The Calling of the Trinity (Trinity Cycle Book 2)

by Brittany Elise

  “Well yeah, but, there’s stakes involved.”

  “This should be entertaining… I’m listening.”

  My hand brushed the trunk of an ash tree the size of a fire pole so I took hold, spinning myself around like a kid on the playground. “You have to Change,” I said, “and you have to give me a two minute head-start, otherwise the game won’t be fair. You’ll have a total of eight minutes to find me, and then I’ll let you claim your prize.” I grinned at him, spinning again around the tree.

  “Eight minutes is considerably generous… You should at least make it challenging.”

  Truthfully, I had no idea how generous the time frame I’d given him was. I knew he was fast, and I knew his super-senses would kick into high gear in wolf form, but I had no idea just how fast he could find me. “Six minutes?” I guessed.

  Wren shook his head. “Lower.”

  “Four minutes?”

  “Come on, Quinn… now you’re just insulting me.”

  Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “You’re feeling pretty confident about yourself, aren’t you?” He grinned. “Tell me then–how fast can you get to me?”

  “I can cover a mile in less than six minutes in my human form, as a wolf… that’s a joke. With a two minute head-start, I can find you in less than a minute.”

  “All right then. You have forty-five seconds.”

  Wren was still grinning as he kicked out of his boots and pulled his shirt above his head. I bit my lip. Even without the moonlight, his skin seemed to shimmer in the darkness. He reached for his belt buckle, shimming out of his jeans. “You better get going,” he said, “your two minutes start now.”

  As much as I wanted to stay for the show, my competitive nature kicked in and I took off, tearing through the forest. I glanced down at my watch, staying close to the creek bed in hopes that the sound of the running water would mask my footsteps. Spirit’s glow helped me navigate through the darkness, pushing out a soft light as I jumped over fallen logs and roots that were jutting out from the embankment. The stream narrowed, and I spotted a stone that looked big enough for me to launch myself to the other side of the bank. Maybe the river would throw my scent. I took a running jump, shoes sliding as they hit the opposite side of the bank. I reached out and caught myself on a root and used it to propel myself up and over the other side. The smell of raw earth and dirt filled my nose. Another glance at my watch told me I only had a minute to go.

  I zigzagged, doubling back in a circle before choosing a narrow path that led to a thick patch of underbrush, and beyond that, a patch of loblolly pines. The trunks were long and narrow, shooting over a hundred feet in the air. They weren’t like the pines in my forest, but I knew the ground would be soft there, and the needle-coating would mask the sound of my footsteps.

  I dashed through the first row, skidding to a halt when I saw that one had recently fallen and the trunk was thick enough to hide behind. I climbed over the top, lowering myself in a crouch as I glanced down at my watch with only nine seconds to spare. I took a deep breath and concentrated on slowing my breathing.

  The countdown began.

  I wondered if I could use the Trinity bond to see into Wren’s mind like I had before in the parking lot. I closed my eyes, picturing him in wolf form and concentrated. It didn’t take long before my head filled with intense warmth. I sensed his joy, felt it swell in my chest as he tore through the forest with the ground beneath his paws. He savored the feeling of being in his wolf form. I imaged this was probably as close as I’d ever get to sharing the experience with him, and through the bond-link, I felt just how powerful it could be. I sensed the freedom and the excitement that pulsed through his veins. The thrill of the rush shifted into a feeling of satisfaction and a sense of victory.

  He was getting close.

  I opened my eyes, stealing a glance at my watch as the light-up face reached the twenty-second-mark. I looked around, searching for any sign of him as I strained to pick up the sounds of his footsteps. Without the glow of Spirit, my eyesight was useless. I picked up a faint sound to my left, turned my head in that direction and was tackled from the opposite side. Even though I knew he was coming, I still jumped and ended up falling to my side with Wren hovering over me.

