Moon Battle (The Wolf Wars #4)

by H. D. Gordon

  At some point, Goldie found us as well, though my friend had chosen to remain in her Wolf form. She brushed up against the side of me, and I buried my hands in her thick red-gold fur.

  I sent up a silent thank you to the Gods for keeping these two females alive, for allowing me to keep them.

  The air behind me stirred, and I knew without having to turn who was behind me, could see it on my friend’s faces, in the awe in their eyes.

  With a slow breath, I climbed to my feet, and the air caught in my throat as I looked first into the diamond-shaped eyes of a Firedrake. The Drake stared back with marked intelligence, and I followed the scales of his back until I set eyes on his rider.

  Another sob tried to escape my throat, but I swallowed it back.

  Then Adriel was before me.

  For several moments, we only stared at each other. His clothes were singed and torn, his ebony hair a thick and wild mess, his scarlet eyes filled with the same mix of emotions I felt in my soul.

  When his arms closed around me, it felt as though I’d been deprived of air without knowing it, and could finally breathe again. Though he’d expended enough power to kill most magic users, the protective strength of his aura engulfed me. I sank into it as I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed in his familiar scent.

  Beneath the blood and char was the unique blend of soap and peppermint. The smell of Adriel. The smell of home.

  When I began to cry in earnest, the tears streaming down my face, Adriel scooped me up as though I weighed nothing, and portalled us away from the carnage. Not far—he didn’t have the energy to take us far—but far enough.

  In the middle of a lavender wheat field, with the tall stalks serving as a wall against the world around us, I cried. Adriel held me, and I cried.

  “It’s over, Rukiya dearest,” he whispered softly. “You did what you had to do, and it’s over.” He said this over and over, and at some point, it started to sink in.

  When I was able to gain control over myself, I swiped away the last of the tears and looked up at him. Despite the evidence of battle he wore, he’d never been more beautiful than he was in that moment.

  I realized that this was what made Adriel such a great leader. By all accounts, we had won the war. We’d defeated the enemy and freed the Wolves, but there was not an iota of smugness in his expression, not a drop of self-satisfaction.

  “Now what?” I asked, my voice breaking on the words.

  His smile was a balm to my soul, as warm as the sun slowly rising over the horizon. He cupped my cheek, placed the softest of kisses to my lips. “Now we go home, Rukiya dearest,” Adriel said. “Now we finally go home.”

  I placed my hand on his chest, right over his heart, beating strongly beneath my fingers. “I’m already there,” I told him.

  And brushed away the single tear that escaped his scarlet eyes.

  31

  Nahari

  Ozias’s heart was beating, but he was otherwise unresponsive.

  Nahari had pulled a chair up beside his cot, and had been sitting in this exact spot for half a week. It had been four days since the horror of the battle in Dogshead, four days since the slaves had overthrown the Pack Masters and claimed their freedom, four days of Ozias remaining unconscious.

  The healers had their hands full, the makeshift infirmaries overcrowded and understaffed, and though Nahari understood that they could only spend so much time with each patient, she wished they would do something.

  All they’d told her was that he was in critical condition, and that there was a strong chance he would not wake up, that his injuries would kill him within a fortnight. One young healer with kind eyes had told her gently that his survival was up to the Gods now, and there was nothing more she could do.

  Nahari had never put any faith in the Gods. The Gods had never done a damn thing for her. But she prayed now. She’d prayed and prayed and pled these last four days, to any deity who might be listening. She’d left this spot only to eat and relieve herself, mostly the latter, as her stomach was in too many knots to really consume anything.

  The sounds of the place were wretched, those of the injured and dying mingled with the soft sobs and occasional heart-wrenching wails of those who would be left behind.

  Worse than the sounds were the smells, which were choking to a Wolf’s nose. Nahari had taken to breathing through her mouth, which, along with the silent crying she broke into at intervals, had made her throat very dry.

