Page 9

Chapter 9

Ward

L etting her sleep for an extra half hour gave me a chance to gather my energy for the day ahead. In the calmest of times, the town of Acerni was an anomaly in the Harrowlands. With relics on the fritz and after my slip in the tub, I was nervous about what she would think of a settlement like this shifter-only enclave. I wanted to keep her in a good mood, but I couldn’t let her walk in blind. She needed to trust I would tell her even the hard things.

We headed out into a beautiful morning, sharing our bread and the last of the fruit juice Fallon sent with us as we walked. Maybe if I chewed slowly enough, we would reach Acerni without having to scare her.

“I thought I was the quiet one,” she said.

I licked my lips and didn’t find any gratification when she watched my tongue. “This near-ruin is the only way to the Elden Pass.”

“Okayyyy.” Evie narrowed her eyes like I was stupid.

Maybe I was. “It’s a shifter town—wolves specifically.”

“Should I stuff my pockets with bacon?”

I sputtered out a laugh. “We don’t want to attract that kind of unwanted attention. I can’t imagine these wolves begging. Some towns have a district where shifters settled and now congregate regularly. Acerni takes that a big step further. Only wolf shifters can live here.”

“Well, good thing we’re not moving here…” She grimaced. “Or is there something more terrifying you’re not telling me?”

I blushed, heat creeping up my neck into my cheeks. I didn’t want to keep things from her, but the pull to protect her, shield her from the worst of our feral nature, was hard to overcome.

“They don’t take kindly to strangers even passing through, shifter or not. We can’t linger. In fact, don’t look anyone in the eye. They take eye contact as a challenge for dominance. They chose to live here to be as close to their wolf as possible and can hold some extreme views and practices. Not all shifters are like that, of course. My territory is not like that. We treat every monster equally, under the law. My law.” I babbled in a completely ungracious rush of words.

She skipped ahead of me and put a hand on my chest. “Sounds like a party.”

“It’s not terrifying?”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed my nose. “Oh no. It is. You did your best to prepare me and that’s all I can ask. And of course, your promise you’re going to bear out if anything goes sideways.”

“That’s…”

She frowned at me. “If you say rational like I’m somehow irrational, I will tell all these wolves I have a bearskin rug for sale.”

“Courageous,” I finished, wanting to keep my skin on my back. Did I accidentally add something to that bath? I searched us with a whisper of magic and staggered to find a real rope of bond connecting us.

“Thank you. I won’t lie and say our second kiss didn’t sway me, but I decided if I’m getting through this whole thing, I’m going to fake it till I make it. So prepare yourself for ‘trying’ Evie.”

I didn’t know if I was prepared for that at all, even though I asked for it. It was only half a day’s walk at Evie’s new pace, so we reached the outskirts of Acerni in the hottest part of the day. I expected complaints of sweating and tired legs again, but Evie’s attention snagged on the rough log houses and dense vegetation that wove in and out of the buildings. The settlement looked more like a jumble of shelter growing out of a forest than a town in any conventional sense. The thick brush and leaves were perfect cover for a wolf pack. It also appeared deserted.

Evie held up her hands in question. “I thought we were going to have to quick-walk for our lives here.”

My bear heard nothing. Evie distracted me with her chatter. “Quick-walk?”

“I’m still not sure I could actually run in this pack,” Evie jangled it on her back with enough noise that I cringed. If they didn’t know we were here, they did now.

“Let’s not have to find out, mate.”

I took in a deep breath and confirmed there were wolves in the woods. I smelled them, or more accurately, smell their heat. It was the wrong time of year for any of the females to be in heat. They could be gone because mating rituals occupied them somewhere else in town. It didn’t matter. I would take the small grace that wolves weren’t boiling out of the forest towards us.

I looked down to find an appropriate amount of focus on Evie’s face. “Don’t leave my side. Keep your head down,” I said.

The dense foliage stood tall and broad enough to be primeval. Certainly large enough to hide a wolf shifter that rarely took any other form. Ferns as tall as my bear, trees as mighty as a dragon, gave their territory a hushed aura. Even the dust motes whispered here. Magic sat undisturbed in the air in a way that only untouched places accomplished. It was why the wolves slunk in the shadows and guarded this place so carefully. There weren’t many pockets of wild magic left in the Harrowlands. It was said that strengthened them, made them more vicious, and quick to anger. Most of the other Kings and Queens thought the untamed magic here turned them into feral dogs to be put down.

