The clearing may as well have been emptied of anyone but them. “Ignorance will not save you from my retribution.”
“Give me the child and I will allow you to punish me any way you see fit.”
The cruel, twisted sound that left my mate’s mouth couldn’t have been a laugh. Only, I was sure it was. “You will do that anyway. Now. Or I will simply have him killed. Slowly and painfully.”
True confusion flashed across the bears face, I’m sure of it. “The punishment does not fit the crime. I have broken into your home, for certain. And the boy should not have been trespassing, but there is no call for–”
“Trespassing? Is that what you’d decided to call his attack and now yours? The bears are well known for their use of hypnotism.”
“Whatever it is you think we’ve done…”
“You could have killed her.” He whispered the sharp, angry words.
Behind me a twig snapped. Adawolfa was there in an instant, her blades flashing. Chaos erupted in that split second. Mina’s voice rang out even as the bear roared. Deryk slumped to the ground, his blood mixing with the pools already gathered there.
The guards rushed the newcomer while Aldrich pulled Adawolfa away from his rage. Mina fell beside the boy, her small hands working frantically to staunch the bleeding. My mind stuttered violently, flinging me back to another time where I’d seen so much blood.
This time I wasn’t going to balk. I pushed myself forward, ignoring the rusty lever on my flight-or-fight response. It groaned with every step forward I took but I moved closer to my screaming friend instead of away.
“He can’t die. We can’t let him die. We have to fix this or there will be a war.”
I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see the bear literally toss one of the guards to the side. Aldrich moved too quickly for him to catch but it would only be a matter of time before it was only my mate and the bear left standing. I wasn’t sure he could take down a beast like that.
Mina made a distressed sound and I cleared my head. Aldrich could take care of himself and the boy needed help now. He wasn’t doing well. I didn’t need to be a Healer to know he was losing too much blood, too quickly. Mina was holding the gashes at his neck closed but too much was seeping through her clenched fingers.
Hysteria tinged every look she tossed me and I felt my own panic rising. I couldn’t let this boy die but there was nothing I can do.
“Helpless.”
“Hopeless.”
“Unworthy.”
My head snapped up when those voices began to echo in my head once again. I felt the weight, the pressure of their accusations building in my body like lead. At my back, Aldrich was fighting a losing battle. Before me, the lifeblood of someone who was more child than man stained the earth.
“It’s now or never.” Another voice whispered into my mind and I snarled at it, picking it up and slamming it out of my head. I wouldn’t cower. Not this time.
The light, the beckoning promise in my body exploded forth, slamming through my veins. I gasped, sure that it spilled out of my eyes and ears as it took me over. It burned and tingled, cooled and set me on fire. For a split second, I didn’t know what was up or what was down. All I knew was the light and the way it scalded me, threatening to shatter the confines of my skin.
Just as I thought the pressure was too much, I felt Aldrich in my mind. He slid in like a caress, a breeze clearing out the last whispers of smoke from a fire. His presence in my mind tamed the blazing power, tamping it down until it was little more than a slow and manageable smolder. I pulled it into my mouth, focusing it there until I could make it my own.
In the cave, Aldrich had begun to teach me to wind-weave. He used it for clothing, I knew, but why not … why not skin? I focused my breaths, knowing I would only get one chance at this. My heartbeat throbbed in my ears, forcing my body to jerk angrily. The heat from my skin chased away the chill of the fleeing winter. Everything went still around me. The battles stopped waging, Mina’s cries faded into nothingness.
Flashpoint. The breath I held in my lungs exploded forth and wrapped around Deryk. Mina scrambled backwards as I channeled the energy, telling it what I wanted from it. My lungs burned and my entire body tingled but I didn’t stop until the blood slowed and the wound closed.
“Powerful. Strong”. The voice, the slick whispering one that offered me the light chanted happily, while I trembled under the weight of it. It continued to pour out, stealing not only my breath but also what felt like my life as it went.
