A Roaring Fire

by Kim Faulks

  She guided him across the snow. He winced and clung to her like a newborn as he shuffled and slid. His shiny shoes looked far too fancy to be used in weather like this.

  “Marcus. Victor, I’d like you to meet Artemas Roth. Senator, Marcus is the head of the Kane family, Victor’s his second.”

  I nodded to the senator as he stumbled, slipped, and shoved his hand out toward Marcus. “We spoke briefly on the phone. It’s nice to finally meet you. Evander’s told me a great deal about your family.”

  I caught the twitch near my brother’s eye. I waited for the damn stubborn bull to pull away. Seconds passed as the senator held out his hand, until Marcus finally leaned in. Palms smacked. Marcus shook. But a dark cloud descended in his eyes. “What’s going on here?”

  The wolves climbed the tailgate and shoved the latch upward. Rear doors swung wide. A grating sound filled the air as they yanked a ramp from underneath the Pantech body and secured it in place.

  “We heard you had a few problems with decorations,” the senator answered. “As you can see, we had more than we needed, so what’s ours is yours.”

  A tiny gasp behind me stole my focus. I spun as Shelly stumbled out the door, wide-eyed and filled with wonder.

  “We don’t take charity,” Marcus growled.

  I clenched my fists as Shelly stumbled. Fucking charity, couldn’t he see what lay in front of him? This was more than a damn gift…more than a token of support.

  This was a hand waiting to shake. This was friendship. I shook my head and clenched my jaw, but my attention was on the pup as she slid. Still her reflexes were perfect, righting herself as she toppled into the path of the three men carrying a pine down the ramp.

  “Shelly, no. Wait!” I growled and lunged.

  One of the men let go, the others took the slack, as he turned and scooped her out of danger. His rough features softened as he smiled. He bent his head to stare into her eyes and pressed his cheek against hers. A whine echoed from the man.

  A whine of greeting.

  “This isn’t charity,” answered Artemas as we watched the male dance and smile with Shelly. “The pack takes care of our own.”

  Pack? The two men carried the tree past us, heading for the doorway as another heaved boxes from the back of the truck, followed by the wolf carrying Shelly inside.

  Ace gave directions as Alpha and Irwin carried one clear crate after another into the house. These weren't men, they were wolves. There was something about how they worked, some ease with Alpha and Ace around these men and this mortal that’d been cultured.

  “They work for you?” The question slipped free before I knew. I turned to Artemas. “These men…they work for you?”

  “Yes, but they’re not just employees. They’re family, they’re friends. In Soteria we’re a family of the mortal and immortal, and we take care of our own.”

  Marcus turned, exhaustion resounded in his face. For a second the dark cloud in his gaze wavered. “Tell me more about this Soteria.”

  Artemas nodded, clapped him on the shoulder. “I’d be glad to. But, let’s head inside for a nice stiff drink, it’s been a helluva drive in this damn snow.”

  My eldest brother cut me a glare and headed for the door. I waited for Alpha to heave a crate through the doorway and I followed him inside.

  The kids were still asleep, most had been carried out of the lounge, leaving only the wide-eyed and fully awake Shelly behind.

  She clawed and heaved her little body onto the lounge. Our pack was divided, some helped right the tree, others strung garlands and placed baubles.

  The clear plastic crates were opened. A collective gasp filled the room. I glanced up to the kitchen where bag after bag of food hit the counter and then glanced to the tree. Presents were pulled from the crates, perfectly wrapped boxes complete with bows.

  The room moved away from me, as though I’d taken a step back from this world.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  I turned to catch Odessa’s smile.

  She blurred under the slow shake of my head. “You knew. You knew all of this.”

  She shrugged. “Some, not all. I had faith.”

  And that was the problem wasn’t? I glanced up, Marcus and the senator were nowhere in sight. “Do you know about this senator?”

  Her eyes sparkled, the corners of her lips curled. “Some.”

  “Some good, or some bad?”

  And there came that shrug again, the one that said she held all the answers, but she’d never tell…not in a million years. I sucked in a breath and turned to the frantic fuss of presents, tree, and food, and answered. “You know something, but you have faith.”

  She craned to the tip of her toes to kiss me and whispered. “Now he’s finally learning.”

  Box after box was carried into the house. Zadoc watched from a distance with Joslyn beside him. He had too many secrets, too many stories. I dropped my gaze to their clasped hands. No matter the darkness, no matter the pain…they had each other.

  “I’ll set aside the entire day, take you around.” The senator’s voice echoed.

  I scanned the room finding him standing at the edge of the dining room. Marcus was mesmerized as the senator continued. “I think you and your family will be surprised. You can see it’s had a dramatic impact, and not on just the wolves, but the humans. You get a real sense of community there. A real sense of peace.”

  Marcus rubbed his jaw and nodded, casting a glance in my direction. Hope swelled inside my chest. Could he be actually thinking about a change, a real change for the better?

  The oven door slammed, wrenching me from the thought. Irwin hustled the others inside the kitchen, basting, slicing, whipping.

  There was more food than we could eat. More gifts than we could hold—I glanced back to Marcus and the senator as they shook hands, and this time with an intensity that hadn’t been there before—but that didn’t come near the greatest present…

  Now we had hope…we had faith.

  One of the senator’s men neared and kept his voice low. “We’re ready when you are, Sir.”

