Nate…
Was he helping them? Or was he pretending to help? He had let them go, despite everything, despite his thirst for revenge. Had it been a one-time thing? Or was there a chance that he might change his mind? Was there a chance that he wasn’t beyond saving?
“Come on!” Rick shouted, unafraid of that he might be heard. “Your little brother is waiting!”
That sentence struck her right to the bone and wiped her mind clean, exorcised every thought, leaving nothing but pure instinct.
Benjy.
Hearing her little brother’s name, the past days and hours came crashing down on Lia. The video of her father getting killed, Benjy being forced to witness this… and now he was with a mother he never knew and thought to be dead; he among strangers apart from their cousin who had been shot.
When it came to her little brother, no thoughts were necessary. Protecting him, taking care of him was the same as breathing to Liala. Hearing Rick, telling her that Benjy was waiting, her body seemed to come to life. Lia felt as if she had been held back by chains that were wearing her down, which somehow, magically had been broken.
When she pushed herself off the ground to leap across an overthrown tree trunk, the night became bright. Every spot the cold moonlight hit, seemed to illuminate in front of her, leading the way towards Rick, who watched her approach him with a satisfied expression.
“Catch me, if you can!” He shouted at her, as if there was no thread clinging to their heels as they ran towards the sanctuary of Liala’s mother’s clan.
Another growl broke from Lia’s chest, lower, deeper, and louder this time; and it made her grin.
“Run, old man!”
She hadn’t intended to say it aloud, but once Liala had said the words, she didn’t regret it. Even less when she heard Rick laugh out loudly.
This is just crazy.
They were being hunted and made a sport out of it.
As she raced through the underbrush a familiar scent wafted around her; the scent of her brother.
He came through here.
And there was more. Kiana… and Nate. After all it had been him who had brought them to the sanctuary, keeping up the act of being one of her mother’s men.
Of her half-breeds, Liala corrected herself.
Or maybe that too was just a charade? Nate didn’t have to do that. They had captured the alpha’s daughter, the heir of her clan. He would have had his revenge, but he chose to return Benjy and Kiana.
Her thoughts tumbled around in her head like too many marbles in one hand, but with every additional leap she took, trying to catch up to Rick the chaos in her mind subsided. The noises of the hunters vanished and beneath the icy-blue moon was only Liala and her prey.
I have his scent in my nose and it almost seems as if I can hear him, I can almost see him, as if all my senses draw a picture of him and the trail he takes. This is fun!
Lia grinned. The cold night air filled her lungs but didn’t hurt. It cooled her body that had heated up from the race. It was pleasant. Lia knew that she was on Rick’s heels, but she wanted to catch him, wanted to be faster than him. It was all that counted and everything else had ceased to exist.
Another growl escaped from her body and her muscles tensed, obeying to the silent order that had merely formed in her mind.
Wolf!
She didn’t care that she might be able to take any other animal form, that had the same size and volume of her original body. She wanted to be a wolf.
I know how it feels like to be a wolf.
Lia had expected that she would have to stop to shift, but as she was running she could feel the change happen, and it shredded her clothes. Luckily, she was on bare feet already, because she was sure that otherwise she would have stumbled and fallen as her toes grew claws, just like her fingers did.
Although she couldn’t see it, Lia remembered how it looked like, as her body started to warp into a werewolf, a humanoid-wolf-like creature running on its hind legs. The noise of her body changing was revolting, with bones snapping, ligaments breaking, joints crumbling, skin tearing. But her body wasn’t finished. She wasn’t finished.
I’m a wolf.
It wasn’t as painful as she remembered, or maybe she was just getting used to how it felt like to be broken and shattered, just to be put back together differently. Lia’s body was aching, her nerves were screaming, until she brought her hands to the ground, seeing that they had become large paws.
Yes!
It was a triumphant shout, but to her ears, it sounded like a bark and her throat felt funny. But she didn’t care, because now, now she would be able to catch up to Rick. She just knew it. Liala could sense his pace, feel where he was heading, and knew that he didn’t expect her to have shifted into a wolf. Hell, she hadn’t expected to be able to do that. It had appeared so difficult, no, impossible, for her just moments before. But she was a natural, obviously.
Let’s see how fast I can go like this.
Maybe it was the set of stronger and different muscles, or maybe it was just her giving into the nature of the animal she had taken the form of, but she had never felt this free in her entire life.
It was the first time she had shifted without it being triggered through sex but by her own accord. And all she did was run, run free, just like in her dreams. The moonlight was brighter, the forest was greener and the air was filled with scents that composed into a masterpiece. All Lia wanted was to just continue like that and become part of the forest. She wanted to be a wolf and nothing else, to stay a wolf and forget about it all. Her responsibility towards her little half-brother, her best-friend, who wasn’t her cousin, the duty of being an old shifter clan’s heir. All of it seemed to be left behind as she raced through the bright darkness of the night.
Racing on all fours, feeling the soft and yet hard ground beneath her, it felt as if she was meant to have this form. Even though Lia knew that she was being hunted, she didn’t feel like prey, she wasn’t afraid, not scared, or worried. Being closer to the ground, running on all fours, she felt closer to herself than she had ever been, as if, her entire life, she hadn’t been herself at all.
