She couldn’t help but smile back when he winked at her, but she did notice Ishaya’s smile quickly turn to concern as he seemed to study her a bit more.
“We need to leave for the village,” he said as he stood and dumped out what remained of his beverage, much to his drinking buddy’s shock.
“Well, this must be important indeed if yer wasting good brew,” Grahame remarked as he stood as well. He, on the other hand, chose to down the rest of his brew in one swallow. “Do you need any help, friends?”
“We’re off to seek council with the Goddess Ryssana’s High Dorum,” Ishaya said, raising an eyebrow at Grahame. “I didn’t think you were on good terms with Aeron and Alak, but you are very welcome to join us.”
“Och, those two are so uptight!” Grahame rolled his eyes and sighed. “But I suppose it’s past time I settled our grievance anyway. How could I know that lass was their cousin? I mean, it’s not like the Goddess speaks to us all, is it?”
Corrine couldn’t help but laugh when both Gabe and Braxas tried unsuccessfully to cover their amusement at the antics of the two huge men. Truthfully, knowing there was some grievance as common as perhaps one of their kin’s virtue, made the Dark Fey Dorum seem less intimidating to her, more human even. Up until this point, they’d seemed more like a myth to her than anything else, especially given that when Ishaya had spoken of them, mostly in hushed tones, in her mind they had become an entity unto themselves. It was unheard of for any of the Light Fae to converse with their own Goddess on a regular basis. Of course, that was also due to the Goddess Allyria’s personality according to Fae history. The Dark Fae’s Goddess Ryssana appeared to be the responsible sister out of the pair.
Nevertheless, searching out two beings of unknown power, of a race with which her only previous encounter had been in battle, was rather scary. She was suddenly very grateful to have the two large forest folk volunteering to take them to the village and introduce them.
“Thank you both for helping us with this matter,” Gabe said to their two companions. He must have been reading her mind. “We are in your debt. If there should ever be anything we can do for either of you, you can call on any of my pack to aid you.”
“And mine,” Braxas added with a nod. “Shall we?” he asked, stretching his hand out to indicate that Grahame and Ishaya should lead the way. “We’re burning daylight.”
As they walked along the narrow path, Corrine following the two large men, she looked back at her mates. She saw dark shadows under their eyes that hadn’t been there earlier.
“Wait,” Gabe said, halting their movements. “Do we need to take anything with us?”
The two large forest folk turned around and just smiled. Then Ishaya said, “The Goddess will provide.” He and Grahame then resumed walking and led them down a new wider path through the trees.
The terrain was mild, but Corrine was growing very tired—too tired. She was a very active person who loved to hike and jog through the woods around their home. There was no way she should be this tired already. In the back of her mind, she knew the reason, but it was terrifying to admit that the poison was affecting her so rapidly.
The sun was just beginning to set over the mountains as they passed a small creek.
“I’m just going to grab a drink,” Corrine said. “I’ll catch up.” She tried not to let them see how weary she was, but she certainly wasn’t surprised when all four men stopped to wait for her.
Corrine knelt down and used her hand to gather the cool water up to her lips. It was refreshing and sweet on her parched throat. Perhaps she was just dehydrated? A tiny bit of relief unwound in her chest at that thought, that maybe she just needed rest and it wasn’t a side effect of the poison.
She leaned in closer to the surface, intending to splash her face, when she noticed a small drop of something dark fall from her nose into the water below. Corrine brought her hand up to her nose and felt a thick wetness. She wiped it away and looked down at her hand. When she saw a dark, almost black-brown substance that was clearly more than just blood, the fear that they might not have enough time to fix her mistake nearly choked her.
Chapter Eleven
Gabe cast yet another look at his mate as their group walked through the Fae forest, concerned with how quiet she had become. He knew something had happened when she had stepped away for a drink earlier that afternoon, but she had blown off his questions and his concern. He knew that there was something definitely wrong. When she had walked back toward them, there had been a fear in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.
