Her anger lessened when she considered the possibility of everyone being fine with what happened.
Still, it didn’t change the situation at hand or her mother’s responsibility. Rick and Liala had to continue their plan. If there was only the slightest chance to stop this bloodshed and anyone dying, they had to do it. Liala just hoped that it would work, but before they had the chance, the unexpected happened. A black shadow leaped onto the gate and down on the other side, but it wasn’t a werewolf, not exactly. Lia and Rick stopped dead again.
Without the information of what she was seeing reaching her mind, Lia already knew it was Nate, even though he looked different from the nights before and even when he let them go. It was those mesmerizing green eyes and her instinct, her body recognizing him. He had shifted into what looked like his true nature, a cross-breed between werewolf and wendigo, towering over everyone by at least two feet with a set of deer antlers sitting on his head like a crown, making him appear even taller. His torso was more slender and leaner than a werewolf’s and the longer limbs made him look strange, eerie even.
And everyone within a few feet around him quickly retreated, hackles standing up all along their backs to the tip of their tails. They weren’t just scared, they were terrified.
Lia felt how her hair began to stand up straight, as well. It was beyond having simply goosebumps. As if an aura of terror was emanating from him.
Rick pulling his sword was what made her snap out of her petrified state and she instantly knew what he wanted to do, even without his voice in her head.
“No!” She held out her hand to him, preventing him from falling into a sprint.
As if Fate herself wanted to punish her for her decision, Nate started to attack those around him, sending those standing still too close to him flying around, bleeding from deep gashed that Nate inflicted on them.
Lia was torn. She watched how her mother was forced to retreat by her mate, using his own body as a shield from the monster in their midst. If her mother had ever doubted the warning one of the twins had given to her, she now had proof that Nate indeed was a traitor. Lia could imagine how much that had to pain her. But then again, she was wondering if her mother had any sympathy for the half-breeds she was now feeding to the hunters like mice to starving snakes.
“You still want to go through with your plan, Lia?” Rick asked her, urging her to let him go. “They can’t get through the gate if you want to bargain with them.”
“You know we need him alive,” Liala dropped her hand, but it was her gaze that made him hesitate.
“You need him alive,” Rick responded. “He is not important to…”
“He IS important!” Lia hissed at Rick and jumped into a sprint, hellbent on outrunning the hunter.
Lia! You’re not a warrior! Stop! Rick was shouting at her with his voice and his mind, but she ignored him, heading straight for Nate.
Realizing that she wasn’t in shifted form, she knew that she had nothing to throw at him, even if she had experience in fighting another werewolf, or anyone, for that matter. She wished, she could only flip one finger and take on a form that would at least distract Nate from the others. If she really had such an ability, to shift into anything she wanted, matching her size and mass, she would have made a whole other plan. She would have taken on the form of her mother and lead all of them away. But even if this was among the possible options, she just had learned how to shift the night before last night, literally, and had done so without any other triggers than her own will, just minutes ago. There was just no time.
So, when Lia ran towards Nate at the highest speed possible in her human form, her not being shifted was probably the reason why he just stared at her and didn’t get ready to defend himself. What happened next was a split-second decision. She gathered her strength and leaped towards him, aiming right for his chest. Lia knew that she hadn’t the strength or weight to take him down, but that wasn’t her intention either, she wanted him to catch her, and be distracted from opening the gate for the hunters.
While she soared through the air, getting closer to him, she could feel entering an invisible cloud, making her heart speed up even more and her hairs stand straight, appealing to her instinct to turn around and run; his aura of terror.
But Liala knew better. He could have hurt her badly; he could have taken her the first night they met, but he hadn’t. And tonight, he let Rick and her go. It might have been nothing more than tactics so that the hunters could or would follow her, but it didn’t matter, because he didn’t have to let Rick go.
Lia landed against Nate’s chest and his arms instantly wrapped themselves around her as he took just one lunge backward to keep his balance. She brought her legs around his hips and her hands around his face, forcing it towards her as she kissed his distorted face, which was somewhere in between mountain lion and wolf, and yet more human than a werewolf’s. He didn’t react, not instantly, but after a breath, he took his arms and held her tighter and his mouth reacted to hers.
While the fighting continued outside, everything within the walls stopped.
“Lia!” her mother shouted after a felt eternity of silence, and she could feel how Nate tensed.
“You’re with me, Nate,” she whispered to him, quickly, pulling back just enough so that she could speak. “You belong with me. You’re not a monster, you’re not unwanted. Your parents wanted you. I want you. The hunters only want you because you’re a weapon to them, a tool, nothing more. My mother is just the same. You know that. I know that. But not me. I want you with me. I need you with me. By my side. Please don’t open the gate. I promise you, you will get your revenge.”
Nate’s initial response was letting out a long-held breath. And then, he nodded. When Lia unwrapped her legs from him, he let her down to the ground gently.
But when her feet touched the gravel below them, she could feel how he tensed.
