Mira did not respond to Keva’s anger, merely lowering her head. “I am sorry, Keva. I had hoped and prayed that you were a true wolf, but things must change now. Know that the pack will not forget you, but we cannot speak to you anymore. It is not our way to speak with lycans.” Keva watched in shock, paralyzed by indecision, as her mother stood and began to walk away into the woods. Soon, she was gone, and Keva stared at the space in the trees where Mira had disappeared. Something inside her seemed to break. The hard reality hit her like the hoof of a bull moose, knocking the air from her lungs. She caught up a deep breath, lifted her nose, and howled her despair to the unforgiving blue sky.
Cian’s pointed ears twitched as the sonorous howls of despair echoed through the woods around them. Fearing that something was terribly wrong, he burst into the clearing, where a single female wolf was howling her despair to the skies. As he bolted into the clearing, followed closely by Cian, she stopped suddenly and stared at them. Leaping up, she leaped to the flat top of a large boulder and gazed down at the two male lycans. Cian sniffed the air hesitantly. The rest of the pack had been here, but they were gone, leaving her alone. He tilted his head to the side, considering. No pack would leave a female unattended with werewolves nearby. The female looked down at him with bright blue eyes, an unusual color for a true wolf. “You are lycans.”
The big black male gazed back at her without answering. His fierce golden eyes seemed slightly familiar. She gasped when she realized that she had seen those eyes in her wolf dream. She tilted her head and perked her ears at the big male. “You are lycans,” she repeated, “and you just killed my sire in recompense for his crimes,” she finished. The gray male came up next to the big black male and raised his eyebrows.
Cian gave her a wolfish grin. “Aye, we are lycans. And you are one of us as well, beautiful.” She seemed surprised at his choice of words. Her bright blue eyes, rare in gray wolves, suddenly darkened. She growled low in her throat. “My mother just informed me of my heritage. That… that lycan raped my mother, and I am the result. Half lycan, half wolf.” Cian looked shocked, and Liam lowered his head in shame, only now realizing the extent of the insane rogue’s crimes.
Keva looked down at the two lycans, who seemed genuinely dismayed at her words. “I am Keva,” she offered. “What are you called?” The big black male, with the golden eyes from the wolf dream, answered her. “I am Cian Collins, the alpha of the Northern Lycans. This is my beta, Liam Greenwood.” She dipped her nose and sniffed at them, memorizing their unique scents. Cian’s scent was a heady blend of hickory smoke and pine, while Liam’s scent was slightly milder, like a fresh stream in the forest. As Cian sniffed at her in return, his eyes widened. Her scent, sweet ambrosia and wildflowers, was exactly as it had been in the wolf dream. He began to speak, but stopped short as the sleek pale wolf leaped down from the boulder and stalked towards them. They froze, unwilling to frighten her. To Cian’s surprise, she came up close enough to tentatively touch noses with him, sending a warm sensation straight through him. Her eyes widened as she met his eyes boldly. “We have met before,” she said in a low voice, gazing at Cian as if should she look away, he might disappear into mist. “Aye,” he said. “In the wolf dream.”
Liam looked at the two wolves in surprise. “Cian, is this her? She’s half true wolf. That’s never happened before. At least, not that I know of.” The other wolf nodded, and broke his gaze from Keva. “Keva, we have to dispose of…er… the body. Liam, can you…?” The beta nodded and trotted into the woods. Cian sighed, and turned back to the pretty white wolf. “Liam will take the body back to camp, where we will burn it. We must report back to the Council that we have done our duty, and bring a bit of fur for proof… will you come with us?” Keva looked startled at the question, and glanced behind her as if she expected the members of her pack to materialize behind her. The clearing, empty of both trees and wolves, stared emptily back at her. Her bright eyes became sorrowful, and she sighed. “It seems I have no choice, Alpha Cian. Lead the way.”
