Miranda

by Sherry Foster

  ***

  Later that night, tucked firmly in a guest room at Nathaniel’s Donovan caressed his mate and kissed the faint marks still upon her fair skin from the abuse she suffered. As he loved her he made her his in every sense of the word. They changed to wolf form and he chased her around the room before loving her again. Exhausted from the day’s events the two finally succumbed to sleep with whispered promises of joy and laughter to come and the assurance Merry’s uncle had blessed their union.

  The next morning the trio gathered in the breakfast room to plan the day’s events. Donovan did not like the plans but he admitted Nathaniel knew more of clan than he could possibly know. After much argument the two newly mated wolves made their farewells and climbed in the carriage to continue to the castle.

  Chapter Eight

  Donovan stared appalled at the raging woman in front of him. His had long since pressed Merry to his back to shield her from the anger and vitriol the harpy spewed at him, at his little Merry, at his pack, his ancestors and anyone not born a witch. He had listened in dismay as the woman blamed Merry’s father for her wanton ways and her callous disobedience. He felt Merry shudder behind him, his body no shield for the hatred her mother displayed.

  As far as he could tell loving him was the only act of defiance his Merry had ever shown her mother. But from the poisonous words hurled at the two of them one would believe Merry had defied and vilified her mother every day of her life. Donovan had never heard Merry say so much as one harsh word about the woman. Either his love had hid the truth from him or she was as surprised as he was about the reception they received. Maybe a bit of both if he was honest. She had not lied to him, she just had severely understated how her mother would react. She had worried her mother would worry over their bond. Worry was not the emotion filling the air this eve though.

  When the harpy eventually stopped ranting his Merry eased out from behind his back. He tried to keep himself between the two women, but it proved impossible. He saw the tear tracks on her face as she straightened her shoulders and drew in a deep breath. He saw she was prepared to do battle on his behalf and that went against every instinct in him. As the two shuffled for position, she to stand before him, and him to continue to shield her, the harpy laughed. A mocking sound that caused his wolf to claw at his insides with even greater force. He would soon be forced to retire or show a weakness he was not prepared to show.

  “You think to win me over by showing me the two of you can not even work as a team to show me your love? How pathetic is this love you claim that neither of you will yield to the other. You, so pitiful with your puny powers of shifting. What protection can you give my daughter? You dare enter my abode and think to take my daughter? You dare! You will not take my daughter as your mate. You will go back to your pitiful pack and you will be thankful I let you live. You are never to see my Miranda again. Now go before I go against clan and pack and destroy you.”

  “No, mother you can not. You must not. I will not let you send him away. If you love me you will bless this mating. You can not send him away, we are mates whether you chose to accept it or not. We are not asking for permission, we are telling you what will be, what is. I know our history, and I know the shifter history, no greater love can ever be than that of true mates. A bond between our people is a desirable match. Rarer than the most precious of treasures and not to be scorned.”

  Donovan watched as the flames in his mate’s eyes rose and deepened as Miranda turned on her daughter. “Never will I allow you to mate with one such as he. I have your future planned and a shifter will never be a part of those plans. You will marry the man I have chosen for you and you will produce the daughter your lineage requires of you.”

  “No, you can not command of me to love another when my love is for Donovan. Tis not how love works. His is my heart and I will be with him with or without your blessing.”

  “This pathetic wastrel means so much to you?”

  “He is not a pathetic wastrel. If you loved me you would want for me to be happy. Were your claims of love just a cruel mockery for the entirety of my life? Did never you care for me?”

  “Child what do you know of the love I have for you? I love you too much to see you waste your life with one such as he. If you must have your shifter I will allow it on but one condition. You will have the child you are meant to have first. One pure of blood and not mixed with one such as this. You have no need to stay with the man after your child is birthed but his linage is desirable and needed for this clan. Your future has been planned since before you were birthed and you will not gainsay the plans. You may take the lover you chose after the birth of your daughter. You may end the life of the father of your child as I did for you. Better to have no father than one who would think to go against that which he can know nothing about. But you will produce the child before you will be allowed to live a life with no care for the clan. If you wish to abandon the child to the clan and run off to be with your shifter here I will not stop you. But you will not bond your life to his, not without first producing the child. Think you carefully and you will see I am doing what is best for you and our future.”

  “You would destroy her life and consider it good? This is how you show your love for your only child? Is she nothing but a pawn to be used by you in your quest for ever more power? And you dare to question my love for Merry when your love is so callous and cold? You dare much to try the mate bond in such a manner.”

  “You speak of the mate bond, but my daughter is no wolf to be bonded to an animal such as you. You would do well to leave. If my daughter still desires you once she has her daughter she can take you as a lover. She will never take you as a mate. Get out.”

  Before the words were out the copper wolf the two shared rose. Miranda stared at the two in horror. “You really did it, you mated without my consent? I felt it, but never did I believe my feeling true in this case. You have destroyed this clan for a paltry emotion you think is love? How dare you. Best you convince your wolf to back down, the two of you haven’t the power to win against me.