Turning around, she could see that Rick was standing right behind them, his facial expression unreadable but his posture without ambiguity. With his feet placed as wide as his shoulders, and his head slightly lowered, he held his silver sword pointing to the side. He was ready to fight. Liala wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the reason why everyone around him was keeping a careful distance, but there was something else. There was a strange glow emanating from him, almost as if he was shimmering, and when he lifted his head just enough to look at the both of them, his eyes were no longer brown, but a bright, glowing golden, almost like the dawning sun on a winter’s day.
Lia stayed standing in front of Nate, even though she was far too small to shield his body, as he was towering over her like a dark tree. No one but Rick was looking at the werewolf-wendigo hybrid anymore. They were all mesmerized by the young man in their midst. Some of them whispering, calling him names, which weren’t a surprise to Lia. Such as ‘original hunter’, ‘divine hunter’, or something that was referring to Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the hunt and forest. But one word she heard was startling her, even shocking her, striking deeper than she would have expected: ‘angel’.
Reaching behind her, she entwined her right hand’s fingers with his right clawed hand, more to give him assurance than herself comfort.
“Nate is with me,” she said loud and clear, glaring at Rick first in uncertainty, hoping he wouldn’t do anything, but then looking at all the others standing around them, while on the outside, shots were still being fired. There isn’t enough time. “He is part of my pack.” She emphasized and brought her glance back to Rick. “And he is, too.”
Lia had just announced that she didn’t consider herself as a part of her mother’s pack.
Rick knew about every detail of her plan, and her dissociating herself from her mother’s pack was part of it. He had agreed to aid her in executing this plan; however, he had never confirmed that he approved of her plan in its entirety. And now, with that word ‘angel’ echoing in her head, she wasn’t sure if he would do as she had asked him to. Again, her
mind raced with questions. Angels were celestial creatures; in a way even divine themselves. Was this where the divine bloodlines got their special abilities from? What if the tales her mother told her as a child were untrue? She shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts on the task at hand.
Rick’s eyes were still golden as he looked at her and he continued to glow this divinely as he straightened up and lowered his sword, seemingly confirming her words to the members of her mother’s pack.
“Trust me,” she murmured so that only Nate could hear her, but she sent the same words to Rick; and as Nate squeezed her hand gently, Rick nodded once, barely noticeably, but she felt his confirmation.
Relief washed over her like a warm stream, easing her tension. And Lia realized that she needed them both for completely opposite reasons. This could make it all even more complicated, but she moved her concerns aside. There was no time to waste.
“Let’s go,” she told Rick, speaking out loud and as well as in her thoughts; she didn’t want Nate to feel threatened when the original hunter suddenly raced towards them.
Lia let go of Nate’s hand and lunged one step forward. Despite the distance and his speed Rick stepped right to her entwined and held out hands, using his momentum and her push to leap across the wall without touching it.
Now it was in Rick’s hands to take command of the human hunters. If Lia was right, all he had to do was reveal himself to them as an original hunter, and the lore and legends of their cult would make them accept him as their leader. With Brenna’s father dead and Nate not returning to challenge him, it shouldn’t be a difficult task, unless no one believed in the legends anymore.
But Lia had seen the reaction of the shifters; she had seen Rick’s true form herself. It was hard not to believe that he was anything else but an original hunter. But somehow, she doubted that his true form was just a celestial glow and those golden eyes.
“Call them back, mother,” Liala barked at the woman who had destroyed all good memories of her childhood.
It was the first-time Lia looked at her, and she met a stunned stare.
“Order them back, now!” She shouted at her mother. “Stop sending them to slaughter.”
If Lia had any idea about how she could give the order herself she would do so, right away, but her choice of words wasn’t unheard by the bystanders, and they all looked to their alpha now.
She didn’t move her mouth, but Liala could feel a slight nudge within her mind, making her want to retreat and find shelter behind the wall. She was a bit disappointed but even more surprised that her mother listened to her. But she had, and everyone could hear that the shooting stopped and briefly after that, the first shifters came jumping off the wall. None of them were unharmed, some even collapsed as soon as they touched the ground.
That was when an old woman stepped from the shadows of one of the buildings. Lia recognized her instantly. It was the woman who had warned her and it made her realize that she had warned her knowing exactly who Liala was. She gave her an approving nod and moved towards the injured shifter.
“Eyla, what are you doing here?” Liala’s mother sounded shocked and angry, but the woman ignored her completely, and others followed her lead, tending to the wounded.
Lia watched what was happening with Nate still standing behind her. The gate now was unguarded, but he didn’t move, didn’t take the chance, and open it for the hunters to enter.
“I told you to not go after your daughter,” the old woman called Eyla spoke, addressing Lia’s mom, but not looking at her. “Have you forgotten about the vision you had, weeks ago?”
Liala reached out and took Nate’s hand once again, not turning around, but leaning back, so that she could feel his chest and abdomen against her body. In this form, his skin felt much colder than hers.
It was because of the Wendigo being awake. Lia knew from the legends that Wendigos were mindless, bloodthirsty creatures, driven by their base instincts. It had to be Nate’s divine shifter side that was able to control these urges. At least, to a large extent, because as their bodies touched, Lia could feel the effect she had on him pressing against her body.
