“Eve,” Clara croaked once she’d managed to find the words. “How do you and Kellan know each other?”
Kellan laid a hand on Clara’s shoulder. “You are not the only member of your family to have been called to our village.”
Clara stared at her aunt in shock. “You…”
Her aunt smiled sadly. “It… was… a long time ago.” She coughed, and it seemed her face grew a bit paler, but she continued. “When I was… still young and my… head and heart was filled… with possibilities. Like you… I heard the wolf song… and couldn’t ignore it.”
She stopped, turning her toward the ceiling, and then continued on. “One… day…. I ventured… into the forest… found the maze… and then the village… and waiting for me was Nicholas.” Her eyes went dreamy. “I’ll admit… that… while I was quite… resistant at first, it wasn’t very hard for him to win me over. We were… drawn… to each other.”
Clara nodded; she understood the feeling very well. “Did… did you know that I was…”
Eve nodded, but it took her several minutes to gather the strength to continue speaking. “I wasn’t… completely certain… but I knew when… you started asking… about the howling and developing… bags… under your eyes… something was wrong. But you were…” Eve coughed again; harder this time, and Clara gripped her aunt’s fingers tightly, “spending …so much time… with Lucas I wasn’t… certain… it was… the call. When… Nicholas… called me, I had eyes for… no one else… even though I… at first… resented that… I was being pulled… against my conscious will.”
Kellan frowned. “Lucas?”
“He’s a neighbor,” Clara said absently. “If you were called to a shifter, why is it that you ended up staying here? What happened?”
Eve’s eyes misted over. “He… he was killed. By… the hunters.”
“A crossbow bolt right through the head,” Kellan growled. “He never stood a chance.”
“It… nearly destroyed me,” Eve whispered, a faraway look in her eyes. “I had… just made up my mind to… accept him as my mate… when I came to the village and… was told the news. To…to go from the heights of such joy to the depths of despair in such a short time… I can never forgive myself.”
“I’m so sorry,” Clara replied taking Eve’s hand again. Her aunt surprised her by gripping hard, a suddenly fierce look in her eyes.
“Don’t let your fears hold you back, Clara,” Eve said fervently, her voice surging with a sudden strength. “I did, and I lost my soul mate forever before I ever got the chance to join with him. Kellan is here still, he’s yours, and he will always be yours. Best to take him before something else takes him from you.”
Clara looked away, tears constricting her throat. Fear stabbed her at the thought of Kellan being taken from her; the pain and regret in her aunt’s eyes was so profound that Clara had no doubt she would experience the same.
Her aunt’s eyes fluttered closed and she slumped back on the bed again, the sudden energy deserting her completely. “I’m so tired…” Her hand slipped from Clara’s, who watched as Eve’s breathing evened out once more.
“She’s asleep,” Kellan murmured, his hand still on Clara’s shoulder. “I think we should leave her be for now.”
Clara rose without a word and left the room, Kellan trailing behind her. She closed the door so her aunt could be undisturbed, then led Kellan into the hallway and turned to face him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, allowing the hurt to finally creep into her voice.
Kellan flinched. “I couldn’t do that to your aunt. It was her past, her story to tell, and if she hadn’t shared it with you I assumed there was good reason. I wasn’t going to disrespect her wishes by crossing that boundary.”
“I knew she was keeping something from me whenever I asked her about the forest… she would always get this uneasy look in her eyes whenever I brought up the forest or the howling.” Clara shook her head. “I just never suspected it would be this.”
“Life is very good at bringing to us the unexpected.” He looked around. “I have to get back to the village. I’ve already stayed too late as it is.”
Clara leaned up on tiptoe to kiss him. “Be careful.”
He kissed the breath out of her. “I’ll be back tonight.”
The morning passed quietly enough, her aunt sleeping peacefully while Clara did the morning chores. When she came in to check on her again it seemed as though her face was not as contorted—could she be getting better? The thought was almost too much to hope for.
Her musings were interrupted by a knock on the door, and when she went to answer it, she found Judy Bennet standing outside with a basket looped over her arm.
“I was just passing by on my way home from the Rivers farm and decided to check in on you and your aunt. How is she?” Judy asked as Clara let her inside.
“She was awake for a very brief time this morning,” Clara said with a half-smile. “I think she’s doing better.”
“Oh, thank Heavens,” Judy said as she lowered herself onto one of the kitchen chairs. “It’s nice to hear at least one piece of good news today.”
Clara frowned. “Is something wrong, Mrs. Bennet?”
Judy shook her head. “Seems as though everything is going wrong these days. My boys dying, your aunt falling ill, and then the Whittakers’ entire herd of sheep being slaughtered. I have to wonder if maybe the good Lord is punishing us all for some grievous sin committed.”
“Did… did you say their entire herd of sheep?”
Judy nodded. “Terrible. Looked as though they’d all been mauled by beasts—but it doesn’t make sense because only a few were actually eaten. No beast would have killed the entire herd; animals are simple-minded and they kill to eat. Whoever committed this act did it with malice aforethought.”
