Page 15

Chapter 15

Ward

T he trip turned out to be more interesting with a brood of shifters on the loose. The road wound through the idyllic countryside with an ease that belied the hurry we were in. We didn’t slow as we approached a small, rural town and the townsfolk sensed it. Hard-working farmers stopped to stare at our number. Carts, carriages and riders got out of the way with due speed. So did the wildlife. A Bakh bull three times the size of Greg tossed his black face and pawed the ground, but didn’t harass us further.

When we reached the quaint clatch of cozy homes, doors shut and locked. Invisible hands pulled children away from windows. Even the flowers on the windowsills closed up and shrank. Shifters boiled around buildings, running through gardens.

“Keep going,” a sturdy man, who had to be the mayor, shouted at us. The crossbow in his arms didn’t move, but the threat was implied. The brood wove in and out of the road, feeling out the hierarchy but always looking to Evie for the way forward.

“He seems friendly,” Declan said. We passed the man who gained a few friends at his side. He wasn’t being sarcastic. Truly, nothing kept that dog’s spirit down.

“I don’t know if I have seen this many shifters in one place, either. I think I would be afraid, too, if we all rolled up to Harrowood.”

“Fearsome? Us?” Declan smiled with all of his teeth. “Speaking of which, we should start hunting for dinner once we get past this town.”

Evie took one glance at the assembling townspeople and picked up the pace. We left the village behind quickly enough and Declan and I tromped into the woods. He turned out to be an amusing hunting partner.

“Have you told her she’s the Alpha?” Declan asked as he pushed through the underbrush, smacking away branches. We were trying it in our human forms to make sure no outlier townspeople shot us.

“I don’t know if she’s ready to hear that. My mate is… an unusual shifter.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen that snake thing before,” Declan agreed. “Guarding the Brothers hasn’t allowed me to meet a vast variety of shifters.”

“No. You’re right. My mate is, unfortunately, unique. I’m not sure I can teach her any sort of shifter instincts at this point.” I shot a hare in the underbrush to add to the dinner pot.

“Well, thank Godds for that. A shifter with that much favor from the Goddess could rule the Harrowlands. Or destroy it.”

She certainly could. Declan and I wandered back to the main group just as we reached halfway to the foothills of the Infernal Peaks on the first day. As the sun set on our party, the brood formed a circle of shifters surrounding us. I made camp in the center of the mass of animals, since they followed me every time I tried to claim a more secluded spot.

Magic was my secret weapon. I whispered the structure of a shelter spell and provided Evie with a tent for the night, along with some Silence to keep our conversation private. It would drain some of my magic, but with an entire camp of shifters between us and the wild, I could afford it. Declan, Noora, and the harem boys looked on longingly and I grudgingly made tents for them, too. Otherwise, Evie would offer ours when she came back.

I was just about to go find her when she careened up to the fire, giddy with glee.

“Ward!” I was so entranced by her excitement, I barely took in what was in her arms. It was good to see a smile on her face. “Look what I found!”

The fat, green toad shifter bulged out of her arms as she squished it to herself. Stunned, I was trying to figure out how to get her to drop it when the toad flicked out its long tongue and nabbed a leg of roasted meat by the fire. That startled Evie into loosening her hold.

“Do they eat meat?” she asked.

“I didn’t think so.” I gripped the handle of my cooking knife just in case it decided to tongue her next.

Evie slowly put the toad down and edged away. “You’re still cute.” She patted its head and the toad happily hopped off without a word to us, the sickening munching of bone following in its wake.

“You actually looked like you were having a lot of fun today,” she said carefully, sitting a short distance away as we watched the rest of the deer cook.

“Well, I would have rather—” I stopped myself. I had fun today. I didn’t need to apologize or make myself small. Maybe we needed the day to reset. “Did you have fun today?”

“It was… different. I didn’t have to worry as much about you. Or me, I guess. They all think I have answers and I hate to break it to them. I’m just me. They probably need to leave before we get to the next relic. Won’t it trap them again?”

I hugged her to my side, and she allowed it. “I’m not sure. That box you showed me is affecting the relics, so I can’t say what the latest relic has done to you, or what it will do once we find the next one.”

“Nothing good. And then you… nevermind.” She looked away from me, ducking from under my arm.

So that was what was wrong, something to do with her snake. I replayed what had happened after she showed me. We were teasing each other… or I was teasing her. I poked at the fire, glad everyone else chatted in their own group across the circle.

“Never ‘nevermind’. Tell me.”

Her hands tied in knots. “Back in the bath. When you laughed at me. I- I know I’m hideous, but?—”

I stopped her. “You could never be hideous. You were too adorable to not express my joy at any form you take.”

“I’m still not comfortable with all this shifter stuff. Nothing against being a snake, but a snake with legs? What even is that?”

I put my hand on her knee, needing contact. “Something wonderful the Harrowlands has never seen, mate. I'm sorry. I didn’t intend my teasing to cut your pride. Really, I couldn't care less if you had ten legs or none. It’s been my privilege to meet the real Evie on this trip. The one who is kind and clumsy and gathers a raft of shifters to her side.”

