by Bonnie Vanak
Aurora was afraid to ask. “How many total members of your pack?”
He squeezed her waist. “You’ll see. It’s nothing to worry about. I’ll introduce you as my mate, and they will swear loyalty to you as well.”
Nothing to worry about. Right.
A short while after breakfast, they drove in his truck to the meeting hall. It was a long distance away. Robert spent the time filling her in on pack history. It seemed that there was a rival Lupine pack, the Silverns, who had nearly engaged him in a war for territory. The two pack leaders had ultimately declared peace, and set out terms for the agreement.
“The Silvern senior members will be there as well, serving as security while we meet inside, as per one of the agreements we made. We do the same for their people when they have a meeting. We watch each other’s backs.”
His casual tone relaxed her. Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal, this meeting.
“So it’s not like the other night, having sex in front of everyone.”
Robert shot her a sideways grin. “Only if you want. I aim to please.”
She playfully punched his arm. “No thanks. Let’s keep it in the bedroom—”
“Or the hot springs. Or the forest.” Then his grin faded.
“What?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Nothing.”
She’d officially mated this Lupine. He’d removed her slave collar. Yet he still maintained his distance. “Tell me. Stop treating me like a stranger, damn it!”
Raising his brows, he glanced at her. Aurora took a deep breath. “I’m now your mate and I still feel like an outsider because you keep secrets from me. If there is something going on that affects me, I should know about it. Or do you want me to pry it out of Susan?”
Robert sputtered, “My sister?”
“She’s good at telling secrets.”
He slammed a hand against the steering wheel, then sighed. “All right. I don’t want you feeling upset because you’re Mage, not Lupine. There are certain Lupine traditions an alpha would participate in with his new mate.”
“Such as…”
“Such as shifting before the entire pack and then running with them at night. And then the alpha and his mate consummate their bond—this time as wolves—beneath the moonlight.”
Aurora shrank back into her seat. No wonder Robert had growled at the pack last night when they’d wanted to run with the moon. He knew she couldn’t shift and complete the traditional ritual.
They rode in silence for a few minutes. Then he said quietly, “I don’t want you feeling like an outsider, Aurora. You’re my mate now.”
“Then don’t keep secrets from me. If there are traditions I can’t fulfill because of my…ah…uniqueness—I’ll deal with it.”
She put a hand on his arm. “Please, don’t shut me out any more. That hurts more than not being fully part of your traditions.”
Keeping his eyes on the road, he picked up her hand and brushed a soft kiss against her knuckles. “I promise, from now on, no more secrets.”
Not even the secret of the dragon? She wondered if he’d share that as well. Later tonight, she’d ask.
Guilt stung her. Yes, she’d helped lift the curse by mating with Robert, but she would kill his beloved dragon, the very creature the entire pack had relied upon. And dragons weren’t exactly caterpillars, either. They had fierce defenses. Rare silvers were rumored to spit fire and have sharp claws.
Sharp claws, dance away. The dragon seeking lessons she’d learned as a child surfaced in her mind, like a formula learned by a scientist. Fire will not hurt you, you are immune to fire and heat, like the dragons are.
Another, dimmer memory surged. Howling at the moon?
Aurora put a finger to her temple, wincing at the memory that stung.
Robert noticed. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Just a slight headache.”
They arrived at the parking lot of a large concrete building that resembled a warehouse. Several trucks and cars were parked there. Her chest squeezed tight as she gave up counting the many people—or wolves—who were there.
A lot of Lupines.
Robert climbed out, slammed the door and then helped her out the truck. At the doorway stood a tall red-headed man, his hair silvered at the temples. He wore pressed gray trousers, a navy sport coat and a white shirt and stood with a sweet-faced red-headed woman in a red silk dress.
She felt the slight tension in her mate as the two males shook hands. “William,” Robert murmured. “Pax.”
“Robert. Pax.”
Introductions were made. William was the alpha of the Silvern pack, the woman was William’s mate. She noticed the couple gave her a critical look.
William’s nose twitched as he sniffed the air. “You’re not Lupine,” he said, glancing at Robert.
Robert put his arm around her waist and pulled her tight. “Mage.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if daring the other alpha to remark. But William relaxed. “Welcome, Aurora. We’ll watch the grounds for you while you go inside.”
Robert gave a slight nod and held open one of the steel double doors.
The doors opened to a warm and welcoming vestibule, with a lush green carpet, tall windows and several potted ferns. Skylights allowed the overhead sun to shine in. A few leather benches and chairs were grouped among the ferns. The greenery and a fountain gurgling softly in the corner made it feel like an indoor arbor. She relaxed. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Certainly the entry hall didn’t seem formal.
Robert stiffened and nodded as two males standing as sentries by the double wooden doors bowed their heads. They opened the doors and a dull roar of voices drifted out.
Her heart pounded a crazy beat. Not a hundred wolves, but at least three hundred. They sat on cushioned benches that resembled church pews, except each bench had a small table in front of it. Writing tablets and pencils lay on the tables. The combined effect reminded Aurora of a giant, old-fashioned school-house.
