"Stay out of this, wolf; your job is finished." Bael growled. A thin black light appeared in his hand. A fighting staff tipped in silver. Moonlight glinted off its sharpened edge.
I squared my shoulders. I felt Jade take a step back. "If you wanted her, why try to kill her?" I asked. I wanted to keep him talking so Jade could move out of the fight zone. Bael being overconfident, complied.
"Just to speed up the process. It is not her I want, but her blood. To be a Guardian, or even half, I would command the council and not have to grovel to Earwen or anyone else. They would have to bow down to me."
Bael played the B-movie villain to the hilt. He swung his fighting staff in wide arcs before him, letting the points shine in the light.
"Your acting skills are horrendous. What did you do? Take notes from the villains?" I scoffed, laughing at his antics.
Bael charged, his staff tip pointed at my chest. I twisted to the side, bringing my blade down to snap the shaft, but it bounced harmlessly away.
"You would think I would bring wood to a fight?" Bael laughed. He pulled the staff back towards him. The black light enveloped the staff, changing it. The staff went limp. He snapped his wrist and the whip flew at me, catching me at my left wrist. It burned. I dropped my sword as the whip snapped back toward Bael. I lunged for my blade, but Bael stood on the tip. "There will be none of that."
I looked up at him and smiled. "You are too predictable." I slammed the heel of my hand into his knees. He stumbled away. I grabbed my sword, bringing the blade to bite into his groin. Bael skipped back, and the tip of my blade only ripped his pants.
Bael turned and ran into the meeting hall. I followed and immediately stopped dead in my tracks. The council members were bound to poles along the back wall. Another pole stood empty in the center of the room, the base surrounded by a copper-lipped mat. I ground my teeth at the sight, and Bael tackled me from the side. We tumbled to the floor, my blade clattering away. His hands wrapped around my throat. He tightened his grip, and I went limp. His gripp slackened, and I punched him in his stomach, sending him reeling backward. I lunged and slammed him hard on his back, my knees holding down his shoulders.
A sharp knee into the small of my back threw me off. Bael was on his feet before I could recover. His booted foot crashed into my jaw. I felt the darkness overcoming me. I fought, allowing the wolf to come forth.
"Bring in the girl," I heard Bael call out.
The pain subsided as the wolf inside me came out. Skin to fur, muscles reforming. A deep growl grew within me. I shook as I looked up. Bael's minions, the twisted Barbie doll demons, had wrestled Jade into the meeting hall. I watched as the demons tied her to the pole. Our eyes met. A slight nod from Jade was all I needed. The demons had not searched her for weapons; I saw a sword hidden within her feathers.
Bael pulled out a short, wavy-bladed dagger. The Barbie demons left, standing just outside the doorway. My clothes were nothing more than a heap now, and I shook my paws free of them. Bael raised his dagger, and I launched myself at him. My jaw connected on his arm. The dagger clattered away. Bael swung around, but I refused to let go, my teeth sinking in deeper, keeping him from twisting.
The gleam of a blade caught my attention. "Don't move." It was Jade. I let go and backed away. A sword was across Bael's throat. "I may not look like much, but I can kick your ass," she said. Jade grabbed Bael's injured arm, pulling it up between his shoulder blades. Bael yelped in pain.
The Barbie demons decided it was time to enter the fight. They charged Jade from behind. I leaped between her and them. The demons stopped, looked at one another, and vanished of their own accord.
Jade had Bael on his knees. I came to stand beside her. She smiled down at me. "Go change," she instructed. There was a change in her demeanor, commanding and gentle at the same time.
I returned to her side to see that the other members of the council had been released. Earwen rubbed her wrists, a sad smile on her face. "Thank you, Guardian. I apologize for Bael's conduct. He will be dealt with."
"No. That is my judgment," Jade said as she turned towards the now-imprisoned Bael. His body sagged in defeat.
"You would have brought forth a new era." He pleaded.
"And I shall." Jade's wings folded into themselves, disappearing between her shoulder blades. She pulled on a black t-shirt from her back pocket. The magickal cage that held Bael began to shrink, and then disappeared completely with a small pop and a whiff of sulphur, taking Bael with it.
