The Siege of Kadenburg

by T. E. Ridener

  Not the wolves! Not the wolves! She pleaded, as if that would somehow prevent her father from dying. But no, it wasn’t the wolves. It was something beyond imagination; something beyond comprehension.

  Another blinding light forced her to shield her eyes, and she could only look at the scene again once the light dimmed away. There he stood. He was a wall of a man, covered in a cloak of white fur with a crown made of intricately woven branches, honeycomb, and berries upon his head. His dark hair rested against his shoulders, with piercing silver eyes that observed the landscape around him.

  “Urseth.” The siblings said in unison, bowing their heads once more.

  “Thank you for coming.” Pierce said softly.

  “Rise, my children.” Urseth spoke in a voice so deep that it vibrated the ground beneath Presley’s feet. Her heart skipped a beat, maybe two, as she witnessed the scene currently taking place.

  “Urseth, we ask for guidance on this evening,” Natalie said after a moment. “The lycans lie and say they wish to be at peace with us, but my brother and I know this is false. We cannot tell our people because it is your wish, but can we not at least warn them? Can we not tell our elders?”

  “You cannot change what must come to pass,” Urseth replied as he extended his hand and caressed her cheek gently. “You know as well as I do what must happen, young Natalie. You have known for quite some time.”

  “No!” Natalie sobbed as Pierce wrapped his arms around her. “I am not ready to do this! I cannot. Please do not make me.”

  What was she talking about? Presley’s heart fell into her stomach as she clung to Liam, straining to hear every word spoken.

  “As my chosen delegates, you understand that you play important roles. All ursithropes must play an important role in this life, but you are two of my few selections who I trust to carry out requests no other ursithrope can handle. You are strong, wise, and powerful. You were chosen because you possess the ability to do my bidding without hesitation. You have the strength and courage needed to do this. Do you hesitate, Natalie?”

  “N-no.” Natalie sniffled softly.

  “She is frightened,” Pierce stated in a strong voice. He stood so proudly, and confidently. Presley couldn’t help but to admire him. He was brave, just as she’d always imagined. “This will not be easy for either of us, Urseth.”

  “I know it will not be easy,” Urseth said in that same deep voice. “But that is why I have chosen my delegates to see this task through. And because she is frightened, she cannot remember any of this.”

  Urseth pressed his palm against Natalie’s forehead. Presley wasn’t sure what was happening until her aunt collapsed against the leaves and her father immediately rushed to Natalie’s side.

  “Why did you do that?!” Pierce growled as he turned his head to stare at their god. “Why can she not remember?”

  “Because I need things to work out in a specific order, Pierce, and if she remembers the truth of why it has happened, the future will be at risk.”

  “What do you mean?” Pierce frowned, cradling his sister protectively in his arms. “The future cannot be changed, you have said that yourself. The events that take place tonight are already set in stone. You have promised that the outcome will be for the betterment of our kind. You have made this promise to me.”

  “I have,” Urseth agreed. His eyes suddenly landed on Presley and her breath hitched in her throat. Was he looking at her? “All will turn out exactly as I have promised.”

  Pierce was silent for a moment, his eyes fixated upon his sister’s face as the muscle in his jaw tensed and relaxed. He seemed to be struggling with something. What was he struggling with? How were things meant to play out? What was he supposed to do?

  “I will not have the chance to know my daughter,” Pierce whispered in a broken voice. “I am sacrificing myself so she may live.”

  “Yes,” Urseth nodded again. “I know that this is your sacrifice. Your love for a daughter you have not met is precisely why I chose you as one of my delegates. Your sister’s love for you is why she is also a chosen delegate. Your loyalty to your family and the other ursithropes is admirable, young bear. You have already earned a place in the Great Beyond. You are aware of this, aren’t you?”

  “I am,” Pierce nodded. “But I also know it means I cannot see my daughter or my mate once I cross that threshold. I must wait for them to join me.”

