Wolf's Haven

by Ambrielle Kirk

  “His mate. Yeah, even evil wolves can be mated. I don’t know much about her. She was brought over from another pack.”

  A hush fell over the crowd as two old men stepped onto a long wooden podium and took a seat at a long table.

  “They’re about to get started,” Elisa said, just as Dawson joined them.

  Several moments passed as the two old men, Devin, and Dawson convened their meeting at the round table. Tamara wasn’t close enough to the front to hear anything that was discussed but from the serious look on each of their faces, she figured they’d started with the issue at hand.

  “This will be the third Blue Moon that I’ve seen,” Elisa said, interrupting her train of thought. “It’s beautiful. A special one.”

  “What’s going to happen?” Tamara asked, slowly, not taking her eyes from Devin as he took a pen offered to him by one of the men at the table. It appeared that he’d signed some papers.

  “Just be careful, Tamara.”

  Tamara swallowed. The blunt answer was indication that the young, wise little girl knew more than she was letting on. Be careful. What did that mean? What did it imply?

  “I am Ramon.” One of the old men stood up from the table at the end of the podium. “Executor of the estate of Daniel Caedmon, the third. This evening marks my fiftieth blue moon.” He thrust a rolled paper up toward the sky, holding it tight in his fist. “On this evening, I live to honor the Caedmon legacy. Herewith, I inform you of the last will and testament of Daniel Caedmon, the third. All properties, buildings, lands, debts, monies…anything bearing the Caedmon name shall now revert to his first born son…Devin Caedmon.”

  The crowd broke out into a choir of whispers.

  “No opposition?” Tamara whispered.

  “No one is crazy enough to argue with the written will of Daniel Caedmon…or with Ramon, for that matter.”

  Ramon placed the will into a small chest and slid it across the table to land in front of Devin. “There are other pressing matters at hand,” he said. “Our pack is without a leader. An Alpha who is strong enough to man and protect the pack. Not another night shall go by without such guidance. Shortly after the death of Daniel, only one has come forward to lead…”

  The front of the crowd shifted away from the podium as Darius and his crew stepped up to be noticed.

  “In Caedmon culture, direct descendants of previous leaders have fair claim to the position. Among us Caedmon, it is well known that the eldest son rose when the father passed on by default...”

  Elisa squeezed her hand, hard.

  “…unless there is a challenge.” Ramon’s cold stare fell on the crowd. He seemed to gaze at nothing in particular, as he paused. “Darius Caedmon, the son of the brother of Daniel has stepped forward to lead.”

  Darius made a great show of himself, allowing his mate to take his coat as he stepped onto the podium. He wore a necklace with a stone pendant, but it was made of white diamond versus the emerald diamond that Devin had gifted to her.

  Tamara clutched the pendant against her breastbone, and turned her gaze to Devin. He seemed to stare in her direction, his eyes glowing intensely in the darkness. She wanted to tell him to be careful, and even wished that he wore the protection amulet instead of her.

  “Good evening,” Darius drawled, his grin could have charmed the most doubtful of men. “I would be honored to lead us into the future.”

  “There will be no easy victory,” Ramon told Darius.

  “What…?” Darius looked back at him, annoyed.

  Devin stood up then, his look turning from indifferent to stern. “There is no way I will stand by and let you lead and destroy.”

  Darius’ laugh was loud and menacing. “Let? Did you say let?”

  “By law, there are only four of us left to lay down the law. We’ve exercised our vote to remove you from stepping into the vacancy.”

  “No one stands against me,” Darius said, holding out his arms for emphasis. “Show me the law that says you can stop someone from guiding our pack. If there is no leader, there is no pack. It is the oldest law in the book.”

  “Our aim is to stop you from guiding our pack, Darius. There have been too many charges against you. Too many speculations, and not to mention the foolish notions about how you plan to dictate and rule our people. We need a leader, not a ruler. There are other suitable leaders.”

  “Like whom? Dawson is too young to lead. He was one more year. No one will wait that long.” Darius stared Devin down in disgust. “And you are no more than the bastard son of you father. I’m surprised he left anything to you. Why would anyone want you to lead?”

  Devin growled, and threw himself toward Darius. It took three men to hold Devin back as he struggled to release their hold on him.

  Tamara’s heart jumped to her throat. It seemed to beat rapidly there and her blood heated. This time, it was she who strengthened her grip on Elisa hand.

  “You will not lead us,” Devin snarled between clenched teeth. “I challenge you, Darius Caedmon.”

  “I came prepared for this,” Darius leered. “I’ve been watching for days as you practically ignored the most respected law of our pack. No humans allowed within our haven.”

  The crowd gasped and Tamara swallowed, holding her breath.

  “It is no worse than the murder committed to steal this title.”

