unless you failed to notice, everyone at that fire was forced to shift, from the youngest to the oldest, including pups that haven't mastered a full shift yet, a pregnant mother, and even Molly, eldest in the village. Hell, even I, the alpha, shifted and had to fight my animal tooth and nail to regain control. Everyone I talked to said the same thing one minute human, the next wolf. Last I checked, everyone was fine... well except for Jan and Steven Michaels and Landry and Aubrey Williams.”

  Gretchen wrinkled her brow. “I assume that was the four that was protecting her?”

  He nodded. “Yes Councilor, they are still in their wolf forms, guarding the door to the healer's hall. Nobody can get within ten feet of the porch. I just left there and they won't let anyone in, not even me.” The worry made his lips pinch and lines appear around his eyes.

  “What are those four to her? Friends? Family?” Councilor Maggie asked quietly.

  “Nothing. The Michaels' are newly mated just last moon. Carson knows them both but I wouldn't call them close friends. The Williams' just moved here last year. I don't think she's even met them yet.”

  “Force them to change back and ask them,” Carl mumbled from behind the desk.

  “I've tried to use my will on them. It's like the human in them is gone and they are completely feral. Even as alpha, they won't obey me.”

  Carl snarled. “When the pack stops obeying the alpha, it’s time to get a new one. You're weak Hennison, weak and pathetic.” He looked around at the frowns of the other councilors. “At least that's my opinion,” he mumbled.

  Jeff closed his eyes and let the anger wash through him. He bit back the retort and instead took several breaths, refusing to let the arrogant ass bait him further. Several moments passed before opening them again. Surprisingly he felt in control for the first time. “You know what they say about opinions, Carl. They are just like an ass. Everyone has one and they stink. In your case I would say that goes double.” He sniffed the air and made a face like he had scented something repulsive. Carl's mouth flopped open but quickly shut it again.

  Maggie and Archie looked at each other, mirth clear on their faces.

  “What about your son? He was able to calm that Doctor fellow with his empathy stuff.” Oliver asked. “Have him make a go at it.”

  Carl let out a snort. “Empathy... stupid crap is what that is. Useless. Weak. Pathetic - just like his old man.”

  Jeff ignored the jab and shook his head. “We tried it. Cayson can't get through to them either. Frankly I have no idea what to do.”

  Gretchen took a deep breath. “I suppose since this is unfamiliar ground and has to do with a dreamer, we should send for Manna. Maybe she can help figure this out.”

  Jeff nodded and walked to the door, opening it and speaking to someone on the other side before closing it again. They waited several moments before the door opened and in walked a tall woman with long silver hair and eyes so pale as to be almost white. Her body radiated power and she wrapped it around herself like a cloak. She smiled and nodded first to the council and then to Jeff. “I wondered how long it would be before you sent for me. Quite the interesting turn of events this evening wouldn't you say? How astounding it is to be taken down a notch,” her eyes danced with barely contained laughter. Casting her eyes towards the council, she said, “If you will recall, I warned you that this whole mate run thing was a very bad idea.”

  They shifted in their seats, refusing to meet her eyes.

  “Thank you for coming, Manna. We have a few questions that we are hoping you can help us with. First off, the big question on everyone's mind is what was all that shifting tonight? I assume it was caused by her?” Maggie asked as she fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze.

  “Oh I'm quite sure it was caused by her. It took a little digging, but I found a passage in the archives concerning dreamers in distress. Of course, I'll have to do more research when I return to our compound – the archives here are, for lack of a better word, dismal.” Manna frowned slightly.

  “For Luna's sake, woman. What is it?” Carl growled as he jumped up from his seat. “It's like wrestling a bone from a starving wolf to get a straight answer out of you.”

  Manna was nonplussed as she fixed her stare on him. “If you are quite through throwing your tantrum, Councilor?” She waited until he sat back down before continuing. “I believe what happened here tonight was a Calling.”

