Beauty's Beast

by Jenna Kernan

  She nodded her acceptance of this but stood tense, and her breathing came in angry blasts. Had her brother just apologized to a Ghost Child? Samantha’s concern deepened.

  Blake turned to Alon. “I can’t return those souls who have already flown.”

  “You could ban such hunts,” said Alon.

  “My dad is in charge of the Skinwalkers.”

  Samantha felt sick with guilt at being a Skinwalker. Did her dad really condone those hunts? Before she met Alon, she had thought much the same way as Blake. If given the chance, would she have killed a Halfling child?

  “In any case, I cannot bring the Ghost Children into this alliance,” said Blake. “The Niyanoka will never accept them.”

  “Then I will go to dad and offer our services to him.”

  Blake shook his head. “Don’t. He won’t accept them. The Ghostlings are his enemy. But even if we did accept, how could we tell one from the other? No, Sammy. It’s impossible.”

  “Your chances would be better if all the Halflings fought together. The Spirit Children are poor fighters,” said Samantha.

  “Not true. They can turn minds, change thoughts, bring confusion to the enemy, foster errors. We can cast ghosts from human bodies and heal the injured. We need the Niyanoka to win.”

  She waved an arm at Aldara and Alon. “You need them, too.”

  He lowered his voice to a growl. “What I need is to bring the Niyanoka to the alliance. That’s what Father asked for, and that’s what I’ll do.”

  “But he doesn’t know they’re willing to fight with us.”

  “He wants this alliance. Why is this so difficult for you to understand?”

  “As War Chief you act in the best interest of the Spirit Children. This is not their best interest,” said Samantha.

  “If I do what you ask, they’ll replace me and lose. It’s impossible.”

  “But, Blake—”

  He lifted a hand to stop her. “You’ve brought me a proposal. I’ve listened. I’ve rejected it.”

  For the first time, Samantha saw that she must walk a different path from her brother. She loved him. But he was wrong.

  “Please tell your Councils that I decline their offer to join the Niyanoka,” she said. “I fight with the Ghost Children.”

  “What? Wait. You can’t! Sammy, you’ll ruin everything again.”

  Again. The word hit her low and hard, but she recovered, drawing her shoulders back and raising her chin. Her body trembled as she stepped forward to kiss him goodbye. Blake must have seen it then, because he clamped his mouth shut and stood stiff, his muscles rigid, his jaw clenched as she kissed his cheek and then drew back.

  “We will see you on the battlefield, brother.”

  Blake opened his mouth and then closed it again as he shook his head. “Why can’t you, just once, do as you are told?”

  “And why do you always let them make your decisions for you?”

  His mouth dropped open at that.

  Samantha moved to stand beside Alon. Aldara glanced from Blake to her brother, her brow knit in anxiety.

  “Aldara? Are you coming?” asked Alon.

  She shook her head. “He needs me.”

  “He has just said that he does not want our help.”

  “I know.”

  “Then why would you stay with him?”

  Aldara lowered her gaze. “The world needs Seers.”

  But there was more. Samantha sensed it.

  “You won’t stay?” asked Blake to his sister.

  “Only if the Ghost Children are permitted to join the alliance.”

  “I will bring your offer to father and I will ask the Northeastern Council. But I already know their answer.”

  Samantha nodded. “We await your word.”

  Chapter 16

  Blake and Samantha already stood in the hall. Blake was no doubt certain the coast was clear.

  Alon lingered to say farewell to Aldara.

  “You’re not just staying to protect him. I can see it in your eyes.”

  His sister’s desolate expression tore at him. “He needs my protection.”

  “As Alpha leader, I could order you to come.”

  Her lip trembled. “Don’t.”

  “Come with us,” he whispered. Then his voice took on a chiding tone. “Do you think anything will change afterward?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “As a Niyanoka, he can’t claim you, not without facing banishment like our father.”

  She stared at the carpet. “I know.”

