A Wolf's Embrace (Wolf Mountain Peak Book 4)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Don't you mention him,” Alexander said, although his voice trembled with emotion. “Peter fought a fight he could not win. But the rest of us are still here. And it does not change the fact that–”

  "The fact that I am no longer your brother, just some bastard orphan," Cole cut him off, standing tall.

  "That your rage may have killed people," Alexander answered. "You know that when we transform, control is harder..."

  Cole simply smirked.

  "So, you intend to rule passively? Kill them with kindness, is that it? And be nice to your bastard brother, who was born into a terrible life, but got lucky."

  "Cole...."

  "Forget it." Cole had found the scroll he needed. "Forget all of you. I was born to rule, and if you won't accept me here, I’ll find another kingdom!"

  Alexander's eyes widened.

  "Where are you going?"

  Cole smirked, drawing the magic around him.

  "It's a magic trick, brother," he said, and snapped his fingers.

  He felt the familiar magic swirl around him. Magic was always his comfort zone, his safe place that he could go to–a place that baffled his brothers.

  The golden light filled his soul, and he felt his dragon wings spread. It was only for a moment though, to make the impact with the ground easier. His wings retracted, and he found himself sitting on grass.

  It took a moment for him to adjust to the air. It was different than on Umora, not thicker or thinner, but different.

  The scroll was still clutched in his hand–the key to controlling this race. Humans were weak minded, he had always been told. It was simple magic.

  That is, if he could unlock it. He couldn't even read the words that were written, the characters unfamiliar.

  It had seemed like such a good plan in the moment, standing tall against Alexander. But Cole was smart, and he knew he'd never figure this out without help.

  He pulled his knees up to his chest, laying his head on them, thinking.

  There must be people who worked with ancient texts around here. He could probably intimidate someone into helping him. It shouldn't take long for someone who knew what they were doing. This weak-minded planet could be his by this afternoon.

  And once one planet was his, there were more for the taking. He would show them.

  Cole slowly stood up, glancing down at his clothes. Squinting to catch a glimpse of people in the distance, he snapped his fingers and became dressed like them. He wanted to remain undercover, at least for now.

  In his world, if he faced this problem, there were only a handful of people he could go to–archive managers, elders, perhaps travelers. But he had no idea who those people would be here, or where to find them.

  "Oof!!!"

  He was so wrapped up in his own head, distracted by his thoughts, that he didn't notice the girl he bumped into until it was too late.

  The force sent him stumbling back a few steps, but she tumbled right to the ground, as if she was a limp rag doll.

  He wanted to roll his eyes and walk away; humans were so weak, especially compared to the force of a Dragon. But what she said next stopped him.

  "I'm sorry."

  He paused.

  "You're sorry?" he said in complete confusion. His English was rough, but he had paid some sort of attention when they had taught it in school. "I bumped into you. I should have been watching where I was going," she said.

  This girl was slight and pale as ivory with jet-black hair and dark eyes. Her collarbone stuck out, her cheekbones were sharp, and her body clad in a long skirt and long-sleeve shirt. She was completely different from any woman he had ever seen. Something about her seemed odd, however, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  Dragon women were normally large boned, tall, and strong. Their clothing was made to show off their bodies with their armor wrapped around their strong muscles when they fought. This girl couldn't have been more different from them had she tried. Dragon women were also strong-willed and held their heads high, hardly ever apologizing.

  "You should have been..." he shook his head. He was surprised to find it bothered him that she took the blame. It had been his fault, and he was fine with that. It was almost intentional. That was just who he was. But when she met his eyes, he felt disarmed. He sighed, reaching to help her up. What a weak, pathetic, little kitten. "It's fine."

  Now standing, she was taller than he originally believed, although they weren't anywhere close in height. She was oddly beautiful, he thought, if one liked that look.

  Not that he knew what he liked; there had been no one who caught his fancy back home. His brothers, on the other hand, always seemed to have women in their arms.

  "Thank you," she said. "I walk this route all the time, so I space out sometimes."

  Something clicked in his brain.

  "You know the area well then?"

  "Yes," she said, shrugging one bony shoulder. "Are you lost?"

  "I...," he paused. What difference did telling her make, though? If she couldn't be trusted, he could always be rid of her. "I need some help with a," he said, holding up the scroll, "family heirloom."

  "Oh," she clearly wasn't expecting that response. "I could show you the direction of the museum in town if you want? They are mostly a modern art gallery, though, so I'm not sure that'll help."

  "Uh...," he translated the words in his head. "No. I need someone with languages, ancient ones. The older the better."

  "Seriously?" she said, brushing the hair from her eyes. He was confused once more.

  "Yes."

  "Sorry, that was rude of me," she said. "It's just a coincidence. That's my degree in school."

  "Languages?"

  "Dead languages to be specific," she said. "I mean, I'm only in my second year, but my grades are good. I could take you to one of my professors...."

