Howl And Roar: Wolf and Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Howl And Growl Series Book 2)

by Cloe Cullen

  Both Nyssa and Lowell were shaking from the cold, their bodies still adapting to the harsh world above the Oldwood. Nyssa wondered how Jorah could survive up here and his flesh still be so piping hot whenever she touched it.

  Once through the rocks, Jorah led them down to the grove, where they stopped and peered at the vast landscape around them. There weren’t any living creatures in sight, but as soon as they all gathered around for one final discussion of their plan a blizzard stormed in, obscuring their visibility.

  “Damn,” Jorah said, clicking his tongue. “This might actually be good for us. Looks like luck is on our side tonight.”

  “So then, shouldn’t we take advantage of this opportunity before the storm slips away?” Nyssa asked, thinking about how eerie the top of mountain felt now, with the howling blizzard and lack of life. “We could easily slip through right now, provided you don’t get us lost, Jorah.”

  “Please, I can handle something as simple as navigating a blizzard on this plateau…” Nyssa eyed him. “Most likely. It’s not like it’ll be hard. The Seers’ cave is a straight shot across the frozen lake from this grove of trees. As long as we stay true to our path, we’ll get there in no time.”

  “But isn’t it strange not to see any guards at the rocks, or roaming shifters on the plateau?” Finn asked, glancing between Jorah and Keanu. “I mean wouldn’t they be on guard for more shifters like us coming up from the forest below, especially now that there’s a whole slew of shifters who know about us all? Even if we weren’t a problem for them, normally there’d at least be somebody watching the edges of our clan’s territory, and yet there’s no one.”

  Nodding his head in approval of Finn’s observations, Keanu leaned. “It is strange,” he simply said.

  “Everyone would be meeting in the Seers’ cave tonight most likely, as is the case most nights,” Jorah said, though he glanced over his back more than once to check nothing came behind them. “We should be fine until we come upon their cave. I’m sure that’s where we’ll come upon our first sign of trouble.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Bronwen asked, almost as an afterthought.

  “Yes, I’m sure, why?”

  “Because I’m pretty sure that’s a bear coming towards us, right?” Bronwen mused.

  Pointing one of her bony fingers towards the blizzard hurling across the frozen lake, something big and fast bounded towards them. With stumpy legs and an oversized, grizzly belly, the beast roared into the air, its gruff voice loud enough for them all to easily pick out of the wind. Soon similar dark shapes appeared in the blizzard, maybe a dozen or more, all hurtling towards the grove of trees.

  “You have got to kidding me!” Finn yelped as he jumped to his feet. Nyssa and the others followed suit, rising and hiding loosely behind some of the thin trees, peering out as the bears approached. “Looks like they found us. Jorah, Nyssa, any ideas?”

  Glancing between each other, they both frowned, the gears in their minds turning quick. But neither had the time to truly come up with anything concrete, because a familiar figure appeared at Jorah’s back, a woman with ashen-brown hair and dark eyes glaring holes in his back. A wave of cold fear rushed up her spine, raising the hairs on Nyssa neck; Jorah must have felt something similar, or seen Nyx’s reflection in Nyssa’s shining blue eyes, because he whirled to meet Nyx’s fiery eyes.

  “Hello, Jorah,” she said. “And Finn and Keanu, I didn’t expect you all to come back so soon.” With hands on her hips, her glare froze the rest of the group, save for Bronwen, in place as the myriad of bears walked up into the treeline, roaring and grunting and shaking the ground in a stampede. Within a matter of seconds, they were all around, panting and pointing their muzzles at each individual.

  “Nyssa, what do we do?” Lowell called, backing up closer to Nyssa, hissing and ready to shift on her command.

  Sweat broke out on her face, and Nyssa tensed at the sudden entrapment. Two bears pushed her back, causing Lowell to step in front of her and snarl at them. Bronwen backed up to Nyssa’s other side, smiling down at her, which gave Nyssa a shot of courage in the face of dozens of bears closing in on them.

  “Nyx!” Jorah shouted. “We didn’t come here to fight or to hurt anyone. We just want to speak to the Seers, and that’s all! Please, don’t do this.”