  Councilor Archie opened his mouth to ask her what a Calling was but Carl beat him to it. “What the hell is that?” he asked from behind the safety of Jeff's desk.

  Manna tucked her hand into the pockets of her dress and ignored the indignant glower from the elder council member. “A Calling is a very old and obscure ability of dreamers. I had not heard of it before, which is in itself remarkable, but I did find mention of one in the archives. Roughly three hundred years ago, there was a young dreamer who had not come fully into her gifts, and was still a novice at shifting. While in the forest, she came across a mother bear with two young cubs. The bear chased her, cornering her between a canyon cliff and several large rocks. This is where it becomes very interesting. Realizing she was trapped with no way out, she prepared herself to die. Suddenly, eight wolves, all mated members of her pack, appeared behind the bear. The girl passed out in a dead faint, but the others were able to drive the bear back and return her to their village. Later when asked about the event, she stated that she knew she was going to die and wished with all her heart and soul that someone would come save it. The rescuing wolves, on the other hand, had no recollection of the events. One moment they were humans in the village and the next shifting from their wolves standing guard over her. It was named a Calling in the texts. Simply fascinating.“

  “Alright, that sounds familiar. So what we saw was a Calling, I get that. But my question is why? The girl's life wasn't in any real danger like the one in the story, so why did she call for help and why did those two couples answer when nobody else did? Also, while you are at the explanations, what the hell caused everyone to shift?” Archie leaned forward, propping his chin on his hands.

  “It's quite simple, Councilor.” Turning to Gretchen, she smiled. “Gretchen, if you would please inform us, what are the five gifts of our people?”

  She frowned. “Really? Are we going to have preschool lessons now?”

  Manna held up a hand. “Please, just bear with me a moment. Now what are the five gifts?”

  Gretchen sighed heavily but answered. “The Five Gifts of Luna's Children are Strength, Peace, Knowledge, Healing and Love.”

  Manna clapped her hands and pasted a broad smile on her face. “Perfect. Thank you.” Ticking them off on her fingers she repeated them. “Strength which manifests in the form of our alphas, knowledge given to us through the dreamers, healing from, of course, our healers, peace through our empaths, and love in the form of life mates.”

  “This is basic wolf knowledge, Manna. Every pup old enough to talk knows this. Is there a point?”

  “I'm getting to it, Oliver. Please just hear me out.” She schooled her face into a calm mask again before continuing. “Many decades ago, our people maintained those gifts in every pack creating a perfect balance, every single pack. But now, we don't have the balance we used to. We have alphas without betas and dreamers covering several packs instead of each one having their own. Our precious empaths are discouraged and found to be weak, even worthless,” her gaze cut to Carl who was rolling his eyes. “Our healers learn less and less about traditional skills using their gifts and rely more on modern technology. But all that, and listen carefully, it all pales in comparison to the imbalance of love. Instead of allo
wing wolves to find their mates as it was intended by Luna, we have instigated the practice of settling for someone who is acceptable or in worse cases, forcing the issue with those ghastly mate runs. We are doing this to ourselves. We are forcing the animal inside to make a decision for both human and beast. That is not the way we were made.”

  “Your fairy tales are all nice and good, but what has that got to do with what happened here?” Carl asked impatiently. The tone of his voice was clear; he didn't believe a single word of what she was saying.

