Her chin dipped to her chest.
Our family didn’t openly announce our emotions and intentions. We were strong of conviction and action. Words meant nothing without action.
Lochlann and I shared a look of exasperation.
How would she withstand the ridicule and scorn of the Tribe if she could not stand up to us, her brothers who loved her unconditionally?
Lochlann came down hard on her because it was his duty. If she wanted Alec, she had to be steadfast, and fierce in her belief. I was hard on her because she needed to learn how to handle blunt rejection of their affections.
“We are creatures ruled by tradition,” I reminded. “True happiness will evade your grasp unless you embrace the wildness of your nature. Hold fast to your convictions. Lead. Others will follow.”
She frowned. “If they do not?”
“Then you are alone. We who lead are always alone. Even those who find one to love for a lifetime.”
Lochlann’s gaze shot to me. The corner of his mouth curved as he eyed me with newfound respect. The ghostly smile hinted at acceptance of what I’d become.
The guilt burdening me eased. Lochlann may never forgive the damage I’ve caused him, but he’ll respect me.
Maeve hunched, thinking herself betrayed. She looked over her shoulder, her manner an arctic rebuff. “Must I beg for the approval of my kin?”
I sadly shook my head. She does not understand.
Lochlann momentarily closed his eyes then squared his shoulders. “The Tribe cannot survive this. The relations between us and the shifters need rebuilding, but not at the cost of a political connection that may strengthen our newly won position in the Wyld.”
“I see I was wrong.” Her voice hitched. “I fought for your vision of our future in error. I fought for you.” She glanced at me then at our Elder. “I am leaving this place. There’s nothing here. Not anymore.” She paused then muttered bitterly, “Or hadn’t you noticed?”
We let her go. There’s nothing we’d say that would comfort her. She’d weaken if we coddled. Underestimating Maeve was something Lochlann and I was guilty of and it had to stop.
Lochlann stared after our sister. “I wish things were different. Simpler.”
The distance between us was more than physical and infinitely more difficult to cross.
“You are both strong,” he said, more to himself than me. “She will be fine.”
“You raised us well.”
He chuckled. “I am credited for what you have become?”
I was unsure if he mocked or genuinely questioned. The words rumbled from deep inside me and tripped off my lips. “I went to you in earnest. The day Ana told me where to find Rae and what she would mean to me, I came to you for guidance. I tried.”
“I know.” Lochlann waved his hand. “I was arrogant. Do not blame yourself, I do not.”
“Conall–”
“I spoke with him. He knows. It was I who made the mistake, not you. There is nothing for me to forgive.” He looked me in the eye. “Can you forgive me?”
He, Maeve and I were only half-blooded kin, but he never made us feel less than him. Lochlann raised us. I’d forgive him anything. “Alright.” I rubbed my nape, bothered by the flush creeping up my neck, surprised at his lack of resentment.
“You were a happy child,” Lochlann said abruptly. “Troublesome.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “I envied your joyful nature. Along the years you grew solemn. Detached. Though you were playful and friendly when appropriate it was for show.”
“I remember you scolding me.” I frowned. Thumbed my forehead. “I was disobedient.”
“Wilfulness is expected of the Wyld Guardian, but you were special. Unique.” He studied me. “Look at you now.”
“I did not feel special.”
I remembered loneliness. My peers ignored me, and the females pitied my lack of beauty. They found the tattoos inked onto my skin ugly rather than a mark of a grand heritage.
My brother’s expression set, but his eyes softened. “You claimed a destiny greater than expected. You have not faltered in your love or protection of your chosen female. I … ah….” Lochlann looked at his palms, rubbed them together. Blowing out his cheeks, he glanced my way, uncomfortable. To my horror, his eyes filled with tears. “I struggle to say how … I feel as if….” He nosily cleared his throat. “Little brother, I am proud of the man you have become.”
My heart plummeted into an abyss.
Rae left, and I swore I would not follow. My Elder was finally proud of me for something I failed to accomplish.
“She left,” I whispered. “With Tomas.”
