Staring down at her with an unreadable expression, Duncan remained silent. Hurt and frustrated by his odd behavior, Senka spun on her heels and headed toward the line of trees. I don’t need anyone’s help, she thought, stopping on the edge of the looming darkness. My whole life I have worked alone, why should this time be any different? Scanning first one way, then the other, Senka inhaled deeply, and moved to step into the foreboding wilderness alone. But just as her boot breeched the edge of the darkness, a heavy hand came to rest on her shoulder.
“Don’t go alone.” He said lowly. “I’m sorry.”
The closeness of his body in combination with the calmness of his deep voice had an immediate calming effect on Senka. Closing her eyes, she blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Duncan, I don’t want to do this alone.” She admitted, surprising herself with her confession. Turning around, she stared up into those mesmerizing pale grey eyes that revealed no clue as to how he was feeling. “But this isn’t going to work if you don’t trust me.”
“I do trust you.”
“No you don’t. You want me to do what you tell me to do without question or explanation. But Duncan, I’m not one of your Shifters and you are not my Alpha. I want to be treated as your friend and partner… as an equal in this mission. But the longer we are together, the more I find myself questioning whether or not that is even possible for you to do.”
With a ragged sigh, Duncan cast his eyes to the side, allowing a heavy silence to descend between them. Knowing she was asking a lot of the elder Shifter, Senka tried to remain calm, giving him the time he needed. But as seconds turned into minutes, her anxiety began to grow. Alphas like Duncan were used to complete obedience. He dominated and controlled men more than twice her size. Perhaps asking him to consider her, a female and a non-Shifter, as his equal, might have finally pushed the limits of their friendship a bit too far. Half expecting him to look up any minute and laugh in her face at the absurdity of her request, she braced herself for the rejection she was sure was coming.
“I will agree to your terms.”
Blinking rapidly, she stared up at him in shock, certain she must have misheard him. “What? Really?”
“I don’t guarantee I won’t make mistakes, but I give you my word I will do my best to treat you as a partner and an equal.”
Thinking for sure this was too good to be true, Senka decided to test the waters. “So will you tell me what happened back there with Brezer and the others?” Breaking their gaze, Duncan ran a hand through his hair. “The truth Duncan.” She pressed, seeing his reluctance.
After a few silent moments in which his eyes searched out anything to focus on other than her. Duncan finally inhaled a deep breath.
“I warned them to get away from you.”
“Warned?” Confused, Senka furrowed her brow. “But… why?”
“It’s complicated.”
Eyes darting off to the side once again, Duncan ran a hand across the back of his neck. Uncertain what he had to say that could be causing him so much turmoil, Senka stepped forward and took his hand into her own. “You can tell me, whatever it is I promise I won’t be angry.” With a squeeze of his hand, she managed to pull his attention back to her. Wrinkles at the corner of his eyes revealed his underlying concern. Wanting him to feel as comfortable with talking with her as she could, Senka smiled warmly. “Come on old man, don’t you trust me?”
Exhaling a slow breath, Duncan’s expression relaxed. “I trust you with my life Senka.” he said slowly. “I’m just afraid I am going to mess up and lose you.” Glancing back over his shoulder at Brezer and the others cautiously watching their interaction, Duncan sighed. “Can you accept me saying I feel very protective of you and let it be at that?”
Following his gaze and seeing the worried expressions of the others she sighed. “I suppose I can accept that… but why would you think I needed to be protected from your own men.”
“Perhaps, when we are alone and not in such a hurry I will explain further.”
“I don’t know Duncan, it still feels like you’re hiding…” Pausing she frowned. “Wait, are you telling me the guys are listening to what we are saying?”
A curt shrug was all the answer she needed. Mouth agape, she peeked around Duncan to see the men hurrying back toward the camp. “Oh, now you leave, you pack of nosey wolves!” she shouted after them. “Hope you enjoyed the show!” Spinning on her heal, she stormed off toward the border with Duncan following close behind. “Damn Shifters.”
Stepping into the darkness beneath the canopy, Senka paused, waiting for Duncan to follow her through. She knew he brought up the wolves snooping to distract her from her questioning. She heard him laughing under his breath thinking he had gotten away with it, and she pitied him. Duncan truly believed he had pulled a fast one on her. But she was no fool. Senka was more than aware of what he was doing. What she didn’t understand was why her best friend would be so determined to conceal the truth from her. What could he possibly be hiding that made him feel he needed to lie and deceive her as opposed to answering a simple question.
If she had to be honest with herself, Duncan had been acting off since she returned from her hunting trip. From his emotional outbursts to his overbearing behavior, she wasn’t exactly sure what to make of him. Unfortunately now was not the time to pursue the matter further. She needed to get back on track and focused on finding her sister. However, the moment her sister was back at home safe, she vowed to confront him once and for all, but until then, she would bide her time and wait.
Wanting to distract herself from the hurt his lies was causing, she turned her attention back to her gloomy surroundings. The thick canopy of the towering trees blocked out what little sunlight the day still had to offer, casting the floor of the forest in a perpetual darkness. But thanks to her night vision, Senka was able to clearly make out the thick undergrowth of saplings and thorns that coated nearly every square inch of the ground around her. Groaning at the thought of having to wade through that for the next few miles or more, she rubbed her hand down her face.