  “The wait is not as long as you think,” Urseth responded in a softer tone. He stepped closer to Pierce and rested his large palm atop his dark hair as his eyes closed. “You are a very brave warrior, my son, and you have given your life so that your daughter may live. She will do many great things when she comes to know her true heritage. She will be loved. She will be cared for. She will display many of your admirable traits when she becomes comfortable in her fur. The future is bright and promising. A grandson will be born that you would be so proud of.”

  “A grandson I will never see,” Pierce choked. “What of my mate? Will she be okay? You have promised me the wellbeing of my daughter, but what of Caroline?”

  “I cannot reveal that to you at this time,” Urseth stated as his eyes moved to Presley once more. He definitely had to see her, right? He could see her, couldn’t he? “Just know that all will be set right when your daughter accepts our world. When the threat returns and abominations walk the planet, it is she who will beckon the weapon we need most. The brother she does not know will return and fight by her side, and their loyalty to one another will rival that of you and your sister. I promise that your death will not be in vain.”

  Wait, what? A brother? Presley had a brother? That was impossible! She whipped her head to stare at Liam in complete and utter disbelief. Her parents didn’t have any other children. She was an only child! It wasn’t possible.

  Pierce nodded in understanding, swallowing down his nerves as he lifted his eyes to gaze at the bear god.

  “I am ready,” he said in an unwavering voice. “I will not fail you, Urseth.”

  Her father’s image was fading away just as Urseth disappeared. Her aunt Natalie was slowly coming to as Presley heard the sound of approaching visitors. A howl sounded in the air and she knew the wolves were coming. Breslin was coming to kill her father, who was willingly sacrificing himself. For her.

  “NO!” She shrieked, taking a step towards him as Liam’s arms wrapped around her. “NO, DADDY! NO!”

  Ten

  The power had gone out sometime during the night. Lorcan was working quickly to start the kerosene heaters, placing them strategically throughout the small house in hopes of warming it up before Presley awoke. He didn’t want her first official morning in their house to be a cold one.

  His father had already called five times, a ridiculous amount considering the man hated telephones. Something was wrong and Lorcan knew it. He could feel it in the very depths of his being, but his father wouldn’t tell him what it was.

  He tried to distract himself with cooking breakfast instead. It wasn’t hard to cook on a kerosene heater. A country boy could survive, right? So he settled for making some eggs and a few bits of sausage to serve to Presley when she finally did wake up. She couldn’t sleep all day, though he’d noticed she was getting tired more easily. He knew it was because of their baby; their cub. Urseth, he was going to be a father.

  His chest swelled with pride and overwhelming joy as he thought about their future together. For so long, he’d wished and hoped and prayed for the day that Presley realized so much more could be between them, and now that day had finally arrived. They would be wed soon, and then their life together could start. He hadn’t popped the question yet….but he would.

  He pushed the scrambled eggs around in the cast iron skillet when he heard Presley’s scream.

  “Presley?!”

  The food was long forgotten as he shot down the hallway like a speeding bullet, leaping through the air to slam his knees into the mattress. He gathered her trembling frame into his arms, narrowly
avoiding her tiny fists.

  “Presley, baby. Wake up, Darlin’, it’s just a bad dream. Presley!”

  Her beautiful green eyes snapped open, wide and terrified as she gasped. Her nails bit into his arms, but the pain hardly bothered him as he searched her face.

  “Lorcan!” She sobbed. “Oh, Lorcan…Lorcan….”

  “I’m right here, Baby. I’m right here,” he whispered, rocking her back and forth in his arms. “It was just a bad dream. Nothing’s going to get you.”

  “He was there,” she whimpered against his chest. “He was there and I couldn’t help him. He died because of me. He gave his life to protect me.”

  His brows knitted together as he listened to her words, unsure of what she was even talking about. Whatever she dreamed, it was definitely bad enough to make her body react. She was shaking like a leaf and try as he might, he couldn’t get her to calm down.

  “Calm down, baby,” he pleaded gently as he dusted kisses against her forehead. “Tell me what you dreamed about.”