  “Ooph,” I let out a sound as my body collided with the ground and Wren towered over me, warm nose nuzzling my face. “Gross,” I teased, pushing at his massive chest. I called on Spirit, accepting the warmth of the indigo glow as Wren’s body came into view. “Thirty-four seconds,” I said, “not bad, Wolf Boy.”

  He grumbled, nudging my face with his muzzle. I pulled myself upright, sliding my fingers through his dense coat and felt the heat radiating from his body. When I stood, the top of his head reached my ribs in height. I didn’t have to bend to pet him. Which–I suppose in the grand scheme of things was kind of weird. But what else were you supposed to do when your boyfriend could turn himself into a massive wolf? Not many humans got the opportunity to be that up-close and personal with the species so I was taking full advantage. Besides, the shift from man to wolf was one of the most beautiful forms of magic I had ever seen.

  “Did I at least manage to throw you off my scent at the river?”

  He let out a gruff, managing to shake his head.

  “Damn.”

  He snorted, and I thought maybe that was the equivalent of a laugh. He took a few steps away from me and stretched his long limbs, shaking out his coat. He lifted his muzzle to the wind, nostrils flaring as he sampled the scents drifting in the breeze. He must have decided everything was fine out there because his body began to tremble, and I knew he was Changing back. I backed up a little more to give him room and watched as he morphed back to his human form. Bones snapped and shifted, repositioning as the hair on his body retracted and left a man standing in place of where a wolf had been.

  His lean-muscled body was glossed with a light sheen of sweat, his hair matted against his forehead. I loved seeing him this way–loved the way he looked at me. I saw desire and confidence in his eyes, and a need that only I could satisfy. I stepped into his arms as his mouth came down on mine; the heat of his lips sent out sparks that awakened every nerve ending in my body. Tendrils of fire began rising in my belly, but when he kissed me like that, I didn’t care if I set the whole forest ablaze.

  “You’re mine,” Wren said, nibbling my ear.

  And the world went up in flame.

  I woke to the sound of birds chirping high up in the trees. I blinked a couple of times, straining, until I realized that I could see the boughs of the branches above me. It was light out. I sat up so fast my ears started ringing. The forest was hazy, covered in a smoky predawn fog that hugged the tops of the surrounding pines and dogwoods. I looked at my watch and the little green numbers flashing across the screen told me that it was nearly six in the morning. “Oh my goddess,” I breathed.

  Wren shifted, nudging me back into the curve of his body where the warmth of his skin was more comforting than any blanket I’d ever used. It took me a minute to realize where we were. I smelled smoke from the campfire, and remembered we’d gone back to the campsite after–well, after–and slipped into a shared sleeping bag while the others remained asleep. At least, I think they were asleep. Hailey and Ryker had pulled their sleeping bags on the opposite side of the campfire, keeping a good five feet from one another and at least ten or fifteen from the rest of the group. Wren had pulled our sleeping bags about that far just so we wouldn’t disturb the others. He’d unzipped his, spreading it out as a makeshift mattress and used mine as a blanket to cover us–even though with his body heat, we didn’t need it.

  His hand drifted below the hem of my shirt, spanning over my stomach as his thumb swept over my ribs. My stomach fluttered, and the images of last nig
ht came rushing back with vivid detail. My heart sped up as Wren pressed his lips to the back of my neck, sweeping the curtain of my hair to the side.

  I didn’t mean for it to, but the nearly burned out flames of the campfire sprung back to life, billowing with a rush of heat.

  “What the–” Bryna sat up sleepily, squinting at the flames.

  Wren chuckled.

  “There’ll be none of that or I’ll dunk you in the cold river,” Blaire said.

  “I’m going to die now,” I mumbled, covering my face with my hand.

  “Why are we talking at six o’clock in the morning,” Hailey grumbled.

  “Because one of us is playing with her element,” Blaire said with a chuckle.

  “Huh. Is that what we’re calling it now?” Wren’s tone was filled with amusement.

  “Please stop. Now,” I begged, rolling so I could burrow my head into Wren’s chest. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on anything aside from the way his body felt pressed against mine. I couldn’t though, because I still smelled the forest on his skin, and felt the beat of his heart against my cheek.

