Sari believed her, and yet he remained unsettled. Was it really his father he was concerned about, or something entirely different? Who was the man speaking to him in his mind, in his dreams, and why couldn’t he let go of it, when there were so many important problems to be dealt with?
He ended up puzzling over this dilemma all throughout the trip. The countryside seemed to fly by as he was lost in his thoughts. Before he knew it, he reached their destination, the beach where their ship was docked. It wasn’t wise to use aerial means of transportation in draechen territory. To be true, transport by sea was pretty risky, too, but Sari’s allies sent scouts to make sure no draechen vessels were nearby, and they received messages from the rare shifters that lived in the bottom of the ocean. On the whole, it was a far better method to move around, even if, on occasion, their ships could become sitting ducks for draechen patrols.
For that reason, they boarded the vessel as quickly as possible. While Raleigh ensured the prisoners were secured, Sari, his mother, and Philip went in the rooms below deck. The naga were already inside, and with them was a tall muscular man Sari hadn’t met before. His blue hair and icy eyes spoke of a clear alignment with ice. Instantly, Sari identified him as an ice dragon.
Even so, no one panicked or lost their temper. “Greetings,” Sari’s mother told the naga royal family. “Thank you for meeting us here.”
“As always, it is a pleasure to be in your presence, Princess Eanera,” Queen Anais Isaiat said. “I hope Lord Selbrian and your esteemed king are well.”
“They are fine, thank you,” Eanera answered.
The ship finally began to move away from the shore, and as if taking a cue, the naga dropped the small talk. “Permit me to make the introductions,” King Zaire Isaiat said, turning toward the draechen. “This is Sagenamadeen Zager. He is my son’s mate, and he is assisting us in our fight against Ornoz.”
For some reason, Sari found himself frowning. “How does that work, exactly? Doesn’t it bother you that you left your people?”
“My loyalty toward Camden is stronger than anything, Prince Sareltae,” Sagenamadeen said with a tight smile. Sari barely managed to keep himself from gaping. He hadn’t even introduced himself, but apparently, the draechen knew who he was.
Well, he supposed it hadn’t been very hard to deduce, since Sagenamadeen must have been informed as to whom the naga were expecting. It occurred to Sari then that he’d been pretty rude. He could understand loyalty toward a mate, even under less than ideal circumstances. He had once gone through the same experience.
Sari blinked as that thought fully registered. That masculine husky voice returned with a vengeance. “You’re so beautiful, just like I knew you’d be. I need you, baby. I must have you now.”
The world blurred around the edges, and a sense of strong loss filled Sari. Even aware that he was being watched, he couldn’t push it back. He ran out of the room and onto the deck, glancing out at the horizon. The shores were already disappearing into the distance, and Sari had the strange feeling that by boarding this ship, he’d accidentally agreed to move further away from his goal.
His mother’s gentle hand landed on his shoulder. “Sari, what is it?” she asked.
“I…I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t know. I just get the feeling that I’m missing something very important.” He turned toward her and gave her a pleading look. “You’re gifted with the sight. Your visions show the truth about the past, present, and future. Help me, Mother.”
For a few moments, Eanera didn’t speak. “I might be able to give you the answers you seek,” she finally said. “But are you sure you want to hear them?”
“Yes.” Excitement and decision coursed through Sari at his mother’s words, as well as a touch of anxiousness. She clearly knew something, but for whatever reason, was reluctant to share that knowledge with him. That couldn’t be good, but even so, Sari refused to let fear get in his way. “Please, Mother, help me.”
“I can’t promise anything,” Eanera answered. “It’s very complicated, and a secret I’ve kept from almost everyone. But I will show you. Just be patient. We’ll get there soon.”
It was easier said than done, but Sari nodded. He wished now that he’d spoken to his mother sooner, but he’d just have to wait a little longer. He only hoped that at the end of this trip, he wouldn’t be disappointed by what he’d find.
Chapter Four
Somewhere in the former American continent
The dragons were gone. The brown wolf slipped out of the cave, scenting the air carefully, just in case it was a trick, but no, they’d truly left.
