by Quinn Loftis
Decebel ran with an urgency that he had never felt before. He pushed his legs to a speed that he never knew he was capable of, all the while keeping his gait as smooth as possible, dodging fallen limbs and holes in the ground that might cause him to stumble and loose his precious cargo. The more distance that they put between themselves and the location where their mates had fallen, the clearer the air felt. His fur rippled as the wind blew through it and his eyes watered. His ears were erect, constantly twitching, listening for any sound that did not belong. His wolf felt desperate to get their mate to their territory, to get out from the open space where any attack was possible. He pushed and pushed never taking his eyes from the path in front of him, all the while remaining aware of the wolves that ran with him and the Fae that stayed just outside of the pack. He was desperate to feel his mate, to open their bond. But he was too afraid that she would become hysterical and let go of him, so he resisted, going against his very nature.
Costin took a small amount of peace at the weight he felt on his back, knowing that he was taking her to safety. It wasn’t much, but it would have to be enough or he was going to lose his mind and his wolf was going to go feral. He didn’t reach into her mind, but he wrapped his love around her so that she would feel his warmth. He didn’t want her to think she was alone in her suffering, that he had abandoned her. He stretched out his stride, racing across the forest floor, more worried about speed rather than stealth. He tried to occupy his mind with ways in which to help her once the spell was broken, and it would be broken. He himself had struggled with the things he had witnessed in the In-Between. Those images had eaten away at him like a disease and threatened to create a chasm between him and Sally that he didn’t know if he could repair. Now, his own battle with the memories paled in comparison to what Sally would go through once the curtain of lies was separated and reality was once again restored. For the brief time he had been in her mind, he had felt her disgust and embarrassment. He had seen in her mind how dirty and defiled she felt, and it was ripping him to pieces. Something that, though wasn’t real, felt like it was taking the innocence she so fiercely protected; an innocence for which he had been beyond grateful for. He knew that Sally wouldn’t be able to look past the curse and see that she was still whole, physically and mentally. Whatever it took, he would move heaven and hell to bring healing to the brokenness that the witch’s evil had caused.
The pack ran as one, unified in the common goal of protecting the most precious thing in their lives. Fane’s heart beat with the every step and he breathed evenly with control. A control that he didn’t really feel he had. He knew that his wolf was keeping the man from coming apart. The wolf did not think with emotions, but with logic and instinct. It knew several things that needed to be dealt with. The man couldn't touch his mate, the witch cursed her, and in the current situation, she was in danger. Those things he could fix. He couldn’t fix the damaged bond between them that the man had caused; he couldn’t heal her battered emotions so he did not worry about those things. Fane let the wolf do the thinking for the time being because the wolf knew what needed to be repaired first. He felt her hands tighten in his fur and heard a small whimper escape her lungs. Like a whip being smacked across his flank, the sound spurred him to move faster.
For a brief time, it appeared that the rest of their journey back to the Romanian pack mansion would be much easier than their journey had been thus far. Peri attempted to be positive, hopeful that they would have smooth sailing back to the mansion. Just then, a bolt of lightning struck the ground very near them.
“Oh come on!” Peri yelled into the forest.
Thunder boomed across the dark sky and the ground shook. The wolves’ steps stayed true. None of them stumbled or fell, even when the sky opened and the rain flowed down in sheets. Visibility became nearly nonexistent and the pack was forced to slow their speed.
“Is this all you have? No originality, Mona. Storms must be your specialty!” Peri was yelling. Though the rain drowned her voice out, Peri knew the witch could hear her. As if in response to Peri’s challenge, the temperature dropped, changing the rain to skin slicing sleet. The wolves stopped, fearing the skin of their mates would be ripped from their bodies if they continued running. The wolves laid the women down, covering them with their bodies. They eyed each other warily as they sheltered their mates from the icy onslaught.
The sleet stopped abruptly and the wolves heard a loud whoosh. Despite the freshly wet ground and foliage, flames roared across the ground. The fire circled all around them, flames so high that they could not see past them. The wolves positioned themselves in a circle facing towards the fire so that every angle was covered. Their teeth were bared and low growls rumbled through out them. Peri paced around the wolves trying to think, to draw up a memory of what she knew of dark magic. An idea formed, just out of her grasp. When she opened her eyes and saw that the fire was closing in. The wolves were becoming more and more agitated. Peri squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated as hard as she could. Finally, it hit her; dark magic could not control elements unless the element was already present. Mona could create the rain because the clouds held water. She could create lightning because of the static electricity in the clouds. She could adjust the temperature because she could control the wind that was already present.
Peri smiled to herself. In order for her to be able to conjure fire, Mona would have to have a flame to begin with and last time that Peri checked, snow didn’t burn. Therefore, the flames before them were merely an illusion, and a good one at that.
Peri whipped around to face Vasile. “It’s not real,” she told him. “The fire, it won’t hurt us because it isn’t real.”
