“No…” he began. But then he realized that the elders had known all along. Once again, they were making everyone else find their own way. He shook his head angrily. “Well, not all of us anyway. It’s possible that the elders knew, but they didn’t seem to think the rest of us needed to,” he said.
“So, Seff and the boys… they didn’t know he was my father?” she asked a little timidly.
He stopped and turned to look her in the eyes.
“Jaisey, since you arrived on this mountain you’ve been making friends you don’t even know you have. Trust me on this, those boys – all of them, love you, and they’d never want anything or anyone to hurt you. And they certainly would not have lied to you,” he said fervently.
He wanted to include his own name in that list but again was afraid he might scare her. At her tiny nod of acceptance, he turned to walk again, but she hesitated.
He turned back to her.
“You aren’t who I thought you were,” she said.
She had been thinking about him? His heart lifted at that, but…
“Who did you think I was?” he asked, a little confused.
“Well, the man on the road when Seff was hurt, I thought maybe that was Quinn,” she explained.
“Except when I asked if he were Quinn, he didn’t say yes or no. It never occurred to me that he wasn’t you.”
He smiled at her convoluted explanation. He hated thinking she had connected him with Ulric in any way. But beyond knowing his name, at least she had been thinking of him.
“Ulric. He was the man on the road that was… unpleasant to you. If I hadn’t been in such a hurry to get Seff to Aatu, I would’ve been sure to thank you personally. It’s unforgivable the way he treated you,” he explained.
“That was you?” she asked. She seemed pleased by that.
“Aatu is my grandfather. Someday I might follow in his footsteps and be a Healer as well,” he explained. It was such a relief to be talking to her finally. The tension was fading, and he was feeling more and more comfortable in her presence.
She smiled with the mention of Aatu. She liked the old man as well.
She gestured for him to continue walking, “Sorry, I’m probably holding you up from something.”
“No, nothing,” he responded. Did she sound worried that he might leave her soon?
They walked again for a while in the light rain. They were getting close to her place, and he noticed that she was starting to shiver. He wished he had a jacket on to offer her and resisted the urge again to pull her close into his own body heat.
When they reached her clearing, he heard her sigh with relief. He tried not to over think it. Surely, she was just glad to be home to the dry, warm cabin, and nothing more.
When they reached the door, she swung it open and went in. He hesitated, but she had clearly left the door open for him to follow her. She disappeared into the hallway and returned a moment later. She had two large bath towels with her. She smiled shyly as she handed one over to him. She was already toweling off her dripping hair. He noticed it felt quite chilly in the cabin. He closed the door and turned to her.
“Would you like me to get a fire going for you before I leave?” he asked, unsure how long she would want him to stay; afraid he’d want to stay longer than he should.
She looked up quickly and then nodded with a very slight smile.
She disappeared from the room again while he took care of the fire. Jack stayed near him, watching each movement. He wanted Quinn’s attention more than anyone else’s, he realized. Well, that did make a bit of sense. Of the shifters who’d come near the wolf-dog, he had the most Alpha in him.
Jaisey returned in clean, dry clothes and headed to the kitchen.
By the time the fire was going, she had a large mug of hot chocolate waiting for him. He smiled, thrilled that she was using her tactics on him rather than the boys for a change.
“Thank you,” he said taking the mug. A slight shiver went through him when their fingers brushed.
“I could try to find something dry that would fit you,” she said, and then she blushed slightly.
“It’s all right. I’m almost dry now anyway,” he responded with a smile. He was standing next to the fire, and it was drying him quickly.
She smiled back, and then went and pulled two of the chairs over to the fireplace. She indicated that he should sit, so he did. She wanted him to stay, he thought with satisfaction. His hopes were soaring, and his inner wolf was howling once again.
“So, the boys said something – that you are sort of Seff’s guardian?” she asked hesitantly.
“Not officially. Actually, Ulric is. He has his own issues though, so I was asked to kind of keep an eye on the kid a few years ago. And you know how easy Seff is,” he said.
“Yes,” she said with a smile, but then her smile disappeared. “Where are his parents?”
He hesitated. Was this too personal for Seff? Would Seff want to tell her about them himself? He decided not, since he hadn’t mentioned anything to her yet. He knew Seff trusted Jaisey implicitly.
“Well, his father was in the military and was killed,” he explained. Jaisey flinched and a look of worry flitted across her features. He tried to decipher the look, but she had refocused on him and was waiting for him to continue.
“His mother’s a different story. After his father died, his mother got sick. The doctors tried everything, but they never were able to figure out what was wrong. She died within a year of his father’s passing,” he explained.
“A broken heart,” she muttered quietly.
Quinn had heard other women in his pack make that same assumption over the years, but he had always dismissed that as something only a woman would think – romanticizing a tragedy. That was before. Now he could see how it could be so hard to lose someone you loved. He would have been crushed if Seff had died after the attack, and the idea of Jaisey leaving, even now, he shied away from the thought and the pain it caused.
