by Quinn Loftis
“Your world is changing,” Perizada told Vasile as they stood looking out into the forest in the human realm just beyond the veil. It had been several weeks since they had requested her help in hiding from their enemies. He felt like her statement was putting it mildly. His world had been flipped upside down and then flipped again.
“It is,” he agreed. “You know as well as I do, ancient one, that there is only one thing I can do.”
She nodded. “Adapt or die.”
“I cannot stay here much longer. Emilian’s men will not give up until I am dead or I kill them. I do not wish to ask for help because I do not want to drag anyone else into a battle that could turn very deadly for any involved.”
“You know that I would offer you more assistance if I could, but the council is adamant that we stay out of the human realm. They are tired of the fighting.” Peri’s lips tightened as she spoke. “I do not agree with their decision, but for now I must abide by it. I have a feeling that there may one day come a time when I have to challenge them. But for now you will have to handle this one on your own.”
“I will be victorious, Perizada of the fae. I have to be, because the alternative is too terrible to even imagine.” He felt the heavy weight of the task ahead of him settle squarely on his shoulders. The time of peace was over. The effects of his father’s madness was worse than he could have ever imagined, and yet having found his true mate, he understood why his father had done what he did. After losing his true mate so very young, all Stefan could see was a future full of darkness and loneliness. Vasile had never truly understood how frightening that was until he had laid eyes on Alina. The light she brought to his life was something he had never experienced. He knew if he lost her, he never would see that light again.
Yes, he would be victorious. He would take back his pack and help them heal. He would claim his mate and bond her to him. He would secure a future full of hope for all of them. He had to believe that the Great Luna had not created him to be Alpha only to have him fail before he ever truly began. He had to have hope because the absence of hope meant his enemy had already won.
“I want you to remember something, Alpha,” Peri interrupted his thoughts. “On the darkest of nights, when you cannot see the stars or even the moon, when you do not feel your Creator, when your enemies are closing in and their victory appears imminent, and you are sure that all those you love are lost to you, remember that true defeat only comes when those who are able to act, stand idly by while those in need are cast down by evil. Do not forget that. If you do, I will come and kick you in the head until you remember it.”
Vasile let out a huff of laughter. “I had forgotten how eloquent you were with words.”
“I strive for truthfulness; eloquence is for liars and thieves. Both of which I have no tolerance for; remember that as well.”
“Anything else you would like me to remember, oh great high fae?”
She tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, mild amusement glinted in her pale green eyes. “As a matter-of-fact there is, if you do fail and all those who do not need killing end up dying because of your failure, know that I will drag you back from the grave so that I can torture you myself. Because I will probably be the one who will have to clean up the chaos and mess that will result in your defeat. Moral of the story, Alpha—do not die.”
Romanian Proverb #14
Nu e trandafir fãrã spini.
No rose without a thorn.
One year later.
“Mina,” Vasile said staring up at the night sky as he reached for his mate. It had been two days since he had been able to truly speak to her through their bond. He was constantly engaging Emilian’s wolves and when one would fall another would take his place. And he was not the only one being distracted by Emilian. Alina had informed him that Emilian was growing more and more paranoid by his inability to kill Vasile. He was constantly sending out warriors into the villages, questioning pack members, convinced that someone was assisting Vasile. He was also beginning to give weight to the possibility that Serghei’s claim that Vasile was not mated was a lie. A mated wolf was stronger than an unmated male, and Emilian could not believe that Vasile was still more powerful than he since he was no longer Alpha. The only way that could be was if he indeed had a mate.
“You live another day, Alpha of Mine,” Alina teased as she answered him.
In the past year his mate had already begun to come into her own. Her confidence had grown; he could hear it in her voice and felt it in her teasing and occasional flirting. Circumstances had played a part in how quickly she had had to grow up, refining her already self-assured nature. She had an old soul, one filled with the need to care for others. When there were so many in need of her care, there was nothing she could do but answer those needs. He knew that he did not help her burden because he needed her most of all and she gave of herself freely to him. Her heart was always overflowing with love for him, and her mind was an open book so that he could see just how much she missed him, needed him, and wanted him. Vasile was quickly learning that to know he was needed, wanted, and desired by the woman he loved made him feel as though he could move mountains.
“I have indeed, and it is a good thing since today is one that I could not possibly die on without having the chance to tell you happy birthday.”
“You remembered?”
He heard the surprise in her voice and wished so deeply that he could be with her to stare into her eyes so that she could see into his soul and know that there was nothing about her that he could ever forget. “How could I ever forget the best day of my life?”
She laughed. “You were not even there when I was born.”
