Fur and Feathers [A Raven Saga Book 2]

by Crymsyn R. Hart

"Do you know where she is? Did she go to the compound with your stepdad? With the rest of the pack?"

  Trina's surprise hit Alena hard. She wondered how she knew that. “Who are you?” she whispered.

  Alena leaned over and smiled. “I'm your cousin, Alena. You're Trina."

  Her face lit up, and the teenager gave her a large hug. Because she was so surprised, Alena didn't react at first, but then returned the embrace. “It's nice to meet you, too. Can I come in for a minute?"

  Trina hesitated and then stepped back, giving Alena entrance into the living room. The door closed behind her, and she stood in the old cabin that had belonged to her aunt and uncle. The inside was decorated very differently. Instead of the hunting theme of her uncle, who had been an avid hunter even without being a wolf, Alena noticed old medical paraphernalia decorated it. There were centuries-old surgical instruments hung on the walls and medical drawings, too. Alena didn't figure Jamie was into old medical stuff so the interest had to be her husband's. “So you're stepdad sure likes old medical equipment and diagrams, hmm?"

  The teenager shrugged, and Alena noticed her eyes wandered around the room. “It's kinda gross, all the blood and guts. But Ben's okay, I guess. Mom says I have my dad's eyes. You're like me, aren't you? You're half. I can tell. Mom says I'll never change."

  Alena was surprised the teenager could tell she was a half-breed. Maybe there was something in her scent. “Trina, your mom doesn't know everything. Just because you're half doesn't mean you won't be able to slip your skin. It might just take you a little bit longer than the other pups. Don't let your uncle intimidate you!"

  "Did you ever change?"

  "Almost, sweetie, but something happened. Are your Mom and Ben at the compound with the rest of the pack?"

  "Yes. She wanted me to stay here and keep an eye on Susan."

  Alena nodded knowing Susan was the other child, the one who had not been killed. She was the other twin. “Okay, I'll be back, Trina. I have to go see the rest of the pack. I'll be around later if you want to talk."

  The teenager nodded. Alena smiled, opened the door, and turned toward the lodge. She didn't have to know where the lodge was because, when she opened her mind, she sensed the accumulation of emotions. Some were frenzied, others were focused, others were sad, and one stood out like a beacon. Jamie. She saw the light in her mind like a mini sun. Alena took a deep breath and built the walls around her thoughts. The pack had grown. There were at least fifty wolves, and she figured more because they were grouped together. But there was also something else among the pack. An energy she had never felt before. She got to the compound and saw how beautiful of a structure it was. The wood was highly polished. Carvings of wolves adorned each column along the wrap around porch. She ran her hand over one of the columns and found the wood was alive underneath her fingertips. She wondered if the timber had feelings. Alena took a deep breath knowing she had to face those inside. From what Jamie had told her and from what she had felt, there were others in there she had never met and didn't grow up with. How many knew about her? How many were born werewolves? Her cousin said Vincent was biting humans to join the pack. Wolves bit humans very rarely, and rarer still if they survived the transformation. If she were half human, would they look down on her as if she were a second-class citizen? Marrying a human was taboo in their pack, which was why her father had been shunned.

  Taking a deep breath, she held her head high and pushed open the doors to the compound. Their minds turned to her before their eyes did. The pressure pressed on her skull. Frustration, anger, lust for the kill, sorrow surrounded her, but she pictured the wall around her emotions tightening and blocking them out. The silence was deafening. Her eyes took in the meeting hall. There were more than fifty wolves. There were almost a hundred. How much the pack had grown in fourteen years was amazing. Vincent had done a good job of recruiting. She didn't recognize the woman sitting in the corner and figured she was the vedma of the pack, the all-seeing and powerful witch who had shacked up with Vincent. The wolves were sitting on intricately carved benches as if they were in church and the minister was Vincent standing up at the pulpit preaching his sermon. She smirked. Her cousin was no reverend. She heard them sniffing the air, catching her scent to see if she was one of them. She figured most of them would not think so since she hadn't been there in years.

