by Amy Star
“About twenty feet high.” He pointed at the ceiling. “Hemlock river runs right over the top of us. And the width and depth of the chamber, I’d say it’s about fifty by a hundred feet.”
The pictures were crude but vivid, depicting human beings as well as a variety of different animals. One picture caught Jillian’s eye, a bear with an orange crest like Finn’s. Near it was a bigger bear and then a third bear that was even bigger.
“Did you paint these?” Jillian narrowed her eyes, leaning closer to inspect the orange smudge on the bear’s chest.
“No.” Vincent shook his head. “These were here long before I ever got here. There’s no doubt in my mind that this place is a beacon to our kind, much like you. Conner was drawn to you when you were in danger; all of us were.”
A glyph of a human being with long, yellow hair stood in a circle between the three bears.
Jillian took the light from him and moved over a few feet. As she followed the wall, she found dozens more bears and other animals that seemed to pour out of the circle they created.
“So, you’re like the alpha of this pack?” She turned to look at him.
“The preferred vernacular is tribe, though for now, we’re more of a den since there are only three of us.”
“It seems like you have your hands full with just Finn and Conner.” She gauged his reaction.
“Nah, they’re easy.” He swatted the air. “They bicker like children out of boredom, but both of them want to do the right thing when the chips are down. What’s going to get crazy is when other tribes roll in wanting to join with us.”
“Are you sure that will happen?” She looked closer at the rich pigment of the paint.
“Now that your oracle abilities are active, shifters will be drawn to you from all over. Not all of them are going to be good. There’ll be other alpha’s that want to challenge me. Different tribes have different customs. We’ll have to take it as it comes.”
“Since you’re the alpha, don’t you have the authority to tell the others to stay away from me if you wanted?” Jillian side-eyed him.
“You don’t have to be mated to me just because I’m the alpha.” He leaned against the wall. “Jealousy is more of a human trait.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father was an alpha; he had a mate and two companions. My aunt Grace had a mate and three companions. I wasn’t raised to see love as if it’s a cage. Love is wild; it’s hungry. I never understood why human society chooses to starve itself of love and gorge itself on money.”
“When you say companions, you mean like…” She lifted her eyebrows as her cheeks grew red.
“Sex shouldn’t be an act of ownership.” He looked back at the paintings. “Just like love and sex have never been mutually exclusive, no matter how much humans like to pretend otherwise.”
Was he serious? She blinked, her mouth slightly agape. It almost sounded like he was putting some kind of polyamorous relationship on the table.
“I don’t like the word ownership… but I mean, when you get married you are basically signing a contract that says I’m yours and you’re mine.” She shrugged. “Unless you have an open relationship or something, but I always thought that was something reserved for people who weren’t really happy with each other. Sex is supposed to be something special that you only share with the person you’re with.”
“No wonder you’ve expressed a distaste for marriage.” His eyes moved over her as he circled around. “Sex is about desire, trust, and creating a new life. And love does not get diluted if it’s bigger than just two people.”
“And the consorts in your tribe were all okay with knowing their partner was sleeping around with everyone?” Jillian rubbed her arms, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t know if I could ever be okay with someone sleeping with my husband. The whole polyamory thing seems a little more deviant than I could ever be.”
“Why? There were no lies.” He traced his finger along her collar bone to the small indentation at the base of her throat, and her heart raced at the sensation. “No winners or losers. When you have multiple lovers who respect you and respect one another, there’s nothing deviant about it. When you take a mate, all your decisions get made together. Consorts or companions are more like friends that come and go as they please.”
“And your mother was one of your father’s consorts?” She looked around at the paintings of swirling campfires and people dancing around them.
“She wasn’t one of his consorts.” He cleared his throat. “She was a member of another tribe; because she was a vessel, it was her responsibility to make as many children as she could. She came to my father for that reason only and left shortly after I was born.”
“That’s so sad.” Jillian frowned. “I couldn’t imagine just traveling around to have babies and then leave them behind.”
“With vessels being in such short supply, it’s just how things were done.” He looked down. “I don’t begrudge her for leaving, but I do wonder if I’ll ever get to meet her.”
“My oracle intuition tells me that you will.” She reached out and took his hand. “Why did you never take a mate?”
“Only half of our tribe were shifters, and most were related to me in some way. My grandmother told me that it was my destiny to be mated to a vessel.”
“So, you’ve never…” Her mouth slackened as she searched for an appropriate way to ask.
“I’m an alpha, not a priest.” He smiled. “I messed around with a couple of shifter girls from other tribes that joined us during my teenaged years. And I dated human women in college. But I always felt like I was waiting for something. None of them ever knew what I was. It was a secret part of my heart, reserved for someone who was still out there. That probably sounds ridiculous.”
“No.” She blushed, returning her gaze to the wall. “I think I get exactly what you mean.”
Vincent walked with her, never standing more than a couple feet away as she studied the pictures, committing each one to memory as if there were something she was supposed to put together, some detail that would fall into place. Maybe then, everything would make sense.