  She did not know what she would do if he didn’t wake up. She could hardly even entertain it.

  A low groan sounded, and Nahari’s eyes popped open, the exhaustion wracking her body dissipating as Ozias’s eyelids fluttered. Her heart jumped in her chest, her breath catching, and she leaned forward, taking his large hand into hers.

  Another groan, and his eyes slowly opened, his mouth parting as he drew a rattling breath. Tears spilled over her cheeks as his fingers tightened a little around hers, as one corner of his mouth pulled up into a ghost of a smile.

  “Hello, beautiful girl,” he said, his voice a whispered rasp.

  This only made the tears come harder, and Nahari smiled through them, kissing his hand as he took stock of his condition.

  “How long have I been asleep?” he asked, voice hoarse.

  “Four days,” she answered. “I was afraid… I thought…”

  She couldn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t have to.

  Nahari watched as Ozias lifted his head, looking down at his body, which was bandaged and bloodied. She’d cleaned him as best she could, wiping away the grime and blood of battle, but it was the neck wound that the healers had been most concerned about; it was closed now, but he’d lost so much blood. According to the healers, the only thing that had kept him alive this long was their Mate Bond.

  Which was a whole other matter in itself. Nahari wasn’t even sure if Ozias remembered making the Bond with her before he’d passed out, and was terribly nervous about how he’d feel about it now that he wasn’t bleeding out on the battlefield. Mate Bonds were unbreakable; they bound the two Wolves for life.

  It was strange to be connected in such a way. It was as if she could feel the ebb and flow of his life force as he’d fought to survive. Now, as he became more lucid, she could feel his life strengthening, and almost cried out at the realization that he would likely be all right.

  “Why are you crying?” he asked. He brought his hand up and tucked some of her dark hair behind her ear, and Nahari leaned into the touch.

  “I’m very happy,” she said, sniffing.

  “Me too,” he said.

  Nahari’s dark brows rose, and his handsome face lit up with a smile.

  “I’m Mated to the bravest, most beautiful Wolf I’ve ever seen,” he told her. He brushed a thumb over her lips. “Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

  Nahari rested her forehead on his chest in attempt to hide her relief, but Ozias placed his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

  “I had a dream,” he whispered, “when I was sleeping. It was such a nice dream that I didn’t want to wake up.”

  Nahari bit her lip as a few more tears spilled over and down her cheeks.

  “You were there,” he continued. “And we lived together on a small piece of land, where we grew a garden and raised chickens.”

  Nahari chuckled, her lips quivering as she tried to staunch the stupid tears. Ozias brushed them away and continued, never breaking her gaze, looking at her as if she’d hung every star in the night sky with her own two hands.

  “Nahni and Norman were there as well,” he said. “Only they were bigger, stronger, and happy, too.”

  Nahari climbed onto the bed with him and kissed his lips, not caring about all the others around them, careful not to hurt his wounds but unable to keep herself from him.

  Ozias chuckled, wide chest rumbling, his eyes lighting up with a desire she felt deep in her soul. They stayed this way for a while, kissing and reveling in the fact that they were
both alive. Alive and together.

  “Sounds like a pretty good dream,” Nahari said once she was sure her voice wouldn’t break on the words. “Was that all?”

  The smile that pulled up his lips now was mischievous and endearing. “You might also have been swelling with child,” he admitted.

  Nahari sat up, her brows rising as she looked down at him. “Is that so?” she said.

  Still grinning, Ozias nodded.

  “So we should, ah, probably get to work on that,” he added.

  Laughing, she whispered, “You’re a scoundrel, Ozias.”

  His handsome face went serious, his dark eyes locked on hers as if she held his very heart in her hands. “I know you Bonded with me to save me,” he said, “and I can never thank you enough for it, but I won’t hold you to it, not if you don’t want me to. It’s your choice, and it will always be your choice.”

