by Brea Viragh
“Get away from him, Dessa. He’s the one.”
“The one?” she repeated dully.
“The one who trapped you like this!”
Calen honestly felt relieved looking at her. Seeing the wrath of the alpha’s daughter, the one who had been chosen to lead their people. Because a feeling like that was better than hollow silence. Better than the way he’d left her.
“Those are some pretty lofty accusations from the lowest wolf in the hierarchy.” Van stood at last, brushing sand and grit off of his pants. He towered a full head-and-a-half taller than Odessa. Taller than Calen, with enough authority in his posture to make anyone quiver.
The dark prince.
“I might not be able to shift, but if you keep hurling insults, then I will find a way to end you right here and right now. You have a lot of nerve showing up here after the part you played in this. Listen to me, Van, I know you use dark magic, and I am going to get to the bottom of whatever game you’re playing here.”
“Dark magic?”
A taunt. Calen’s brows drew together. “Yes. Everyone knows what you do. The Evertooth pack divides and conquers using the blackest of forbidden magics.”
Van could not be bothered. At least, that’s the picture he portrayed, studying his nails before sending his hands down into his pockets. “I didn’t realize that’s what I did. You have my apologies, Princess.” He cut low at the waist in a bow toward Odessa.
She stared him down with a murderous expression twisting her face, directed solely at Van, Calen was amused to see. The other man’s cold-and-cunning smile did not lessen the heat.
He stared between the two of them, and seeing the fury in Odessa, the apathy in Van, Calen wondered how they would have stood each other for more than a day without wounding the other. How they would face each other as man and wife without an ocean of blood between them.
“You have the audacity to stand there and mock me! Do you understand what I’ve been through?”
If Calen didn’t know Odessa better, he’d say she’d been born furious, with that kind of rage in her bones and fury to match. He’d be willing to bet, if it came to a battle of wills, Odessa would rise as the victor.
This match had not been well planned.
Van frowned at Odessa, at Calen. “You think so lowly of me that you would reach a conclusion like that without proof.”
“Do you understand,” she said again, almost desperately, “what happened to me?”
“Step away from him,” Calen ordered.
He forced himself to move, taking hold of Odessa’s arms and urging her away from her staring match with Van. Protect her, I have to protect her. The sensation coursed through every muscle.
He shrugged out of his dirtied shirt and placed it over her shoulders to conserve her modesty. “Here. Wear this for now. I brought a change of clothes for you.”
She shot him a grateful look as he struggled back up the hill to where he’d dropped the bag, trusting Odessa to handle herself for the brief time until he got back. God, his eye hurt. Whatever Van packed, it was more than a normal punch, surely, because this one felt like it split the bone in two pieces.
Walking toward them again, he watched Van’s face, his own carefully neutral, using the time to adjust to the oddness of the situation. The fact that the three of them had gathered here in the first place without someone dying.
“You don’t have to convince him of anything,” Calen began, cutting through the tense silence. “You don’t have to say another word to him if you don’t want to. He might be the one—”
“He’s not.” Odessa cut him off swiftly.
“But Dessa...he’s guilty.”
“Maybe so, but not of this.”
How she knew it, Calen would never understand. He could only recognize the conviction in her tone and the way her body subtly shifted, her walls lowering inch by inch under her assessment of the situation.
“How?”
“Because.”
A world of trust between them for her to assume he’d follow where she led. Follow he did.
“Then someone else from the pack, maybe,” he said, scrambling. “We can’t trust them.”
“He followed you here, Calen. What else are we going to do? He knows about me.”
Van shrugged and stared into the trees. “I’m not sure what else to say. I’m here to help.”
YES, VAN KNEW.
The secret that could have her killed in a heartbeat, he knew. In fact, if he chose to shift again, even in her human skin, she could not outrun him. Could not outmaneuver or overpower him. Hell, she could barely stand her ground against him when they both walked on two legs and knew the punch to his head had only worked because she’d caught him off guard.
The sheer force of his personality in this close proximity had what felt like ants crawling along her insides.
If Van chose to attack, then there was nothing she or Calen could do about it. It left her little room to maneuver if things should go south. However...and it was a huge leap of faith to even think about trusting him, a part of her, some tiny unlocked part of her brain, did.
She didn’t see any malice when she looked into his eyes. She didn’t see anything beyond an earnest desire to help, although why he would be so keen on helping her, Odessa had no idea. He hadn’t exactly been thrilled at the prospect of a marriage arrangement between them. Not that she’d seen.
They missed their wedding day.
The thought struck her like a physical blow and Odessa had to work to keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. It seemed no one else had remembered, either, which was a small blessing. Yet here they stood in front of each other, saying more than they had in all the long months of their engagement, and for the first time, it felt as though she was seeing the true Van. That he let the stoic and cold mask slip just a hint.
Regardless, her inner compass told her to trust him. So she would, for as long as that trust lasted and wherever it took them, until it no longer served their best interests.
