Howl And Roar: Wolf and Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Howl And Growl Series Book 2)
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The frozen scene before her was darkly beautiful, in all its icy nature. Their trek took them past the frozen lake, which never seemed to end. Up close, the frozen lake sparkled under the moonlight, and Nyssa could spy tiny fish swimming beneath its surface. The farther along they walked, the more and more cave entrances she saw seemingly rise from the ground. Eventually they came upon a larger entrance, much larger than any other she’d seen yet. Firelight traced the walls inside, and a myriad of voices tumbled out. Clearly there were a large number of people within.
“We’re here,” Nyx announced. “Be on your best behavior everyone and let me and Jorah do the talking.” She leveled a glare at Nyssa, as if she were an outspoken problem child.
“We’ll be fine, Nyx,” Jorah said, his confidence adding to his image. “Just lead the way already.”
Scowling once again, Nyx sighed, relaxed her face, and led them all inside.
Relief immediately flooded her body as waves of heat hit her, warming her skin and clothes and melting the small icicles forming on the ends of the hair. She didn’t realize how much she needed the heat after that journey to the heart of Bear Clan territory. She couldn’t imagine having to live up here all the time, compared to the misty yet warm Oldwood at a thousand leagues below her. It didn’t take long for the group to walk the curving entrance that opened to a large cavern.
The first thing Nyssa noticed upon entering the cavern were the scores of bear shifters crammed in. A whole sea of them bickered and ranted and spoke to one another, filling the room save a small space in at the back, just in front of a group of nine older individuals who carried wooden staves carved and smoothed to show patterns of bears fighting off demon like creatures. Nyssa assumed the demon like creatures couldn’t be anything other than Vampires, as they had fangs and claws, but appeared very human. The nine of them remained quiet, talking in whispers that couldn’t be heard over the din of the crowd. Nyssa couldn’t believe how many were gathered at this time of night. There had to be at least a hundred or more.
Leading them forward, Nyx began to push through, allowing them to march single file through the narrow gap left in her wake. Keanu was so large he towered over everyone else, enlarging the path even more as Nyssa followed behind.
The next thing Nyssa noticed was the intense, musky and hairy scents that littered the room. The smells were strong enough to mask her own, but quickly overcame her senses. Despite this, many of the bear shifters stared at her as they passed, their stares blank and unemotional, so they probably didn’t realize she was anything but another shifter amongst the crowd. Jorah placed a hand on her back, guiding her forward, offering reassurance. His touch gave her the confidence to hold her head up high.
Thirdly, and last since there really wasn’t anything else in the cave, were the wall lights. Tiny fires blazed in sconces that were attached to the wall, creating just enough light to show everyone’s faces, as well as heating up the cold cavern walls. There were so many that Nyssa lost count.
Finally, Nyx broke through the crowd to step into the tiny space before the Seers. She knelt before the Seers, with Finn and Keanu mimicking her movements behind her. Jorah guided her to kneel next to Nyx, and he did the same.
So, this was how the Bear Clan greeted its leaders? It wasn’t anything like how the Pack or Pride acted. It almost felt very Vampirish; they really were much different than the other clans, weren’t they?
“Jorah…” One of the Seers said softly, his voice quieting the room. “You’re rather late, aren’t you?”
“Dallan,” Jorah said. “Yeah, I’m late, but I have a good reason to be.”
Dallan, the old Seer who spoke, glanced at Nyssa, his weary and wrinkled eyes appearing to gaze straight into her soul. Besides the staff he held, Dallan was dressed in similar jerkins to what she and Jorah wore, but his was faded and laced with many other furs and sticks and tiny objects that were probably found around the mountains. He appeared as a sage, just like the other eight surrounding him. He quickly glanced back over to Jorah, completely disregarding her.
“And what is this reason? I know you traveled down the mountain, again, against my express wishes,” Dallan hissed. Murmuring in the crowd began to surface, but faded with the raised hand of another Seer.