Clara’s face was pale, and her fingers icicles. “Can… can you stay here for a short time with my aunt while I go out?”
Judy blinked. “Certainly…but what--”
“I need to talk to the Whittakers’ myself,” Clara interrupted, shoving her bonnet onto her head. “I’ll be back soon.”
Clara rushed across the fields to the Whittaker Farm, her heart in her throat. There was an enormous smoke cloud in the sky, coming from Whittaker land, and she headed straight forward, having an idea as to what it might be, but wanting to see it with her own eyes to be sure.
The smoke turned out to be coming from the remnants of a bonfire—ashes and embers were all that was left. Squinting through the smoke, Clara managed to make out what looked like charred animal carcasses in the fire. They’d burned the sheep? But why—
Someone grabbed her by the arm and she shrieked, whirling around. Lucas caught her free hand, which had been swinging around to strike him in the face, and she blinked, dread and horror creeping into her.
“Oh Lucas,” she squeaked, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I know,” he said calmly. “I really don’t think you should be here, Clara.”
Clara searched his face, dismayed to find there was no trace of the laughing, sincere young man he’s always been around her. His features were hard, his eyes burning with a cold fire that sent chills up her spine.
He released her, but rather than backing up, she stood her ground, not wanting to give him the chance to walk away.
“Judy told me what happened last night,” she finally said. “I wanted to come by and make sure everyone was alright.”
Lucas sighed and cast a disgusted glance toward the bonfire behind them. “By the time we discovered the sheep, their flesh had spoiled and their coats were encrusted with blood so that we couldn’t even sell the meat or the hides.”
“That’s terrible.”
He nodded. “Yes. But not as terrible as what is going to happen to them once I find and punish the ones responsible.”
Clara did take a step back this time—the look in Lucas’s eye scared her. “You mean you know who has done this?”
Lucas looked away. “It’s probably best if you go.”
Clara grabbed his arm as he was about to turn away. “Tell me.” She scowled at the hesitancy in his eyes. “If you don’t, I’ll find someone who will.”
Lucas passed a hand over his face. “There are… demons in the forest. I believe they are directly responsible for this —the attack has all their markings.”
“Markings?” Clara’s heart sank like a stone—her head was already screaming at her, but her heart refused to believe; it wanted verbal confirmation. “What… what kind of demons are they?”
“They take the shape of both wolf and human, though I’ve only ever seen them as wolf when I’ve hunted them.” Lucas’s face darkened. “The bite marks on the sheep most definitely belonged to a wolf.”
Clara’s heartbeat roared in her ears; her world had been turned upside down in seconds.
“What do you mean? You…hunt them?”
“I… yes. My father taught me to hunt since I was a young boy.” He frowned at her. “Are you alright, Clara?” He shook his head. “You’re frightened. I knew I shouldn’t have told you about any of this.”
Clara shook her head, trying to realign her scattered thoughts—she was in shock, but not for the reasons Lucas thought. All this time, Lucas had been the one responsible for the deaths of the clan? He was responsible for killing innocent people?
She wanted to reach out and shake him—to scream at him and explain that what he was doing was wrong, but what would she say? She wasn’t even supposed to know about the shifters.
“I’m… I’m fine,” she finally said, even though she was shaking and dizzy. She knew she couldn’t hate him even though the shifter clan did, because he truly believed that he was protecting the village. And the shifters had only made matters worse by slaughtering his livestock. And yet knowing that he and his ancestors were responsible for so much pain and heartache… it was too much for her to deal with. “I just never thought of you as anything but a kind and gentle soul.”
She regretted saying the words instantly—his face closed off. “I’ll do anything to protect my family and my lands. If you’ll excuse me, I have to round up my men. We have a battle to win.”
He turned away, and Clara reached out, helpless as to what she should do. “Lucas—”
He stopped. “Don’t worry about yesterday, Clara. I understand.” He turned and gave her a shadow of his trademark grin. “I’d thought you were comfortable enough with me from all the time we spent together, but I’m hot blooded and can admit when I’ve jumped the gun. Maybe we can start over when all the dust has settled.”
He walked away, and Clara was silent, at a loss for words as she watched him go.
* * *
Clara returned home, even though she wanted to rush straight to the village and demand an explanation from Kellan. But she couldn’t leave Judy with her aunt all afternoon, and even if she did reach him what would she say? He’d been with her all night, so she knew he hadn’t participated in the attack. It was entirely possible he might not have even known about it.
And could she really blame the wolves for retaliating in this way? Lucas was responsible for the deaths of many of their members. They could have gone into his house and slaughtered his entire family in their sleep. Instead they’d killed their sheep—as a warning, a statement of what they could do. Perhaps they’d hoped Lucas would take the hint and leave them alone.
Clara sighed. She should have stayed and tried to explain to Lucas about them. The shifters were good people, and Lucas was a good man as well. She didn’t think he was killing off the shifters for greed or glory; he genuinely thought they were a threat. But what would she have said? How could she have convinced him? She knew from experience that it took more than a few words to convince a man to change his ideals, and this was a very touchy subject.