The light started to dim as the battery waned, and her shoulders shivered.
“Damn.” She patted the light against the heel of her hand.”
“I have photographs of every inch of this place back at the cabin. I know it’s not the same as seeing it in person, but I can bring you back here any time.” Vincent rubbed her shoulders. “Let’s get home.”
Home… That cabin wasn’t her home, was it? Hand in hand, they made their way back through the cave where the white water glowed from the moonlight outside. She turned to speak to him, but the roar of the falls was louder than she could shout.
He pointed to his ear and then shook his head no. Sadness darkened her face as he turned to face her. The reality of what he’d said in there finally started to set in. Because of what she was, no matter where she went, other shifters would come looking for her, and not all of them would be good people. Sure, if she went back home, she would be surrounded by bodyguards, but none of them cared about her, and they certainly didn’t know about all this magical stuff.
Vincent placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, and the two of them got back into the water. They swam under the falls, and she looked down into the pitch-black depths beneath her. Opaque moonbeams filtered down around them, and she held onto the image, hoping that it would be one of those perfect moments that would flash before her eyes at the end of her life. He swam off ahead of her, and they broke the surface.
As Jillian reached the edge, Vincent was waiting there with the quilt, ready to wrap it around her shoulders. Overcome with emotion about the inevitable future barreling toward her, Jillian’s chin scrunched up, and she started to cry. Vincent put his arms around her, but she pushed him away.
“The spirits made a mistake.” She wiped her eyes. “I can think of a hundred other women that I know could save the world
. But I...”
“I don’t know what you’ve been through that made you care so much about other people’s expectations. But having blond hair and blue eyes does not make you a Barbie doll. You are not weak, and absolutely nothing could ever make you ordinary.”
“Vincent?” Jillian’s chest heaved with every breath as she tried to compose herself. She reached up, running her hand over the back of his neck as she pulled him close.
His warm breath caressed her shoulder, leaving a trail of goose bumps. Their cheeks brushed together as he pulled away.
“There’s no rush.” Vincent raised her hand to his lips, kissing the back of her knuckles.
Finn had left his clothes on the rock next to the tunnel just as he’d promised. Jillian took off her pack to put them away, but Vincent stopped her.
“You’re shivering.” He touched her chin. “Why don’t you change into these, and we can wash them for Finn tomorrow?”
“Yeah, okay.” She nodded, stripping her shirt off over her head. Her hoodie had gotten a little damp, so she took that off, too.
Vincent turned around and waited for her to get changed.
“What should I do with these?” She indicated the bundle of wet clothes in her hands.
“We’ll put them in Finn’s pack for now and set everything out in the sun to dry first thing tomorrow.”
Having dry clothes on made all the difference in the world. Hiking back to the cabin in the dark might have been a much more frightening experience if she didn’t have a six-foot, muscle-bound werebear with her. But the forest at night was a new kind of beautiful. Her muscles ached, and the straps of the backpack had rubbed red marks on her shoulders by the time they finally made it back. She sighed with relief at the sight of the cabin.
Vincent took her backpack and opened the door. She went straight for the wood stove, holding up her hands to warm them.
“Looks like Conner turned in already.” Vincent nodded to the three bowls of porridge on the table. “Finn must not be back yet.”
He crossed the den to knock on Finn’s door. When he didn’t answer, he opened the door to find the room empty.
“Should we go out and look for him?” Jillian started to pick up a coat.
“No, he stays out all night sometimes.” Vincent sat down at the table. “That’s just Finn.”
Jillian sat down across from him, and he pushed one of the bowls toward her. She inhaled the sweet buttery smell and took a bite. Conner had sweetened it with honey, and it was still warm, so it must not have been sitting there for long.
“Something doesn’t feel right.” Jillian stared at the third bowl. “It doesn’t seem like he would just not come home without telling anyone where he’s going.”
“It’s not that weird.” Vincent shook his head. “The bear inside gets restless. Conner will do it once in a while, too. They’re grown men, and sometimes you just need to let them do their thing.”
“Do you like to disappear sometimes?” She leveled her eyes at him.
“Not anymore.” He smirked, finishing up his porridge. “But I’ve been at this a lot longer than they have. I don’t feel that same itch anymore.”
“You mean you behave like an adult?” She gaped with mock surprise.
The floorboards creaked under his boots as he stood up, crossing the kitchen to a small wooden cabinet. He crouched down, pulling out a glass bottle containing a clear liquid and what looked like a stick. Setting down two shot glasses, he filled them both and set the bottle aside.
“Go easy on Finn.” He chuckled, picking up one of the shots. “Here’s new to friendships.”
“Well, I can’t pass up a chance to drink to that.” Jillian picked up the other glass and clinked it against Vincent’s. The burning liquid contained notes of vanilla and cinnamon.
That explains the stick in the bottle. Jillian thought.
“Thank you.” She got to her feet, standing on her tiptoes to give Vincent a peck on the cheek. “Thank you for taking me to see the paintings… and for being so understanding about my not wanting to rush into things.”