“Liebling.” I heard Aldrich’s voice as if from a distance. He pressed his furry face to mine, the soft hairs stroking like a warm blanket. “I told you to be careful.”
There was a snap, like a rubber band coming back on a careless hand. The soft, calming presence that was Aldrich flowed into me and wrapped around the light. He held my skin together when it was threatening to come apart and pressed hard until the power was nothing more than a little powerball in my chest. Then he locked it back behind the door I had only just discovered.
Without moving, I searched for an anchor. “Aldrich? Mina?”
“Do not concern yourself with Wilhelmina. She volunteered to take the bears and the Alten to a different location.”
I opened my eyes painfully. The lids grated as if they were laced with sand and I couldn’t bite back the groan this time. Even as they opened, nothing but darkness met my eyes for several seconds.
“Where does it hurt?”
The blurry figures dancing in front of my eyes cleared and my jaw dropped. “What the hell happened to your face?”
Aldrich grinned, though the movement had to hurt. He didn’t even complain when my high pitched squeal must have caused further damage to his already assaulted eardrums. Burns marred every inch of skin I could see. Bruises and a number of claw marks painted his body but even as I watched, they healed. The burns did not.
“I will be fine, I assure you. Answer my question, please. Where do you hurt?”
I shook my head, trying to clear the panic that flooded me once again. The new and violent emotion was getting on my nerves. Offhandedly I considered whether I should start charging it an hourly rate for renting my entire being. “I’m not hurt. Not really. We need to see what we can do about you.”
He nodded, a heavy sigh of relief leaving his lungs. My petite body couldn’t hold him up when he crumbled to the ground but I tried. Even as I moved to catch him, I was yanked out of the way. Another pair of arms wrapped around Aldrich’s waist, pulling him back against a sturdy and generous chest.
“Don’t bother, Roux. You can’t help him any more than you can help yourself.” My body jerked when I realized Ulric was the one holding me. His strong hands bit cruelly into my shoulders.
“W-what are you doing? Rick, he needs me.”
Ulric, someone I had known almost all of my lonely life, someone who had been a rock when I was drifting. He turned me around until I was facing him and sneered with barely contained disgust. “He needs a wolf. Someone who won’t do him any more harm.”
With that, he flung me to the ground, away from where Adawolfa was cradling my mate to her impressive bosom. I scrambled up, a dark ache blossoming in my chest. I shuddered with the pain of it, hearing my fears voiced in a beloved tone.
“I hurt him? No,” I whispered. “It’s not true.”
“Human. Weak. Unworthy.” The whispers sighed.
“It’s not true. I love him.” I clapped trembling hands to my ears, trying to block out the words. The throbbing light within me tried to push up, to protect me, and I let it.
“Stop!” Adawolfa shot out from the haze shrouding my vision. She tackled me, knocking the light out of my reach. She straddled my waist and slammed her palms against my shoulders until I was flat and more bruised than before. “Little idiot, are you trying to kill him?”
The light sputtered and she slammed the heel of her palm into my jaw. My teeth clanged together and birds the size of seagulls danced be
fore my eyes. Even so, I tried to twist and return her attacks. She absorbed my weak punches but continued to rain blows down on my face and shoulders.
“The mates of Elders have to be just as strong as their counterparts.” She ground out between blows. “This is what I have told you from the day we met. You have failed to protect him and now you are a threat. I won’t let you hurt him.”
Intense emotion battered my psyche, all streaming from her. She trembled with each blow, raging dark words with each strike. “You are a false mate, too weak to stand by his side. I should–”
A massive blur slammed into her, knocking her off and sending me rolling. When Ulric thought to get in on the action, he was hit just as hard after the huge black wolf turned on his hind legs. The trail of blood Aldrich left behind wasn’t easy to miss.
“Don’t fucking touch her! She is ours!” Aldrich snarled in a strangely two-tone voice.
I’d never seen Aldrich shift completely into the Wolf. He was always careful only to use his humanoid forms. Now I saw why. The creature before me was huge, taller and more heavily muscled than anything I’d seen before. Wickedly sharp fangs hung from his mouth, weapons he was more than willing to use.