  “Is that what you want? To force him to choose between you and his people? He’s their War Chief, Aldara. He has a duty to his people.”

  Tears leaked from both eyes. “I know his duty and I know mine.”

  Alon nodded and kissed her goodbye.

  * * *

  The roar of the twin engines made the fuselage vibrate, filling the cabin with a constant rumble as they made their approach at the small private airport outside Butte, Montana. Alon and Samantha were on their way west to find his parents and the rest of his family. Back to join an alliance that did not want them.

  Word had come from Blake before they even departed. Neither the Niyanoka nor the Ianoka would accept them in the alliance. If the Ghost Children fought, they would not recognize them as allies. And the Skinwalkers went one step further. Alon’s forces would be treated no different than the enemy.

  He wished Aldara had come with them, but she was as adamant about protecting Blake as he was about protecting Samantha so he did not force the issue.

  Alon felt a piece of himself wither. It was a fantasy of Aldara’s that once they learned to control their hunger and their shape, they might live among the human race, like wolves in sheep’s clothing. Alon argued that they needed to live apart from humans for the safety of all.

  She must know that the Niyanoka would instantly recognize her even if she took human form. She might hide among the Skinwalkers but never the Spirit Children. But she loved Blake Proud. He saw it in her eyes. She loved him and it was breaking her heart.

  She chose to remain with a man who kept her hidden like a dirty secret. When this was over Blake would leave her behind.

  Alon could hardly believe that he and Aldara were twins, they were of such different minds. Aldara wanted to save the world and every lonely orphan Ghostling in it, while Alon wanted to fight. Fight himself, fight his kind, fight his father. Yes, him especially.

  He knew he’d leave Samantha, because that was what she wanted. She’d told him once that she wished to return to her family and be able to use her gifts. If she stayed with him, she’d be a banished Seer and an unwelcome healer.

  He couldn’t do that to her.

  The wheels touched down and the fuselage bounced then settled into the fast deceleration that forced them forward from the seatbacks.

  Cesar and Bess had moved the family a great distance in only a few days, all the way to Wyoming. The Skinwalkers assembled in Cody, Montana, and so Alon made that their destination. Both the Skinwalkers and the Spirit Children had always believed there would be another war. But neither had anticipated it would be against a common enemy. His siblings. Not the ones he knew but the ones they did not find in time. Brothers against brothers. Sisters against sisters. One more cruel blow in a cruel existence. Samantha had been the one bright spot in his life. Soon he must send her away.

  The plane stopped and he heard the stairs placed against the exterior. A moment later fresh air and sunlight streamed in through the open door.

  Alon followed Samantha down the narrow metal stairs toward a shiny black limo. His father was more than just a Soul Whisperer. He was also a Truth Seeker and a Memory Walker. As a Memory Walker, his father could remove painful memories, like all recollections of some traumatic event. The trouble was, once he did his work, all the reminiscences, good and bad, were forever lost.

  So the question was, did Alon want to forget Samantha completely after she moved on or hold tight to the
most precious memories of his life and live with the grief?

  His father left the limo to greet Samantha. He kissed her cheeks and then his smile faded. He could have noticed Samantha’s upset but likely he read it all in a touch.

  “He knows you have feelings for him?” he asked.

  Samantha seemed momentarily surprised by the question.

  “Yes. But he doesn’t believe it.” She scooted past him and into the rear seat.

  Alon stilled as he watched it happen. His father’s hand trailed from Samantha’s arm as his expression changed. He looked stunned. An instant later, he glanced at Alon. What truth had he read in that touch? Alon was burning to ask. Instead he opened his arms to his father, knowing his dad would soon know all his thoughts, as well.

  “Samantha told you?” asked Alon.

