“I understand your fears,” Alaric said. “And they are not unfounded. But I am not my father. I offer you no harm.” He shook his head and she could hear the heavy note of dismay in his voice. “If anything, I was trying to prevent it.”
“Well, now,” Ilyssa said, eyeing him with suspicion. “That was rather cryptic. Care to elaborate?”
He looked ready to reply. After another moment’s hesitation, he picked up a raw, glistening chunk of meat from his dish.
“It’s unimportant,” he muttered, and stuffed the morsel into his mouth.
“I say you’re lying.”
Ilyssa set aside her own bowl and pulled the wineskin off over her head. Aside from being their best tracker, Barto also had a knack for brewing up the best libations from the sweet berries that grew wild around the forest. Uncorking the bladder, Ilyssa took a deep pull from it and then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.
“Why don’t you tell me why you were traveling alone last night?”
“Release me from these chains,” Alaric replied, without missing a beat, “and I will.”
Ilyssa studied on him for a few moments. Experience taught her to always be cautious, to always be several steps ahead of a potential opponent, and to always – always – have an escape route. Releasing the prince from his chains would allow him the freedom to move about; he might even try to escape the hut and the camp, but as long as he wore that collar he would be no match against her able-bodied tribespeople, each one trained in every known form of combat and survival techniques. She herself could take him down easily if needed. Kristof is not going to like this, she thought.
“All right,” she said at last. She took another swig of wine and licked her lips. Dropping the skin, she got to her feet. “I’ll do this, but the collar stays on.”
She dipped her fingers into her generous cleavage and pulled out the key. “Even if you managed to escape, once you left the encampment you wouldn’t be able to sniff your way home and you’d wind up lost in the woods.”
“I understand,” he said, rising up from the floor as well. “I give you my solemn word, sworn on the blood of my ancestors that I will not make any attempt to flee.”
His eyes locked with hers as she approached. She saw vulnerability in that amber gaze, as well as trust and strength, and something else she could not name but which struck her as strangely familiar and made something tug deep in her belly. Alaric held out his hands and Ilyssa unlocked the cuffs.
“There,” she said, and dropped the shackles into a corner with a clatter of metal on stone. “No more chains.”
“Thank you,” he said, rubbing his now freed wrists.
Ilyssa watched with some surprise as he settled back onto the blankets and reached for his supper, using one hand to cradle the bowl and the other to eat.
“Yes, this is much better,” he remarked.
Ilyssa eyed the prince. He could be feigning complicity, she thought, biding his time until I let down my guard. She smirked. Prepare yourself for a long wait, Your Majesty.
Snagging her own dish and the wine, Ilyssa sat down across from Alaric instead of near the door. She passed him the skin and he murmured his gratitude before taking a sip.
“How about that story, now?” she reminded him.
“Ah, yes. That.” He nodded. “Well, to tell it properly I suppose I should preface it with a bit of history.”
He swallowed his mouthful of food and sucked the juice from his fingers – something most noblemen would call ill-mannered and even barbaric; while nearly everyone in the tribe did it, for some reason Ilyssa found it incredibly fascinating to watch Alaric engage in the act.
He took another drink from the skin and began.
“When I was a boy, my grandmother would recite fables and read to me. It was because of her that I developed a deep passion for books. I would spend hours in the palace library, poring over every tome that I could find.” Alaric set his dish down in order to gesture as he spoke. “This burning desire for knowledge followed me through the years as I grew into manhood. Recently, I happened upon a secret room hidden behind one of the library shelves. It was filled with scrolls and books, old and covered in thick layers of dust which spoke of how long they had gone untouched. Immediately, I began to go through every one of them. And what I found gave me reason to understand why they had been hidden away.”
“What did you find?” Ilyssa asked.
“A very special book.” Alaric dragged both hands through his hair, raking the black mass away from his angular face.
