“Your color’s growing out,” Lysandra pointed out, as I handed her a bowl of helix mash.
We could have easily eaten at the table inside if Sienna and Natalie hadn’t decided to stop in for breakfast. Thankfully, they’d brought their own chairs, so no one had to sit on a rock.
“Thanks,” I teased, handing a bowl to Teah. “Sadly, Wargs haven’t discovered the joys of hair dye, so I’m stuck with my roots showing. Guess I’ll just have to live with black hair.”
Sienna leaned forward. “Maybe our brilliant sister could whip up something in that lab of hers.”
Natalie sat like a stone, staring down toward the commons in a daze.
“Thracos to Natalie, come in Natalie.” Sienna laughed and poked her.
Only then did she seem to realize other people surrounded her. “Huh? What?”
“I was just saying you should develop some hair dye, so poor Arlynn won’t have to live the rest of her life with her natural color — which I would kill for, by the way.”
Nat’s gaze dropped to the bowl sitting in her lap. “Oh, um, I’m kind of busy with something else right now, but…maybe.”
Sienna shot me a questioning glance, but all I could do was shrug. Nat had been acting strange for over a week now, but she wouldn’t tell us what, if anything, was wrong. Come to think of it, I couldn’t recall seeing Jorek at all recently. Perhaps she was simply preoccupied with some super-secret project they were working on. That would explain her odd behavior perfectly.
“I still can’t figure out how we can understand what they’re all saying,” Nell said around a mouthful of mash. “I’m not wrong about it being a different language, right? Yet I can pretty much understand everything.”
“Wargs are able to sort of boost their signal, so to speak,” Sienna explained. “They can’t read your mind or anything; it’s just a way to communicate with other beings.”
“Look at all the men staring up here,” Lysandra said breathlessly, not caring in the slightest about the mechanics of the Warg language. “At us!”
“That’s right,” Sienna said, smiling as she scooped out a sporkful of mash. “I suspect you’ll all meet every unmated male Warg in very short order. Hopefully, one of them will be your fated.”
“Can you tell us more about fated mates?” Nell asked.
Terrans didn’t have fated mates. A normal Terran simply met someone he or she liked, and just hoped the relationship would work out in the long run. Or so I’d heard. It had never happened to any of us — we’d been labeled ‘undesirable’ because we didn’t fit the genetic ideal in our society.
“It’s hard to understand until you experience it — and you will, once you take the bite—”
“Bite?” Terror filled Teah’s face.
I laid a comforting hand on her arm. “It’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s the transformational bite that will turn you into a Warg.”
“You mean, we can’t live here as Terrans?”
I glanced over at Nat — who still looked comatose — and Sienna, before answering, “It doesn’t make sense, if you think about it. To discover your fated mate, you must become a Warg. If you don’t, the males will inevitably start fighting over you. You got a taste of that last night. Trust me, it will only get worse, and I can tell you right now, the alphas won’t be keen on their newly-merged tribe going to war over three Terrans.”
“So you’ve all had the bite?” Nell asked.
“We have,” I replied. “Nat and Sienna have already found their mates. Don’t tell anyone, but they’re also knocked up!”
Our dear friends squealed and hugged my sisters. Sienna practically glowed, but Nat could barely manage a half-smile. I really needed to bug her a little more about what was going on. Later.
“What about you, Arlynn?” asked Lysandra. “Have you found your fated mate?”
Tears sprang to my eyes, and as I opened my mouth to tell them some asshole had cursed me and I’d never find a mate, Sienna jumped in.
“Not yet. But she will…soon.”
“I really don’t see how that’s possible, unless he lives on the other side of Thracos or something. I’ve met every male in both tribes by now, and none of them do a thing for me. In fact, flirting with any of them almost physically hurts, that’s how painfully unattracted I am to any of them.”
Okay, so I was attracted to one Warg, but he certainly wasn’t my fated. I could never love such a vicious monster, even if the gods commanded it. No, Thrane was just a fuck-buddy.
