Everyone was quiet as the two men stared at each other. Jasper was the first to move. He bent over, grabbed William’s shirts and handed them to him.
“Sorry about the cut.” He gestured toward William’s neck.
William pressed the heel of his hand against it. “After what Hayden had told me about you I was sort of expecting worse.”
Everyone shifted back and I introduced my pack to him. He gestured toward the light blond haired man. “That there is Steven.” He turned to the one he had risked his life to protect. “And that is Emelly.”
Two small hands reached up and pushed the hood back. Two green eyes blinked at me. Emelly ran a hand through her short dark red hair. She looked to be in her early twenties. Matthew, who was standing by her, looked down, his own green eyes wide with surprise. He cleared his throat.
“Umm. Sorry about that.” He offered her his hand which she hesitated before taking. He pulled her to her feet. “Our main objective is keeping Hayden safe, you see. We thought you were another pack Braw had sent to capture her.”
Emelly, who seemed about my height, looked up at him. She blushed before looking away. “That’s ok. I was more scared than anything.” Her voice was just a touch louder than a whisper. She looked down at her hand which was still in his. “Does it…I mean…does it hurt when you do that? Change?”
He shook his head. “No. You just think of it and it happens.”
“I’d never seen it before. Not even when Braw did his thing. I was born here, but my father wasn’t. He warned me not to believe everything people in Paradin told me. That just because I didn’t understand something didn’t mean it made it wrong. I never did go watch.”
“He sounds like a smart man.”
“He was.” She looked up at him again and swallowed hard.
“There were ten of us when we left Paradin,” explained William. “I didn’t go recruiting, mind you. I didn’t want to draw attention to my plan. We’re the only ones left.”
“Oh, my god! What happened to them all?” But even as I asked the question, I knew the answer.
“Let’s just say that hunting you down is a dangerous hobby.” He shook his head. “We lost three crossing the Wedelven River. I don’t know what is in that thing, but I don’t recommend going for a swim if you ever feel the need. I remembered you’d said you were from Sageden, so we made our way in that direction. Somewhere along the way, we ran into a pack of the… well, the cat shifters. We lost one then. We then were redirected toward Pinsaber, but before we got there, we heard you had headed to Howel. We lost two against a pack of the dog shifters and then we came across some humans and when we refused to join them, we lost another man; Emelly’s father.”
Emelly was looking at the ground again, tears flowing freely down her face. She looked about to collapse. Matthew pulled her to his chest and held her as sobs raked through her.
“Shush. There, now.” He rested his chin on her head and rubbed her back. He looked over to Jasper. “I’ll take her to camp.”
My mate nodded.
Matthew wiped the tears from Emelly’s face with his thumb and took her hand. “Come. I’ll get you something to drink.”
We all watched as the two of them started walking back in the direction we had just come.
“It took you nine months to get here?” asked Harold. He was trying not to smile.
“None of us had ever left the Northern Regions around Paradin.” William shrugged. “I told Brice he should have come along, that we would probably get lost, but he insisted on staying behind. He said you would need someone on the inside when you decided to come for Braw.” He looked from me to Jasper. “Are you? Going to go for Braw?”
I was too stunned to answer. My throat tightened and my stomach was doing flips. I felt Jasper’s hand take a hold of mine.
“What?” My voice barely made it out of my throat. “What did you say?”
“About Braw?”
I shook my head. “About Brice.”
“Well, see, he’s in exile right now. I think they would have killed him except that Braw thinks you might come back for him. God knows they’ve come close a few times trying to get information out of him. He’s bait. He’s been in the dungeon since he got captured. He’s not allowed visitors, he just gets to see a guard when it’s meal time. His psycho girlfriend came down once, spit at him then left. Man, she’s a bitch.”
“Was a bitch,” I murmured absentmindedly. “I killed her.”
“Well, I can’t say I’m overly hurt by that fact.” He peered at me closely. “You thought he was dead.”
