“Good night, cousin,” Detrius said. “Once again, I cannot express enough what a relief it is that you have returned.” He gave Bastien another smile that didn’t reach his eyes before turning on his heel and heading down the corridor.
With the two of us now alone, Bastien pushed open the door and pulled me inside. He closed it behind us and bolted it. The calm exterior he had assumed in front of his cousin melted, giving way to disturbance.
“Bastien,” I whispered, gripping his wrists, “What on earth—”
He pressed a palm over my mouth and widened his eyes at me. I fell silent.
He pushed his ear against the door, listening for what, I didn’t even know. Then, after an intense ten seconds, he pried himself away and made his way deeper into the chambers. I followed after him, having no idea what else I was supposed to be doing with myself. I gazed around at his regal, yet simple quarters. There was an odd, musky smell. Thick rugs sprawled across the stone floors and richly patterned, burgundy tapestries lined the walls, but otherwise the furnishings were rather minimal. Glowing lanterns illuminated the place, and it was cold. Terribly cold. I wrapped my arms around myself as I followed him down a corridor. He stopped outside a door and mouthed, “Wait here.” He opened the door and stepped into a bedroom.
He emerged barely a minute later, fully dressed in fresh clothes. He wore a plain off-white shirt and dark pants, similar to what he had been wearing when I’d first come across him.
He continued down the corridor and entered a smaller room, an armory. Its walls were covered with hanging swords, daggers, spears, as well as bows and arrows. Bastien retrieved a belt and a thick satchel that hung from the back of the door. He began piling daggers and arrows into the bag before fastening a bow to the belt.
I could not hold in my anxiety any longer. As he seemed to have finished sifting through the weapons, I moved forward and gripped his shirt, tugging at him and forcing him to look me in the eye.
“What is happening?” I mouthed.
He glanced at the door, as if expecting somebody to be standing there listening to us. Of course I knew that wolves had exceptional hearing, which must’ve been why he was being so cautious. He approached a wooden closet in one corner and opened it. It was filled with dusty black cloaks, tall and wide enough for four people to stand comfortably inside. Without warning, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into it with him before shutting the door, closing us both in. I could hear our hearts pounding. He leaned closer before lowering his mouth to my right ear until he was so near, his lips touched my skin. Then he whispered, so softly I could hardly hear him even at this proximity, “We need to leave.”
As he drew away, his rough cheek brushed against mine, sending an unexpected tingle down my spine.
“Why did you lie?” I breathed. “Why did you call me your concubine?” And what am I even doing getting embroiled in all this? How am I ever going to get back to my family?
His eyes darkened. “The less truth they know, the better… I believe this lair has been compromised.”
“What do you mean, compromised?” I asked.
“I do not even understand the extent of it myself yet. I’m still pondering it. But… it was a mystery to me how the hunters managed to sweep so quickly through our chambers. I…” He paused, looking pained to say it. “I believe my cousin and uncle turned us in.”
“What? You think they’re in alliance with the hunters?”
Bastien nodded, grim. “Their desire to rule has never been a secret.”
I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself. I was here in this strange, unnerving mountain castle with Bastien because, well, I’d had no choice but to come with him. Even if I hadn’t sprained my ankle I’d have been lucky to survive an hour on my own in the woods. But this was all getting so complicated now. I just need to get back to my family. I need to know that Grace and Heath are alive.
“But why would the hunters agree to spare them?” I asked. “Spare any of them at all?”
“Perhaps their intentions for our realm are more pernicious,” Bastien whispered back. “Perhaps they do not seek to simply eradicate us all, but rather, gain… a foothold. Control. At least, where they can.”
“But your cousin, he gave you the crown. He said you could rule.”
Bastien smiled bitterly. “Did you really see truth in his eyes when he said that?”
“No,” I admitted. “But… don’t you have any friends here? Any alliances at all who would stand against your cousin and uncle? After all, you are the rightful ruler after your father.”
Pain flashed in Bastien’s eyes. “I’m sure that I do. But it is too risky to try to communicate with such persons now. We do not have the time. If my suspicions are correct, I pose a threat to both my cousin and uncle, as well as the hunters’ influence over this place. They will not give me the chance to cause an uprising.”
My head spun. “They would kill you?” I whispered.
“They already tried,” Bastien muttered.
Oh, God. “What are we going to do?”
He paused, releasing a slow breath. “We need to leave, once darkness falls.”
Victoria
Leave and go where? I wondered, but he did not give me a chance to ask that question. He pressed a finger against my lips, silencing me once again and giving me a stern look, before taking my hand and pulling me out of the closet.
He picked up the satchel he had stuffed with weapons, along with the belt he had attached a bow to, and put them in the closet we had just been standing in before covering them with the hems of the long cloaks and closing the door.
“Follow me,” he whispered. He led me out of the room and into a small bedroom that contained a fireplace and a double bed draped in blankets. Perhaps Bastien had detected that I was cold, because he immediately went to the hearth and began to kindle it until a fire blazed. I freed my feet and ankles from my socks and boots before sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace. I inched as close to the halo of warmth as I could.