The memory of our night together turned my cheeks — and other parts — steaming hot. After we’d made love, I’d passed out from sheer exhaustion. When I’d woken from a nightmare in the dead of night, I’d looked over at Thrane’s peaceful, sleeping face and panicked.
Thankfully, the new refugees hadn’t said a word to my sisters about my late night return home. I wouldn’t want them to get the wrong — oh, so very wrong — impression.
“Does it hurt?” Teah had been the meekest of orphans in the Center.
“Not really,” I said. “It’s like getting your ears pierced.”
Except, it wasn’t at all like that. I remembered being so angry and terrified as Thrane’s thugs had shouted “Destroy her!” while they dragged me to him. I’d pummeled at his face as he leaned down toward my neck, but he’d barely winced. I could still feel his hot, wet tongue slipping across the spot he intended to bite, and the tickle of his fangs as they moved into position.
I’d expected a searing and devastating pain, but after the first prick, an almost sexual heat had pulsed through my veins, tightening my core. I’d dug my fingernails into Thrane’s shoulders so hard, I drew blood, which he’d seemed to rather enjoy. Every sense and sensation had been heightened to a nearly unbearable level. Then the essence of Warg-ness had filled me, and the immense power I’d felt gave me confidence I’d never experienced before.
The memory left me speechless, so I let Sienna tell our friends about the changes to our senses, what it feels like to be in our beast form, and what the connection between fateds entails.
“It’s hard to explain, but we’re really more one person than two. We can communicate without speaking, especially in beast form, and even at a distance, we can sense each other’s emotions. It’s pretty tough to keep a secret from your mate, not that you’d want to. Mates are in it to win it, so to speak. Only death can break that bond.”
Teah sighed, suddenly shifting from afraid to envious. “I can’t wait. This place is paradise!”
Sienna smiled. “Compared to the Center, it really is.”
Out of nowhere, Nell burst out crying. We all gathered around her until she could catch her breath enough to speak.
“I shouldn’t have come here!” she wailed, breaking down again.
“Of course you should have, sweetie,” I crooned, clutching her hand in mine. “We’re so happy to see you and have you join us. I know it seems scary at first, but you’ll figure out everything very quickly and see how wonderful this tribe is. You’ll call it home in no time.”
“No,” she sniffed. “It’s not that. I wanted to come, and I want to stay, but…”
“What?”
“They’ll come for us,” she answered, staring up at us with huge wet eyes. “I just know it. Everyone here has treated us like family and now you’re all at risk. I shouldn’t have come.”
Sienna wiped the tears from Nell’s cheeks and kneeled down to eye level. “Shh, it’ll be fine. We have three of the toughest warriors leading and protecting us. As we speak, groups of our fiercest guards are patrolling our borders, watching for any signs of a Terran attack. Trust me, there’s no safer place on this planet than this village.”
For no apparent reason, I suddenly burst out laughing. Clamping my hand to my mouth, I stared at the other women from shocked eyes.
“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t laughing at you, Nell. I just—” I interrupted myself with a giggle.
All morning, a strange excitement had skitte
red along my nerves, but I’d just assumed it was from a night of incredible sex. That wouldn’t explain my outburst though, or the irresistible urge to run until my legs gave out.
“You know, you have seemed more chipper than usual this morning,” Sienna said, eyeing me until my skin itched. “Why?”
I glanced over to my new hut-mates, who all three snickered and looked away. Naturally, Sienna noticed, but before she could say another word, a commotion in the commons caught our attention.
All three alphas and both shamans walked quickly toward the forest, smiling and saying hello to everyone they passed, but never slowing. They all wanted to run, I could see it in their tense restraint, but why?
Before they disappeared into the thick purply-green vegetation, Thrane looked up toward my hut and I felt, rather than saw, his eyes searching for me. When our gazes locked, excitement settled into hope.
