“Not an answer,” Alarick hissed, though his eyes had left me for a moment, staring at the tree behind us. I couldn’t see anything in the shadows. “Who did you think of? Whose body did you imagine? Just a name, Penny, and we’ll go about our evening.”
“You seemed to enjoy it when I kissed you,” Chann added in challenge. “Was it me you were thinking of? All you’d have to do is ask.”
Panic surged through me when I realized they really weren’t letting this go. “You’re all like dogs with a bone,” I grumbled, raising my hands to cover my heated cheeks. “All of you. I was thinking of all of you.”
“All wolves?” Alarick snarled now, gripping my chin to make me face him. “Is it just a fetish? Any wolf will do?”
“No,” I whispered, unable to look away from the vivid blue of his eyes.
“Truth,” Zev rasped.
“All of you,” I repeated, as Alarick dropped my chin, allowing me to glance around the circle.
Zev cocked his head, confusion marring his brow for a moment. “Mostly true,” he stated, considering me.
I glared at him. “Can you drop the superpower?”
“Tell us the rest of the truth and I will,” he argued.
I was a rabbit in a den of wolves, and I hadn’t even realized it until this moment. Tension rolled off all of them, their eyes bright as they studied me, their bodies pressed close. I was embarrassed, yes, but I realized I wasn’t afraid of them. Not really. I remembered what Mr. Cole had said about trusting them. Either we’d find a way to make our friendship work or we wouldn’t. But friendship, any relationship, started with honesty. Sex wasn’t a big deal here; Raff had told me that from the beginning. But honesty and loyalty definitely were. “You, Zev, Chann, Shannon…” I looked at each of them in turn, though I couldn’t hold any of their eyes. “And Fillian,” I finished, my words quiet. I wasn’t sure what pushed me to call him by his given name rather than Mr. Cole like I was used to. It just seemed more fitting in the moment, despite the growls that rumbled up at the assertion.
“I see,” Alarick drawled slowly, pulling his gaze from the trees and bringing it back to me. “Well, this will certainly make things interesting. Since Chann already got a kiss though…” He trailed off for a moment, his eyes on the now smug looking twin across from him. “I’d like one too.”
“What?” I squeaked, my eyes going wide in the dim light.
“It’s not exactly fair that he’s the only one who’s gotten a taste of you,” he replied, leaning in to brush a light finger across my lips. “I want to see if you taste as good as you smell.”
“I-I—” I stuttered, unable to complete a sentence.
“You can tell him no,” Shannon murmured softly. “He really is asking you.”
I wanted to say yes, my tongue snaking out to wet my lips, but now didn’t feel like the right time. Were they just competing over me, trying to make me pick a favorite? My nerves raged even stronger than my hormones. I was saved from denying him, though, when a gong sounded, reverberating through the clearing.
“Saved by the gong, Tinkerbell,” Chann teased.
“We’re going to get ready for the ceremony,” Alarick announced, as he and the others pushed to their feet. “Follow the crowd and you can join us. It’s very simple, don’t worry. You won’t get lost.” His eyes heated as he brushed soft fingers down my cheek. “We’ll pick this up afterwards.”
I could only nod as they left. What the hell just happened?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Since the others weren’t rushing off yet, I figured it was safe to finish my meal before I began the trek up the hill. Others had trickled out, I assumed answering the same gong that had drawn Alarick, Chann, Zev, and Shannon. My fear of a challenge eased as I saw Mr. Cole standing nearby, and though he seemed absorbed in watching the pack members, I doubted he was oblivious to my location. I slowly let myself relax, watching the sparks dance into the sky and viewing the pack as they milled together, joking and laughing, just as excited for the holiday as my friends seemed to be.
Considering they had festivals every month for the full moon, it was hard to imagine they could stay this enthusiastic over time. However, as I studied face after face, no one seemed to be faking their smiles or laughter. Luna was dancing in circles around her mother, Ashley, and darting around with a few of the other pups. I could see Borris on the other side of the pyre with a crowd gathered around him, laughing exuberantly. I had yet to see Raff and I wondered if he was the one in charge of calling the others with the gong that still occasionally rang out across the crowd.