Winding through the town’s narrow paths took us down a few dead ends. They didn’t have streets so much as game trails that led from building to building. It would have been impossible for a human to navigate when everything looked the same, but my bear scented the crisp snow in the mountains beyond. The tree canopy was so dense we wouldn’t get any help from the sun, either. At least it was cooler in the shade. Moss muffled our steps as I helped Evie over the uneven ground.

As she stepped down from a large, fallen pine, Evie wrapped around me. I took her full weight and kept walking at a quick and steady pace. She was light enough. Whatever caused her concern was only solved by leaving. The faster we were out of town, the better. If we made it through the shifter haven with no displays of animal savagery, it would be a miracle.

“I saw something. In the shadows,” she whispered to me.

It surprised me that she wasn’t a snake. Perhaps she was getting more comfortable with this. “Head down,” I reminded her.

She buried her face in my shoulder. “I can’t get any closer to you.”

“Untrue.” I couldn’t resist flirting a little, and it brought color to her cheeks as she squeezed me tighter. Her orange and whiskey scent grew bolder, which meant it intensified for the wolves surrounding us, too. I heard them rustling through the undergrowth, the birds above chirping a warning.

Shift. My bear rumbled in my mind.

I don’t need to shift. I can protect her. It will only escalate things here, I replied to him.

His angry pacing told me he wasn’t convinced, but I had a lot of practice suppressing him. He normally couldn’t take over the shift. I reinforced his magical cage after the stunt with the flower.

You put her in undue danger without me, he said.

I ignored him. I could handle these wolves magically.

“Don’t run, Evie.” I hugged her closer to my side.

“I don’t think my legs would let me. We saw what happened with the pork.”

Shadows raced beside us, flashes of long canines glowed in the dark. Leaves rustled all around us until the wood echoed with it. It made pinning down an individual wolf impossible. The forest itself breathed down our neck.

Welcome, fellow shifters. We see you heed the Goddess’ call. A wolf—easily the size of my bear—stood in our path, lips pulled back into a near snarl. Its dinner plate-sized paws dug into the earth.

“Not this again,” Evie said under her breath.

“We’re only passing through,” I told him.

The black-tipped wolf stepped forward, snapping his teeth. Evie squeaked and shifted into her snake form involuntarily, dropping her pack and her clothes. Adventurer Evie hadn’t changed much. I tried sending her courage through the still-forming bond. I didn’t blame her fear—my bear would be in a battle to the death with a wolf that size. She struggled back into human form, thankfully covered with her kaftan. That automatic spell was the best thing I had done for her because my bear was roaring his offense that any other shifter might see her naked, even though shifters usually had no shame about nudity.

The wolf stepped forward. We will use your strength to its fullest potential, brother. I have enough magic to make you one of the pack, even with your obvious deficiency.

He meant my bear. No wolf had ever called me brother. I had certainly never gotten the offer to become part of a pack. Most Alphas didn’t have that kind of raw magic at their disposal. Wolf packs had a specific mind link that surpassed even the normal shifter bond and it required magic in its most elemental form. Their pack was sacred. That he would even offer was a clear sign Veretis’ call was scrambling shifters everywhere.

I reached for my communication channel with my mate. Can you sense another relic nearby, Evie?

“I don’t feel anything other than the spooky vibes from fido over there.” She did her best to collect her pack and be ready to run.

The wolf snarled. You will join our army or feed them with your bones instead.

“Sorry, hard pass. We’re on a bit of a quest,” Evie said.

Take him. The wolf snapped his jaws with the command.

Evie squeaked and popped into her snake form.

I should have sensed the others around us, but the power of the Alpha wolf was an effective distraction. All thoughts of a spell fled my mind with the stink of other females in my nose. I shifted in a blink, roaring my displeasure as a pack of females pulled me away from Evie. More wolves appeared from the underbrush. The Alpha slunk forward, jaws dripping, fur bristling. I went to tear away from the pack as he pounced on Evie, flattening her to the earth and licked a long line up her shifted snake body.

That is gross, you giant mutt. Keep it in your mouth. She slid out from under him, her flexible body impossible to contain. She looked at me as the female wolves surrounded me, scent marking any part of my fur they could find. Their heat overwhelmed every sense.

I thought you said they were going to tear us apart? she hissed.

Howls and yips filled the forest as another burst of mating heat filled the air. I didn’t like this anymore than she did. The relics were doing more than driving shifters to rage; they were upsetting basic instincts. I shook off a she-wolf trying to nibble on my ear with enough force to dislodge her, but not enough to do violence.

