Iya was angry. It had been 6 days and the only indication she had that Dae and Koda were alive was they breathed. Both as wolves, they lay side by side, not moving.
The Alpha, who later introduced himself as Wi-li-ha-ma –who Iya called Willy because it really pissed him off– was waiting for his son to wake up as well. He didn’t leave Koda’s condo. Neither did Raj, Rain or Sky. Most of Koda’s family came as well, filling the condo and the building with more wolves.
Raphael even came by to check on Dae. He let her cry all over him for an hour and Iya felt better knowing that he cared.
Raj held Iya as they sat on the floor across from the bed where the two wolves laid. She didn’t move them. She didn’t allow anyone to move them either. Iya tried as hard as she could to see their futures and became more and more bitter that she couldn’t.
She hadn’t talked to Dae in over 6 days. Dae hadn’t said anything crazy or teased her in over 6 days. Iya hadn’t told Dae that her being a wolf didn’t matter to her, that she understood what Dae tried to explain to her the last time they spoke.
Some people didn’t deserve to live. Everybody wasn’t good on the inside. Killing someone didn’t mean you were evil if it came down to survival.
She got it! Why wouldn’t Dae wake up so she could tell her and then everything would be ok again?!
Raj held her as she cried fearing she would never be able to speak to her sister again.
Raj didn’t know how much more of this he could take. Iya cried and cried. She barely left the room, afraid that they would wake up and she wouldn’t be there. This was to be a time of celebration with his Tribe. They would have celebrated the mating with a ceremony similar to a marriage. It was to be a joyous occasion for all. They should have been in the homeland. The females would sing and dance to show how grateful they were for the gift the Tribe was given with a mating. The males would hunt and bring back food for the celebration.
They wouldn’t be sitting around in a condo, watching their females cry. He had seen more tears fall in these days than he ever wanted to see. Iya was inconsolable. Chitrani, his favorite of Koda’s sisters, was as well. She stayed in the living room, camped out on the floor no matter the Alpha’s orders.
And then there was Brinda, Koda’s mother and the Ghigua of the Tribe. He wished to never see that kind of pain on her face again. She consoled her daughters and the rest of the Tribe that traveled to bless Koda and his mate. She sat and sang the songs she used to sing to them all when they were pups; songs about love and family that were passed down through the ages.
He felt helpless. If Koda and Dae didn’t awake soon, they would start to waste away. Neither would take sustenance or water. They were alive but lifeless. It was almost too much to bear.
Dae awoke next to Koda. Everything was blurry and her head ached. She placed her paw on Koda’s foreleg but he didn’t move. Dae licked at his muzzle, rubbed her head against his neck and received no response. Dae choked on her sob and did the only thing she knew how to do in this body: she howled.
Rain sat on the sofa, listening to the cries of his sisters and mother. He wished he had followed Koda that night. Instead, he went to explain things to his father, the Alpha, so Koda could be happy with his deranged mate.
He was trying to fix his mistake. But he realized if he were there, he could have helped, could have saved his brother the beating he received. He and his mate were so broken.
Chitrani lay across his shoulder, asleep from exhausting herself with tears. There were so many things he wanted to change between himself and Koda. So many things–
A howl broke through the silence of his brother’s condo. A howl of pain he felt in his bones.
Iya ran from the kitchen into the room that was steadily filling with wolves. She slid past Koda’s mom to stop in her approach. Dae was snarling on the bed, still as a wolf, stepping over Koda’s wolf body. Raj was next to her as Iya slowly approached.
“Dae its ok, they’re not going to hurt him.”
Dae snarled and growled at the crowd. No one was going to hurt him anymore. No one. Dae saw Iya standing with them, the other wolves and it made her angry.
They needed to get out of the bedroom. All of them wolves!
Dae growled a warning for them to leave and Raj translated for Iya. Dae saw Iya’s face crumple and didn’t understand why. Thinking in this body was difficult, her thoughts were too confusing but she couldn’t shift back until Koda was well.