  Flames danced in Miranda’s hands as she spoke against the pair. The copper wolf circled the two as it watched the threat in front. Before either party could take action the front door slammed and moments later Nathaniel stormed into the room.

  “Enough sister, even if you can not release your anger you will release your fire. What gain you to destroy the two? Your own child, your only child and no way for you to get another, no not even with all your power. Think carefully what you do here for the repercussions will echo throughout the clan. Ever have we been allies with the shifters and ever will we be. You will not alienate our people for your bid for power. Foolishness indeed if you have not seen what can be if only you cultivate kindness over your thirst for power.”

  “What will be? Brother dear, surely you have been the one who fails to look toward the future. What power will any clan have if the shifters gain these?”

  Nathaniel smiled, “And there is the answer you seek.”

  Miranda stared at him for a moment before abruptly quitting the room. The three watched the door until they heard a door slam upstairs. Merry closed the door and looked at her uncle, her smile bright. “You almost waited too late. Do you think she will realize what you have done?”

  “Oh my child, I did you no favor there. I told you when you left my home I would do all I could but you do not realize what you have wrought. You do not realize the price you will end up paying to keep the alliance. I told you both, you will have to choose between the pack and the clan and the clan is the only real choice you have when everything is said and done. I didn’t gain you freedom, only life. I do not know what she will decide in the end, but she can not send you away and she can not break your bond.”

  “Uncle, as long as we are together what does it matter where? I told you, we told you, we will pay whatever price is demanded of us to stay together. We are willing, we talked it over last night and again on the way here. If we mus
t give up pack and choose clan, we will still have family who will protect us and love us.”

  “I wonder.” The mutter almost too faint for the pair to hear, had it not been for the wolf in them they would not have heard. Merry turned worried eyes toward Donovan.

  Worry not love, we will be together though it means leaving my pack. If I must abide here I will still have you. We will just stay far from your mother.

  Chapter Nine

  The pair waited with Nathaniel in the sitting room as they listened to Miranda rage through the castle. The occasional shatter of glass caused Merry to jump and more than once turn startled eyes toward her uncle. For his part he stayed calm and talked of nonsensical things. He told Donovan of Merry growing up and the various capers she had gotten into with her small powers. Ira had brought them refreshments and stayed a while to tell some of his own stories. As the morning faded to evening various members of the staff had come into the room stayed awhile and left again. Donovan recognized some of them but others he had never seen. His mate greeted each one with happiness and introductions. By evening he knew which ones he would choose to call friend and ally.

  He didn’t make the choices rashly but rather watched how Nathaniel interacted with each one and how they looked at his Merry when she was not looking at them. Most of the servants were treated as family and he found over the course of the day that almost every one of the ones he met were clan. He had much to thank Ira for by the time the evening meal was served.

  “If Merry has such small powers why is her mother so intent on keeping her? I don’t understand this position at all.” He looked down at his mate before leaning over and kissing the tip of her nose, “Not that I care a whit how much power you have, my love. I simply do not understand how you can be so important if you have no power. How can you pass power to your child if you haven’t any yourself?” Donovan looked back up at Nathaniel.

  For a moment Nathaniel looked a bit guilty. Finally, when Donovan thought he would get no answer and had just turned his attention back to his mate he heard Nathaniel speak.

  “You have to understand, Merry has the potential for great power. She is young, and with age comes knowledge and power. Miranda is the most powerful witch in our clan, that doesn’t mean she is the most powerful witch ever. But you see, Merry here has the power from her mother and her father’s lineage. Were she to live long enough, and link to enough of our people, she would be more powerful still than her mother. Her child, were she to have married Leith, would be more powerful still. But if Miranda were the one to link to the child she would draw that power into herself, making her the most powerful witch. This in turn would allow her to bring all the clans together under one rule. As it is now, we have much infighting amongst ourselves and this puts us in danger of being found out by the ones who have no power, pure-blood humans. A united clan is much to be desired.

  “So Merry is more powerful than her mother? Why worry we then what problems her mother could bring?”

  “No son, Merry has the potential to be more powerful. Her mother is linked to her and can draw away some of that power, and before you ask, no Merry can not break the link. So it is possible Miranda will continue to grow in power as Merry’s powers grow. But even then she will only be able to equal the power from the McGregor clan, just as they can only equal her power through Lieth.”

  “Lieth must die.” Donovan snarled.

  “You can’t kill him. You would never get close enough to him to do him damage but he could kill you were he to get past your wolf. I don’t like the clan, but he keeps the two more equal. If we were to have gained him into this clan I am sure they had plans to rid themselves of Merry after the birth, we had plans also. We had the advantage over them in the negotiations for the marriage. It is for naught we speak on these things though. They matter not now. What matters is where we will go from here. The child the two of you will have has the potential for greatness. Miranda will have to choose between killing the two of you, which she will find hard to do with your copper wolf, or taking you in and trying to weave her magic to your child. I honestly do not know if she can draw power from the child. We have not faced quite such a situation before. I confess I am anxious to see the outcome of a child born of the two of you.”

