The Hunter's Heart (Wilde Creek Book Seven)

by R. E. Butler

  Kismet turned to face the male who had spoken.

  “You’re the alpha, right?” she asked, folding her arms and spreading out her wings so the steps were blocked.

  “Yes,” he said, a grimace setting in his handsome face. “I’m Acksel Moore. This is my alpha female, Brynn.”

  “Why are you acting like the berserker needs to leave?”

  “My name is Lucian,” the berserker said. “And I’m not welcome around the alpha’s family.”

  Kismet cocked her head. “What?”

  Acksel let out a growl. “This doesn’t concern you, stranger.”

  “Oh, okay. Calm down, man. I just don’t know why you’d be acting like he’s dangerous. Unless you haven’t oathed him to you?”

  “What are you talking about?” Brynn said, peeking around Acksel’s broad shoulder.

  “Hello?” Kismet said. “He’s a berserker. They’re the most loyal, fierce bodyguards a leader can have. No one fucks with a berserker’s charge.”

  Doc ducked under her wing and placed his hand on her forearm. With a whisper, he said, “This isn’t really your concern. You should probably go before you open up another can of worms in my pack.”

  She looked at the couple surrounded by wolves, and then glanced over her shoulder to the berserker and his mate. Doc was right. It wasn’t her concern, but she really hated to see people not getting a fair shake. Deciding to send the alpha something to think about before she left, she pulled a memory from her mind of the berserker oathing ceremony she’d read about, and a scene from her childhood where she’d witnessed the berserker protecting the king and his family, and sent them directly into the alpha’s brain. For fun, she sent them into the berserker’s brain, too, since that male seemed entirely clueless about what he really was.

  Then she winked at Doc and opened a portal, stepping into it and heading home. She had a date with daytime TV and a big bowl of butter pecan ice cream, thank you very much.

  * * *

  Lucian had never seen a fae before, but the female standing in front of the steps like a guardian angel in leggings and a heavy metal t-shirt was as fierce as she was beautiful. She didn’t hold a candle to his Mia, but a male could appreciate a pretty woman. Especially when she seemed to be telling Acksel that berserkers were useful as guards. He didn’t understand what Kismet had meant when she mentioned a berserker oath, and he’d certainly never heard about it being a possibility. Not that he’d been tapped into some kind of berserker message board or anything.

  The fae had done something with her hands, and her fingers glowed an odd yellow as if she were holding something precious. Then the glow was gone and suddenly his mind was assaulted with images. Pages of an old book with details of a ceremony to oath a berserker to someone, and then several scenes that appeared like a movie.

  A large male stood in front of a king on a throne. A beautiful female sat next to the king, and at the large male’s feet played a little girl with small wings and golden curls. The male looked down at the little girl with a look that was all benevolent, and Lucian knew that male would die for her. Would die for the king and queen, too. When the male lifted his head, Lucian saw sharp teeth and the bulk of muscles as he changed into a berserker, but no one was screaming in fright or grabbing the child.

  “Luc?” Mia said, her voice reaching through the depths of his mind. “Luc?”

  He blinked several times and found himself on Doc’s front porch. Kismet was gone and Doc was grumbling about ‘crazy sisters.’

  “That was…holy shit,” Lucian said, shaking his head. He looked at Acksel, and the alpha met his gaze.

  “Damn,” Acksel said. “Did you just see that?”

  “See what? Dang it, Acksel!” Brynn said, her voice demanding. Lucian was surprised she didn’t stamp her foot in annoyance.

  Acksel looked at Doc. “She’s a fairy?”

  “They go by the term ‘fae,’ but yes.”

  Mia said, “But Noah isn’t fae, right? Aren’t they twins?”

  “Fraternal twins,” Doc said. “Kismet takes after her father, who is a fae warrior, and Noah takes after his mother, who is a witch. She showed you some memories, I take it?”

  Lucian nodded. “First it was some pages of a book about an oath ceremony, and then it was like watching a movie with a berserker and a fae king and queen and their child.”

