The Eden Series: The Complete Collection

by Stalder, Janelle

  “My Captain is right,” Jameson said, his voice calm amidst the tension now running through the group. “I need everyone I can get, and Elisa will be where I’ve told her to be.” He looked to Elisa, who remained strangely quiet throughout the exchange. Aiden had expected her to yell at Markus. Instead she seemed calm. “Now, let’s contin –” His voice was drowned out by a loud rumbling noise. They rose to their feet as one unit, looking north. Aiden was the first one to understand what it was. He was the only one smiling and almost jumping in joy. He ran forward a bit and barked out a surprise laugh. The others gave him strange looks, but he didn’t stop, he just ran further. He brought his hands to his mouth and called out a loud shout of welcome.

  Coming down the side of one of the smaller hills, he could see Hawk sitting proudly in the front. He called back with his own shout, and Aiden laughed even louder. They were here! The Riders had come to join them!

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  There was so much laughter and rejoicing, it was hard to believe that in less than an hour they’d be going to war. Jameson met Hawk as soon as he got off his horse and embraced him warmly. They were both smiling, clearly relieved to see the other. Aiden was greeted by all the men, most of them slapping him affectionately on the back. He watched as Hawk hugged Moose as he stepped forward. Then his eyes landed on Wolf, and Aiden saw his already wide smile grow larger. It was contagious, and he found himself grinning like an idiot. Hawk’s bark of a laugh rang out as he held his youngest son. Wolf was at a loss for words, which was a miracle all on its own. This was exactly what he needed, after what had just happened, Aiden thought to himself.

  “You look good, boy,” Hawk said, holding Wolf at arm’s length. He gave his shoulder a hard smack, making Wolf stagger a bit to the side. “You’re strong, like your father,” he beamed proudly. A line of men was waiting behind the Chief to greet Wolf, so as soon as Hawk moved aside, Wolf was surrounded by hollers.

  “You’ve barely aged,” Hawk said, grabbing Turk’s forearm in greeting.

  The Captain laughed. “He’s doing all the aging for the both of us,” he replied, nodding at the King. Jameson smiled, taking the Captain’s taunts in stride. Hawk chuckled. “We’re glad you’ve come,” he continued, his voice growing serious.

  Hawk scoffed. “You didn’t think we’d let you have all the fun, did you? It’s about time we came together and stopped this once and for all.” Turk nodded in agreement.

  “Well, now that you’re here, we’ll need to revise our plan a bit,” the King said, stepping towards the map. Aiden instinctively followed, leaving the rest of the men still circling the others.

  “Hawk,” Markus said, stepping forward to greet him. “It is nice to see you again.”

  Hawk looked momentarily surprised. “My scouts said the north had you trapped on your island,” he replied, shaking the other man’s hand.

  “My army yes, but I wasn’t there when they first arrived,” he replied.

  “Lucky for you! It is nice to see you again,” the Chief smiled. “I wasn’t expecting to have us all here, but this will make for better planning.” It was true, all the leaders were together for the first time. He stepped beside Hawk, and looked down at the map again. Suddenly an arm slung around his shoulders. He jumped in surprise. Hawk was smiling down at him and squeezing his shoulder.

  “I’m glad to see you are well,” he said.

  “Thank you, sir,” Aiden smiled. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the Chief until that moment. There was a slight change in him, a sadness in his eyes. Aiden could only imagine what he was going through, having lost his only daughter to betrayal. He didn’t think of Rain often, but looking at what she had done to the proud man made him dislike her for the first time. He hadn’t even felt that way when she was tying him to a chair and threatening his life. It wasn’t right that a parent should have to endure this. He wondered what it was going to be like when he and his two sons were alone for the first time. Outwardly, Moose and Wolf seemed to be taking what had happened with Rain well, but Aiden knew they were probably both irreparably damaged on the inside.

  The King started shifting around numbers, indicating where everyone should go. As they started to go over a new strategy, there was another interruption. Aiden turned to see a group of four men galloping toward them at top speed. As they drew nearer, he noticed Wolf and Logan pulling their weapons out of their sheaths. Aiden glanced back at the approaching men and wondered what their problem was. Truthfully the men looked a little rough. Clearly they had been on the road for a while, but otherwise they didn’t seem to be a threat.

  “Lower your weapons,” Markus ordered.

  “Those men attacked us,” Wolf said, not taking his eyes off them.

  “Attacked you?” Markus seemed baffled.

  “Are they the thieves that attacked you on your way home?” the King inquired. Wolf and Logan both nodded.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Markus scoffed. “They are my men.”

  “Oh really? Well then how do you explain their injuries?” Logan asked. “I’d say Elisa left a nice array of scars to remember her by.”

  Aiden turned to find Elisa, but couldn’t see her. When he looked back, he realized that one guy was actually missing a hand. Had she done that? Another had a horrible scar on his face, purple and puckered. At this point the men had reached them. The largest dismounted. He limped slightly as he walked over to them. His eyes met Wolf’s and Aiden saw recognition…and then guilt.

  “Good dawning,” he greeted, bowing to the King.