Adawolfa dragged herself up, clutching her middle. “I was only trying to protect you. Her magic was going to burn you into ash!”
My stomach bottomed out and I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. I was the one who put those burns on his face?
“That is not … your—,” his violent shout cut short, and the Wolf fell to his side, a crashing of fur and bone. This time when Adawolfa moved closer to check on him, I didn’t even protest. With the ache growing in my chest, I turned away as she hefted my unconscious mate into her arms with little effort. Gliding on autopilot, I made it the trek back to the stronghold. Despair marked my every step, and I’m sure that is why no one made to stop me. I called for my attendants and arranged for them to wake me at dawn without feeling a thing or really hearing my own voice.
I managed to make it to our rooms before I did something I hadn’t done since I was nine years old, realizing my father had no intention of celebrating my birthday. I curled up into a ball on the floor and wept.
Chapter 6
“Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will work out in the end.” Frauke brushed my hair out while I stood before a full length mirror. “The Council probably just wants to make sure you’re all right, is all.”
I pressed my lips together, refusing to say a word. As requested, she’d wakened me at dawn though I hadn’t gotten much sleep. Knowing I had caused Aldrich so much pain festered in my mind like a sore. I kept replaying the scene, seeing Ulric’s dislike and Adawolfa’s desperation all aimed at me like daggers. My face still throbbed and though Fraunk did her best with a little make-up, she wasn’t a miracle worker.
I looked like hell and felt worse.
“There now,” she said with forced cheer. “You look good enough to eat.”
They were words Aldrich had used as well and the phrase made my heart ache. I’d been refused access to him, told he hadn’t yet awakened. Daciana had been the one to break the news that he wasn’t in the best shape for visitors.
Her soft, regretful voice was probably the only reason I had gone down without a fight. “Don’t worry. You know the instant he comes to, he’ll be demanding to see you.”
Feeling fragile and so grateful someone was actually treating me without the disdainful scowls I’d been getting all morning, I leaned closer to her, ignoring the pull of my cracked ribs. “But … how is he doing?”
“He’s healing nicely, thanks to his wolf. What he needs now is plenty of rest.”
“Shouldn’t I be beside him? You know, as his mate.”
This time she hesitated. “It is true that if you were bound or a high class wolf, you’d be able to help him heal with your saliva, but…”
“But I’m only human.”
That had been hours ago and I hadn’t said a word since. There was really no point. Now I was getting ready for some kind of Pack meeting. It had been called in light of the attacks. I wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to go, but apparently, participation was mandatory.
Frauke sighed when I didn’t respond to her. “Let’s go. We don’t want to be late.”
She led me back to the courtyard where the Storm Ceremony was supposed to take place. The space where the Irminsala grew was completely packed with wolves. They stood like stone warriors, facing forward and listening as the Elders spoke. All four were in attendance and Frauke bowed her head respectfully before entering the fray. An almost tangible feeling of unease hung in the air and I knew instantly that I didn’t want to be here.
Botolf waved to me from the hastily erected stage that had been set up in the courtyard. I ducked my head, avoiding the hot gazes of the others who noticed my arrival. I moved toward the tree, hoping to get lost in the throngs of people.
Marrok was speaking, his booming voice travelling with little effort. “Many of you have waited for the Howl of succession. It is traditionally done by the newly appointed Primogen, but as many of you doubtlessly know, our Supreme fought in this latest attack and is recovering.”
Botolf picked up where his fellow Elder left off. “The duty falls to the four of us then, to see to this gathering. It falls on us to speak of the brewing possibility of war against the bears.”
I jerked, sure I’d heard wrong. Discussing war so soon hardly seemed right. There was so little proof they’d been the ones to attack us, though I had no other suspects. Besides that, the attacks themselves were still bothering me. Something was off; I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
After last night, I was having a hard time mentally connecting the bears with the kind of impersonal attack that had taken place. Their strengths were more hands-on than what we’d seen. They were powerful fighters, strong and with a promise of violence in their forms which didn’t require distant weaponry like the bow and arrow.