  “I read it in her thoughts. Our offer was rejected by both the Niyanoka and the Skinwalkers. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

  Cesar opened his arms and Alon stepped into his father’s embrace. Cesar clasped Alon to him. His father’s hand pressed to the bare skin of Alon’s neck. He needed this contact to receive answers. Alon knew it was not necessary for him to speak or for his father to ask a question. Could his father read the grief and longing or only Alon’s thoughts?

  “Both,” said his father as he released Alon.

  “Mom’s with the others?”

  “Mom’s already joined the Skinwalkers in Cody. Flew out yesterday. She’ll speak to Sebastian. Try to convince him we are not his enemy.”

  Without a jet, Alon knew. Bess preferred her feathers to fuselages.

  “We’ll meet them soon.” He turned to Samantha. “I’m proud that you have taken our side. I’m sorry they didn’t accept our offer. People are often afraid of what they don’t understand.”

  Samantha seemed momentarily surprised, but she nodded. It was hard to get used to how much his father could perceive in such a brief touch.

  “I’ve sent all those under thirteen away with Cody and Callie. Don’t worry. Those two will be here for the fight.”

  These were the third set of twins his father and mother had found. A good choice to protect the babies and young ones, Alon thought, since Bart and Bella were still with Michaela Proud, the first Seer.

  “All the rest of our family is ready to fight.”

  “How many?” asked Alon.

  “Including the ones who have been arriving each day, forty-nine.”

  Alon wondered how many Nagi had coerced into service.

  “They’ve been coming in pairs and small groups, all fleeing the ghosts who have been stalking them. Even the wild ones seem to recognize that their place is with us.”

  “These new arrivals might attack the Skinwalkers or Spirit Children,” Alon cautioned. “It’s dangerous to include the feral ones.”

  “These are dangerous times.” Cesar motioned to the open door. “Before leaving Bess spoke to a Puma Skinwalker. She said Nagi’s Ghost army is amassing in the Bighorn National Forest, west of Rapid City. Clearly he knows where to find us. She told Sebastian to move from Cody to intercept them there.”

  Alon stilled and stared at his father. Had Sebastian chosen his ground based on the mumbo jumbo of a lion?

  His father must have seen his disbelief because he grinned. “Lions are never wrong, son. Not like Clairvoyants because they don’t see possible futures. They only see what is happening at the present in a different location. Apparently she had her teeth on one of the Ghost Children who joined Nagi, but he got away. Now she can see him and he is with our enemy.”

  Alon climbed into the limo across from Samantha, who now stared intently out the window. They needed to speak about what had happened between them.

  He wanted to reassure her that he would not try to trap her into a relationship that would cause her pain. He knew the soul mate connection troubled her. He could assure her if he only told her the truth—how could he be a soul mate when he had no soul?

  If she knew, would it change her conviction to fight at his side? If they survived she would surely leave him after the battle was done.

  The war with Nagi loomed, but somehow losing Samantha alarmed him more than losing his own life.

  * * *

  In the two weeks that followed, Alon organized the Ghost Children into a fighting force. The only thing he seemed to put more energy into was avoiding Samantha. She knew that by not telling him immediately of their connection she had hurt him badly. Her silence told him all he needed to know about her feelings—or lack of feelings—for him.

  What he didn’t understand was that her silence came from fear. Fear of what she would lose if she chose him, fear of admitting aloud what she already knew in her heart. She didn’t need the aura to tell her that Alon affected her like no one else or that she could feel what he felt when they touched. But was that love?

  Her parents could read each other’s thoughts when touching. But since Alon would not touch her, she did not know if their lovemaking forged this new connection or if that came only with the commitment of the heart.

  Were her feelings strong enough for her to choose banishment for him? And could she really love a man who so hated himself?

  Once upon a time she had known what she wanted: to be free of Nagi and become a true Seer like her grandfather, Michael Proud. She had longed to use her gifts to help others. Now she faced a hard choice: Alon or her dreams. For if she chose him, the Niyanoka would surely banish her. Marrying a Ghost Child would be far more grievous a breach than marrying a Skinwalker.