  “Niall,” Markus acknowledged, stepping forward and greeted the other man. “How was your journey?”

  “Long, but successful, my Lord.”

  “Any reason why my men here say you attacked them?” Captain Turk asked in that voice that made Aiden sweat. The man could be seriously intimidating when he wanted to.

  Niall stiffened under the Captain’s scowl. “We apologize for the misunderstanding. Trust me when I say, we suffered more for our mistake than they did.” Aiden’s eyes went to the man without a hand then back to the speaker. “We were sent north to scout for Markus, and were told to look out for Aziz’s spies. We thought they might be working for the dark forces when we saw them travelling at such a rapid speed. We did not realize who they were until it was too late.”

  “Do you always strike first and ask questions later?” said Turk.

  The man’s cheeks actually went red. “At times like these, we didn’t want to take chances,” he explained. Wolf didn’t look convinced.

  “Enough of this,” Markus said, waving his hands in the air like he could wipe away what had happened. “Clearly this was just a mistake, and from the look of my men, I’d say they learned their lesson. Now, what news do you have for us? We have a battle to fight and cannot afford to waste time.”

  “Yes sir,” Niall replied. “Our news is actually quite interesting. We stopped in a small village at the base of the mountain range called Willshire. There was a merchant there that had just left another village hidden in the mountains – Frost Point. The people there swear that they have seen Aziz’s beasts roaming the forests. People have gone missing, never to return. It appears the sorcerer has regained his strength and built a new army of creatures.”

  Silence followed his story.

  “Are you certain?” Jameson finally asked.

  “Yes, High King. We waited there until morning and headed to this village ourselves. We spoke to numerous people who witnessed the creatures. ‘Tis true what the merchant said.”

  “What game does Aziz play?” Turk asked no one in particular.

  “Is it just the northern army on their side?” Hawk asked, his hand rubbing his chin in thought.

  “It is,” Jameson replied.

  “Interesting,” he muttered.

  “Why has he not sent them then, if what you say is true?” the King asked.

  Turk laughed grimly. “Why waste his beasts on us when Callum is willing to do it with his
men? Aziz is likely hoping we’ll kill each other, and he’ll be left with little to deal with,” Turk said, shaking his head.

  “Would he do that to Callum? Use him like that?” Jameson asked, thoughtfully.

  “Aziz will use anyone,” Hawk said, glancing quickly at Aiden. He swallowed awkwardly, ignoring the chill in his bones.

  “I bet Callum doesn’t know it,” Turk said. They all looked over at the other camp. Jameson let out a slow sigh, before turning back to their map.

  “It’s not our problem,” he said, his voice strong. “Let us focus on our strategies. You four go get some food and water,” he ordered the newcomers. “The rest of you, back over here.”

  They all went back to the map, listening to the King as he calmly planned out their battle. Moose came to stand beside Aiden, giving him a quick smile, before growing serious. Aiden could see the future Chief in him, despite how often he joked around. Looking around at the group of people he was a part of, Aiden felt suddenly comforted. These were good, talented people, and if they all worked together there was no way they could lose. Focusing on the new plans the King was discussing, Aiden sent a silent prayer up to whatever God or Goddess was looking down on them. He couldn’t lose another one of these people. The image of Felix’s sister suddenly entered his mind, her round belly pulsing with unborn life. When all of this was done, would anyone really be the winner?

  * * *

  Elisa had felt incredibly uncomfortable when Wolf’s father and people arrived. It should have been a relief, seeing how many more men they had on their side. Instead, all she could think about was how disappointed Hawk was going to be when he heard Wolf and she were no longer engaged. Excusing herself amongst all the commotion, she headed back to her tent. She just needed a quiet moment to think. Markus and his stunt was still replaying in slow motion in her mind, like being constantly whacked in the head by something hard and unexpected. What had he been thinking? And Wolf! Gods, she didn’t even want to think about him. All she could do at the time was stare at the floor, like the argument happening in front of her was about someone else. If she could have made herself invisible, that would have been the most opportune time. She was furious with Markus. Not since she was five years old did a man try and speak for her or control her actions. And that man had been her father! What Markus had done was inexcusable, but there was no way she was going to fight with him about it in front of the King. It was too disrespectful. He’d hear about it when they were by themselves though. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute. Alone time, that was all she needed.

  Pulling back the flap to her tent, she had only stepped one foot into the space before she heard someone behind her call out. Her whole body stiffened in response, and she realized she wasn’t going to get alone time after all.

  “Elisa, wait up!” Wolf called again. She turned, holding up the tent flaps so he could enter too. He stormed through the opening, anger radiating off him in tangible waves. “What the hell was that?” he spat out, as soon as the flap fell shut. His jaw was clenched, and fire burned in his eyes. She unconsciously took a step back from him.

  “What was what?” she asked, trying her best to keep her voice calm. It occurred to her that she had seen Wolf angry like this more often in the last year than she had the entire time she’d known him. It seemed like his anger was always simmering just below the surface, and for some reason she seemed to be the element that set it off.

  “Don’t!” he replied, pointing his finger at her. “Don’t play stupid, Elisa, it doesn’t do you justice.”