  There was shuffling across from the campfire, and I glanced over my shoulder to see that Ryker was climbing out of his sleeping bag. He’d slept in his boxers and nothing more. He shimmied into his jeans, fastening the belt buckle. “We’re all awake now,” he said, “might as well get a move on.”

  Hailey growled, flung out of her sleeping bag, snatched up her pack and started marching in the direction of the creek. “I’m going to wash up.”

  Blaire was the next to roll out of her sleeping bag. She’d slept in her jeans and a camisole and sat down on a log to pull her boots on. Ryker was pretending not to watch her as he slipped his shirt on over his head, straightening the hem. Behind me, Wren kissed my shoulder and then slipped out of the bag. The coolness of the morning air hit me then, sending a wave of goosebumps down my arms.

  “I take it nothing has changed since last night–no mysterious messages from the enchantress or visions you’d like to share with the rest of us?” Ryker asked me.

  “Sorry to disappoint you,” I replied, “but no.”

  “We’ll keep heading east then,” he said, “unless you have a different suggestion?”

  I didn’t. I looked up at the tops of the trees, shrouded in inky fog and wondered if today would be yet another that was covered by clouds. The solar eclipse was set to begin at eight fifty-two on Sunday morning, which meant we needed to get to the cottage and find the enchantress before nightfall. Coordinates were obviously too much to ask for, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on the vision. I recalled tall slender pines at the edge of the forest, and then a small rocky cliff area that provided shelter for the cabin.

  “East is good,” I said, climbing out of the sleeping bag. Blaire tossed me a protein bar, which I ate while I packed up my things. We took turns washing up at the creek, brushing teeth and applying deodorant before starting on our journey through the forest. Bryna, I noticed, was particularly quiet this morning. She’d only barked a few commands about making sure we didn’t spit our toothpaste into the stream ‘lest we contaminate nature’ and ‘make sure you don’t leave any garbage behind.’ Hailey rolled her eyes at that one, but chose not to exercise a snarky reply.

  We walked for about two miles before the trees began to thin out and the ground flattened into an overgrown field of slender wheat-colored grasses. The clouds obscured the sunlight for most of the morning, but the fog eventually tapered off and revealed and even more ominous sight to the west. Dark clouds were gathering, and it looked as if a storm might be heading our way. Wren lifted his face to the air, nostrils flaring. “Rain?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Storm’s still a few miles off, but, we might want to think about finding shelter soon.”

  “Great,” Hailey muttered. “Are you sure this enchantress even wants us to find her?”

  “I highly doubt she’s responsible for the weather,” I said.

  “I just feel like if this is such a time-sensitive operation that she’d be, I dunno, intervening to make sure we didn’t screw up.”

  Bryna chuckled. “Why is it that werewolves are always so impatient? The enchantress will be found when she wants us to find her and not a moment sooner.”

  “Why is it that witches are a just bunch of pretend know-it-alls that rely on relics and prophecies to get anything done?” Hailey countered. “Can you actually think for yourselves, or do you just always do what the Good Books tell you? It’s really no wonder that your kind was almost wiped out at the stakes.”

  I choked on a laugh, wishing Annabelle was here to witness the verbal battle of the Supernatural divas.

  “You know that witches weren’t the only ones burned at the stakes in the sixteen hundreds–werewolves were captured and tortured too.”

  I shook my head, trying my best to ignore the bickering that continued behind me. I wondered how witches had gone from the once proverbial heroes that freed the werewolves from the rule of the Dark Witch in the Dark Ages, to the feared villains of the twenty-first century. What happened to the alliances and mutual respect for one another? Were we not fighting for the same team–working towards a mutual goal? The werewolf as we know it today wouldn’t even exist without the kindness and love of Luiseach. Had it not been for her then–

  Pain snapped through my temples, blotting out my vision. I winced, squeezing my eyes shut as an aurora of light filled my mind with vibrant bursts of color. There must be a balance between Light and Dark, for you cannot have one without the other. The voice of the White One lifted and filled my mind. Let Orion show you the way…

  I doubled over, coming to as my knees barely brushed the ground before Wren caught me. “Whoa, are you all right?”