“So we just wait here until dark?” I mouthed to him.
He nodded, before his gaze fell to my injured ankle, still swollen and bright red. He turned and left the room, returning about a minute later with a long piece of white cotton. He took a seat next to me and, not even asking for permission, began to wind the fabric around and around my ankle until he’d created a surprisingly firm support for it.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He did not acknowledge my thanks as he sat back again.
“What makes you think we’re safe here until dark?” I asked.
“I never said that we were,” he replied. “But I know my cousin to be a coward, and I doubt he will strike when I’m awake. It would be so much easier to wait until I fall asleep. Hence, I say we should leave at nightfall.”
He stood up and went to the oval window. I could only imagine how breathtaking the view was; I did not want to get up to witness it myself just now. My ankle had stopped hurting and I was feeling comfortably warm by the fire. I just sat watching him as he gazed out somberly. A prince who had lost everything—his family, and now even his kingdom. Contemplating Bastien’s plight gave me some perspective on my own situation.
He turned unexpectedly and caught me watching him. I looked away, turning my focus back to the fire.
He cleared his throat. “I suggest that you lie down and try to sleep for a while. I don’t know when you’ll next get the chance,” he said.
I nodded. I supposed he was right, but I was under no illusion that I would be able to sleep. Still, I crawled over to the bed and slid myself beneath the warm covers.
He turned his back on me again and resumed his melancholy stare through the window. I continued watching his back and pondering over all that I was yet to understand about this man, this stranger… until the crackling of the fire and the heat billowing around the room put me to sleep.
I woke to firm hands gripping my shoulders. My eyes shot open and I found myself i
n a daze of confusion as I gazed up into Bastien’s gray eyes, alight with urgency. The room was dark now. The lanterns had been extinguished, and the fire no longer crackled. Fear surging through me, I sat bolt upright.
“What is—” My whisper trailed off.
I heard it.
A soft scraping of metal, coming from the front door of Bastien’s apartment.
I didn’t understand. Why had we waited for them to come for us? Why hadn’t we left sooner? I wanted to ask Bastien, but now was not the time. He hurried my feet into my boots before gripping my waist. He hurled me over his shoulder, even as I realized that he was already equipped with his belt and satchel, which hung over his other arm. He darted with me out of the bedroom, along a corridor, past the armory and into a sitting room. I was immediately struck by how cold it was in here, and how… breezy.
I realized that the windows were open and—
Oh, God!
With alarming speed, Bastien had already leapt up onto the window ledge. The next thing I knew, he had leapt out, clinging to the frame with a single arm, the other pressed around my body. I dangled over Bastien’s back, face downward over hundreds of feet of sheer, jagged mountainside. I felt like I was going to vomit.
From the inside of the apartment came the creaking of the front door swinging open.
Bastien let go of the window frame. I could not strangle my scream as we went hurtling downward in a freefall. With a jolt that winded me completely, he caught hold of an overhanging ledge, and with one hand, he began to lower us down more slowly, rock by rock, ledge by ledge, like a gorilla. What is this werewolf?
Growls echoed down from above us. Arrows sprayed from the window, whizzing past our ears, even as I wondered how wolves could shoot arrows without human hands. However they were managing it, the shafts were falling hard and fast. This only made Bastien increase his already breakneck pace down the mountainside, dodging right and left to avoid being hit.
As we finally touched down on a grassy mound at the base of the mountain, I exhaled a sigh of relief. He set me down and shoved the satchel and belt into my hands. His limbs began to billow and sprout fur. His clothes ripped off him. He resumed his wolf form. Collecting the satchel and belt from my hands and holding them between his teeth, he nudged me onto his back before launching into a bound toward the nearest line of trees.
I just had a chance to glance back up at the mountain before we disappeared through them. Nobody had made any attempt to climb from the window and follow Bastien. I guessed that they would be making their way down through the castle right now in order to emerge from the main exit. But we had already made too much headway for them to have a chance of catching up with us now. Especially as Bastien zigzagged through the woods, making me disorientated as to which direction, exactly, he was heading in.
Perhaps half an hour passed before he felt confident enough to stop. His ears stood erect, his eyes wide and glistening as he listened and sniffed the air. Once again, although I’d been sitting squarely on his back the whole time, it felt like I’d run the distance myself.
He lowered himself, allowing me to slide off him and relish the feel of solid ground beneath my feet. Catching my breath, I looked at him and asked, “Why? Why did you wait so long to escape? You said we’d leave the moment the sun set.”
He frowned at me, as though the answer was obvious. “Because you slipped off to sleep,” he said. “And from the look of you, you needed as many hours as possible.”
I gaped at him. I really, really don’t understand this wolf.
Grace
I was not sure how many hours we had been traveling when Micah finally stopped again. We had arrived at the bank of a river. The group was crowding at the front, staring down at something on the ground. Heath and I slid off Jeriad’s back, hurrying over to them to get a closer look. Arwen and Brock followed us too.
There were bloodstains smeared all over the grass. And then there was a bloody object that looked horrifyingly like an ear. The ear of a werewolf.
