Aisyt kneeled down beside Ujarak. His skin was much too cold. She grabbed him under the arms and pulled him into the igloo. “Hold on, Ujarak. I’ve got you.”
The dogs looked up expectantly. Aisyt ignored them, hoping her lack of fear would make her appear an alpha. She called her magic. The storm outside weakened. Thinking quickly she focused on warming the air in the igloo around Ujarak.
“Air so cold, slow and grow, heat now hold, one who’s cold.” She forced the air to warm and sighed in relief when the blue tinge of Ujarak’s skin receded. Now she needed a healing spell. She placed her hands on his head and used her magic to sense any damage. His skull wasn’t broken, but a large bump appeared on the surface. Once more she called on her magic abilities. “Head so bare, pain repair, lump so sore, inflammation go. Life we love, return to us.”
Heat spread from her hands and she envisioned the wound healing and the swelling going down. Ujarak moaned. “Easy, I’ve got you.” Aisyt leaned down and brushed a kiss to his lips. His eyelids fluttered, and then she looked into a pair of chocolate eyes that warmed when they focused on her.
“I must be in heaven.” He reached for her, pulling her down for another kiss.
Aisyt reveled in the feeling, then remembered the three nanuk. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived. Being caught inside wasn’t a good idea. She listened. The wind slowed.
§
Susan looked up. The wind seemed to be dying down. In the distance, she could see white shapes moving. It must be the nanuk. A little farther away, another igloo rose from the horizon. If she could see them, they could see her. She dropped down to her belly and looked around. A small rise caused by drifting snow lay just ahead slightly off the trail she’d been following. She crept over to it, all the time hoping she wouldn’t be seen.
“Jean-Paul, please come back to me. You need to wake up!” There was a slight stirring in her mind. Pain rushed through the mating bond. Susan lowered her head, trying to let the agony wash over her. Then suddenly it stopped. Susan felt a prickling feeling flow through her mind. “Jean-Paul?”
“I am here, love.”
§
Jean-Paul heard Susan calling him from far away. He needed to find her. Darkness surrounded him. His head felt like it wanted to fall off. He reached up and felt the sticky liquid matted in his hair. Visions of the polar bear swiping at him filled his mind. The nanuk with the ring around his neck.
JP blinked his eyes open. His head throbbed and he whispered a quick healing spell under his breath. He couldn’t see anything, feeling with his hands, he realized he was zipped inside a sleeping bag. Someone dragged him along the ground, non-too gently. He could hear the occasional huffing sound and growl. It must be the nanuk.
“Jean-Paul?” Susan’s telepathic question filled his mind.
JP quickly reassured her. “Are you all right? Where are they taking me?”
“I’m fine, they burned the tent to the ground. I’m trapped in my wolf form by necessity. They’re dragging you toward an igloo. One of the bears has the ring.”
“Yes, I saw it before he hit me. Keep them in sight. If one of them decides to release me, let me know.”
“The storm is dying down. I’ve got to hide, or they’ll see me.” Susan’s fear leaked through the mating bond.
“Be careful. I’ll get out of this sleeping bag and then grab the ring. Don’t let them catch you.”
“I won’t.” A feeling of relief flowed to JP from Susan. She tried to be brave. Jean-Paul smiled. His Destined One might have a sharp tongue, but everything else was soft, the way he liked.
He called his magic and began to form a ball of light in his hand. The nanuk were immune to the effects of magic, but not to the effect of their environment. A ball of light in the face would still blind them, especially with the Arctic darkness surrounding them. JP waited for his chance.
§
Susan crept forward. She was about to go over a lump in the snow when an arm shot out and around her neck. Susan froze and looked up into a pair of ice blue eyes. “Wait, I’m a friend. We met at the ice palace.” Susan sent telepathically to the girl. As long as they touched, they should be able to communicate this way without a blood bond between them.
The arm around her neck loosened. Susan drew in a breath and tried to steady her beating heart.
“You are with the one like Aisyt?” the girl’s voice filled Susan’s mind.
“Yes, the nanuk have him in the bag they drag. You’re Qannik, right?” The equivalent of a mental shrug was Susan’s only answer.