  The crowd erupted in a frenzy of chattering. Murderer. Bastard. Human. Those words rung over and over around her. She kept her line of sight on Devin, but she knew many pairs of eyes bored into her. Being called out was not something she’d planned for tonight. She knew it would have happened eventually, and that there’d be consequences if she’d stayed here with Devin, but she hadn’t set herself up for the embarrassment she now felt.

  “How dare you?” Darius hissed. “Nothing about which you imply has been proven. You, on the other hand, bring the human into our communities with no shame in your game.” He pointed toward Tamara to make his point.

  “What am I to be ashamed of? I will not hide away the woman I love.”

  Darius laughed. “The woman you love is a human.”

  “She is my mate.” Devin’s words sliced through the crowd like a knife and echoed throughout the trees.

  “No.” Darius shook his head. “You won’t fool us as your father did. He was a liar. He faked a true union in order to rise as Alpha, calling your trifling mother his mate. Just like that bitch, your human is a whore.”

  There was a flash of green, and a wolf emerged where Devin once stood. It leaped into the air, hurling itself viciously toward Darius.

  Tamara thought she heard flesh tearing as the paws of the wolf lashed Darius across the face. Darius fell back a bit, and when he moved his hand away from his cheek it came away with blood. Three ugly claw marks ran across the side of his face.

  “You will pay for that…” was all Darius said before Tamara saw two wolves clash together and tumble off the side of the podium in one violent brown fur ball.

  Tamara couldn’t stand to look. Pain seized her body just as if she were the one doing the fighting. She wanted the hurt to go away, so she closed her eyes. Ripping her hand free from Elisa grip, she drew her palms to cover her ears. Her efforts to block out the violence were futile.

  A vision of Brad flashed in her mind. She’d been stuck in traffic on the way from a class lecture. Dinner would have been late if she didn’t stop for pizza. It had begun raining heavily before she made it to the apartment. There parking space was on the other side of the lot. She’d grabbed what she could to keep herself from becoming drenched. He was angry even before she entered their apartment. He hadn’t hit her because dinner was late that night. He’d hit her because she’d used his letterman jacket like rain coat. The side of her face stung, just as if she’d been thrown back in time.

  She wanted to forget…

  Just before Tamara opened her eyes freezing rain began to fall softly. Sheets of it came down, accompanied by gust of cold winter breeze. Th
e full blue moon still beamed in on the wolf fight. Not a soul seemed to care as the dirty gray clouds loomed overhead, soaking them all.

  Her lips began to quiver as she strained her eyes, trying to focus on the fight.

  Suddenly Tamara heard a yelp, and her eyes shot toward the two wolves. Devin had his muzzle around Darius neck. Devin’s growl rumbled and his sharp teeth could be seen as he gripped the other wolf’s neck.

  “Fight to kill,” the crowd chanted. “Fight to kill.”

  Tamara’s chest burned, and she realized that she’d been holding her breath. Fear was her reality. Rain tasted like salt. It took her only seconds to realize she was crying. The horrific sight of the wolves battling terrified her. Her body obeyed what her mind was telling it to do.

  She ran.

  Chapter Twelve

  Devin ran.

  He ran like his life depended on it. The trail of Tamara’s scent was nearly gone. Pure instinct was all he had to find her now. She didn’t know the land very well. He feared for her.

  Too much time had passed since she’d taken off into the forest before Devin realized that she was gone.

  He would have caught up to her by now, but he was weakened from the fight. The deep claw wound in his back pulsed with pain with each leap he made, but he was determined to find her.

  Tamara’s scent took him in circles. She’d roamed in loops. That made it harder for him to trail her. It was an indication that she was lost in the forest. Anything could have happened to her by now.

  He should have killed Darius, but those actions wouldn’t have earned him any prizes. It served the scoundrel better to live the rest of his days as a failure.

  It was time to move forward with only good intentions for the Caedmon pack, and leave behind only those who would bring harm to them.

  Devin’s intuition led him to a stream. Sure enough, at the water’s edge, her small form lay in a heap on the grass. Her hair was mated to her face. The clothes she wore clung to her like a second skin. Her lips looked dried and parched. Her breast rose and fell rapidly as she clutched tightly at the pendant that he’d gifted to her.

  It pained him to see her in such distress.

  He whined and nudged at her cheek with his nose. Tamara was beautiful still, even through his wolf eyes. Even in her state of mishap. Her lids peeled open slowly, and she lifted her small hands to his neck and pulled herself up to a sitting position.

  “Wolfie, you’ve come to save me from this all over again.” Her breath was rushed, and he could tell she was dehydrated. “I knew you’d come.” She swayed slightly as though she were disoriented.