15
THRANE
Solan pounded on the ancient, but solid, moarkwood door of a tiny moss-covered log cabin, deep in the Valley side of the forest. The intricate scene carved in its face showed our ancestors, Tooibas and Vanter, locked in an eternal battle for the love of a beautiful woman, whose name had been lost with the passage of time. Arlynn’s art lessons taught me enough to see the talent of the artist, no doubt long-dead, judging by its worn surface.
“Let me do the talking,” Solan said, pointedly looking in my direction.
I made no secret what I thought about visions and spirits and all that other mystical crap, but I’d agreed to seek out the counsel of the tribe’s prophetess. From the little I’d seen of her, she looked a lot like the oldest member of the Hill tribe, Amma — only Amma never flopped around on the ground, her eyes rolling back in her head, and spouting vague prophecies. The worst she’d ever done was annoy me with cryptic comments.
The grinning, toothless old hag flung the heavy door open wide as if it weighed nothing at all. “Right on time,” she croaked before walking back inside, leaving us wondering what the proper protocol was.
Solan, who appeared used to the woman’s behavior, strode in after her. Markon shrugged at me and followed, with the two shamans hot on his heels. I took a moment to examine the small, quiet clearing. I haven’t felt such a sense of peace in…ever, actually. For years, I’d protected my tribe and survived the wilds of the forest by trusting my instinct, and now it was telling me to open my mind to what Ouma had to say.
I took a deep breath before I entered the cabin, and was glad I did. A wall of stench hit me the moment I stepped over the threshold, and one eye-watering glance from Markon told me to leave the door open.
“Sit, sit,” Ouma said, indicating a random collection of items, roughly stool height, crammed around a tiny table. Six cups of steaming tea sat along the edges.
“You knew we were coming,” Solan said, taking a seat on a old reet spirit keg.
Ouma simply grinned and waved for the rest of us to sit. Somehow, we all managed to squeeze around the table, then picked up our cups. Ouma reached between Bandrin and me to grab her cup, and the stench nearly knocked me out. Bandrin didn’t seem to notice — he must have been desensitized by his own pungent odor — but my stomach lurched involuntarily.
Things only got worse when I lifted the cup to my mouth. It smelled as if she’d brewed a well-used loin covering with big wads of toe jam. Markon and Solan looked as repulsed as I felt, which gratified me a bit, but the two shamans drained their cups, then to my astonishment, poured a second helping.
As I pretended to drink the vile brew, while holding my breath, I studied Ouma. Her resemblance to Amma was boggling. Finally, curiosity got the best of me, despite my promise to keep my big mouth shut.
“Do you have a twin sister who lives in Hill territory?”
Ouma’s cackle filled the tiny cabin. Wiping a tear from her wrinkled eye, she finally spoke, “I am me.”
“You’re Ouma,” Solan said. At the same moment Markon said, “You’re Amma.” They looked at each other, then at the old woman sitting by the fire.
Her only response was to grin and nod.
“We’re all a bunch of fools,” I said, grinning back at her and laughing with delight. “There weren’t two old women, just the one. And somehow, she’s managed to travel between our two territories, all these years, without being spotted by our patrols or eaten by grumpuses.”
My co-alphas sat in stunned silence, but I couldn’t resist showing my admiration for her. Wriggling free from the tight seating arrangement, I kneeled in front of her and gently took one of her gnarled, weathered hands in mine.
“My deepest apologies for any disrespect I may have given you over the years. I was an idiot.”
Her somewhat demented grin turned into a soft smile, which hinted at the loveliness of her youth. She leaned down and kissed my forehead with dry lips.
“Smartest one,” she whispered so only I could hear.
“May I please have the honor of knowing your true name?” I suspected neither Amma nor Ouma had been the name given to her at birth.
With one pat on my hand, she dismissed me. “Names mean nothing. Only actions matter.”
I returned to my seat when Solan began to tell her the reason for our visit, as if she didn’t already know.
“We came to you today, because—”
“I know why. Your ears hear what your eyes do not see.”