  Nahari pursed her lips, pretending to consider, and laughed when she heard his heartbeat pick up in pace. “And if I want you to hold me to it?” she asked.

  His answer was immediate. “Then I’ll never let go.”

  Now it was her turn to grin. “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  Nahari kissed him again, long and deep and passionate, thinking maybe the Gods weren’t such bastards after all.

  32

  Rook

  We did not return to Mina for nearly a moon cycle, as there was so much to be done in the Wolf realm. We’d upended the way of life, and building a new model with which the Wolves could govern themselves would take time and patience.

  But after a month of volunteering at infirmaries, holding meetings, and burying the dead, we were too burned out to continue. We’d done everything we could, and it was time for a break.

  Arriving in Mina was a Godsend. The flowers and emerald trees seemed brighter, the scents more potent, the sounds more profound. I didn’t realize until we got there that a part of me had thought I would never return to this place, and I was more than grateful that hadn’t been the case.

  “How did you get the Drakes to help?” I asked, looking over at him as we strolled through one of Mina’s many gardens.

  Adriel shrugged, ever modest. “I opened my heart to them, and I guess it was pure enough to warrant their aid.”

  I considered this, wondering at how I could’ve forgotten mentioning the Firedrakes to Bakari one night when we’d been in the library. At the time, I didn’t really think their help had been a viable option, but I should have known better than to underestimate my beloved. If any creature walking the realms was pure of heart, that creature was Adriel.

  “What will happen now, you think?”

  Adriel released a low sigh, and I stole a moment to admire his beauty. His ebony hair was almost blue under the moonlight, his face considering.

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “Freedom… It’s a precarious thing, and can be hard to hold onto.”

  I bit my lip, not liking the idea that things could slip back into the way they were, not after all that was lost. Along with the lives of so many, Aysari and Eryx had given up their wings in order to save Adriel from the Kahla poison, and as far as I understood, for Fae, that was the equivalent of a Wolf giving up the ability to shift.

  Of course, we were already planning for a way to get their wings back, even if it meant going into the Fae Forest and making that crazy Fae Queen pay (and apparently there was a certain Great Cat in the Forest that needed rescuing as well.) But even if we managed all that, the depth of love it must have taken for the Fae couple to sacrifice so much to save Adriel was astonishing.

  In fact, the way the rest of the non-Wolves of Mina had rallied around us was astonishing, and I didn’t think I could bear it if it all turned out to be for naught.

  As was his way, Adriel seemed to sense the direction of my thoughts. “I only mean that the journey toward justice is long, but still a trip worth taking,” he amended, taking my hand in his we walked side-by-side.

  The occupants of Mina—many of them still new and so very young—were mostly sleeping, and the chirps of the night bugs played a soft melody as the stars looked down from above.

  The day had been long. We’d spent the first three hours after we’d arrived in Mina in the hot springs within the Emerald Forest, cleaning each other’s wounds and welcoming each other home. After, there had been a million things to do; introducing ourselves to the new arrivals, handling matters of governance, reviewing and approving motions to address issues that had cropped up in our absence.

  I’d watched Adriel in awe as he’d handled it all with patience and grace. Whereas I would become grumpy if I missed a meal, Adriel’s poise seemed to know no end, his generosity as natural to him as breathing. I could not figure out what I’d done to deserve him, what the world had done to deserve him.

  I bit my lip as we strolled along the canal that bisected the little town, listening to the gently rushing water as I tried to figure out a way to broach the subject I’d been avoiding.

  “Speak your mind, Rukiya dearest,” Adriel said softly, and I looked over to see him watching me. Those scarlet eyes still drew my breath away, and I doubted they would ever cease to do so. “I know something has been bothering you, so talk to me. Please.”

  I swallowed once and spoke before I lost the nerve. “The Erl Queen,” I said. “She got away.”

  Adriel’s expression darkened, a surge of power rippling through his aura and making me shiver, though not with fear.

  “I know,” he said.