  "No," he quickly cried out. When trying to orchestrate a plan like this, the less people involved, the better. She was already involved. "I mean, you're in your second year?" Their school system was much the same as Earth, and she seemed a bit old for that.

  "Sort of," she said. "I mean, technically. I've been taking classes a bit slow, a few at a time when I can."

  He cocked his head.

  "Busy life?"

  "I uh...have a medical condition," she replied. "So, I just take it slow."

  That was what he felt radiating off her earlier. Illness–the aura of death. This fragile, little thing didn't have much left in her.

  Of course, he could fix that with a snap of his fingers. Magic could heal any human disease in a blink.

  "Well," he put on a sly smile. "I could fix that."

  She looked at him like he was crazy.

  "I'm sorry?"

  Quick as a whip, he reached forward, grasping her arm. She didn't even have time to scream, although he saw her eyes widen. Her face did lose the little bit of color it had as his hand tightened around her wrist.

  There were other people in the park. She could have screamed had she wanted to.

  But a strange feeling flooded her body; the sudden heat and sense of wellness stunned her. She had a headache when she first ran into him, but she noticed it was virtually gone. She felt less tired, her eyes more alert, her body lighter.

  Cole’s eyes flashed yellow, the telltale sign of a dragon shifter. He glanced away, but she had already noticed.

  When he knew that the magic had done its job, he let go of her arm.

  She remained stock still, almost paralyzed as she met his eyes.

  "What...are you?" she whispered softly.

  "Does it matter?" he asked, a smirk curving his lips. "Does it matter what I am, so long as you are cured?"

  "Can you...cure me?" she asked.

  "I can, there is more where that came from. This will wear off, but I can make it permanent," he replied. He wasn't entirely sure what the details of her condition were, but in the end, she was simply a weak mortal. He could cure anything. "Can you read my document?"
>
  "It'll take some work," she answered, "but I can."

  "Are you afraid?" he asked with such intensity that she had to take a step back. But there wasn't any fear in her eyes.

  "No," she said. "I’m not afraid. Should I be?"

  "If you don't do as I say," he said, quietly but firmly. "I will kill you."

  "I'm dead anyways," she raised her chin. "So, what have I got to lose?"

  He liked her attitude. It wasn't quite strength, but there was commitment.

  "What's your name?"

  "Enya," she said, and held out her hand. He remembered that this was a human tradition and took it.

  "I'm Cole," he said. "And together we will change the world."

  Chapter 2

  Every night, she lay in bed, asking herself whether it was possible. Asking herself whether he was just conning her; whether he had some cheap trick to make her believe that she felt better. Enya wanted to be healthy more than anything in the world. Her mind was strong; her thoughts kept her awake long after her body failed her. She watched healthy people run, jump, laugh, and work 12-hour days with envy. But she had never known that life. Plagued with chronic pancreatitis that she had inherited from her father's side, she had always known pain, always known weakness. And the way things were going, she would soon know death. Her pancreatic tissue was slowly fading, and the disease affected all systems of the body. Normally caused by heavy drinking, hers was idiopathic, inherited, and deadly.

  But the day after Cole touched her, she had a blood test taken at the hospital. The physician who had followed her since birth seemed genuinely confused at the results.

  "I'm going to redo these tests next week, if you don't mind coming in," he said, squinting at the paper. "Because it says that you are gaining digestive enzymes. That's odd."

  "Right," Enya said, knowing exactly why that was the case. "Odd. And there's no cause for it? Maybe I'm getting better?"

  "Enya," he leveled with her, looking her straight in the eye. "You know it's not possible for you to get better. Having false hope isn't going to help."

  "I know, I know," she said, abandoning all reason. She had spent a lot of time googling her disease and of course had spent a lot of time within the medical system. She knew there was no hope of curing herself with science the way it was.

  This meant Cole was telling the truth. She hadn't just been hypnotized into feeling better; she really had healed a bit.

  "I'll come in next week for a retest," she said to the doctor, but she was sure that unless he showed up again, her levels would go back to normal. She had a feeling Cole's magic was temporary until he cured her for real.

  He had left her in the park with the scroll and the promise that he would be back soon to check on her progress. But she had no idea when soon would be.

  All she knew right then was that she was suddenly motivated to work on it.

  After a few more follow up words, she was allowed to leave. Enya didn't usually schedule class on days that she had appointments because she felt like they were too draining.

  Today, however, there was a new spring in her step as she headed back to the small apartment she paid for with student loans. Her parents had been nervous about her moving out by herself, especially when her disease caused frequent medical attacks. But she had to have independence; she had to have a life. Her apartment was ten minutes from the school, but just two streets down from the hospital, of which she was a frequent visitor.

  She had put the scroll under her bed, unsure of what to make of it at the time. But now home with a new-found curiosity, she slowly unrolled it.

  It was authentic. She could tell as soon as she cracked it open. There was the familiar smell of antiques, of dust, and the musky past.

  The ink was half faded but well preserved, scrawled across the page with a practiced hand.