  Doc smiled. “She sent memories to me once, and I had a migraine for two days afterward. I guess she’s getting better at it. Not all fae can do that, but it’s part of her power. She can read a person’s aura and tell what they’re feeling, and also can share her memories. It’s pretty spectacular.”

  “I didn’t know that fae could do that,” Mia said. “But what does it mean?”

  “It means that I found a way to keep you here,” Brynn said, stepping to Acksel’s side and grinning broadly.

  Acksel’s brow rose. “What? How did you do anything?”

  “Hel-lo,” she said. “If I hadn’t had an appointment today, we wouldn’t have been here when Kismet showed up. So it’s entirely my doing.”

  “You’re incredible,” Acksel said, shaking his head with a bemused smile.

  “You know it. I told you, bestie,” she said to Mia with a wink. “I told you that I’d take care of everything.”

  “I don’t think it’s a good sign that she’s taking credit for fate,” Mia said, wrapping her arms around Lucian’s waist. “But I’ll take it if it means that you can be with me on the full moon.”

  “We need to research,” Acksel said. “I want to know more about the ceremony, but if it’s what we saw, then yeah, there’s a way for you to be part of our pack.”

  “I’ll send a message to Kismet and tell her you need to see whatever book has the oath in it,” Doc said. “In the meantime, if the alphas don’t mind, there’s an ultrasound with Brynn’s name on it.”

  “Stay, Mia? I want to be able to talk to you when this is over. You can be the first person we tell what we’re having.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to find out,” Acksel said.

  “Um, no. That was yesterday. Today I want to know.”

  “Well let’s hurry the hell up before she changes her mind again,” Acksel said.

  “Stop swearing,” Brynn said, covering her belly with her hands. “My mini-me has ears now.”

  Brynn and Acksel walked to the porch. Mia’s eyes were shining with tears as she hugged her best friend. Acksel nodded to Lucian and glanced at the wolves on the sidewalk, who quickly took their places around the house as guards. Doc led the alphas into the house, the front door swinging shut silently.

  Lucian looked down at his mate. “Are you okay?”

  “Are you kidding? I get you and the pack on the full moon. I couldn’t be happier. But for the record, you and I could’ve been our own pack. With our mini-me.”

  He knew that was true, but he was thankful that things seemed to be working out so his mate could stay with her pack. Whatever the oath to the alphas was, Lucian would do it, and he’d continue to train with his dad on using his berserker and being the best protector for his mate, and the alphas. Mia and their family would always come first for him, and his berserker was in complete agreement, but he could definitely see a benefit in being able to be with the pack during the full moons.

  It looked like things were turning around for them.

  All thanks to a fae with copper-tipped wings.

  * * *

  Mia sat next to Lucian in the small converted living room of Doc’s house. Lucian’s arm was around her and she was leaning against him, loving how comforting it was to be in his embrace.

  It was funny how things could change so fast, and then just as fast return to a semblance of normal. First she’d been without Lucian, then with him. Then having to make a choice between him or the pack. In her heart she knew she’d never have stayed in the pack without Lucian. He’d wanted her to, that much he’d made clear, but it wouldn’t have been the right choice for her.
She’d been sad at the thought of leaving, but she wasn’t about to change her mind. It wasn’t an option to celebrate the full moon without Lucian. He was her world now.

  Well, him and their mini-me.

  There was a loud woohoo from the back, which Mia recognized as Brynn’s happy call.

  “What do you think, boy or girl?” Lucian asked.

  “Brynn wanted a boy, so I’m guessing that’s why she woohooed.”

  Nila stepped out of the ultrasound room. “She’s ready to see you.”

  Mia and Lucian made their way to the room, where Brynn was wiping tears from her face as Acksel grinned so broadly Mia thought his cheeks would crack.

  “Well?” Mia asked.

  “It’s a boy! I knew it,” Brynn said.

  Mia hugged her bestie. “I’m so happy for you and little Mi.”

  “No,” Acksel said. “Not Mi. I’m putting my foot down.”

  Brynn smiled sweetly. “But if Mia is naming her baby after me, it’s only right that I return the favor. Oh, wait. Are you even pregnant? I hadn’t heard.”

