by Noah Harris
Dean’s mind flashed back to the look Damian had given him when they’d spoken, and of Nox whispering in Damian’s ear. The plan had been to wipe this pack out, and for Nox to take Dean back with him when he and Damian returned to their lands. Nox could have told Damian anything, and there was no telling what Damian could know. Samuel’s eyes moved to Dean’s, and Dean realized in an instant where this was headed.
“Yes, you do.”
Mikael looked over to Dean, frowning, but Samuel nodded, “Babe?”
“You guys have me,” Dean told the other three. “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why you brought me here. Some of the other packs might have a shaman, but you don’t know any packs that have a druid. I’m your freaking crown jewel, aren’t I?”
Samuel stiffened, but didn’t avert his gaze. “With you, we have what we need. Enough packs on our side of things have shamans to confirm what Dean is, and that…”
“That means if they confirm what I am, you can confirm that Damian’s own shaman told him what I was before he fled. Suddenly, because you’ve got a rare jewel in your collection, you’re going to look like the number one target for them to come after. Voila, you have the support you need, and we can seal up our borders.”
Mikael’s wide-eyed stare at Dean narrowed to glare at his father, “You’re going to use my mate as bait? As a tool to gain support? Like hell!”
Samuel’s eyes widened, his mouth opening but Dean cut him off. “Do it.”
Mikael’s nostrils flared, and before anyone could say anything, he was off the pillow and stomping out the front door, without even taking his coat. Matalina’s face was expressionless now, and Samuel seemed torn between anger at Mikael’s display, and thoughtful curiosity at Dean. Dean didn’t like it any more than Mikael did, though he definitely preferred that it was him rather than Mikael.
“As a member of this pack, you really didn’t have much of a choice in the matter,” Samuel said tightly, all sense of vague geniality gone and replaced with his customary curtness. “I was simply explaining to you both what was to happen.”
“Yeah well, you have my permission anyways,” Dean told the man, standing despite not having been dismissed. “Rule of thumb for you though, next time you want to use someone in your political games, at least have the decency to tell them before you start moving them around like a pawn on a chessboard. If you had presented the idea to us first, rather than taking the first steps like I’m sure you already have, Mikael would have been pissed at just me, but now he’s pissed at you instead.”
“He—“
“Is your son, not just your heir, Samuel,” Dean told him, moving to the entryway to collect Mikael’s coat as he slipped his own on. “Maybe you should remember that sometime, or you might end up losing both.”
And with that, he left Samuel’s surprised, angry face behind; let the stubborn ass stew on that while Dean tried to find his equally stubborn son to soothe.
His return to the cabin yielded nothing but the absence of the sounds that would indicate an angry Mikael. Mikael wasn’t exactly prone to temper tantrums, but whenever he was in a foul or frustrated mood, he made sure to broadcast it to everyone in his vicinity. This was typically done with a lot of stomping around and treating objects more roughly than was necessary. Dean knew all too well the abuse that his doors and cabinets had suffered whenever Mikael was in a mood.
Sighing, he eyed the pile of their things next to the doorway, their bags stacked up neatly for them to do whatever they wanted with them. The inside of the cabin was warm, the heat from the fireplace having reached the corners of the cabin with ease. Apparently, part of the pack’s welcome to them had also been to tidy the place up and light the fire for them. Not that they had left the place a mess, but it had been a couple of months since their last visit and he was sure that more than a little dust had accumulated in their absence.
Well, if Mikael wasn’t in here glowering at the walls, or pacing around outside, Dean was sure he wouldn’t find him anytime soon. Mikael would show up again when he was ready to talk about what they’d just learned. Trying to find him when he was off brooding was just going to have Dean wandering all over The Grove and probably without success. He was sure that it wasn’t going to be a fun discussion, and Dean wondered whether Mikael was more furious with him or his father.