Dae growled for Iya and Raj to stay. Dae stood over her mate waiting for the other wolves to leave. They did, looking sad that Dae didn’t want them in her room. Dae didn’t care. This was Koda and her space. They were all outsiders in her territory.
Dae calmed down once the door was closed and her mate was safe again. She went and lay back down next to him, pawing at his muzzle. Dae whined and howled feeling lost. Had the smoke serpent taken his soul? Was that why he lay so still? It said no. It said it could not take her mate’s or her own soul. Would it lie? Dae howled and Iya sat with Raj on the floor, translating Dae’s wolf pleas for Koda to wake up.
It wasn’t right! None of this was right! It had to be a nightmare, he couldn’t be gone… Dae cried lying against Koda’s wolf body until the sun shone through the shades. Iya kept trying to feed her. Dae refused. She wouldn’t eat if he couldn’t. Dae fought against the hunger pains instead.
Iya kept trying to introduce her to these wolves but she didn’t care. There were no wolves she wanted to speak to other than Koda. They all tried to be nice, they all tried to talk to her. Some even changed to wolves to speak to her. It didn’t matter. She ignored them as she nudged Koda. Iya stayed with her. At night she slept on the bed on Koda’s other side. Raj shifted to wolf at night and curled up with her. Dae didn’t mind.
They were waiting as she was waiting for Koda to come back to her.
After a two days, Dae began to feel tired. She didn’t even get up when the other wolves came in anymore. Dae wanted to sleep but was so afraid Koda would wake and be worried. He had been worried in his dreams since Dae awoke. She already made him worry so much before; Dae didn’t want to keep hurting him.
But she began to feel so tired she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
He awoke in the morning feeling like his body had been shredded to confetti and then reassembled. His legs felt sore and tingly. He couldn’t believe the dreams he had. He tried to roll over but he realized he wasn’t alone. Dae lay next to him sleeping as a wolf. He wondered why she was on four legs but found it stranger that Iya also laid curled up next to Raj as a wolf.
He was covered by the sheet, thank the Gods, he knew his mate would not want him naked around her friend. He pet her fur as she slept and she began to stir. She whimpered as she saw him and crawled higher onto his lap as she shifted. Now she was naked laying across his body with tears dripping down her eyes. He gently wiped her tears and more soon followed.
“Koda.” Dae grabbed him and kissed him with all the strength she had –which by the way wasn’t much.
Dae had no idea what day this was; all she knew was she had Koda back! Her heart felt like it was going to burst as she kissed him and hugged him. She didn’t give a crap about rooms full of wolves or Iya and Raj sleeping next to them.
He chuckled at her demanding kisses. “Dae, did you miss me?”
Dae stopped kissing him and pulled back. Koda was worried at the angry look on her face.
“YOU LEFT ME, YOU EGOTISTICAL CHAUVINISTIC SHAMELESS ASS!!” Dae twisted his nipples as she got up from the bed. She didn’t have any strength to kick his ass so she settled for what was easiest for her. Koda was shocked at Dae’s outburst. He crawled out of the bed with shaky legs and grabbed Dae into a fierce hug.
“I never left Dae. I would never leave you. Ever.”
“Don’t you touch me, you damn abominable snow bastard.” Dae still glared at him but he didn’t let her go. He pushed his smirking face close to her neck, licked and bit her. Then he growled into her ne
ck and Dae shivered against him as she giggled. That’s when he knew she wasn’t mad anymore. Dae’s body softened against him as she said, “You scared me.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I love you Dae. I’m not going anywhere without you. I promise.”
“I love you.” Dae said looking him straight in the eyes. Koda had never been so happy before in his life. He kissed Dae like they were the only two people in the world.
Iya squealed with delight. Dae’s bellowing woke her and Raj up but they waited on the bed for the private moment to be over. Iya jumped off the bed holding a sheet as she hugged her naked sister and the Sasquatch. They were both a bit wobbly but managed to stand their ground.
Raj tossed Koda a pair of shorts and a long shirt for Dae as Iya jumped up and down like a lunatic.
