“Shh.”
Adel glanced up in shock. Without her wolf's eyes, the riverbank was a murk of shadowy shapes without form or focus.
“Jarek,” she hissed back, trying to pinpoint where his voice had come from. “You fool, what are you doing here?” Despite the darkness, she drew an arm across her bare breasts beneath the water.
“Didn't I tell you to hush?” her friend's voice replied.
After a moment of squinting, Adel made out what seemed to be a pair of legs dangling into the water a short distance away.
“I am hushed. Why did you say anything at all if you didn't want me to speak back?”
“It would be disrespectful for me to sit here without saying anything.”
“I might say the same of you following me in the first place! Did you sit up all night waiting for me to leave?”
A soft laugh answered. “No. Well, perhaps some of it. You looked beautiful with your eyes painted this evening.”
Jarek's compliment stirred a curiously familiar warmth within Adel, the sensation spreading to the lower part of her body. Why was it that only his compliments made her feel this way, when the same words from others washed by with no more permanence than the passing of the river?
“Well, beauty does nothing to change the minds of alphas,” she said, wading back toward the bank.
“Your father and Kotal had their disagreements again.”
“Is it any wonder?” Adel hauled herself out of the water, keeping her back to Jarek's voice as she brushed herself half-dry and began to dress again in her light summer hides. “My father thinks he is the strongest man in all the world, and nothing will convince him otherwise. If someone less stubborn were to speak with Kotal, then perhaps we might be able to bargain with him.”
“You mean yourself?”
“Why not?” Adel spun around, water flicking from her long hair. Jarek was still just a silhouette on the riverbank, but she could feel him looking at her.
“Do you really think you are any less stubborn than your father? You could yell at a rock long enough to make it think it was a tree.”
“I am not stubborn! I see what he does not.”
“What makes you think he doesn't see it? Perhaps he does, and has decided that his way is better.”
“Then he is a fool. And you are teasing me again.”
Jarek chuckled. “I like you when you are passionate. If you think you could make a bargain with Kotal, then why not go speak with him yourself?”
Adel snorted in incredulity, swatting her friend on the shoulder. “And why would he listen to a female? A girl? He knows I have no power over my pack.”
“How will you know if you do not try?”
She hesitated. In his joking, Jarek often had a way of stumbling upon ideas that made her pause and think. Whether he was just trying to get a rise out of her, or making a genuine suggestion, his words had the desired effect.
“Fine. I shall. What can my father do if he learns of it? Nothing he has not done before.”
“Don't let him find out,” Jarek said, his voice momentarily sincere. “It isn't right that he hurts you.” In the darkness his fingers groped to find Adel's, and when he clasped her hand she squeezed back.
“You needn't pity me,” she said, her defences rising to conceal any hint of weakness Jarek might have glimpsed in her.
“I don't. I care for you.”
A tight lump rose in Adel's throat. She wanted to dismiss his concern. Reassure him that nothing and no one could ever hurt her. But rather than shaming or making her feel weak, his sympathy felt warm and tender, softening the girl's hardened heart. She sniffed audibly.
“Thank you. I shall remember it.” Her words sounded stiff and uncomfortable, not as she had meant them to come out. She cursed herself for being unable to respond to Jarek's kindness the way she wanted. Did she not know how? Why was it so difficult to embrace the warm, tingling sensation within her that longed for something she seemed unable to comprehend? She jerked her hand away suddenly, unnerved by the confusing slew of emotions. “Thank you,” she repeated, then hurried away into the trees.
“Wait,” Jarek called after her, but she was already in the shape of her wolf, picking her way down into the misty hollow at the base of the hill. A moment later she heard the patter of paws behind her, and then Jarek's sandy fur was nestling up against her side. Rather than letting her go, he was there to lend her his strength. Had she been able to voice any words she might have told him to leave her alone, that it was better they not be seen together. But, restrained by the body of her wolf, she had no choice but to make the ascent back to the clearing with him at her side.