  She sighed, wishing she had just ignored him the first time she heard him. There was no way around it now, and she seriously did not feel like getting in a fight with him right before a major battle. They only had a short time before it would begin. “Wolf, I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “How about you try to explain to me what exactly happened back there? How could you just stand there and let him tell you what to do?” She cringed away as his voice grew louder. “You hung your head down like some child who was getting reprimanded! Is he your master now? Does he get to decide what you do and don’t do?”

  “Enough! Stop patronizing me, I don’t deserve it.”

  “Then tell me what just happened? Who was that girl I just defended? Since when does she let someone make choices for her? If that was anyone else they would have had a fist shoved down their throats!”

  Elisa took a deep breath, steadying her nerves. “Did it occur to you that maybe I just didn’t want to cause a scene? It didn’t really seem like an appropriate time to argue with someone, especially a person of Markus’ position.”

  Wolf laughed incredulously. “Is that was this is about? You think because he is the leader in Nysa it gives him the right to own you like some fancy new toy?”

  Despite her effort, Elisa could feel her anger boiling now. She had enough of his insults. Taking a step toward him, she shoved her finger into his chest, making him take a small step back. “Talk to me like that again, and you’ll be the one with a fist down his throat!” she yelled. She froze at his sudden smile.

  “There,” he laughed. “That is the girl I’m looking for. Why can’t you do that to him?”

  “Maybe he doesn’t piss me off like you do!”

  “I imagine no one pisses you off quite like I do,” he replied with a smirk.

  “No one is as infuriating as you are!”

  He scoffed, hissing air through his teeth. “As if what Markus just did wasn’t infuriating?” he asked, his anger returning, all hints of his smile gone.

  “It’s not the same.”

  “Why not?”

  “It just isn’t!” she yelled, shocked by her own sudden anger. Their close proximity seemed to be making her angrier, even though she didn’t understand why. A part of her wanted to step back, blaming the ache in her neck from looking up at him as the reason, but she didn’t move. There was a large part that revelled in the energy that was charged between them. It was causing the hairs on her arms to stand.

  “Maybe you just care more about what I say about you,” Wolf said, his voice still hard.

  “Ha! Don’t count on it.”

  They stared at each other, an unspoken argument raging between them. “Fine,” he said. “Forget I said anything. I hope you enjoy being his new pet. He can parade you around at his fancy parties in all the pretty dresses and jewels he buys for you. Sounds like the life every girl would just love!”

  “Oh shut up, Wolf! You’re just jealous!”

  “So what if I am?” he yelled. Elisa sucked in her breath, taking a step back. His eyes blazed, searing into her. Suddenly her anger was gone, replaced by a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “Y-you h-have no right to be,” she stammered, her words coming out weaker than she wanted.

  “I know, okay? I get it. I screwed up. I just –” he paused, looking down at the floor. “I just want you to be happy, Elisa, and I can’t help but wonder if that will happen with Markus. He doesn’t see you! He has no idea who you really are, he just sees this young, pretty girl who looks nice on his arm. Can you honestly say you think you’ll be happier living with someone like him, rather than me?” He looked pleadingly into her eyes. It was the first time Elisa could ever remember seeing him look so incredibly vulnerable. It made her heart ache. “I know I can’t buy you fancy dresses. But I know I can make you happy.”

  She tried to swallow around the lump in her throat. Their whole conversation had turned into something she did not want to deal with, especially with the battle coming. Her head needed to be clear of problems, and it was going to be hard to do that so close to the fight. There was a loud voice inside her head that was screaming for her not to hurt Wolf. Then there was another that reminded her of all the ways he had hurt her in the past.

  “I don’t know if Markus can make me truly happy,” she began slowly, “but I’m willing to give him the chance to try. I’ve made my choice, Wolf.”

  His
body stiffened, his face becoming flat and unreadable. He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again, seeming to decide on something else. “Good luck today,” he said finally, his voice hoarse. Elisa could feel the colour draining from her face. His tone was a dismissal, a note of finality that, for some strange reason, made her scared. Had he finally given up on her? Why would that make her scared? I should be happy, she thought. Wolf didn’t wait for her to reply. He brushed past her, heading quickly for the tent’s opening. As he pulled back the flap she returned his words.

  “Good luck, Wolf,” she said, her voice surprisingly low. “Be careful.” He stopped, keeping his back to her. She watched as he seemed to battle something inside, before he let out a hard breath.

  He turned back to face her, pointing a finger. “You can act like you don’t care all you want, but I know you do. Right there, that shows me you do, because I hear every note of your emotion in your voice. I hear every word you’re not really saying, and it hits me like a million stinging arrows. Hide behind your promises and engagements all you like, but I know, Elisa. I know deep down what you feel.”

  Her face felt like it was literally on fire. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she spat. It was amazing how quickly he could ignite her anger. “I was only wishing you luck!”

  He shook his head once. “No, it was more than that. Your voice was sad, because you knew once I leave here, I won’t be coming back again. Not in this way, not with my heart in my hands.”

  “You’re delusional.”