The bitter cold sliced into me, but I barely felt it. Stumbling forward on numb feet, I wanted to reach for her. The anger behind the tears stilled my arms. “Ly’Tana,” I choked, unable to say more.
Her hand, almost too swift to see, swung and slapped me hard across my face. “You bastard,” she hissed.
My guilt rose. Of course she’d be angry. She’d every right, as did they all. Tashira hadn’t yet kicked my ass, as he threatened to, but that was coming. Despite my reasons for doing so, I had abandoned them all. It appeared they wanted some payback.
“You really pissed me off,” Ly’Tana gritted.
I nodded. “I know.”
Her tears broke and fell. A tremulous smile lit her pale features as glistening drops slid down her cheeks. She didn’t try to avoid my hand as I cupped her lower jaw and caught her droplets on my thumb. She leaned into my palm, half-closing her eyes, her hand rising again. She didn’t slap me or pull away as I expected; instead it clasped mine.
I took her into my arms. Gods, how good she felt, her arms wrapped about my waist, her face upturned to mine. I kissed her, hardly caring of how her people and the wolves stared at the spectacle. Her lips moved, dancing, her tongue teased me, the heat that her body’s closeness surged in my blood kept the chill at bay. Every emotion she triggered in me–my love for her, the joy I felt being with her, and how much leaving her behind had hurt–rose to the surface. Though I tried to push these to the background, they’d remain there no longer. Raw emotions spilled from behind the high damn I’d built and flooded my heart.
Ly’Tana broke from me, her arms leaving my waist to seize my face in her hands. “Don’t you ever leave me behind again.”
While her voice tried to be stern and commanding, it broke with a squeak. We both snorted laughter as she dragged my face down to hers to kiss me again and nuzzle my nose with her own.
“My turn,” Kel’Ratan said gruffly as Ly’Tana stepped back, my hand captured in hers.
Given that Ly’Tana’s blow still stung my cheek, I half-expected Kel’Ratan to belt me hard across the jaw. In a move I never thought I’d see, Kel’Ratan seized me in a great bear hug. His fists thumped my shoulders as I embraced him, his affection both startling and gratifying. Kel’Ratan, like most warriors, kept his emotions and feelings close to himself. I knew he liked me, but never dreamed he truly cared enough to express himself.
“Damn good to see you, laddie,” he said, his blue eyes less fierce though his mustache still bristled. “Damn good.”
“You, too, Red,” I murmured, grinning, and gripped the back of his neck.
Arianne shoved her way between us, parting Kel’Ratan from me with a smart hip-shot. “Raine,” she cried, tears flowing hard enough to risk frostbite on her cheeks. “I missed you.”
Enfolding her tiny body into mine, I bent over her. Her face buried in my belly, her arms about my waist, the words I sought choked in my throat. I said nothing. What could I say? ‘I’m sorry’ just didn’t cut it.
Despite my attempts to ignore it, the deep winter chill settled its fangs deep into me and I shivered violently. Past Arianne, I heard Ly’Tana say, “Yuri, get His Highness his winter gear.”
I didn’t pause to think what that meant when Rygel stepped up, his hood thrown back from his wild wheaten mane and his amber eyes laughing. “Braud,” he said, grinning, pulling Arianne away from me so he could take her place. He, too, seized me in a fierce embrace, his strong arms hard around my back. “I have one thing to say to you.”
“What’s that,” I asked over his shoulder, my teeth chattering.
With my head between his hands, he laughed. “You can run but you cannot hide.”
I laughed as the other warriors, Witraz to the forefront, gathered around me. Like the wolves, their hands gripped mine, my shoulders, or any part of me they could touch. I was shaken, playfully pushed around, their greetings and words of welcome overwhelming me as they all talked and laughed at once. Like Tuatha, Tor had grown. I tousled his brown hair as he laughed, ducking away from me. A sword hung from a belt about his lean hips. A sword? Now that was a story I’d have to hear soon.
Lastly, Corwyn stepped forward, a formal bow bending his waist. His shaggy red-silver hair spilled from his hood. “My liege–”
“Cut the bull,” I said, laughing, seizing him in a rough embrace. “Our friendship runs too deep for that.”
“I’m damned glad to see you, boy.”
“And I you, my old friend.”