“It appeared to be some kind of holy scripture, detailing the origins of my people…but it was not in keeping with the stories Grandmother had shared with me.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “In that moment, I discovered that everything I ever knew before had been a lie.”
“How do you mean?” Ilyssa asked, tilting her head and frowning.
Alaric hesitated. Looking away from Ilyssa, he focused on the low-burning lantern by the door.
“My people have long believed that Werewolves were born of this world,” he said. “We were taught that Humans had been created as a plague to test our faith in the Mother Goddess.”
Hearing this made Ilyssa snort. “Really?” she chuckled. “Well, that’s a funny coincidence. Where I come from, everyone thought that Humans were the original inhabitants, and that Werewolves came about after one of The Fates had been playing around with dark alchemy and made a monster that was half-hound, half-man.”
The corners of Alaric’s mouth twitched with a bemused smile.
“How interesting that each race would see the other’s invention as something terrible,” he said. “But it would seem both stories are wrong. According to the book I found, the Mother Goddess had two children – one Werewolf, the other Human – and she loved them both equally. They all lived together on another world until a ball of white fire came and destroyed it. The Mother Goddess managed to escape with her children. She wandered the stars in search of a new place to live and eventually came upon this world. Unfortunately, it already belonged to another deity, and a very spiteful one at that. He told the Mother Goddess she could leave her children here but under the condition that they would be divided, their love for one another destroyed as they were forced to become enemies. Out of desperation, she agreed, but before separating her children she place an enchantment on them. A day would come, she declared, when their descendants would learn the truth, reconcile their differences, and reunite again as One Family.”
He arched an eyebrow at Ilyssa. “Would you care to know the names of her children?”
“Let me guess,” Ilyssa drawled, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “’Emberi’ and ‘Lobishome.’”
“Quite astute.” Alaric smiled and nodded. “Yes, the two ancient kingdoms divided by hate – one ruled by Humans, the other by Werewolves – are named for the Mother Goddess’ unfortunate children.”
He pressed a hand to his chest. “I am a child of Lobishome. I was on my way to Emberi last night for a clandestine meeting with someone born of that kingdom who believes as I do, that the time has come to put an end to the centuries-long feud and live in harmony.”
“That’s a pretty incredible story, all right,” Ilyssa said. “Now, allow me to impart a little story of my own, one that’s equally interesting.”
She brushed at a smudge on the knee of her trousers. “Word has it that Lobishome has decided it’s tired of being a land-locked kingdom and has started to look toward Emberi’s ports with plans to invade and conquer. There’s even talk that your father, King Mardell, has been strengthening his army in secret for this very purpose. If there’s any truth to these rumors?” She looked at Alaric and shook her head. “There’ll be no happy ending for that little tale.”
Alaric grimaced. Standing up again, he paced to the back of the room.
“I regret to report that everything you’ve heard is true,” he muttered. “My father is indeed preparing for an a
ttack, one which will result in tens of thousands of deaths – Human and Werewolf alike.”
His boots scraped the floor as he pivoted around to look at Ilyssa again.
“That is why I have been working in secrecy to undermine his plan. What I am doing is treasonous and son or no son, by law my father will be forced to put me to death if I am found out. I have been in communication with a woman from Emberi who believes as I do, that the fighting between races must end and we must do what is necessary to protect our people. That is why we agreed to meet, at a predestined point between the two kingdoms.”
As he spoke, the prince’s demeanor began to change. Ilyssa could see this in the way he carried himself. His jaw clenched, and his hands now formed fisted at his sides.
She could also hear it in his voice, too, the soft tenor shifting from solemn to agitate. “Who is this woman?” she asked, rising to her feet. “Is she someone from the royal house?”
He shook his head and turned away once more. “I cannot be certain. What I do know is that she is someone of great import, and that she has something which will guarantee our success. She said she would share it with me when we met after midnight this evening. I had hoped to arrive early, to wait for her.”