She wasn’t running, not even leaping, but soaring above the forest ground, above fallen trees, low branches, the cowering creatures of the night.
Finally, free.
Lia wanted to cry, to sob because she finally felt home and complete, but there was so much waiting for her, so much still to be done.
A howl erupted from her body, rolling through the night like a force of nature and the world around her stood still to pay heed to her call, her claim on this place and on herself.
Just a blink of an eye later she fell into pace next to Rick, who looked at her in surprise, which almost instantly turned into awe. Lia had to fight the urge to jump him and nail him to the ground and make him her prey.
“We’re almost there,” he told her as if he was reading her mind, continuing to run at an inhuman pace, and she knew that he was right.
Liala could hear people walking around in the distance, nervously and hectically. She could see the body heat of the people standing on the wall glowing through the darkness. There were racing heartbeats, erratic breathing, and bodies trembling, in fear or excitement. She would have focused on all these sensations and get lost in them, but reality was returning vigorously.
“Halt!” Someone shouted down the wall as they leaped onto the clearing and in front of the stonework, which was separating her mother’s safe-haven from the rest of the world.
She knew all they saw was a large wolf pursuing a human with a sword on his back heading towards them. Lia had no idea if they had guns and no idea if they would work on Rick if he really was immortal as he claimed.
Before she could intervene, two large werewolves, even bigger than her, leaped from the wall, facing Rick, who lifted his arms, surrendering.
How the heck do I shift back?
It didn’t matter. Liala had a deal with Rick and was hellbent
to keep it, ignoring the silent voice in her head, asking if this wasn’t a trick to getting him inside. After all, he flat out admitted that he was immortal. What if Brenna’s father was immortal, too, and Rick ‘killing’ him was just an act? Lia shook all these thoughts out of her mind and she jumped in front of Rick and between him and her mother’s men.
The werewolves, standing on their hind legs, were obviously confused by her facing them straight on. But they didn’t retreat until Lia allowed a snarl to erupt from her body. If she really was the heir, they were supposed to obey her. And they did retreat as she made a step towards them.
He is with me, she addressed them with her thoughts, not knowing if they would understand her or if they could answer her. Take us inside, hunters are on our heels.
The two werewolves first looked at each other and then up to who was standing on top of the wall. But it was the touch she felt, as Rick placed his hand next to her left shoulder, that rushed across her body as additional power and strength coursed through her. He hadn’t uttered even a sound and only now stepped next to her. Instinctively, she leaned into his touch and the sensation became even more intense.
It wasn’t the same connection as with Nate that struck her in a way that she wanted him to fuck her brains out. This connection touched all the places that Nate didn’t reach. Was it possible to be deeply connected to two mates for the opposite reasons?
Liala shook her head again, trying to shake off all these thoughts that didn’t belong to the dire situation at hand.
Now! She bellowed at the two werewolves in front of her, snarling.
They instantly obeyed and started running, expecting them to follow.
“We could just jump on the wall,” Rick told her as he followed her.
The hunters won’t try to get through the wall, they will head for the weakest spot, which is always the gate, Liala answered, completely forgetting that she wasn’t able to speak, only to talk telepathically with her clan. And I want to be there when it happens.
“You don’t have any experience in fighting, you should seek protection and not intervene when they arrive,” Rick gave back, obviously having heard her thoughts, but it still felt so natural to her that Liala only realized when they arrived at the gate, which was opened just enough to let them pass through.
Can you read my thoughts?
“It wouldn’t make any sense to hunt you without you having an advantage on us,” Rick answered.
Liala wanted to know more, but when she was about to pass by the two werewolves standing guard, with Rick following her, it was her mother that stepped into their way.
“What is he doing here,” she pointed at Rick. “He is a hunter, he was at the camping site. Seize him!”
NO! Liala snarled at her mother, and the werewolves, who were reaching out for him, stopped mid-movement. He is with me. He broke me free and helped me escape. They are following us.
“You brought them here!” Her mother now shouted at the both of them.
“No, they already know where to find you,” Rick gave back, calmly, and then addressed Lia. “I promised you to get you here. It’s fine. I can take care of myself.”
Liala was pissed at her mother, furious about her ridiculous fate and annoyed that she couldn’t just shift back when she realized that she hadn’t even tried. So, Lia tried to think about how the shift would happen when she reversed it. All the parts of her body would reform and find back into their original place. It would be painful, once again, but she knew that this was unavoidable. The noises within her and what reached her hearing from the outside was gut-wrenching once more, but she also made a point, getting everyone’s attention. Especially after she stood up straight, completely naked for everyone to see.
There had been a time when Lia was bashful and felt uncomfortable with showing too much skin. But those times were over.
“We had a deal,” Lia told her mother, ignoring the stares thrown at her. “Either he and I get inside, or he and I leave.”
“Here,” he heard Rick’s voice and something entered her field of vision.