At the head of the room was a raised wooden dais upon which were two large chairs resembling thrones. Other smaller chairs flanked either side, occupied by the Lupines she recognized from the ritual mating ceremony. A rich, polished mahogany wood paneled the walls in back of the dais and boasted an intricate carving of wolves howling at the moon.
Taking her hand, Robert escorted her inside. One of the sentries rang a silver bell and all conversation ceased.
Everyone stood. Aurora’s muscles clenched and she froze.
“Did I ever tell you public speaking isn’t my strong suit?” she whispered.
Robert gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll do fine. Trust me.”
They walked up the center aisle to the dais. Robert escorted her to the chair on his right, which was slightly smaller than his, and then stood before the largest chair. Intricately carved from wood, it featured two wolf heads on the armrests.
He nodded, sat and everyone resumed their seats.
The first hour was boring—business affairs. Reports of how well the nursery had done, birth announcements, budget reports, and a report on the pack’s next unified run through a local park. She almost yawned. And then Robert stood and took her hand, urging her to stand as well.
Holding her hand, he faced the crowd.
“This is Aurora. I have taken Aurora formally as my forever mate, according to the ancient rites. She is the one who is to lead the pack with me. She is not Lupine.” He glanced at her. “She is Mage.”
Murmurs rippled through the assembly hall like wind rustling tree branches. Robert held up a hand. “This is my word, and I shall keep it. Aurora is my mate, under my protection. Anyone who dares to hurt her, will die. I vow my life’s blood and my body to keep her safe. You will respect her, and obey her as you obey me.”
Now the murmurs intensified.
“What say you? Will you give her your fidelity and loyalty as you give it to me, your alpha?”
“Yes,” they said in un
ison, but she saw a few look sullied by resentment.
Robert stretched out his arms. “We shall conduct the oath of loyalty now.”
Aurora’s fingers tightened on the wood armrest. “What’s that?”
“They will shift into wolf and lie at your feet. And then shift back to Skin and swear a verbal blood oath. It’s a formality. Nothing to be scared of,” he whispered, patting her hand.
Nothing to worry about. But when the entire room shapeshifted into wolves, she gasped.
The wolves all growled and snarled, leaping off the benches. Hundreds of fierce, wild beasts, all staring at her. Then Robert shifted as well. She remained the only one in Skin. Soft flesh, easy to tear with those long, wicked wolven teeth…
Instinct welled up inside her, the fear a living, throbbing thing. Forget what Robert had promised. This pack would not swear fidelity to her and promise to protect her. They would tear her apart.
Promises were only words. She had to do something.
As the snarling mass of wolves drew closer to the dais, Aurora stepped back. Her frenzied glance cut over to Robert. The muscled, large wolf snarled at the pack. They backed away, and then looked at her.
As if she were a tasty treat to devour. Prey.
The instinct to flee sweated through her pores. They would smell fear, smell her weakness and it would trigger their urge to chase and hunt and kill. A whimper tore from her throat. Robert sprang in front of her, but she raced away, toward the corner. As he stalked closer, she thrust out her arms.
Don’t hurt me. Don’t. Leave me alone…
She would call upon her Mage magick. Shoot fire from her fingertips. But she didn’t want to hurt them, didn’t want to set them alight with her powers. Yet what recourse had she? They were wolves, and their instinct was to hunt and kill…
And then a long buried power, an instinct she’d thought had vanished forever, sprang to the surface. A feeling of magick so strong and intense, she had to surrender to it.
She squatted on all fours and snarled, feeling her bones lengthen painfully. Thick hair sprung out on her arms as her fingers changed into claws.
It hurt like hell and she screamed. Aurora closed her eyes and kept screaming from the knifelike pain stabbing her body. Then her screams turned into howls.
She opened her eyes, and looked, not at her mate, nor the hundreds of wolves staring at her.
But down at herself…on four paws, each tipped with sharp claws.
Like them, she was now wolf.
Chapter 14
Stunned, Robert shifted back into Skin, as did the entire room. Everyone except his mate. Shouts, screams, pandemonium erupted. Had the Silver Wizard materialized before them and turned into an ogre, the pack couldn’t have been more shocked.
His mate was not Mage, but Lupine. And judging from the acrid fear seeping through her pores, into her thick fur, a very frightened Lupine.
Pushing aside his what-the-hell-just-happened incredulity, he approached her. Her well-being came first. He’d deal with the pack’s reaction later. And his own.
“Sweetheart?” Still naked, well aware this wolf could tear into him—not to mention the very vulnerable dangling bits between his legs—he walked closer. The wolf growled and shrank back against the wall.
Robert held out his hand, hoping she would recognize his scent, and instinct would override her terror.
“Aurora.”
She growled at him.
He put some authority into his tone. “Aurora! Come to me. Now!”
Whimpering, she slunk forward on all fours. He kept holding out his hand, and when he could reach her, lowered his hand for her. She licked it and he kept murmuring to her soothingly, just like the night he’d taken her, as a man takes a woman, in the dark of night.
Robert stroked her head, marveling at her form. Smaller than other female Lupines, her fur a thick gray, she was, nevertheless, still Lupine. He could barely credit his own eyes.