I nodded and wiped tears of relief from my face. “We were almost at the river when one of the human packs caught up to us. He stayed behind to fight them alone so I could get across the river.” I leaned back against Jasper and he rested his chin on my head.
“He’s alive, Shlova.”
I smiled. “He’s alive.” I looked at William. “Tell me what happened.”
“When Braw sent his men out to find you he gave orders that if you were to get away, they were supposed to try and take Brice alive. I won’t lie to you, Hayden. I had just been whipped and was still tied to the post when they brought him in. When I saw what they had done to him I was glad I had gotten away with a flogging. Acting dimwitted helped, I think. They thought you had tricked me into letting you go. But with Brice, they knew he had taken you on purpose. He ignored orders. He went against Braw. He was tied to a horse with a long rope. He was dragging on the ground. There was a trail of blood behind him. I thought he was dead.” He shook his head. “They dumped him in a cell and left him there. They didn’t even bring someone in to tend to him. I was put back on guard duty right away. I did the best I could to try and get him better.”
“But he’s alright?”
William nodded. “After two years, I think they got tired of beating the crap out of him. They bring him his meals and that’s it. Braw is just waiting for you to come and save him.”
“I didn’t know,” I whispered, fresh tears falling from my eyes. “I was sure he was dead. Had I known he was alive, we would have done something!”
“I told him we should find a way to let you know. He refused. He said Braw would be watching to see if anyone looked about to go to you with a message. Brice didn’t want to lead him to you. He also said that if you thought he was alive that you might come for him cause you were stubborn like that. He didn’t want you risking your life by coming to save his.”
Jasper chuckled behind me and I turned to look at him.
“Sorry. I could just picture him saying that. You know, he’d have that look where he rolled his eyes? That one he got every time you would ignore what we told you and you would do as you pleased?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I remember it. I also know which look he’ll have on his face when we get him out of that cell.”
Jasper smiled. “He’ll glare at you, take a deep breath, then kiss you on the forehead and say ‘Hayden, you have to start thinking before you do things. You’re just lucky things worked out this time’. He never can stay mad at you.”
“No matter what happens once we get up there, we have to get him out.”
He nodded. “We will.”
“Should we head to camp and pack up? We could get another half day of travelling in before darkness falls.” Rainen was looking up at the sky.
“Yes, let’s get going. What is it? Another week until we get to Howel?” I couldn’t laugh at William for getting lost. I was no better.
Rainen nodded.
“So, Steven, what’s your story?” I fell in step with him. I looked up at him and took in his light hair and blue eyes. Appearance wise he couldn’t have been more than twenty, but the haunted look in his eyes made him look much older.
He looked back at me, his smile less than cheerful. “I crossed over when I was ten. I was one of the lucky ones that actually managed to survive long enough for someone to find me that wasn’t human.” He looked back to t
he path we were on. “I was sitting by a river, fishing, when a man and a woman came by. They introduced themselves and asked me what my name was, where my parents were. I remember trying to be brave and to act like I belonged there. When I tried lying and saying that my family was just a little ways away, I broke down. The woman sat down beside me and asked me if I had crossed over from a different world. She said it like it was an everyday thing here. I nodded and she looked at the man. He nodded and the next thing I knew they had sort of adopted me. They were Namaels. Cheetahs. They already had a daughter who was eleven. For a while, life was great. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I missed my mom and dad, but I got used to the idea that there was no going back and Charlie and Patty were great to me.” His eyes narrowed.
“We were out hunting one day. I was seventeen then. Tess used to bug me because I was so slow, but I always managed to help put food on the table. I’m decent with a bow and arrow. We were busy gutting a deer we had brought down when six beings came strolling toward us. Dad was polite, he always was, and invited them to stay for supper. Our cabin wasn’t very big, but they took him up on his offer to stay in the barn for the night. They waited until we were all sleeping.” He looked at me and back at the trail.
