by Bonnie Vanak
Chloe hadn’t been tough. She was soft and female and afraid. Her fear had driven her out of the hiding place he’d ordered her to seek during the battle, because she’d needed him at her side.
Ariel might be afraid, but she never showed it. She’d never admit needing protection.
So he took matters in hand and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, leading her back to her home. Something nasty lurked out there, and he wouldn’t risk losing her. Never again.
Because you care, a voice inside his head mocked.
Because I need her.
They shifted for the six-mile trek across meadows and the river. Instinct urged him to keep to the shadows. His wolf senses flared with caution as he padded across the dead grass, making sure Ariel was at his side. As they approached the Fae colony and a group of cabins, dread filled him. No lights shone from the inside. No welcoming fires as in the past.
The small village seemed deserted and dead as a ghost town. A foul stench, laced with something familiar, ground him to an abrupt halt. Jarrett’s ears flattened. He nudged Ariel with his nose, signaling her to stop.
What is that smell?
It came from the cabin closest to the mountain. Jarrett’s heart banged against his chest. They communicated in wolf form, same as the old days. All his people could communicate telepathically after shifting, but the ability did not extend to Fae. Except Ariel.
She’d always been special.
Decaying bodies, he told her.
Ariel shifted back. Naked, trembling, she stood in the meadow. Moonlight glistened off her pale skin.
Jarrett cursed and shifted as well, clothing himself by magick. He had no clothing for her. Damn, the temperature was dropping fast.
But she didn’t seem to care. Instead, she ran to the cabins sitting in the lee of the mountain like gray ghosts.
The Fae compound was laid out in a square, with a wildflower garden separating each house. Jarrett raced after Ariel, cursing silently. She was lighter and faster, her Fae powers making her feet fly over the dirt path.
She headed for the largest cabin, darting inside like a frantic dragonfly. Jarrett followed.
He knew what she would find.
The stench of death clogged his nostrils, making his wolf howl and want to flee. Jarrett curbed the impulse and tracked Ariel to the back bedrooms. His wolf vision enabled him to see in the cloying darkness. In her hand dangled a length of gold chain and a twist of delicate spirals, light as air and as dainty. Air rushed out of his lungs.
Cael’s Celestial Luminaire.
The necklace itself was devoid of bluish light. Dead as the stench filtering through the cabin.
“It’s dark. It’s never been dark. And he’d never leave it behind, never, he’s never taken it off, it’s his life force.”
Removing his shirt, he draped it over her shoulders. She seemed dwarfed by it, the tails hanging down midthigh. Her expression was cold and empty as a grave.
Jarrett gently took the chain from her clenched fingers and folded it into her palm. “I know, Ariel. The light goes out only when his life force is gone.”
“No. Not possible.” She shook her head, making her dark curls fly around her shoulders. “My father is not dead.”
She refused to accept it. Her father was strong, vital, and drew his energy from the earth.
The earth could not have taken his life.
By rights the Luminaire was hers now. The next to rule her people. What people?
“Everyone’s gone,” she whispered. A sob clogged her throat. “They’re all gone. They can’t have died. They have to be alive, somewhere.”
“Ariel, sweetheart, the Luminaire’s light has gone dark.”
He spoke softly, the words scraping her insides raw. Ariel flung the necklace away from her. It landed on the hardwood floor with a clatter.
A sob rose in her throat.
Jarrett enfolded her in his strong arms, holding her steady. Her anchor, solid as the earth she’d loved, the earth that had robbed her father of life. Air rushed out of her lungs in a tidal wave. She could no longer hold back the grief.
Ariel cried as he rocked her back and forth. She felt his lips brush the top of her head. “Aw damn, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
The stench of death and decay permeated her pores, squeezing her lungs in a painful vise. With every gulp of air, it felt like death seeping into her body, creeping through her cells and destroying them.
“I…can’t breathe,” she gasped.