  “Fine, just–” I trailed off, looking up as a barn owl swooped down from a nearby tree and soared across the field to our left. I narrowed my eyes, staring after it as it disappeared through the opposite side of the tree line. “We need to go that way.” I pointed to the spot where the owl had flown.

  “Are you sure?” Ryker asked. “That’s south.”

  “I’m sure,” I said, “just trust me.”

  “Did you have a vision?” Blaire asked, eyebrows furrowing.

  “We’re supposed to follow the owl.” The amulet swelled and heated. The line in the grimoire about keeping my eyes to the stars and letting Orion show me the way had nothing to do with the actual night sky at all…

  The owl I saw in the tree last night was in fact the same owl that I had seen at home. I recognized its eyes because they looked like diamonds, shining like a map of the whole galaxy with starlight twinkling in its irises.

  Orion was a codename.

  Bryna was frowning, crossing her arms as she studied me. “I suppose we didn’t take that part of your vision into consideration. I thought the owl had been a metaphorical guide, not a physical one.”

  Thunder rolled in the distance.

  “All right, let’s start heading south and find some shelter before this storm hits,” Ryker said. “I’ll run ahead and make sure we’re not walking into a trap. No offense Quinn, but I’d rather be on the safe side.”

  “That’s actually not a bad idea. You’ll get there faster if you travel in your wolf form, maybe you can scout out shelter for the rest of us.”

  “I’ll go,” Wren said. “I move faster.”

  Hailey snorted, but Ryker didn’t protest. He simply said, “Two sets of eyes are better than one.” He took off his pack and handed it to Hailey and began undressing. “I suggest if there’s anything you don’t want to see, you turn around.”

  Wren did the same.

 
Blaire and Bryna walked ahead while Hailey and I stayed behind to gather clothing articles and carry the extra packs while the guys Changed into their wolf forms. And no, I wasn’t exactly ecstatic about having Hailey there to bear witness to my soulmate’s naked body, but Weres were anything but shy when it came time to strip out of their clothing. And, if I was being honest with myself, I gathered it was probably nothing she hadn’t seen before…

  Still, I stood in front of him, watching as he brought on the wolf Change. His bones popped and snapped, and I had to work at keeping my expression neutral while I listened to the gut-wrenching sounds of his body shifting forms. Patches of black fur sprouted across his chest, traveling down his abdomen as his chest arched toward the sky. His face twisted in agony; his mouth and nose extending into a muzzle as his ears shifted high on his head. In less than two minutes he dropped to all fours and began sprinting toward the opposite side of the tree line with Ryker trailing after him.

  I glanced at Hailey. Her irises were enlarged and swirling–canine teeth exposed and extended over her lips. She looked at me and a shiver crawled down my spine. It wasn’t fear that caused it, but something akin to it–primal, even.

  “Shall we?” She tipped her head, gesturing toward the others. We started walking. Blaire and Bryna were at least a hundred meters in front of us, but they were in eyesight so we didn’t try to catch up. Not on account of me wanting to spend any time with Hailey, believe me. I just wanted to keep her separated from Bryna for as long as possible. The less bickering, the more tolerable this trip would be.

  “I was wondering,” I said after a while, “how old do you have to be before you’re on the council?”

  Hailey shot me a look that said why are you even speaking to me? She waited a beat before replying, “Eighteen is the youngest, but, the council is chosen at the Alpha Master’s discretion. He can appoint or kick off anyone he chooses.”

  “Except for the Elders?”

  “In order to kick off an Elder, the whole council has to vote unanimously, but that rarely happens. Thornwood has always had a strong Alpha Master and the pack respects its leaders–even when they become Elders.”