In addition, from what I knew of their hypnotic abilities they had to be within striking distance for it to work. Not to mention Deryk’s response when he’d realized I was human. He’d led me to believe it wouldn’t work well on a wolf, let alone one of the Alten.
I found myself suddenly immensely glad Aldrich wasn’t in standing. No matter what they decided today, or how a vote went, they would do nothing without his consent. It was one of the biggest downfalls of the system they relied on, but it also made the strength of the Primogen absolute.
Someone from the crowd threw me physically from my thoughts. I caught myself before I hit the ground, but not before I had already bumped into two wolves, catching their attention and that of those around us.
“Hey, watch what you’re doing.”
“Sorry,” I snapped right back, turning on the person who had already planted a hand in the middle of my back and pushed me again. There was no mistaking it for an accident this time. “If someone would stop–”
The blow came out of nowhere, faster than I should have seen. I ducked before it could land, my instinct sharpening slowly, thanks to being beaten up so constantly. “Adawolfa. What do you think you’re doing?”
An angry snarl twisted her lips. “You are not his true mate. Therefore, I can challenge you for the right.”
Marrok stopped speaking and everyone turned to us. At once. It was as if the entire courtyard held its breath to see what I would do, but I hardly noticed. Blind fury painted my vision red and I clenched my fingers into a fist to keep from acting on it, despite the fact that she deserved to feel my palm crack against her smug face.
“Aldrich is my mate. Mine. I don’t know why you’re having such a difficult time grasping this fact, but I suggest you get over it quickly.”
She reached out and dragged a young woman from the crowd. The girl didn’t even flinch. She stood without expression when the Lupa pulled her ponytail to the side, revealing the sleeveless cut of her dress. Adawolfa gestured to a spot on the woman’s bare shoulder.
“This is a bond mark. Yours is only an outline. Temporary. I told you, you’re not strong enough.”
I gritted my teeth. Fine. I wasn’t a wolf, nor did I have one of the shiny marks. I’d come to that conclusion on my own, but damn if I needed it broadcast to the entire Pack. “He chose me. He will always choose me. Just as I will always choose him.”
“And look what the choice has gotten him. The only thing you could ever do for him has been lost and you can’t bring it back. You’ve failed to re-summon the Blut-kette and now you are perverting the wind.”
A murmur rolled through the crowd and I spun around seeing shocked faces. I was missing something, again. “I haven’t perverted anything.”
Adawolfa vibrated with outrage. Her brunette ringlets shuddered while she kept herself from going for my throat. “Are you really so dense? You’ve let yourself be tainted by magic. You are what is weakening Aldrich’s control on the Wolf. It is why you cannot re-summon his salvation! You’re hurting him; there’s no way you could truly love him.”
This time I didn’t think. I ate up the distance between us and slapped her as hard as I could. “How dare you speak to me that way, you jealous bitch.”
She straightened slowly but I refused to back down. I’d done absolutely everything I could to help Aldrich. I struggled in a world that wasn’t my own, stumbled through rules I didn’t understand, and half the time I had no idea what was going on. But I did it, smilingly, for him. To be with him.
“You hit me.”
“I may not be doing as well as a wolf would in my shoes but don’t you ever suggest that I do not love him.”
“You … hit me.”
The shock in her voice was grating on my impossibly thin nerves. She’d given me nothing but grief since she’d had to save me from groping hands. Yes, I made a mistake. I was bound to make tons of them, but damn it, I was supposed to be able to trust her. To trust this family.
“Damn right I did, and I’ll do it again if I have to. Aldrich is mine. Get used to it.”
The surprise on her face slowly morphed into something else. She took a step back and I celebrated a too hasty victory. The space she created between us was full of the possibility of momentum and she used it to her advantage.
The Big Cry Wolf Page 8