  That was why she had remained silent. Not because Alon was less than her or not worthy of her, but because loving him would be costly.

  Now she had another secret. She’d used a pregnancy test and, though less than a month along, she knew that she carried his twins. It was likely two, as twins ran in both families.

  This pregnancy would be Alon’s greatest fear come true. He had told her more than once that he would never have offspring, as he called them. So this news would be unwelcome.

  As the battle approached, her anxiety grew. Tell him or don’t tell him? Explain or don’t explain? Choose him or leave him? One thing she knew was that when the battle ended, so would his promise to protect her.

  If any of them survived, Alon would return her to her family and he would go his separate way. And that frightened her most of all.

  Samantha stayed with Bess and Cesar, who camped in the national forest outside Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, in RVs and trailers and tents filled to bursting with their adopted children. More Ghostlings arrived every day, seeking out Alon and joining his ranks.

  Reports from the Ghost Children scouts were that Nagi’s army had twice their numbers and possessed hundreds of humans ready to act as shields.

  Tomorrow they would join the others, interlopers fighting for a cause they believed in, in a place they were not welcome. Tomorrow they might all die. Alon knew it, just as she did. So tonight Alon would not avoid her. Tonight, at least, she might once again lie in his arms.

  * * *

  Blake finished his meeting between the Skinwalker leaders and his people. The battle plan was set. It was a historic day. But Blake’s footsteps were slow and his heart heavy. He had tried to include the Ghost Children and his proposal had been soundly defeated.

  Now he had to tell Aldara. True to her word, she had stayed with him, protected him and remained hidden from all but him. But now, as the battle loomed, he could feel the bond between them breaking.

  Gradually Aldara had become his confidante, his adviser, his lover. He thought of his mother throwing away all ties to her people to have his father. But his mother had been raised by humans. She did not know her people. She was not War Chief. To claim Aldara was to leave the Niyanoka without a leader in the most important battle of their existence. To claim her was to destroy the alliance.

  He glanced up and saw the mist that hovered at his side. Blake veered from his course and away from the circle of tents, both t
he traditional conical tepees and their nylon counterparts. They had commandeered a camping area, with the help of the Peacemakers, who suggested to the humans that, for various reasons, they needed to move on sooner than expected.

  When he was away from the lights, away from the responsibility, she came, transforming naked before him. He smiled and opened his arms, but she stepped back. He felt a punch in his gut. Was she leaving him?

  “Is it done, then?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “You brought the alliance. You should be proud.”

  Instead he felt ashamed. “I’m sorry I could not convince them to accept your people.”

  She lifted her face and he saw that her lovely blue-gray eyes were swimming in silver tears. They spilled down her face. “I would fight beside you, Blake, if you would permit it. I would protect you as I have done since we met.”

  “If they see you, they will kill you. You cannot fight beside me.”

  Her gaze lowered again to the grass brushing her hips, her cheeks flushed with the shame he caused her.

  “Then I will join my brother. Tomorrow will be a terrible day for my people, for we will die on both sides of this war.”

  “Aldara, I don’t want you to fight.”

  Her voice was fierce now. “That is not your choice.”

  “Afterward, will you come back to me?”

  Her eyes shimmered like the ocean as she stared for a long, silent moment. “Come back to a man who is ashamed of me? No. I will not. Better to leave now and retain my pride.”

  He felt desperate to keep her and desperate to keep the alliance. “But we are soul mates.”

  She shook her head.

  “Afterward we could move away from the others. No one would have to know and we’d be free.”

  “Free? Hiding away from your people as your mother has done? Hiding our powers. I have been hidden my entire life, for fear the humans might see me. Now I have my third form and still you ask me to hide. But I am done with hiding. Tomorrow I will stand in the sunlight in my first form and I will fight the sire to protect the Living World. I will do all this so all can see that I am not ashamed of what I am.”