Jade turned and faced the remaining council members. "I know why you want me here, Council, and no, I will not oversee your petty squabbling. I will return to my life and to Toni." Jade looked over at me. "If she will have me." She faced Earwen and the council again. "As far as I am concerned, there is no council. Let the beings that inhabit the mortal realm do as they see fit. I will only intervene when necessary." Jade turned and walked away, leaving me to face the council.
Earwen crossed her arms over her chest. "And what of you?"
"I belong to no pack. I belong to Jade."
Earwen only smiled. The council vanished, leaving me alone in the center of the room.
"I doubt we will be seeing much of them for awhile. Things can finally get peaceful again." I turned around to find Allie leaning up against the doorframe. She pushed herself off and walked over towards me. "My niece could not have done better in choosing her bond mate."
"Your niece?"
"Yes, yes, Jade is my niece. I am full-blooded Guardian; she is only part."
"Where are your wings?" I said before thinking the question through.
Allie laughed. "I have no need for jewelry. Jade has a similar choice to wear her wings or not. Now go and protect the moon, for she is waiting." Allie patted me on my cheek and left.
I walked out the door, but Allie was gone. Jade was indeed waiting for me, though, leaning against my truck, her bike loaded in the bed. She pushed off the truck and folded herself into my embrace.
"Guess I didn't need to protect you after all." I smiled at her.
"Any regrets?" Jade asked.
I looked at her, from her green eyes, bright with laughter and happiness, to the silver set of wings that graced the hollow of her throat. I claimed her lips with my own. She was my moon now, and with her, anything felt possible. I pulled away just long enough to say, "None."
King Terfel had given her very strict orders: her pack was not to become a female dominated pack. The order had riled her, made her growl, but Regent Gauwyn—the king's chosen mate—had calmed her, as he usually did.
"It isn't out of a desire to continue the oppression of the women," Gauwyn had said with a smile. The Ice Elf, so different from his Wood Elf mate, had a smile that could calm a rabid wolverine. "It's about equality, Sasha. It would make you no better than the men who forced alpha females to behave as kicked puppies for millennia."
And, damn him, he was right.
The House of Wood was beginning to see how the interloper to their ways was almost always right when it came to such matters. Maybe the Wise Woman had been right: change came with an icy hand.
Sasha was an anomaly. She was one of a handful of alpha females in the House of Wood that hadn't had the alpha beaten out of her over centuries of abuse. Out of women capable of being the alpha of a new pack, she had been chosen due to seniority. Age, it seemed, still had its benefits.
Pale hands slid over her shoulders, looped around her neck, and Sasha leaned back into the warm scent of fur and heather.
Aneira had been running in the woods.
Sasha tilted her head back and smiled up at her lover. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," Aneira whispered, dipping down to brush her lips over Sasha's. "But, I understood. A summons from the king could not be ignored. What did he want?"
Sasha rubbed her hands along Aneira's sun-kissed arms. "He has asked me to form a new pack. I am to turn in initial numbers within the week."
Aneira stilled against her. "You will be
pack alpha?"
"Yes." Sasha smiled. "You will be the pack alpha's mate."
A hesitant smile curved Aneira's lips. "That's a lot of responsibility."
Sasha smelled the uncertainty like a cloying bramble of dying berry bushes. She sat up and pulled away, frowning at her list. The one person she'd wanted to share her fear and joy with wasn't happy about Terfel's decision. "Yes, it is. I think I've earned the responsibility. I've been clawing my way up for as long as I can remember, and I think it's high time someone noticed." She ground her teeth together for a moment before her mind reached out to Aneira's, whispering thought-to-thought, I thought you would be proud he chose me.
Aneira knelt beside her, looked up at her with brown eyes as rich as bear's fur. "I am proud," she breathed. "I'm proud that he has given you this place of honor, but... I worry about my place now. I am no alpha, Sasha, and I have never wanted to be."
"You don't have to be," Sasha said, combing her fingers through Aneira's golden hair. Scalp to shoulders, over and over. "Not every alpha's mate is an alpha themselves. Regent Gauwyn—"
"Is not one of us," Aneria finished. "The queen, before she died, she was as strong an Elf as the king. They were as close to equals as I have ever seen. I am not your equal now, and I never can be," she said, eyes downcast.