“Not a walk in the park is it?” Duncan commented, suddenly appearing next to her.
Sneaking a peak up at him, she could tell that, unlike her, he was already quite a bit more relaxed than he had been only moments ago. Burying her anger and frustration at how easily he found it to lie and deceive her, she faced forward once again. “Where do we go from here?” she asked, sounding a bit more clipped than she intended.
Picking up on her discontent, Duncan studied her expression closely. “We will head east,” he answered gesturing into the glum surroundings. Like Senka, he too had night vision, although from what she had observed on their past hunting trips, it wasn’t quite as strong as hers. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she answered, throwing his own words back at him.
Appearing torn as to whether he wanted to pursue the matter further, Duncan paused. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but then suddenly sniffed the air and frowned. “We need to go.” Worry clear in his voice, he scanned the darkness. “Patrols have been here recently and will likely return soon. We should put as much distance between us and the border as we can.” Heading into the forest, he waved at Senka over his shoulder. “Why don’t you move in front of me and I will tell you which way to go.”
“Me? Shouldn’t you be the one leading the way?”
“Normally I would...” Duncan frowned, sniffing the air again as she made her way around him. “But we need to cover your scent. And seeing as you refused to wear the dress I brought you, I am hoping I can use my scent to mask yours as we go along.”
Ignoring his jab, Senka turned without comment and began to trek her way through the thick undergrowth. However after less than an hour of travel, constantly being scratched and poked by the thorns and saplings, Senka had enough. Casting her gaze to the trees above, she stopped dead in her tracks nearly causing Duncan to trip over her.
&nb
sp; Following her gaze upward, Duncan yanked a thorn covered vine out of the fabric of his shirt. “Why did you stop? Did you see something?”
“No.” She grumbled, picking a few vines out of her own shirt. Thankfully she had decided to wear a long sleeve shirt over her tank to help ward off the chill of the night air, otherwise her arms would have already been covered in scratches. “There has to be a better way of getting through here. If we continue on like this, our clothing, not to mention our skin will be ripped to shreds by the time me make it wherever we are going.”
Having managed to remove the majority of the smaller vines, Senka took ahold of one of the larger ones. Unfortunately it was imbedded deeper than she anticipated so when she jerked it out of her sleeve, it left behind a giant tear in the fabric. Staring at the gaping hole, Senka released a frustrated yell. Tossing the vine on the ground, she then proceeded to stomp the offending greenery repeatedly with her boot.
Wisely electing to remain silent, Duncan watched her with an amused grin. Once the offending vine was satisfactorily pulverized, she wiped the sweat from her brow, and glared up at him. “What’s so funny?”
Trying his hardest to keep a straight face, Duncan threw his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Not a thing, I swear.”
“Humph.” Narrowing her eyes, she returned her angst to her surroundings. “How the hell do your patrols get through this mess every day without being scarred from head to toe?”
“They shift.” Frowning, Senka stared up at him as he continued to explain. “The vines have a magical property that allows Shifters in animal form to pass through unscathed.”
“And what about traders? How do they get through?”
“Only Shifter traders are allowed to pass through the border. Any trading that is done with outside races has to be done on the outer edge.”
“It’s a defense against trespassers.” Senka mumbled, plucking a thorn off a nearby vine.
“Yes.”
Furrowing her brow, she stared up at Duncan. “So why haven’t you Shifted and saved yourself from this misery?”
“And leave you alone to suffer?” he smiled, shaking his head. “I may not be much of a gentleman, but even I know enough to know that wouldn’t be very chivalrous of me.” Running his hand down his beard, Duncan tilted his head slightly. “Although… if you ride on my back the vines may leave you alone as well.”
Though they had been friends for years, Senka had only witnessed Duncan shift into his animal form once. And quite honestly that had been enough. Standing an easy eight feet tall on his hind legs and weighing at least seven hundred pounds, the massive grizzly was by far one of the most intimidating animals she had ever seen.
Swallowing hard, Senka paled. “Ride you?”
Duncan grinned mischievously, “Sure why not?”
Struck with the image of herself sitting astride the enormous beast, with his glimmering white fangs and six-inch claws, Senka shivered. “Ummm, no offense, but I think I’ll pass.”
“It’s a smooth ride,” Duncan commented, his grin widening, “and I promise I won’t bite.”
Not sure what he was finding so amusing about this situation, but deciding to leave it alone in favor with putting more distance between them and the border, Senka turned her attention back to the trees. “I actually think I have a better idea.” Closing her eyes, she allowed the darkness to seep into her pores and pull her into its depths. Seconds later she was sitting on a branch, high above Duncan’s head.
Peering down at his furrowed brow, it was her turn to grin. “It’s dark enough I can flash from branch to branch without it wearing me out. Plus, they shouldn’t be able to track me up here right?”
“I suppose not, but I can barely see you up there. Are you certain you won’t miss a branch and fall?”