Lochlann stared at the starry sky in a long moment of silence. “Then may the gods light her way and bring her back safe to you.”
“What?”
“My reaction when Rae does something impulsive is to curse. Yet she always comes through. She never fails. This time I extend my trust. She will return. Of that I have no doubt.”
My back teeth ground together. He remained calm at what I perceived a disaster. Rae walked into undreamt-of danger with a betrayer on one side, and a Familiar of untested valour on the other.
My instinct was to rush to her, but I would not be weak.
No longer would I be pathetic.
Other gods protect her.
“I doubt.”
“I saw how she looked at the phantom. Her feelings for him cannot compare to those she has for you.” Lochlann sounded confident. “She will return to you.”
My heart ached less.
Bowing my head in respect, I placed a hand on my heart in salute. My voice warmed as I rasped, “Thank you.”
Lochlann inclined his head. “Yes, I am proud.”
There was that word again. Proud. My leg bounced on the spot. I shook my head thinking of what Rae said. “Even though my actions cost you the loyalty of our people?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Alec
The beast’s fur brushed against the inside of my skin, the coarse hairs raking my flesh.
Mate. Maeve. Mine.
I ignored the demands of my inner beast and focused on dispelling the collective grief of the Pride. A scream of irritation rolled across the lush plains in my mind. My feet itched. I was Alpha, the beast wanted out, and its urges were driving me crazy.
Mate. Maeve. Mine.
The Pride – my Pride – grieved the loss of their old Alpha deeply. Moving on was harder because he was taken savagely, death under the fangs of vampires. I too felt the stinging pain of despair. Byron had been a father to us all, a good man, a gentle lynx, and a just Alpha.
Taking his place will be difficult even if the world weren’t going to hell around me.
Through it all there was a single grain of hope that made it worth it.
Mate. Maeve. Mine.
After all this time a future with the one I wanted, craved above all others was close enough to touch. We’d yet to kiss. I knew once my lips pressed hers I’d never give her up. Restraining myself was becoming increasingly difficult. My beast’s aggression levels had surged, an effect of becoming Pride Alpha.
At least I’m holding it together.
Kalcifer was a mess, his Pack broken and confused. Their strongest members left to follow a being they barely understood. Abandoned their Pack without a backward glance.
My beast stopped bitching for a moment and stilled. An intuitive stab of warning made me inhale deeply, and I picked up a spicy musk on the wind.
Tread heavy, Baako loped past. An intense expression sharpened the predatory edge of his features. He looks pissed. The bear’s wilder energy was akin to a bonfire since Rae returned. It hummed and crackled now as if he spoiled for a fight.
Last thing we need is a pissed off bear on a rampage.
Mean and uncontrollable, if a werebear got riled enough they were known to claim miles of territory that wasn’t theirs, and defend it to death. When a bear threw down a claim nothing uprooted it.
Inter
esting as it would be watching a shifter claim territory in a fairy Wyld none of us need the distraction.
Maeve would ask for my help controlling him, and that could get messy. Relations between our races would deteriorate from tense to downright hostile.
Skipping backwards, I sidled into his path. “Where’s the fire?”
He stopped.
Our chests bumped.
Neither of us backed up. Giving ground was a signal of obedience. He stepped left, so did I. He feinted right, and I swerved to match it.
At my resistance, his brown eyes darkened to solid black. Most shifters’ eyes were reflective jewel colours in vivid tones. Baako contradicted that tenet. His irises were gloomy brown that turned flat black when his bear roused to peer at the world beyond its cage of human flesh.
“Move.” The gruff rumble implied he expected nothing but absolute submission.
But, I was Alpha now.
Kick. Bear. Ass.
Conceding to another shifter would be weakness. Doesn’t mean I have to be a barbarian. “She’s my friend.”
“Move.”
Breathing out hard through my nose, I checked the surge of aggression flooding my body. The beast hissed, and the edgy sound ripped past my lips as I bared my teeth.
