by Lily Thomas
Good. Ezi was going to need some rest.
Aiyre walked over to the fur covering the mouth of the cave and took another look out. The snow was still falling too thick to see anything. It would hide the light and the smoke from the fire, which meant they shouldn’t have any unexpected nighttime visitors.
Still, she grabbed her spear and laid it down next to where she was sleeping. If someone came into their cave, she was going to react before thinking. She had more than herself to keep alive now.
As she settled down, Aiyre heard Ezi start to sniffle and weep again. Her heart broke, knowing Ezi’s pain. She too had lost people she’d loved.
A couple of tears trickled down her own face. She would never see Naru again. Or Bhirk. She rubbed the tears away.
She wanted nothing more than to take revenge against the sabertooth shifters, but she couldn’t do anything by herself. And it wasn’t like she was about to march into their village and take them alone.
With a sigh, Aiyre did her best to tune out Ezi’s weeping and tried to focus in on the crackling of the fire. She needed to get some rest as well.
“Thank you for doing this,” Ezi said as they made their way out of the mouth of the cave.
“I understand why you want to see him, but I fear it might only make you more miserable.” Aiyre worried.
Ezi nodded. “It might. I just need to see him and say goodbye.”
“I wish we could hold a burial ceremony for them all,” Aiyre muttered. It felt disrespectful just to leave their bodies to the animals, but two women would struggle to perform a burial ceremony for so many clanmates.
“We can do something.” Ezi insisted. “Maybe burn incense and say some prayers for them. We might not be able to do anything about their bodies, but we can ask the gods to take care of them in the Eternal Hunting Grounds.”
“Neither of us are a shaman.” Aiyre wasn’t sure it would do much.
Ezi shrugged inside her thick fur clothing. “Does it matter? It has to be better than nothing. We need to make sure they get to the Eternal Hunting Grounds.”
Aiyre pictured the Eternal Hunting Grounds in her mind. It had to be better than this eternal frozen ground. The Eternal Hunting Grounds were filled with endless game and always warm. At least their clanmates were in a better place where they didn’t need to worry about starvation, being hunted down, and would be able to shift as much or as little as they desired.
That sounded nice to her. She wished she could shift more often, but being mistaken for a prey animal by a hunter would be a horrible moment. She didn’t need a human hunter to throw a spear into her pronghorn form.
They trudged their way through the deep snow, making their way slowly through the forest of towering trees. Ezi leaned on her, keeping most of her weight off the other leg, but she’d still suck in sharp intakes of breath every time her leg caught on a thick mound of snow.
It was eerily quiet like it always was during winter. The only sounds were the creaking of the tree limbs under the immense weight of the wet snow. The animals had either gone further south to warmer weather or were waiting it out. Only a few were brave enough to face the thick of winter.
They broke out of the forest, the snow-covered village straight in front of them.
“Will you help me find him?” Ezi asked, her voice gone wobbly.
“Of course. He was near the village fire the last time I saw his body.” Aiyre informed her.
The two women made their way into the village, Aiyre helping Ezi to keep her weight off her leg. The snow had done a good job of covering everything up, and they were careful of where they stepped. They didn’t want to accidentally step on a clanmate’s face.
Aiyre bent over when she found a lump in the snow and used her gloved hand to brush off the snow. A female face greeted her. It was Heria. Her heart went out to the woman. Those damn sabertooth shifters.
She rose and moved on to the next lump under the snow. Brushing off the snow she was greeted with another woman’s face. It was Naru. Her heart sank.
Footsteps crunched on the snow as Ezi neared, and Aiyre could hear the pain she was enduring just to say goodbye to Drakk. “I didn’t think she’d be able to get out quickly enough. It hurts me to see it was true though.”
Ezi knelt down with Aiyre’s assistance and placed her hand against Naru’s frozen face. “She was a mother to every woman in the clan.”
Aiyre nodded, her own eyes clouding up with tears.
“I know she was more a mother to you than us.” Ezi reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “We will give her a proper ceremony as well.” Ezi hugged Aiyre’s shoulders.
“Let’s find Drakk.” Aiyre didn’t want to be out here longer than they had to be. Who knew if the sabertooths would come back? She’d already seen one the last time she visited the village. “Whatever we do, let’s be quick about it.”
Her pulse began to race a bit as she thought about running into another sabertooth. Ezi was in no condition to run, and Aiyre wasn’t sure how many times she could successfully kill a sabertooth.
Ezi nodded, and they continued to search around the village and brush off lumps of snow until they finally found Drakk.
His face had gone blue, but the cold had prevented any decomposing. He almost looked peaceful in his snow tomb. She was almost surprised he was dead.
Ezi let out a hiccup of a sob, tears pouring down her face.
Aiyre walked away, giving Ezi some time and space. It was unfair of the world to have taken Drakk away when they’d only had such a small amount of time together. One night, and then it had all been over.
Aiyre made her way over to what had been Naru’s tent and went inside. It was empty, of course, and just as cold as the outside. The fire pit was black and unlit. Aiyre shivered and walked around the tent until she found the stash of herbs.