  She whipped around and glared daggers at him. “It has everything to do with tonight's events! There is a great imbalance here. If you can't see it, then you are a bigger fool than I first suspected you to be, and I am quite sure you are a fool of gargantuan proportions. Let me spell it out for you. First, there is an alpha here but no beta, hence the balance of power is off. Then, your pack empath, a rare rare gift, more rare than all the other gifts combined, is denied his birth right all because you five view anyone having emotions and the ability to control them as weak. Next, one of our precious dreamers was forced into a mate run and not allowed to pursue her search for a life mate, throwing love out of balance. A dreamer is the knowledge of a pack and you five, in your infinite wisdom, created a stressful situation from which she felt she had no recourse. Though her life was not in physical danger, her sanity, her heart, her need to protect and fix this pack was definitely in danger. Dreamers must be at peace with themselves and their packs. Stress from being mis-mated could, at the least, cause a disruption in the harmony of the stream. And though instinctively she would be devoted to her imprinted mate, she would resent it on a spiritual level, throwing her out of balance and in turn, skewing her ability to merge with streams. She was literally backed up against the wall. Plainly put, a calling is the desperate cry of her soul for help. When the compulsion was placed on her to shift for the mate run, her soul screamed out its injustice and demanded protection. That call was answered by the two mated couples that now protect her in the healing hall.”

  “Dear Luna, what have we done?” Jeff's face turned pale as silence consumed the room. Finally it was broken by Maggie. “You still haven't explained why we all were forced to shift?”

  Manna gathered her thoughts a moment before continuing. “You were forced to change so that your wolves could be judged by her soul on a spiritual, primitive, gifted level. The two couples that were chosen were, for lack of a better way of putting it, perfectly in alignment with their mates. They were in perfect balance physically, spiritually and emotionally. Think of it like a standard... an ideal. The Calling demands perfection to that standard. There can be no fear, no distrust, no issues in their bonds. It knows the link between mates and finds the most suitable ones. This imbalance I spoke of goes back generations and it’s my belief that it started with the first mate runs. Now we are seeing the culmination.”

  Maggie wrinkled her brow, “In the story from the archive, there were eight wolves, which I would expect based on tonight's experience, to be four pairs? Only two pairs were called by Carson. Was it because her physical life wasn't in danger?”

  Manna frowned, “I don't think so. What I believe is that those four were called because of the strength of their bonds. It also speaks volumes about those who were not chosen, about the taint that has settled over our people and the imbalance. In a pack this size, I would not have been surprised to see six or eight pairs chosen. That only two were singled out and both of them fairly new to this pack say there are some serious issues in your people, Jeff, and you need to rectify it.”

  Jeff blew out a stream of air. He had just come to the realization at the same time. He thought for a long few moments before asking his next question. “How long will they stay wolves?”

  “I imagine until the compulsion releases them. In the archive accounting, the guardians, as they are called, were only released from their duty once the dreamer regained consciousness; with danger passed and her awake, they shifted back.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure, of course, but I think the same will work here.”

  Jeff jumped up as he tried to assimilate the barrage of information Manna was giving them. It all seemed so unreal but the proof was currently at the healer's hall watching over his daughter. They were doing what he wouldn't do and the thought galled him. Cayson was right. He shouldn't have given in to pressure to force this run. He shook his head, clearing it. He'll deal with his own shortcomings later. Right now, he needed to address the four wolves that were keeping guard over Carson. “Why didn't they listen to me when I tried to make them shift?” Jeff asked. “Even my alpha couldn't force them to listen. It was like the human sides weren't even there.”

  “Because when it comes to the five gifts, normally they are equal - one does not overrule the other. However, her needs as a dreamer overrode your authority as an alpha. They were acting in the Calling for her. When the danger is over, which I think is probably when she awakens, they will probably phase back into humans again. As you know, our wolves are stronger than our humans; they are less emotional, less likely to hesitate and act instinctively to do the right thing. Had anyone touched Carson, I feel quite sure they would put their lives down to protect her. The beast in us understands the needs of the heart and more importantly, the need to protect a dreamer.”

  A soft murmur raced through the room at the revelation.

  Gretchen nodded slowly, “And the reason the new healer was allowed near her was because his gift was needed to help her?”

  Manna shrugged. “It very well could be, but I have another theory. However, until she wakes up, we won't know for sure.” She made her way to the door and stopped with her hand on the knob. She looked back at them and a slow grin lit her features as her eyes twinkled with joy. “Either way, this promises to be quite a show.”