He hefted the bags up and set them on the couch, glancing at the large box that they’d been stacked on top of. It seemed the pack had thought that this too was part of their things, and he wondered if they were less determined than Mikael and had carried it in as a team effort. Everything else had been clearly labeled and he should have thought to label this box for Matalina as well. For now, it would have to sit there until he found someone to help him carry it back to the main house to give to the alpha.
Moving between the living room and the bedroom, he began to unpack their things. Most of it was a lot of warm clothing, generally leather outside with an inner fur lining. That had been Mikael’s influence; he had all but tossed out every puffy piece of winter clothing that Dean owned. He claimed that he hated how it made Dean look like a marshmallow. Dean was of the belief that Mikael just really liked leather, and that the werewolf appreciated the feel of fur, considering his other form. Telling that to Mikael had earned him a warning growl that had only egged Dean on, inevitably leading to riling Mikael up until Dean had found himself pinned to the floor.
His head jerked up as he paused in allocating the pairs of jeans they had brought, a side of the drawer for each of them. Even though only silence met his ears, a sudden prickle of hair on the back of his neck told him that there was more to the silence. Humming to himself, he bent to pick up the thick piece of firewood Mikael had used to prop open the bedroom door when the windows were open. Memories of the night that Damian’s pack had attacked flitted through his mind as he carefully moved to the doorway.
Stepping out into the living room slowly, he caught movement from the corner of his eye. Twisting away from the form, he brought the thick hunk of wood up in a batter’s stance. The only thing that stilled his wound-up swing was the familiar face well-lit by the fire. With a grunt, his arms dropped, and he glared at the laughing woman standing only a few feet from him.
“You always greet your house guests with a piece of firewood to the head?” Katarina asked, still laughing at him every few words.
“Consider me a little jumpy since the last time I was here, half The Grove was burnt to the ground and I was almost kidnapped by a maniac,” Dean huffed, tossing the piece of firewood back to the doorway with a clatter.
“Fair enough, at least you were smart enough to come out armed. Though, next time, considering what kind of enemy you could be facing, maybe the sword?”
Dean glanced back to the bedroom, thinking of the sword of silver that had been replaced in the box beneath Mikael’s bed. She had a good point, since a piece of firewood wouldn’t have done anything except piss off whatever werewolf might have been attacking him. The night of the attack, he hadn’t been at all comfortable having the sword in the first place. When the werewolf had come after him and the kids however, he’d been glad of it. He’d left the injured werewolf behind, but had taken the sword, wondering if he had just taken his first life. He still didn’t know how he felt about the fact that he’d ended up killing him, even though he had presented a danger to him and the kids.
“I’ll have to dig it out again then,” he shrugged and moved back to the bags to resume his unpacking.
“How did you even know I was here?”
“Katarina, I’ve lived with Apollo for the past couple of months. I’m pretty sure the man was trained by ninjas or something. You might be quiet when you want to be, but he’s definitely better at it than you are. Kinda just had a feeling that someone was in here with me is all.”
“Huh, go you. When do you think Grumpy will be back?”
“Grumpy? Oh, Mikael. Whenever he calms down or gets too cold.”
“I don’t kn
ow, he can be pretty stubborn when he’s mad. He might just freeze to the ground, or whatever rock he’s sitting on, before he comes back.”
“Then let’s hope someone has a chisel I can use to pry his stubborn ass off of the rock.”
“I’m guessing Father told you guys, huh?”
Dean grunted, moving into the bedroom and raising his voice enough so she could hear him, “Yeah, he told us. I get to be his ace in the hole, and shouldn’t I be honored?”
Her voice drifted out from the kitchen area and he wondered what could possibly be out there for her to raid, “You can’t say there isn’t sense to it.”
“I’m thinking that’s not what Mikael’s problem is, and that’s not what my problem is, either. I don’t mind the plan; it’s a damn good one. Hell, it might even encourage a shaman to show up and teach me some things. I know shamans and druids are two different things, but they’re kind of close, close enough that I might be able to learn something. I just don’t like that Samuel decided to start the process without even telling us. I didn’t expect him to ask my permission, but he could have at least told us before he started. And if I know Mikael, he’s seeing this as another way for Samuel to get back at me, even if it doesn’t really put me in more danger than it did before, since I’m surrounded by people.”