She let him lead her out of the cabin into the night, out of the foulness squeezing breath from her lungs. Ariel took a deep gulp of air. Jarrett leaned down, wiped away her tears with his thumbs.
“Stay here.”
Shrugging into his shirt, she inhaled the spice of his scent, the rich masculine fragrance of wolf and man. She gulped down air, grateful for the cool breeze touching her cheek and removing the scent of decay. A minute later Jarrett returned, clutching something. He opened his palm.
“Look.”
Tears blurred her vision. She wiped them away. Crying would not help find answers. Ariel stared at what Jarrett held in his hand.
Bluish light glowed from the delicate necklace. Faint, but steady.
Confused, she touched the charm. “But it was extinguished!”
“Inside the cabin. The stench is stronger in there as well. Did you notice how the moonlight was muted inside the cabin? As if something clouded the air.” Jarrett’s mouth thinned to a tight slash. “Some kind of darkness taking over.”
“Cael’s alive?”
“For now. We have to find him, and the others.” Jarrett slipped the necklace around her neck.
They cut across the meadow, not daring to shift in the process. Jarrett sensed whatever stalked the Fae still lurked. He couldn’t risk a shift and even a few seconds of being vulnerable.
When they crossed over into his territory, Jarrett sat on a boulder. Ariel joined him. The blue light of the necklace glowed fiercely, as if the moonlight touching it were a torch.
“Something was odd back there.” He picked up her hand, rubbed it between his palms. Jarrett cocked his head. “Your hands are warm. The air’s frigid, but you’re warm.”
Ariel touched the Luminaire. “The necklace. It has a natural protective element.”
He slid a hand up to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch, grateful for the support. Never had she felt so alone as back in the cabin. Her people all gone, her father probably dead…
“No one took them from their homes.”
Ariel looked at his solemn face. “But they all vanished in the night.”
“There were no signs of a struggle. I know Cael. He would never go without a fight. Like his daughter.” Jarrett jumped off the boulder and began to pace. “Not a scratch on the woodwork, nothing knocked down. No forced entry. Whatever has them did not take them by force.”
“The stench, the decay…” Ariel fingered the necklace. “It seemed unnatural.”
“Your people are accustomed to the cycle of life. What was inside the cabin was not part of the cycle. It was artificial.”
“As if someone placed it there, a dark magick…” Ariel’s heart skipped a beat. “As a warning. The stench came only from my father’s cabin.”
“And not the others. He put it there, Ariel. It was a message.”
“Like breadcrumbs in the forest. He put it there for me to follow.”
“Which you are not doing.” Jarrett whirled, his expression dangerous. “I will. But I won’t see you endangered.”
“He’s my father. My people. You think I can’t save them? You think I’m not strong enough? This is my fight Jarrett.”
“I won’t risk losing you.”
A whisper riding the cold wind. His features were stark in the moonlight, his chin granite, his eyes stricken. For a moment she saw straight through the barriers into the heart of him. The real Jarrett. Colors swirled around him.
His aura. The necklace ena
bled a Fae to read a person’s natural aura. Ariel reached out a hand and touched his.
It shimmered with pale streaks of gray, laced with the fiery red of pain and the blackness of death. The agony made her flinch. The colors swirled and screamed, filling her head with claws raking over her flesh, shredding it to ribbons.
Ariel cried out and dropped her hand.
He went toward her, but she shook her head. “No. Give me a minute.”
Cloying fear clogged her throat. Her colony had vanished, her father, a tower of strength, was missing. She was alone.
But the thought didn’t faze her. It was the screaming pain inside Jarrett that sent her reeling.
How could he live with that? And something else nagged her.
Despite the darkness and harsh reds of his aura, she’d read no other emotions. No grief, no anger. Not even guilt.
Clearly he still hadn’t let go and moved on after the battle that claimed Chloe’s life.
