Lupine [Moon Child Series Book 2]

by Candy Nicks

  Inside, she felt deflated and flat. Too exhausted even for tears. The rest of the party sat quietly around the campfire, wrapped in their own thoughts. Carine glanced up occasionally with the look of someone about to speak. Her Crystal lay, cold and unresponsive in her palm. Did this mean Finn had failed in his quest?

  Naima stared out at the dark smudge of the Settlement on the slopes below, the lights of the traveller's camp, and the woods and plains beyond. All so still. The world taking a breather after the drama. No wind stirred the trees and the moon-lit sky seemed to stretch to infinity. Had the Fire finally consumed him, or was Finn out there somewhere, waiting for her? If she had enough hope in her heart, would he return?

  "Never stop hoping, Naima.” Carine held up her palm and showed her the Crystal, glowing and pulsing now. “I need to go up there. Will you come with me?"

  Ancel immediately stood and reached for his sword belt. “I'm coming too."

  "No, Ancel. You stay and look after Sol, this is something Naima and I have to do."

  "Brynn can look after him. What if..."

  Carine placed a finger on her own lips to silence him. “Sol,” she said. “Look after your father. He worries about me."

  "With good cause, you're too reckless,” Ancel began and then caught sight of Sol's earnest face looking up at him, the dagger in his hands. “Well, I suppose us warriors could stay behind and guard the fire,” he conceded. “As long as your mother calls out if she needs us. What's you favourite song, Son? Come, sing me something."

  Carine reached up to kiss Ancel's cheek. “Thank you. We won't be long."

  "I saw your Crystal,” Naima said when they were out of earshot. “What did it say?"

  "I'm not sure. I had the strongest feeling."

  Naima scanned the dark path ahead, heart thumping against her ribs. “Is it Finn? Is he back?"

  "No. Not Finn. The Crystal's vibrating at a frequency I've never experienced. This is new. Something long-absent from the world has now returned. Could the Stones really be free?"

  If hope could make something so, they would surely be there. Carine's face glowed with it. “I'm so sorry about Finn,” she said. “If I could change the outcome, I would."

  "You had no choice but to play your part, Carine. We'll only really understand the greater story when we reach the end. Didn't you just tell me not to give up hope?"

  Carine squeezed her fist around the Crystal. She held it to her heart, eyes firmly closed. “Tell me what you see, Naima."

  "Rocks. A few trees and bushes.” No horribly charred body, thank goodness. Everything looked the same, except for a burnt-out tree and a few lingering wisps of smoke drifting near the centre of the clearing. Goosebumps prickled Naima's skin. The air hummed with the residual energy of Finn's sacrifice. The place felt haunted.

  "Don't be scared,” Carine said opening her eyes. “It's good energy. We need to go over there.” Holding out her Crystal, she walked to the lightning tree, a reluctant Naima in tow.

  "How will we recognise the Stones?” Naima whispered. They were treading sacred ground and she was terrified. The distant call of a wolf made her clutch Carine in fright. “We should have brought Father,” she said in a shaky whisper.

  "Don't be scared, Naima. The veil between worlds is thin here—that's what you're feeling. Hold on to me and open yourself up to it. Mortals aren't often allowed this privilege. I'm going to ask a question."

  "Mother of all things,” Carine said in a clear voice. “Did your beloved succeed in his quest?"

  He has made me proud.

  "I am pleased.” Carine bowed her head. Naima instinctively followed suit. The words of the Goddess echoed faintly in her head.

  You wish to ask another question?

  "If I may be so presumptuous? Eight years ago I made a sacrifice for the man I loved."

  Now you claim your reward?

  "Only if you wish it. I am, as always, at your disposal."

  I am considering your request.

  "Considering? Considering?” Naima lifted her head and glared at the sky. “Your followers break themselves to please and serve you, and this is how you treat them? You don't deserve her and you didn't deserve Finn."

  "Naima, don't..."

  Naima shook off Carine's restraining hand, her body rigid with anger. “I'm not scared of your Goddess. Whatever she's done with Finn—well, she'd better watch out. I'm coming for him. Wherever he is, I'll find him. I'll share him with Her, if, and when, I feel disposed to. Tell me where I can find him,” she cried, all her fear vanished. “And give Carine the Stones while you still have her devotion. She's earned them ten times over."

