by SJ Himes
Sex, sweat and the sweet scent of happiness made Andromeda pause outside the door to the bedroom that Kane and Ghost used while at her cabin. The sounds of whispered confessions gave her the ability to smile despite her own broken heart.
River was taking Claire away. She was likely to never see her daughter again.
Andromeda went to the stairs. She paused at the top, looking down as the front door opened and Julian and Royrick entered the foyer. She gave Royrick a nod in greeting, which he returned cautiously, perhaps expecting her mood to be more…volatile. She bore the Tribunal members no ill will. Claire was guilty, and her daughter paid for her crimes.
It was only those two would had returned so far—Caius was in out in the woods somewhere, and Mercuriel still dealt with Heromindes. Mercuriel was the best suited, in her opinion, to restore some common sense to the humiliated and angry Ashland clan leader—greater alphas had one fault that ran common amongst their class—their pride too often turned to hubris, and when it was damaged, they had poor coping skills. Luckily, Hero had wanted justice against Roman far more than he wanted to revenge himself upon Kane—Heromindes would have died against Kane. The restraint inherent in the Black Pine heir was commendable in a physical fight—he and Roan had been well matched in the pit, and luckily it hadn’t devolved into a bloody mess like Roman’s execution. At least, at first, she frowned thinking of Heromindes foolish actions after Kane made Roan submit.
Royrick went to the living room, where her senses told her Sophia and Burke were relaxing. Burke and Royrick were much alike, both greater alphas less arrogant than their peers. Burke had the temperament commonly seen in a beta, an outlier in calm personality and kindness. Marjorie, and what sounded like young Helen, were in the kitchen, talking to Ghost’s human packmates. Helen giggled, high and sweet, and Andromeda found the sound soothing to her pain.
Julian sniffed loudly, a growl bubbling up from his throat as he caught scent of those in the cabin. He headed for the kitchen, spurring Andromeda from her musing. His long strides took him out of sight, and Andromeda put a hand on the railing, pushing up and flipping over. She landed on the floor of the foyer just as angry growls came from the kitchen. She sighed, thinking it was time to remind a few alphas just who ruled here in Baxter.
Ghost dried himself with the towel, shaking his head, flinging wets strands everywhere.
“Hey! Dammit, Ghost, I just got dry,” Kane complained, and Ghost did it again, making his mate yelp and duck out of the bathroom. A pair of sweatpants came flying through the door, and Ghost caught them with a laugh. He tugged on the dark gray pants that smelled of laundry detergent and very faintly of Shaman River. More of the shaman’s clothing, then, but it made sense as Ghost had none of his own and he and River were about the same size.
Thinking about human things like clothing reminded him of everything else that came with being human. Baxter was a place for their kind to gather, but only Red Fern Clan lived year-round within the park. This was Andromeda’s home, not his. Ghost could not remember where he used to live with his family before their deaths. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom watching as Kane dressed.
“Kane? Where is my home?” Ghost asked. Kane gave him a startled glance, pausing as he pulled a shirt over his head. Ghost gave a quick shake of his head and corrected himself. “I mean before I got lost, and I lived with my mother and father and my siblings, where was my home? Did we have a house? I remember seeing Gray Shadow often when I was Luca. Did we live with my grandfather?”
Kane finished dressing and sat on the bed to pull on his boots. Someone must have brought all their clothing from the cabin they were using before Kane was arrested. Ghost looked around and saw everything Kane had with him in Baxter occupying some space in the room.
“Before the ambush at the gathering where you got lost, you lived with your mother and father and your youngest siblings in Augusta, not far from the clan house where I live with Caius. Gray Shadow had a large farmhouse with acreage that he lived in with Marla and Josiah after they were bonded and Gray Shadow lost his mate.”
“Where will we live? I mean, you and I. Will I go with you back to Augusta?” Ghost wasn’t used to thinking ahead, to planning his future, and he found himself both scared and excited. If he got to stay with Kane, it didn’t really matter where he lived. Thinking of the future reminded him of the past.
“Well, little wolf, since you and I are now mated, I think it’s time for me to get my own house. Since I remain Black Pine’s Heir, I have to remain close to Caius, but I don’t think I need to live there anymore. Would you like to get our own place, make a home with me?”