She studied my face, deciding if she believed me. “I'll work on accepting that. It’s still hard for me to understand the mate bond makes me beautiful to you.”

My bear’s low growl erupted. I definitely needed to kill all the people who made her doubt the splendor she held inside. “Not the mate bond, Evie. You.”

She still looked uneasy. It made me restless, even though I finally understood what was bothering her all day.

“I’m not eating another relic. I’m done with that. Who knows what the next one will do? I’m handing the next one to you like a normal person.”

I ripped off some of the back strap of the cooked deer. Evie didn’t hesitate to take it off my fingers instead of grabbing it herself. My bear rumbled in approval. “It would only make you more stunning. Did I neglect to mention that part in the bath?”

Her shoulders released some of their tension.

“And powerful. Can’t you feel it, viper?” I did, the moment she finished the dragon scale. An unprecedented surge of power flowed through me. Greater even than my mage magic. “The relic must have given you more than legs. You should test it on our merry band here.”

“Like do what? Get them all to play bingo?” she asked.

“I know you’re worried about this impromptu army. If you can control their shift, then you should be able to control the Goddess’ influence over them and they can actually help in our quest. It would be a start at least.” I stood and lifted her onto a nearby log.

“There’s so many of them.” Evie looked around the camp.

I shrugged. I didn’t know if she could do it, either, but it was worth trying before we were fighting for our lives. “Just try, viper. You can’t hurt them.”

“I’m going to need a new nickname now that I come with legs,” she grumbled and raised her voice. “Attention! This is a test of the Veretis network. This is only a test. Please shift, everyone.” Declan and Brightpaw chuckled at her. Noora smirked from the other side of the fire.

“Evie. Don’t ask them to shift. Tell them to shift.” I tapped her chest.

Taking a deep breath, she screwed up her face. With an otherworldly resonance, she barked, “SHIFT!”

I slid off my feet in a rush of power, my bear falling on his rump in confusion that he was out without permission. Declan and Brightpaw peered at us with their animal’s eyes. It sent Declan yipping around the fire. She wobbled on the log. Her cheeks flushed red as a cherry. I sat stunned at her strength.

“Is there a lower setting?” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to?—”

The entire camp sent up a chorus of animalistic noises, prowling forward in their animal form in agitation. A bit of fear trickled into the back of my mind. She hadn’t even been trying. I got to my feet slowly, my bear coming back to her side, straining to rub against her.

That was… viper. You’re incredible, I said.

“Are you okay, mate?” she asked, and I wanted to laugh.

Okay? My mate was amazing. There was no doubt. The Goddess had blessed her with great power, and I knew she would use it well. Evie didn’t have a malicious bone in her body. That’s what I was for.

Next time we ? —

A fury of teeth and claws launched out of the dark and my bear automatically defended his mate, slamming the lion shifter to the ground.

Never, the beast roared. The whites of his eyes showed.

Calm yourself. She means you no harm, I ordered.

I will never let anyone control me again.

The lion lunged for Evie with his full strength, and as I wrestled him away, his claws raked over me, teeth puncturing my neck in his fury. The fight pivoted into life and death—his death. No one touched my mate. I pounded the lion into the earth with no satisfaction. He was entirely wild until he was completely still.

The pain of the lion’s attack was nothing compared to the pain of turning around to see a look of fear on my mate’s face. That expression I knew. One of primal terror. My bear tried to scrunch up into a ball. He hated we scared her with our savagery. When she didn’t move, I shifted back and my bear gladly let me.

Her shocked expression wasn’t fading, and I realized she presumably had never seen anyone die in front of her. Her village had sheltered her from life in the Harrowlands. “That was… intense. I think I have brains in my hair.” Her hand came away, goopy.

I wanted to touch her so badly. “Are you okay, mate? Did he hurt you?”

She backed up a step, and it tore my insides out. “He… he was so angry. I didn’t mean to… and you just… this is a mess.”

I reached a hand out, unable to be still. “Don’t be afraid of me,” I said in a soft voice, willing her not to turn away.

She looked up at me with soul-crushing dread. “Is that what will happen when you mark me?”

I choked down a snarl. “Of course not.”

Evie nodded, but I could tell she didn’t believe me and the burn of her rejection froze my blood to ice. Every scream of terror aimed in my direction over the years crowded into my head. I needed to make this better, but I stood paralyzed.

“Evie!” Declan took her by the shoulder. “We’ll get this cleaned up. Noora pried apart the box without breaking it… well, most of it. Can you come take a look?”

That Evie looked almost relieved to escape my presence left me bereft. I knew Declan was just distracting her from the bloody carnage before us. It didn’t matter that we needed to solve what those boxes were. I wanted time to reassure my mate. I needed to explain. I needed to take back what I just did and reason with the lion like the man I was, not the bear who killed in a rage. I needed anything not to face the mess we were making of this mating.