Jorah straightened his back, making sure to look as tall as possible. He took a deep breath, his lips curling into a smile, and pointed at Nyssa. “The reason I’m late is because I brought a wolf shifter up the mountain.”
Chapter Twelve: Jorah
D allan scoffed. “I did not raise you to be a liar, Jorah,” he pronounced loudly. “You come up with new excuses every day. This girl, a wolf shifter? Hardly more than a stick in the mud.”
Dallan’s blatant disregard of his word agitated Jorah more than he would let show, so instead he continued to grin and even rose to his feet. “I’m not lying, Dallan. She really is from the Oldwood, from the Pack. She was beset at the foot of the mountain, the only reason I found her in time was because I traveled down there myself. She was wounded and about to have her life ripped away from her, I brought her up the mountain to save her life. Because of that, she’s told me some interesting things about the world below us, the one you Seers keep forbidding us from ever setting foot in.”
More murmuring took hold amongst the crowd, louder than before. Scowling and waving away Jorah’s words, Dallan shook his head. “Blah! Foolish nonsense. The world below is dangerous, just as we have always said. Vampires could very well attack anyone, and the Pack and Pride could be hostile if we encroach on their lands.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Jorah said, earning the disgusted looks upon each and every Seer face. “Nyssa here says the clans are friendly, that they’re even in alliance.”
“Oh?” Dallan said, his tone as sarcastic as his old vocal chords could make it. Leaning forward on his staff, he peered into Jorah, which sent heart pounding anger coursing through his veins. “Then what set upon this girl, if the two clans are at peace? Elk and goats?”
“Changelings,” Jorah said, frowning. “Strays that linger from another Vampire invasion that ended two years ago.”
“So, the Vampires are still as bloodthirsty as ever.”
“One was,” Jorah continued, trying to remain unperturbed by his adoptive father’s mocking. “One named Orpheus. Him and two servants raised a Changeling army to overtake the Oldwood, but failed, ending the violence. The rest of the Vampires couldn’t care less, so the invasion is over.”
“And you got all this information from a single girl?” Dallan said, his tongue poking at the insides of his cheek. “You’re believing everything she says...what a pity, I thought I had raised you better than to just believe everything you hear.”
Finally losing his cool somewhat, Jorah took a step forward. “And where do you get your information from? Yourselves?”
“From wisdom,” Dallan said. Every pair of eyes in the room, danced between Jorah and the Seer as their conversation gradually became more and more heated. “From experience. I remember what it was like, watching my family and friends butchered by pale, red-eyed demons who came from the sea.”
“No disrespect,” Jorah began. “But that was over half a century ago. Times have changed. Our home in the Blackwood is gone, and so are many of our loved ones…” His parents entered his mind briefly, out there, somewhere in the world. “But we can’t keep living up here forever. Every year the peaks grow colder and game becomes scarcer. We survive in these hollow caves, but our lives need to improve, and now there just might be a way to do that. Living, breathing proof is right here, in this very room. A first-hand witness to how things are below the mountains. Instead of driving her off, we should listen and learn.”
Dallan remained quiet, his scowl frozen on his old face. The crowd now spoke louder, their voices ringing out in the room. Other Seers whispered to each other, each glancing at Jorah in turn. Jorah took the chance to look down at Nyssa, who’s gaze was inexplicably rooted on
the scene going on around her. Jorah didn’t know how meetings were held down in the Oldwood, but certainly they had to have been similar in some regards.
As Dallan retracted his staff and began to speak with other Seers, a commotion at the cave entrance caused the whole group to turn and stare as two big bear shifters carried something heavy into the room. Grunting and shouting at people to move, Jorah saw with his own eyes they carried the body of a man. Maybe recently deceased, or just unconscious, he couldn’t be sure. But upon seeing the body, Nyssa leapt from her kneeling position and raced towards the body.
“Lowell!” She called, startling the two shifters carrying the man. The shifter being carried in was limp, his back arching towards the ground, showing all indications of death, and yet his mouth opened, and he groaned and wheezed. All over his body were bruises and blood stains, even showing signs of maybe a cracked bone or two. Tears flew from Nyssa’s eyes as the two shifters dropped him on the ground, glaring at Nyssa.