  “I am,” Mia said.

  “Yay!” She grinned smugly at Acksel. “See! I have to name our baby Mi.”

  “Sweetheart,” Acksel said, his voice dipping to a growl at the end. “No.”

  Mia loved to see her bestie and Acksel tease each other. Even when Acksel was being a hard-ass alpha, she knew he had a sweet side.

  “Okay, fine,” Brynn said. “But we need to pick a super kick-butt name.”

  “Why?” Mia asked.

  “Because he’s going to be alpha someday. You never hear about alphas named wussy things like Gerard or Francis. It’s got to be something cool, like Stone or Brick or Anvil.”

  Mia grimaced. “Did you just say ‘Anvil’ was a good baby name?”

  “We can call him Annie!”

  “You may need professional help,” Mia said.

  Brynn turned bright eyes to Mia and took her hand. “I’m so glad you’re here, bestie, and I’m glad you’re staying.”

  “Me too.”

  Acksel told Lucian that he wanted to get the book from Kismet and then discuss the oath ceremony. In the meantime, he said, they should get together for dinner one night soon and get to know each other. Although Lucian had grown up in Wilde Creek, the same as Acksel, neither had been friends in school and they didn’t know one another. After giving Brynn a goodbye hug, Mia and Lucian left Doc’s.

  Lucian opened the door for Mia, and she stopped and hugged him.

  “I think it’s going to all be okay,” she said.

  “I have no doubt,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  “Oh?” She tilted her head to look at him.

  He smiled. “You can do anything you put your mind to.”

  “I can do anything with you by my side.”

  “Me too, sweetheart.”

  Chapter 17

  Kismet stepped off her back porch onto the stone path that led to her garden. Under one arm was the book containing the berserker oathing ceremony that she’d had her father get for her from the king’s library. In her other hand was a piece of ivory ribbon.

  She’d had an interesting dream the night before about a wolf. The big creature was dark gray with a patch of white on his chest, and had intense dark amber eyes. He’d growled at her and she’d followed him into unfamiliar woods, stopping at a pine tree that had been cracked in half by lightning. The trunk was split, but continued to grow in spite of the damage. The wolf had rubbed against the tree, and she’d placed her hand on the jagged edges of the crack and then looked up until she saw the full moon high in the night sky. Looking for the wolf, she saw him sitting on his haunches behind her, staring at her intently. And then he’d disappeared into the woods, and she’d been unable to leave the odd-looking tree.

  When she woke, she had wolves on her mind, particularly the alphas of the Wilde Creek pack she’d met at Doc’s two weeks earlier. She was supposed to bring the book to them, and decided that bringing a gift to the female for her baby might open the door for a conversation about a wolf with a white patch of fur. She wasn’t sure how to work that into a conversation, but she was clever, and she’d figure something out.

  Kismet loved her garden. The large square of carefully tilled earth was walled with knee-high white picket fencing to keep the creatures who liked to nibble on her precious plants away. Stepping over the fence, she strolled down the stone walkway in the center of the garden and stopped at the fairy roses.

  They were in full bloom, their blossoms lovely shades from the palest pink to the darkest maroon. With thin scissors, she snipped three of the prettiest flowers and then moved to the English bluebells, which were a close second to the fairy roses as her favorites. The elegant blueish-purple flowers looked so much like bells that she always expected to hear them ringing when it was windy. Snipping off two stems, she turned to find the thyme, which her people believed was an herb that was created by the first fairies, a symbol of bravery and good health.

  Plus it smelled amazing.

  With several pretty sprigs of thyme in her hand, she left her garden and sat on a stone bench under the shade of a cherry tree. She set the book down, and then fashioned a small bouquet out of the flowers and thyme, tying it together with the white ribbon.

  “I thought you were leaving, my darling,” her father said as he sat next to her.

  “I wanted to take something to the alpha female.” She showed him the bouquet.

  He raised an eyebrow. “For what reason?”