Head cocking as if I were crazy, Baako’s snarl sent seismic tremors through the earth. Roaring in my face would have been subtler.
“I need to know she’s alright.” My voice was rough, and I pulled the fury back, swallowing the waves of hostility threatening my human shape. Don’t shift. Shift and you’ll fight. He’s a Familiar siphoning energy from a god. A bear. You’ll lose. Badly. Don’t shift. Don’t shift. When I spoke my timbre was on level. “You weren’t the only one who felt the pull toward her. I knew I was capable of becoming her Familiar the moment I met her.”
Baako’s hackles rose with repressed anger. “Stupid enough to challenge me for prior claim, Cat?”
“No.” I let my eyes partially shift. Pupils narrowing to vertical slits, they’d glow brightly. It was a tricky control over the Change only an Alpha displayed. “I want to know Rae’s safe. Stalking her and demanding attention she can’t give will stress her out. Friends don’t do that to each other. She feels obligated to make everyone feel safe, so she’d see me, but I don’t want to put pressure on her.”
Respect softened his rigid composure. He let me see the real reason behind his short fuse. Frustration. “Twitch took off.”
My mouth curved at the pet name. I bet she hates it. “Breandan and Rae left?”
“See, there’s the fire.” Baako’s face transformed from pissed to worried. “She and the vamp-ghost-argh! She and the thing,” he flailed his arms, “left the Wyld.”
“You let her leave with Tomas?” My voice rose with my incredulity. “Alone.” The beast inside screamed in outrage. “You’re that stupid?”
Nose flattening, Baako jerked and roared in my face. A vein in his temple bulged. His body shook, and his nails lengthened to ridged talons. “Twitch ordered me away. Gave me a story about protecting her interests at the Wyld.” His voice fluctuated higher mimicking Rae’s voice. “Keep Breandan safe until the time is right.”
All at once, I cooled, and my beast’s whining ceased, reverting to the monotonous droning of before.
Mate. Maeve. Mine.
Studying Baako’s livid expression, I realised though he’d stood up for Rae and her mate, he didn’t understand the importance of the task she’d appointed, and the faith she showed.
I slapped his shoulder, happy to be friendly since he hadn’t messed up. “He dies she dies.”
Visibly shuddering, Baako’s body deflated. He brushed my hand off him. “Come again?”
“In Rae’s world there are two things.” I spun circles in the air with my forefingers, one significantly larger than the other. “Breandan,” I bobbed my head to the largest circle, “and the rest of the world.” My rotating hands dropped. “Whatever she does he’s at the centre of it. If she asked you to protect him ultimately you’re defending her.”
Head turning slightly on the thick column of his neck, he fixed me a shrewd look. His mouth bowed in scepticism. “I shouldn’t be mad?”
“Feel honoured. Without him, her level of function plummets way down here.” I chopped the air at my lower thigh. “Suck it up.”
Head fully turned to glare down the path, he eventually sighed. His panicked manner switched to optimistic. “So finding Lochlann, tattling, then going after Twitch with an army is the wrong thing to do in this situation?”
“Considering she placed her trust in you, and as her Familiar you’re bound to serve her wishes, yeah, pretty much a bad idea.”
He flicked his nose then looked at me with a comical expression. “Shit.”
“She would’ve ripped you a new one if you’d done that.” I laughed in his face. Pounded his shoulder again, smug this time. “You owe me.”
“Nah.” He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. “Where’s Breandan?”
Lazy bear. I tapped my nose and sniffed. “This way.” We travelled down the path in the direction I headed earlier. Apprehension fused my shoulder blades and hunched my back.
“Feeling tension off you, Cat.”
“I’ve laid Claim to a fairy.” I shot a proud look his way. “The green one with red hair. One of her brothers is not taking it well.”
A large hand landed on my chest. Skidding back into my tracks, the next breath was knocked clean out of me. “Wasp?”
“Maeve.” I indicated her height at my shoulder. “Uses a bow. Cutest face you’ll ever see with beautiful red eyes and flowing hair to her waist.”
“Ah.” He flashed a grin. “Just checking.”
