“We've come to meet with your alpha. Is he around?” I ask. The wolf lowers its head and growls low. “Okay... How about this? His brother, Travis, killed my father and one of the Avynwood wolves. We're here to seek your alpha's help in putting an end to Travis' reign. We need his help.”
The wolf doesn't move but continues eyeing us, slightly crouched. This isn't working.
“All right,” I clap, causing the wolf’s ears to twitch. “Time to get down to business. You're going to take us to your alpha, or I'm going to teleport your furry butt to Egypt. Got it?” He cocks his head to the side, studying me.
“At least you got him thinking,” Orion chuckles in my head.
“You heard me. I can teleport. So, let's get this show on the road. Where's your alpha?”
“Behind you,” a gruff voice says at my back.
Orion and I whirl around at the same time. He moves forward to stand by my side as I peer up at the mountain of a man before me.
Shoulder-length hair, matching the color of the bark on the trees. A red-checkered, flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of jeans that appears to have seen better days. This man is intimidating for sure. Add in his honey-colored work boots, and I wonder how many people he’s kicked the life out of with them.
Orion growls and bares his teeth.
“Easy, young wolf,” the man says. “I mean no harm to her. But you’re the ones trespassing on my land, so relax, or I'll have to shift and show you how to respect others.” I gently nudge Orion with my knee in a silent, knock it off so we can talk to this guy, way. “Did I hear you say you know my brother?” the man asks me.
“Know, hate, want to kill—same difference.”
He laughs heartily. “I like you already.”
“Point one for me.” I smile.
“Tell me. Why have you two come?”
“Well, Travis killed my father and a member of our pack. Besides that, there's a pack war coming up and we want your help.” There’s no reason to beat around the bush. I’m tired, hungry, and now that we’ve been walking, sweating under this sweatshirt.
“I've heard rumblings of the war. But it's not my battle. This may involve my brother, but make no mistake, his fight is not mine.”
“We understand that. We're here to ask you to join our side. We need more paranormals if we have a chance at beating him.”
“I understand your plight, my dear, but going against him would be bringing the battle to my pack as well. We live a very peaceful life here. There is no other pack near us. We like it that way.”
“I'm not asking you to head him off or saying I'll bring him here. We want you and your pack to come to North Carolina. If we can beat him, it will give the Avynwood Pack a hold of the state.”
“Is Aries still the alpha?”
“Yes,” I nod. “And this is his nephew, Orion.”
“You can shift now, son. I won't hurt her. You have my word. None of my pack will.”
Orion shifts back to his human form and immediately puts his hand around my waist, pulling me to his body. Between the sun and the heat pouring off Rion, I have to roll up the sleeves of the sweatshirt to get some relief. I don’t want to take it off yet.
“Now I see,” the alpha says, jutting his chin toward my bare wrist. “No wonder you're so protective. You two aren't mated yet.”
“No, we’re not,” Rion replies. “Is there someplace we can go to talk? My mate will never say it, but we've been traveling all day to get here and she's tired.”
“Of course. Follow me. My name’s Merrick, by the way.”
He leads the way through the forest, no path before him. It appears we're going a different way that hasn't been walked before.
“It's on purpose,” Rion says in my mind. “This way no one can trace them. If they walk a different path each time, there is no worn ground to lead others to their home.”
“Interesting.”
We walk up a slight hill and down the other side before stopping at the bank of a stream.
“We're going to walk through the ward now. You might feel a little cold, but it’ll pass once you're through,” Merrick tells us.
He steps through first, his body completely disappearing.
“Wow,” I gasp in awe.
I don’t hesitate to walk through behind him, very curious about what lies on the other side. Stepping through, it's as if icy water is dumped over my shoulders, but there is no water, only the cold. I hesitantly take a few more steps. The farther I go, the warmer I become.
Rion appears behind me. “That's a very powerful ward.”
“It has to be. Imagine what would happen if someone walking a trail out here got turned around, didn’t know where they were, and wandered this way. We don't want them stumbling upon our home or wolves.”
“Someone would have to be very lost to get this far out.”
“You'd be surprised what happens when you're walking through the woods and forget which way you're going.”
We climb a steep incline, and at the top, the scene before us blows me away. There is a large home with natural wooden shingles covering it. It's two stories and very wide. Children are out front running around as women sit on the ground and watch them play. There are a few wolves mixed in, some small, some much bigger. But it's not that which gets me. It's the lush, green grass and the thickly lined trees. It's as if winter never happened here.
30
“This is amazing,” I remark. “How is it that the temperature is different here? The trees all have their leaves.”
Merrick turns to me. “It's part of the magic over our land. When the mage hid us here, she added in the climate as well. No matter how cold it gets on the other side, or how much snow piles up, we're safe and warm here. Never too hot, but never too cold either.”
I lightly slap Rion on the arm. “We need to get some of this. No more winter.”