  CHAPTER 7

  “Miss... Miss...”

  Mate... the voice in his head insisted. She is our mate.

  Chase ignored the silly beast. Taking a wet cloth, he wrung it out and gently placed it on the girl's forehead. He had checked her vitals a dozen times since bringing her to the healer's hall but still there was no sign of what was wrong with her. Beneath her chest, the beautiful perfection of her chest her heart beat strong and steady, and the breath coming through those sublime twin pillows of pink lips was even and deep. He shook his head. “Stop it. She's your patient,” he mumbled to himself.

  Mate. The animal growled inside.

  Throwing his hands up, he stood and started pacing. What was wrong with him? He remembered standing there on the platform, phasing in preparation for following the run, then the woman...

  Mate. His wolf insisted again and Chase could almost see the beast grinning at him. He growled low in his chest and ignored him.

  This WOMAN had looked at him. He remembered seeing the most beautiful pools of perfect emerald and falling into them. Then he heard was the most heart wrenching scream of despair sounding through his head. His wolf howled, shredded the cage in his core where he dwelt and responded, recognizing her as their mate. The next thing he knew his beast had taken over and the human side was shoved back into the pit of his stomach.

  Our mate was hurt. I needed to protect her. He snorted then settled down.

  Chase stood at the side of the bed and looked down at Carson. Damn but she was beautiful – perfect even. Shoving the professional aside, he allowed the man to look at her. Her oval face was framed by long black hair, high cheekbones, straight little nose and full lush lips that just begged to be kissed. Now that he could see her, he could tell the resemblance to the pack alpha – the same olive complexion and nose. He knew if she opened her eyes, he would see those twin pools of bottomless emerald green, compelling him to fall into them and drown all over again.

  Let's take a swim, his wolf snickered.

  He shook his head and blowing out a breath turned away. Her parents must be beside themselves with worry. He should at least let them know she was holding her own.

&nb
sp; He had taken no more than three steps when a soft gasp sounded behind him.

  She was awake.

  The beast inside stood up and whined, clawing to get to her. Chase flew back to her side and grabbed her hand, his eyes looking over her one more time to convince them both that she was alright. As his eyes lifted, they found those twin pools of deep green fastened on his face.

  Definitely time to go swimming again.

  Chase growled low in his chest telling the animal to mind his manners. His patient didn't need this kind of silliness.

  Mate. The wolf inside insisted and actually growled at Chase, losing patience with his human half. His mouth fell open as the realization hit him that the beast was right. He could deny it all he wanted, could pretend he didn't have time for romance, that his practice was all that he cared,for but it was all lies. Carson was his life mate.

  Told you so. The damned animal was smug now.

  “Son of a...,” he swore softly, closing his eyes and lowering his head. “Ah Crap!” he slammed his hand against the wall.

  “Nice bedside manner you got, Doc,” a soft voice whispered. He opened his eyes and actually had the grace to blush. She was still staring at his face, a look of absolute trust caressing the tender features. She was so accepting, so open, it tore at his heart. Reaching a hand up she cupped his face and the touch was like electricity racing over his skin. He groaned and leaned into the caress, relishing the tender moment. Surrendering his heart, he took her hand and pulled it away from his face, placing a kiss on the knuckles. He was lost. A goner.

  The damned wolf was now dancing inside. Chase decided he liked the smug version better.

  “I suppose introductions are in order, seeing as how we will be spending the rest of our lives together, and it would be nice to be able to call you something other than Doc. I'm Carson Hennison.” She smiled at him and waited expectantly.

  “Blackston... Dr. Chase Blackston,” he murmured. He couldn't take his eyes off hers. They were fascinating, deep emerald green flecked with gold and just a hint of teal. They were striking and commanded attention. Shaking his head again he forced himself to look away and place her hand gently on her chest. “How are you feeling, Miss Hennison,” he asked in an attempt to regain some sort of professional decorum.

 

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