Alaric whirled around and glared at Ilyssa. “But now it’s not going to happen because you interfered,” he growled, lips pulled back to reveal the elongated points of his canine teeth. “I had a chance to avert a war, to save countless lives, and see our two races live in harmony – only to be defeated by a homeless band of kidnappers and petty thieves!”
“You might have been more successful if you hadn’t been sneaking around behind your father’s back in an unmarked, unguarded coach!” Ilyssa snapped back, her own temper sparked by his sudden display of rage.
Her eyes did not glow like Alaric’s, but she knew he had to see the fire in them as she stared him down, unflinching.
“You can read every book in existence, Your Highness, but never presume you know anything about life. There’s a reason we live in these woods, and it isn’t because we all had dreams of being outlaws. Yes, we take what we need to survive but for the most part, we live off the land around us. And we choose to do it, because it’s better than living in kingdoms where we would be spit upon for our beliefs, where we would be called ‘traitor’ because we don’t agree with the policies of our leaders.”
She jabbed a thumb at herself. “I happen to come from Emberi. Just before I left, they were starting to accept Werewolves who felt out of place in Lobishome, allowing them to integrate. There were still a lot of whispers of resentment, though, and a lot of animosity dwelling behind closed doors. I was fifteen at the time. I was scared and alone and didn’t know the first thing about survival in the wilderness. I thought about giving up and going back. Then I met these people who shared my feelings. They took me in. They taught me to hunt and fight, but more importantly they taught me to stand my ground, to keep an open mind and heart even when it would be easier to just give in and follow the racist herd. For the last ten years I’ve been living out here, content with the choices I’ve made and free from the hypocrisy.”
She cut him off as he opened his mouth to speak. “Oh, and before you ask: yes, everyone in this tribe is Human, but there’s a small pack of Werewolves who sometimes stops by and trades with us. They’re loners who, like us, hold no ties to any kingdom; they just prefer to live a nomadic life. We respect that, and we’ve let them know that they always have an open invitation to stay. So maybe we’re already fulfilling your ‘prophecy,’ just not on a global scale.”
Anger receding, Ilyssa folded her arms under her breasts and sighed. “Not everyone can embrace change, Alaric,” she said, addressing him by his name and not his title. “Hatred doesn’t go away overnight. Especially one that’s been bred into people’s hearts for generations. As for this woman you’re supposed to meet…?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what she could possibly have that could convince two ancient enemy kingdoms to just roll over and pledge peace to one another. If you ask me, it sounds like she might have plans of her own. Don’t let your mind become so clouded by your dreams of unity that you walk blindly into a bad situation. Nothing’s worse than the rude awakening of regret.”
Alaric did not respond, at least not verbally. Ilyssa saw his expression change as she spoke, the furrow leaving his brow and the hard set of his mouth relaxing. She waited but he had no comeback, nothing more to add; instead, he looked crestfallen.
Softening, Ilyssa let out another deep sigh. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry we ruined your plans. Just so you know, I agree with you completely – there should be peace between our people, and I would love to see it happen in my lifetime. I also didn’t mean to go off on you like that, but I’m very loyal to the tribe and I couldn’t just stand here and listen to you criticize us. We’re good people.” She grimaced. “I’ve been worried about what’s going to happen to us, once we get you home to your kingdom. I came here this evening, hoping to prove to you that we mean you no harm.”
The prince looked away. Coupled with his continued silence, Ilyssa took that as a clear sign of dismissal.
“I guess I’ll take my leave,” she said.
She gathered up what remained of her supper, but she no longer had an appetite.
“They should be returning soon with a wagon to take you back to Lobishome. If all goes well, you’ll be home by sun-up.” A smile curved her lips. “After that, I’m sure my people will have to decide if we should pack what we can carry and hope to find another place to live before winter, or if we’ll stay and wait for your father’s guard to arrive and execute every one of us.” Turning, she started for the door.