The Alpha wolf caught Evie unaware, pressing up against her. I have never seen a snake shifter before. You will make an excellent prize.

Too friendly! Too friendly! Evie shrieked.

Step away from my mate, I warned him .

That made him pause. He turned his luminous yellow eyes on me. Mate, you say? He squinted between us. I guess there’s something here, but it looks so weak. Easily replaced by a real shifter.

He ducked his head under her chin and rubbed against her scales. Don’t worry. You’ll make fine breeding stock for the females of the pack, bear. Our army will only grow stronger.

Run, Evie. I pushed the wolves away as gently as possible, losing patience.

Yes! Run, Evie. Run. The Alpha growled, licking his chops.

Evie stumbled away from him, hissing. Her eyes grew hard, and she reared back, but instead of turning to flee, she descended on the wolf in a hail of fangs and terror. She punctured his nose and he let out an undignified yelp. He shook her off, but he didn’t have time to recover before she bit him again in the neck, her venom dripping down his coat.

My mouth hung open as all the noise from the wolves immediately ceased. The Alpha wobbled on his feet, unable to so much as swipe at her. Over and over again she bit him, striking at any exposed limb she could find, her venom sheeting over his eyes, his paws, until they were both flat on the ground, panting. I had never seen anything hotter in my entire life. A thrum through the bond resounded stronger than ever. When Evie jerked and looked at me, I knew she sensed it, too.

The wolf sprung up in human form, broad chest rippling, shaking his head like it was finally clearing. His short, jet-black hair reflected blue in the little light the forest provided and his eyes remained bright gold, as though his wolf still lurked close to the surface.

“Shift!” he barked into the surrounding woods and suddenly a harem of naked women encircled me. Evie still eyed them like they were her next meal. Her whole body tensed and the mate bond slammed into me—a bridge instead of a rope.

She rose on her human legs, her spelled kaftan flaring out behind her, stepping toward the women. “I warn you. I’m going to keep biting.”

The wolves scattered behind their Alpha as more shifters in their human form came forward from the woods. My bear kept his form as she came to stand next to me. She plunged her hand into my fur to hide its shaking.

Did I do okay? she whispered in my mind.

I love you. It popped into her head before I second-guessed anything.

Evie’s large, rounded eyes met mine, and she swallowed hard. Every muscle she had tensed up. I licked her hand and her breath exploded from her lungs.

“We’ll get back to that,” she said.

The Alpha stepped forward, heedless of my deep bass growl. “Thank you. Your venom packs quite a punch, but my head is finally clear after months. How are you able to resist the Goddess’ call?”

“Long story. What about the rest of your pack?” Evie asked. “I don’t have to bite them, do I?”

“I am Alpha.” The others shook themselves like they, too, were waking up. “My will is theirs. There might be some lingering unnatural heat, but we will put it to good use.”

Without my mate, I reminded him.

The Alpha wrinkled his nose. “I’m sure it was the Goddess’ mad call that told me a snake was an acceptable mate and Alpha for the pack.”

I snarled at him, and only Evie’s hand in my fur kept me by her side.

“This deserves a celebration! We will fete you for your service as we move up the Feast of Hymns, and then I never want to see you back here again.”

There was no way I was having Evie around a werewolf mating ceremony. My bear barely contained his snarl at the wolf. We’ll have to pass. You can thank us with mounts.

“Our feed horses will have to do,” the wolf said.

“Like horses they eat?” Evie swallowed hard, hand tensing in my fur. I didn’t want her to show weakness in front of the wolf, but I wouldn’t lie to her, either.

Yes, mate.

Evie turned green. “I can walk.”

She couldn’t. That was clear. We would crawl to Vinguard for the next three months. I had to do a better job of protecting my mate. The stronger bond only magnified the need.

She refused to come into the paddock with me and get attached to any horses they might eat, but I kept her in sight. Testing horseflesh, I found her a Pasafino and an older war horse for myself. The gelding was the only creature big enough to take my weight, but it pained the pack to give him up. The smaller Pasafino was a rare find. With a gait like riding over glass, Evie would be safe with him. I summoned a bit of magic to open a channel and speak the structure of a spell to create some saddles, blankets and bridles. The wolves certainly had none and their judgment was obvious as I got Evie into her seat and I mounted. The Alpha raced alongside us in a fierce display of power and endurance, ensuring we left his territory. There were no goodbyes, only his threatening howl to see us off.

