The Ancients Series

by Christine M. Butler

  I certainly hadn’t been expecting that little speech from my father, but I was so thankful that he made it. I over to him and threw my arms around him, hugging tightly. He was a little surprised, but then wrapped his arms around me and hugged me right back. “I love you, dad.”

  “Love you too, Jessie.”

  I walked back over to the counter where I left my mug, and finished filling it. When I turned back around to go sit in my seat, I noticed dad had already picked his book up again. “Dad,” he didn’t hesitate in dropping the book back to the table. “Have you guys found Zach yet?”

  “Not yet, Jess. I don’t want you to worry yourself about that kid though. We’ll find him, and in the meantime, you know he’s no match for you, and certainly not one for Mikael either.”

  “I know, it’s just that, I had this dream. It seemed like the line of white wolves was telling me to be weary of my enemies.” I was fidgeting with my coffee cup, and my father stopped moving altogether to stare at me.

  “What do you mean the line of white wolves?” I explained my dream to him, at least the part that took place in the cave, and he seemed to be taking it all into consideration as if it were more than just a dream.

  “Do you think it was real? I mean, I know the white wolf is supposed to get visions sometimes, according to lore, but do you think that’s what this was?”

  “Sounds like it, Jess. Even if it was just your subconscious worrying, we’re going to take it seriously. We’ve never stopped looking for Zach. Another pack, not far from here, ousted him from their lands not long ago. The trail went cold by the time we sent our people to retrieve him, almost like it was removed somehow. It was odd. So, yeah, I’m going to take your dream very seriously. It’s possible that Zach found someone to help him out. We’re looking into it though. Avery Daniels is the pack leader over there. He and my dad worked well together before. He’s turning over every stone. They don’t like it any more than we do that one of our problems is loose and under the radar in their territory. Especially when they have unclaimed females running around in their pack.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize all that had been going on. I swear this mess with Evan and Mikael had my head so screwed up lately...”

  “Jess, this isn’t something you need to worry about. The pack is handling it. You’ve had enough happening in your life to take on this burden too. Besides, the last thing I want to do is involve you in anything happening with Zach. I want to keep you as far from him as possible.” A knock at the door cut off any further talk about Zach for the moment. I thought it was going to be Mikael, but I was mistaken.

  My mom came back to the kitchen, after answering the door, with a somewhat bleary-eyed Jack in tow. “Hey there, Jessie! How’ve you been?” That was Jack, he could look worse for the wear one moment, and then perk right up, as if you were the sole reason he was alive. He came over and snapped me up into a huge bear hug. It was Jack’s signature greeting, and I wasn’t even sure he was aware that everyone expected a big bear hug from him as a greeting now. Well, everyone except my dad, because Jack felt weird hugging the pack leader like that. Jack took a deep breath before he put me down, sniffing my hair, and the side of my neck. “Uh oh, what’s been going on? You smell like…” He stepped back and looked at me differently then, his eyes going a little hard. “No way, Jess! No freaking way! He attacked my sister!” Jack’s voice was raising with his temper. “Seriously, he turned my sister. She could have died!”

  “Jack, please, just listen…” I begged him. Jack may have been Ashley’s brother by blood, but I had thought of him as a brother for years too.

  “You want me to listen? Seriously? You want to explain why you smell like you’re getting serious with the guy I should kill for attacking my sister?”

  “JACK!” I yelled at him then, “Ashley forgave him. Hell, she wanted me to choose him over Evan.”

  “Why the hell would she want that?”

  “For one thing, because Evan was cheating on me!”

  “WHAT?” Anger flashed even hotter across Jack’s face presenting itself with a palpable reddening. I could see the resemblance to Ashley in him then.

  My dad didn’t miss what I said, he chimed in too, “What do you mean, he was cheating?”

  I sighed, and sat back down, losing my steam and my fight. “There was this woman named Clarissa. Apparently she and Evan had a thing before, years ago, but Antoine, being the perpetual douche that he is, paired her with Mikael. Mikael didn’t want her, and denied the pairing, but Evan had already left town, so he never knew. Yesterday, I caught them together, twice. He admitted something went on, but I didn’t want the play by play, so that’s all I can tell you.”

  “I’m sorry, Jessie!” Jack’s tone softened. “But really? Does it have to be Mikael? I’m sure there are plenty of other wolves out there who would give their eye-teeth to be with you!”

  “Jack, I like him. He’s been very good to me through all this. While Evan’s been a complete dick, Mikael has gone out of his way to make sure I was okay. That included staying away from me, and not pushing things when I was trying to fight Antoine’s decree in the beginning. I know you’re always going to be pissed about Ashley, but I think maybe hearing what she has to say on the subject would be good for you.”

  My father cut in then, “Agreed, and I’m going to table your talk for another time.” My father looked at Jack then. “We need to get down to a little business, Jack, and this is not what I called you here for.”

  “Yes, sir.” Jack said to my father, and then walked around him to take the seat to his left.

  “Avery sent word that his men have lost the trail again. We have worked out an agreement for a few from our pack to go and work in concert with his people to find Zach.”

