One of the Wiccan corners said, “The spirits of the air speak to me, Jesuit, Prince of the falcons. There is one meant for you who comes on white wings. If you try to take Elizabeth, blood will coat your life forever and you will never find peace. If you wait, the one meant for you will show herself in time and you will find true peace and happiness. Like you’ve never known. A King with untold power will spring from the union, your son, and unite two groups in harmony unlike any before.”
He’d sheathed his sword and left, unable to shake the image of his sword killing the woman he’d loved.
Later, he realized that he hadn’t loved her. Not really. What he’d had with her was one-sided, and love had to be returned to be real. He’d been infatuated with her — her beauty and her power — and he’d felt insulted when she cast him aside.
He stared at the white wings on Danika’s back and realized that he was truly in the presence of his mate. The one woman meant for him. The last two years of carrying around a bit of hurt and anger from being rejected disappeared in a heartbeat. Danika was his. He’d been a fool to want anyone else.
And he also knew now why he didn’t mind Chance holding her hand. He was her mate as well, and their two houses were going to join together through her. And when she and Jes had a son, that child would be a powerful King.
Shaylee laid her fingers on Danika’s back, and Danika screamed in pain, her eyes squeezing shut and tears leaking from the corners.
Chance snarled angrily, and one of Shaylee’s bears pulled her away from the bed quickly and tucked her behind him. “She meant no harm,” the male said.
Chance bared his fangs and then shook his head. “I know that.”
Jes said, “Elizabeth? Did you see her markings?”
“I noticed them earlier when I took her mended skirt to her. They look familiar, but I don’t know from where.”
“The prophecy.”
Ash’s eyes went wide. “Shit, really?”
Shaylee said, “What prophecy?”
Elizabeth explained what the other witch had seen but was kind enough to leave out the part where Jes had almost made a choice that ended in her death. Jes looked across Danika’s body to Chance, who met his eyes with raised brows.
Before either of them could say anything, Shaylee said, “This kind of reminds me of that story you told me, Tavian. About Yaala and her mates?”
“I don’t know that story. Is it a legend?” Elizabeth asked.
Tavian relaxed from his protective stance slightly and pulled Shaylee into his arms. “Yes. It’s the story of a she-bear who never shifted. Her family kicked her out of the den because it was shameful to have a non-shifting bear in the family. She was left alone in the wilderness, unable to shift and hunt or defend herself. Hunters came upon her and decided to rape and kill her, but two enormous bears came from the woods and killed the hunters and then shifted into their forms and declared that she was their mate. They had sex with her at the same time and while they were all, um, finishing, she shifted into her bear form. It turned out that she was what we would now call a latent shifter, or one who cannot shift until he or she has found his or her mate or mates.”
Shaylee smiled. “It’s kind of like how Sleeping Beauty didn’t wake up until she was kissed by her Prince. Yaala couldn’t shift because she needed the touch of her mates. I don’t think I can help Danika, even with my healing powers. She needs to shift.”
Chance said, “Are you saying that we need to have sex with her — at the same time — in order to help her shift? Into what?”
“Whatever she is,” Elizabeth said, “is something with white wings.”
“There are no white-winged shifters,” Jes pointed out, but he couldn’t dismiss that the bruise-like marks on her back looked like wings in a way.
“There used to be,” Ash said. “My people’s legends tell about large snow birds who humans mistook for angels when they shifted with only their white wings.”
Danika’s voice was weak and breathy when she said their names, and Jes and Chance bent down close to her. “If we’re mates and we need to you know, can we get out of here? My den is going to flip out since the King promised me to his son, and I just want to be gone before the shit hits the fan.”
Chance stroked her hair. “We’ll get you to safety, katja, and then we’ll talk.”
Jes straightened as Axe came into the tent with not only Tonik and Rev, but also with Jantha and two other male lions. “My father is keeping her den occupied, but the son is saying that you two interrupted his chat with his mate, and he demands that we bring her out.”
“The fuck that will happen,” Chance growled.
Jantha turned and said to the others, “Would you excuse us for a moment? I need to speak to my son and the falcons.”
Everyone left except Jes’ brothers, who came to stand near him, and Jantha and the two lions. Jantha said, “Jesuit, it’s good to see you again.”
“And you,” he said as he stroked his thumb over the back of Danika’s hand. “I wish the circumstances were better.”
“Nothing is better than finding your mate,” Jantha grinned. Clapping his hands together, he said, “I’m assuming you want to take her home?”
Jes glanced at Chance and asked, “My home?”
Chance nodded. “Your place is an actual home. I share a townhouse with my brother and a friend.”
Jes looked down at Danika who was breathing shallowly and trying not to move. He looked at his brothers and an idea formed in his mind. He quickly shared it with the men, then called the bears back into the tent and shared the idea with them.
Within minutes, Tonik and Chance’s brother Gamble walked out of the tent with Shaylee wrapped up in a blanket, her face hidden from view. They were going to slowly make their way to where Danika’s den was and stall as much as possible before it was revealed that Shaylee was, in fact, not Danika, and the two males were not himself and Chance.