Peri knew that the instinct of the wolf to avoid fire would keep them from running through it, unless Peri could prove it. She turned and ran towards the flames, and as the heat from them grew hotter, she thought for one heartbeat that she might be wrong, but then she was through the fire without so much as a singed hair. She turned and ran back through and much to her surprise, saw Vasile leading the others towards her. Their need to get their mates to safety must have been overriding their fear of the flames. Vasile stopped around eight feet from the flames. He watched them dance and flicker for a brief moment before taking a running lunge. He passed through the fire and, like Peri, emerged safely on the other side. In less than a minute, all of the others had passed through the fire as well. Without another pause they were off and running through the storm once again.
The storm raged on, and still the wolves ran.
Q
Skender saw them first. He was standing in the field where the packs had been training. Something had drawn him out, a restless energy in the air that crackled around him. He knew that Dillon had followed him out but had stayed back, a silent shadow.
“Dillon,” Skender didn’t raise his voice, he knew the Alpha would hear him, “are you seeing this?”
Dillon stepped up beside Skender and looked in the direction that Skender motioned to with the nod of his head. Up on a hill across the field, he saw the wolves slowly step from the cover of the trees, their mates clinging to their backs. Dillon and Skender watched from where they stood, but made no movement to come any closer. They saw Peri step out as well, standing closest to the large, black wolf that Skender recognized as Vasile. Dillon scanned the line of wolves using his enhanced eyesight until he finally spotted her prone from on Fane’s wolf. Dillon started to walk forward, heedless of the danger, his need as a father overriding his commonsense. Skender grabbed his arm before he made it more than a few steps.
“Not yet,” he said, simply.
Dillon nodded and stepped back, but his eyes stayed on his daughter and the wolf that carried her.
Peri appeared to be talking to Vasile and his response was a snarl. Peri threw her hands up in a manner that told them she was clearly irritated. She started towards them, leaving the wolves standing on the hill. Dillon growled irritably. It was taking the Fae forever to walk to th
em, knowing that she could have run or flashed to them.
Peri finally reached Skender and Dillon. When she noticed Dillon’s posture and demeanor, it took everything in her not to slap the look right off his face.
“I’m going to say this one time, Dillon Jacobs, Alpha of the Colorado pack. I have had it with possessive, overprotective, controlling wolves. If you growl, snarl, bare your teeth, or snap at me I will personally make sure that every time you are in your wolf skin you have the uncontrollable urge to hump any leg that comes your way. Are we clear?”
Dillon gave a curt nod and waited for the Fae to continue.
“We have a very precarious situation. The wolves you see up on the hill aren’t quite sane at the moment. We have been through quite a lot as we ran for our lives through the forest and they are tired, wet, cold, and carrying mates who are still enduring their own personal hell on top of being cold, tired, and wet. It is imperative,” Peri paused meeting their eyes, imploring them to understand just how serious the situation was, “that there be no other wolves in their presence or line of sight. It’s going to be bad enough that there are going to be scents of unknown males all over the frickin’ place. Let’s not give the pissed off wolves any excuse to make an example out of someone.”
“We arranged everything as soon as we got off the phone with Cynthia. The other packs have been moved to the far side of the mansion, opposite all of the pack rooms. I can go back now and make sure all is clear,” Skender told her.
“Dillon you must go with Skender.”
Dillon started to argue, but Peri cut him off. “This is not the Vasile that you know. He will not care that you are an Alpha, or that you are Jacque’s father. Give them time to sort out the situation and once it’s safe you can see Jacque.”
Dillon did not look happy about it, but he refrained from growling.
Chapter 16
“We all have our dark secrets. The things we keep hidden in the shadows of the closet that we keep eight different types of locks on. We feel certain that if anyone knew those secrets then there would be no way we could be worthy of their love. We would be outcast. So, we hold tight to those secrets, letting them eat us like a disease, slowly devouring our self-confidence and sense of worth. The saddest part to all of this is that there is a simple cure for this disease; trust. Trust the ones you hold dearest to your heart to love you no matter what, for it is by that love that you are redeemable.” ~ Cynthia
Peri waited until the two males were out of sight before she turned back to the pack. She motioned, and slowly Vasile started towards her and the others fell in step behind him. They moved slowly, cautiously, their eyes darting around and their ears twitching. Peri felt like they were walking a tight rope and at any moment one of them was going to fall off, but instead of plummeting to their death they would cause someone else’s.
Peri glanced over at Adam once they had finally reached her. “How are you holding up, Adam?” The question held none of the usual snarkiness that was common from Peri, but showed true concern for her brethren.
Adam looked tired and tense. She could see that his fingers twitched with the need to reach out and touch Crina and it was killing him that he couldn’t.
“I’m dealing,” he finally told her.
“Good enough,” Peri nodded. She turned around and faced the pack mansion and, with a nod of finality, took a step forward. “Let’s do this,” she said and motioned for the others to follow.
When they reached the door Peri let out a deep breath and found that her hand was shaking. She snorted to herself. The unflappable Peri shaking in her boots¸ she thought. Without further hesitation, she pressed the latch on the door handle and pushed it open. She stepped inside and said a silent prayer. The mansion looked like a ghost town. The foyer was empty, as were the stairs, and the railing above that looked over the living area. She walked further in so that the wolves and Adam could come inside.