  "Oh my.” Carine knelt, hand over her mouth, eyes wide with shock. “I can't believe you just said that. Pray with me for forgiveness."

  Oh, I can. The Goddess's laughter filled the clearing. Naima's courage pleases me. She has shown that she will make a fierce and formidable mother of my new race. Naima, how can Finn be lost when you carry part of him inside of you? He will go on, Naima. You will see to that.

  Inside of me? Naima mouthed the words, and touched her stomach lightly. Oh, now she was going to cry. “I...” Naima remembered her hasty words with fierce embarrassment. “Thank you. What I said just now ... I spoke only out of concern for those I love."

  Never apologise for what you are. I like you, Naima. Finn chose well. And Carine has rightly earned absolution. I grant it without reservation. The Stones must now be returned to me. Mankind can never be trusted with them. Do you understand this?

  "We do, merciful Goddess. Don't we, Naima?"

  Carine dug her lightly in the ribs and she answered with a distracted yes. Finn's child? Too much to hope for.

  If you lose hope, you lose everything. Naima, watch for him and listen for him. He will be in every sunrise and in every sunset. He will be the wind in the trees and the soft rain falling in your hair. Will you claim him as your own? For all of this life, until death parts you and you meet again in the next world?

  "What?” The words filtered through the fog of her surprise and delight. The marriage vows of the tribes of the Eagle spoken by the Goddess? A rare privilege indeed.

  "Yes I will. I do,” she added and bowed her head to hide her smile and swelling heart.

  Return home, Naima. It is done.

  What else could she say but thank you? Wherever Finn was, this bond, sanctioned by the highest authority, would remain as solid as the rocks surrounding them until the end of time. Carine held out both of her hands, each bearing a smooth grey stone. Her faced glowed with happiness and relief.

  "We need to throw them back,” she said. “Take one and throw it into the centre of the clearing."

  "These are the stones?” Naima turned the unassuming-looking rock in her hand. Not much to show for all this drama.

  "Don't be fooled. I feel as if the weight of five worlds has been lifted from me. Come, after three we'll throw them together. Oh and now is a good time to ask a boon. The Goddess appears to be in good spirits."

  "She knows what I want,” Naima replied. “One, two, three!"

  The Stones arced through the air and tumbled into the centre of the clearing. No fireworks or magic flames. They simply hit the ground and blended with the loose scree littering the mountainside.

  Now came the hardest part of all. Leaving this place and stepping back into the reality of their normal lives. Finn's father lay injured, somewhere on the mountain. Tallin and Ayla would be anxiously awaiting their return. The herb stall needed manning. When the baby started to show, Kandar would probably offer her the honour of his name. A noble gesture she would inevitably refuse.

  Finn will return, she told herself. I will wait for him, no matter how long the vigil.

  With one last glance around the clearing, Naima turned to follow Carine back to the camp. What she had thought would be the end of this story was nothing more than a chapter in the journey of life. Time to go back and live out the rest of this saga.

  Back at
the make-shift camp, she gazed fondly at Brynn and her father taking in the news that Carine was finally free. Brynn's celebratory kiss was a little too enthusiastic, but for once Ancel stood back and let them show their love for each other. Safe in the knowledge that his love remained secure and always would be. Brynn handed Carine back with a boyish grin and a knowing slap to Ancel's arm. What a road those three had travelled.

  Sol nudged Naima's hip. “Oh!” he cried. “Look, up there. The wolves have come to say goodbye."

  Naima shaded her eyes with a hand, searching the ridge for signs of their elusive and ghost-like presence. “There's nothing,” she said seeing only the mountain. “Wishful thinking, Sol."

  "The big black one. I saw it, standing on the ridge with the others. I did,” he added when he saw her look of pity. “I didn't imagine it. Look, there he is. He's watching the sun rise over the mountain. Isn't he beautiful?"

  "Oh Goddess, yes,” she said and clung tightly to Sol for fear of falling. Every bone in her body had turned liquid at the sight she'd thought never to see again.