Thankfully, they had enough time to put them on before the room was filled with Koda’s family. His mother and sisters hugged him as Dae stood quietly to the side with Iya. Dae was so weak she felt like falling over. Iya and Raj brought her to the bed and sat with her. Dae liked to think they were protecting her from all the new wolves but Dae had a feeling they were protecting the wolves from her.
Dae noticed the serpent tattoo on her arm and quickly covered it before any of the other wolves saw. The last thing she needed was for one of them to find out about what she was…
Koda’s brothers punched his shoulders, not realizing Koda was barely standing. Once his balance was regained, he went to get Dae from the bed and introduce her to his family, to her family.
Dae looked antsy, like she wanted to run at any minute.
“This is my Dae, Dae this is my family.”
Dae looked around, remembering everybody she snarled at and ignored the past few days.
Everyone fell silent as his mother replied, “We’ve met already. She growled and told me that if I came near you she would eat my entrails from my abdomen while I watched her.”
Koda was shocked as Dae replied. “In my defense, I was very hungry.”
Iya snorted and Raj started to cough up a lung to hide his laughing. Koda’s mother smiled as she approached Dae.
“You were also protecting my baby boy. I couldn’t have asked for a better mate for him.” Dae froze as Koda’s mother kissed her cheeks and held her hands. “Still hungry?”
“Ravenous. You have no idea; I’d eat wood if it wouldn’t break my teeth.” Dae replied and everybody laughed, including Iya.
Finally, after it seemed like an eternity, Iya was able to shoo all the wolves from the condo. Dae and Koda needed to do human things like shower, eat, and explain all that transpired while Iya and Raj sat at the bar waiting for them to be done arguing.
How Iya wished she would have known what was going on in that room… Iya shook that thought away. She couldn’t change the past, no matter how much she wanted to. That day was only one of the days on a long list that Iya wished she could have a redo of.
Iya shooed the wolves out for another reason as well; she saw Dae’s face as they talked to her. Dae was wary, on edge, and it wasn’t like Dae to behave that way when she felt threatened. When Dae felt threatened she pushed at people, insulted them until they wanted to fight or left her alone.
Something was up; Iya felt it in her being. She feared the end wasn’t near and it scared her.
Dae took the longest shower ever known to man. Well not really, but it was pretty damn long. Dae sat on the floor of the shower as the water pelted her sensitive flesh thinking of everything she couldn’t process during the fight.
That thing was her father. There was no doubt about it. The smoke snake told her so. The smoke snake that tried to eat her and her mates soul but couldn’t. The smoke snake that now lay on her right upper arm almost taunting her with the knowledge she didn’t have.
It said Dae was it’s master. But Dae didn’t want to be its master. Dae wanted the damn smoke snake to go where ever the hell smoke snakes go. To hell or Cincinnati. She didn’t care; as long as it was gone from her arm. Dae had to get rid of it somehow. If not by the smoke snake’s will, then by her own. Dae was going to have to cut it off or something. Could she live without an arm? Would it grow back later if she hacked it off? And if it did grow back, would the smoke snake come back too?
So many questions…
“Penny for your thoughts?” Koda said with a worried frown. Dae kept forgetting he felt what she was feeling. Dae tried her best to tamp down on the fear she felt as Koda stepped into the shower. Dae jerked up, hiding her right arm from Koda’s sight.
He hadn’t seen it. He couldn’t see it. If he saw it–
“Dae talk to me. Please, talk to me.” Koda said sounding pained as he touched her shoulder in an innocent caress. She was hurting him again.
Dammit! Dae didn’t know what to do, how could she explain it to him? What if he wouldn’t want her anymore when he found out? She had killed her father to save him. Had tore out her own fathers throat with her teeth. Was that because she was a wolf and that’s what wolves did or because she would soon be as black hearted as that bastard one day?
Koda wiped her tears as he turned her to face him. Dae didn’t even realize her stupid eyes were leaking. Again.
Yeah, she did a great job at hiding her feelings.
Dae looked up at him and decided to bite the bullet. She couldn’t keep it from him. She couldn’t hide it. Dae removed the hand that protectively covered the smoke snake from his view.