  "What is this human doing here?” one of the wolves demanded to know who sat up front.

  Alena didn't stop and marched between the rows toward Vincent. His eyes met hers and swept her body. His lust consumed her even from a hundred feet away. He was already salivating. She kept on walking and was not going to be swayed by the whispered comments traveling through the audience of wolves.

  Alena got to the third row. One of bulky wolves stood up, blocking her way with his arms crossed over his chest. Standing before him, she recognized him. He was the wolf who had chased her in the alley months ago. One of his arms was the size of both of hers. He looked like a wrestler on steroids. A long, thick scar ran the length of his left eye. His right eye was intelligent and brown while the other stared at her blindly. He didn't stop him being intimidating.

  "Let me by.” She looked up at him.

  "I don't know why you're here, human, but I suggest you turn around and go back to wherever you came from.” He put out his hand and placed his palm gently above her heart. His skin was warm against hers.

  She had forgotten how warm shifters were compared to average mortals. She was not going to be stopped. Everyone was silent and watched the confrontation between the two of them. Alena let her eyes flicker to Vincent. He said nothing wanting to see what she was going to do. Fury boiled up in her. She felt irritation and other emotions frothing around her. She let her walls drop and focused those feelings on the brute in front of her. She remembered doing the exact same thing to her uncle, but this time, she didn't push with so much force. This man was going to move. The pressure gathered behind her eyes like a pinching headache, but then she forced the arrow at the other man. All of her hatred, anger, combined with the sorrow in the room shot at the werewolf. For a moment, he didn't know what was happening until he felt the weight in his mind. She could feel her influence on him. Then a flash of pain moved across his face when she shot another arrow at him. He grabbed his head, fell to his knees, and screamed. The cry shook the rafters.

  Growls erupted around her. The squeaking of wood on wood erupted in the lodge from benches sliding back from everyone getting up in a hurry. The tension had just mushroomed in the room. Vincent smiled. Jamie had stopped sniffling and stared at Alena expectantly, wondering what she was going to do.

  "I'm not human. I was invited to come. Isn't that right, Vincent? Why don't you tell them who I am?” she yelled. Alena noticed a red-haired man sitting behind Vincent, close to the vedma. He watched the scene with an air of amusement. Alena was not paying attention. Emotions were still running high through her and mixing with her own anger. She had forgotten how being among the pack was. They lived on instinct and reacted on impulse. She had to keep the walls around her mind or something worse might occur.

  "Everyone, this is my lovely cousin Alena."

  Snarls traveled through the pack as well as whispers. She felt the distaste, distrust, and hatred focused on her. “This is the half-breed who killed our late pack leader. Like a coward she ran away and hid from our judgment.” One of the older pack members shouted from the gallery.

  Alena continued walking. She felt something wet hit her face. Someone had spit on her. She paid the spittle no mind, wiped it off, and kept on walking with her head held high.

  "Why would you invite a half-breed here? She has no place among us!” Another comment from the peanut gallery.

  "She has every right to be here as you do. As my daughter does. Weren't you bitten, Simon, and not born a werewolf? Doesn't that make you a half-breed as well?” Alena was surprised to see Jamie's husband Ben standing up for her. She gave him a nod of thanks. There was an unspoken dis
like of any Bitten wolf. The subject was not something much talked about in the pack, but Alena wondered now if there was a dividing line since Vincent was bringing in outsiders.

  "I might have been bitten, but at least I can change. We don't even know if your whelp will be able to. I might have once been human, but I hear the song of the moon. Does she?"

  "Enough!” Vincent's command rang above the entire group.

  Alena eyed him seeing how much he drew himself up and had taken control. The position of leader suited him. He had not turned into a hulking specimen like the one who she had put down screaming. Alena walked to the front of the hall, then turned and faced the pack. Many of them she didn't remember. Others were vaguely familiar. Others were new to her altogether.