Ghost smiled wide, enjoying the rush he felt at Kane’s question. He jumped and landed on top of Kane, tumbling them both over the bed and almost off the other side. Kane stopped them from falling and pushed them back to the center of the bed. Ghost flopped down on top of Kane, snuggling close. “I would love to live with you. Make a den, just the two of us.”
“Yes, my love. A den for just the two of us.” Kane paused, then asked quietly, “Will you be okay waiting until after we resolve the matter of our lost wolves? Remus still needs to be stopped.”
“I don’t mind waiting. I’ve already waited a lifetime. I can wait a little longer.”
Kane kissed the top of his head, his big arms holding Ghost securely to his chest. He nuzzled closer, breathing in the scent of soap and his mate. He loved the musky, fresh smell of his alpha. Made him warm and left him feeling safe.
A crash echoed through the cabin. They both sat up fast, and heard shouting from downstairs. A female voice raised in alarm had Ghost leaping out of bed, running for the door.
“Cat!”
He threw open the door and sprinted down the hall, Kane on his heels. He wasted no time with the stairs; he made it to the railing and leapt over and down, Kane a split second behind him. He hit the floor and ran, entering the kitchen just in time to shout in surprise as he ducked.
Kane swore and dodged to the side, narrowly missed by the body barreling through the air. Ghost spun in a crouch, fangs and claws out.
The red haired clan leader slammed into the wall next to the front door, shaking the whole cabin. Ghost made himself small and pulled back from the frightening creature that blazed past him, following Julian into the foyer.
She was white fire. Power radiated out from Andromeda in bands of light, flares of sunlight and fury, a firestorm edged by white fangs and black claws. She glided over the distance between her and her prey—Julian was lifted into the air by a single slim hand, fingers tipped by claws choking him. He gasped, face red, veins bulging. He bucked and twisted, trying to free himself. Andromeda was somehow larger, taking up more space, yet she looked the same—but for her power, blazing out around her in a supernova. Ghost breathed in a lungful of hot air, half-expecting to taste fire.
Sophia, Burke, and Royrick appeared in the living room doorway, eyes wide. Royrick grabbed Sophia and moved her behind him and Burke darted past the nightmare that was Andromeda, kneeling between Kane and Ghost, looking terrified and protective. Though what anyone could do against the fury of Andromeda was questionable.
Andromeda opened the front door with her free hand, and carried Julian over the threshold. Ghost crawled forward, dodging Kane, who was trying to pull him back. He wanted to see.
A female alpha in her full power and fury wasn’t something he wanted to miss.
Andromeda pulled Julian close, his legs dragging along the porch. Andromeda was shorter than the clan leader she tossed about like a toy, but her strength was far more immense. “Take your vile self from my lands,” she spoke softly, almost kindly. Julian’s eyes were bugging out, tears running down his face, hands clutching at her wrist. “I warned you about going near those under my protection. I don’t care for blood-feuds, and that is the only reason I spare your life. Leave before I forget the benefit of restraint, and kil
l you for the joy of it.”
She flicked her arm, a negligent motion that nonetheless sent Julian flying off the porch and across the front yard. He disappeared when he landed in a snow drift next to several parked SUVs. Snow exploded into the air in a fluffy cloud, falling back to the ground with a hiss.
Ghost stood, and carefully stepped outside. Andromeda remained still, the wind picking at her blonde hair.
She diminished. Became less bright. He caught her face in profile, but enough to see her eyes lose their fire, returning to their normal, vibrant blue. The nimbus of light around her pulled back inside, and she was once again a beautiful woman, wearing a simple dress and barefoot in the snow.
Andromeda saw him looking, and turned a bit more, one eye on him, the other on the coughing, red-faced alpha who was stuck in the drift. Ghost smiled at her, awed. She gave him an exasperated glance, but smiled in return. “Don’t look at me like I’m our Goddess brought to earth, youngling.”
“You’re just as scary,” Ghost replied, and she laughed.
“Inside, you scamp. Food, then talking, then sleep. We all need it.” She tilted her head, and Ghost went first. Andromeda followed behind him, not concerned in the least that Julian was dragging himself from the snowbank.