He was giving her his t-shirt and she took it, telling him ‘thanks’ and pulling it over her body. It was large enough to barely cover the important parts, and it clouded her in his scent, making her body react inappropriately.
Without any further ado, Lia continued towards her mother, quickly reaching behind her to grab Rick by his hand and drag him along with her.
“Just touch a hair on his head and you will answer to me,” she growled at the two men outside and the ones hiding behind the gates.
15 – Blood
“You are bringing this war to our doorstep, Lia,” her mother argued, as she had to step aside and let her daughter pass.
“The war is already here,” Lia shook her head, narrowing her eyes, growling. “Listen to you. Don’t you know that this is your fault? All of this? How could you let anything like this happen? To protect me? How did that work out so far?”
She turned towards her mother and walked right into the woman’s personal space.
“You can’t blame me for doing what I think is right when all you did was the very same,” she told her. “For all I know is I trust Rick more than I trust you, because the person in front of me is a stranger; who chose strangers over family, who allowed my father to get killed, and my little brother to get traumatized. I wear these injuries,” she pointed at the fading bruises, “because of your failure.”
Lia’s legs were trembling beneath her body and just a moment later, they gave out. But Rick caught her at the exactly right time.
“She needs to rest,” he told the hostile Alpha as if he couldn’t care less.
“Where is my brother?” Liala demanded, ignoring him.
“In the mansion,” her mother answered, not looking at Rick but at her daughter, still pointing into the right direction.
“I got you,” Rick spoke to her, gently, and with a swift movement, he had lifted her into his arms, and then spoke to her mother. “I’m not the enemy. I’ve chosen to protect her because she might be the last divine blooded heir. I did not know that when I joined them for the camping trip, but I do now, and you’ll understand in a second.”
Liala’s mother only looked at him when he was almost finished talking to her, and frowned, not getting what he was talking about until he suddenly almost vanished into thin air. As he was running towards the mansion at full speed and she suddenly stared at nothing, she slapped her right hand over her mouth as realization struck her.
Her daughter noticed nothing of that. In a different situation, she would have demanded to be put down, but Rick was right. She was dead-tired, worn and hurting, as the shift had opened injuries that had been healing.
Yes, she wanted to stay at the gate and try her best to prevent this war from coming to fruition in an ugly, life-taking way, but she also wanted to see her little brother Benjy and her best friend Kiana, who had been shot. It almost seemed to her that, when in human form, she had no control over her thoughts, fears, and worries. As a wolf, she felt so much more in control.
It only took Rick a minute to race towards the mansion at the end of the gravel road, but for Liala it felt like a little eternity. Lying in his arms felt comforting and it seemed as if her body hurt less where his touched hers.
When they arrived, she already had fallen into a deep slumber.
Lia hadn’t even noticed that she had fallen asleep and had no idea for how long she had been sleeping in Rick’s arms until a familiar voice made her snap wide awake.
“Lia!” Her little brother shouted and she jumped out of Ricks hold onto the ground and her knees, ignoring the pain that had awoken with her.
Benjy flew into her embrace and hugged her tightly. She planted kisses on the side of his head, stroking his hair while she tried to console the pre-teen, who was sobbing uncontrollably. A movement caught Liala’s attention and she looked up to see Kiana standing in the door of the mansion. She seemed a bit wobbly on her fee
t, but otherwise well, since she was holding onto the doorframe.
Lia let out a sigh, deeply relieved that she hadn’t lost another person. Yet, she couldn’t allow herself to relax, even more so when she saw that Kiana was looking past her and stared at Rick, whom she sensed standing behind her. Her friend was about to move towards him, a mixture of anger and confusion on her face, but stopped as she was about to lose her balance.
“He’s not the enemy,” Lia emphasized the negation. “He brought my father and brother to the hospital even though he didn’t have to, and,” she paused dramatically. “He saved me. He killed Brenna’s dad to get me out,” she paused and turned around slightly to look at him. “And now, I guess, he’s my protector.”
“I’m protecting the balance,” he stated, and Lia had no idea if he was contradicting her, or not.
“Where is Nate?” Kiana asked, accepting Lia’s words.
Hearing that question was more than a cold shower, it was like getting frostbite. Liala hadn’t warned her mother about Nate, told her about the fact that he was a traitor and why. She knew her mother would allow Nate through the gate, without any hesitation, and she probably wouldn’t bother about him climbing and jumping over the wall.
“He’s a traitor,” Lia’s voice was thick with emotion.
They had known each other for only a night, for just a few hours. She knew that it was far too early to know what this instant connection, this unfightable attraction really was. It was more than just knowing that she had never felt attracted to humans, that what she felt was just because he was a shifter. It had only been Nate, not the other shifters. It had been only him she had wanted, yes, needed. And that was why his betrayal struck so deep. Maybe that was also the reason why what she felt for Rick was different, too.
“No, he can’t be.”
Liala turned and saw that one of the twins was standing behind her best friend. She just had no clue which one it was, but Kiana seemed to feel quite comfortable with him that close.
HOWL and HUNT the HEIR: HOWL 1-3 (Dark World) Page 22