Chapter Nine
Jarrett had made a promise. He’d find her colony and her father. They were still alive, and that hope fueled Ariel, especially since she knew he’d never break his promise. Not the way he’d broken others.
That night, he slept with Ariel, his arms cradling her to him protectively. He couldn’t fend off her worries and fears, but he could keep her safe.
At all costs, he had to keep her safe. This delicate-looking but tough Fae had wriggled past his barriers and sank into the cold stone he called his heart. He wanted her to be happy, he realized with a start as they ate breakfast the following day.
He’d do anything for her. But he couldn’t give her the one thing she desired most…his love.
But maybe he could try to make her happy while they formulated a plan to attack whatever it was on his mountain. Jarrett suspected the black mass that Ariel said attacked her had claimed her people.
This afternoon, they’d check it out. For now…
He pushed back from the table and braced his palms on it. “Come with me.”
She gave a questioning look, but joined him. His boots clicked on the steps as he descended the porch. Jarrett shoved his hands into his jeans.
“You’ve been penned up too long in the cabin. I know you, Ariel. You need to run free and wild. This land, this meadow, it’s yours to absorb nature’s energy.” Jarrett began shedding his clothes and gave her a wicked grin. “I need to run as well.”
The change came over him as always, swift and empowering. His wolf howled with freedom. He pawed at the ground and lifted his head, proud and arrogant, the leader he was. A small smile touched her mouth.
“Big bad wolf. Think you can catch me? Try.”
The challenge issued, he watched her race off, her Fae powers giving her bare feet wings. He lifted his head and gave a very wolfish grin.
Time for a little fun.
Ariel ran through the meadow, feeling the dry grass crackle beneath her soles. Jarrett followed, a low growl rumbling from his chest. He chased her with determination, the wolf controlling the man with sheer instinct to pursue prey. She recognized his ruthless streak.
He would not stop until he had her beneath him.
Laughing, she darted, zigged and zagged, contact with the earth feeding her strength. Sounds of her own heart beating fast echoed in her ears. She smelled the crispness of autumn riding the breeze, the promise of life lying just below the ground after it rested from the long winter. This was her valley, her life, and she would not surrender it without a fight.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the gray timber wolf leap upward, and change back into a man in midair.
Jarrett tackled her from behind in a gentle whoosh of air and caught her in his arms. He fell gracefully, rolling her beneath him. A predatory smile touched his full mouth.
“Caught. Now what do I do with you? I am rather hungry…”
A slow lick across her throat, and a small nip. “Delicious Fae. Raw and sweet. Mmm.”
Ariel laughed, filled with happiness for the first time since her return to the valley. This playful side was the Jarrett she’d known, before responsibility and brutal violence seeped into his life.
He couldn’t wait. His wolf howled with the primitive need to cover and claim. Jarrett’s hands shook as he stripped Ariel’s clothing. He felt as though the years had evaporated, and he was once more the cocky and carefree youth who cared only about pleasure and pleasing his partner. He sank to the earth, pulling Ariel with him, kissing her roughly.
Then he placed his hands on her waist and flipped her over. The taut, rounded globes of her bottom drove him crazy with desire. Blood surged into his cock, making him painfully hard.
Ariel breathed hard, anticipation mingling with fear. In this position, she felt exposed and vulnerable. A cool breeze brushed over her skin, tightening her nipples. She looked over her shoulder and saw his gaze narrow fiercely.
The wolf looked as if he wanted to devour her. A shiver racked her, but it was a shiver borne of arousal. The sheer rawness of being outside in nature called to the Fae inside her. She felt empty and aching, the space between her legs wet and needy. She needed him inside her, now.
“Jarrett.”
The word was a plea. He seemed to understand and grasped her hips, pulling her against him. She felt the coarseness of hair at his groin, the hardness of his erection slide through her wet folds. Teasing in long, sure strokes. Arousal became sharp and painful, her breathing hitched, her skin feverish. Not the glow of her kind, but something darker and richer pulsed deep inside. Her internal thermostat cranked up to overdrive, the glow becoming molten lava flowing through her veins.