With a woof, the wolf summoned the rest of his pack to his side. Slowly, they all left the cave, following their Alpha. The brown wolf began to surreptitiously advance through the forest. It seemed to be safe to move around now, but he still didn’t rush. He knew by now that his opponents were sneaky and clever. His pack had only endured because they’d been even sneakier.
Behind him, a small wolf pup whined, obviously hungry. The sound was like a silver bullet for the Alpha. He did his best to provide for his pack, but sometimes, they suffered through a great deal of deprivation. Their greatest priority was avoiding draechen patrols and for that reason, they often had to go without sustenance. The dragons had been exceedingly thorough in their investigation of the area, and it was through sheer luck and a torturous wait that the wolves had managed to elude them. To be true, the Alpha was actually surprised they’d gotten away, because there had been times when the draechen had come impossibly close to them.
But now they were finally safe. Once he was convinced of this, the brown wolf let out another soft woof, gathering the strongest members of his pack around him. Led by his beta, they hastily complied, their eyes fixed on him as they silently waited for instructions.
“Now, we hunt,” the brown wolf—no, Graham—sent out.
The rest of the pack couldn’t reply. They would have probably howled, except if they did so, the draechen might have been tempted to return. Instead, they just joined Graham as he started to run through the forest.
There was one thing the dragons hadn’t managed to destroy about the werewolf’s way of life. While Ornoz had taken over most of the world, they simply didn’t have the means to control the entire territory, or the desire to exploit it. Many forested areas were left untouched, and prey was plentiful, giving werewolves a way to feed themselves, when they weren’t being hunted themselves.
Today, they found the trail of several deer. Working as a single unit, the pack stalked the animals, surrounding them from all directions. Finally, they lunged. The deer leapt away, trying to flee, but some of them were slower, and they paid the price for it.
Five deer fell to the combined force of the pack, plenty to feed all of its members. The pups and their mothers emerged from the bushes, already zeroing in on the food. With normal animals, they would have had to wait for the last scraps, but Graham distributed the meat evenly, keeping his wolves from getting greedy. All of them had to remain strong, and the pups needed to grow up healthy if they were going to survive the draechen regime.
As they ate, a sudden strange feeling encroached on Graham’s senses. He stopped eating and sniffed the air again, tensing. For a brief moment, Graham actually thought the draechen might be returning, but he quickly realized that was not the case. No, this was something different. Another pack was nearby.
The rest of the wolves felt it, too. They gathered around their kills, snarling viciously. Graham growled at them, and they toned down. Graham’s brother and beta, Stuart woofed, guiding them to move back, still around the carcasses, but in a less hostile position. Satisfied, Graham padded forward, slipping through the trees and following the scent.
It wasn’t often that two shifter packs got together. As a rule, they tried to stay away from each other. If the groups became too big, they risked drawing unwanted attention from the draechen. However, Graham knew a handful of werewolf leaders whom he considered
friends.
Fortunately, it was one of them who’d run into Graham and his pack. Graham had identified this wolf’s distinctive scent with ease. The Lovingtons had some magical blood in their veins, so they really couldn’t be confused with anyone else.
His guess was confirmed moments later, when he ran straight into Monroe Lovington. The large black wolf eyed him and tilted his head ever so slightly in a gesture of respect. Graham did the same, acknowledging the other Alpha’s authority. The wolves behind Monroe watched the exchange from a distance.
“I need your help,” Monroe told him using his mental abilities.
If he’d been in his human form, Graham would have frowned. As it was, he just asked, “What’s going on?”
Monroe had never requested his assistance before. Wolves generally fended for themselves, since it was hard enough to take care of the members of one’s own pack without bothering with others. But Graham couldn’t refuse him. If there was something he could do to help that wouldn’t endanger the rest of his wolves, he would gladly try it.
“It’s Taryn,” Monroe said. “He simply refuses to shift. He hasn’t changed shapes in three months.”