“You have a third option,” Alaric called after her, speaking for the first time since his earlier outburst.
Curious, Ilyssa stopped and looked back at him. He took a step toward her, his eyes bright as molten steel.
“And that is?”
“Help me to keep my appointment with the woman from Emberi.”
Ilyssa let out a short burst of laughter. “You must be joking. Didn’t you hear what I said before, how this whole meeting of yours sounded like some kind of set-up?”
“I heard you,” he said, nodding. “But I also heard you say that you wanted to see a reconciliation between our kingdoms. I am giving you an opportunity to prove it. Come with me and stand at my side – a Human ally to a Werewolf – and I promise you that no harm will come to you or your tribe. Not only will I guarantee your protection from my father, I will also see that your stores are well-stocked and that you have everything you need to survive the coming winter.”
He continued to close the space between them, until he stood directly before her, gazing down into her eyes. “If ever I needed confirmation that our two races were once related, I needed only to meet you and I am convinced. We are kindred spirits, Ilyssa. We want the same thing. We share the same longing for harmony and a fear of war, and the desire to end the hatred which has poisoned this world for far too long. But we need to act now, before Lobishome attacks Emberi.”
He offered his hand to her. “Let peace begin with us.”
Under any other circumstances, Ilyssa would have laughed and walked away. But something deep inside her stirred at the hope in Alaric’s voice.
Suddenly, she found herself remembering a moment from her childhood. Her family had been visiting a neighboring kingdom, one which also welcomed people from Lobishome. During a tour of one of the gardens Ilyssa had seen a couple laughing and cavorting with their young son. They had all looked so happy. Then, much to Ilyssa’s amazement, the boy had transformed, going all over furry with a bushy tail and big, fuzzy ears. Only then did Ilyssa realize that they were Werewolves. This had puzzled her, because she had always heard such terrible things about those people, and yet she saw with her own eyes that they were in fact not very different from Humans: they had loving families, they played and loved and carried themselves wit
h dignity. And when the Werewolf boy had run up to her, a child looking at another child as a potential playmate, Ilyssa recalled how her own father had pulled her away, muttering in disgust. That day had marked her awakening, however, and she had made a promise never to let herself be governed by ignorance.
“You really do believe in this,” Ilyssa said at last, looking up at Alaric.
“With utmost passion,” was his solemn reply.
She nodded. “I’m probably going to regret this, but – all right. I’ll help you.”
Alaric broke into a wide smile and he started to thank her but she held up a hand to stop him.
“We have to work together, though,” she said, “and trust each other. By that, I mean that you’re going to have to defer to me at the first sign of trouble. You’re still under my care and I’m not going to let anything happen to you – I need you alive and in one piece so you can honor your promise to help my people. We’re also going to take a few of my people along just to be on the safe side. Strength in numbers and all that.”
He smirked. “While I do appreciate the precautions and your concern for my well-being, I can assure you I am quite capable of defending myself. Well…” He reached up and tapped the collar. “When I’m not wearing something like this, of course. You will remove it before we meet my connection from Emberi, yes?”
Ilyssa hesitated, again debating on what to do and how wise it would be to restore full power to a Werewolf. With a soft growl of frustration, she huffed out a sigh and made a twirling motion with her finger. “Turn around.”
Alaric did as she instructed. He even reached up to pull his hair aside and expose the back of his long neck.
Ilyssa brushed away the few strands that he missed, noting their silken texture, and for a moment she wondered what it would feel like to just bury her fingers in that thick mane. She shook herself and focused on unlocking the choker. Kristof is going to kill me, for sure, she thought.
When she pulled the collar away, the stones ceased their green glow and returned to their normal flat, black color. Ilyssa heard Alaric’s sigh of relief. He faced her again, rubbing his now bare throat.
Sheltered by the Alpha Bear: Alpha Werebear BBW Interracial Shifter Paranormal Romance Page 13