“I heard Tess scream.” His jaw tightened and he swallowed hard. “I jumped out of bed and almost tripped over Dad and Mom when I got to the living room. They were tied up on the floor. Someone hit me over the back of the head and then I don’t remember much for a while. Every time we would wake up they would make us drink this awful tasting drink. It would knock me out every time. Then one morning I woke up and I was in a cell, alone. I called out and Dad called back to me. They had put the three of them in a separate cell. I remember asking if Tess was ok. I could hear her crying. Mom said she would be fine. That’s when he walked in, Braw, acting all fatherly and concerned, telling me how I had been misled but was about to see the light. I heard them take Mom, Dad, and Tess out of their cell just after supper.”
His voice dropped and hardened. “They came for me shortly after. They were even nice enough to give me front row seats to the event.”
I put a hand on his shoulder and he glanced at me. “You’ve seen it?”
I nodded.
“My dad was black and blue. His face was all broken. Mom and Tess, well, I guess shifters aren’t good enough to live, but they are good enough to fuck.” His jaw clenched. “Tess looked at me and started crying. Her clothes were so ripped they barely covered her. I tried to get to her. I tried. Someone tackled me and I ended up tied to a tree that was close enough so I could still see what was going to happen. Braw walked up to them with that staff and they started to scream. Then there was two of each of them. I didn’t see where the arrows came from, but the next thing I knew their cats were laying there, dead and then they collapsed. Just like that, it was done.”
He took a deep breath. “It took six months of being beaten every day before I finally told him he was right. I never believed it, mind you. I knew I had a better chance of escaping if I was allowed to roam around. I was there two weeks living among them when I ran into Beth. She had just crossed over and had been brought straight to Paradin.” He smiled at the memory.
“We lived outside of the keep, not too far from the Wedelven River, actually. She convinced me to stay close to her crossing; she was hoping to go back one day. We lived there for six years. Then Braw decided he needed more men for his army. He sent patrols out to collect all of the men in the area. Mandatory enlistment. I refused. Two of them jumped me and Beth tried to stop them. A third guy hit her over the head then helped the other two beat me to a pulp. I think they left me there thinking I was going to die. I managed to live. Beth didn’t. I don’t know if he meant to kill her, but the blow to the head did it. I spent the next year plotting my revenge. I was on my way to the keep to try to kill Braw when I ran into William and his crew who were on their way out. I had met him a few times in Paradin when Beth and I went there for supplies.”
“I told him he was about to commit suicide,” said William. “I told him if he truly wanted revenge that he should come with me to find you; that you would do better than just kill Braw. You would destroy the staff. Of course, I have to admit that at the time, I wasn’t entirely sure what you had planned. But that is what you have in mind, isn’t it Hayden? I mean, why else would you be recruiting down here?”
I nodded. “That’s the plan. We’re on our way to Howel to see if I can heal Damian. He’s the leader of the Majs. Once that’s done, we’re heading to Paradin. Melana, the Namael Queen, will meet us there with her army. This has to end.”
“Do you think you can do it?” asked Steven.
“I’m not sure. Not by myself. But I do think that if I can pool my powers with Rainen’s, Damian’s, and Marilynn’s we should be able to do it. What I want to do is exactly what Braw wants me for. I’ll channel all of our powers and project them then keep my fingers crossed. Of course that means I have to get close enough to the staff without getting close enough for it to touch me because then I would be channeling its powers as well.” I looked back and reached for Jasper’s hand. “If that happens…” I took a deep breath. “It won’t happen. If Braw gets close enough to use me, there’s only one way to make sure he can’t.”
Jasper growled low in his throat. “Don’t talk stupid, Shlova.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do, Hun. If Braw gets his hands on me, am I supposed to just let him use me to wipe you out? I’m supposed to kill everyone I love?”
“He won’t get that close.”
“It’s an option we have to think about.”