As they reached the place where Brann’s body had been, Keva suddenly caught the unmistakable scent of a human. She panicked, dashing back the way they had come. “A human,” she cried, looking back for Cian to follow her, but he merely stood there waiting for her to come back. She suddenly realized what his unspoken request to Liam had meant. Embarrassed, she walked slowly back to where Cian stood, still nervous. “Liam has to carry the body,” Cian explained calmly. “He could not do that if he were still in wolf form.” She dipped her nose toward the ground slightly, acknowledging he was right. He snorted at her attempt at humility. “Come,” he said, then leaped off through the woods, careful to keep a wide swathe of trees between their path and the path Liam had taken.
Cian and Keva arrived at the campsite several hours before Liam, but Keva refused to enter the tents or come near the large bonfire that Cian built. He had changed his form inside one of the tents in order to build the fire. Keva watched him anxiously, quivering with the instinct that drove her to run far away. Only the sobering thought that she would probably never see her pack or be accepted into any other pack again kept her in the general area of the campsite. She watched as Cian roamed the area, picking up dry branches for the already raging bonfire. She did not come very close, but she watched Cian carefully, taking in every aspect of his human form.
He was powerfully built, with broad shoulders and a flat waist that rippled with muscle. His golden eyes, black hair, and his wolfish grin were the only things that translated to his wolf form, but she found that she was not repulsed by his human skin. In fact, it fascinated her. She found herself thinking of what she might look like as a human, but forced the thoughts away and looked away from Cian. As she looked away, she caught a glimpse of Liam coming towards Cian with the body of the dead lycan. She shuddered, but found herself staring at Liam’s naked form, which was tan and toned. His shoulders were only slightly narrower than Cian’s, but he was lean. A bit of curly black hair dusted his chest and trailed a line from his navel to between his legs. At this point, Keva looked away, feeling strange. It was so curious to her that humans had so little fur to cover them, and had to rely on those strange clothes to keep their skin safe. She heard a strange, solid thump as the two men tossed the dead lycan into the bonfire, which darkened momentarily, then flared up again.
Keva shuddered again, feeling both angry and frightened, and curled up, watching as the flames consumed the body. Liam had disappeared into a tent, and Cian stood by the bonfire, his arms crossed in front of his body. He turned to look in her direction, but she did not move, afraid to speak to him in his human form. She heard him sigh deeply, but then he disappeared into his tent as well. She sighed, looking over her shoulder into the darkening forest. She should not be alone out here. Pack instinct ate at her, trying to convince her to flee closer to her “new pack,” but she simply could not. Two instincts were warring within her, pulling her in two different directions. She began to feel she might tear in two, but suddenly, Cian exited his tent in wolf form, and padded toward her under the rising moon.
Her ears perked up as he came toward her, grinning in his usual way. “Pack instinct,” he explained, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He lay down nearby, and watched her with his golden eyes. She felt suddenly comforted, and she wagged her tail slightly at him. “I thank you,” she said softly, knowing that he probably preferred the comfort of his human den. He lifted his head, gazing at her. “No need. Sleeping in wolf form is no sacrifice if I am sleeping next to you, Keva.” Then he laid his head on his forepaws and closed his eyes. Keva sighed happily, and closed her eyes.
As Keva slept, she entered the wolf dream. The forest was covered by soft twilight, quiet and empty. She sighed contentedly, breathing in the soft scent of the grass and the fallen leaves that covered the forest floor. Here in the wolf dream, she could run as long as she wished, free from all danger. She dashed through the grass towards a treeless field ahead, which seemed to go on fo
rever towards the horizon. She loped on and on, breathing lightly, her heart gladdened by the run. Suddenly, a dark shape appeared in her peripheral vision, and she veered and nearly stumbled. There, running along beside her, was Cian. The breeze ruffled his shaggy black fur, and the soft twilight made his eyes seem to glow with golden light. He did not say a word, but merely ran beside her, easily keeping up. She gave him a wolfish grin and ran faster, trying to pass him, but he kept pace. Thinking to trick him, she slowed and stopped quickly, but he immediately turned and stopped beside her, panting lightly. His eyes glinted at her attempt to trick him. “Thinking to lose me, ay? No one is quicker than me in the wolf dream.” Leaping forward, Cian licked her nose quickly then dashed away into the field. Startled and caught off guard, she shook off the shock at his bold move and leaped after him with a giddy feeling in her stomach. When she caught up with him, she leaped toward him and collided with his shoulder, sending them both tumbling into the long grass. He rolled over and leapt up quickly, standing over her to keep her from rolling off her back. He looked down at her, with something dark and wild in his golden eyes that she did not recognize. She gazed up at him, her forepaws folded over her chest. Cian dipped his head and licked her cheek softly, and then leapt away. Keva missed his strong presence immediately, but when she rolled to her feet, he was gone.