Some would be useful for when they traveled, and the others could be used for the burial ceremony. Aiyre had never performed one, but she’d give it her best without the help of a shaman.
Taking a second to take a last look at what had been her home, she felt a pang enter her chest. It would be hard just to move on, but she and Ezi were still living and needed to continue to survive.
She pushed her way out of the tent to see Ezi still knelt over Drakk’s body. She’d uncovered more of his large frame.
“I have the herbs that we can burn for the dead.” Aiyre came to stand beside Ezi. “Have you had enough time?”
“No.” Ezi dashed tears from her eyes. “But I know we can’t stay here long. Let’s perform the ceremony and put everyone to rest.” Ezi rose and took some of the herbs Aiyre had found. “Do you have some flint on you?”
“Yes. Here.” Aiyre gathered some cloth and wood from around the camp and made a small fire.
Ezi threw the herbs on, and they watched the small wisp of smoke spiral into the air, getting lost among the background of grey clouds.
“I wish we could stay longer, but we really need to keep moving.” Hopefully, these herbs would do their dead clanmates well and help them to the Eternal Hunting Grounds. It was the best she could do.
“I know.” Ezi heaved a sigh and then sent her a trembling smile that was ready to fall off her face at a moment’s notice. “It all seems like a dream.”
Aiyre knew exactly what she meant. “All we can do is live and give their deaths a purpose.”
“Never thought of it like that.” The fragile smile stayed planted on her lips.
“Come.” Aiyre guided them out of the village, hefting her bag which they’d packed before leaving the cave, and then let Ezi use her other shoulder. It was time for them to find another clan to join.
Chapter 5
Daerk couldn’t seem to get the pronghorn shifter off his mind. Last night his dreams had been filled with her distant, but pleasant, figure. He needed to see her up close and get a better whiff of her scent. Even in sleep, she’d been pestering him, causing his slumber to be restless.
Her vill
age had been decimated. He just had to figure out how to keep her safe until he could get rid of Brog. Brog wouldn’t allow Daerk to keep a pronghorn here in their village, not when his leader thought all pronghorns were better dead than alive.
Yet here they were stuck feeding all of Brog’s children. Not that Daerk would suggest they do anything else. The children were not to blame for their sire’s actions. Maybe it was a good thing Brog hadn’t found his mate. It could be difficult for him to explain why he had so many wives… and so many children. He should be more patient. Daerk almost felt bad for him.
Daerk shook his head. The man still made him want to vomit with disgust. Taking so many wives when he was from a mated shifter species. He shook his head. It was deplorable.
He made his way out of his tent and slipped on his fur gloves. The snow had stopped falling, but the skies were still grey with displeasure.
“What are we doing today?” Rir bounded out of nowhere, his white fur clothing blending in with all the snow between the fur huts.
“We aren’t doing anything. I am doing something though.”
“What is that?” Rir looked over at him with interest. The man was more curious than anyone else he knew.
Thankfully for Rir, Daerk was eager to tell someone he trusted about what he may have discovered. “I think I found a pronghorn who was still alive.”
“When?”
“When I went to see what happened to the pronghorn shifters.”
Rir’s eyes popped wide.
Daerk mused. “She’s been plaguing my mind. I feel I should do something for her. There’s no possible way she can survive the winter on her own.”
Rir scoffed. “You best stop thinking about bringing her here. She wouldn’t be safe.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t bring her here. Brog dislikes me already, and I couldn’t imagine what he’d do if he found out I’d discovered a pronghorn was still alive and hadn’t killed her.” Actually, he had a few ideas what Brog might do, and none of them were good.
Rir nodded.
“Still… we should do something for her.” Daerk just couldn’t stop his inner sabertooth from pestering him to go find her. “She might even be useful in swaying some of the clan to back me. Once they see and meet a pronghorn, they might see the error of Brog’s ways.”
“Have you considered there might be another reason this pronghorn is pulling you in?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell me that your sabertooth doesn’t purr every time you imagine her image.” Rir waited for him to refuse it.
Tor strode up to Daerk’s relief. He wanted to put an end to these musings that he and Rir had gotten into. And that last statement Rir had uttered? He wasn’t even sure how to answer.
Though it might be a good point. He’d been thinking an awful lot about that pronghorn. She shouldn’t interest him, yet her image was burned into his mind. A pronghorn as a mate? It was almost impossible to fathom.
“What are we doing?” Tor asked his hand coming up to stroke his beard.
“Finding Daerk’s mate.” Rir filled him in excitement gleaming in his eyes.
Daerk glared over at Rir who was jumping to conclusions. He was only being drawn in by the pronghorn because he wanted to do something to make up for the actions of Brog’s men.
Tor let out a small huff of a laugh. “Wouldn’t that be hard? Some go their entire lives without meeting their mate. It’s not like we can just sniff her out.”
“He found her, but he didn’t do anything about it.” Rir scowled at Daerk like he might be insane. “Now we have to find her again.”
Tor’s eyes widened. “You found your mate, and then didn’t bring her back?”
“He’s worried about Brog.” Rir filled him in some more before Daerk could even speak.