  "Happy tears or sad tears, Naima?” Sol gazed at her wet face with solemn eyes.

  "Happy tears,” she said. “Most definitely happy tears."

  "I'm glad, then.” His mouth turned up in a smug smile. “Told you he'd come back."

  They stood, side by side, watching the creature gaze intently at the red-streaked splendour of the rising sun. The wolf threw back its head and greeted the morning with a cry of pure triumphant joy.

  One by one, the wolf-pack added their voices in counterpoint and harmony, moving to form a protective circle around the bravest of them all. For now, Finn was truly one of their own.

  Naima could only trust that when he was ready he would return to them.

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  Epilogue

  He keeps his blessings in a book, written down so future generations might read them and know how the Lupines once again found favour with the Goddess and mankind. Relaxed and free from threat, his wolf allows him the luxury of sight more often than not these days. Here, in the peace of the Settlement, it is learning to reshape its view of mankind as persecutor and tormentor into guardian and friend.

  "Mine is a very ordinary tale,” Finn tells the child sitting wide-eyed, on his knee. “Sometimes you get lost for a while and it takes a bit of searching to find yourself again."

  The child stares intently at the carefully-formed script. Follows the letters with a chubby finger. “Fire,” he says. “Want a story about the Great Fire."

  "It's very hot, but it doesn't burn. You mustn't be scared of it.” The child might as well learn this now. Finn is determined their son, and any future children, will know what it is to be a Lupine. The sorrows and the joys of his calling await him. Finn prays that the laughter will outweigh the tears.

  The boy lays a sleepy head on his chest and listens to the quiet wheeze of his father's breathing. The soothing rumble of his voice telling him things he already half-knows.

  "Why did you come back as a wolf?"

  "Because at the time, it was stronger than the man."

  "When will I get mine?” the child asks, too innocent to realise the weight of his words. “Soon?"

  "Not for a while, son. But when you do, you'll be ready."

  The child yawns and pats his stomach. “Sometimes, I hear him growling in here. He sounds fierce."

  Finn laughs at his son's quiet acceptance. One day he'll realise that other children don't have eyes that flash with the colours of a fiery sunset, or wild beasts inside of them, and he'll have to face the fears and prejudices of mankind. That day is yet to come. For now, here in the Settlement they call Wolf's Valley he's safe.

  "I think he's hungry, Son. Why don't you take a nap before dinner?"

  The boy half protests around the thumb now firmly stuck in his mouth. “Want my wolf now,” he mumbles peevishly.

  "You'll have to wait until Sol's a little older,” Finn tells him. He hoists up the child and carries him to his bed. “To be Defender of the Lupines, he'll have to grow a bit, and train a lot."

  The boy gazes back at him and raises a hand to caress Finn's beaded hair. “My wolf's black, like yours,” he says. “But he's only little."

  It's too soon for such serious talk. Who knows what the Goddess has in store for their child? His sight will dim as he grows into his gift but, with careful training, he will learn to see the world through his wolf's eyes. Finn wonders if he'll ever really be theirs.

  "Is he asleep?"

  He looks up to see Naima gazing fondly at the sight of father and son sharing a moment. Something he'd wished desperately to have with his own father.

  "I think so,” he says and stands to greet her. Flipping closed the book, he reaches out to his wife of four years.

  "He's becoming aware of his wolf."

  Naima tenses in his arms at the news she always knew would come. How will she cope when she first sees her precious child transform before her eyes?

  "So soon.” She offers Finn a tremulous smile and rests her cheek on his shoulder. “My beautiful wolf-pup,” she murmurs to the sleeping child. Her smile grows a little wicked as her hands reach for Finn's belt. “Want to make another? I think it's time Han had a brother or sister, don't you?"

  "That's in the Goddess's gift,” Finn replies. Nevertheless, he moves into Naima's caress, pulling her closer until they're swaying together in the delicious build up to the main event. “Although it's always fun trying,” he adds, his amber eyes heating with lust.