The soft sound of Cian stretching woke Keva from a refreshing, dreamless sleep dream. She opened her eyes as he was walking back to the tents, where Liam was already awake and packing away his tent. Cian changed his form quickly and began to help pack up the tents. Keva watched as the tents collapsed before her eyes and were packed away into two bulky cloth bags the men would carry. Liam made breakfast quickly, and the two men ate before they began their trek back through the woods. As they set off southward, Keva followed at a short distance, still anxious about being so close to humans. Cian and Liam set a good pace and covered several miles before they stopped for lunch. When they stopped, Keva drew closer and sat a few feet away as the men ate some granola and dried fruit. Cian made eye contact with her a few times as he ate, but to her relief, he did not try to coax her to come closer.
Soon, they came near the place where Cian had parked his truck. Cian knew that this would be a difficult transition for Keva, so he let Liam take the backpacks to the truck as he crouched down and waited for Keva to come closer. “Keva,” he said, “I know you’ve lived in the wilderness your whole life. Humans like to make things, and we are going to use something called a truck to get home faster than if we walked or ran.” Keva sat a few feet away, and tilted her head slightly. I understand, said a female voice in his head. He jerked, surprised. Keva glanced right and left quickly, not sure why he was acting startled. What has startled you? Cian cleared his throat loudly. “You just spoke in my head,” he said, feeling a little silly. “That’s usually something only bonded lifemates can do,” he added. She only gave him a wolfish grin in response, and followed him to the truck, which was parked in a public rest area near a hiking trail.
The big black truck loomed in front of Keva like a gigantic beast. She looked up at Liam, who was sitting in the driver’s seat and grinning down at Keva. She let out a long, slow breath. Ruthlessly quelling her anxiety, she followed Cian around to the other side, where he opened the back door for her. She eyed the back seat for only a moment and then leapt up into the truck. As Cian shut the door and climbed into the passenger side, she suddenly felt horribly confined. Cian, seeing in the rearview mirror that she was wide-eyed and her ears were laid back flat to her head, tried to soothe her. “Don’t worry. The ride will be fairly short. You’ll have plenty of time later on to get accustomed to riding in vehicles.” Keva turned her piercing gaze on him. I’ll have to ride in one of these again? There are more of these cursed machines? By the Creator, you humans don’t know what true freedom is, she said, growling low in her throat. Cian could not help but chuckle at her, which provoked another reaction. What was that sound you made? It sounds suspiciously like mirth, although I have never heard human mirth. Cian nodded soberly. “I was laughing,” he said, trying to remain serious. “It’s a valuable human expression.” Liam guffawed loudly, startling Keva. Apparently so, she said with a wolfish grin. Although it does sound very strange. Liam glanced in the rearview mirror, his deep green eyes twinkling. “Some people say that laughter is the best medicine, too,” Liam said, just as he was turning right onto a dirt road. Medicine? Keva asked Cian, feeling befuddled. “I’ll explain later,” Cian said. “For now, let’s just focus on meeting the rest of the pack,” he continued, pointing to direct Keva’s attention out the window, where humans—or lycans, she was not sure—were gathering outside of four large wood cabins. The cabins surrounded a larger wood building which emanated smoke from two brick chimneys sticking out of it like a rabbit’s ears. Big wooden doors on the front of the big building suddenly flew open, and a tall, elderly man walked out. His hair was a very light gray, and included only a bit of fuzz on his head and a strangely pointed beard on his chin. Keva immediately knew that he was an Elder, though she did not know how.