A series of cheerful tones sounded now—I wondered if it was some kind of harp or flute, but music wasn’t my strong point. The crowd began trickling toward a string of paths, one that ran near my table and one with a steeper incline across from the fire. Not wanting to be caught in a crush of wolves, I let most of them continue up the paths, smiling and jesting on their way until only a few stragglers remained. I swore as I saw Ashley and Luna heading in my direction. Ashley was listening intently to something Luna was telling her with a soft smile on her face. She nodded at her daughter, granting some request, and the little girl scampered ahead to join up with some of the other pups. Not wanting to incite another confrontation, I slipped from my seat, half hiding behind a tree so I could wait for her to pass. It’d be easy to follow her trail up the hill when she’d gone by, and I was sure Mr. Cole, who I had just seen on the other side of the fire helping to direct other pack members, would be following as well.
I held my breath as she neared my hiding spot, hoping I wouldn’t have to keep concealing myself like this forever. It was inconvenient and fairly obnoxious, having to hide in what was, if nothing else, a temporary home. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around my mouth, startling me enough that I cried out. I was yanked backwards as hands grasped my arms and I was pulled from my hiding spot by hard, cruel tugs.
I strained against them, thrashing and kicking, tossing my head as I attempted to bite the hand covering my mouth. The movement caught Ashley’s attention, her gaze skating over me and whoever had me in their grasp. I widened my eyes pleadingly, trying fruitlessly to call out. She may not like me, but that was no reason to let someone take me—if nothing else, she could notify Mr. Cole. Her eyes met mine, taking everything in as she scowled, before she slowly and deliberately turned away, leaving me to my fate.
A figure darted in front of me, snatching my kicking legs, and it took me only a moment to recognize Cierra. Her hand snuck over my hip and I twisted, avoiding her searching fingers, but she grabbed my phone, yanked it out, and crushed it below her foot. Well, fuck. If Cierra had me, that meant the person holding me was likely Scarlett or Rhiannon, explaining why they weren’t trying to be gentle. Part of me had hoped this was some kind of initiation, even a stupid prank by Chann or Zev, but they never would have included even one of Rhiannon’s sycophants.
We moved away from the light, and through the thick branches of the trees, their pace quick and sure as I struggled. They carried my weight with ease, the dark night no hinderance to their vision. I let myself go limp, my thoughts running desperately through my mind. I wondered how long it would take Mr. Cole or one of my friends to notice I was missing. I wasn’t sure what they were even doing to prepare for the ceremony, and Mr. Cole may simply assume I was with them. If this was what I expected it to be—an unauthorized challenge at best, and another attempt to end me at the worst—then I needed to conserve what strength I had.
Although it felt like an eternity, I was fairly certain only a few minutes had passed when we entered a clearing on a cliff face. With the lack of noise surrounding us, I was sure this wasn’t the cliff Alarick had referenced when he told me about the ceremony. Rhiannon stood in the open area, lit only by the lustrous beams of the large, full moon. I was dropped, very unceremoniously, onto the hard ground, forcing the air out of my lungs.
“We gave you a chance to walk away,” Rhiannon called out to me, and I scrambled to my
feet. Her friends backed off as Rhiannon strolled toward me. “Everyone told you that you don’t belong. That you’ll never belong. You’re nothing but a drain on our pack. A threat to the pups and everyone else.” When her eyes began to glow, I looked at the ground, avoiding her power as well as I could. She chuckled at that move. “More wary now, I see. Very well. You have two choices. You can walk away, right here, right now, and leave a note saying that you can’t stand us, you want to go back to the humans—”
“And if I don’t?” I wasn’t a complete fool. If I signed that letter, it would cause more dissent than before. Raff had been clear when I first came that the protection of their species was their highest priority. If I betrayed them—even if they just thought I did—I’d be signing my own death warrant.
“You want to be a wolf so badly, you’ll fight like one. Right here. Right now.”
“You can’t challenge me. You’re higher ranked than I am.”
She waved a hand in dismissal of that fact. “I’ll simply say you challenged me. There’s no one to refute that claim.”