The girl suddenly stilled. Susan looked over to see that two people crawled from inside the igloo. From the long hair and pale skin, Susan recognized Aisyt. Was the man wrapped in furs, Ujarak?
The nanuk huffed and growled. One raised up on his hind legs. The bear carrying JP dropped the bag. Ujarak’s uncle stood back. Everyone waited to see what would happen next.
§
Jean-Paul grinded his teeth. His body ached from being banged along the ground and just now he’d been dropped. Now if only one of the bears would open the sleeping bag. The small ball of light flickered in his hand. If he didn’t release it soon, it could catch the sleeping bag on fire. He lay still when he heard a familiar voice.
“I came for the ring, uncle. It’s melting the ice cap. It needs to go.” Ujarak’s voice rang out.
JP hated feeling helpless. It was difficult to control more than one element at a time, but he was Fae and thousands of years old. He had the power. He called the air to his command while sheltering the light in his hands. “Susan, what’s happening?”
“Ujarak and Aisyt are standing near the igloo. His uncle is shifting. Ujarak threw him one of the furs.”
“The woman with you is a spy for the amarok. Give her to me and I might consider giving you the ring.”
“No, she’s my mate.”
“Your mate? So the boy wants to become a man. At least she isn’t that lycan bitch you panted after. Still she helps the amarok fight against us. Let’s go inside and discuss this. You can share her with me. Between the two of us, she can be disciplined and shown the error of her ways.”
The air around JP felt charged. Itigaituk’s voice was filled with deceit. JP hoped Ujarak could hear it. It was time to act. He pushed the air against the inside of the sleeping bag. It began to expand like a balloon. Finally, it popped. “Close your eyes!” he sent to Susan as he released the ball of light in his hand.
§
Susan heard JP’s mental warning and shared it with Qannik. A flash of light could be seen even behind her eyelids. As soon as it was dark again she blinked her eyes open. Jean-Paul already moved. The polar bears rose up on their hind legs in response to the temporary blindness. That didn’t stop JP from reaching the ring and burning through the rope that held it. Itigaituk hollered and called the shift. One of the polar bears rushed Ujarak and Aisyt. Ujarak pushed the woman behind him and called the shift, even as he ducked the downward swipe of the bear’s paw.
Qannik leaped forward and suddenly the scene filled with white wolves. They jumped and bit at the polar bears. Susan ran toward JP. He reached down and pulled a knife from the snow. He sliced at the bear paw headed for his head. A growl of pain proved he made a cut.
A sudden blue glow surrounded Aisyt and Ujarak. The bear trying to get to them backed off. Three white wolves vaulted onto his back. Susan thought one of them was Qannik.
The sled dogs ran from the igloo in a frenzy. The smell of blood filled the air. The dogs leapt at the wolves. Their dark fur easily distinguished from the white wolves. Susan’s heart ached. She had to stop this slaughter. A young wolf yipped in pain when a sled dog bit its leg. Susan called the shift, then concentrated on a partial shift on the bottom of her feet. Thank goodness she was a lycan or she’d freeze to death.
Claws extended and fur and pads protected her flesh from the ice. She stood shivering in the cold and whistled to the dogs. Nothing happened. She reached for their minds,
sending a wave of calm to them. Several seemed to respond, stopping in their tracks. She pushed harder against their minds, demanding obedience as their alpha and whistled again, calling them to her. “Come. Come to me.”
The lead dog, his ear bleeding, ran to her side. Susan buried her hands in his fur. She trembled. The lead dog yipped and leaned against her. Another sled dog ran over and then another. Soon Susan was surrounded by the dogs. All of them tried to press against her. She was thankful for their warmth, but still shivered from the cold touching her skin.
Ujarak’s uncle suddenly stood before her. He shifted back to his human form. The dogs whimpered. He reached out to grab her. She tried to move back, but there were dogs all around her. She started to lose her balance. Itigaituk grabbed her arm and yanked her forward.