He’d known it would be worse if he ever spoke to her, and he was right. Each moment he spent with her made it harder to leave and not just for the moment. Every breath, every word spoken, every sigh was part of him now. He knew this would last. She had changed something in him, forever. And while his wolf was howling “mine” at him, all he could think was that he was also hers.
He raised his eyes to meet hers and found her staring intently at him.
“What?” he asked softly.
“It’s just strange. I feel like I know you and yet…” she trailed off.
His heart skipped a beat. She was feeling the connection too; he was sure of it.
“I’m sorry, I guess I’m just being silly,” she looked down, seeming embarrassed again.
Quinn was having none of that. “No. I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same way about you.” Of course, he did know a lot about her.
She looked up quickly into his eyes. Yes, she could feel it. There was something between them, something real and something powerful. He suddenly had the urge to lean forward to kiss her. He stopped himself. As wonderful as the evening had been, he knew he had to get a handle on his feelings before pursuing anything. He didn’t know for sure if she would leave, but it was likely. And then, he would be left with only his memories of her; his heart would be mangled beyond repair.
He stood and took his cup to the kitchen, placing it in the sink gently. He could feel her eyes on him, and he knew it was his own survival instinct that he was acting on now, but he had to leave. He wasn’t sure he would be able to go if he stayed much longer.
“I need to get back. Seff will want to know that you’re all right,” he said, using the boy as an excuse for her to let him go.
She nodded but looked a little sad, and then she stopped him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” he responded.
“I was just wondering about my father. We thought he died… like nearly ten years ago. Has he been here the whole ti
me?” she asked. The pleading look she gave him broke his heart a little.
“I think so. But there is a history that you don’t know about. I think you need to talk with him,” he explained.
She nodded slightly.
He turned to the door and forced himself to open it. The rain had tapered off. He wasn’t sure he would be able to leave her, even long enough to let the others know she was all right.
When he turned to say goodnight, she was right behind him. So close.
Close enough to… he stopped the thought.
But Jaisey didn’t hesitate. Her arms wrapped around him and he felt his own arms fold around her. She held him for several long moments; each of which was both excruciating and amazing. She fit into him the way he knew she would – perfectly.
His arms were meant to hold her. He rested his chin on her head and inhaled the scent of her deeply. When she released him, she gave him the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.
“Thank you, for tonight,” she said quietly.
He nodded, turned, and headed to the village, feeling the searing ache flow through him. It was more than he could take. He loved her with every part of his being. He could not even picture a future that didn’t contain her in some way. Yet, she was just visiting – this wasn’t her home.
He shifted and ran.
Again.
Nineteen
Seff
Seff watched Quinn closely when he returned to the village. Quinn had taken off after Jaisey, and Seff was dying to know what was said between them. Quinn just gave him a curt nod and went straight to his place. He closed the door, and then the curtains. He didn’t want to be bothered. In a pack so small, privacy was nearly nonexistent. So, when someone needed their own space, they would close their curtains.
Seff thought he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. When Kenyon had indicated they should look at Jaisey with the power of the valley, they had all seen her aura was changing to the gold of the pack. That wasn’t even possible unless she was part pack. Well, that all went right back to Kenyon. He had to be Jaisey’s father.
Jaisey had taken off when the elders had pulled him aside. It was clear she had figured it all out and Seff was sure she would be hurting. She had thought her father dead. To find out he was not only alive but one of them would have been devastating. Seff had intended to follow her, but then he’d seen Quinn go.
Seff wished he’d known she was pack earlier. It certainly gave a whole new spin on… well, everything. It explained why she had such a fondness for the mountain, why her reflexes were so extraordinary, why she had such a good sense of direction, and even why the boys in the pack were drawn to her. Not that they weren’t drawn to the other girls in their pack, it was just stronger because she was new. A similar thing happened when they held the winter solstice with the Dragasani pack. The attraction was always more intense when it was new, but it would fade over time. Though he didn’t think the bonds they were forging with Jaisey would ever fade. It might not even matter. Would they have the time to find out? Would she stay?
That was Seff’s biggest issue now. It was clear she belonged. Her father was here on the mountain. Her mother was gone. She needed to stay. If for no other reason than to get to spend time with the father she had thought was lost. Seff was frustrated that he didn’t know more about Kenyon and his family.
He thought about that. Kenyon lived out on the mountain somewhere. He’d left not too long after Quinn had. If Seff were to just go talk to him, he might get the answers he was seeking. If he could convince Kenyon to talk to Jaisey, he was sure she would stay. And, if Kenyon were to tell Jaisey who she really was – her heritage, she might even stay forever.
His mind made up, he excused himself. He saw Caleb shoot him a questioning look, but he didn’t rise to follow.
He circled around the village, searching for the man’s scent. Thankfully, he hadn’t even tried to mask it. It was strong and Seff had no problem tracking him. It still took half the night to reach him in his wolf form. He followed Kenyon’s scent to a small cabin west of Windy Peak.