Graham’s heart fell. He knew Monroe’s brother well, and liked him. The knowledge of what was going on pained him deeply. No wonder Monroe had taken the chance to track down Graham.
Shifting into their human form was regulated by strict rules. They were only allowed to do so once a month, but that time was very important. It was the absolute minimal they could muster so that they could avoid jeopardizing their entire pack, while still preserving their legacy and not turning into wolves completely.
There were many packs who’d succumbed to that, who’d made the conscious choice of foregoing their shifter side and simply become animals. But for Graham, that meant giving up the most important battle of all. Those werewolves might have survived the draechen attack, but to do that, they’d sacrificed the most important part of them. In the end, if they all did that, the draechen would win anyway, without even having to actively attack them.
“He’s been acting so strangely,” Monroe elaborated. “Sometimes, he refuses to eat and he snarls whenever someone else tries to approach him. A few days ago, he fled the pack and ran in this direction.”
“Did you find him?” Graham inquired.
“Not yet,” Monroe replied. “You know this territory better. Help me.”
“There were draechen in this area recently,” Graham warned Monroe. “They could have captured him.”
A small growl escaped Monroe. “I hope not,” he said.
“Let’s split up,” Graham suggested. “You go north and follow the river. I’ll look west toward the mountain range. We’ll meet back here in three hours. If you find him, send someone after us, and I will do the same. Don’t howl. The draechen might still be close by.”
“Thank you, Graham,” Monroe said. “I won’t forget this.”
“Thank me later,” Graham replied. “Now, we have to find him.”
With that, Graham turned and headed back to his pack. A lone werewolf in the wild was in terrible danger, especially if he was in such a vulnerable mindset. Not to mention that Taryn had always been frailer than the regular wolf. Graham’s main concern would always be his own family and his pack, but if he didn’t stand up for his own kind from time to time, no one would.
By the time he reached his wolves, the meal had pretty much ended. Graham had already gotten to eat, but half a deer had still been left untouched for him. It was somewhat touching, given how hungry they’d all been after days of hiding and being forced to feed on the occasional rabbit, but mostly on worms or other such small creatures.
Graham might have been tempted to take the offer, but he didn’t have the time for it. “Stuart, take the remaining meat to the cave and protect the pups,” he commanded. “The rest of you, with me. We have a lost wolf in our territory who needs our help. His name is Taryn Lovington. He hasn’t shifted in three months, so he’s likely to be very confused.”
In spite of their original reluctance toward a foreign pack, his wolves were quick to jump to Taryn’s aid. They all knew what it meant and lived with the fear that someday, it would happen to them. It was an unwritten werewolf rule that, should this happen and a wolf would unwillingly lose himself or herself to his animal side, everyone else would do their best to try to bring him or her back.
Leaving the pups in his beta’s care, Graham and the other wolves started running through the forest. At one point, Monroe’s scent grew distant, and Graham surmised that the other Alpha had taken his advice and was going north.
As it turned out, Graham was the one who got lucky first. A small pathetic howl reached his ears. Instantly, Graham froze. He couldn’t identify the exact source of the sound. The mountains were tricky, and the echo could easily fool even a shifter’s hearing.
The howl came again, and this time, Graham knew exactly where to go. He rushed in that direction, praying to all the gods that it wouldn’t be too late. As he approached his destination, his senses started screaming. He could scent draechen all over the place, and everything inside him rebelled against going further. If the dragons hadn’t left as Graham had originally thought, this could very well end up a disaster.
Graham knew that it could easily be a trap designed to draw them in. For a few seconds, he actually hesitated. And then, a soft voice sounded in his mind, the same one that often came to him in his dreams. “I won’t leave you. I love you, too.”
They were words Graham couldn’t remember hearing. Ever. Wolves didn’t have time for love, because their entire lives rotated around survival. Perhaps those phrases meant nothing more than a dream or a vain hope, but they did give Graham focus. He’d made a promise to Monroe, and he couldn’t just leave Taryn to his fate. He could do this. He just had to believe.