He chuckles. “Our pack likes the seasonal change, even if it isn’t as drastic as it is here. When the weather gets cooler, it riles them up. Their wolves thrive on the briskness of the air.”
“You're ruining my vision of warmth all year round, Rion.”
“I’m sorry, little mouse.”
Merrick stops before us. “My apologies, what did you say your name was again?” he asks me.
“Ariane.”
“Ariane...” Merrick says my name softly.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“No, it's just… That name sounds familiar.”
“Well, your brother is so very fond of me. Maybe that's why.”
“No, I never speak to him. In fact, I don't speak to anyone outside of our pack for the most part. We leave to get groceries, stuff like that, but nothing more. We're happy here and don't like outsiders invading our space.” Is he talking about other people or us? Either way, I'll smile and nod. We need his support.
“I still can't believe this is all here. It's mind-boggling.” I do another lazy spin to take it in again.
“If the locals knew, we'd be in a world of trouble. As it is, only a handful of people here know about us, and they keep our secret safe. Are you hungry?” he asks. “I can ask my mate to bring us something to snack on once we get inside.”
Rion's about to reply when my stomach grumbles loudly. “I believe that's a yes,” he responds, chuckling.
Merrick laughs, too. “Come on.”
We walk past many inquisitive eyes. Rion puts his arm protectively around me again, but it's not necessary. The last thing I'm worried about is being harmed by anyone. Unless one of them is running around with a machete, I think I'm safe.
Opening the door to the house, Merrick steps back to allow us to enter first. The scent of jasmine floats to us. It's sweet and reminds me of summer. The floors are a warm hardwood. The space is open. From where I stand in the entryway, I can see a large living space and past that, sliding doors that lead to the back, where, if I'm not mistaken, is a pool. Yeah, I want to relocate here.
&nb
sp; Merrick shows us the way to a dining room. The table is long, probably accommodating twenty or so. The wood a light, dense timber. I wonder if it’s handmade. The grain is beautiful. Gently, I run my hand along the top of it. It's smooth to the touch and not caked in varnish.
“Gorgeous, isn't it? My beta made it. If you walk around the house, you'll see other things he's carved over time, such as rocking chairs, toy chests for the pups, even beds. It's a passion of his. He sells it at a local store. Does quite well.”
“It's beautiful,” I remark then turn to Rion. “Can we move here? It's so pretty.”
He smiles down at me. “I'll build you a home one day, and you can have whatever you want inside.”
“Is there a mage who can cast a spell over it like there is here? I'd be good with this weather.”
“Maybe Ford knows one.”
“Ford Verascue?” Merrick asks.
I reply before Rion can. “That's the one. He's my bestie.”
Merrick cocks an eyebrow. “A vampire for a best friend? You've got quite the entourage.”
“I don't do too bad. How do you know him?” I’m not going to attempt to read his mind. I want to be respectful of him and his pack. There’s a slight trickle of fear running through me. I hope Ford didn’t try to kill one of them or drink from someone he shouldn’t have. There’s no way to know with him.
“I've only met him once; he probably doesn't remember. But his brother has been known to cause trouble with a few of my pack. He likes to teleport here and irritate my wolves.”
“Sounds about right. He tried to strangle me the other day. Wrong move on his part.”
Merrick laughs. “I really like you.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”
A woman steps into the room. Her long, blonde hair hangs over her shoulders. She's tall and slender, wearing a white dress that flows around her like a cloud.
“Here's my mate now,” Merrick remarks.
“Ari?” She says my name and my eyes instantly snap to hers. I know that face and that voice.
“Aunt Zayda?”
The Story Continues…
Want more of Michelle Dare’s paranormals? The story continues in The Crucial Shift. Also, you can sign up for her YA newsletter to hear news about all things Avynwood.
Other Books by Michelle Dare
Young Adult Titles
The Ariane Trilogy
The Ash Moon
The Somber Call
The Crucial Shift
Adult Titles
The Iridescent Realm Series
The Azure Kingdom
The Pine Forest
The Fuchsia Lakes
The Arrow Falls Series
Where I End
Where I Am
The Salvation Series
My Salvation
My Redemption
The Heiress Series
Persuading Him
Needing Him
Adoring Her
The Ray Point Series
Floating
The Vault Series
Uncuffed
Unreserved
Standalones
Daylight Follows
The Unattainable Chief
Pleasurable Business
Her Forbidden Fantasy
About the Author
Michelle Dare is a romance author. Her stories range from sweet to sinful and from new adult to fantasy. There aren’t enough hours in the day for her to write all of the story ideas in her head. When not writing or reading, she’s a wife and mom living in eastern Pennsylvania. One day she hopes to be writing from a beach where she will never have to see snow or be cold again.
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The Somber Call (The Ariane Trilogy Book 2) Page 21