“Don’t thank me. My grandmother always tried to push the idea of my fulfilling some great destiny.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his finger. “I hated it. I ran away to med-school, thinking I could outrun it.”
“What happened to your family wasn’t your fault.” She put her hand on his cheek. “You know that, right?”
“It was my fault, Jillian.” He covered her hand with his. “I defied destiny, and my tribe paid the price. I feel like a hypocrite, forcing these prophecies down your throat. I want to tell you that destiny is all a bunch of bullshit and that only you control your fate. And I guess in a way you do. All you can do is make sure that whatever you decide, you can live with the consequences.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Pssst… You awake?” Conner hissed.
“I am now.” Jillian opened one eye.
“Come outside with me.” He nudged her. “I want to show you something.”
“My legs are still sore from yesterday.” She groaned, turning over.
“Yeah, but it’ll be so worth it.” He smiled. “I promise.”
“What time is it?” She sat up, rubbing her eyes. “It’s still dark out.”
“The sun will be up in less than an hour. Is that Finn’s shirt?”
“Mine was cold and wet.” She got up and reached for the pile of damp socks.
“No shoes.” Conner wrinkled his nose. “You don’t need ‘em. They’ll just slow you down.”
She followed him to the kitchen where Finn’s bowl still sat untouched.
“Okay, at what point should we start worrying about Finn?” She frowned. “We should wake up Vincent and try to find him. He could be hurt.”
“Trust me. Finn can look out for himself.” He handed her his coat. “He’ll probably be back this afternoon, carrying a big bundle of fish or squirrels or something.”
“I hope you’re right.” She put on the coat and tried to ignore the rotten feeling in her stomach.
She followed him off into the early morning mist on a deer trail that headed east. She stepped cautiously, wincing every time she miscalculated and put her foot down on a sharp rock.
“Try to connect with the ground under you.” Conner looked down at his feet, wriggling his toes. “You’re not a tourist anymore.”
“This place will never be home to me.” She cursed, stepping on something pointy. “I think it’s probably going to be time for me to head home soon.”
“See, that’s the problem.” Conner gestured to the trees around them. “You’re part of this place now. The river is running through your veins. The moment the spirits gave your life back, you were reborn in these mountains.”
“I admit this has been an eye-opening experience.” She looked around. “But I wasn’t made for this. Maybe the spirits reached out to me because they know I can talk my father into keeping the drilling companies out. If someone like me has a part to play in any of this, I think that would be it.”
“Do you think he’ll listen to you?” Conner tilted his head.
“I’ll make him listen.” She pressed her index finger onto the tabletop. “I’ll stage protests and go to the media if I have to.”
“And get cut off from your trust?” He nudged Finn with his elbow. “How much can you do? I mean, without the resources that are only at your disposal because of who your father is?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead, but I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to keep you guys and the circle safe.” Her eyes didn’t waver.
“I believe that you mean that.” He took her hands in his. “For now, at least.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She pulled away.
“Come on.” He put his hands on his hips and leaned his head back. “Isn’t some part of you hoping that you’ll wake up in bed and find out that none of this was real?”
“No.” She tugged his shirt. “I don’t know why you a
nd Finn seem to think that I’m so anxious to forget about you guys.”
“Because not a day goes by that we don’t miss something about our old lives. I miss my friends, watching football with my dad… hell, indoor plumbing. I can hardly blame you for wanting to go back. But would it be worth it?”
“Yes.” She lifted her shoulders. “I have lived in the city my whole life. I’m not built to survive out here. You can try to tell me I’m not basic, but I am.”
“I don’t buy it.” Conner crossed his arms. “What would you be doing if you were at home right now?”
“I’d probably be in bed.” She paced away and came back. “I’d get up at like eight and have Maggie make me a breakfast smoothie and some avocado toast, which I’d post a picture of. Then I’d go to the gym for an hour, but only so I could get some pictures of myself working out.”
“Then go out to lunch and take a picture of your vegan tacos?” Conner nodded. “Then maybe go to that new boutique on Fifth Avenue and get a new outfit. Find out what topics are trending so you can post some relevant opinions for your adoring followers?”
“Where are we going, Conner?” She peered around, rubbing her hands together. “It’s cold and dark, and I’m still tired.”
“Check it out.” He pointed to a black silhouette of a large rock formation jutting up from the landscape a few hundred meters out. “Vincent isn’t the only one who can take you on a romantic getaway. Unless you’ve already made your choice.”
“I haven’t.” She rolled her eyes. “What makes you think that dragging a girl out of bed before the sun comes up is romantic?”
“Because I want to show you something you’ve never seen before.” He circled behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.
“Yeah, It’s pretty.” She yawned. “Can I go back to bed now?”
“I didn’t bring you out here to look up at it,” he whispered in her ear, grabbing her hand and darting through the trees. “Stop being afraid of feeling things with your feet. They won’t be so tender if you’d actually use them.”