Calen’s dark eyes settled on her with unwavering focus. Enough to make her glad she’d rarely seen that look from him before. Not out of fear, but...her stomach jumped. It was unsettling to have the full weight of that keen-and-piercing gaze fall on her shoulders.
“I will follow your lead,” he repeated slowly. “Whatever you decide to do, I’m there with you.”
She let out a sigh. Yes, she could count on him in her corner. Because he always had been, even though she was the alpha’s daughter, and she liked to think that nothing would change if they were both normal people.
That sort of connection was rare and cherished all the more so for his unwavering faith in her.
Odessa shot him a quick smile before turning her attention to where Van still stood rooted to the shore. Unsure where to move, where to look.
Calen would think it lunacy to trust the other man, of that she had no doubt even without asking. The Evertooth pack were said to dabble in the dark arts. It was a well-known fact, although she’d seen no concrete evidence to support it. All she had were her instincts, which were going a little haywire but for a different reason.
She hadn’t been able to get a hold of herself since the abduction. The transformation had done something to her insides. Something she couldn’t fix.
When Calen had returned, he had a bag in his hands, and tossed it over to her. “Here. I brought some more clothes for you. Not sure where you want to stash them during the day, but at least you’ll have something for yourself at night. There’s an apple in there, too, if you want.”
A grateful smile graced her lips and she dug past the zipper. They weren’t her clothes, of course, but it would be nice to have something to wear when she changed shape. She appreciated the foresight.
Clad in a pair of sweatpants and a loose-fitting gray cotton-blend shirt, Odessa rubbed at her neck and then rose from her spot on the sand, striding over to Van. Next time, perhaps, she would ask Calen to bring her hairbrush and
some conditioner. The knots in the long strands of her hair would be unbearable soon enough.
“I’m going to make the executive decision to hear him out,” she said primly. Then they’d go from there.
Calen’s eyes were likely to bug out of his head. “I didn’t get a chance to finish telling you this, Dessa, but the man locked me in a damn closet.” His voice ran hollow to her ears. A little dull. “See this? See this eye? He punched me not once, but twice. Do those seem like the actions of an innocent man to you?”
“I want to hear what he has to say. He’s my fiancé.” The word was bitter on her tongue.
She owed him the courtesy of hearing his explanation, did she not? Even if they were to break the curse keeping her confined, odds were good she would be maneuvered into continuing with the wedding. Her father would brook no argument on the matter.
The fact that Van had followed Calen here, had stated his willingness—it had to mean something.
The walls around her shrunk smaller and smaller until the proverbial cage bore down on her.
Calen scoffed, shaking his head as though he’d thought she had lost her mind. She probably had, but for the moment, she went with her gut.
Bracing her hands on either side of Van and bringing her face close to the man, she breathed him in. Closer than she had been before, and yet not nearly as close as what the pack expected from them.
Could she really kiss him? Really allow him into her body as her husband?
A shudder shook her.
Yes, she could understand how the others had thought him attractive. Everything about him radiated strength and ease. A true Alpha in the making, no doubt. His short dark hair had been shorn close to the scalp and offset his pale skin. His hazel eyes caught the light, and the green depths were the color of the trees behind them.
Too bad they held no warmth.
For a moment they continued to stare at each other, saying nothing. Odessa wasn’t sure where to start. How to get him to shed his secrets.
Van stood in absolute stillness with the night pressing closer around them, and the words she’d wanted to say disappeared.
The man’s eyes seemed brighter somehow. More lucid than she’d ever seen from him, which didn’t mean much.
“Did you know anything about what happened to me? Who might have done this?” She kept her voice low, cutting straight to the meat of the matter, needing to hear what he had to say. “Tell me.”
His stare shook her to the core. No movement. Not a flicker to bely what he felt, what he thought. Slowly, he dipped his head.
“I lost someone I loved, too,” he murmured. “I’d only hoped, that in finding you, I’d find them as well. I couldn’t risk others getting to you first.”
His voice had dropped to a low purr, and in it, she felt the weight of his truth.
“There are others trapped on the water,” she told him. “In the same position as me. And if we can find a way to stop the mage from continuing, then you may very well have the opportunity.”
He would have gone through with the marriage without question, she knew, because his father decreed it. But what kind of prison, or personal hell, would it be to never hold the one you love in your arms again? To have to settle with someone else out of duty and protection for the pack instead of being with the person you cherished?
“Still doesn’t excuse the punch to the face,” Calen griped.
“I did what I had to do in order to maintain appearances.” A half-smile played on Van’s lips. “I might have gone a little overboard. At the risk of sounding like a selfish prick, I did it for a good reason.”
Odessa cast a glance over her shoulder to where Calen stood scowling, his arms crossed over his chest.
“You honestly want to tell me that you punched me and locked me in a closet for my own good? I’m calling bullshit on that, and I don’t care how far up the ladder you outrank me. I could have had an audience with the alphas if you hadn’t stepped in when you did.”
“We don’t know who to trust. It would be ridiculous to spew your knowledge around for prying ears to hear. I did what I had to do. You’re welcome, by the way.”