  ———————————

  He slowly opened his eyes, listening to the sound of absolute silence. The sun was flooding through the blinds, and he knew it was time to wake up. At least he’d be able to see now. Was the power back on? No, definitely not. The usual ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway was the only thing he could hear. Everything else was silent. No TV, no radio, no anything.

  Strange, Dimitri thought as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His back was absolutely killing him, which was also strange. Why did his back hurt so much? He always slept comfortably in this bed…..

  And then he felt fingers brushing along his spine, causing him to immediately freeze.

  Who. Was. In. Bed. With. Him?

  Dimitri slowly turned his head to stare down at the slumbering creature by his side. He instantly released a sigh of relief and rubbed at his eyes. Damn, he’d nearly had a heart attack. At least it wasn’t the little wolf girl currently residing on his couch.

  Yes, he could remember now. He’d let her have the couch but made Rutley come to bed with him.

  Wow, what a douche I must be. He frowned. He really did demand Rutley to sleep in the bedroom with him-away from her.

  Am I jealous? He asked thoughtfully, running his fingers through his messy auburn hair. That seemed like a decision made out of jealousy, but they’d talked about this already. Nothing would ever happen between them. They could never have a repeat of what happened the night before. They would always be JUST fri-

  “Mornin’,” Rutley said lazily as he opened his eyes to stare up at Dimitri. “Sleep well?”

  “Yeah,” Dimitri replied hoarsely. He cleared his throat, trying again. “Yeah, I slept just fine. You?”

  “Well,” Rutley grunted as he sat up in bed, stretching his arms over his head in an exaggerated manner. He yawned loudly, shaking his head from side to side before a loud pop sounded from his neck. “Oh, yeah. I slept great, thanks.”

  “Good.” Dimitri mumbled, rubbing at his eyes again. He needed to be fully awake for this conversation. He needed to apologize for how moody he’d been and the bullshit attitude he’d had towards his new beta. Rutley didn’t deserve that. He needed guidance, not shit.

  His mind was racing as his eyes swept over Rutley’s exposed torso. He took note of the muscles beneath his somewhat pale skin. He admired the light hairs dusting over his chest and the two single freckles that rested over his left nipple. God, why was he looking at Rutley’s nipples?! He didn’t need to look at him at all. Every time he did his mind tried to wander back to the night before…..

  “Hey, dude. Are you okay?”

  Dimitri snapped his eyes back to Rutley’s, noting the intense blue hue of his eyes. Had they ever looked so beautiful before? Warmth spread throughout his entire body as his mouth fell open and any words he might’ve had in his mind were soon blocked by a thick cloud of lust; pure, relentless desire that was screaming to be unleashed.

  No! He thought. Rutley and I are just friends. Nothing will ever, ever happen between us. Again. We can’t do that to Liam. I will never do that to Liam, no matter what. I don’t care if it means I’m alone for the rest of my life……

  “You don’t mean that,” Rutley frowned, cocking his head to the side. “Surely you don’t want to be alone when you die.”

  Shit. He’d forgotten that Rutley could read his thoughts pretty much anytime he pleased now. Well, damn. He was embarrassed by his thoughts. If Rutley heard that, then he was definitely aware that Dimitri wanted him in the worst of ways, too.

  Well fuck a duck. Dimitri scowled inwardly.

  Rutley was suddenly much closer than before. Their close proximity made Dimitri want to leap out of the bed, yet his body refused to do that. The static electricity between them was undeniable-but it was still wrong. This couldn’t happen. Rutley was better off with the she-wolf.

  “You don’t mean that either.” Rutley whispered huskily, his fingertips sliding down Dimitri’s biceps.

  “Yes, I do,” Dimitri managed to say after a few seconds of struggling to find his voice. “You’d be good with her,” he nodded gently. “She could give you the pups you want. You could get married and settle down somewhere nice after all of this blows over.”

  “I could still get pups if I wanted,” Rutley rolled his eyes, allowing his blunt nails to rake over the sensitive flesh of Dimitri’s wrist. “There are arrangements for stuff like that, you know?”