The door shut with a soft click. Cat and Glen were near the door to the kitchen, and Ghost ran to his packmates. “Cat!”
She hugged him close. She smelled the same—wind and trees and wolf. He snuggled, and she laughed. “Ghost, you’re gonna push me over.”
He backed away a bit. “Sorry. Did he hurt you?” She appeared unharmed, but if Julian laid a single claw on her or Glen he was going back out there and setting him on fire.
“He came in sniffing after the young ladies,” Glen grumbled, glaring at the door, clearly angry. “He saw us almost immediately and went to attack, but our very scary hostess took him to task.”
Andromeda walked past them, and gave Glen a tiny pat on the shoulder as she entered the kitchen. Glen smiled, eyes full of awe and wonder.
Ghost was yanked away from Cat and into Kane’s arms. Burke glowered at Ghost over Kane’s arms, and Ghost tried to smile in reassurance but Kane was smothering him. Burke laughed, shaking his head, and headed for the kitchen, Sophia and Royrick following. Eventually everyone left, and Ghost was left with Kane.
“Your fearlessness is commendable and terrifying,” Kane breathed into his hair, rocking them back and forth on their feet.
Ghost put his ear to Kane’s chest and listened to the steady thump-thump of his alpha’s heart. It was a bit fast, but that was understandable. “Andromeda wasn’t going to hurt me. She knew what she was doing.”
Kane huffed out a strangled laugh, full of relief and tension. “Still took a few hundred years off my life, little wolf.” Kane released Ghost, giving him a swift, sweet kiss. “C’mon, let’s get some food, then figure out what we’re doing. Caius should be back soon, too.”
Kane took his hand and lead them back to the kitchen, where the sounds of the table being set and food cooking waited for them. Ghost tilted his head, his attention drawn momentarily to the roar of a large engine starting, then wheels spinning furiously as a SUV tore away from the cabin. He smiled, satisfied.
End and Begin
The evening came and went without sign of Caius or Gerald. Night fell, and Ghost, Kane, Burke, and Sophia tracked down Gerald. Ghost’s remaining uncle had disappeared at some point, slipping away unnoticed.
The lesser alpha was in the woods, standing vigil over the mutilated body of his older brother. He was in a place Ghost had yet to come across, but he knew it for what it was instantly. The stone pedestals were wide and flat, and the scent of frequent fire and ash was present, even with the snow covering everything. It made sense—their kind were burned, his connection with Kane’s mind telling him it was something called cremation. No bodies left for humans to find and experiment upon.
Kane and Burke quietly lifted Roman’s body to the top of a stone bier—the surface pocked and blackened. There they laid the broken wolf to rest. The alphas had started to gather wood to burn the body, but Ghost stopped them.
A whisper teased his ears, and Ghost motioned them away. He gently pulled Gerald away from the bier, and with the quiet instructions whispered in the depths of his spirit, he called for fire.
His packmates startled and stepped away when the flames erupted, lighting the body aflame instantly. It burned hot and bright, swiftly consuming the corpse to ash in moments. No long fire to burn, to fill the air with the stench of roasting flesh and bone to haunt the senses of those grieving. Fast, hot, and clean.
His uncle shuddered, and Ghost wormed his way under Gerald’s arm cuddling close. Grief poured off his uncle, whose bowed head and curled shoulders all but screamed his pain into the quiet woods. Close they might not have been—and evil might have festered in Roman’s heart—but Gerald and Roman were brothers, centuries spent together. Several lifetimes could not be forgotten nor expunged by Roman’s crimes. Ghost held his uncle, whose arms lifted to hold him in return.
Kane moved close. He put a big hand on Gerald’s shoulder, who shuddered at the touch of his alpha, pushing into the comfort offered. Sophia hesitantly approached, and with a cautious shimmy, slid into the embrace and hugged Gerald. He clutched at her, his arms full of both Ghost and Sophia, but he buried his face in her soft hair and whined, pain and grief in every line of his body. Burke was the last to move, but the pain and sympathy on his face was just as poignant as any packmate’s would be in the presence of honest grief. Burke put his hand on Gerald’s bicep and squeezed, turning to watch the last of the body burn away to a fine gray ash.
Caius had yet to return. Two days now, and Caius wasn’t to be found. He was Black Pine’s Clan Leader, if he wished to disappear into the woods, then that was his right.