“Perhaps not, but the day you were born was the day I was guaranteed to be loved by the most incredible woman I have ever had the privilege to know.” And he meant those words with every fiber of his being.
“Thank you, my love. Perhaps, next year you will be able to say those words to me as you hold me in your arms.”
Vasile’s heart clenched in his chest as though her fist had wrapped around it and squeezed. How badly he wanted that. “If I could be with you now, if it was safe, I would be by your side before the dawn.”
Romanian Proverb #15
Mâta blândã zgârie rãu.
Dumb dogs are dangerous.
Two years after exile.
Alina watched as yet another two males tore into one another over something as simple as who would carry the message to Emilian that their village had passed this week’s inspection. The fights among the more dominant males were becoming more and more frequent. Not only that but the violence behind them was escalating as well. It was only a matter of time before someone killed one of their own pack mates. The constant harassment of their Alpha, searching their homes and questioning them weekly on the whereabouts of Vasile and the warriors who had left with him, was agitating the pack members. Wolves did not like their loyalty questioned. A dominant Alpha, one more dominant than all the males in the pack, would be able to question his wolves and keep their wolf under control. Being able to keep the violence of the beasts inside the males under tight reign was part of why having a powerful Alpha was so important.
Alina’s father was growing more concerned every month that Emilian was not as dominant as he had first led them to believe. Somehow he had tricked the more dominant males into thinking challenging him would be foolish. When the truth was there was a very great possibility one of the males in the pack could defeat him. If that were true then they were in more trouble than they had originally thought. They were two years into his rule as Alpha and the health of the pack had not improved. Instead, it was slowly deteriorating.
On top of all of this chaos was the ongoing pain and emotional turmoil that Alina dealt with because of her separation from Vasile. Their bond had only grown stronger in the time they had been apart. She found it increasingly difficult to hide the raging emotions inside of her and worried even more about it now that Emilian was tr
ying to determine if Vasile truly did have a mate. Obviously, she was number one on the Alpha’s suspect list. She found herself longing for nightfall when she could lie down in the quiet of her bed and listen to the sound of his voice as they talked through their bond. She could tell that the constant fighting of the warriors Emilian sent after him, the repeated killings, was taking a toll on him. Vasile was dominant, a natural Alpha, and that meant he would kill to protect. But that did not mean he enjoyed it, and she had a feeling the only thing keeping his wolf from enjoying it was there nightly mental talks―the connection they were able to make and the balance she brought to him.
“Can you do something for me, Alina?” Vasile’s voice resonated in her mind sending chills down her body as it did every time he spoke to her.
“I will not promise until I have heard your request,” she answered with a slight grin on her face. She knew better than to agree to anything her mate said before knowing what it was, lest she end up promising to live in the trees in a remote jungle somewhere in order for her to stay safe.
“Will you step outside?”
Her heartbeat sped up at his request. She was up and moving towards the door before she even realized what she was doing. Was he out there? Had he finally come back?”
“Oh, beloved, there is nothing I want more, but it is not time.”
She felt herself deflate as if all the air in her lungs had been forced out. She knew better than to get excited because that only led to disappointment, and she knew that those feelings only stemmed from her ache to be with her mate. “I am outside.”
“Do you see the full moon?”
She looked up into the night sky, and her eyes met with a large full moon that seemed so close she could reach out and touch it. The light beaming off of it lit up the darkness and wrapped the forest in a soft glow that sparkled off of the leaves of the trees and plants. “It’s beautiful,” she replied.
“Knowing that you are out there looking up at the very same moon that I am seeing makes me feel close to you. I was hoping it would do the same for you. For this brief moment the world does not seem so big, and the chasm that has kept us apart does not seem so wide.”
The moon blurred before her as tears filled her eyes. They ran down her cheeks, first just a few, until they were flowing freely. “I fear the chasm is only going to grow before you find your way back across,” she admitted as she wept silently. “I did not mean to take something that you meant for good and turn it into something….”
“Shh, Mina,” he interrupted her. “I am your mate. Who will you go to when you hurt if not me? Who will treasure each and every tear for the special gift that it is? Because though I do not want you to cry, every drop is reassurance to me that you long for me as I do for you. I am the one you come to and crumble before because I will always be there to catch you. Do not ever apologize to me for how you feel, beloved, because I feel all of it as well. You are inside of me―in every cell that makes my body, in every bone that holds my frame, in every muscle that grants me strength, in every breath that fills my lungs, and in every beat of my heart that grants me life, you are there.”
His words broke the wall inside of her that was holding her emotions back and suddenly she was on her knees. Her arms were wrapped around her midsection as if that would somehow hold her together. “I miss you. I miss you so much that sometimes I wonder if I will be able to take in another breath.” Alina felt his arms wrap around her, felt his lips on her neck, and his breath on her skin, and though it was only in her mind, she grabbed onto it like the lifeline it was. He rarely used their bond for touch because he still felt she was too young, but he must have seen just how much agony she was in and he knew what she needed.