  Nyx eyed him, and then gazed around at the others. “Then you shouldn’t have come back up...though it does save me the trouble of coming back down to find you all.”

  Gritting her teeth, Nyssa was forced to turn her focus back to the bears that prodded them, swiping casually at their feet, causing them to dance backwards. “You can’t just come kill everyone that knows about the Bear Clan,” Jorah went on, his voice ringing through the forest and making Nyssa’s heart thump. “The news is already spreading between the Pack and Pride, the two clans inhabiting the Oldwood. If you follow the Seers’ orders, then it could spell a war between our peoples. There’s no way we’d win that, and we’d be shedding blood for nothing more than the fact the Seers shake in their boots whenever they think about venturing out beyond their hiding holes up here.”

  Jorah’s words must have gotten through to Nyx, because her face twisted and she remained silent...that is, until one of the bears in the crowd shifted to his human form, pointing at Bronwen. “That...that’s a Vampire! Nyx, they brought a Vampire up the mountains!”

  “What?” She shouted, the spite in her voice clear for all to hear.

  Bronwen turned and curtsied at Nyx, smiling as friendly as she could. “Sorry for the intrusion, I merely wanted to speak with your Seers, maybe convince them me and mine aren’t much of a threat anymore. Would that be okay?”

  “Kill it!” The other bear shifter shouted, still pointing. “Kill it now!”

  To their stunned surprise, a few bears actually listened, stumbling forward towards Bronwen, roaring and stomping. Bronwen’s smile faded slightly but remained small as she turned to face the other bears. Nyssa stood beside Bronwen, bracing herself to shift, and Lowell followed suit. Finn and Keanu stood with their backs to the trio, snarling and clenching their fists, ready to shift at a moment’s notice.

  “Wait!” Nyx said, pushing past Jorah and marching over to stand in front of Bronwen. She gazed at Bronwen, scrutinizing her as Nyx looked the tall woman up and down, and then flinched when Bronwen slightly moved her arm. “We will not attack them yet, but we’ll bring them to the prison caves to await the Seers’ trials.”

  “But-”, the other bear shifter began.

  “No buts!” Nyx shouted. “That’s my final order, do you understand? The Seers put me in charge, not you. Besides, Dallan wants to speak to Jorah anyway.” Glancing back first at Bronwen, and then at Nyssa with a deepened frown, and then finally at Jorah, Nyx regained her composure. “Are you willing to submit, then?”

  “If it means no bloodshed,” Jorah said, throwing a curious look at Nyssa. Not wishing to battle a few dozen bears, Nyssa nodded, her blood trembling at the thought of what would have happened if Nyx hadn’t stopped the bears just now from advancing on them. “Then yeah, we’ll come with you peacefully.”

  Sighing, Nyx motioned at the other bears around her. “Alright! Let’s go, we’re leading them to the prison caves. Anyone who objects can take it up with the Seers later.” Growling and stamping their feet, many of the bears grunted in response but ultimately began to walk out of the grove. Nyx motioned for Nyssa and the others to follow. “Stick close. Any of you walk out of line, and my bears will attack without question, understand?” Nyx made a point to glare right at Nyssa, who nodded her agreement.

  “Yes, we understand,” Nyssa said.

  And so Nyx twirled on the balls of her feet and led the group out of the grove of trees and across the frozen lake. It was only a matter of time, Nyssa knew, until the pressure would really be put on them. Their journey was nearing its end.

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Jorah

  J orah had never sat in one of the prison caves himself, awaiting a tr
ial by his adoptive father Dallan and the other supposedly wise Seers. The cave Nyx placed them all in was cold from the frigid winds that flowed in from the slits and tiny cracks in the large boulder that was rolled over the entrance, blocking the moonlight from entering entirely. And the walls were damp from the melted snow that accumulated inside.

  To keep their clothes from dampening then hardening as icicles, the group moved further back into the dark cave, keeping the two torches Nyx had lit for them. The tiny, mobile fires warmed them considerably, but also allowed their shadows to dance and stretch on the cave walls. When the group finally settled down, they had nothing to do besides simply sitting in silence, wondering when they would be called upon for their trials by the Seers. Jorah was sure beyond a doubt they would call him first, and maybe Nyssa as well, mainly to chastise him and to order him contained in his home cave with Dallan until Jorah proved himself willing to stay atop the mountain.