  Dimitri’s eyes slid closed as he drew in a shallow breath, trying to keep his mind from shutting down. His body was on fire, the proof of his arousal was straining against his boxer briefs, but this couldn’t happen. It could never happen between them.

  He could feel Rutley’s hot breath fanning against his lips and there was no denying he wanted his beta to kiss him. He wanted Rutley to kiss him hard and passionately. He wanted to remember what it felt like to be desired. He wanted to remember what it felt like to be so lost in another person that it was hard to tell where one body ended and the other began. He missed it. He missed Liam.

  And that’s what caused Rutley to pull away from him. He slowly opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of the pain in the other male’s eyes before Rutley got out of the bed and grabbed for his jeans.

  Shit.

  “I’m sorry.” Dimitri whispered.

  “Don’t be,” Rutley shrugged as he hopped up and down, tugging his jeans into place. He glanced at him over his shoulder. The pain was no longer in his eyes, but Dimitri knew he was only hiding it from him. He could still feel it. “He was a hell of a guy.” Rutley didn’t give him a chance to say anything else as he pulled open the bedroom door and disappeared, leaving Dimitri with only his shame.

  “You’re a hell of a guy, too,” He whispered. A guy he couldn’t, under any circumstances, fall in love with.

  ———————————

  God, this really needed to stop happening. Rutley was seriously confused by Dimitri’s bipolar behavior. One minute he was mad at him and telling him to stay away from Kia, and then the next he was being nice and telling him they should give it a shot. Not that Rutley was relatively interested in dating a woman he barely knew, but what the hell?

  He shook his head in frustration, opening the fridge door to peer inside. Damn it, the power was still out. Everything was probably ruined by now. Perfect.

  He slammed the fridge door and moved to the cabinets above the sink, roaming through each one in search of some peanut butter and jelly. God, if they didn’t have any more PB&J, someone was going to be in for a world of hurt. How was he supposed to survive without his PB&J?

  He was trying very hard not to think about the night before. He hadn’t meant for that to happen at all, but it did happen and they needed to deal with the consequences. He didn’t want things to get weird with Dimitri. They were friends, weren’t they? Surely they could work past it…..

  “Morning.” Came the very feminine voice of Kia as she entere
d the kitchen. Rutley slowly turned his head to gaze at her, noting the way she lazily leaned against the doorframe.

  For fuck’s sake, why was she wearing only a t-shirt?

  Mother of God, somebody’s got it out for me today. Rutley thought bitterly as he closed the cabinet door and decided to give up on his hunt for food. He had worse things to deal with right now. Being turned on by Dimitri, and now by the sight of Kia’s creamy thighs…it was going to be the death of him.

  “Mornin’.” He muttered, his jawline working into overtime. This was bad. This was very bad. He needed to send her away, but then that would make him more of a prick than Dimitri had been last night. As it turned out, Kia Fallon was their brand new neighbor they didn’t even know about, and someone had trashed her place while she went out for drinks with some friends. She was too scared to go inside. Ironically enough, when Rutley went to investigate for her, he discovered her kerosene heaters were gone. What shitty luck, huh?

  Of course they couldn’t just put her out in the cold like that. Dimitri wasn’t even that cruel, so the alpha wolf decided she could crash on the couch, but Rutley had to be in the bedroom with him. Rutley still wasn’t sure as to why given he did have his own bed to sleep in.

  “So where’s your boyfriend?” Kia asked, catching Rutley completely off guard.

  “My what?” Rutley sputtered, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at her.

  “Your boyfriend. The hottie with the red hair?” She motioned to her own hair before grinning. “Still sleeping?”

  “Yeah….but he’s not my boyfriend,” Rutley frowned. “We’re roommates.”

  “Uh huh,” Kia replied. She did so in a tone that told Rutley she didn’t believe him. Ugh. Women. “Well, I’ll be out of your hair in a little bit. The power has to come back on at some point today, right? But I thought I’d try to stick around to say thanks to him. Is that okay with you?”

  Rutley shrugged his shoulders, rubbing at the nape of his neck as he lowered his gaze to the linoleum floor, “Knock yourself out.” He mumbled.