  Her father was a very no-nonsense male, and in many ways she took after him. But she also had a longing to find a male to share her life with. Not someone who wanted her simply because of who her father was, but a male who would love every awesome inch of her. She opened her mouth to tell him about the wolf in her dream, but she changed her mind. For now, she’d keep things close until she knew if she really had dreamed of her mate, or if she’d just stayed up too late watching television and had a mixed-up dream.

  She looked down at the bouquet, running a finger lightly along the thyme. “Rich is a wolf. They’re an interesting group.”

  “So are fae.”

  She nudged his shoulder with her own. “I know.”

  “You will be careful when you’re with the wolves.”

  An order, not a request.

  “Of course.”

  “Good.” He kissed her temple and then stood, stretching out his large wings. “Be safe.”

  He opened a portal and disappeared. She stared at the empty space where the portal had appeared for several quiet moments, and then she picked up the book and opened a portal to the alphas’ home. She happened to know where it was because Noah had given her their address, and she’d looked it up on a GPS app on her phone.

  “Good grief!” came the startled shout when Kismet stepped from the portal.

  Sheepishly, she said, “Sorry. I tried to transport a little away from the house so I didn’t scare anyone. I’m Kismet, Doc’s sister-in-law.”

  “I’m Malachi. Shit, woman. Where did you come from?”

  “My house.”

  He exhaled sharply. “Acksel told me a fairy was coming this afternoon but he didn’t know when. I came out to get something from my car and then you appeared out of thin air. I think I lost ten years off my life.”

  She smiled. “I’m sorry. Again.”

  He shrugged. “I’m just glad my mate wasn’t here to see me startle like a rabbit. She’d take a lot of pleasure in teasing me. The alphas are in the house. Go to the back door and knock.”

  “Thanks, Malachi.”

  She carried her bundle up the wooden steps of a large deck and knocked on the sliding glass door. Brynn appeared, opening the door with a wide smile. “You made it!”

  “Thanks for inviting me. These are from my garden. If you hang the bouquet over the baby’s crib, it’ll bring good luck and sweet dreams.”

  She took the bouquet and said, “They’re so pretty. I
s that really true?”

  “Well, it depends on how much you believe in fairies and luck, I suppose.”

  “I’m all about luck. Oh, I could name mini-mi Lucky.”

  Kismet couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a good, strong name.”

  “I’m still thinking about names. It’s hard. I want a name that sounds cool, but also one that doesn’t sound awful when I’m yelling.”

  Acksel grunted as he came into the kitchen. “You’re so sure you’re going to be yelling at my boy?”

  Brynn tilted her face so he could kiss her cheek, which he did. “If he’s anything like you, definitely. Do you have any fairy flowers that’ll make a kid be really well-behaved?”

  “Sorry, no.”

  “Dang. Are you hungry or thirsty? We can sit in the family room and talk about the ceremony. Mia and Lucian are already here.”

  Kismet followed the alphas to their family room and she said hello to the other couple, who were seated on a couch. Sitting on kitchen chairs were three older males: one looked to be middle-aged, and the others appeared to be in their late sixties. Acksel introduced the younger of the three as his dad, Dade, and the others as Renfrow and Hollis, two of the pack elders.

  Kismet took a seat on the floor and set the book on the coffee table. Acksel and Brynn joined Mia and Lucian on the couch, and everyone leaned over to watch as she carefully opened the book to the page she had bookmarked.

  “The oathing ceremony is really old. It’s specific to berserkers and royalty for fae, but my father told me that there were records of berserkers vowing themselves to non-royals as well. It depends on the berserker, and also on the people asking for the vow. A berserker can’t be forced to oath himself.”

  After walking them through the ceremony, she sat back on her heels and said, “Any questions?”

  “How does Mia fit into the berserker vow?” Brynn asked.

  Kismet smiled. “Look at the vow the way that a wolf would view his alpha. Lucian is vowing to protect Acksel and your family with his life, and also to keep watch over the pack as a whole. But nothing supersedes the berserker’s personal vow to his mate. If it came down to it, Lucian would choose Mia over anyone else.”