“This is such a mess,” she muttered, placing her head in her hands. There was a war about to erupt right outside her doors, and she was stuck here, helpless.
“Clara?” her aunt whispered, and Clara jerked her head up to see that Eve’s eyes were open.
“Oh, auntie!” Clara leaned over and gave her a very gentle hug, inhaling her aunt’s lightly floral scent for comfort. “I’m so glad you are awake again. Are you feeling better?”
She patted Clara’s back. “I am, a bit, but you sound as though something is troubling you. What is it, child?”
Clara pulled back with a sigh. “It’s… it’s Lucas.” She told Eve what happened—the attack on the wolves, their retaliation against Lucas, and now Lucas’s current plans to initiate a final strike. “It’s just awful, and I don’t know what to do.”
Eve reached out to squeeze Clara’s hand. “You need to go and warn them, child.”
Clara looked down at her aunt’s hand. “I can’t leave you here by yourself.”
“I am but one woman,” her aunt reminded her. “The wolf shifters may not be a large clan, but they’ve many more numbers than I alone. And… and you are more connected to them than you realize.”
“What do you mean?”
Her aunt blinked. “Your mother… sometimes she could shift into a wolf as well. No one in the past two generations could.”
Clara’s jaw dropped. “My mother… was a shifter?”
“It was very hard for her, living so close to the River’s and knowing that at any time they might discover her and kill her. It was one of the reasons she married your father—to get as far away as possible.” Her aunt sighed. “But it seemed that even moving away from the country wasn’t enough. Those rebels… I believe they might’ve found her out.”
“No.” Clara shook her head. “They killed my parents for being loyal to the regime.” The words sounded more like a denial than conviction, even to her.
Eve looked at her helplessly. “I don’t know for certain. What I do know is that your mother wrote to me a few weeks before she died, telling me she was worried that someone might’ve seen her shifting. She did like to take risks, your mother.” She shook her head, a sad smile curving her lips. “It seems entirely too coincidental that she died so soon afterward.”
Clara placed her head in her hands and sat in silence for a long time, simply digesting everything she had just learned. Her head swam, and her heart was a battleground of conflicting emotions. It seemed that everything in her life came back to the shifter clan—which made sense if she had a shifter ancestor, but how could that be? Why was it that her mother could shift and hadn’t been called, but that Clara didn’t have any extraordinary powers and was? There was much she didn’t understand, and probably never would.
But there was one thing she did understand, and when she lifted her head again her eyes were intense with determination. “All this means is that I have even more reason to go and warn the shifter clan. Too many shifters have died because of this prejudice and misunderstanding between the two races. I…” she looked down at her aunt, who was still so frail. “I have to go.”
Her aunt smiled. “I will be fine, and if for some reason I am not, the lives of many are worth more than the single life of an old woman.”
Tears pricked Clara’s eyes. “Don’t talk like that. You’re going to be all right. I promise.”
Eve patted her hand, and then withdrew. “I’m sure I will be. Now go, child. I will be waiting.”
Chapter Ten
“You did what?” Kellan asked through clenched teeth.
Charles raised his eyebrows. “It was a unanimous decision between the five of us.”
Kellan shot his Alpha a venomous glare. “A decision you made without me, which I had every right to be privy to! Why did you keep this from me?”
“We thought it prudent,” Ranulf spoke up, “seeing as how you are intimately involved with a human. Your judgment is clouded.”
“My judgment has not been affected by this!”
“Then why are you so angry?” Gabriel challenged. “Before you’d met that woman, you would have
had no problem with the idea of giving back to the humans. In fact, you would have been excited about it.”
Kellan looked away, his heart sinking as Gabriel’s point hit home. “People change, Gabe.”
“Kellan.” Charles laid a hand on his shoulder. “I understand this puts you in a difficult position because you don’t want your future mate to reject you. That is why we did not ask you, so that you would not need to carry around a guilty conscience when you were around her. And that is why we struck last night, when you were with her and the blame could not be placed on you.”
Some of the tension slid from Kellan’s shoulders, and he looked up at his alpha to see Charles’ eyes warm with compassion. “I understand,” he finally said. “I just wish there were another way.”
Ranulf clapped him on the back. “There isn’t. We need to prepare our men.”
“We are hoping the humans would abandon their thirst for our blood,” Charles said, “but taking into account their history of violence, it would be unwise not to be prepared.”
Kellan nodded. “I will take care of it.”
* * *
Kellan gathered up all of the able-bodied men in the village and assigned them positions. Most he took with him outside the village, but he left a group of them at the village, strategically placed within the maze and at the gates. If the humans somehow managed to make it past them and to the village, Kellan didn’t want to leave it undefended.
The rest he took away from the maze, stationing the bulk of them in one place and scattering scouts to different areas of the forest. If the humans did decide to come, he wanted to make sure they met in a head-on confrontation.
Several hours passed, in which Kellan and his men waited, high strung with tension. Many of them kept busy by checking and rechecking their weapons, sharpening blades and adjusting straps. The alpha and the remainder of the council finally joined them after taking care of their business in the village, and Kellan updated them on the locations of his men and the situation.
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