If Darkhan restrained himself from greeting Arianne out of respect for me, he restrained himself no longer. Leaping out from the lively, wagging pack of wolves, he lunged forward, jaws agape. Arianne caught one glimpse of his happy face before he flattened her. His huge body stood over her, licking every inch of her laughing, squirming face.
“Darkhan!” she cried, her hands not even trying to push his muzzle away. “My Darkhan.”
Arianne vanished from sight. Even Rygel laughed and knelt in the snow to hug the huge wolf.
“Put these on, Raine,” Ly’Tana said, pulling my attention away from Darkhan’s wagging body. I eyed the bundle in Yuri’s arms, running my hands over my arms to warm them. The shivering took control and if I didn’t turn wolf soon, I’d freeze.
“What is it?” I asked, reaching for it.
“A gift from Li’s wives,” Ly’Tana answered.
The bundle turned out to be a set of winter clothing, the same type they all wore. Deer and elk hides cunningly sewn together created a warm suit that prevented the bitter cold from leaching into one’s bones. Removing my sword and handing it to Yuri, I put them on over my tunic and breeches. I couldn’t help but feel astonished that they fit me perfectly.
“Who’s Li?” I asked, warmth returning to my body as the heavy, protective skins retained my body heat while keeping the bitter winter wind at bay. I buckled my sword across my chest, out of the way for riding. I suspected I’d be staying human for a time.
“Your competition,” Rygel answered with a grin as he rose from the snow.
Darkhan finally allowed Arianne to get up, but she kept her hand on his ruff. Her cheeks had reddened under the onslaught of the cold and Darkhan’s tongue. He gazed up at her, his tongue lolling, but without the previous fanatic adoration. Now he could love her, and his heart remained free to love another. That thought suddenly reminded me, with a jolt, of Ghost. I hoped the chaos of humans, horses, a griffin and massive wolves hadn’t frightened her into changing her mind about Darkhan or her mission.
“Papa?” Tuatha said, gazing up at me. “I’m cold.”
I bent down and scooped him up.
Tashira, standing beside Shardon, spoke up. “That makes them even, Rygel. Raine has a girlfriend.”
“What’s this?” Ly’Tana asked, turning her face up to mine.
“Nothing important,” I said, stifling my irritation at Tashira’s comment. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Ly’Tana opened her mouth to question me further, but Rygel’s voice broke in. “Li is the Clan Chief of the Jha’fhar,” he said. “He asked Ly’Tana to be his third wife.”
I gaped, trying to quell the hot surge of jealously his words brought. Another man dare try to seize my woman, my mate, the love of not just my life, but my entire world? Damn it. A growl began in my throat, but got no further.
Ly’Tana shrugged. “He’s a good man, a strong leader. I like him.”
She likes–
“Chill, boy. She chose you, didn’t she?”
I gazed down into Ly’Tana’s jade eyes, her half-smile, as her red-gold hair peeked out from under the fur of her hood. Why I’ll be damned. Darius spoke truly. She could have turned away, left me to die in hell, and taken this Li for her own. She didn’t. She chose me. She chose me.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world,” I murmured, my fingers trailing down her cheek to her jaw.
Ly’Tana seized my fingers. “And don’t you forget it.”
Kael
&n
bsp; Chapter 12
I bit my inner cheek.
The sudden sharp pain prevented my shock from showing on my face as Raine changed forms. While I suspected the shadow that lurked in his eyes when he vanished all those long weeks ago wouldn’t have departed, I hadn’t anticipated it might grow darker and deeper. Under the hollow of his eyes lay a bleakness that brought quivering fear to my churning gut. Raine had lost weight, too much by half, his cheeks pale and gaunt. His formerly white tunic, torn, ragged and stained with what looked like old blood, hung on him like a loose sack. His sword belt sagged around breeches worn to threads and discolored with red-brown stains. His muscles still bulged in all the right places, but they screamed out against the lack of healthy flesh over them.
He’d left me, hale, healthy and determined to go north alone. I chased across the desert and mountains to find a smiling, shaggy skeleton.
Tashira’s comment about a girlfriend burned. No doubt this ‘girlfriend’ had a great deal to do with the way he looked now. Hot jealousy rose as far as my throat before I locked it away, unconvinced by Raine’s protest that there was no such thing. He never was a very good liar.