Odessa saw Calen bristle at the arrogance in that statement, but he held his ground.
“We don’t know if we can trust you,” Calen insisted.
“I had nothing to do with the curse.”
The snarl accompanying the statement would have caused hair to stand on end for any under their rule. Instead of balking, Calen straightened. “I don’t take kindly to your threats, either, Van.”
A risk, calling the Evertooth heir by his first name. Van’s chin lifted, eyes going dark. “Who said they are threats? Take them how you will, pup, but know I’m telling you the truth. I have nothing to gain by lying. And if I were to choose, I could kill her,” he pointed to Odessa, “and every one of them in minutes.”
“The hell you say?”
She did know. God help her, she did, even when the evidence pointed squarely to Van. Odessa found herself stalking toward him, her hands going to his shoulders when she’d never touched him before. She hadn’t wanted to. But there was something about the sorrow he couldn’t quite hide that gave her pause.
“You lost someone, too,” she repeated his words, urging him to tell her what had happened.
She could tell by the expression in his haunted stare there were some secrets he wasn’t ready to air, yet he met her eyes with his and nodded, slowly. “That kind of bond is irreplaceable. There is only the void left behind in their absence. Made larger by the lack of evidence surrounding the disappearance. I let too many years go by without answers to allow it to happen again.”
“There are others here with me,” she told him again. “Cursed, like me. Find a way to defeat the magician, and your love may be among them. We used to change together. Ever since Calen found me, the mage has made it so that I am the only one who returns to human at night. And only if I am touching the lake.”
She wrapped her arms around her chest, chilled. The loneliness was another test. She knew it, recognized the power play, how the mage sought to isolate her and drive her out of her mind.
Sadly, for him, she might be surrounded daily, but she knew loneliness. She knew isolation. Had since her mother died.
“Does he...know we’re here?” Van asked her then.
Her attention returned to him. “I’m not sure. The man...he comes and goes as he pleases. Who knows where he is at this point, or when he’ll be back?”
“We’ll find a way to stop him,” Calen insisted as he stepped closer. “You have my word.”
“Your word means nothing to me, Siegfried. I’ll stay here to help you handle this because it is my pack on the line, too.” The barely restrained energy inside of him wafted in the air around them, needed movement, and Van rose to circle closer to the lake. “Which means you answer to me, and we do this my way.” He finished the statement with a raised eyebrow, turning toward the ruins of the once-great house.
“I don’t even know why he’s here,” Odessa put in. “Or what he wants.” And remembering her last encounter with the mage, she wasn’t sure she was ready to repeat it any time soon.
Van paused in his circling. “And yet whoever it is leaves you here alone and unattended during the night. Abandoned. We’re dealing with someone who either has a bloated ego or a massive amount of power at their disposal.”
Calen scoffed again, and Van’s smile grew at the sound. “I like how you use the word we like it’s a given.”
“We don’t have a choice in the matter. He wants to help us. Let him help.” It was simple to her. “Three brains are better than two in this case, especially since I can’t leave the lake. You saw what happened to me when I tried.”
Van’s grin lingered for a moment longer before disappearing. He stalked closer to them, his hands still in his pockets. “I know it seems hopeless now. But—”
“I know.” Odessa forced a smile. “Yes. But.”
She didn’t
need him to say more. Whatever words he had inside of him, she already knew. And felt the same way.
Calen waved his hands toward the lake. Toward the floating flock of birds resting peacefully against the dappled light from the stars overhead. “We have our work cut out for us.”
The understatement of the year.
Odessa shook her head, eyes darkening, as she turned to Van and asked, “Do you know of a way to break the curse keeping me here?”
He stared at her for a moment longer. “I don’t have the type of skill required to crack a spell of this...magnitude,” he admitted, his gaze flicking to the side, and he didn’t see as her face fell. “But I am willing to try.”
“None of the wolves in our pack are healers, and none of them possess magic.” Calen considered the man, his body taut, tense. “If we can determine what kind of spell was used to change them, then maybe, maybe we can find—”
“A loophole.” Van interrupted. “A way to unravel it.”
“We’ll discuss this later. We’ve wasted enough time with your squabbles, and the sun will be rising in a few hours. I can feel it.” Odessa shook her head, a fist pressed to her navel and the curling sensation just beneath her skin. They didn’t need to waste any more time bickering amongst themselves. “Thank you for agreeing to help.”
A cruel smile split Van’s face. “Intervening on your behalf. That sort of thing is required by a fiancé, is it not?”
And for a moment, she’d forgotten what he was to her. What he was set to become.
“Any discussion of peace and alliances between our packs are surely stalled while I am indisposed.” Not missing. Not trapped. A deadly edge tinged her tone. “I have no doubt my father is expending valuable resources trying to find me. Time and money and energy we can’t afford to waste.”
“He is. No one has wanted to listen to me when I urged them to cease.”
“Why would they?” Odessa ventured. “I’m sure my father is terrified for me.”
“Who else would be willing to help us?” Calen demanded. “Who can we approach for information without giving anything away?”