  “I’m surprised they’re being so accommodating.”

  “They have unmated females in their pack. I’m sure they’d rather get rid of Zach’s presence as soon as possible. The females there are stressed out. They’ve all heard tales of what happened to Jessica at the hands of Marcus, and they know that Zach played a part in it. It’s a legitimate concern on their parts.” My father looked over his shoulder at me then. “Jess had a vision last night, warning her of Zach’s impending return. When she brushed it off, the warning grew stern with her, and explained that Zach might not be strong on his own, but that he will be strengthened through allies. We have to hope that he hasn’t already found those allies. He’s doing a fine job of hiding though, which makes me worry that we may a little late to the party on that front.”

  “What sort of allies do you think we’re talking about? Will our people be walking into a trap if we go to Avery’s lands?”

  “I can vouch for Avery Daniels. He would never align himself with the likes of Zach, nor would he ever need to. I worry that there may a witch involved though, since one found Jess not too long ago at the school.”

  “Yeah, I heard about that. Okay, who do you want going with me?” Jack smiled, “I assume I’m going, since you called me here.”

  “Yes, I need you to lead. Take Andy and Tom with you. They’ll serve you well. Tom’s a little green and overzealous sometimes, so make sure you keep an eye on him. Andy’s a great tracker, so he’ll be a definite asset.”

  “Yes sir, I will make sure everything is taken care of.” Jack got up and bowed his head slightly to my father.

  “I’m going to need you to check in periodically with me, Jack. Not only do I need updates for how the search is going, but how well Avery’s men are cooperating. If Zach has help, it very well could be from members of another pack. Not Avery, but we’ve clearly learned here, that you never truly know the minds of your own people if they don’t want you to.”

  “Yes, sir. If Jess gets any more clues from her visions, let me know too. You never know, the little details could definitely help.” With that, Jack walked back over to me and gave me another hug. “I’m sorry for earlier,” he whispered into my ear “I was out of line.”

&n
bsp; “You were being a brother, Jack. Don’t ever apologize for loving your sister.” I kissed him on the cheek after saying it.

  “My sisters, Jess. I love you too! I always will. And since I will be gone, and wont’ get to say my peace, you let Mikael know if I ever find out he mistreats you in anyway, I will be there, to make his life a living hell.”

  “I absolutely will let him know that for you.” Jack smiled at me, and walked toward the front door. “Jack?”

  He turned to look over his shoulder at me, “yeah, Jess?”

  “Please, be careful. No matter what happens with Zach, we need you to come home in one piece.”

  “Now, you know you never have to worry about me. I always was tougher than that son of a bitch! Hell, I think I was tougher when I was a scrawny human boy!” He winked at me then. “How about we bring his head back on a pike?”

  “Brute!” I teased him. “Just bring yourself back, and if he finds his way into lock up too, we’ll call it an added bonus.”

  “Tell Ashley, I said to be good while I’m gone!” With that Jack left, and shut the door behind him.

  “He’ll be okay, Jess.” My father came up and put his arm around my shoulder.

  “Sometimes, it’s hard for me to remember that he’s such a badass werewolf. I think back on the boy who accidently pulled that trigger, and he was such a different person then. It’s hard to imagine him being one of the strongest here among the pack.”

  “One of the smartest too, which is why I don’t want you worrying. I am tasking Jack with this, because I trust him, and because he has a personal interest in getting the job done.”

  “I know. I still reserve the right to worry.”

  “I can’t argue with you there. Do what you need to, Jess. I am going to go grab a few things from the truck. Let me know when Mikael gets here.”

  “How did you know he was coming this morning?”

  “Even you should know by now, when a man marks a woman, he doesn’t stay away from her for long.” As my dad finished his sentence, I heard the tell-tale rumbling of a motorcycle engine pulling up in front of the house. “As if on cue, there he is now.”

  “Okay, I bow down to your deductive reasoning, Sherlock!”

  “That’s Dad to you!”

  I laughed at him as I re-filled my mug and took another out of the cabinet and poured coffee in it. My mom had left us to our own devices this morning. She had been hanging out in the living room, no doubt eavesdropping, while pretending to crochet a new blanket. When the knock sounded on the door, she was already there, pulling it open. “They’re in the kitchen, Mikael. Go on back.” She said to him.

  When Mikael stepped in the room he looked between me, over by the counter holding two mugs, and then to my father who was standing there waiting. “Mr. St. Marks,” Mikael said as he tossed his hand out to shake my fathers.

  Dad just looked at him for a minute, and then put his hand in Mikael’s and shook. “My daughter has made her choice, and I will stand by her decision, especially after seeing how you’ve handled yourself lately.” My dad stepped in closer, so their shoulders were a hairs’ breath away from touching. “Don’t make me regret liking you.”

  “No sir, I won’t.” My dad let go of Mikael’s hand then, and stepped back.

  “I have to go take care of some things. Jess, let me know, right away, if you see anything new. Jack was right, if they are true visions, knowing anything in advance will help.”

  “I will.”