It was pleasant company to be in.
—12—
Kotal's Bargain
Alpha Kotal's camp occupied a broad stretch of ground on the southwestern edge of the clearing. It was far larger than any one pack required, but the more powerful alphas had a tendency of laying claim to territory that reflected their status. Much like beasts in the wild, it was a show of strength that resonated instinctively with many of the Moon People.
Adel returned to her father's camp briefly to fetch the cloak of bison fur she had worn on the journey there, tucking her hair back and hiding her face within the hood so as not to be recognised. It was a measure she might not have taken were she alone, but Jarek's concern had inspired caution in her. He was waiting for her back among the trees, and as soon as she returned they began making their way around the ring of tents toward Kotal's camp.
“You need not stay,” Adel whispered, glancing anxiously toward the occupants of the fires that had begun to sprawl across the inner part of the clearing. Jarek's unusual skin and hair attracted a few curious glances, but beneath her cloak Adel seemed mercifully inconspicuous.
“Oh I know, but a seer should be seen to have a guardian, even if you do not need one.”
“Will your clan not wonder what you are doing?”
“I do enough strange things for them not to worry about me walking with a girl at the gathering.”
Adel wanted to tell him to go. She was used to relying on herself, and worrying over others was a distraction. Yet she knew that a seer with a strong man at her side would convey far more authority than a girl sneaking about beneath a cloak on her own. That, and the strong man happened to be Jarek.
Most of Kotal's followers were absent from the camp, no doubt celebrating with the other clans, but a handful of warriors sat around an outward-facing fire along with some of the young and old. Among them was the boy who had helped Kotal when he appeared before the other alphas. He wore the same long hair as his father, though it was rich and dark with youth, and despite his age he seemed to hold authority over the other men nearby. When Adel and Jarek approached, Kotal's followers acknowledged them in silence, breaking off their conversations as they looked to the alpha's son for guidance. He was the last among them to notice the pair, enthralled by some joke he had been sharing with a brown-haired boy at his side, both of them laughing raucously together. Eventually, noting the silence around him, Kotal's son wiped his eyes with the back of a hand and glanced over his shoulder, a grin spreading across his face as he rose to address the newcomers.
“Who are you now? Friends come to share in our cheer?”
“Khelt,” the boy beside him said, catching his friend's arm and giving him a sincere look.
“Ach, I know. Of course, of course.” Khelt's smile disappeared, and he approached Adel and Jarek with his hands set firmly upon his hips. “This is my father's camp. Tell me what business you have here, or begone.”
“I wish to speak with the alpha,” Adel said, keeping her head tilted low.
“He is resting. If you have a message, you can tell it to me.” Khelt cocked his head at Jarek. “A message from Alpha Neman?”
A stir of impatience threatened to tinge Adel's next words with something altogether less polite, but she held her temper in check. This boy, even younger than her, already held himself with
the undeserved poise and pride of an alpha.
“I have no message,” she said. “I only wish to speak with him.”
“Well,” Khelt replied, turning back to Adel and bending down to try and peer beneath her hood. “Unless a den mother hides under that cowl, you have no authority to demand an audience with my father.” His eyes widened for a moment as he caught sight of her face. “Are you..?” A jubilant laugh spilled from his lips. “Seer Adel! Oh, now that is a surprise. Forget my father, come sit with me. Enemy or no, I would give anything to have a beauty like you at my fire.”
“I'd be careful, my friend,” Jarek said, returning the boy's smile. “Test this seer's patience and you'll have a curse on you by the night's end.”
“Will I?” A note of unease crept into Khelt's voice. “I have heard she can put a spell on men. Is that what she did to you?”
“Why else would a man of Neman's pack be with Seer Adel?” Jarek said.
Khelt laughed nervously, glancing between the two of them. “You make fine jokes. Come now, sit. I will let her put all the spells she wants on me.”