Keva peered out the window, feeling extraordinarily nervous. She began thinking of her very first solo hunt, both the nervousness of being separated from her pack and the thrill of the chase and the final kill of her prey. She shuddered, but the people outside the truck seemed friendly enough. She waited as Cian and Liam exited the vehicle and walked up to the elder, gesturing and pointing at the truck. The elder’s eyes widened. He gestured at Cian, who came back to the truck to open the door for Keva, who leaped out immediately despite her qualms about meeting a new pack. She took a deep breath of the fresh air, and set to examining her new pack. They stared at her, all nine of them. There were two young ones near an older female, two older males, a young female, and an older couple that included an elder and perhaps his mate, and the other male elder.
Cian began introductions. “Keva, this is Rick and Rosa,” he said, nodding to the two young ones. “Their mother and my aunt, Nila.” The older female nodded perfunctorily at Keva. “And this is Davin,” he said as one of the older males stepped forward. “Davin is my uncle,” added Cian, “and this is Cormac,” he continued, gesturing to the other older male. “Cormac is Liam’s brother,” he explained. The young female grinned at Keva as Cian looked her way. “And I’m Kara, Cian’s sister,” she said sweetly. Keva grinned back. She began to think that maybe she would enjoy being with her new family, after all. The three elders were not introduced, for they had begun walking towards the meeting hall, the large building in the center of the group of cabins that made up the camp.
The pack gathered in the meeting hall. The other members of the Council, five males and three females, arrived soon after, standing to one side of the big round oak table that took up the center of the room. The Northern Pack elder, whose name was Garr, called the room to order. "Quiet, everyone. This meeting has been called to review the results of our alpha's mission to do justice to Brann, the rogue that murdered a family in the human town to the south." Cian stood up. "The rogue is no more. He would not surrender to the judgment of the Council, thus I had to end his life. The elder will confirm that this is Brann's fur and proof of his death." he added, tossing a swatch of fur on the table. The elder nodded gravely after sniffing the fur. The Council nodded in unison, as well. Elder Garr, his hair white and beard white streaked with gray, spoke for them all. He wrinkled his prominent forehead, and said, "Thus Brann ends." The members of the pack murmured an agreement. "Alpha Cian, please explain this lycan's presence," Garr continued, lifting a hand in Keva's direction. He frowned as he added, "And please tell us why she is not in human form like the rest of us." Keva cringed at the sudden attention, as the whole group turned their eyes her way. Cian frowned at the elder's obvious, uncalled-for scorn. "This is Keva. Liam and I found her living with a pack of true wolves." The whole hall began to rumble as the pack began murmuring amongst themselves again. Elder Garr lifted a hand, and the room fell silent agai
n. "How is that possible? The true wolves do not accept us among them."
Cian grimaced, tapping a finger on the table as he considered how to respond. "Keva's mother explained to Keva, before she abandoned her to our hands, that Keva's sire raped her mother when her mother was in estrus. Keva's sire was Brann, the rogue." This time, the room burst into loud conversation. "A half-lycan?" said a Council member disbelievingly, causing Cian to growl in response. "And half true wolf, and my lifemate," he bellowed back. "Does anyone wish to dispute that with me?" The room grew quiet, registering his challenge.
Elder Garr lowered his overgrown gray eyebrows and frowned. The point of his long gray beard quivered as he pursed his lips in concern. "Your lifemate? Did you meet this she-wolf in the wolf dream?" Cian crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. "I did, twice." Gasps could be heard across the room. The widespread location of packs, meant to reduce violent competition, usually had the result of lycans rarely meeting the other half of their soul in the wolf dream, since they must be in close proximity to meet. Cian’s sister, a tall, lean brunette, stood from her seat at the table. "If this is true, then may I be the first to welcome my brother's lifemate." Keva stared at Kara in surprise, but the woman only grinned at her and winked. Cian cast a grateful smile at his sister.
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