“You will get all that and more,” she whispered to him, and he took a deep breath.
17 – Parley
It was the dead silence that brought Liala back to the here and now; and when she opened her eyes, it was obvious that something had changed.
Maybe it was everyone witnessing that a lost son had returned to the pack just because of her, or that an original hunter was part of her pack. Or maybe it was every single one realizing that their alpha had a double-standard, that her words and actions contradicted each other. Or maybe it was that old woman, who was a healer and most certainly an elder openly disregarded their leader.
“You saw a giant shadow towering over your daughter. A shadow that was neither human nor wolf, following her. And you saw the sunlight granting her wings,” the woman named Eyla spoke loudly, for everyone to hear. “And you didn’t believe me when I told you that it didn’t mean that Lia was in danger. I told you that when you see darkness when there is nothing but light, darkness will find you. And now look what has happened.”
That was all the old woman said. After that, she turned her back on Liala’s mother and started to treat one of the werewolves that had collapsed on the ground.
“Is there anything I can do?” Lia asked the elder, after reluctantly letting go of Nate.
Right now, she would have given her right arm to see what was happening on the other side of the wall, but she had to trust in Rick’s abilities and his sheer presence that he would be able to stop the hunters from attacking. And there weren’t any more shots fired and close to no noises coming from the other side of the wall.
“You already did and endured more than many of us, my dear,” the old woman spoke softly to her. “You are so young and have just awoken… the only thing that I could ask of you is a burden you don’t want to carry on your shoulders, even though you have already considered it.”
Lia stared at the woman in disbelief. How could she know what she had just thought about minutes ago?
“You still have so much to learn. You are so young. Do you really want to take on so much responsibility when you know that every step you take, every decision you make might be questioned?”
The woman talked to her, calmly, all the while she was treating a young man for silver poisoning. She acted as if it was just a scratch not needing more than a band aid, but Lia already learned how dangerous a silver bullet could be for a half-breed.
“I don’t even know if I can become an alpha when there still is an alpha,” Liala spoke under her breath, feeling that Nate had followed her, towering over her just like the giant shadow of her mother’s prophetic vision.
Thinking of that, Lia instantly knew what – or rather who – the sunlight’s granted wings belonged to. Rick.
Right at this moment, she expected to sit up straight in her tent, Benjy next to her, waking from a crazy dream. However, when she thought about the description of her mother’s vision, everything suddenly seemed to make sense. Rick had told her that his duty was to keep the balance. And Nate himself had to find a balance between his two natures. With Nate being the darkness as a half-wendigo, Rick was the light with whatever he actually was. She herself was the axis. It made absolute sense.
When her glance met the old woman’s Liala already knew that she was agreeing with her.
“There have been some members of the clan who have been disagreeing with your mother’s action,” she told her, patting her patient on his head like a grandma consoling her grandchild. “But there was no divine blooded heir to take her place. Your sister is too young and she doesn’t have it in her to lead and make hard decisions, but you already know that.”
Liala nodded. She hadn’t seen her little half-sister ever since she had left with Kiana and Nate to exchange herself for her little brother. But she could imagine that the little girl was hiding just like
the rest of the children. And, Liala was happy about that fact. It would be horrible for a child to witness what had happened and what was about to happen.
“You already have set a plan in motion to bring back the balance between the hunters and the shifters, I can see that in you,” the old woman told her. “You have so much of your father in you, Lia. He would be very proud of the woman you have become.”
Liala swallowed down a big lump in her throat. She knew that Eyla was talking about her birth-father, but still. As if Nate sensed that she needed it, he placed one of his clawed hands onto her shoulder. His closeness consoled her. Liala knew that the old woman had more to tell her, but now wasn’t the time for it.
A murmur went through the by standing crowd, and Liala instinctively looked up to where everyone else was staring. It was Rick, standing on top of the wall, his sword still shiny in the icy moonlight and yet droplets of blood were cascading down the blade.
Get me up there, she told Nate silently, and he instantly obeyed, grabbing her by the hips and sending her flying into Rick’s arms.
On top of the wall, she could look down on the other side where the war had ravaged, turning the already dark ground even darker. She saw bodies of both her clan and the hunters. It was less than she had feared, but still, lives had been lost. It all still felt like a nightmare to her, and maybe that was the reason why, she was able to make her decisions with such clarity. But she always had been a rather rational person in comparison to her dad or her little brother, because it had been a necessity. And it was just as necessary now as it had been her entire life since her mother had left.
“What are they saying?” Liala spoke lowly even though she knew that the members who stood close to her could eavesdrop on them talking.
But then again there was Nate high like a mountain and unpredictable to them like a snake. So, many of them kept their distance, fearing what he might do if they came any closer.
“They needed some persuasion,” Rick explained and she couldn’t help but look at the blade on which still blood rolling down it slowly. “But they eventually believed that I am an original hunter and their true leader.”
HOWL and HUNT the HEIR: HOWL 1-3 (Dark World) Page 24