I felt thankful when Rygel brought up Li and his infatuation. While I didn’t want to bring up the subject quite like this, the sudden surge of bile that rose in Raine’s eyes brought me much comfort. So Li made him jealous. Good. Good.
Now dressed in the warm furs, Raine’s shaking gradually subsided and his lips turned a color more normal than blue. Holding a shivering Tuatha close, Raine smiled. “Darkhan told me most of what I missed,” he said. “He couldn’t tell me much about Li or his people, though.”
“We’ve lots to catch up on,” I replied, hoping he’ll finally tell me who his lost love was or is.
If he caught any nuance in my tone, he didn’t show it. Instead, he half-turned, looking back up the hillside. “I hope this reunion didn’t frighten Ghost into the next valley,” he murmured. “Ah, there she is.”
I stepped around to stare in the same direction and saw nothing but snow, rock mounds and half-covered brush. “Who’s Ghost?”
He turned back, his brow rising and his lips smiling faintly. “Darkhan’s new lady.”
At his words, Arianne spun on Darkhan. “You have a girlfriend?”
While she had no right to be jealous, I saw a sudden, lightning flicker of anger before her features altered into a beautiful smile. Rygel, no doubt hoping Darkhan’s new status put him on better footing with the big dark wolf, once more bent and hugged a wagging, grinning Darkhan. One by one the warriors and wolves quieted at Raine’s pronouncement and looked from the trio to the snowy brush, no doubt as puzzled as I. I saw no wolf out there. At least, I thought his girlfriend would be a wolf.
“I don’t see her,” I said, brushing my hood back a little. “Where is she?”
“She’s terribly shy,” Tashira said, trotting forward with Shardon at his side. Bar half-jumped and half-flew closer, keen eyes searching for this mysterious lady. “Just like Arianne.”
“Her name is Winter’s Ghost,” Raine added. “We shortened it to just Ghost.”
As Arianne and Rygel questioned Darkhan, my boys and the wolves peered through the light snowfall, seeking any hint of this Winter’s Ghost. The wolves muttered amongst themselves, sniffing the wind and catching no hint of anything at all.
Raine smiled down at me. “She’s right there. Look for the eyes.”
Look for the eyes? What the bloody hell did that mean? Maybe Darkhan had fallen in love with a true ghost, a phantom. While I doubted that was the case, Raine’s words and the fact that none of us saw anything forced me to contemplate that all three of them–Tashira, Darkhan and Raine–had gone mountain-mad. Maybe the altitude got to them in a bad way.
“I don’t see a bloody thing,” Kel’Ratan complained.
My boys muttered much the same, shifting uneasily from foot to foot, making the sign against evil behind their backs.
Raine caught my eye and pointed. “Look there, down at the base of that snow mound.”
I followed his finger and saw nothing. “I don’t see anyt–”
Their movement gave them away. I sucked in my breath as a chill raced down my spine. Now that had to be the creepiest thing I’d ever seen in my life. A set of brown eyes flicked here and there, never still, taking in the crowds of wolves and people. What the hell could that thing be? Just a pair of frightened eyes incorporated Darkhan’s new girlfriend?
“Isn’t that the weirdest thing ever?” Bar asked, his tone awed.
If even his keen eyesight couldn’t see what it was. . . .
One by one, my boys and their wolves drew silent, finally seeing for themselves the pile of snow with eyes. Kel’Ratan, beside me, sucked in his breath and held it.
“Ghost,” Raine called softly. “It’s all right, girl. This is Fire Vixen, my mate.”
The eyes slowed and fixated on him, but the creature didn’t move.
“It’s all good, Ghost,” Tashira said. “Come on out and let them admire you.”
As Rygel and Arianne joined us in watching the eyes that watched us, Darkhan trotted out and passed his gaping brothers with his tail high. The brown gaze left Raine and focused on her approaching lover, yet she still didn’t move. Reaching the mound, he bent his muzzle down. No doubt he offered his own encouragement.
Half-hidden behind his dark grey bulk, something shifted. Squinting, trying to see through the greyish snowy mist, I watched the snow mound take on a shape. Suddenly my heart pounded, not with fear but with astonishment and a great happiness. My worry over Raine’s extracurricular love life vanished as the snow itself walked toward me.