“When you cannot breath, I will breath for both of us.”
She knew what he was really saying was that if her faith and hope were waning, then he would have enough for the both of them. For that night, that is what she needed—for him to be her Alpha and her mate―to protect her not only from the outside enemies but also from herself. It would not be the last time that he would have to shelter her, because for all the strength she possessed, she had an equal amount of love and compassion. Though those things could be assets, they could also strip a person until every weakness was laid bare. So she would wrap herself in his care and security, because for now she did not see the chasm growing any smaller. She did not see their foe collapsing under their strength, not yet.
Romanian Proverb # 16
Omul întelept face ce poate, nu ce vrea.
If we can't do as we would, we must do as we can.
Three years after exile.
She is turning nineteen today, Vasile thought. Another birthday that he could not hold her, another year gone, lost because of the greed of one man. For three years he and his warriors had been thwarting, battling, and killing the wolves and sometimes other creatures that Emilian paid to pursue them. He had not sought out the help of Anghel or any others because this was his fight, not a species-wide battle. Vasile was tired of running. He was done with being separated from his mate and his wolf was barely under his control. It was time. He would begin seeking out those in his pack that were not loyal to Emilian, and then he would start exploiting the weakening Alpha’s paranoia. He knew they would have to be cautious because Emilian no longer had any control over the most dominant males in the pack, and they were beginning to realize just how much freedom their beasts had. He would also have to be careful who he approached to join him in the fight because of those same dominants. Their growing urge to rule might cause them to reveal Vasile and his warriors before it was time.
He stood high up on a mountain that looked down into the territory where the villages of his pack lay. He imagined he could see Alina doing the wash, talking with Sisily, laughing with her mother. His eyes closed as he pictured her face as she turned at the sound of his voice. Her face lit up as she ran to him throwing herself in his arms and finally he was holding her. Warmth seeped into him from her body heating his blood that had grown so cold over the years. Her touch, and hers alone, chased away the darkness, filling him up inside with peace and love. A limb cracking behind him snapped him out of his day dream and his eyes opened. Soon, beloved, but not soon enough, he thought as he turned away from the villages and saw his warriors waiting on him.
“I do not know about you three, but I am tired of sleeping on the ground, eating raw rabbits, and constantly looking over my shoulder.” His eyes narrowed and he knew they were glowing with his wolf. “I want back what is mine.”
“Finally,” Ion muttered drawing a chuckle from the others.
“Now we get to kill him?” Nicu asked as his claws emerged from his very human hands.
Vasile smiled a wolfish grin. “Feeling bloodthirsty?”
The warrior shrugged and then scratched his head with his long, sharp claws. “I do not know what would give you that idea.”
“Could not possibly be the glowing eyes or sharp nails,” Alin said dryly.
“If you all are done,” Vasile said as he motioned towards the side of the mountain they had climbed up. “Let’s finish this.”
Romanian Proverb #17
Pui migdale în nasul porcului si el spune cã e o ghindã.
Honey is not for the ass's mouth.
Four long years after exile.
“When was the last time you heard from your brother?” Alina asked Sisily as they sat with their feet dangling in the river at their usual spot. The water was cool, bringing them a measure of relief from the hot summer day.
“It has been over a month,” Sisily admitted.
“Same for me as well, which is strange since he is usually the one who helps with the weekly questioning, and of course, he comes by my house to check and see how I am,” Alina said as she rolled her eyes. “All he is really doing is trying to see if he can tell if I am mated with Vasile.”
“Maybe he is trying to smell him on you. Maybe he thinks you are seeing Vasile secretly,” Sisil
y said in a dreamy voice, her romantic notions of danger and intrigue getting the better of her.
“If only,” Alina sighed.
“It is getting more painful, isn’t it?” Sisily asked.
Alina nodded but did not look at her friend.
“Is there something wrong other than you missing Vasile?”
Alina never was good at hiding things, especially not from her closest friend. She leaned over so close that her mouth touched Sisily’s ear and whispered as softly as she could. “I got my markings.” Alina was ready for Sisily’s reaction and slapped a hand over her mouth pulling her close. “You have to act normal,” she whispered quickly. “If Emilian finds out I am as good as dead.”
Sisily nodded and Alina released her. She looked at her friend and could see the tightly controlled excitement. She let out a low laugh as she snatch up a piece of grass and began playing with it. “I discovered this rash yesterday,” she began hoping that Sisily would catch on to what she was really referring to.