Vasile walked slowly into the mansion and it angered him that he was afraid to step into his own home. Not afraid for his life, but for the lives of others. Somewhere inside of him, he knew that things weren’t as dangerous as he thought it to be, but his wolf urged him to get away from the others. If they were alone with their mates, then they could relax, and think about the other imminent problems. They wouldn’t be worried about keeping others away from their mates. He sniffed around, his lips curled back at the unfamiliar scents, but then he caught the scent of his mate and knew that it was because this was a hallway that Alina walked daily. He followed it, not bothering to check to see if the Fae was following him so that she could open the door. Vasile reached their room and finally turned to see if he had been followed. Much to his relief, Peri was right behind him. She reached passed him to the door, turned the knob and pushed the door open. Vasile trotted inside and then pushed the door closed with his hind leg.
“You’re welcome,” Peri snapped. She turned and looked down the hall, watching as each mated pair stood in front of their rooms. Even Decibel, Jen, Costin, and Sally still had rooms in the mansion. She walked down the hall, one by one opening the doors. All except for Adam and Crina’s, he was able to handle that one on his own. Peri stood in the now empty hall, and for a single breath, she felt lost. She didn’t know what she should do, what her next move was to be. She knew that she couldn’t break Mona’s curse on her own. But, the curse would have to be broken if the women were ever to invite the touch of their mates. That left only one choice, and though she knew Vasile would likely not like it, he would just have to get over it if he wanted his mate healed.
Cynthia quickly phased back into her human form as she stood in Crina’s closet. They were close enough to the same size that she was able to borrow some clothes. She knew that she needed to move fast to get each of the women in dry clothes and warmed up. It was likely going to be an unpleasant experience as she dealt with the snarling mates, but then such was the life as a Canis lupus—never a dull moment. And, apparently never a moment when one’s life wasn’t in danger. She grabbed some loose yoga type pants and a t-shirt and made her way out of the closet to see Adam sitting in a chair next to the bed where Crina lay. The pain she saw on his face was heartbreaking. Cynthia could see that the Great Luna had not spared the bond between Fae and wolf; it was every bit as strong as between two wolves. She moved cautiously towards the bed, deciding it was best to treat Adam as she would a dominant mated wolf. He was just as deadly as the males of her race and very possessive.
“Adam,” she said softly. “I need to get her into dry clothes.”
Adam looked over at her. His eyes had the remnants of shed tears.
“I know you don’t want her to be touched, but it’s for her safety.” Cynthia continued to take slow steps towards the bed, bracing herself for an attack that could come at any moment. She felt encouraged when she made it to the bed safely, though Adams eyes never left her. She talked to Crina as she touched her, reassuring her that she wasn’t going to hurt her. It was a struggle as Crina fought her and Adam threatened her, but after nearly thirty minutes she finally had the she wolf in dry clothes. Cynthia made her way to the door only glancing back at the mated pair once. Adam was whispering to Crina and she had rolled towards the sound of his voice. It was a heart breaking sight.
Cynthia made her next stop Jen and Decebel’s room. She needed to see how Jen was doing and make sure there were no problems with their baby. She knocked on the door and heard a low growl. Decebel had apparently decided to stay in his wolf form, probably because it allowed him contact with his mate. She pushed the door open very slowly. “Decebel, it’s Cynthia,” she told him, unnecessarily, since he would recognize her scent. No lights had been turned on in the room, which wasn’t a concern for Cynthia because she could see just fine. However, it did make her feel better when facing an unstable wolf to have any and all shadows revealed by the light. So she flipped the switch and squinted briefly while her eyes adjusted. She saw that Decebel was curled up on the bed next to Jen who
had her fists entangled tightly in his fur. Cynthia had decided that the best way to deal with Decebel was to be matter of fact. Leave no room for argument with him.
Cynthia made her way to the closet as she spoke. “She needs dry clothes on and since you aren’t able to do that, I will help you. I also need to check on her and the baby.”
Cynthia moved efficiently, gathering dry clothes for Jen. When she came out of the closet, she stopped short, face to face with a large wolf. He growled at her and stepped around her to the closet. She realized that he was going to phase, presumably, so they could communicate. Cynthia waited until he emerged, dressed. She was not about to approach his mate without him in the room. When Decebel walked around her, fully clothed, she followed him to the bed.
“Be very careful,” he told her, with a suppressed growl.
She slowly undressed Jen and Decebel was thoughtful enough to get towels for Cynthia to dry her off before putting the dry clothes on. Jen groaned with every motion and cringed when Cynthia touched her.
“I’m so sorry, Jen. I’m not trying to hurt you,” Cynthia told her, gently. She raised Jen’s shirt and pressed her ear to her stomach. This was yet another advantage to wolf hearing. She didn’t require any special equipment to hear the heartbeat of the baby. She listened closely as she closed her eyes and tuned everything else out. Then she heard it, the steady, fast little heartbeat. She smiled gently and felt a tear slip down her cheek, for there was no sweeter sound than a healthy heartbeat of a baby safe in the womb.
“The baby is alright?” Decebel asked, stiffly.
“Yes, her heartbeat is strong. I will need to get an ultrasound very soon.”