“I do not make jokes,” Adel said.
“She does not,” Jarek confirmed.
“And I came here to speak with an alpha, not a child.”
Khelt's smile became a frown. “You'd best not insult me again, woman—”
“Khelt,” the brown-haired boy interrupted again, pulling his friend aside and whispering something to him. After a few moments the alpha's son seemed to relax, albeit begrudgingly.
“I suppose,” he muttered, turning back to Adel, “my father might be curious to know what the daughter of his enemy could possibly have to say to him.”
“Thank you,” Jarek said, a courtesy that Adel did not echo.
“Not you, though.” Khelt pointed at him. “You wait here for your seer.”
Jarek made an exaggerated bow, the insincerity of which appeared lost on the alpha's son. His companion, however, raised his eyebrows at Jarek in exasperation. The dark-skinned man winked back.
“Come then, Seer Adel,” Khelt said. “Perhaps afterwards you can come sit with me and apologise for your insult, hm?”
“Perhaps,” she replied stiffly. The response seemed to please Khelt, however, and with a nod he led her around the fire and toward a tent in the centre of the camp. Bidding her wait, the alpha's son disappeared inside, and after a few moments of muffled conversation he stepped back out and held the hide flap open for her.
“Go in. My father will speak with you.”
A surge of excitement spurred Adel forward. She had done it. She had gained an audience with her father's enemy. If she could choose the right words, might she be the one to finally bring an end to the conflict between them? The lack of confidence she had felt earlier was all but forgotten in the rush of the moment. She wondered whether Khelt would accompany her inside, but he seemed all too eager to rejoin his companions at the camp's entrance, and he turned to leave as soon as Adel stepped into the tent.
It was a simple traveller's dwelling, the flames of a small fire dancing beneath an open smoke hole where the tent's supporting poles crossed overhead. Many furs had been piled on the opposite side so that the elderly alpha could sit upright against them while he slept, but Kotal was already on his feet and leaning against his walking staff as he came forward to greet Adel.
“Daughter of Ulric,” the old man said, squinting at her in the gloom. “Take down your hood so that I may see your face.”
She obliged, gathering her wits as she considered her words carefully. Now was not the time for pride or a short temper. She had to be wise with Kotal in the ways her father was not.
“Alpha.” She bowed her head respectfully. “I hope you forgive my disturbance.”
“I seldom sleep these days. Why waste what years I have left dreaming in the spirit world? I shall be joining my ancestors there soon enough.”
“I am sure your spirit will bless us with much wisdom when that time comes.”
“Save me your courtesy, girl. Why did you come here? Not by your father's will. Khelt says you were with one of the dark men from the south.”
“A friend,” she admitted. It seemed unwise to lie to a man like Kotal.
“Hm. Yes, Ulric made them his friends, didn't he? So what is this? You mean to show me that Neman's warriors stand by your side now?”
“No, Alpha,” she shook her head quickly. “If anything I only wish to show you that I am more willing to extend the hand of friendship than my father.”
“You are, are you?” Kotal regarded her with interest, shuffling around the fire to examine the girl more closely. “It is true that your father was the one to begin this bloodshed when his hunters challenged mine.” He snorted with amusement. “Almost yesterday, it feels to me, yet for you it must have been half a lifetime.”
“My pack tell a different story of how it began, but I care not for the reasons. They say you are a man of honour, Alpha.”
“I am said to be so, yes.”
Adel gazed at the old man imploringly. “This fighting is bleeding our pack of life year by year. We face Sun People from the east now along with your warriors in the north, and my father is too concerned with his pride to ask for your mercy.”
Kotal let out a sharp bark of laughter. “As he should be. I feared him, you know. I have no shame in saying it. He is a strong warrior. An alpha much like me when I was in my prime. When he challenged my pack I wondered whether he planned to take all the lands this side of the mountains for himself. But now you tell me that your pack suffers? Is that why you have come, then, to beg my mercy on his behalf?”