She emerged into the living room just as he did, munching merrily on what appeared to be a piece of chocolate, “You think that too?”
Dean eyed the sweet curiously. “No, I don’t think he would be so petty for something this serious, but I can’t blame Mikael for thinking it since Samuel hasn’t exactly been the most understanding when it came to us. Where the hell did the chocolate come from?”
“Eh, bunch of the pack members ordered all sorts of stuff the last time you guys were here, before the first snow. Sometimes it happens, and the scouts are the ones who typically go get it when they’re out doing their scouting thing. They must have thought you two mating was a sure thing, and they bought you guys some goodies.”
“Oh,” he glanced back at the chocolate in her hand, “And you didn’t think to bring me any?”
“What? It’s your gift, get it yourself.”
Dean snorted, tossing a pair of his underwear at her, “Brat.”
“Don’t throw you guys’ unmentionables at me,” she complained, throwing the underwear back at him, which he caught with one hand.
Dean smirked, “My unmentionables. Your brother doesn’t believe in underwear apparently; too constricting.”
Katarina’s face stilled at that, wrinkling her nose, “You know, I’m okay with talking about your sex lives, but there are some things about my brother I don’t want to know.”
Snickering, Dean moved back into the bedroom to deposit the remainder of the clothing when he heard Katarina’s voice from the living room again, “So how was it?”
“Mikael’s constriction?”
“No, you ass!How was the mating?”
Dean stuffed the underwear into the top drawer next to their collection of thick socks, using the moment to think about what to say. It was the first time anyone besides Mikael had asked him about it, and he wasn’t sure how to answer. Sex he could freely talk about, even if it was to one of Mikael’s sisters. Yet in some ways, the mating had been so much more intimate than that, and he wasn’t really comfortable with disclosing the full details. He didn’t expect the question to ever come up from Matalina or Samuel, but he thought that was less due to politeness and more due to the fact that being mated, they had a good idea of just how intimate and private it was.
“Intense,” he replied as he came back into the living room, seeing her seated on the couch and choosing the nearby chair. “Very intense.”
Her eyes moved to the mark on his shoulder, it was showing a little around the collar of his shirt, “So he just, went half wolf and bit ya?”
“Wasn’t half, just partial. And there were a few extra steps before that.”
Katarina bit off a piece of the chocolate with a smirk, “You guys mixed sex with it, didn’t ya?”
Dean shrugged, “He thought it would make it easier on both of us. Well, easier for me, so that maybe some of the pain would be offset by the pleasure, and I think it made it easier for him to bite me.”
“What, like he’s never bitten you before? I’ve seen those bruises mister.”
“Not really the same kind of biting. There was a lot pointier teeth this time, and a lot more bleeding.”
“Bled before, huh?”
Dean shot her a dirty look, “Shit happens. Anyway, the word I would use would be intense. I barely even noticed the pain. Like, the pain was definitely there, but after the process kicked in, it was like I was disconnected from it. Once the piece of the wolf began to flow in, everything else but him seemed unimportant. Then it kicked off my druid side, I think.”
“Kicked it off how?”
“I couldn’t really describe it too well to Mikael and I don’t think I can do it any better now. All I know is I had some kind vision where it was like I was connecting with a wolf, and then the woods around it. My senses were all over the place, everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time.”
Katarina paused in her motion to take another bite, her hand dropping from her mouth, “That… does sound pretty intense. You sure that’s a druid thing and not, you know, just maybe an effect of the mating? I’ve heard that some really weird shit can happen during a bite.”
“Pretty sure it was the druid thing, since it didn’t just focus on the wolf part of the vision. It went into everything natural around the wolf in the vision, hell even the air and the nearby river. It was the weirdest thing.”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky and a shaman can tell you more, if one can be bothered to even show up in the first place.”