  Artemas nodded and gave him a smile. Our gazes met as he scanned the room. There was something in that moment, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, something that reminded me of Odessa, something that whispered…other. But then it was gone as he broke the connection and glanced behind me.

  “The tree is stunning, you’ve done a mighty fine job, Heath. A mighty fine job.” He turned back to my brother. “Marcus, you have my number. I look forward to being in touch; feel free to bring all the family. Hell, bring as many as you can. We’ve got a horde of kids of our own for yours to play with.”

  The boxes were packed. The food handled. One by one, the senator’s men left, leaving the man himself to shake hands with as many as he could. “Merry Christmas, merry Christmas, merry Christmas to you.”

  Until he came to Zadoc and Joslyn.

  Artemas stopped and leaned down to whisper in my brother’s ear. Words I couldn’t catch, until a second later he straightened. He held Zadoc’s gaze until my brother gave a quiet nod and reached for the senator’s hand.

  The mortal turned, and raised his gaze to me as he made for the door. “Victor, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope one day we can become firm friends.”

  His palm hit mine, and I was sucked down a hole, although I never moved.

  Odessa’s shadowed wolf howled and screamed inside my head. The sound cleaved my mind, and scattered my thoughts. The wolf was in agony, she was terrified, she was filled with rage and fear.

  She was brought undone by the simple act of a handshake.

  I wrenched my hand away, severing the brutal sound in my head.

  Confusion filled the senator’s gaze. My shell-shocked thoughts were slow to return…but then the man was gone, striding through the doorway as my world closed in.

  I found Odessa then, huddled in the dark corner of the room away from the others. Her dark eyes aflame with desperatio
n and pain.

  I dragged in a jagged breath and my spirit shuddered.

  There were no words…nothing I could find to say. All I knew in that moment was that we’d been led to the senator for a reason.

  I had faith. Odessa’s words echoed in my head, although now they’d lost their shine.

  How could she see all the darkness that was coming and still stand strong?

  How could I stand with her?

  I crossed the room in seconds between one heartbeat and the next and pulled her into my arms. Her knees buckled. I lifted her and held her against my chest.

  “I’ve got you,” I whispered as the dark hunger filled me.

  Let me out…let me hunt…let…me…go…to…him…

  I closed my eyes. Odessa shuddered and in this moment, we were one. Have faith. That’s what this woman demanded, even when her own wavered.

  I gripped her tight and inhaled the bitter scent of fear. She clung to me, as she clung to her faith. In this moment I stood with her, just as I’d stand with her forever…no matter what darkness came our way.

  I was her shield.

  I was her protector.

  I’d face down hell itself to save her.

  9

  The smell of scorched wood lingered in the room, but everything else had been swept away or covered. This room was different. It shimmered. It glistened. It was alive. Odessa curled up on the lounge next to me.

  Pots and pans clanged quietly behind me. The orange glow of the fire illuminated the towering tree and revealed the presents. Shelly had fallen asleep, one little arm wrapped around one tiny gift, the other curled next to her, with her thumb in her mouth.

  “I think it’s a good idea,” Abrial broke the silence. “It could be good for the pack. Somewhere where we can protect ourselves. Somewhere where we can defend. We’re sitting ducks up here, relying on the patrols to raise the alarm if we came under attack. It’d be good for us too, share the load a little.”

  Marcus said nothing, but I could see his mind working, rolling around the idea. He’d changed in the last few weeks, for us change had come because of a reaction.

  Odessa had saved me because the Echo pack attacked, and Gunny had saved Evander because he needed help from the humans. But it’d been different for Marcus. He was the precursor…the lightning strike before the fire.

  And it hit him harder.

  Odessa burrowed her hand under my shirt and splayed her palm against my spine. She let out a breath and dropped her head against my shoulder.

  I turned my head into her. “Do I tell him? He has to know.”

  Her head brushed against my shoulder. “No. I can’t tell, it could be good, it could be bad. There’s no way to know but to ride it out.”

  Gunny’s voice carried across the room. I kept my voice low. “I want you to stay away from him. I mean it, Odessa. I don’t want you anywhere near him, not until we figure this out.”

  Amber eyes met mine and danced under the flickering hue of the fire. I wanted to trust…I wanted to have faith. I leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose and then the hard edge of her wound as the clock chimed six.

  Soft snores carried me away. I closed my eyes, content in this moment until the tiny patter of feet dragged me from sleep.

  The little shifter came out all doe-eyed and spiky bed hair. He rubbed his eyes and looked at us, and then turned to the tree.

  Red baubles flickered under the fire. Presents were piled high, covered with red, green, white, and blue. The little shifter stumbled. His eyes widened, lips parted, until he spun back the way he came and screamed at the top of his lungs. “Presents! We have presentsandatreeand…presents!”

  Tiny cries filled with surprise followed.

  The patter of feet sounded like a tiny stampede tearing through the hall to stand in front of the tree.

  “It’s a tree,” one little girl sounded and clapped her hands and the others followed. “It’satreeit’satreeit’satree…”

  I winced at the deafening sound.

  Still Shelly never woke, she never even moved. The present lay clutched in her arms while the kids danced and laughed around her and for this one perfect moment, all was good in the world.

  The End

  I hope you enjoyed this Christmas novella with the Zodiac Dragons.

  It just didn’t feel right not giving the them and the wolves something so special as a day for family and friends.

  And I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting me and I wish you a wonderful holiday.

  From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

  Kim, xx