  “So do you know of anyway to break the link between the two? Can we not be free of all of the power plays by breaking the link?”

  “Donovan, I tell you true, there are ways but I can not, will not help you break the link. Our clan needs Merry and I do not know of a way to break the link which would not bring danger. I am opposed to danger for danger’s sake. Miranda will think on the situation and I trust come up with something everyone can live with.”

  “If she doesn’t? What then? You would see Merry destroyed by her mother?”

  Nathaniel shook his head, “In time you will learn, but the way of the clan is not an explanation to be heard in one day, or even a handful of days. Even I hold secrets I can not share with you, no nor with Merry. But if you will hold strong you will see Miranda would never destroy her daughter.”

  Dinner was a subdued meal that night. Miranda had still not made an appearance when the three retired to the sitting room for a game of cards. As the evening wore on it became clear Miranda would not make an appearance that night. Nathaniel had apparently expected such an event as he instructed Ira to arrange his room for him. When Ira led them to their bedchamber later that night Donovan was pleasantly surprised to find the servants had readied the room furthest from Miranda’s for the two of them. He felt even more secure when he found the room near to Nathaniel’s. As he and Merry lay in bed that night she worried and fretted about the future until he finally got her mind off of her mother. She had no complaints as he made love to her and caressed her as she fell asleep. He stroked her cheek and watched her sleep until he too drifted off.

  Chapter Ten

  Breakfast was a somber affair with Miranda presiding at the table. Conversation was nonexistent as no one wanted to be the first to speak. Even Nathaniel kept his mouth shut, which from what Donovan had gathered about the man was unusual. The only sound was the clatter of dishes and the small sounds the silverware made. Merry kept shooting glances at her uncle but he only shook his head and continued to eat. Donovan wished, not for the first time, that he had taken his mate and disappeared to the new world, New Holland. He had heard the land was free and open with plenty of places to roam, but little in the way of farmland. But few ships sailed so far south and he wasn’t sure he could even get passage there. Possibly he could get passage to the new land England claimed, the Province of South Carolina or some such.

  After the meal everyone looked toward Miranda who had still not spoken. When she did it was a curt, “Follow me.” as she left the room. Donovan allowed Nathaniel to go first while he walked with Merry. He kept his hand on the small of her back as they walked down the hall. When they stopped at a small sitting room he waited until the others had taken seats before placing himself between Merry and Miranda.

  “Sit down. I will not have a conversation where I have to look up at you. Sit.” Miranda pointed at a chair a few feet from the chaise lounger but with raised eyebrows he sat beside his mate. He watched the look of disgust on Miranda’s face and could not find it in himself to care.

  “I can’t break your bond without jeopardizing my daughter. This much our history tells, a copper wolf, once mated, will always die with it’s mate. If I could kill you I would. If I could break your bond, I would. If I could have another child, I would. But my dear brother was correct, I can not replace Merry, nor can I break your bond. I refuse to allow the potential my daughter carries to leave this clan. Make no mistake, I will kill her before I see your pack gain her power. So this is what you will do. You will live here, goddess help us all, with Merry and you will be trained by Nathaniel to handle the power you now share with my daughter.” Donovan started to speak but Miranda threw a fire filled hand up, “I am not done and you will learn boy I do not like
to be interrupted. Learn this and learn this well, I can damage you painfully without killing you. My word is law in this castle and in this clan. I bow to none. Now as I was saying, you will retract your oath from your Alpha and pledge loyalty to this clan. Do this and you both live, fail me and you both die. Do you both understand what I am telling you?”

  “Yes mother.” Merry’s whisper floated in the air.

  Donovan narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Nathaniel who nodded. “I did warn you the cost would be great.”

  “My loyalty is to my kind. What assurance have I that you will not turn on my people later. The alliance we have with you and yours has lasted centuries but it may not always be so. I can not give my loyalty to you or your clan if you turn on my pack in the future. If the alliance falls my first loyalty will be to my mate, my second will be to my kind.”

  “No, your first loyalty will be to me and mine. I understand your kind well enough to know you can not pledge your loyalty to any over your mate, but I also know this, you will pledge your loyalty to me to save your mate. That is what I am telling you will happen. Your loyalty to me or your mate dies and you along with her. Choose wisely little wolf.”

  Donovan growled. What was it with these people telling him to choose wisely all the time. And he had not been a little wolf in decades. If he could end Miranda he would. He vowed to himself he would end her if he ever found a way. A pledge of loyalty was not an oath of commitment. Pledges could be broken, while oaths could only be severed in other ways. He found himself agreeing to the demand, what choice did he have when his wolf was so frantic inside of him.