Tor nodded his head, his long black hair swaying around his bearded face. “If him attacking a neighboring village doesn’t churn the stomachs of our clanmates, then him trying to kill your mate definitely will.”
Tor was right, but Daerk still wasn’t sure Rir was guessing right about this pronghorn. “I’m only being pulled towards her because she is alone and needs help now that her entire clan has been wiped out.”
“You’re in denial.” Rir persisted.
“Who is she?” Tor asked.
“You can meet her once we find her,” Daerk told them giving up on convincing them she wasn’t his mate. Whatever they needed to think. He knew it was impossible. A sabertooth and a pronghorn couldn’t be mates.
“Should we take any supplies?”
“You and Rir can pack a couple of small bags, but I can’t. I know Brog will have men watching my actions. He’s getting more afraid that I will make a move against him.”
“He should be worried,” Rir growled with a slight bare of his teeth.
“We will meet you in the forest then,” Tor said as he and Rir headed further into the village.
Daerk glanced around. He didn’t see any obvious signs he was being watched, but it didn’t mean that someone wasn’t keeping track of him.
He made his way away from the village slowly, doing his best not to attract any attention from the people milling about by acting too eager.
“Going somewhere, Daerk?”
Daerk spun around to find Mira standing behind him.
“Just out to stretch my legs.” His eyes narrowed. He wasn’t too surprised to find her lurking nearby but knew it would never be good.
“Want some company?” She purred as she stepped closer.
He knew she wanted something from him, and he may have accepted her offer, but his sabertooth protested it, loudly. Not to mention he wasn’t fond of her either. It was well known she’d been sleeping with Brog. “Looking for some peace and quiet.”
She sent him a pout and prowled even closer to him. “I know something better than peace and quiet.” Her hands worked their way up and over his shoulders, but he sidestepped and backed away.
“Perhaps another day.”
Mira threw him a displeased look her lips forming a tight line, but he didn’t stay long enough to see what else she might say. For all he knew Brog had sent her to keep an eye on him. Then again, she was known to sleep around in the village, so maybe she had deemed it his turn.
How lucky for him.
He brushed it off. He’d take a longer path to their meet-up point just in case Brog was interested in him today. He could call off the search for the pronghorn, but hadn’t he waited long enough? Daerk was trying to be patient. He just couldn’t resist the small taste he’d gotten of her smell. His sabertooth purred in agreement.
Daerk worked his way through the forest, trying to leave as little evidence of his movements as he could. It was hard with how much snow there was covering the ground. His footsteps would be a dead giveaway.
He wondered how hard it would be to find the pronghorn. The snow had prevented him from finding her the first time, and he wondered how much she would be moving around. If she were smart, she’d find somewhere like a cave to stay safe.
Neither of her forms would allow her to protect herself from wild animals or from anyone that might want to cause her harm.
Rir and Tor had been right to be surprised that he had just left the pronghorn to disappear into the snow storm when she’d drawn him in so much. For all he knew she wasn’t even alive anymore. Daerk had no idea if she’d had any cover for the storm that blew through the area.
The gods could be cruel, but they wouldn’t be unfair to him. His sabertooth growled at the thought of her lying dead under a sheet of fresh snow, and he told himself it was just because she could be a great asset to bring down Brog.
Daerk stopped at the meeting spot, a tree with a couple of scratch marks on its thick bark from so many years ago when he went through his first shift. He brushed his covered fingers over the marks. He would love to share the first shift with his children. He just needed to get his hands on his mate so that he could have those children,
wherever she was.
His father had been there for him during his first shift, and it was the only reason he’d stayed sane. He just wished his father was still around. A pain entered his chest as he remembered the day he’d been told of the hunting accident that’d killed his father.
Rir and Tor had yet to arrive. Daerk only hoped they were both able to get out of the village without drawing too much attention to themselves.
Footsteps crunched through the snow, and he whipped around to confront whoever it was coming his way.
Rir and Tor popped out of the thick forest.
“Anyone see you?”
“Not that we know of, and we don’t think we were followed,” Rir informed him.
“Good.” Daerk smiled. “Let’s go find the pronghorn then.”
“Your mate you mean.” Rir teased him, and he rolled his eyes.
“I’m next.”
Rir punched Tor’s shoulder. “You don’t even know where your mate is. At least, Daerk has an idea of where to search.”
“She’s somewhere out there. We just have to find her.” Tor smiled, his dark eyes filled with glee.
“Yes, but at least I have a starting point.” Daerk sided with Rir even though he still wasn’t convinced the pronghorn was his mate. He just didn’t want to wander around for a lifetime trying to find Tor’s mate. “Be patient. She’ll find you at some point.”
“Says the man who was lucky enough to find his mate, and then left her in this dangerous world alone.”
He scowled at his friend. “I still don’t believe she is my mate, and I had no choice but to leave her. It was the briefest of scents that I picked up on.” Daerk turned his attention to the packs they brought. “What did you bring?”
“A little food, for emergencies. I figured we could easily hunt down some small game if needed.” Rir filled in. “Flint and some fur clothing. I wasn’t sure how you came across this pronghorn and if she might need some warming up.” Rir said, trying to get Daerk to tell him some more about her.