Kane was less than patient, though. Ghost watched his mate deal with the remaining Tribunal members and their honor guards—with Kane’s fate settled and the trials over, Kane was acting in his rightful role as Heir and handling the goodbyes.
Heromindes left sometime in the night, while they were burning Roman’s body. He left with no goodbyes, disappearing with his entourage and without word to anyone. They only knew he was gone when the Red Fern guards at the park gates called and informed Andromeda that the Ashland Clan Leader and his wolves drove out in the night.
Julian left before they finished lunch on the day Andromeda tossed him out. The Birch Grove clan leader didn’t even wait for his honor guard to pack up and prepare to leave—they scrambled to follow him. No goodbyes there, but Ghost would have been surprised otherwise. He had a feeling that Julian would not be a problem for Red Fern for a good long while, but a psychopath was a dangerous being to dismiss. He might cause other issues sometime in the future.
“I’m glad things worked out,” Mercuriel said, his deep rumble traveling across the front yard of the cabin. Hard to miss him—the Dread Claw alpha was a force of nature. “You’re young, so you’ll mess up again—just mind your manners and don’t get caught. I don’t fancy seeing another Tribunal anytime soon. I’ll tell my people what the shamans determined about your soulbond with the wildling,” Mercuriel grinned at Ghost, who rolled his eyes and stayed silent. “I don’t envy you the stress that’s heading your way.”
“I’ll do my best, sir. Will we see Dread Claw at the summer gathering?” Kane bowed his head, minding his manners despite the impatience Ghost could sense along their bond.
“We’ll be there. I won’t miss the fireworks that are sure to happen.” With a solid slap on the shoulder, Mercuriel nodded and walked off. His wolves followed, and he got in the lead SUV with his clan shaman.
Royrick was still in the cabin, not planning on leaving anytime soon. Michael was in there with his clan leader, both chatting with Andromeda as if nothing horrible had occurred in the last week. Shaman River was stil
l gone, and from what Ghost could guess, he took Claire south, out of the combined territories of the Tribunal members.
The one known as Roan was gone. He left as stealthy as he had arrived—no one saw him after Caius helped him from the pit after Ghost healed his injuries. Caius knew where Roan went afterwards, but then Caius was not present to share.
Burke leaned in close to Kane, the two friends watching as the line of SUVs departed down the mountainside. They spoke softly to each other, speaking of things Ghost had no interest in. Ghost sighed, and wandered away. He didn’t want to go into the cabin, Sophia was patrolling the forest with the Black Pine wolves, Gerald was in the cabin in his room, trying to sleep. The shamans were all gone as well—they left with their clan leaders, or perhaps even earlier, since he hadn’t seen most of them at all since they declared the soulbond legitimate. So far only Michael remained.
He took the path that led downhill, into the trees. Kane saw him go, but Ghost waved at him to remain, though he felt his mate’s eyes on him until the trees blocked his line of sight. The trees rose high above him, thick with needles and heavy boughs. It was eerily quiet under the trees, dark despite the early afternoon hour. He followed the path as it wound down the mountainside, and after a few minutes, he came across the old stone council house. It featured prominently in his memories as it was here that he last enjoyed a peaceful night with his family before their deaths.
He didn’t remember much, just glimpses in flashes of memory. He remembered the shadow magic that his grandfather used to help teach his tales to the youngest of their people. He remembered a tall charming alpha with a swift and kind smile. Kane, his future mate, shined like a beacon amidst the chaotic last day he spent with his people before he got lost and Cat and Glen found him at the river.
It rose out of the earth as if it had been placed there directly by their Goddess. Giant, rough hewn blocks of stone covered in moss and vines, the roof a sloping dome made of thick logs and covered in clay and grass. An ancient chimney rose from the center of the roof. There was a door roughly cut into the side of the building more an absence of an actual door than something made to be sealed by wood and stone. The space around the Council house was free of undergrowth and trees, and if he looked hard enough, he could see hints of the road a few dozen yards away that led to Andromeda’s cabin. It felt like he was lost to civilization, but it was only a few steps away. The weight of the past was heavy here and he could almost hear the voices of his people stretching back into history.