“Just because you can’t see me, doesn’t mean I can’t see you old man.” Senka teased. “Now lead the way and I’ll follow.”
He could barely make out her crouched form perched on one of the highest branches above him, but Duncan could clearly hear the amusement in her voice. So she thinks she’s funny, well let’s just see how well she can really see.
Smirking to himself, Duncan reached up and slowly began unfastening the buttons on the front of his shirt. He took his time, carefully opening each clasp until he finally reached the last one, at which time he pulled the red flannel garment off over his shoulders and discarded it on the ground at his feet. Closing his eyes, he savored the feel of the cool night air caressing his bare skin and though he could not see her, a slight shuffling in the trees confirmed Senka was still above him.
He could feel the heat of her gaze traveling over the hard edges of his torso, much like she had done back at the camp, and it encouraged him to keep going. Making quick work of the laces of his boots, Duncan kicked them to the side before going after the last remaining article of clothing he had on. Not wanting to give himself time to think about what he was about to do, for fear of chickening out, Duncan placed hands on the snap of his pants. In a single quick move, he undid the snap and pushed them down to his ankles.
Knowing full well she could see him clearly with her advanced night vison, Duncan honestly expected her to yell down at him with one of her snarky comments insulting his age and his body. So when his nakedness was met only with an uncustomary silence, he suddenly became concerned that maybe she had left him.
Panicked, he searched the trees in the area he last saw her go. Eyes darting from branch to branch, his gaze fell upon a set of amber eyes staring back at him intensely. Unsure what to say or what to do, he continued to remain silent as her glowing eyes traveled down the full length of his body before returning to meet his gaze with an unreadable expression.
“Do you mind tossing me your pack to put my clothes in?” he called up to her, needing to do something to break the strange tension building between them.
Blinking rapidly as if suddenly awakened from a trance, Senka quickly averted her gaze. “Umm… sure.” she mumbled. Pulling the bag off her shoulder, she dropped it down to him.
Snatching it from the air before it hit the ground, Duncan rapidly stuffed his clothing inside. “Alright, here it comes back to you.” With a hard toss, he chucked it back up into the branches where Senka easily caught it. “Once I Shift, obviously I won’t be able to speak, but I will still be able to communicate with you in other ways. Listen to my sounds and watch my body language for warnings of danger. And don’t stray too far, even now I can still pick up slightly on your scent, which means the patrols will also.”
Having said all he needed to say, Duncan lowered his gaze and inhaled a deep breath. Calling forth his bear, he fell to his knees, grimacing as the bones and ligaments ripped apart and healed to form new connections. Skin stretched, muscles doubled in size, and thick brown fur pushed its way to the surface. The pain was horrendous, but it was a pain he had long grown accustomed to.
Thankfully the transformation was quick and when he reopened his eyes it was in the form of the massive grizzly bear. Happy to be free once more, Duncan could feel the spirit of his bear stirring deep inside him, and so long as Duncan kept his temper under control that was exactly where he would stay.
With a low grunt he cast his gaze up into the trees overhead to where Senka watched him with a concerned expression. He knew to outsiders the sight of a Shifter transforming could be quite a traumatic experience and he hated she had to witness him go through that. However time was of the essence and they needed to get a move on.
Not wanting to waste what few hours of nightfall they had left, Duncan raised his head, and with a low grunt, motioned for Senka to follow. As he had predicted, his bear was able to pass through the thick undergrowth virtually unscathed by the thick thorns. And with Senka flashing easily from tree to tree now out of their reach, they made good time, and managed to nearly double the distance they had traveled in nearly half the time.
Mainly keeping his eyes on the forest floor, ever watchful for the patr
ols he feared would find them at any moment. Occasionally Duncan would sneak a peek into the trees and catch a glimpse of Senka as she flashed from branch to branch with ease. And though he could make out little of her in the darkness, thanks to her drab attire and dark hair, the one thing he could make out was those bright amber eyes. Glowing with the power she was pulling from the shadows around her, it was more than evident Senka was in her element.
Unfortunately, it was that same glow that reawakened something in Duncan he had long tried to bury. No, I am not that man anymore. Facing forward once more, he desperately fought to push down the horrid, evil thoughts clawing their way up and through the darkest recesses of his mind. I will never be that man again.
‘You will always be that man.’ The forest itself seemed to whisper the words directly into his ear. Stopping dead in his tracks, Duncan searched for the source of the haunting voice. Above him, Senka continued to flash away unaware of his turmoil.
NO! I have changed.
A low growl rumbled free of his throat as he continued to survey the surrounding forest. Perhaps it had been watching her use her gift or simply being back in his home country for the first time in over twenty years. Either way, something caused Duncan to suddenly be overcome with memory upon haunting memory of a time he had long since tried to forget. Memories of a time when anger and pride ruled his life and he truly believed money was his only means to finding happiness.
“Duncan? Is everything okay?”
Her voice pulled him from his trance. Casting his gaze up high, he responded with a curt nod. I need to stay focused, he thought to himself as he began to move forward once more, If I don’t the patrols will find us for sure.
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