  She had never seen writing like this before. Ancient script was harder than modern script of a different language for many reasons. Some letters or words had long since died out, and there was no globalization. Today, it seemed like all major languages shared some similarities. But back then, things could have nothing in common due to the lack of communication between cultures.

  She had no idea where to begin. None of the symbols looked familiar to her. Nothing jumped out.

  Part of her agreement was that she would do it by herself. Enya was tempted to go into school to ask her professor, but she remembered the results of the blood test. He had been telling the truth. He could make her better.

  And so, she hunched over the text, took out a blank notepad, and began working.

  It was somewhere around midnight when the pain started. She tried to ignore it at first, hoping that it was just a spasm. She was so focused on the text and on trying to match the letters to one of her many translation textbooks that she had on hand. She was glad she never really got around to selling them.

  The pain began to radiate up her abdomen, causing her to gasp and grit her teeth.

  She was onto something. Some of the symbols possibly looked like Aramaic, a long dead language. There was certainly no one alive who spoke Aramaic anymore.

  She sketched a few of the symbols as nausea rolled through her body.

  E. She was positive that the odd looking one that appeared the most frequently was E. It had to be. It was one of the most basic rules of translation–E was the most common letter of the alphabet.

  Enya was top of her class and she always had been. When things weren't so bad, she had dreamed of working for the UN as a translator. She would earn a good salary and help her parents get out of the medical debt that she put them in.

  She supposed, in a way, that a cure was the highest paid salary of all.

  She was just filling in E to the copy she had drawn of the scroll when the pain she had been feeling became too much to ignore.

  A spasm hit and she felt her stomach turn over. She cried out in pain, leaning to the side of the bed. She knew that it was going to be bad, because she could see the edges of her vision go black.

  "Ah!" she managed to move away from the scroll just in time before heaving into the nearby garbage can.

  She hadn't eaten very much that day, but her stomach never failed to surprise her.

  "Oh, God, oh God," she clutched her blanket as she broke out into a cold sweat.

  But suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm, and everything came back into focus.

  The heaving had made her eyes watery. As she glanced at what appeared to be Cole, she was sure that she saw a halo above his head.

  "Gross," he said. "Do you humans have no dignity?"

  Enya was simply grateful that she wasn't going to pass out in a pile of vomit. No wonder she didn't have a boyfriend.

  Gingerly, she wiped her mouth.

  "Because you've never been sick."

  He smirked, letting go of her arm.

  "No," he said. "We do not entertain such notions anymore."

  She leaned back against the pillows, grateful she had at least hit the garbage can. And then, logic returned to her brain.

  "How did you get in here?"

  She should have been afraid. She should have feared for her life, her possessions. But as she watched his yellow-tinted eyes and his usual smirk, she knew she had nothing to fear. As long as she upheld her end of the bargain, that is.

  He was handsome in the way that images normally stared back at her from 15th century historical paintings. He didn't look quite right in modern day as if he was holding himself to different standards.

  "I can cure you, and yet you wonder if a half-locked door can stop me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Stupid questions get stupid answers, I guess," she leaned forward. "Sorry you had to see that. It was not the most attractive thing, by far."

  "Because I care about how attractive you look," he replied. "Have you cracked the code yet?"

  "I got one letter," she replied. "At least, I think I got one letter. I did tell you it would take a while."

/>   "One letter has taken you a week?" he asked, in disbelief.

  "Is there a deadline I don't know about?" she answered. "Besides me expiring?"

  His face changed.

  "The deadline is as soon as possible. Does that ring true in your ears?"

  "There has to be a reason," she answered. "You wouldn't be so desperate to have it otherwise."

  He rolled his eyes.

  "Is it a strange concept to you?" he asked. "To want to do something because someone told you that you couldn't?"

  "Not at all," she replied. "People tell me I can't do things all the time. If anything, it inspires me to do them even more."

  "There we go then, we have a common understanding," he replied. "So, spend less time emptying your stomach and more time working on the scroll. May I remind you that your life hangs in the balance?"

  "My life hung in the balance long before you came into the picture," she answered, defensively. She didn’t like being kept in the dark. "You should tell me why you want it. It might help me solve it faster if I know the reason behind it. Common sense is a huge part of language."

  He gave her a look.

  "Are you telling the truth?"

  "Yes," she said. "I have no reason not to."

  "Fine," he sighed. "I suppose that you'll be dead if you fail, so it doesn't make a difference. I'm a Prince, from a world far away. Or I was, until my father told me I was actually some bastard orphan. I thought I was of Royal Dragon blood, but it turns out I'm just some witch-dragon mutt. That throne is not mine for the taking, and that planet is lost to me. But this one, this one could be mine, if you activate that scroll."

  She sat there in silence for a little longer than he was comfortable with. Cole flexed his hand, causing sparks to warm up beneath his palm. He was ready to act. He didn't really want to kill her. He wasn't the monster people made him out to be. He was mischievous and he was hurt. But he would do it if he had to–if she lost her mind.