He bent over her, cupping her breasts and teasing the nipples in slow, sure strokes. “Do you want me inside you, Ariel? I want to fuck you, hard and fast. Your scent is driving me wild, ahh, I don’t know if I can control myself.”
“Do it,” she begged, not recognizing the sultry thickness in her voice. “Now.”
Jarrett pressed a singularly sweet and tender kiss on her nape. Then his rough palms slid over her hips, pulling her close to him. She felt the broad head of his penis begin to sink inside her. He felt bigger and thicker than before.
With a harsh groan, he pushed forward, sealing them to the hilt. The sensation was one of invasion, her body shivering as she tried to adjust to the feeling.
Ariel’s fingers dug into the partly frozen earth. He pulled out of her slowly, then sank back inside. She tightened her inner muscles as he thrust again. A guttural groan wrung from deep in his throat. She arched her back, pushing against him, and heard a low cry.
Excited by his sexual arousal, his wolf snarled.
For once he released it.
Control shattered like rock blown apart by dynamite.
Jarrett grabbed her hips and began thrusting heavily, his penis sliding in and out of her wet core, filling her completely. It was a fierce mating, not the slow tenderness he’d shown before. Ariel cried out with pleasure as his flesh slapped furiously against hers, feeling the tension mount as he took her, over and over. Her body swayed against the power of his savage thrusts, and the internal glow built to pressure. The raw scent of earth and pine rubbed in her nostrils as sweat dripped down her face. Her eyes closed as she fought the impulse to release, it was too much, too much…
“Let it go, sweetheart,” he commanded. “Let it go, now!”
Ariel tilted back her head and screamed as the tension shattered. Internal light exploded out of her as she climaxed. Sparks of red and white danced in the air like thousands of fireflies. Colors cascaded over them. Jarrett gave a guttural groan and she felt him shoot his hot seed deep inside her as he bucked and shuddered.
Slowly, they collapsed to the ground. Jarrett pulled out. After they dressed, they lay together, cradled in each others’ arms. His rich scent swirled in her nostrils as the air cooled the sweat on their bodies. It felt right there.
Then the breeze shifted, bringing a slightly foul scent on the air. She coughed, gaggin
g.
It smelled like death. And it came from the meadow beyond the fence.
Ariel sat up, hugging her knees. She studied the field beyond the jagged edges of the barbed fence.
“Why is that field fenced off?”
Jarrett sat up, his gaze flat. “Nothing you need to know about.”
She sprang up and approached the fence. Malevolence hung thick in the air, cloying as honeysuckle. Ariel held out a hand and felt the air shift and change—just the way it would before a violent storm.
“Tell me.” She turned and regarded her lover.
Gone was the playfulness, the passion. He would not look at her.
“There was something here. Something bad. I can feel it, like…”
“A fight.” He stared at the meadow, his jaw granite. “This is where we fought with the jaguars. Many died.”
Chloe as well.
She read his thoughts as if he’d spoken aloud. Ariel touched the post. “You fenced this section to keep everyone out.”
“The females knew not to visit here. The land’s tainted. It did not stop your father and the other Fae from performing a cleansing ceremony.”
Startled, she studied the dead meadow. “When?”
“Shortly after we returned. Cael said it was a homecoming gift.” Jarrett snorted. “Always trying to make things right.”
“It is our way, to right the balance.”
“And erase the past? Some things can never be righted.”
So tense, so angry, he resembled the craggy mountains, his fists clenched at his side. Hands that had roamed over her skin with gentle care suddenly reached out, pounded a fence post. It shuddered and sank deep into the ground.
Ariel brought his fist to her mouth, pressed a kiss on his palm. But his expression remained tight.
The rich scent of loamy earth and pine drifted over the fence. Her father’s scent. Maybe there was a clue about what had happened.