He shot a glance to Braxas and caught his eye, and the worry he saw there mirrored his own. They were both concerned for their mate and had no idea how to help her. There was no way the two Fae folk who walked with them were oblivious to the tension building among them.
“Corrine,” Braxas began in a quiet voice. “I can see that you are pained. Your fatigue is killing me. Let me carry you, love.”
Corrine released a shuddering breath. “As much as I know that offer comes out of concern for me, my answer must be no. Do you think that I cannot see the shadows beneath your eyes?” She turned to look at Gabe, and his heart ached at the pain he saw shimmering in the depths of her brilliant blue eyes. “Or yours, Gabe? And what makes it worse is knowing that it was my actions that caused this to happen.”
Gabe growled low in his chest. “We have talked of this, mate. We all know the reasons behind your deception. There is no judgment here. Let it go, and if you need help, then stop being a stubborn minx and let us help you.”
Corrine’s nose flared as she inhaled, and he saw that stubborn tilt of her chin that frustrated him as much as it turned him on. “I said I was fine, and I am. I can walk on my own, and as soon as I am feeling in the slightest bit fatigued, I will call on you, your high and mighty Alphaness, and you can carry my ass the rest of the way, but until then, leave me be!”
Gabe clenched his jaw so tight he swore he heard his teeth cracking beneath the strain.
“The poison is affecting her more than she is letting on,” Braxas said as he stepped closer to Gabe. “We will have to stop for the night soon, and let her get some rest.”
Despite the fact that Gabe just wanted to roar that there would be no stopping until they reached these Dark Fae, he nodded. Braxas was right. Corrine was tired, and her feet were beginning to drag. Gabe had learned from his father that sometimes it was the role of an Alpha to do what was right for the pack, and not just what the Alpha wanted. That sometimes it was best to defer to the needs of the many, despite it being the exact opposite of what he as a man may want.
The thought of his father had him frowning. Luke Errikson had ruled the pack with a fair and firm hand, and when he died the loss of such a great man had been felt throughout not just his pack, but many of the shifter factions throughout the world. When Gabe had stepped into the role of Alpha, he had been more prepared than most, but he feared he would always be compared to his father, and that scared the fuck out of him because he knew he would come up short.
He had many memories of his father imparting his wisdom, but one that stood out more than the others was the day Gabe had asked him what the key to being a good Alpha was. The man had stood quietly for a moment, the two of them enjoying the quiet of the forest that surrounded their home.
“Being a good Alpha is not just leading your pack to victory,” his father had said when he finally spoke, “but ensuring that you keep the pack together until that victory is attained. The strength we have is in being a pack. Keeping everyone together, supporting each other, and laying down the law when needed and knowing when to do all of it, that is the key to keeping it all together. And that, my son, will come with experience.”
“Gabe.” Corrine’s sweet voice brought him out of his memories, and he turned to look at his mate. “Would you like a drink?” She was holding out a water pouch that Ishaya had given her, and the apologetic look in her eyes told him exactly what she wasn’t saying. It was
very much an olive branch and one that Gabe would gratefully accept.
Taking the pouch, he leaned in, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, frowning slightly at the heat he could feel in her flushed face. “Yes, I would. Thank you, my love.” He took a quick drink then encouraged his mate to drink some, too. “Ishaya,” Gabe called out and waited until the man turned to look at him questioningly. “Let’s set up camp here for the night. I don’t know about you Fae folk, but us shifters could do with a rest.”
Ishaya’s astute gaze slid to Corrine, and then he nodded. “I was just about to suggest that myself. There is a river nearby to replenish our water containers, and no doubt even Grahame will be able to find us some fish for dinner.”
“Hey!” Grahame complained. “Why say it like that? Even Grahame. I willna only catch dinner, I’ll cook it to perfection as well, and you, Ishaya my friend, will be forced to apologize profusely.”