  “It’s not just that,” I continued, unable to look up at him. “She… I traded her something before I went to the City of the Seers. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time because… Well, to be honest, I didn’t really expect to live as long as I have, to make it this far.”

  Adriel gave my hand a gentle squeeze, encouraging me to continue.

  “I traded her my fertility,” I said, and cringed internally at the words.

  Adriel came to a stop, forcing me to halt along with him. When I kept my eyes on the ground, he lifted my chin with his fingers.

  “Rukiya,” he said, speaking my name as though it were a prayer. “The Erl Queen is in hiding. She’s blocked off her realm and likely won’t emerge again until it benefits her.”

  I knew this, of course. We’d already discussed the queen bitch with the others. Goldie and Asha had even volunteered to go into her realm and kill her themselves, but the Erl Queen was clever, and she knew when to retreat.

  I nodded, swallowing again, fighting back tears.

  “But,” Adriel continued, “I am patient, and I will personally see to it that she faces the consequences of her actions.”

  Another nod, my eyes burning, my throat closing up. Adriel pulled me to him, and I splayed my hands on his strong chest, taking comfort in the steady rhythm of his heart.

  “Listen to me, Rukiya dearest,” he said. “If what you’re worried about is how I feel about your infertility, let me put your mind at ease. I would be honored if you were to bear my children, but I’m also happy with just you. You are more than I deserve, way more than enough. Just you.”

  I blinked, and the tears pooling in my eyes spilled over. Adriel kissed them away, the scent of soap and peppermint filling my nose. “But if I can never give you children…” I said, shaking my head, unable to finish.

  To my surprise, Adriel chuckled lowly. “There are already enough children in this world in need of guardians, my love,” he said, and gestured to the sleeping structures around us. “There are plenty right here in Mina.”

  “I love you,” I told him. “I love you so much sometimes I think I can’t take it.”

  His smile was perfect. It was beautiful. It was everything.

  “Good,” he said, and dropped to his knees before me, kneeling. “Because my hope is that you will accept me as your Mate, Rukiya Moonborn, for now and for always.”

  I sank my fingers into his thick hair, pulling him close. He remained on his knees
, kissing my belly button and wrapping his arms around my thighs.

  “Yes, please,” I said, and earned another chuckle.

  In the next heartbeat, we were in his room in the library. Two heartbeats later, I had him fully disrobed.

  I pushed him down to the bed and climbed atop him, watching the scarlet of his eyes flare as brightly as Drakefire. Then I offered him my throat, and sucked in a sharp breath when he sat up and sank his fangs into me.

  A sigh escaped me, my eyes rolling back as the ecstasy of Adriel’s bite overcame me. When he pulled back, my body was tingling with anticipation, my blood rushing in my ears. I watched in fascination as he bit into his own wrist, and two beads of scarlet bubbled up. His gaze met mine in question.

  I took his wrist and licked the blood there.

  And moaned aloud as the Mate Bond initiated within me. Adriel’s hands tightened on my hips where I sat atop him, a rush of air escaping him as the sensation took him over, too.

  All that was left was to consummate the bond, and Adriel and I would be irreversibly connected for the rest of forever.

  “Thank you,” I told him.

  One side of his mouth pulled up and he tilted his head. “For what?”

  “For saving me… Not just from the collar, but from everything, from the world, from myself.”

  Adriel laid back and tugged me down to him, wrapping me up in his strong arms, the raw power that always hung around him surrounding me.

  Then, he flipped me over to my back and began a slow trail of kisses down my neck, over my chest, my stomach, and further down still.

  “We saved each other, dearest,” he mumbled against my skin.

  Then there were no more words for quite a while.

  But he was right. We had saved each other, and I was grateful. Grateful for every hardship, every scar, every tear, even all the times I’d stepped into The Ring, as strange as that may have sounded.

  And I would do it all again, because I saw now that it had led me here.

  It had led me to him.