  He shifted from wolf to human form, and allowed her to fall into his open arms. “Tamara, please…don’t ever run from me again. If anything had happened to you, I would have been devastated.”

  “You scared me.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to scare you, but this thing had to be done.”

  When he looked down again, her eyes were completely closed and she went limp in his arms. He bit back the pain as he hoisted her up, carrying her through the forest back to his haven.

  ***

  Tamara rose to the smell of homemade soup. She drew in another deep breath and her insides warmed. It was a familiar fragrance of broth, herbs, and freshly stewed vegetables. Before she even opened her eyes she knew exactly where she was.

  The interior of the cabin hadn’t changed since the day she and Devin had left for the Caedmon village. She felt safer here than she did anywhere else in what seemed like a very long time. Clutching the soft sheets up against her chest, she lifted herself up to a sitting position.

  There were candles on almost every flat surface throughout the cabin. It was dark out, but she noticed that none of the lights were turned on. She reached out and clicked the switch in an attempt to turn on the lamp beside the bedside. Nothing happened.

  “The freezing rain turned into snow shortly after we got here. Most of the town’s power lines are frozen. We’ve been powerless for several hours.”

  Tamara turned in the direction of Devin’s voice. He sat in the oversized leather chair in front of the fireplace. She couldn’t see him until he swiveled around in the chair, coming into a clearer view.

  He was alright. Why had she been so scared? It was in a wolf’s nature to be aggressive. Although, Devin wasn’t just any wolf. He was a man. A man who’d made her feel safe and welcome from the very beginning.

  Devin seemed to be studying her. Maybe he thought she was a complete crazy person the way she ran off in the forest out in the middle of nowhere.

  Tamara looked down at the sheets. “I acted childishly.”

  “You did what any normal person would have done.” As he sat on the bed next to her, the mattress sung deeper. “You’re not accustomed to seeing wolves battle it out like that.”

  “Seeing the fight triggered really bad memories. In escaping Brad, I was hoping I could forget my past.”

  Devin sighed. “You might not easily forget, but you can learn from it.”

  Tamara squeezed her lips together, but then realized she couldn’t resist voicing her thoughts. “How can I learn from an abusive past?”

  When he didn’t respond, she continued. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

  “I’m sorry for what happened to you. The abuse was not your fault. You left the situation which is the bravest thing you could have ever done in those circumstances.”

  She swallowed. “I should have left earlier.”

  He slid his hand between hers. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

  “You’ve helped enough already.” She smiled. “You delayed your plans and nearly risked your leadership position within the pack because of me.”

  “A wolf always places his mate above all others.”

  “Mate,” she whispered. “How do you know I’m your mate?”

  “For me, there were several clues from day one.”

  “Like what?”

  “When wolves find their true mate, they gain more power and confidence. I hadn’t really thought about it until recently, but I was never supposed to make it over that fence at the museum with you on my back.”

  Tamara’s mind went back to the night at the museum. It was undoubtedly one of those memories that she would carry with her forever. The fence in question had to have been at least twelve feet tall. She vaguely remembered because while planning the burglary, Brad and his crew ruled out escaping through the back of the museum due to the height of the fence.

  “What kind of powers would allow you to jump so high?” she asked.

  “The same powers that allow me to shift between man and wolf involuntarily, only mine have become stronger since the day I met you.”

  Her mind flashed back to evening when she first discovered that Devin was a wolf. “The same powers that allowed you to heal so quickly after you saved me from the wolf attack.”

  “Precisely.” He turned her hands over, palms facing up. “If you are my mate, you should now have powers of Caedmon. The night you made the declaration that you believed was probably the night the powers came to you. Although, I suspect your powers will be limited…because you are human. For example, you have to be born of a Caedmon wolf to be able to shift like one.”

  “No way.” She laughed, nervously. “There’s no way I have…powers.”

  Devin turned around to reveal the nasty claw marks on his back.

  She gasped in shock. During the fight, she’d zoned out so much that she’d missed the part when this happened. Or maybe it occurred when she ran off. He’d needed her…asked her to be present, yet she’d run off selfishly.

  “Put your hands on my back.”

  Tamara shook her head. She wanted to. Something within her wanted to erase the scars on his back. She just didn’t believe she could help him quite the way he helped her. What had she done to return the favor besides try to run?

  “It will only work, if you want it to.”

  She placed her hands on
his back, near but not touching the wound. “This is silly.”

  “It doesn’t work unless you believe.”

  Tamara took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She ran her fingers along the deep gash. It formed a jagged line horizontally across his spine. She wished the fight had never broken out between them, but Devin was right. It was the way of the Caedmon wolves to challenge their opponents. But what she really hoped for was less sparing within the pack circle? If only Darius’ agenda had been in the best interest of the Caedmon people, it would never have come to this. Or maybe she was wrong.