An hour later, with their stomachs full of the fish Grahame had promised, Gabe and Braxas convinced their mate to rest between them. Not that it took much coaxing. Corrine was beyond exhausted. He and Braxas had created a pallet from the foliage around them on the north side of the large fire the two Fae men had built, and although it was no feather mattress, their mate had drifted off quickly. Braxas had settled behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, following her to a slumber shortly thereafter.
Corrine whimpered in her sleep, and Gabe looked over at her. She was mumbling something, and he could see the slight sheen of perspiration on her forehead. She shivered and shook and mumbled again. Gabe had grown increasingly concerned as her scent had changed throughout the day. There was an acidic note to her usual deliciousness that had his wolf pacing in concern within him. Was it the poison? What other reason could there be for it?
Perhaps she is still lying to me.
The unwanted thought had his wolf growling low in his chest. That couldn’t be. They had cleared the air between them, and there were no secrets left. His wolf could hear a lie, but could he sense an untruth to the point where the person’s very scent changed?
Gabe growled in frustration as he leaned back against the log he had placed behind them. Everything was so fucking confusing in this place, and he looked forward to the day when he could get home to his pack. A civil war was coming to them, and he was here in the Godsforsaken Fae realm when he should be with his pack instead.
He scowled toward the two men on the opposite side of the fire. They were sitting close together, warming their hands in the direction of the flames, and laughing it up like they hadn’t a care in the world. They also kept glancing over at him and whispering to each other.
“You will need to watch those two,” said a voice sounding like it came from beside him. Gabe turned to look at the man who stood in the shadows, staring at Ishaya and Grahame, who still talked quietly together. “I do not trust them. They have an agenda that is not yet known. When they attack, and they will attack, you will need to make sure you remove the bigger threat first.”
“Ishaya,” Gabe whispered low, but the bear man in question still lifted his gaze toward him. Gabe held Ishaya’s stare but kept his expression blank.
“Very good. I taught you well,” the man said. His voice held a thread of pride in it that filled a dark place in Gabe’s heart. “I am proud of you, son.”
“Thank you, Father,” Gabe whispered again and dropped his head to hide his smile.
Chapter Twelve
Braxas waited until he was sure that Gabe had fallen asleep before opening his eyes. He had heard Gabe having a one-sided conversation earlier, and with his long-deceased father no less. At first, before Gabe uttered the word “Father,” Braxas had stupidly thought that he was on his cell phone. Impossible, since The Fae do not use such technology, nor have they cell towers anywhere. Gabe’s madness had set in, and even now in sleep, Braxas could hear his paranoid mumblings.
“Laughing at us,” he murmured. “Mean to kill us … stop Ishaya first.” He said a few more unintelligible things, but then Corrine had moved closer to him and Gabe’s ramblings ceased, replaced with a light snore.
Braxas sat up and looked over at Ishaya and Grahame, who sat by their own fire some distance away. They were definitely not laughing. They were looking at him with concern, probably wondering how far gone his own madness was. He felt it looming over him like he was about to walk off the edge of a cliff and fall right into it, although it was his beast he feared for most.
He had a theory about that, about why the poison may be affecting them all differently. He stood up, careful not to disturb Corrine and Gabe, and walked over to Ishaya and Graham, eager to get their take on his idea while he still had the capability to think for himself.
“How are you doing, my friend?” Grahame asked when Braxas sat down beside him.
“This darkness is affecting my cat more than me,” he began. “I fear I will soon lose control and he will take over.” What he didn’t tell them, was the fact that he had a sense of what his cat would do. Right now, the furry beast wanted Braxas to drag Corrine away into the forest and fuck her senseless, to keep fucking her until whatever darkness lessened its hold on her long enough to allow him to finally bite and mark her. He knew his cougar would challenge anyone who tried to stop him, even Braxas himself. With shifters, man and beast were always connected. Braxas had never felt such a disconnect before, and it pained him, both body and mind.