  "Alena is my blood. My cousin. Her father was second-in-command before he was killed. Alena may be a half-breed, but her blood runs true. She is pack. What of those among us who are born full wolf and yet they never change? It's rare, yet it happens. We do not shun them. She is here along with the other to help us find the murder of our two pups and the killings which have plagued us. She will grieve with the rest of our family. You will treat her with the same respect you give me. Is that understood?” Vincent met each pack member's opposing stare. The tension in the room mounted, but after a while, those who argued with Vincent sat down.

  He stepped away from the podium and took Alena in his arms, pressing her to him so she felt every contour of his body. He smelled like wild fruit, like maple and apples, like the perfume of fall. Even his hair had darkened to the color of unharvested hay and hung to his shoulders. His jaw was square and reminded her of a rugged cowboy. Vincent would have been an attractive catch if he hadn't been harassing her. He squeezed her a little too hard. His lust for her pressed against her body with as much as the force of his arms holding her.

  "You look scrumptious, Alena. I'm surprised you came. Jamie didn't tell me she called you. Nevertheless, we have a lot of catching up to do.” He licked the end of her ear, which made her squirm before he let her go.

  Alena returned his embrace with a light hug, but couldn't contain the shiver which ran over her skin. Vincent made her feel like an old shoe. Used. When he whispered in her ear, her eyes met that of the red-haired stranger sitting on the bench next to the witch. Something about him seemed oddly familiar. She just could not place him at the moment. After being let go, Alena sat between Jamie and Ben. Jamie gave her a halfhearted smile. Alena felt the surprise and friendship. Jamie hadn't thought she would actually come considering the last time they had met.

  Alena turned her attention back to Vincent. The wolves behind her had their attention on him. She felt like she was in church. Her eyes wandered the rest of the room. Above her was a balcony so if there was an overflow, people could stand there. She saw doors dotted along the structure and long hallways and wondered where they led. This place was obviously built to harbor some of the lone wolves. She wondered how may were staying on the property.

  "You all know the reason I called this meeting. Something has killed two of our young. One of them was my own nephew. We have hunted for the beast that did it and cannot find anything. No scent, no tracks, no fiber the scum ever existed. It is as if it were a ghost. It mauled the bodies and left them on our doorsteps to find. It is a crime."

  "It must be stopped!” There were a few shouts of agreements. The growing bloodlust loomed against her mind, reminding her of a salivating dog. She hadn't been in a crowd this riled up for a long time, and the emotions were wearing thin on her, and the drive was catching up to her. She wanted to lay her head down on a soft pillow and sleep well into the day.

  "Yes, it must be stopped. That's why I called upon Marija, our vedma, our most powerful and revered witch. With her help, she has summoned—"

  "She brought in an outsider. We don't need outsiders to solve the problems of the pack. We'll find the murderer and kill him. He is bringing the humans from the town into this. If we have one more mauled hitchhiker or camper, the cops will begin to say something."

  The crowd grew rowdy again. Alena watched Vincent, who had an amused look on his face. But the other stranger intrigued her more. He had a short red hair cut in military style and was beefy like he lifted weights. He was dressed entirely in black and even had the beginnings of a five o'clock shadow on his jaw. His lips were thin, but he had a strong chin with a slight cleft. His fingers were long like he could play the piano or violin. There was a dark aura about him that attracted her. She tried to read his emotions and came away with disdain and frustration. He wanted to be elsewhere. She couldn't sense his thoughts, but could tell from his body language, with his legs crossed and his arms crossed over his chest. But there was something else she sensed about him, a wall she couldn't penetrate. The woman next to him radiated power. Alena didn't have to sense the witch's emotions. She saw them radiating from her like heat waves. And she was also a wolf. Her eyes reflected the light.

  "We do need outside help. Our guest has experience handling other supernatural beings. He has resources we do not. You all know we make it a point to stay away from vampires. There have been others who have been kept as their pets. Driven mad by their torture. We stay away from anything which is not pack unless we cannot. But we must find this killer. You will give him whatever he needs. Whatever the Warrior asks for, it will be granted. Is that understood?"