  Though one way or another, that wouldn’t be the outcome, he knew. Jorah would never agree to the Seers isolation laws. It simply wasn’t in his blood to sit in one place forever. Especially now that he had Nyssa, the seemingly fragile, otherworldly beauty that now rested her head on his shoulder.

  He and Nyssa had scooted a bit away from the others while they waited in the cave, placing one of the torches on the ground in front of them, to brighten up their immediate surroundings. The other four sat in a circle closer to the mouth of the cave, playing word games to keep their hammering hearts from exploding in anticipation of the trials. He watched as Finn and Bronwen excitedly spoke in turn, with Keanu blinking and smiling under that beard of his. Lowell, though, remained quiet, his gaze cast down at his feet, leaning forward and every so often looking Jorah and Nyssa’s way.

  Soon enough, Jorah found Nyssa asleep on his arm and shoulder, her chest rising and falling gently, her quiet breath escaping the tiny slit between her pink lips, and her eyelids fluttering. A few times she moaned, pushing further into his body until her leg lifted over his own and her hand placed itself on his chest. He tried not to move for fear of waking her from her slumber, but the sound of his hammering heart and the buzzing of the butterflies in his stomach betrayed that stillness.

  Still, she remained asleep. He hadn’t seen when she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, but Jorah didn’t quite blame her for catching some shut eye. After barely getting any sleep that night, and the fatigue from climbing added to the stress of being cornered by Nyx just before their goal, it all must have sapped all her energy. Jorah didn’t mind the sight, or sensation of her touch again, either, though he did earn a few small glares from Lowell.

  Hours later, he couldn’t say how many, warm dawn sunlight began to breach the boulder barrier at the mouth of the cave, streaming in through the cracks. The light hit Nyssa square in the eyes, which bothered her enough to wake and stretch, her eyes slowly opening to the mix of bright rays and darkness. She glanced up at Jorah first, her eyes widening as she realized the extent of her use of Jorah as a pillow. Jerking up, she blushed bright red, visible enough in the relative dark. “Sorry,” she said.

  Chuckling, Jorah gazed at her, leaning over to wipe a bit of drool from her cheek with his thumb. Her cheeks were hot to the touch, causing his fingers to tremble slightly. “It’s alright, Nyssa. Honestly, it was pretty adorable,” Jorah proclaimed, getting a gentle slap to the shoulder from Nyssa. “I don’t blame you for sleeping through this wait. It’s morning already. Look.” Following the direction he pointed, Nyssa squinted at the few cracks of sunlight. Jorah found that if one looked close enough, they could just barely make out a sliver of the blue sky.

  “Still, though,” Nyssa said. “To fall asleep now, of all times? The stress must really be getting to me…”

  “As it is for us all,” Jorah retorted. “I wouldn’t want to go into these meetings drowsy-eyed. Imagine the offense the Seers would take?”

  Nyssa giggled. “Oh, I’m sure I can picture exactly how they would react.” Her smile dwindled, her head drooping. “I’m afraid…” she whispered, only loud enough so that Jorah would hear. “I’m afraid of what could happen now that we’re up here.”

  Nyssa’s words caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected her to be so forthcoming so quickly, but then a sense of calm rippled through his muscles, his blood flow setting into a slow rhythm. “Afraid of what, talking with the Seers?”

  Rolling her eyes, she leaned over to him once again, her arm pressing into his. “Yeah, them, but I’m also afraid of what’ll happen if we don’t succeed. I mean, they’ll just kill us, won’t they? The Seers clearly see us as some sort of threat. I just...I don’t want to leave Remus completely alone, or you, or anyone else really.”

  Watching her, Jorah saw her draw her knees into her chest, and wrap her arms around them, staring into the fire. Feeling the urge to comfort her, he placed his hand on hers, causing her to look up at him. “You want to know what I’m afraid of?” he said. “I’m afraid of failing to keep my people from starting a pointless battle with the Pack, and the Pride too. I’m afraid that the people won’t hear what we say, and instead listen to the Seers...I mean, did you see how that one guy reacted to Bronwen last night in the grove? Without a second thought he shouted for her death.”