“Thank you,” Jes said to Shaylee’s two mates, Lynk and Tavian. “I know it wasn’t easy to watch unmated males touch her.”
“No, but we understand the need to keep your mate safe. We’re glad to have helped in any way,” Lynk said.
Before Shaylee left, she had given what she called a sleeping draught to Danika that would allow her to rest for a short while and ease the pain in her back so they could get her out of the den without her screaming in pain. Her tight grip on his hand eased after several minutes, and Chance picked her up in his arms as Jes draped a blanket over her, so that her bare upper body was covered.
Their small group stole out of the den silently, and he opened the passenger door of his Dodge Ram. Chance climbed inside and settled Danika on his lap. Jes strode around the front of the truck and glanced at Rev. “I want a full detail on guard tonight. No one outside of the lion pride and our nest gets onto our property. Catch Tonik up to speed when he gets home.”
He glanced at Jantha as his brother snapped into action and headed towards his own vehicle. “My nest is in Bishop, which is about forty-five minutes from here. My right-hand Ley will settle your pride in for the night and we can speak in the morning, if that’s acceptable.”
“The pride would like to help guard,” Jantha said.
“It would be most welcome. You can work out the details with my brothers, Revere and Tonik.”
Jes bid goodbye to the King and got into his truck, not wanting to waste any more time standing around outside the den. Their deception hadn’t been discovered yet, but he didn’t expect it to last much longer.
He had never expected to find his mate, or to share her with another male, but he could not dismiss the truth of his feelings. Danika was his mate, and Chance was her second mate. Like the prophecy foretold, Danika was binding two were-houses together, and his son would lead them all.
They’d get to the politics of joining two completely different were-groups together later. For now, he was concentrating on his mate and helping her shift into whatever she was suppose
d to be. For the rest of his long life, Danika, and any children she bore, were going to be his priority.
Chapter 5
Chance held his slumbering mate in his arms and breathed in her sweet scent. She smelled like fresh snow. His lion purred in his mind. Nothing had ever felt as right as the way that Danika felt in his arms.
Jesuit, the falcon Prince, drove his truck with white knuckles on the steering wheel, pushing the speed limit and glaring out the windshield.
“Jesuit,” Chance started.
“Call me Jes,” he interrupted.
“Okay, Jes,” he paused for a moment, unsure of what to say now that he’d opened his mouth.
Jes said, “I used to share the witch Elizabeth with six other men. Not in an orgy kind of way, or ménage of any sort, but she moved from bed to bed as the mood struck her.” Jes glanced at Chance, whose mouth had opened in surprise. Of all the things for the regal falcon Prince to say — that he’d shared a woman before — was not one of them.
“She performed a spell a couple years ago and chose two bears as her mates and shut her lovers down, including me. I heard about the prophecy concerning my mate because I tried to do something foolish and force her to give me another opportunity to prove myself to be her mate.”
Chance had been surprised to hear about the prophecy and the fact that he appeared to be part of it. If it were true, then a child of Jes and Danika’s would someday lead both the falcons and lions and would be very powerful. He didn’t know what she was, but he could feel that she was unique. That her den never recognized her power told him that it had indeed lain dormant until she met her mates.
He didn’t mind that it wasn’t his child who would lead their people. Leadership was difficult, and he enjoyed being his father’s second-in-command and not shouldering the burden of being the King. Jes’ child could lead them, and Chance’s child — or many children, he hoped — would support their new King and assist in every way. There was no shame in not being the leader.
“Two years is a long time to wait for someone,” Chance mused.
Jes snorted. “I had no idea if the prophecy was actually true or not. Witch stuff isn’t exactly a science, and nothing about the future is set in stone. I was beginning to think I might spend the rest of my life alone, even though the nest had been pushing for me to mate and bear offspring.”
“It’s tough to be the King,” Chance mused.
“I’m only a Prince until I marry, but this situation with Danika isn’t exactly normal. There have never been tri-matings in my falcon nest. My family line has been in power for more than two thousand years.”
“Do you think your people will take issue with our relationship?” he asked cautiously.
Jes shrugged. “I couldn’t care less.” He looked at Chance for a brief moment before returning his attention to the road. “I didn’t think I would want to ever share a woman again, but this situation is vastly different. I don’t know what it will be like, but I don’t want to kick your ass for touching her, and I’m glad that you’re here to help take care of her. Even without the prophecy, I wouldn’t want to try to deny her one of her mates. Have you ever shared a woman before?”
“Once. My brother and I hooked up with the same female during a mating festival ten years ago. All the single male and female lions around the nation gathered in Arizona for a few days to try and find their mates among all the different prides. Gamble is not really interested in settling down, and I knew that my mate wasn’t in any of the females there, so when he offered to share one of the females who had caught his eye, I thought ‘Why not’?” It hadn’t been a bad time, but Chance hadn’t cared to ever know what his brother’s orgasm face looked like, and then he’d had to deal with the fallout from the female when Gam didn’t want to see her again. Gam could walk away from females easily, but Chance didn’t like anyone’s feelings to be hurt.