“This blood is still fresh,” Micah said, sniffing. “Which is a good sign.”
“What? Whose blood?” Vivienne stammered.
“Oh, it’s werewolf blood, don’t worry. Some incident took place here, obviously. I scent at least four different wolves in this clearing.” He paused and moved around a bit more. “Victoria and the man’s scent picks up again over here. Deeper into the trees. Which means they must have escaped… We need to keep moving, but while we’re by a river I think it would be wise to stock up on water and rest for a quarter of an hour. We don’t know when we’ll next get the opportunity.”
Everyone agreed that this was wise. We headed to the water and knelt, lapping up the crystal water and refilling our bottles. I also washed my face and hands.
A hand closed around my uninjured shoulder. Heath hovered over me.
“Will you be my accomplice?” he asked in a low voice.
“Huh?” I narrowed my eyes in mock suspicion. “Accomplice in what?”
“Come with me,” he said. I took his hand and he pulled me upright before leading me away from our group. We walked through the trees for less than a minute before he stopped and pointed to a tree with trailing branches that resembled a willow tree, except they were deep purple in color. It stood about twelve feet away. Through its long but thin branches, I could spy Arwen and Brock beneath it. Arwen was sitting on Brock's lap, his arms resting around her while they talked.
Once Heath had verified that I had spotted them, he led me away and stood with me behind a tree. He proceeded to inform me of an idea—something he wanted my help with. It was a plan too delicious for me to reject.
“I’ll be your conspirator,” I replied.
I could hardly keep my face straight as we moved back into view of the rest of the group. Heath gestured to Corrine, who was talking with my grandmother, and then to Kiev, who was sitting in conversation with Aiden and Micah.
“I’ll fetch Kiev,” he said, “you fetch Corrine.”
“Got it,” I whispered.
And so the two of us parted ways. As I approached the two women, they turned to me, raising their brows. “Have you seen Arwen anywhere?” I asked.
Corrine frowned, even as she looked around the clearing. “No.” Then she tensed. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” I said, mimicking her frown. “Brock is missing, too. Last I saw of them, they were over there,” I added, pointing vaguely toward the direction of the willow tree. “We should look for them.”
Barely a moment later, Heath had finished talking to Kiev, and the two men made their way toward us.
“I won’t worry Ibrahim about this yet,” Corrine murmured. “Hopefully she’s just nearby.”
“I’ll do the same with Mona,” Kiev grunted.
Perfect.
“I’m guessing we shouldn’t shout either, if we can help it,” Heath added, his face amazingly serious. “Probably best to not disturb these woods at night… As Grace said, we last saw them over here.”
Heath led us into view of the willow tree. I could no longer hold back my snigger as Corrine and Kiev’s eyes shot to it at once. Watching the metamorphosis of Corrine’s expression was like witnessing the falling of an avalanche. Her eyes widened at first, then narrowed, as though she doubted her vision. Then the truth came crashing down on her all at once. Her jaw dropped so starkly, she looked like a dead fish.
Kiev only looked mildly less shocked.
“Of all things good and evil,” Corrine gasped. Then her voice strengthened into a bellow. “Arwen!”
So much for not disturbing the woods…
Arwen and Brock jerked apart as if jolted by an electric current. They gasped for words as their cheeks heated to a deep tomato red.
“What in the name of all that is holy is this?” Corrine stormed toward them. “Brock? How long has this been going on?”
I stole a glance at Heath. His chest was shaking with silent laughter.
“Au
gh, Mom! I was going to tell you, okay?” Arwen cried back.
“I really hope you treat my daughter right, mister,” Corrine rampaged on. She was now standing in front of Brock, gripping his collar. “Because if you don’t—”
“Hey,” Kiev interrupted. “What are you insinuating?”
Heath and I backed away before Arwen and Brock noticed us, although it was clear the entertainment would have lasted a while longer.
As we returned to the rest of the group, I thought of Victoria with a twinge in my chest. If only she could have been here to see that.
“Good job, partner,” Heath said, giving my arm a squeeze.
All I could think to respond with was a goofy grin. Before I could do something to embarrass myself further, Xavier’s voice rang out through the trees. “The tracker! It’s showing up! The receiver is working!”
Everyone shot up and rushed toward him. Even Kiev and Corrine arrived with their rumpled children.
“Thank God!” Vivienne whispered.
A red light at the base of the receiver had started flashing, even as an arrow emerged on the screen. It spun around wildly at first, but then settled, pointing deeper into the woods.
“I wonder why it started working only now,” Micah said.
“Maybe we needed to be closer,” I suggested hopefully. “Maybe we’ve gained a lot of ground on them.”
“Hm,” Micah murmured. “Well, while it’s working, we should follow the device. This will hopefully save time. A lot of time.”
Victoria
I felt quite disconcerted by the care Bastien was showing toward me. Mostly because I simply did not understand it. We were still basically strangers to each other. His behavior almost made me suspicious, although he had done nothing to earn my suspicion.
I looked at him, frowning, as he scanned the trees around us. “We should keep moving,” he muttered through the satchel and belt still clenched between his teeth.
A Clan of Novaks Page 8