  There was a muttering of agreement through the audience. They really didn't want to give into what Vincent said, but they quieted down. After a moment of silence, everyone got up and filed past Jamie, giving her words of comfort or a good hug. She started crying again. While the pack strolled past Alena, some shook her hand, but most gave her the evil eye, especially the man she had focused her will on. The look on his face was one of murder. She sensed he might come after her one dark night and take her out if she were not related to the pack leader.

  Finally, everyone was gone, and only Marija, the mysterious stranger, Vincent, Jamie and her husband were left in the room. Alena got up and stretched. “Look, umm—I hate to cut this short, but is there anywhere I can bed down? The drive was a bitch and I had to work all day."

  Ben stood up. “Of course. We have an extra room at our place. You—"

  "Ben, it's wonderful of you to offer, but Alena will be staying with me. You shouldn't be burdened in your time of grief."

  Everyone looked over at Marija, surprised she had spoken up and offered. The vedma seemed never to volunteer. At least that was the feeling she got from the group.

  "I don't want to put you out. I don't know how long I'll be welcome so—"

  "Nonsense. You're part of the pack no matter what anyone says. Come.” Her smile was inviting. Alena opened her mind to sense if there was any malice in the offer, but she only felt truthfulness and warmth in her statement. She was genuine, and if she wasn't, she hid it well.

  "Okay. Well, that's settled.” Alena hugged her cousin, kissed Ben on the cheek, and glared at Vincent. She wasn't going anywhere near him if she had her way. Enduring him while she was here was bad enough. Marija got up. Alena noticed her eyes lingered on the Warrior, as if she longed for him. Alena sensed a history between the two, but she was not about to ask because she didn't know this woman and the man on the stage was not a werewolf. He was something else.

  The vedma smiled at her and walked out. Alena followed out of the hall, glad to be out of there and back in the woods. She had always loved the outdoors and didn't realize how free she had been when she lived there as a child. She could roam free and listen to the wind. She used to love roaming because nature had no walls, no emotions. The animals’ minds were so primitive they really didn't have feelings. They had instincts, and she could deal with that. She could be herself, not constantly vigilant about controlling her emotions around the others in the pack because they could crush her psyche.

  They walked for a bit in silence with Alena trying to keep up to Marija, whose walk was as graceful as a lioness instead of a wolf. Alena
had always wondered what that would be like to slip her skin and run along with nature in another form, but she had only experienced that sensation in her dreams. Now, being among the pack, she felt the hollow echo of the piece of herself she was missing. Maybe, if things worked out right, she might be able to shift and slip her skin. Part of her doubted that, but there was always hope just like there was always an assurance there was a full moon. Finally, they came to a stop at a small cabin a ways away from the compound and the other families. She figured the witch of the pack would want her own space to do whatever she did.

  The vedma ushered her in over the threshold of the cabin. There was a small fire still flickering in the hearth, mostly the hot coals burned as red as mini suns, but the fire gave off enough heat to keep the place warm. Inside was cozy, even though it appeared there had been a scuffle since a bookcase was toppled over with its contents on the floor. Alena wondered what had happened there.

  Alena jumped when the door clicked shut. She turned around to see the dark-haired werewolf staring at her, studying her. Marija's mind pressed against hers, but Alena threw up a wall to keep her out. “Look, thanks for the hospitality and all, but if you just got me here to mess with me, I really don't appreciate it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go back to my cousin's to see if they have a futon or something.” She made for the door, but the witch put up a hand to stop her and shook her head.

  "Alena, please. I meant no disrespect. It's second nature for me to read people. I've been doing it since I was a child. Before I was a wolf, I was a gypsy. I was born with a similar power to yours. I could read emotions, see auras. I could never influence people, though. Being a wolf, I make sure there is nothing or no one who will destroy the harmony of the pack. I guess I failed on that one."

  Alena stared at the witch, pondering what she had said. The intruding presence retreated from her mind and she figured Marija was telling her the truth because she sensed the disappointment in her words when she met her eyes again. Unshed tears glistened there. “Look, it's not your fault something is hunting the pack. I'm sure you've tried your best to keep everyone safe. Ahh ... I don't know why I came up here. I shouldn't have come. I'll tell Jamie I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm sure she doesn't need me around."