The purest, whitest wolf slunk at Darkhan’s right flank.
Small, timid, her features dainty, her coat was as pristine as the white world around her. Struck by how much in manner and small stature she reminded me of Arianne, I thought, no I knew, she was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
Arianne’s soft awed tone voiced what I couldn’t find the tongue for. “She’s incredible.”
I don’t think anyone present took a breath as she skittered away from the fourteen male wolves who watched her with avid eyes. She kept Darkhan’s bulk between her small body and the pack, walking in a fearful, half-crouch. Her tail swept between her rear legs. While Darkhan walked proudly, his hackles half rose as he passed his brothers, and his shooting glances at their powerful interest told me they worried him.
“I think Darkhan has some competition,” Kel’Ratan said as every wolf present wagged hopeful tails as Ghost passed them.
“He does not,” I murmured, my joy rising. “She belongs to Darkhan and none can turn her from him.”
Only too well did I remember that night in the desert, asking Tuatha to convey my words of hope to a despondent Darkhan. While at first all I wanted was to offer him comfort, somehow I spoke prophecy. And here, in these high mountains, my foretelling walked beside him. Living proof of my blessing.
“Beloved of the Gods,” Bar said, hearing my thoughts.
“Don’t remind me,” I muttered.
Raine shot me a questioning glance, but I shook my head as Darkhan slowed his approach. Winter’s Ghost clung to his flank like a true phantom.
“Besides,” Tashira added brightly. “The unicorn gave her to him.”
“You’ve a big mouth,” Raine snapped, glaring over his shoulder. “Learn to shut it once in a while, will you?”
Over the mutters of ‘unicorn, what unicorn?’, ‘crikey, he’s gone mad’, Tashira said, “Can it, meathead. Sooner or later you’ll tell them about the unicorn. You’re on her shit list, remember?”
Thinking them all mad with altitude sickness, I cast aside Tashira’s comments as Darkhan reached me, his head high, and his eyes glowing with pride. With a glance from me to Ghost and a low whine, I’d no doubt he just made introductions. I knelt down as Ghost crept forward, her lips wrinkling back from her teeth in a fearful smile.
�
�Aren’t you beautiful, Ghost,” I murmured, extending my hand for her to sniff. “I’m Fire Vixen, Big Dog’s mate. Don’t be afraid, we girls need to stick together, eh?”
Whether my words or my manner comforted her, or by some other means Raine or Darkhan spoke silently to her, I don’t know. Whatever the reason, her head rose and her tongue lolled, her fearful grimace halted. With more confidence, Ghost stepped daintily within the circle of my arms. Her tongue licked my chin as I stroked my hands over her ears and down her neck. “Darkhan sure has good taste,” I murmured, her tail waving back and forth. “I tell you now, you are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”
My compliment had its affects. Ghost wiggled in closer to me, her tail swinging her hind end back and forth as she put both front paws on my knee to gain greater access to my face. She uttered a mixture of a low whine and a growl.
“I sure wish I could understand you, girlfriend,” I said. “We’d have lots to talk about.”
Ghost wiggled and wagged, her tongue growing busier. I laughed, fending her off. Darkhan growled something, his yellow eyes on me. While I didn’t know what he said, I didn’t much care. With one hand on Ghost, I extended the other. “See how you are, Darkhan?” I asked. “Now you’ve a lady friend, you forget all about me, is that it? Come here, fool, and let me kiss you.”
While I petted, kissed and loved on the two delighted wolves, Raine moved away to talk to Kel’Ratan in a low voice. His absence allowed Arianne to fill his spot, gazing down at us with her glorious grey-blue eyes filled with tears. I glanced up. Rygel joined her, his amber eyes smiling.
“Darkhan,” he said, “you’re one lucky dog.”
As Arianne elbowed him sharply in the ribs, I stood up. “Darkhan, introduce Ghost to these two. The four of you have much to talk about.”
With a meaningful stare at Arianne and Rygel, and a final stroke down Ghost’s soft ears, I left them. I stalked across the snowy meadow toward Raine and Kel’Ratan, tripping over the occasional hidden stone. Raine received me with a brawny arm over my shoulders and a swift kiss, Tuatha filling his free hand.
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