“Shift back,” he told her. “You can do it.”
Whining, she drew back.
He’d have to show her. Gods, was it possible that she had never even shifted before?
“Like this.” Robert changed into wolf and brought his muzzle close to hers. She seemed to relax and her tail went up, wagging happily.
Then he shifted into Skin and conjured clothing for himself. But she remained wolf.
He turned and saw the entire pack staring at them. Perhaps in numbers…
“Listen.” He held up a hand. “I want everyone to shift into wolf, and then back to Skin.”
Guy, his beta, frowned. “Why, boss?”
He shot him a dark look and Guy shut up. The Lupines shifted into wolf, then back. Robert fetched the ceremonial cloak and held it in his hands, watching his mate as she lay down and then howled, her body growing taut and shaking. After a few minutes, the woman replaced the wolf. Naked, shivering violently, she curled up into a ball. He lifted her into his arms and threw the cloak around her.
“You’re Lupine.” He stroked her hair. “And Mage.”
“Yes.” She hung her head, refusing to look at him.
Stunned, overjoyed and more than a little pissed off that she’d deceived him all this time, he gathered his lost composure. Why hadn’t she told him? Didn’t she realize this little secret she’d hidden from him made him lose credibility before his entire pack?
Then he looked at his mate, and the misery on her face and a little of his anger faded.
“You didn’t know you were Lupine?” he asked.
“I knew.” She didn’t meet his gaze. “But it’s been so many years since I was wolf that I had put it out of my mind. The Mages taught me to embrace my other powers and forget I was wolf.”
Dozens of questions raced through his mind. He’d deal with them afterward. Right now, he had to set everything to order.
“Well. This sets a new record.” He gestured to the still stunned pack, staring at them. “I don’t think they’re been this quiet for more than thirty minutes.”
She made a feeble smile at his joke. He held her close, feeling her heart pounding hard against her chest. He had to get her out of here, somewhere she’d feel safe. To a place where he could ask questions, without prying ears.
But first, the oath of loyalty. “Aurora, we still have to do the oath. You up for this?”
She raised her head and tears glistened in her beautiful blue eyes. But her look was fierce. “Yes.”
Still covered by his cloak, Aurora took her seat and he sat in the chair beside her.
One by one, each Lupine approached in wolf form and lay down before the alphas, showing their bellies. Then then shifted back into Skin, clothed themselves and swore a blood oath of loyalty to Robert and Aurora as their alpha leaders.
She was officially their leader now. He felt a deep sense of peace and yet foreboding.
What else had she been hiding from him?
It had been a hell of a meeting.
In the truck, Robert wasted no time. He waited until closing his door and then turned to her with a scowl that looked more than a little scary.
“And why didn’t you tell me you were wolf? Did you not know? How could you not know?”
Aurora’s stomach knotted in misery and shame. So much for childhood training helping her to fight the Lupine instinct. Faced with all those snarling wolves, her dormant Lupine self had reacted.
“I no longer consider myself Lupine. I never fully learned about being wolf, and I’ve shifted only once before. I’m Mage, was raised as Mage.”
Cold sweat dampened her back. Such a novelty, sweating, burning from mortification and fear, even though her skin was ice cold. Robert was her mate, but she’d hidden a huge secret from him.
“Are you going to punish me?” she asked in a small voice, drawing back against the door.
He shook his head and growled, “No. I told you, I don’t hurt women and I sure as hell would never hurt you. But you have a lot of explaining to do.”
He didn’t speak the entire drive home. He marched her upstairs to bed and piled her with blankets. Finally the warmth seeped into her bones. He made her hot tomato soup, and sat on the bed beside her as she ate.
When she finished, he removed the bowl, went downstairs, but returned with a pitcher of water and a glass.
Eagerly, she drank. Gods, why was she so thirsty?
“Later, when you get accustomed to the toll shifting takes on your body, it’ll be easier. You need simple foods to digest, and plenty of water.” He caressed her hair as she gulped down water. “I suppose that is why you were so thirsty in Cadeyrn’s palace. Did you have your first shift there?”
Aurora wiped her mouth, glad for the bottle that sat on the night stand. “No, a few days before that. Everything was so crazy, so new. And then my parents…”
She hung her head, ashamed of meeting the condemnation in his eyes. “I suppose I should tell you the full story.”
Robert raised her chin upward and she saw the glimmer of amusement on his expression. “Yes.” His mouth quirked. “It would help.”
They had both kept secrets from the other. Aurora plucked at the bedcovers. “I will tell you, and there will be no more secrets between us. This means you have to share with me as well.”
Now it was his turn to look away. The dragon. The biggest secret. He finally met her gaze and nodded. “Very well.”
Gathering her courage, she looked at him. “I want to know the secret of the dragon you keep.”
Robert went still. Then his eyes darkened. “Why?”
Perhaps it was time to step out in truth. “I need the dragon.”
For a moment he looked stricken. Then he sighed and nodded. “It is time you know. But I need to know what you’ve not told me. Your Lupine heritage.”