“I sure as hell hope someone does, I could use whatever help I can get. That, and maybe I can use it to calm Mikael down about this whole thing. That’s one good thing that can come out Samuel’s little plan.”
“I’m sure one will, you’re the first druid to pop up around here in who the hell knows how long.”
“I’m shiny and special, goody. Is it really as bad as Samuel said?”
She looked troubled for the first time, telling him everything he needed to know with that one look, “Yeah, it really is. I think most of it is a power play on some people’s parts. Their way of getting a piece of the pie. And now he’s made the pie even more delicious by throwing you out there. If something is gonna start, it’s gonna be soon.”
The smell of the forest could still be detected, even under the snow and ice. Dean had never noticed that before, and wondered if that was due to the growth of his powers, or if it was this place. Even with the sharp, clean smell of winter, he could detect the subtle hint of rich earth and vegetation. The smell of green was muted considerably. Everything that grew around here slept deeply, waiting for the warmth and light of spring to return.
Reaching up, he brushed his fingers along the rough bark of the nearby tree in the cairn, “I wish I could hear more than just faint whispering. I could use some actual words I can understand right now.”
Words he wasn’t getting from Mikael lately. Sure enough, he had returned, still glowering and angry. Dean had gotten his answer about who the werewolf was angry with by his mostly stony silence and terse replies to anything Dean asked. Dean wasn’t willing to push him until he felt calm enough to talk about what was on his mind, but he wasn’t about to sit around the small house with a grumpy werewolf forever, either. He wouldn’t say Mikael’s mood had driven him out here, as he’d wanted to come out at some point anyway, but it had certainly given him extra motivation.
“Can you hear them?”
Dean whirled about, hand going to the sword strapped to his hip to see a large man further back, almost to the path, “Who the hell are you?”
Dark eyes flashed in amusement as the man took a step forward, eyeing the sword, “Are you willing to cut me down over a question?”
Dean flushed, knowing he wouldn’t do anything unless this stranger actually tried to attack him. He wasn’t really comforted by the presence of the sword, since he barely knew how to use it. Yet the ambush on the pack had taught him, that even on pack territory, he wasn’t completely safe from attack. Mikael had frowned when he’d asked for it and a belt to hold it, but he had dug both things out all the same.
“You’re the stranger here,” Dean snapped, “so how about you answer my question first?”
“Me? I am Talon. I come from a pack loosely allied with your own, from further south.”
“Loosely, huh? Nice way of saying you guys are on our side unless it looks like we’re in serious trouble.”
Talon chuckled, “For a man who spent most of his life as a human, you are very blunt.”
“I get that a lot; call it a gift. Now what do you want?”
Talon flicked a lock of black hair out of his eyes, squinting at the tree Dean stood beside. “Can you hear them?”
Begrudgingly, Dean replied, “Yeah, I can hear it. Only faint whispering though, not any words I can actually make out or understand.”
“That is because trees, and other things that grow, do not speak in words. You hear whispering because it is the closest thing your mind knows. Perhaps if you had been trained from birth, you would not hear whispering at all.”
Dean stepped away from the tree, relaxing his hold on the handle of the sword as he eyed the tall man, “You’re the shaman of your pack, aren’t you?”
Talon gave a little bow. “I am. The Alpha Bitch, Matalina, is the one who told me where you would be, and that I should seek you out. My friends are dealing with arranging our sleeping quarters while I came to talk to you.”
Well that was faster than he’d expected. Then again, who knew how long ago Samuel had put the word out that they had a budding druid in their pack. Seeing Talon in front of him, he had a sneaking suspicion that it had been a while ago and he had only called Mikael and Dean back because he’d known that people would be coming soon. Just long enough to tell them what was going to happen, but not long enough that they could do anything about it, sneaky bastard, but Dean would begrudgingly admit it was clever too.