When he had spoken to Gabe earlier, it seemed that Gabe’s wolf was still somehow in control of himself, the reasonable one, and both Gabe and Corrine had started showing mental symptoms before Braxas had felt his own. He voiced this to the men and added, “I think it’s because Gabe got the brunt of the dark magic spell since Corrine had him in mind when she cast it, and because she had used the term ‘mate’, it extended to me as well.” He explained how he sensed her as his mate right away, but something repelled his cat from marking her and caused him excruciating physical pain. Gabe had also been affected physically, though in a different way.
Ishaya looked speculative. He then nodded and said, “It makes sense that it’s affecting you differently, but it’s affecting you nonetheless. Mates are the greatest gift from the Goddesses and Gods, and Corrine has tampered with it.”
Maim them now while they do not suspect you.
Braxas startled. He barely recognized the voice of his cougar, the viciousness completely foreign to his animal. His inner self, though fierce in battle and in defense of those he protected, would never suggest harming a friend, especially in such a bloodthirsty way. His cat sensed his refusal.
I will rip you apart, too, if I have to.
Braxas gasped, and then he felt a heavy weight on his shoulder. Grahame had placed his hand upon it. “Fight it, friend. It’ll be over soon.”
Braxas patted the large hand, still reeling from the betrayal from his beast. He had to warn them to be on their guard. “You both need to be prepared. Do whatever you must to stop Gabe and me and get Corrine to the Dark Fae.” He saw the hesitation on his friend’s face, a fierce warrior in his own right. “Grahame, you must protect yourselves and our mate at all costs. Promise me.”
With reluctance, Grahame nodded.
You and I will have words, cat, when this is all over. Braxas knew he had no right to be angry and felt strange about it, like battling himself. He only hoped that when this was all over, he and his wayward fur-ball would be one once again.
The three of them sat silently around the fire, unable to sleep. The sun had just started to rise when he heard the commotion. Corrine was on her feet, her hands balled into fists at her side. “I said you will not touch me, you stubborn mule,” she yelled at Gabe, who then also stood.
“Am I not your mate? Or have you lied to me again? You like to tell lies … don’t you, Corrine?”
Braxas bolted in their direction just as the loud crack of Corrine’s palm against Gabe’s cheek reverberated around them. “Don’t speak to me that way. It was our mati
ng that accelerated these effects, and I’ll not risk further repercussions to satisfy your libido.”
Braxas, having reached them by now, was about to be the voice of reason, but instead of his calm reassurances that they were all not behaving like themselves, he let out a feral growl, followed by, “Kill them all and take Corrine.”
It was his beast, only the words were no longer just in his head.
Corrine gasped. “Perhaps I should let the two of you kill each other,” she yelled.
Braxas, realizing that somehow he had transformed into a half shift, felt little control over his body, but his mind knew that Corrine had reached her breaking point. Even from the short time he had known her, he was certain she would never utter those words to her mates. His beast growled at her.
“Growl all you like,” she said without emotion and folded her arms beneath her breasts. “I’ll be dead shortly after. Why should I care?”
Braxas sensed movement to his left and right and knew that Ishaya and Grahame were preparing to take action, but then he looked over at Gabe, who now sported a wicked gleam in his eyes. His silent look had spoken volumes. He wanted them to band together one last time and kill their mutual threat, then … they’d take care of each other.
His cat was quite happy with this plan until a piercing scream sounded beside him. He turned toward Corrine to see her covering her ears. Thick brownish liquid poured from her nostrils. “Corrine,” he yelled, shoving back his beast. He caught her before she fell, and a moment later, Gabe, too, was by her side.
“Corrine, baby, we’re here,” Gabe said. His voice was hoarse and unsteady, but he seemed back in control of his faculties at the moment.
Corrine blinked up at them both as Braxas tried to wipe away the liquid. It kept flowing, however, and then he saw the blood intermingled with it. His panic rose. “What can we do?” he asked her pleadingly.
Bound to Their Faete Page 6