"Please, don't." Sasha cupped Aneira's face, brought their lips together. As her tongue slipped between Aneira's sweet, willing lips, their minds touched once more, thoughts passing effortlessly between them. I love you. Your place is with me, and mine with you. Don't give up before we've even tried to take this step together. Please, Aneira, I need you now as much as before.
Aneira moaned, soft and pliant against her. When Aneira's voice sounded in her mind, it was as tender and heated as a summer breeze. I need you, too. I don't want to be left behind.
Sasha stood up, pulling Aneira with her. "I will never leave you behind," she promised, leading Aneira back toward their bed. "Never."
It took little effort or time to strip, to bare their bodies, and Sasha was grateful for that. Words could be so useless sometimes, but with her hands, her mouth, she could show Aneira how necessary she was. Aneira was her heart, her soul, and Sasha couldn't imagine her life without the willowy, quiet Elf. Aneira had been everything Sasha herself couldn't be, and that had drawn Sasha like a moth to a candle's flame.
With tenderness that belied her true strength, Sasha pressed Aneira down to the bed, her lips tracing along the elegant curve of Aneira's throat. The moan that rumbled under her kisses thrilled Sasha, sent a shiver of need through her. There was nothing like this, the soft sighs from pale pink lips and the eager arch of sun-kissed skin. Aneira gave herself utterly, and Sasha took without a second thought. Her lips trailed down Aneira's throat, teeth nipping at the fluttering pulse. After a moment, she moved lower, letting her tongue lick broadly over the fine curves of Aneira's collarbones. Heat settled thickly between her thighs, and she moaned, her hands moving over the beautiful curves of Aneira's body.
"Sasha!" Aneira gasped as she pressed her chest up against Sasha's hands.
Sasha chuckled, dipped down to capture one pert peak between her lips. She suckled at Aneira's nipple, tugged with her teeth, and when her hand slid between Aneira's parted legs, she couldn't withhold her shudder of pride. Even now, decades after they'd come together, her touch still made Aneira impossibly wet. Her eyes rolled up, took in Aneira's flushed face, dazed eyes, and as her fingers circled Aneira's clit, Aneira's hands dove into her hair and tugged. It wouldn't take much, Sasha knew, to make Aneira scream for her, and as Aneira's fingers tightened in her hair, she continued to slowly, purposefully, rub at Aneira.
From one breast to the other, Sasha tormented Aneira until her sweet mate was shouting, thrashing under her mouth and hands. She lifted her head, panting as she watched Aneira, need burning through her as she kept that same insistent pace, not rushing a moment of Aneira's first climax. "Yes," she breathed, lapping at the dark flesh of Aneira's nipple. "Gods, I can smell you. It makes me crazy."
The flush gracing Aneira's cheeks darkened, and eyes that were usually such a welcoming brown now shone with the green-gold of a wolf. It took Sasha's breath away, how stunning Aneira was in these private moments, how close the wolf would come when pleasure reigned.
"I can smell you, too," Aneira panted out, a slight growl in the words. Her nails pricked at Sasha's scalp as her body twitched, her musk becoming stronger. "Sasha!"
Sasha smirked, a hungry gleam in her eyes as her fingers moved just a little faster. "Come for me," she breathed, capturing Aneira's nipple again, abusing it with tongue and teeth. Just as Aneira's body tensed, Sasha pressed two fingers inside her, her thumb moving slickly over that swollen nub, pushing Aneira those final steps. Her lover's howl filled their room, echoed in Sasha's ears, compounded her own desire, and she abandoned Aneira's nipple to take her mouth in a searing kiss. They rode out Aneira's release with kisses, whimpers, and quiet whines, until Aneira sagged back among the furs, breathless, pink-skinned, and grinning.
"Pleased?" Sasha laughed, thrusting her fingers in and out of Aneira's wet sex, not allowing Aneira to come completely down from the clouds. She couldn't keep the smile from her lips as she asked, "Ready for bed?"
Aneira snarled, her muscles coiled, and then Sasha found herself pressed to the bed. "Not yet," Aneira said, a feral purr to the words. Delicate fingers moved over Sasha's body, plucked at her nipples. "Not tired."
Sasha gasped, her hands splaying over Aneira's hips. "Who said anything about being tired?"