Koda’s eyes widened as he grabbed her arm and inspected it. Dae felt the fear from him instantly. Dae tried to pull away, feeling her heart break in a million pieces for the second time.
He feared her. Dae felt shame at being who she was–
Koda grabbed Dae to him and hugged her tight. She felt the outpouring of love he felt inside as he said, “It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything at all.”
Dae scented the lie in his words and cried into his shoulder until the water turned cold.
“What are we going to do?” Iya said to Raj and Koda. Dae sat next to her, twisting her hands together. The other wolves would be back soon and they were bringing food.
Lord in Heaven Iya expected them to come in the door any minute.
“Nothing. We do nothing. We say nothing. We will figure out how to get rid of it some way.” Koda said trying to soothe his mate.
Dae scented his doubt and felt his fear. She just couldn’t stop making things worse for him.
“Stop that.” Koda growled as the lifted Dae from her seat to his lap. He hugged his insane mate until she hugged him back. She had nothing to feel guilty for.
“But what about your family? They’re going to see it.” Dae said into his massive chest.
“Can’t it move?” Iya asked. “If it can come off your arm, why can’t it move somewhere else?”
“I don’t want it anywhere else. What if the blackness is a symptom of the snake? What if I try to move it and it starts infecting me worse?” Dae asked trying to hide the panic in her voice.
“The blackness was the Curse the Great Creator bestowed upon the original wolves after the Great War. It can’t taint you Dae. It can’t.” Koda wanted to believe everything he said. He prayed it was true.
Dae whispered, “You don’t know that Koda. You don’t know. Nobody knows if the Curse could be passed to children. What if–”
“No. Dae, we don’t know anything. ‘What if’s aren’t going to help us. We need to find out exactly what this Curse was and then we can go from there. Until then, we can just pretend that it’s not there. I have more shirts with sleeves. We will make this work for as long as we need to. You and Koda will get to have your ‘happily ever after’. I won’t accept anything less.” Iya said standing in front of Dae.
Dae heard the conviction Iya spoke with and was so happy that she had Iya. Iya came and touched Dae’s hand and both hands began to glow. Dae furrowed her brow wondering what her angel-baby sister was doing to her.
“Just to calm you. I don’t need any of
the other wolves becoming suspicious.”
Dae nodded realizing her friend was right. Dae’s emotions were all over the place. The other wolves would sense it.
“This doesn’t leave us. Nobody else knows, not the Alpha, or the Ghigua even. Just us four until we figure this out.” Iya said. Everybody else nodded in agreement.
“They’re coming.” Raj announced standing to get the door. Dae swallowed as she sat on Koda’s lap. He was rocking her like he always did. Dae didn’t know if it was to soothe her or himself.
Both she decided as she buried her face into his chest.
Dae took a deep breath. As long as she had Koda and Iya it would all be ok. Even Raj was growing on her.
He didn’t say much when she was around but Dae thought there was a 40/60 chance she didn’t hate his guts. That was more than anybody else got. Raj was loyal to his friends and his word. It was a quality Dae was beginning to admire in him.
The other wolves came in carrying trays and trays of food. His mother the Ghigua, who didn’t look like she could be anybody’s mother, smiled at her and Koda. With the help of Iya’s weird glow power, Dae was able to push past her nerves and offer a weak smile back.
Koda saw his mate trying to play along with the plan the four of them had just agreed to. He felt her fear inside but didn’t scent it. Iya’s soothing gift was doing its job. He swore on his life he would find a way to save her. She wouldn’t be tainted. He would rid the Uktena from their lives and she would be happy then.
She would smile, laugh and live.
Dae felt an outpouring of love from Koda. She looked at his handsome face and smiled hoping he felt how much she loved him too.
Rain and Sky had already filled the extra tables they brought with food almost to the ceiling. The wolves were all converging on the tables like, well, rabid starved wolves.
Dae laughed and Koda looked at her in question.
Iya was going to have a conniption in about 3.5 seconds…
Lost & Found (A Lost Ones Novel Book 1) Page 37