“I come to beg nothing.” She met him with a firm look. “I ask only for a man of honour to prove his compassion. If you do not want to take my father's lands, then why make all of his people suffer? It is not just the warriors who are hurt by this fighting.”
“You understand so little, girl. It is your father who hurts his people if he continues to defy me. Soon my son will lead this pack, and I will not leave him to be haunted by the memory of a weak old man who took mercy on an alpha too foolish to admit defeat. I am not responsible for your clan, just as Ulric is not responsible for mine. If he wants an end to this fighting, he must prove he has the wisdom to decide it for himself. You should be in his tent telling this to him.”
“I have tried!” Adel clenched her jaw in frustration. “For years I have tried. I do not know what I can offer you, but at least tell me you would be willing to consider mercy.”
Kotal grimaced. “You've fire in you, girl. More than any woman among my clan.” He leaned in close, his cloudy eyes meeting hers as alpha and seer stared at one another. “My mate had that fire, too. Stronger than other females. It was she who persuaded me that some women have the strength to fight and hunt alongside men. A wisdom few other alphas have seen.”
“Then I am sure with her wisdom and yours combined your son will grow into a fine alpha.”
Kotal shook his head. “He is not hers. My mate died when I was still a young man. That boy's mother was some girl of the Sun People, one of many. He is strong, but his mind is unsharpened, as mine was until wiser voices taught me to stop and think.” He drew in a long breath through his nose. “My son needs a mate. Someone strong. Wise. A true den mother to our pack, just as I had.”
Adel stiffened. Ever since the alpha began speaking of his mate she had wondered whether his mind was simply wandering, or whether there was some purpose behind his words. Now, she began to get the unsettling feeling that his true intent was about to be revealed.
“What would it take for you to make peace with my father?” she said.
“He must submit to my authority, proclaim it before the other alphas, and send tribute to my pack. Food, hides, whatever he has to spare. I will take his gifts in place of his warrior's lives each year, and in return I will consider him my friend. But all will know that Kotal is the one true alpha this side of the mountains, and never again will your father te
st my resolve.”
“That is all you would ask?”
“That is all. The tribute would never be more than your pack could spare. A simple token of Ulric's continued loyalty.”
Adel closed her eyes, swallowing her growing despair. “I would agree in an instant were the choice mine.”
“Of course you would. You are a woman. A man would realise the true weight of what I ask.”
“My father's pride is a small thing to sacrifice for the lives of his people!”
“The lives of mine, too,” Kotal said. “Yet it is still a great shame for an alpha to bear, admitting he is not as strong as he once believed.”
Adel waited, knowing there was more. The sickly feeling in her stomach grew stronger.
“We both know your father is still unwilling to let go of his pride,” Kotal continued. “So perhaps he will let go of something else instead. I told you my son needs a mate. With the right woman at his side, the pack could grow great indeed under his leadership.” He leaned forward, pressing a hard finger into her chest. “You would be den mother. Respected by all, perhaps the greatest woman among all the clans. And with such a joining, our packs would be allies once again. No alpha need submit to the other.”
Adel's nausea rose, and with it came her anger. How many times had her father asked this very question of her? The same thing he had asked of Uriel. The thing Adel resented most. Taking a mate from among her own pack had been worrisome enough, but the thought of being joined with the boy she had met outside was even worse. A stranger. A brash young heir who would no doubt grow up to be a man just like her father. How could the fates be this cruel? Kotal had offered her the chance to save her people, but the price was higher than she could have imagined.
“I see it troubles you,” the alpha said. “No matter. It is your father who must agree. Take my offer to him, or keep it to yourself. If the Sun People threaten him as much as you say they do, then I will force him to submit to me one way or another. All it will take is time.”
Adel's mouth felt horribly dry, her words lacking in conviction when she spoke. “Can I offer you nothing else?”
Daughter of the Night: A Book of The Moon People Page 11