Lowell? Wasn’t he the other wolf shifter that helped Jorah on the slopes up the mountain? But he saw him fall off the cliff towards certain death!
“What is this?” Dallan called “Who is this shifter you two bring before us?”
“A wolf shifter,” one said hesitantly, glancing at the other. We were standing guard on the rocks like always when we saw him climbing up. At first, we thought he was a goat, but then we saw how slowly he dragged himself across the ground, and when we got close he growled and shifted into a wolf, though he lost consciousness after that.”
A few bear shifters in the crowd began to stare and talk just as loud as ever. Unable to hold back their excitement, they drowned out the crying of Nyssa. Her tears drove a wedge into his chest, a painful one, and so Jorah whirled on the two guards. “So, why didn’t you bring him to a healer first?” He nearly shouted.
One of the guards shook from the force of Jorah’s words. “Uh, we didn’t think...we wanted to get the approval of the Seers first.”
“And the Seers deny him treatment,” Dallan said.
Jorah turned. “What? Why? Look at him! He needs our herbs, our medicine!”
“What if he’s one of these Changelings you mentioned?” Dallan said, quickly shaking his head. “We can’t allow one of those things to enter our homes.”
“He clearly isn’t a Changeling!” Jorah said. “I’ve seen them myself. They’re feral and vicious and black-furred. His hair is dark tawny at best.”
“Please!” Nyssa called. “Doesn’t anyone have some kind herbs to at least ease his pain?” Suddenly the shifters in the crowd looked incredibly uncomfortable, shrugging and glancing between each other, trying to pass the responsibility off on someone else. She looked to the Seers, a desperation in her eyes. “Please, we aren’t threats, just help us!”
Dallan’s face twisted, and he shook his head. “I’m sorry my dear, but we barely have enough for ourselves. Living in these harsh mountains have taught our people to be hardy. Surely your friend can do the same.” He nodded at two guards and a few others. “Take them both to the cave prisons while the other Seers and I discuss what to do with them.”
“What?” Jorah said. “No! Dallan, listen to reason.” Finding no sympathy in his adoptive father’s face, Jorah turned to his friends still kneeling on the ground. Both Finn and Keanu rose, hesitant to speak, eventually they opened their mouths...but not before Nyx could.
“I agree, as this girl revealed to us that they were in league with the Vampires,” she said confidently. She glanced at Jorah, whose mouth was left hanging by her declaration. “They could very well be dangerous.”
“Hmm, as I thought,” Dallan said, stroking his mangy beard.
Stunned by Nyx’s betrayal, Jorah leveled a glare at her, causing her to wince, and looked back at Dallan. “So, now you believe her words? It’s so easy for you to just pick parts of the truth, isn’t it?”
The Seers in unison clacked their staves on the ground, creating a loud echo, the signal that a meeting has ended. “Enough! Everyone disperse, there is nothing more to talk about. Guards!”
Rapidly, the two guards that carried Lowell in, along with two others that emerged from the crowd, grabbed both Lowell and Nyssa by the arms and dragged them out of the cave. Once more, Jorah was too stunned to even move. How the hell did this happen? He was sure the Seers would finally see the truth, and now he was forced to watch the wolf shifters be dragged away like criminals. Jorah made to go after, but somebody’s tiny hand caught his arm.
Turning, he spied Nyx, frowning and shaking her head, her thin fingers clamped down on his bicep. “Please, don’t.”
A rush of anger entered his mind, and Jorah snarled at Nyx, ripping her hand off his bicep. “Don’t you dare touch me!” His sharp tongue caused Nyx to jerk, her hand trembling as it remained hovering in the air. Quickly, Jorah raced away, ignoring Dallan’s shouts again, and leaving Keanu and Finn to look after the shaking Nyx.
Chapter Thirteen: Nyssa
T hey were thrown into another cave. A smaller, smellier, walls-caked-with-dirt-and-mud type of cave.