I coughed and rubbed my sore skin. “You do know Wasp was Devlin’s consort.”
“So.”
“He died a few weeks ago. She’s twisted about it.”
“She’ll get over it.”
I stopped us that time. “I don’t think you understand. Her grief is way beyond passive bereavement. We’re talking full on rage. She wants vengeance. She’ll die for it.”
“Not if she’s shown there’s another way. I pine for a strong female to bear my cubs.”
“You’re going to Claim her?”
“Possibility is there.” He strutted again. “I can try, right?”
Opting for silence, I followed Maeve’s sweet honeysuckle scent, annoyed when Breandan’s earthier smell diminished it. My palms sweated seeing a fairy Warrior pacing at the entrance of the clearing.
Raised voices echoed from inside.
Baako and I stopped at a respectful distance.
I smiled without teeth. “Hai. Have you seen Maeve?”
“How did you find this place?” Conall asked without looking our way.
“Followed my nose.”
“You should not be here.” His glower lacked commitment. “The Wyld is designed to confuse outsiders and conceal this place. Our dwellings are sacred.”
I nodded in respect. “I understand. I’ll leave as soon as I’ve seen Maeve.” A decidedly loud curse ripped through the air. “She was looking for Lochlann. Naturally, I’m worried.”
Conall’s gaze skimmed us. A gleam of unknown emotion made his gold eyes shimmer. “He will not agree to her leaving the Wyld.”
“Neither do I, at least, not right now. That’s why I’m worried.”
He styled a jolt of surprise as a stretch. “You wish her to stay?”
“I’ve gotten word goblins settle on the Pride.” My lips pressed together until they turned white. “Without permission. I need a better report of what’s happening before I make a final decision, but leaving Maeve here whilst I go…. I’m not sure if I can do it.”
“Has a delegation arrived yet?” Conall queried. “They were called to the Meet before Cael attacked.”
“The crazy one says the vampire Queen destroyed the Chief corralling them here. I’m assuming survivors of that Horde plunder my te
rritory.”
Puzzled, Conall motioned me to elaborate. “Crazy one?”
“The one with the dreadlocks.”
“Ah.” Conall’s eyes lit with amusement. “Wasp.”
Baako punched my bicep. “She’s not crazed.”
My entire arm deadened, but I deserved it. I blinked away the water that gathered in my eyes and let loose the laughter bought with the pain.
Another angry holler came from the glade.
“Listening to Lochlann and his siblings argue hurts my head.” Conall grimaced. “Truth? I dawdle. I cannot find the courage to speak to Rae though I have wished to for days.” Guilt weighed heavy in his voice.
He seemed tired, and I wanted to offer comfort. I was curious enough to wonder what was wrong, but voicing my interest was something I’d never presume. Conall was one of the few fairies respected by the Pride.
Byron called him a friend, and I wanted to too.
Baako had no such scruples. “Why?” he demanded, voice gravelly. His eyes flashed bear. “What did you do?”
Conall stealthily shifted his weight onto his knees. His hand reached for the sword latched to his back. His eyes narrowed, intensity hawk-like.
Avoiding touch, I held up both hands to calm Baako. “Easy. Remember that bad idea we discussed? The second worse thing you could do is get into it with this fairy.”
“Brother,” Baako grunted, struggling to articulate since he was close to embracing the Change.
Chary, Conall eyed him. “Yes, I am Rae’s Elder, Familiar.” He paused. “I have been meaning to speak with you. My sister can be too accommodating. Ignorant of certain commitments and their true meaning.” He shot us stern looks. “Through no fault of her own. Rae has come far but has much to learn.”
“I didn’t deceive her,” Baako said, outraged. “My conversation with Twitch was above-board.”
Conall stroked his chin, lips pursing as he deliberated. “Still she agreed to your protection?”
Baako’s chest bowed, and his body swelled. “She did.”
Conall slumped. “Perhaps it is for the best.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, reinforcing my suspicion he suffered exhaustion. “More protectors can only be good.”