  My father left Mikael and me standing there alone in the kitchen then. It only took Mikael a moment to cross the space between us. When he reached me, he took the two mugs out of my hands, and put them on the counter. “I don’t want you to spill on yourself,” he said to me as he did.

  “Why would I…” Before I could finish what I was saying, his lips were on mine. His right hand fisted into my hair, while the left was wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. As soon as I really started getting into the kiss, Mikael pulled away though.

  “We need to get the important stuff out of the way first, or I’m going to lose track and continue doing what feels good instead.”

  “I vote for the second thing. Feeling good is important.” I said to him, as I tried to pull him closer. “Yup, definitely a good thing.”

  “Jess, your father mentioned your vision. Apparently, you had more than a couple strange dreams.” He grabbed the mug he thought was his, and took it to the kitchen table and sat down. “Come on, tell me about it.” He patted the chair next to him, and I grabbed my coffee and went to sit down like a good little girl. Hopefully, there would be a reward later. I told Mikael about the dreams I had, both of them. He sat, listening for a while, and never once interrupted me. When I was done explaining what happened in both dreams, visions, whatever they were, he finally started in with the questions.

  “What did the witch look like again?”

  “Okay, that was definitely not the first question I expected you to ask. I was thinking, the ever-shifting woman-wolf would be the first question.”

  Mikael smiled at me. “That one is self-evident. She’s a manifestation of all the white wolves before you. So, about the witch…”

  “Her eyes were odd. They were so light, almost like ice. They had a slightly bluish tint to them, but they were so very light that they almost looked completely white, aside from the contrast of the pupil in the middles. Her hair was reddish-brown.” I stopped there, because Mikael was lost in thought already. “What’s so important about that?”

  “Sophia, the witch who removed my parents’ bond has dark hair, black actually, and dark eyes.”

  “How do you know? I mean, you were a kid when it happened, right?”

  “Yes, but she came to see my father. The other day when he called us to meet at De’ Lune’s. He dismissed Evan and me. When we were leaving Sophia was coming in to speak to him.” Mikael was thinking again, and this time I didn’t interrupt, because I was trying to wrap my head around everything that was going on. “The woman who came to see you at the school, did she also look like she did in your dream?”

  “Yes, not quite as dramatic, but she had really light eyes and reddish-brown hair.” I looked up to see the worry written all over Mikael’s face. “She’s not Estella Sophia, is she?”

  “No, she’s not. I think it’s best we find out who exactly we’re dealing with too.”

  “She winced last night, when I called her Estella. I didn’t think a lot about it then, but it was weird that she flinched at me using her name, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth to hear it, you know?”

  “I know you can’t control the visions, but you need to be careful. I’m not sure what’s going on around here, but something is brewing. I really don’t like the fact that my dad has a witch around either. They can influence a lot without others knowing.” He grabbed my hand and held it gently, “Maybe you should wait on making any decisions until we get this all sorted.”

  “What do you mean?” Now, I was the one worried.

  “Well, it’s possible that a witch was affecting the way you feel, or the way Evan behaved.”

  “Or the way you feel?” I asked, not able to look Mikael in the eye as I did.

  “No, not that. Jess,” He tipped my chin up gently with his fingers, “Jess, look at me. I was falling for you from the moment I met you, and long before my father inserted himself in the picture. No one’s been messing with me.” He leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose. “I just worry that maybe there was influence on Evan, or you.”

  “Mikael, I promise you, there’s no going back or changing my mind at this point. What’s done is done. Evan already had a track record with me for walking away and doing stupid shit, besides magical influence or not, I couldn’t just get over the whole cheating thing anyway. As for you…” I smiled at him then. “You’ve worked all the magic on me that you needed to. So, don’t even think about it like that, ok?” I thought about what both the wolves, and the witch said in my dreams
last night. “Besides, the wolves seem to think I made the right decision, anyway, so there’s no arguing with that.” It was my turn to lean forward and kiss Mikael, only I wasn’t going for his nose.

  His lips were incredibly soft as I pressed mine to them. His facial hair had grown a step past just day old stubble now, and the contrast of his rough whiskers on my face and his soft lips on mine was a delicious and heady mix. Without warning, Mikael reached forward, grabbed the chair I was sitting in, and slid it closer to him, so neither of us was having to stretch to reach the other. My hands found their way to the sides of his face, and traced around, one wrapping fingers around the longer hair at the top of his head, the other gliding across the short cropped hairs toward the nape of his neck. Mikael was full of those simple contrasts that pulled at things deep inside of me. I wanted more of him, all of him, and my wolf couldn’t have agreed more. I was coming out of my chair, and leaning into him, before I realized what I was doing. A low rumble of a primal, heated growl from Mikael, and my heat flooded through my entire body. I was lost to the sensations, forgetting where I was, and that there were other things that needed to be attended to today. As quickly as the thought poured through me it was burned out by the passion that flared up between Mikael and me.

  A loud clearing of a throat brought us both back down to Earth. “I have to go see Jack, Tom, and Andy off. I thought you might want to come with.” Mikael’s back was to my dad, so I had a full view of both his mortified face, and my dad’s amused one. Contrast, it sure was a kick in the ass this morning.