“Have you ever met other white lions outside of your pride?”
“There are some prides in Europe, but our kind are definitely a dying breed. In matings, our genes are dominant so that any children are white lions.”
“Then why are your people dying out?” Jes asked.
“The males aren’t finding their mates. Ours is not the only entirely unmated white lion pride. Or, in my father’s case, his mate was killed in a hunting accident, and they only had the two of us.”
“I’m sorry you lost your mother.”
“Thanks. My father could mate another female if he chose to — he’s only three hundred after all — but he’s never found anyone who he wants to be with. And the other males could choose a mate based solely on attraction and not wait for their truemate.”
“They don’t want to though, do they?”
Chance shook his head. “No one wants to settle and admit that they just don’t have the patience to wait for the one female right for them. But the prophecy about you has gotten me to thinking.”
“About what?” They passed a sign that said Welcome to Bishop, and Chance felt his pulse quicken. Soon his katja would wake, and they’d be able to help her.
“What if lions aren’t meant to be in single matings? What if our kind are meant to join together with another group and share a mate?”
Jes hummed in his throat. “There aren’t very many mated falcons in my nest, either. Maybe you’re right.”
The conversation stopped as Jes turned the truck down a narrow, winding drive that they followed until it ended at a tall, wrought iron gate. Chance looked out the window at the gate that was the only way past what must have been a ten-foot tall brick wall topped with razor wire and floodlights.
Jes put down the side window and looked at a camera just to the left. A beep sounded and the gate slid open quickly, allowing them to pull through. The gate slid shut behind them. As Chance looked back, he saw two males dressed in black standing on top of the wall on either side of the gate. Black wings sprouted from their backs, and they held rifles in their hands.
Jes looked at him. “I take the safety of my people very seriously. Bird shifters are not as rare as white lions, but our kind are dwindling as well. Our kind are very likely to be killed or injured by hunters who assume we are simply large birds.”
As he drove past small homes, Jes explained that the town of Bishop was quite small and that his nest had been in the area for the last few hundred years. His nest, led by his father, had established the town and built a settlement with the intention of their people solely living in the town. But progress saw humans moving in, and the nest welcomed them as long as they understood what the falcons were and that hunting was outlawed within the town.
“It’s still a no-hunting town. Because it’s such a small town, my father was able to apply for what’s called protected were status, which means that falcons are considered an endangered species in this town and, therefore, no one can hunt within the town limits or they face criminal charges. The nest has one hundred and thirteen members, and only about thirty are female. The nest lives within the walls of the compound in their own homes, or the unmated males and females often live together to share expenses.”
Chance was impressed with Jes’ nest. Although young for a leader, he was clearly a warrior and took the safety of his people seriously. Chance felt that Danika would be safe behind the walls of the compound.
The three-story home at the end of the street stood proudly against the backdrop of the dark sky. A garage door opened, and Jes pulled the truck inside, put the door down, and shut off the engine.
Turning to look at Chance, Jes said, “This is by far the strangest thing that has ever happened to me, but I don’t care. The only thing I care about right now is never seeing Danika in that much pain again. When she’s shifted and not in pain any longer, then we can talk about what our relationship means. When that’s settled, we’ll deal with the joining of our two groups together behind the safety of the compound’s walls.”
Chance felt a weight slide off his shoulders. Jes was offering to
bring the pride into the compound. He knew that his father would gladly go wherever Chance needed to be to take care of his mate, and the simple fact that they had not found a permanent place to live yet made it seem as if he, too, had been waiting for Danika’s arrival.
“Fate’s a funny thing,” Chance said as he opened the passenger door and maneuvered himself and Danika out of the truck.
“Right? With a warped sense of humor.”
The moment that Jes opened the door into the house, Danika began to wake slowly. Her beautiful face tightened with pain, and small anguished noises came from her parted lips.
“I’ll give you the grand tour tomorrow,” Jes said, pressing a few buttons on a keypad next to the door leading out to the garage and arming a security system.
With long strides, Jes headed towards a grand staircase and Chance followed right behind him. Danika was still out of it, but she was definitely waking up from whatever drug Shaylee had given to her.
On the second floor, Jes turned down a hallway and walked to the end where a set of carved double doors stood open. Candles flickered on every flat surface in the large room, and a covered tray sat on a long dresser against one wall.
Jes began to unbutton his shirt with one hand as he pulled the covers back from the king-size bed. “My right-hand, Ley, set all this up. He won’t disturb us until I call for him in the morning, but you’ll be seeing a lot of the old fellow.”
Chance laid Danika down on the soft sheets and brushed her hair back from her face. She was beautiful, with delicate features and a lush body. Tugging the blanket away from her, he tossed it aside and looked down at her as he followed Jes’ lead and started to undress.
Jes, now naked, climbed up onto the bed on her other side and undid a leather tie at the side seam of the skirt and loosened it, pulling the long skirt off of her short but shapely legs. Resting one hand on her knee, Jes looked up at Chance as he stood, naked, next to the bed.
A Promise on White Wings (Wiccan-Were-Bear) Page 3