Seff knocked on the door, hesitantly.
Kenyon opened it with a look on his face that made Seff think he had been expecting someone.
“Come on in, Seff,” he said gently, showing him to a seat near a small fireplace that had a fire burning within. “You shouldn’t have come alone,” he said in a disapproving tone.
“I didn’t really think about how far you might live,” he responded. In truth, he’d been a little nervous going so far from the village alone, but by the time it crossed his mind, he’d gone too far to turn back.
“Well, no matter. You’re here safely and I’ll see you returned safely as well. However, I have a lot I need to explain to you before you ask your questions.”
“That’s fair,” Seff responded, a little surprised that he seemed to know why Seff was there. But he was an elder, so he probably had the same types of powers the others had.
“First, I should tell you my own history,” he said.
Seff nodded, so he continued.
“I was, of course, raised on the mountain. A few months before I would’ve headed to my second winter solstice, I met a girl in the forest. She was hiking around my favorite place – the bluff – just below Windy Peak,” he said with a smile.
Seff nodded knowingly. One thing already explained – this was going to be easier than he thought.
“She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. We started talking and before long, the whole night had passed with neither of us sleeping. She loved the mountain, the forest, the animals, everything. I realized she was beautiful inside, as well as out. She was everything I could ever have wanted in a mate. I was so excited when we finally separated, that I went straight to my mother to tell her about this amazing person. My mother, Ylva took me to the council. I thought it unusual, but really didn’t think much beyond that,” he sighed.
Seff was hanging on every word. He’d known that Kenyon’s relationship had been forbidden by the council but had never known why.
“They said I was never to see her again,” he said, his voice becoming angry. “In fact, they actually said that they must forbid it.”
“But why?” Seff couldn’t stop the question from coming out.
Kenyon gave a small humorless laugh, “Because according to them, her blood was tainted.”
“What does that mean?” Seff asked.
“Tainted,” he said the word with distaste, “Really… rare is the better term. Lydia possessed the rarest blood type on this planet – as do all of our offspring. You could smell it on Jaisey if you focused.”
“But what does that have to do with anything?” Seff asked, not understanding.
Kenyon held up his hand, “I’m getting there.”
Seff nodded, realizing he needed to quit interrupting.
“At the time, I thought perhaps they only meant that she wasn’t one of us. I thought they were being selective which made no sense. Why only my human? I hated them for making such a significant choice for me. I refused to be kept from her and we ran away together soon after. We had the boys and then the girls came along a few years later. I didn’t give much thought to their words.
“My mother reached out, hating the distance that had been created between us and I agreed to visit with the stipulation that I could bring my family. The elders agreed, but they mandated that we stay away from the village itself. So, Lydia and I began bringing the children up the mountain each summer to her parent’s cabin. It gave me a chance to visit with my parents and friends.
“However, when the council wanted to discuss my family with me, I silenced them. I swore I would do my duty as an elder when the time came, but I refused to be kept from my family permanently.
“But then, the summer that the boys were twelve…” he sighed heavily, “they spent that summer hanging out with Quinn, and I was watching them. I noticed how like Quinn they were – how they loved the forest and the mount
ain, how they had such amazing reflexes, and I looked at them, really looked at them – at their auras. They were turning gold, just as Jaisey’s has.
“I realized then that they were becoming true pack, without ever having crossed into the power in the village. I never thought it would affect them just visiting since they didn’t live here in our valley. That was when I finally went to the council and let them have their say. They too had been worried about my family, and it made me apprehensive that there might actually be a reason for it. Of course, it was too late by then to change the decisions I’d made,” he explained.
“Wait, I don’t understand,” Seff said, completely confused.
“Let me back up. You know our basic history. From the beginning, there were multiple races. There were humans of course, but also shifters, the Ishaks, and the Shroud. We shifters have always been wolves, and we have always lived in the power areas of the world – able to access and harness that power. It makes us stronger, and faster, and longer lived.
“Then there were the Ishaks. They too lived in the power and could shift to other animals, but without the power and strength of true shifters. They could not harness the power the way that we could. But their blood was saturated in a unique way because they lived within the borders of the power emanating from the earth.
“Then there were the Shroud. There was something in their own blood that died too fast, so they drank blood to replace what was lost, but they were not inherently evil and were not murderers. They could drink from humans, but after a very short time, that would not be enough, and they would die. They found, however, if they drank from the Ishaks, it sustained them. There was an interesting side effect for the Ishaks as well. Something in the Shrouds bite made the Ishaks longer lived. The two ended up in a symbiotic relationship.”
“Wait,” Seff interrupted, “the Shroud were all killed off because they were evil and killing humans.”
“Hold on Seff, I’m getting there. At some point, something triggered the Shroud to start killing humans. Essentially, they became the monsters of myth we know them as and many humans lost their lives.
Shift (Castlerock Shifters Book 1) Page 15