“Zev would.” With his ability to see the truth, he’d know she was lying.
She waved a negligent hand. “He wouldn’t be involved. The questions would come from Raff, maybe even other adults. His word wouldn’t be fully trusted even if he was, due to his friendship with you. His powers would be considered too biased. I have nothing to worry about on that front.”
“So, what, my choices are to die now or die later?” A thread of panic had wormed its way into my voice, and I clenched my hands into fists. I needed time, that was all. Time for one of them to realize I was missing and find me. Or what was left of me, at least.
“Pretty much.” Her shrug was elegant. “Be grateful that I’m even letting you attempt to challenge me. I have no problem just throwing you off the edge of that damn cliff.” Those words were a snarl. “Time to begin, Pixie,” she taunted. “Death awaits.”
I seriously wished Mr. Cole had gotten to the whole self-defense portion of the training he’d promised. Rhiannon’s claws snapped out from her fingers, catching the moonlight as they gleamed. I danced out of the way as she slashed her nails at me, turning as she circled. She darted back and forth, never actually getting me as she cackled a laugh. I knew she was playing with me, but I wasn’t about to complain as she extended the time I had for them to find me.
“Stop playing with her,” Scarlett shouted, and I would have glared at her if I hadn’t been focused on avoiding Rhiannon’s deadly claws. Rhiannon snarled, disliking someone interfering with her game. Her next blow landed across my cheek, but thankfully she only caught me with her hand and not the full force of her nails. I staggered at the strength of it, my ears ringing, and Rhiannon chortled with a demented glee.
“You should have just walked away.” Another blow slammed into me, knocking me to a knee. “Goodbye, Penelope.”
“Pixie!” Luna launched herself from the trees toward me, and I desperately lunged, shoving her away from Rhiannon’s descending claws. Her swipe caught the side of my arm, and Luna tumbled, rolling to the side.
“No!” I cried, as momentum caused her to roll to the edge of the cliff. I scrambled for her, managing to grasp her just as the ground beneath us crumbled slightly, pitching us over the edge. Luna screamed and I reached out with my free hand, scratching at the dirt of the cliff wall and the roots that thrust through the side, managing to slow us slightly. We slammed into a small ledge with a jarring thud, and I kept my arms tightly wrapped around the sobbing little girl.
“Run!” I heard Rhiannon yell at the others, the scrambling of their feet echoing as I tried to calm Luna, despite the flaring pain in my back from the rocks I’d landed on. The ledge we were on was only a small outcropping, barely wide enough for me to lay upon. My feet dangled over the edge and I carefully curled them up, leveraging my aching body forward so I could sit up with Luna on my lap.
“It’s okay,” I soothed, rubbing a hand over her hair, and mimicking a motion I’d seen Zelda use by rubbing my cheek across hers, smearing her tear tracks.
“I’m sorry!” the little girl sobbed. “She was going to hurt you and I just, I wanted her to stop.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry. See? We’re okay.” I could see some bruises and scrapes on her skin, but her pretty braids weren’t even bedraggled, and I didn’t bother mentioning my own pains. I was sure it was too much to ask that they would be going for help. I tilted my head up, surprised to realize we’d only dropped about ten feet. A glance over the side showed me that had we not hit the ledge, the remaining fall would have probably killed us—the stone clearing below us and the trees circling it swirled in my vision, they were so far below. “Luna, we need to try and get help.” I gently stood, cradling the little girl. Though I didn’t want to say it, I wasn’t sure how long the ledge that had saved us would continue to hold the pair of us.
“How?” the little girl wailed, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck.
“Shh. I need you to be brave now, sweetheart,” I murmured, stroking a hand down her head. “Think of the story you’ll have to tell the others. Your first brave deed as a wolf.”
Her sobs slowed a little, and she pulled her head back, swiping at her eyes. “Really?”
“Of course,” I assured her, trying not to let my desperation show. “We didn’t fall that far. We can just climb up, right?” The pair of us assessed the wall, and I swallowed hard. I’d never tried rock climbing before, let alone at this level. The wall was crumbling in many areas, the dirt and rock sliding. “How about I lift you up to the ledge?” I suggested, doubtful that we could successfully climb the fragile face. “Then I can climb up after you.”