“Exactly,” I said. “I believe we’re hearing a Terran general’s thoughts, but…how can that be?”
Her cloudy eyes bore deep inside me, almost seeming to give me the answer without a word being spoken. Finally, she croaked out an obscure verse to an old whelp song:
Curls feed the heart
They make you smart
Seeing is neat
Oh, what a feat
Now it’s time to eat
Eat! Eat! Eat!
We all pondered her words for a moment, before Markon and I gasped in understanding. He happened to find his voice first.
“You mean, now that we’re eating reet and helixseed together, we somehow have the power to read minds?”
Her eyes squinched and her mouth pursed in thought. “Mmm, no.”
“Of course!” I burst out. “We’re not reading the general’s mind, we’re hearing what’s actually happening in that moment.”
Amma clapped and pointed at me, and I could almost hear her saying, “Smartest one,” again. The others discussed this discovery amongst themselves while Amma and I studied each other. I relaxed my mind and let all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, without fighting it with logic or cynicism.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. Amma’s eyes sparkled and she sat back, content to let me explain it all.
“It all makes perfect sense, when you think about it. Amma — or Ouma, if you prefer — has lived in these woods for… How long would you all say?”
“Before remembered time, as far as we can tell.”
Amma snickered, but said nothing.
“And during all that time, she’s somehow managed to freely roam both of our heavily-patrolled territories. How?”
Bandrin opened his mouth to answer, but I cut him off. “It’s so clear now. She had access to both reet and helix all this time. Think about that. From before remembered time, she’s been eating the mixture, which has suddenly given us the power — after only a few weeks — to see what’s happening somewhere else.”
I let that sink in for a moment, before putting voice to my racing thoughts, “How do you suppose decades, or maybe even longer, of eating the mix would affect a Warg?”
“This special power would grow stronger,” Markon said.
“Right! But in what way would it do that? Would it allow you to see the future?”
“That would explain Ouma’s visions!” Solan shouted, excitement sparkling in his eyes.
“But how could she so easily evade our guards and the monsters roaming in the forest?” Binkor asked.
I’d wondered the same thing, but I
was pretty sure I figured that out as well.
“Even without the mix, we’ve always had the power to communicate with species who don’t speak our language. We can even tell a cabra to walk in a particular direction.”
Everyone nodded their agreement.
“So how would that power be amplified after so many years?” When no one answered, I continued, “The logical progression would be that she could make others do things.”
Solan balked. “No!”
I glanced at Amma, who looked as if she might have fallen asleep, but I suspected she was acutely aware of ever word being uttered.
“I’m not saying she could make you do whatever she wants, but what if the ability to broadcast our words into their minds, could be refined enough to make the person believe a particular thought or idea was their own? Someone or something might be more inclined to follow through with an idea if they thought it was their own.”
“No. I don’t believe it,” Solan said. “Otherwise, our ancestors would never have split. One would have made the other give up the Great Beauty, and certainly would have made her fall in love with him”
Amma snorted in her sleep.
“Not if the brothers were equally matched. And what if the Great Beauty they fought over, just so happened to be stronger than either of them?”
The shamans’ jaws dropped, but I could see understanding dawning on my brother’s face. Solan seemed less convinced.
Without warning, and completely against social norms — even for me — my finger moved up, until it was firmly planted in my right nostril. Everyone gaped at me…except Amma. She sat staring at me intently, a half-smile on her withered lips.
“Shit!” I yanked my finger out of my nose and turned, wide eyed, to my co-alphas. “Did you see that? I didn’t do that!”
“Right,” Solan sneered sarcastically.
I looked to Amma, who smiled placidly at me, then sat back. Obviously she wanted me to try my hand at the trick. I had no idea how to do it, but I started by sending my thoughts of what I wanted done straight at Solan, the same way I would a cabra I wanted to herd into a corral. He looked amused for a moment, until he let out a loud belch. Mortified, he slapped a hand over his mouth and scowled at me.
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