  “But some didn’t react to him,” Nyssa said.

  Jorah shook his head. “But others did. I can’t imagine what it will be like to lose to the Seers now. In fact, I never want to imagine what’ll happen if our words fall on deaf ears.” He paused for a second. “Like Nyx, there’s a lot of pent up rage at the Vampires and will be for any outsiders now. There’s a good chance that it really will all come down to the trial by combat tradition.”

  Nyssa interlaced her fingers with his, the two staring and smiling sheepishly at their connected hands. “And if it comes down to that, I know you’ll win. I’m afraid for you, but I think you’ll be able to do it.”

  Nodding, Jorah stared in Nyssa’s bewitching, deep blue eyes. They were like oceans, stretching as far back as the eye could see, containing life and wonder unparalleled to anything Jorah had known before. “You’re right...I won’t lose, because I simply can’t stand the idea of being away from you, Nyssa.” Feeling adrenaline pump into his veins once again, he leaned forward, allowing Nyssa to cup his face in her hand, and they kissed. Pressing together, their lips melted into one another, sending waves of pleasure through Jorah’s body. When they released each other, Nyssa’s hot breath lingered on his chin, and her smile put him more at ease than anything else in the world.

  “Say,” Jorah said. “Hypothetically speaking, if we do end up winning this slow battle with the Seers and the laws change for the better, where do you see us?”

  Blinking, Nyssa cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean where would you rather live? Up here, or down in the Oldwood?”

  Gawking at Jorah, Nyssa made to comment but stopped herself partway, the gears in her head clearly spinning with her furrowed brows. “I... haven’t thought about it.”

  Laughing, Jorah poked her in the arm playfully. “It’s not like the decision is that hard. What would you rather have all year round under your feet? The Frigid snow or warm forest floor?”

  Nyssa smiled. “Well, when you put in that way, yeah it’s a pretty easy choice.”

  Suddenly, Finn jumped from his seat with the others. “Ah, damn it! You cheated, Lowell, I swear you did!”

  Sighing, Lowell shot Finn a dangerous look. “How can I cheat when I literally am still learning the rules. You’re just terrible at this game of yours.”

  “What did you say?” Finn yelped.

  “Come now, boys,” Bronwen interjected. “It’s not like any of this really matters. We’re just playing to pass the time.”

  Keanu, quiet as ever, nodded.

  But just as Finn gripped his head in anguish at losing whatever game the four were playing, the boulder at the mouth of the cave began to move. Voices outside shouted and commanded, and so
on enough morning sunlight flooded the prison cave where the six waited. A figure appeared in the light, one Jorah couldn’t make out because of the blinding light at first, but when she spoke, he recognized her immediately.

  “It’s time,” Nyx announced. “The Seers want to speak to Jorah and Nyssa first. The rest of you will have to wait.”

  “Why them?” Lowell quickly asked. “Why can’t we all go at one time?”

  “Because the Seers don’t want to speak to the rest of you. Just Jorah...and his new partner.”

  Gulping at her tone of voice, Jorah turned to Nyssa, who nodded, and so the two rose from their spot, their bodies aching and numb from sitting on the cave floor for so long, and moved towards Nyx. As they passed by Bronwen, the Vampire also rose to her feet. Frowning, Nyx glanced at her. “Why are you standing? You aren’t coming along.”

  “But I so dearly wish to!” Bronwen said. “I want to represent the Vampires in speaking to your leaders. Maybe show them we’re more complex creatures capable of friendship and peace and all that.”

  “That sounds like a good idea to me,” Nyssa agreed.

  Rolling her eyes, Nyx turned. “It’s a terrible idea. Come on already.”

  “Bring Bronwen along,” Jorah announced. “Please, Nyx. It would be good for our clan to see a living, breathing Vampire, one that’s actually friendly towards us. Just trust me.”

  Hesitating in the front of the cave, Nyx eventually clicked her tongue and nodded. “Fine, but we’ll be watching you closely, Vampire.”