We pushed through the foothills until we came to the Elden Pass. It was slower going as we rode through the rock cliffs. Evie kept up on her mount, talking to him like you would a best friend. I had no right to be jealous of a horse, but after seeing her clutched in the hands of that wolf, my bear thought everything was a threat. I just hoped he didn’t eat the horse in the night. Her horse was the only reason we were making good time to Vinguard.

“I’m in love with this creature. Thank you,” she said after an hour of riding.

I smiled, but my thoughts churned. I wouldn’t show her how much my animal wanted to claim her in every way after that display in town. It would only scare her.

“We can go on a side quest now. Any spooky ruins to check out? A dangerous cliff to climb? I’m pretty sure this horse will conquer it all.”

I sat easily in the saddle, more relaxed, away from the wolves. “Eager now, are we? If your horse is that magical, you should name him. It’s good luck.”

Her look of disbelief was endearing. “What am I supposed to name him? Greg?”

“You can’t name a horse Greg.” How would a human name bring him any magic at all? We would need all we could get on this quest.

“Greg is a perfectly acceptable horse name. What if I have to call him to my side for a rescue? I’m not going to remember Theodmon Kriswenys.”

She was trying to make me laugh at her ridiculousness, but almost losing her to the Alpha wouldn’t leave my mind. “Greg it is, then.”

She hesitated but touched my hand, concern on her face. “Did you want to stay for the festival thing? I thought the relics were a bit pressing.”

I should have reassured her, but blurted out my fear instead. “That isn’t what all shifters are like. I’m sorry he touched you.”

She raised an eyebrow at me, taking back her hand. “Clearly. You’re not like that, even when you were under the influence of the relic.”

My clenched fist replaced the warmth of her palm. “I wanted to be. I wanted you as mine at any cost. Even in that insanity, I would never do anything to hurt you, but it was there.”

She scoffed. “See? You would never hurt me and the teddy bear wouldn’t either. That’s the part I heard, and that’s why I only mildly freaked out instead of running for my life when you said that thing earlier…”

I swallowed hard. “I love you?”

She nodded. “That.” Evie took a deep breath, her back straightening. “You’re not completely wrong that there’s a bond between us. I felt it. I feel it. I can’t say… that back. I don’t distrust you, but I haven’t had the best track record with that stuff.”

She must mean that human, Abner, she mentioned. The human who slept with her sister. The one I had to kill. “You don’t have to. We’ll marry instead. Whatever ceremony you want. If you don’t think we’re mates, I will still bind you to me in any way you see fit.”

She looked at me like I told her the moon was made of rock. “You can’t be serious. I’m a mess over here, and I can’t guarantee you’re going to change your mind if we do anything more sexual than kissing.”

The world went hazy as my pupils dilated. “Is that on the table?” I gripped the reins so tight my beast of a horse shied.

She didn’t look sure of her own answer. “Um… yes?”

“I need you to be sure, viper. If you let me in your bed, I don’t know if I can get out.” I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to make her my mate in every way possible.

Her annoyance was adorable. “If it stops you from saying the word marriage ever again, then… I guess. Yes.”

I would work with that. Her hesitation only fueled my resolve to show her how good it would be as mates. I had enough faith in Fate for the both of us. I would lead us?—

“What in the seven hells is that?”

She finally noticed the Colocolo, beady eyes in their feathered rat bodies, staring down at us from the niches and ledges. They looked relatively harmless until one let out the wail of an infant. She jerked Greg into my mount and I had to rein them both in.

Even with the bond this weak, I sensed her mind scramble to shift. “Come on, snake. Snake me. I’ve only got one monster encounter in me per day.” Her scales rose on her arms, but it faded back. “I can’t do it the other way, either?” she cried.

I wanted to reassure her. “They won’t attack us unless we stop.”

“Let’s put the questing on easy mode, please. I don’t know what the hell those things are and I don’t think I can take a lecture on how they’re only going to eat my soul on Sundays.”

She took her feet out of the stirrups and wiggled on a too-patient Greg. The choice was to either scrape her off the ground in her attempt to get on my horse or catch her. Evie strained as she changed so she could slide up my arms to drape over my shoulders.

“Nothing so dramatic. They just feed on your saliva while you sleep.”

She huffed in a constricting band. Tucking her now face-sized head under my chin, her coils clutched my waist, arm and chest. My bear rumbled in bliss, having his mate so close. I let her fall asleep that way as my mount took us all the way to Vinguard at a faster pace than I would dare with Evie as a human. I didn’t mind. The ride was definitely better on one horse.