The wolf-like eyes seemed to sparkle, and Aneira gave Sasha one of those gorgeous, hungry grins of hers. It was the last thing Sasha saw before Aneira shimmied down her body and shoved her legs back, baring her utterly before that wicked mouth wiped all logical thought from her mind.
The look in Sasha's eye was enough to send the guards scattering, leaving her a clear path to Terfel's audience chamber. She threw open the two heavy doors like they were paper. "A breakdown in pack discipline?" she bellowed out without preamble. "What the bleeding hell did you expect was going to happen?"
Terfel, for his part, remained completely impassive, staring down at Sasha from his throne on the raised dais. "I take it that you received my summons."
Fury simply radiated from Sasha, but Gauwyn—standing still and calm beside Terfel's seated form—simply smiled at her. That damnable smile, the one that said, 'I know you're upset, and you'll be even more upset by the time we're done, but do, please, calm down.' It was enough to make her want to spit nails. "My pack is my pack."
"That it may be," Terfel said, standing. Terfel was an imposing Elf when he stood, all golden hair, golden skin, and bright, sharp eyes. "But this kingdom is my pack. When discipline and order suffer because the Alphas I have chosen can't control their families, it forced my hand into action."
"I don't need your help," Sasha snapped.
Gauwyn stepped forward, drawing her attention. His eyes, as pale a blue as they could be without being colorless, were warm despite their icy color. "There is no weakness in seeking help when help is needed," he said. "Within the pack—"
Sasha growled, low and dangerous. "What the fuck do you know of pack, Ice Elf?"
Terfel was off his dais in a blink of an eye, his hand on her throat, their bodies on the floor. A loud, vicious sound left his throat, his usually green eyes the amber of his wolf. "Don't you dare, little alpha, question my mate. He is Regent. He is Wolf-Mate. He has earned his place, which is what you must now do."
With Terfel's clawed hand threatening to cut off her air, Sasha nodded. She couldn't fight Terfel. She didn't really want to. He was king for a reason, and it wasn't just due to bloodline. When he let her go and stood back, she sat up and met Gauwyn's eyes again. "Forgive me, Regent."
Gauwyn stepped down the dais and approached her. His black and blue robes, which matched his hair so perfectly, crumpled as he crouched beside her. And, sure enough, that serene smile curved his
lips again. "You are forgiven, Sasha. I am not Wolf, but I am Pack, and that part of Pack you've been given responsibility over is in chaos. We must fix that before the chaos spreads."
Sasha huffed; she couldn't help it, and she knew it made her sound barely beyond maturity. "It is under control."
"Half your men sport broken bones," Terfel said, crossing his arms.
It took Sasha a moment, and then she was on her feet again, her own arms crossed. A battle of wills. It was always a battle of wills with the males! "By the end of the week, it might be all my men. If they keep challenging me, I'll keep breaking their bones."
"That isn't how you earn respect," Gauwyn murmured, straightening. "That's how you teach your pack to be afraid of you. Fear breeds resentment. Fear leads to tragedy."
Sasha would have to be blind not to see the shadows in Gauwyn's eyes as he spoke. "Violence is necessary. They challenge me."
"Of course they challenge you. You're a female!" Terfel pointed at her. "If you cannot bring the pack under control—without an endless parade of broken bones and claw wounds—then I will need to find a male to take your place. Do I make myself clear?"
Oh, Terfel couldn't have hurt her pride more if he'd tried. Sasha gritted her teeth, kept her tongue still despite the litany of curses that demanded release. She turned on her heel and stalked back out the audience chamber, her cheeks dark with her blush of shame. Take the pack from her? Some days, she wished he would, but other days... when the young females looked to her guidance in the new world Gauwyn was shaping through her... No, no, she wouldn't let Terfel take her pack from her!
"Sasha."
She stopped in her tracks. Gauwyn's voice didn't need to carry for her to hear the edge to it, the silent command. Sasha turned in the deserted hall and faced the Ice Elf. "Regent."
Gauwyn's lips were, for once, curved into a frown. His brow furrowed and worry rolled off him in almost palpable waves. He motioned for her to follow him into a nearby room. It was small, sparsely furnished. She realized it was just a simple waiting chamber for guests seeking audience. Sasha crossed her arms. "Where is King Terfel?"
Daughters of Artemis Page 20