The bear shifter guards didn’t bother to throw Nyssa or Lowell gently, both of them smacking the cold ground with a thud, and Nyssa grunting at the fall. Rolling over, she made to spit in the two guards faces, but they rushed out, rolling a huge boulder over the entrance. Too stunned by the huge boulder to move forward, Nyssa simply watched as she scuttled over to the wheezing Lowell, dragging his head onto her lap instead of the rocky floor.
He groaned, his eyelids fluttering and his hands clawing at the air, his mouth trying to move and speak, but nothing concrete came out.
The Seers truly meant to keep them both here, Nyssa realized. After coming straight to them, without even listening to what she had to say, the nine found both she and Lowell guilty, for doing what? Surviving an attack? Surviving a war? Clenching her fist, she scowled, only to realize that Lowell’s eyelids had opened, if only slightly. Tiny slits allowed his bright eyes to stare up at her, and his lips slowly curled into a weak smile.
“What’s the matter?” He asked, his voice quivering. “Something get on my face?”
“Hey,” Nyssa simply said in response, trying not to become overwhelmed with emotions. She stroked his forehead, feeling to make sure he wasn’t overheated with a fever. “Take it easy, okay? Apparently, you took a hard fall.”
“Yeah, I did, racing after you and that...bear.” His eyes glazed over, as if his mind was muddled. “No, that can’t be right, there aren’t any bear shifters still alive.”
Nyssa sighed, thinking back to the handsome Jorah, Nyx, and the others, the huge crowd of bear shifters that stuffed themselves into that cavern, the Seers with their raged-filled vision and fright. “You’d be wrong about that, Lowell. Guess where we are right now…”
Lowell flicked his gaze around, trying to look everywhere. “Well, some sort of cave? But where? I don’t remember many caves to be found in Gray Creek.” Gasping with sharp breaths, Lowell tried to sit up. Nyssa helped, putting pressure on his back, giving him support so that he could retain his balance. He swayed slightly, a few wounds opening and dripping blood to the ground. Wincing at the opening wounds, Lowell grinned at Nyssa. “Don’t worry about me...I’m fine, seriously. Once we get back home, I’ll put on some salves...heal those gaping holes in my side.”
Hanging her head, Nyssa watched as his blood dripped to the ground. How naive she was to think this would have ended up so perfectly, with her speaking to the Seers and then just getting up to leave. Neither Darius or Remus ever had something so easy, so why should she? Jorah...she remembered the torn up look on his face, the clenched teeth and harrowing look as both she and Lowell were dragged from the warmth of the fires to the blizzard outside. As handsome and energetic as he was, he didn’t make any move to rush after her, which despite how much that stung, Nyssa realized it only made sense. Jorah couldn’t very well have done much on his own with over a hundred or so shifters around to stop him.
“It might be awhile until we get to go back home,” Nyssa said quietly. “We’re not exactly in a position to just get up and leave just yet.”
“What do you mean?” Lowell asked through pants, his body twitching from the pain that probably needled him. Glancing over to the entrance, he clicked his tongue. “Why the hell is there a boulder over the entrance? Who put that there? There’s no way you did…”
Suddenly voices arose from the outside. Two she recognized as the guards who stood watch over the cave, though she couldn’t for the life of her figure out how that would make much of a difference, since neither her nor the wounded Lowell had the pure strength to lift that boulder. The other was hard to tell at first, though it sounded familiar. Fair and strong the voice was warm and soothing, and as the boulder began to roll aside, causing them both to go wide-eyed, Nyssa saw the owner of the voice was none other than Jorah.
Sauntering in like he owned the place, he quickly crouched next to Nyssa and Lowell. Lowell made to jerk forward, trying to shield Nyssa, glaring into Jorah’s stern gaze. “Who the hell are you?”
Putting a finger to his lips, Nyssa kept her mouth shut and glanced over his shoulder, the moonlight illuminating the two guards standing cross-armed in the front of the cave.
“Can you walk?” Jorah said to Lowell.
Confused, Lowell squinted at him. “Maybe, I haven’t tried yet,” he said.