“No.”
“Jasper…”
“No.” He let go of my hand and walked ahead of me.
Dodge snorted behind me. He’ll die before he lets you do anything of the sort.
I swallowed hard. “He’s used to being able to save me. There’s nothing he can do against Braw. If he gets close enough to attack Braw, then Braw is close enough to touch him with that staff.”
Gina, who was usually very quiet, put a hand on my shoulder. “But if Braw is busy separating Jasper from his tiger, then that gives you that much more time to do your thing.”
I looked up at her, shocked, but knowing she had tapped into what Jasper had been thinking. I glanced down the trail in time to see him shift and bound into the woods.
“I’ll meet you guys at the campsite.” Everyone nodded and I sprinted in the direction he had gone. Of course, I had no chance of catching up to him. I couldn’t keep up to him when he was a human, much less when he was a tiger.
“Jasper!” I called out into the forest, my heart beating hard from the run and my emotions. I swallowed and tried to keep the sobs from starting. The thought of watching him being separated overwhelmed me and I sat on a rock, trying to catch my breath. The pain that I would feel if he weren’t around engulfed me. I put my face in my hands and cried.
“Hayden.”
I looked up to see Jasper standing a few feet away, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched over. I couldn’t remember ever seeing him looking this miserable. I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him. He took a long shuddering breath and tilted my head so I was looking at him. His face was dirty where he had wiped his tears away.
“I can’t live without you,” he whispered. “Do you understand? If you go and do a foolish thing like that, I may as well die trying to stop it.” His eyes searched my face. “Do you remember when I told you that you brought me back to life the night you kissed me?”
I nodded and closed my eyes as he wiped the tears from my face with his thumb.
“If you die, my reason for living is gone.” He crushed me to his chest and I clung to him. “You can’t leave me.” His voice was hoarse with emotion.
I took a deep breath. “I won’t,” I whispered.
“Promise me.”
“I promise I won’t leave you.” I reached up and put my hand against his cheek then did the same wi
th the other. His week-long stubble scratched against my palms and I smoothed it with my thumbs. “But you don’t forget your promise.” I cleared my throat. “You already promised me you wouldn’t leave me.”
He nodded and brushed some stray hairs away from my face. “I did. And I won’t.”
I pulled him down to me and kissed him hard. It was one of those kisses that held every emotion in the book. Jasper’s lips answered mine. We were both breathing hard and my head started to spin. He moved the kiss along my jaw line then down to my collar bone. He pulled me close and held me against him, his face pressed against my neck.
“Don’t ever talk like that again,” he whispered.
I shook my head and ran my hands through his dark brown curls. We stayed that way for a few minutes before reluctantly letting go of each other. Jasper used a clean spot on his shirt to wipe my face and I returned the favor. We stood there, simply looking at each other for a moment.
“Should we head back?” What I really wanted to do was spend some time alone with my mate though I knew we had to get going.
He nodded, took my hand, and we made our way back to the campsite.
Matthew was sitting beside Emelly. He looked up as we approached, assessed the situation then smiled and, being Matthew, turned to the business at hand.
“I was thinking that maybe William, Emelly, and Steven should use a shifting stone. If they could shift, we would make better time.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” agreed Jasper. He looked to Emelly. “Any thoughts on what you might want to be?”
Her eyes widened and she looked at Matthew. She shook her head. “Well, um, I don’t know. Do you like being a leopard?”
He laughed. “I’ve been one for thirty years and I don’t have any complaints so far.”
“Alright, then, how about a leopard?” She blushed and her freckles disappeared.
Jasper handed me the bag of stones and I lifted them out one by one before nudging them. Namaels had a light blue aura whereas Majs had a dark blue one. I had also started to notice that each of the animals had a slight variation to its main color. I found a stone that had a slightly more aqua colored aura and passed it to Matthew. He smiled and gave it to Emelly.
Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) Page 5