His resolve now strengthened, Graham continued on his path. The rest of his pack released soft distressed barks, but didn’t stop, trusting Graham’s judgment. At last, they reached a small clearing that bore the scent of draechen. Enemy shifters were nowhere to be seen. However, a small black wolf stood just a few feet away from Graham, wildly clawing at the ground. Hoping that he wasn’t committing a huge mistake, Graham leapt forward into the clearing. Taryn—since he was obviously the small wolf—turned toward him. His eyes were wild with fright, panic, and a need that Graham could strangely understand. Sometimes, he experienced the same sense of loss that emanated from Taryn. But he had done his best to shoulder the mysterious burden, if only because his pack needed him.
Taryn had a lot of things to live for, too. He had a brother and a pack who were waiting. Graham just had to make him see that.
Now, however, Taryn looked like he wasn’t aware of this at all. In fact, he didn’t seem to recognize Graham. His entire body was rigid, and Graham could see he was seconds away from fleeing.
Graham couldn’t risk losing Taryn again because of rashness, so he stopped advancing. “Taryn, it’s me, Graham,” he sent out. “Do you remember me? I’m your friend.”
Taryn released a little growl, baring his fangs at Graham. Obviously, he didn’t appreciate having Graham’s voice in his mind. He began to back up, still snarling at Graham, his green-gold eyes burning with wild hostility.
Graham sent out a message to one of the members of his pack. “Go find Monroe,” he told them.
As two of his wolves turned and disappeared into the bushes, Graham turned into his human form. It was a great risk to take, given that the draechen had just left. If they decided to come back, Graham would have revealed not only his existence, but that of his entire pack.
But he had to find a way to reach out to Taryn, and in his wolf form, he’d only encourage Taryn’s madness. “I only want to help you,” he told the small wolf. “Calm down.”
Still, Taryn didn’t listen. He kept backing away, and Graham knew that any moment now, the young werewolf would flee. Finally, he blurted out, “I was sent by your brother, Mo
nroe.”
That drew a reaction out of Taryn. Some of the madness cleared from his eyes and his ears twitched, as if he was listening more carefully. At this point, Graham just had to stall a little to give Monroe time to arrive. Hopefully, Taryn would respond better to his brother.
“Do you remember Monroe?” he asked. “He’s also your Alpha, and he cares about you very much. He wants you back. He wants you to rejoin the pack.”
Taryn released a little whine and crawled back to the spot he’d been when Graham had arrived. He nudged the ground there with his snout, then whimpered again. If Graham had to guess, Taryn seemed to have caught a scent which he wanted to follow.
But that didn’t make any sense, because the only smells in the area belonged to the draechen. Graham didn’t know how to tell Taryn that without ruining things even more, so he just suggested, “Why don’t you just shift? We can help you find what you’re looking for.”
For a few moments, it almost seemed like Taryn would believe him. Graham exploited his advantage and continued, “I can understand how you feel. I sense it, too, the wrongness. But you can’t beat it on your own. We’re stronger together. Come back to us.”
As they spoke, Monroe emerged from the forest, still in wolf form. He didn’t shift in his human shape like Graham had, but Graham still heard him speak. “Stop this, Taryn. I want you to come home with me.”
Taryn watched his brother, but didn’t approach. He seemed to want to do so, but at the same time, Graham could scent wariness on him. He couldn’t imagine what would make Taryn afraid of his own brother, but he supposed the young wolf wasn’t exactly rational right now.
Whatever it was that upset Taryn, it didn’t appear to be strong enough to separate the two brothers. Slowly, the wolf began to approach, sniffing the air carefully, still wary, but obviously needing the reassurance of his brother’s presence.
Relief swamped Graham. If Taryn recognized Monroe and came to him, the battle wasn’t lost just yet. They could still bring the young wolf back. Or so he thought, until something completely unexpected happened. “That’s it. That’s good. Come to me, Taryn,” Monroe said encouragingly. “We have to get out of here before the draechen return.”
Hyacinth, Scarlet - From the Ashes [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 7] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) Page 6