Susan cried out as Ujarak’s uncle forced her arm behind her back. She struggled. The man was slippery with blood even though shifting had healed him. The lead dog growled showing his teeth. Itigaituk pulled her back against his body with an arm around her neck. Her other arm was trapped between them. Susan grabbed at his wrist. He squeezed making it hard to breathe.
“Stop now or I kill the bitch.” Itigaituk turned her to face the igloo.
The other two nanuk were on the ground. From the amount of blood, Susan thought they were dead. JP stood with a bloody knife in his hand, his chest heaving. The white wolves milled around the fallen shifters and JP. The blue light around Ujarak and Aisyt suddenly winked out leaving them all blinking.
“Uncle, it doesn’t have to end this way. Release her.” Ujarak stepped forward. Aisyt put a hand on his arm. Whether to hold him back or console him, Susan didn’t know.
“How will it end then? You’ll let me go, leave me here? I don’t think so.”
Aisyt whispered something to Ujarak. He blanched and looked at his uncle. “Is it true? Do you and your friends hunt the amarok like she says?”
“They are an abomination!” Itigaituk yelled.
“They’re people, most of these are children. Children of the Nanuk.”
“No. They can never be nanuk. They are cursed, beneath us. The goddess knows they are unclean, that’s why they are canine. Dogs to be kicked.” Susan stiffened. Itigaituk could never be reasoned with. His hatred consumed him.
Susan looked at Jean-Paul. “I love you.”
§
“Don’t even think of giving up on me, little wolf.” JP sent a warming spell to the air around Susan. He could feel her heart breaking from the hatred of the man holding her. Ujarak kept his uncle’s attention like JP hoped. No one noticed him hand the knife to the small white wolf, or see Qannik making her way behind Itigaituk.
“Susan, when I tell you, kick Itigaituk in the knee. You must close your eyes. I’m going to send a fireball at his face. It won’t hurt either of you, but fire coming at your face will make anyone duck. Be ready.”
Susan closed her eyes as he suggested. JP could feel her through the mating bond gathering her strength to kick the bastard holding her. He wasn’t going to leave it to chance. As soon as he threw the fireball he would port to Susan’s side. Itigaituk wouldn’t take his Destined One from him.
Jean-Paul called his magic. A golden glow filled his mind. The Gryphon’s Eye ring feed his passion, both his love for Susan and his hatred for the man who threatened her. “Fire bright, warm this night, to my hand, a ball I command.”
JP threw the ball at Itigaituk’s head. “Now, Susan.”
She kicked. Itigaituk cried out. He released her, throwing his arms up against the fireball. JP ported to Susan and dragged her away from the man. The fireball winked out, but not before a knife flashed in the light. Jean-Paul pulled Susan farther away and blinked the dark spots from his eyes. When his vision cleared. Qannik stood over the fallen man. She plunged the knife over and over into Itigaituk’s back.
“I only wanted to love you! You killed Mama! You carved your initial into my skin. How could you? You bastard!” Tears streamed down her face.
Aisyt was suddenly beside the young woman, taking the knife from her hand. She enveloped Qannik in a hug, holding her trembling body as the girl sobbed.
Ujarak ran up, his face pale. “Aisyt, is Qannik my uncle’s daughter?”
“She was before he tortured her and left her to die. I found her bleeding on the ice. He staked her out, so she couldn’t shift. I saved her and brought her home.”
“I didn’t know, Luava had a child. No one in the family knew.”
“No, your uncle brought them here,” Aisyt explained. “He went hunting leaving Luava alone. He enjoyed hunting the amarok. I tried to shelter them from your uncle and his friends. When Qannik was born and shifted to a wolf, I knew there would be trouble. I made it a point to check on Luava. I never blamed her for what your uncle did. When he came back and realized that Qannik was amarok, he strangled Luava. Then he tortured, Qannik. Your uncle hated the amarok even more after that. He left traps in the snow, anything to hurt the wolves of the arctic. He came, every chance he could to hunt them.”
“Qannik, I’m so sorry.” Ujarak wrapped his arms around the two women. “Little cousin, I am so sorry.”