She sniffled. “Will that work?” Her hopeful eyes met mine and I tried a smile.
“We’re wolves, aren’t we?” I teased, and she giggled a little, nodding. “Come on now.” I shifted her, studying the space. “Do you think if I lift you onto my shoulders you can grab the ledge?” I asked her.
She chewed on her lip, unsure, though she nodded. I lifted her to stand on my shoulders, holding tightly to her legs to keep her from falling. “Use the wall to help you balance,” I instructed her, blinking away the dirt that fell into my eyes as she clawed for the edge again and again as it danced just out of reach of her little claws.
“I can’t reach.” She began to sniffle again, and I stroked her leg soothingly before sliding her off my shoulders as I thought. “We’re stuck, aren’t we?”
“No, no. We just have to think.” I considered her height for a moment, wincing as my ribs ached sharply. If it wasn’t for the adrenaline rushing through me, I would probably be curled up in pain. A small chunk of the ledge we were on tumbled away and, despite the risk, I decided to try a new plan. “Here, stand on my hands,” I ordered, cupping them to cradle her feet. “Lean against the wall to stay steady, okay?” I wished I could hold her more solidly, but I wasn’t tall enough to manage it. Thanking all of the workouts I’d been put through, I pushed Luna up above my head, her claws scrambling on the rock and roots as she tried to climb.
“I almost have it,” she called down to me, excited, as I spit out the dirt the fell on my face.
“Try again,” I encouraged, unable to mask my fear now as I watched a crack beginning to form in the base of the ledge. I shoved harder as she strained for the edge, panting and scrabbling.
“Just a… little…” She whimpered.
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to remain calm. “Luna, I’m going to jump up, okay? When I do, hook your arms over that ledge as hard as you can, you hear me?” I adjusted my hands slightly, making sure my hands were directly above my head as I bent my knees.
“Yeah!”
“On three. One. Two. Three.” I surged upwards, pushing with everything in me as I thrust her over the top.
“I did it!” she crowed, thrilled, as she yanked her body over the edge.
“Good job. Move back from the edge now, okay? I don’t wa
nt it crumbling again.”
She scrambled back farther. “What about you?”
“I’m going to climb up, alright?” I tried to sound confident as I watched the crack widen, the ledge beginning to tilt outwards from my weight. The jump had jarred it looser. I knew there wasn’t much time, and she didn’t need to be here to see me fall to my death. “Go get Alarick and Mr. Cole, okay?” I insisted. “I’ve still got some scrapes from the fall, he can heal me right up,” I lied.
“I will,” she assured me, and I heard her tiny feet darting away as she ran.
Tears dripped down my cheeks now as more of the ledge crumbled away, and I fought back a sob, searching desperately for something to grab on to. I dug my fingers and my toes into the deteriorating wall, grasping onto some of the stronger looking roots above me as I clung desperately to the cliff face and the ledge tumbled to the ground far below.
“Penny!” I recognized Alarick’s roar through the trees, heard the running feet, and I pressed my damp face into the dirt, uncaring that it stuck to me.
“Help!” I cried, coughing as more soil tumbled onto me. “Please, I’m over here.”
Alarick leaned over the edge, his blue eyes frantic as he reached for me. “Grab my hand, Penny.” He laid on his stomach, scooting forward to stretch his arm down for me.
I shook my head. “I can’t reach,” I sobbed. “I’m not tall enough.”
“You have to try! I texted the others, they’re coming. We’ll get you.”
“Alarick, the edge is fragile. You’re going to fall too. You have to back up,” I pleaded, desperate as more dust fell on me. The root I was holding began to tear away and I scrambled for another handhold, my hand sliding uselessly over the crumbling earth.
“Grab my hand,” he ordered again, his voice ringing with authority and his eyes glowing in the darkness. “Now, Penelope.” Desperate, I scrambled for his fingers, flailing helplessly toward them. For the briefest of moments our fingertips brushed against each other before my footholds crumbled and I plummeted to the ground below.
Flower Moon Rising (Lupine Hollow Academy Book 1) Page 19