  "We'll have to be quick,” she says mischievously and licks a slow trail across his newly-shaved jaw, to the shell of his ear, one hand deftly unbuckling his belt. “Han won't be asleep for long."

  "I'll show you quick,” he says, igniting like fire-lightning on a winter's day. With a hand under each of her arms, he lifts her and strides from the room. Her legs wrap instinctively around his waist, every part of her straining for him through frustrating layers of clothing. He doesn't need eyes to see where he's going; it's a well-worn path. One they've walked many times in their short marriage. By the time he tips her onto their bed and follows her down, he's ready to explode with wanting. Slow is a skill he's still learning, but even this frenzy is more than just the need to come hard and fast. He doesn't just want sex. He wants her. The security of belonging, at last, is like gold in the bank.

  "Han looked pretty sleepy,” he says settling into the cradle she makes with her body. “I think we might have time for something more."

  "Like what?” she says with mock-innocence and a shifting of her hips that almost makes him come there and then.

  "This, perhaps?” He sits back on his heels and lets his gaze sweep over her, lingering on the sight of her golden hair spread wantonly across the coverlet, her moist, slightly-parted lips. The tantalising valley between her breasts. Eyes closed, he concentrates the sensations down to the things he can touch and feel. To the scent of her arousal and the breathy gasps of pleasure as she responds to his searching fingers. Knowing this will always be for him makes him a little crazy.

  "You can't be real,” he tells her. “It's just not possible."

  "Real as you are,” she assures him, and proves it by trailing a lazy finger along the hard length straining against his pants. “Feel that?” she asks, batting her eye-lids.

  "Yes.” He croaks out a reply and allows her nimble fingers to release him, hot and heavy, into her hand. Bends to touch his lips to her knee. The soft inside of her thigh. The secret place that has her begging him to undress her and finish what they've started.

  The give and take of mutual pleasure is so easy when you're with the one you love. More than that, she makes him feel safe and validated. Her love makes him worthy of a place on this world.

  He often wonders who he'd choose if it came down to the Goddess or Naima. Luckily, neither has asked him to take that particular test.

  * * * *

  She remembers the spring storms in the season t
hey met. Unusually violent, with torrential downpours that both destroyed the old and cleansed a way for the new. Outside the window, jagged lightning illuminates the mountain peaks and the storm clouds gather to release their fury upon the earth. Beside her, on their bed in their room, lies her destiny. One Naima has embraced with all of her heart. And in the small room across the corridor lies the future of a whole race.

  Content and replete, she snuggles against Finn's warm body after what surely must be the hottest sex on the planet. The thought makes her laugh. Don't all lovers think they've found the key to a unique mystery others have yet to discover? Ahh, she thinks, and allows herself a secret smile. No one else is married to a man who commands the mysteries of the wolf.

  "I amuse you?"

  Was just thinking how boring it would be to be married to a normal person."

  "Like Kandar?” Finn pushes up on one elbow and touches a lock of her hair. “Do you ever regret turning him down?"

  Curving a hand around his smooth shoulder, she gives him the same answer as always. “When will you stop asking me that?” she says, eyebrows raised in question.

  "Possibly never,” he replies. “You picked me over him. Some days I can't quite believe it."

  He kisses her lightly on the lips, a hand straying to her neck, a soft breast, and the heat-haze they make between them starts to spiral and shimmer once more. One day, she swears, their passion will set fire to this bed.

  "Relax,” she tells him. “Lia's convinced she'll have him hooked by the winter. He's definitely weakening."

  Finn's arms tighten about her. “Glad it didn't come to a fight,” he says. “Wasn't going to let him have you."

  "I think he guessed that. Is dinner cooked?"

  "You only love me for my sense of smell,” Finn teases. He sniffs the air and shakes his head. “No, needs more time.” Rolling her without warning, he thrusts inside her and shows her just how fast he can take her to the heavens and back.

  "Love you, Finn,” she says when they're lying, skin to sweat-slicked skin, sated and at peace. She understands that sometimes his urgency is part fear that one day he'll wake up and find himself back in his cage. When he touches her and asks if she's real, she hears the uncertainty behind the words and sometimes wonders if she'll ever be able to reassure him enough.