Susan shuddered in JP’s arms. Tears flowed down her face. He drew her close and using his magic breathed warm air around her again. “You should shift, you’ll be warmer.” Susan nodded. White lights coalesced around her. JP released her and then sunk down to grab her by the rough once the shift was completed. She licked his face and whined.
More whining surrounded them. JP looked around at the six sled dogs. The leader nosed Susan and licked her face. She licked him back. Jean-Paul stood giving the dogs a chance to comfort Susan. In moments she was surrounded by the tired, confused canines. He said a healing spell over them, taking care of their wounds. It looked like Susan was alpha of her own pack.
“Aisyt, we need to move to shelter. The wounded need to shift. I’ve still got to deliver the ring to the queen.”
She nodded and Ujarak released her. Qannik shifted into her wolf form and then hurried to the rest of the amarok. Aisyt took Ujarak’s hand. “Are you ready to see where I live?” she asked him. He brushed a kiss to her forehead. “Of course.”
Aisyt reached for JP’s hand and he in turn buried his hand in Susan’s rough. “Have the dogs touch you, or they won’t port with us.” JP sent to his mate. Susan soon had six dogs leaning against her.
“On three,” Aisyt began. “One. Two. Three.”
Chapter Eight
Susan blinked at the sudden light around her. She shivered from the change in temperature. It was warm. Gazing around, she realized they were in a massive cave. Dark earth lined the sides. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high. Where were they? JP patted her head.
Aisyt smiled at the group. “Welcome to the home of the amarok. This cave has been carved out by hot springs. It keeps the inside from freezing and helps warm the cave. I found it quite by accident when I fell into one of the small vents above.”
“It’s so warm.” Ujarak looked around, amazement on his face.
“Some of that is magic, and some is the hot spring. There is a pool if you would like to soak.” Aisyt looked up at Ujarak and winked.
“Perhaps later,” JP said. “Susan and I need to get the ring back to Quebec City and the portal.”
“I wish you would join us for dinner,” Aisyt said. Susan got the feeling it wasn’t a request. “Perhaps Susan would like to shift. I’m sure we can find her something to wear. Her dogs are probably hungry. We have enough food to offer them some. Come, let me show you.”
JP inclined his head in agreement. Susan fell into step with him, while her dogs trailed behind. Aisyt led them deeper into the cave. A smaller tunnel forked off and she stepped into it. The path wound this way and that. Susan realized rooms had been dug off the passage. Several held people and occasionally she would see a white wolf. The farther down they went, the colder it got. Finally, Aisyt stopped in front of an entrance to a small dark room. Susan could
see inside using her lycan senses. A platform filled with furs for sleeping sat in the middle of the space. Against the wall was a wooden trunk.
With a wave of Aisyt’s hand, two candles flamed, lighting the room. She went to the trunk and pulled out several pieces of clothing made of fur. She laid them on the platform. “Feel free to rest, or explore as you wish. Leave the dogs here and I will send someone with food.”
“Thank you, Lady Aisyt. We appreciate your kindness.” JP bowed.
She smiled regally and left, taking Ujarak with her. Susan called the shift and reached for the furs on the bed. There was a long skirt and jacket. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of polar bear and wolf, and was glad it wasn’t nanuk and lycan she smelled. “She can be kind of intimidating. I’m not sure I trust her.”
“You shouldn’t, nor should you underestimate her. Aisyt was a goddess long ago. She is very powerful. But her heart is good. You don’t have to worry about your friend. Ujarak is probably the safest person alive. She’s waited a long time to find her Destined One.”
“Why do you sound worried?” She wrapped her arms around Jean-Paul’s waist.
“I think she might want the Gryphon’s Eye, though I can’t figure out why. She could have killed Itigaituk years ago. Why hunt him now?”
“Itigaituk kind of forced the situation. He hunted and killed the amarok,” Susan said.
“Yes, but he’d been doing that for years. No, there’s more here. I can’t see it.”
“Why don’t we leave? You could port us out of here.”
“True, but I think we should stay for dinner. Besides, Ujarak might be safe, but I want to make sure he’s happy.”
My Perfect Mate Page 8
