Sorin snarled, unable to hold it in. Decebel was able to keep him from phasing and had given him the command to stay in his room, but his wolf and even the man was fighting it. She was out there, without him. Unprotected. A Fae.
How was it even possible that a Fae could be his mate? He knew that she could hold her own in a fight, but he was still beyond worried about her. Where had she gone? Elle’s strength aside, the point was that she was his mate. She belonged by his side, under his protection.
Sorin stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes, searching for calm and control. He remembered the scent he had caught when she walked into the bar. She had smelled like raspberries and morning dew. It was the most alluring thing he had ever smelled. And as he thought of it he ached for her.
“Elle,” he whispered into the empty room. Why did she run? Had she felt threatened? Did she fear him?
Peri stepped into the room, Jen and Decebel at her heels.
The Fae took a seat on the end of one of the double beds. She knew it would help placate Sorin’s wolf if she kept herself lower than him. Jen started to sit but Decebel wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.
“If you sit, you are telling his wolf that he is dominant over you. You are my mate, therefore, you are Alpha to him. You have to always be thinking of these things, baby. You become easy prey to anyone who might use your ignorance against you.”
Jen didn’t respond, but let him know she understood what he was telling her. She was glad for the information and glad that Decebel was patient in teaching her things that she should know as an Alpha female, but still didn’t understand because of her newness to this world.
“We need to talk,” Peri said calmly.
Sorin snorted, so un-Sorin like. “You think?”
Go Sorin, Jen thought. Getting some attitude, sticking it to the man.
“Jennifer,” Decebel chastised.
“Sorry, I forget you like to listen to my inner dialogue.”
“How is it possible that a Fae is my mate?” Sorin asked through clenched teeth.
“Well, it’s a new development.”
Sorin waited for Peri to continue.
“Wadim approached Vasile only days ago to tell him the Great Luna had come to him in a dream.” Peri went on to explain everything. While she was speaking, the room grew eerily still.
As soon as she finished, everyone waited for Sorin’s response. Jen beat him to it.
“Shut. Up.”
Decebel stood in shocked silence.
“The Great Luna made this possible?” Sorin asked in awe.
“She has seen how you have struggled as a species, how you have fought amongst yourselves, and now how Vasile and Decebel are trying to unite the packs again. She knows that her wolves are stronger with mates; she knows my people are at the best of times selfish, and at the worst of times complete asses. The Fae have grown complacent in their world behind the veil, uncaring for the needs of other supernaturals. She has created a way to help both species.
“Even though we Fae can tend to be reluctant to assist others' battles, we will not leave one of our own to fend for themselves. Hence, if a Fae is mated to a Canis lupis and that Fae comes under attack, then the entire Fae race will step up to aid the Canis lupis.”
Sorin walked over to the window of the hotel room. He stared out into the darkness, darkness that he had related to for so long. Now, for the first time in his life, he felt a small sliver of light breaking through, just from seeing her face. In her presence he had felt some relief from the struggle that life had become. His wolf was constantly restless, looking forward to the next hunt, the next battle.
“Where is she?” he asked Peri without turning around.
“At the veil that passes into our realm.”
Sorin closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind, searching for the mental bond. Nothing. Turning back around, he pinned Peri with eyes so light brown they looked like glass. They glowed as he spoke and the intensity in his voice seemed to make the temperature in the room drop.
“I need to see her. I need to know she is safe. I need her by my side.” Sorin’s voice was becoming more of a growl as he spoke.
Decebel stepped forward.“We will get her back, Sorin. I need you to stay calm and keep a clear head.”
Jen had never seen Sorin so out of sorts. It was very disconcerting to see someone who was usually so calm and collected begin to unravel. It just proved again how important a male’s mate was to him.
“Give me some time, Sorin,” said Peri. “I will go speak with her. But you need to be patient. This is not the way of our people. She will not understand the intensity of your feelings, nor will she understand your possessive nature. Please understand.”
Sorin interrupted her, and though Jen had never heard Sorin yell, she knew she never wanted to hear it again.
“STOP!” The tension in the room was unbelievable. “Bring her back, Perizada. Just bring her back.”
Jen was impressed that Peri didn’t flinch under Sorin’s unwavering glare.
Peri nodded once and then she was gone.
“What the…” Jen muttered. “That’s just weird,” she said, referring to Peri’s sudden disappearance.
“Are you going to be okay in here, Sorin?” Decebel asked, sincerely concerned for his old friend.
Sorin nodded. “I just need to be alone, please.”
The steadiness of his voice scared Jen almost more than the outburst. She took a step forward, needing to let him know that it would be okay, but she didn’t make it half a step before Decebel once again had a large arm wrapped around her waist.
“Never approach a male who is in that state of mind.”
Jen let out a huff. “Is there a freaking instruction manual or something?”
Decebel chuckled softly as he pushed her out of Sorin’s room, closing the door softly behind them.
~
Elle didn’t jump when Peri was suddenly sitting next to her on the cold ground in front of the veil.
“Planning on visiting family?” Peri asked.
Elle didn’t respond right away and appeared to be gathering her thoughts. Her mind was scattered and she was unsure of how she should feel.
“I know you told us that it was a possibility that Adam and I could be mated to one of the Canis lupis, but it didn’t really sink in until Sorin was standing there calling me his mate.”
Peri chuckled. “They’re intense.”
“That’s really putting it mildly, Peri. I can’t even describe to you how I felt when he looked at me, when he got close to me.”
“Did you feel complete for the first time?” Peri asked knowingly.
Elle nodded. “Complete. And even though I was terrified out of my mind, I wanted him to wrap me in his arms. Even now I’m fighting the urge to return to him. I can feel him. I think if I unblocked my mind, I could even speak to him.”
“Why are you fighting it? You have been around long enough to know that this is not something you can walk away from. He will not give you up.”
“How is he?” Elle asked, genuinely concerned for him, knowing he must be frantic to find her and hurting as badly as or worse than she was.
“He is struggling to keep his calm. Sorin is unusually controlled for an unmated male, but you leaving him high and dry like that has seriously tested that famous resolve.”
“What should I do?” Elle looked at her leader and longtime friend, searching for something in Peri’s eyes, something that would tell her everything was going to be all right.
“Go back to him. Listen to what he has to say and try and realize what a blessing this is, to both of our races.”
Before Elle could second guess her decision, she closed her eyes and told Peri, “Show me.” She was asking Peri to show her where Sorin was.. As soon as she saw it in her mind, she was gone.
Peri looked up into the sky and pushed out her thoughts. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Great Luna.”
&nbs
p; ~
Sorin turned slowly as he felt her sudden presence behind him. Their eyes met, and Sorin felt the air rush out of him, as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He took slow, measured steps until he was standing less than a foot away.
“You left,” he spoke softly, the hunter luring his prey to him.
“I was a little shocked and quite freaked out. And, to be honest, I still am,” Elle squeaked.
“I will not hurt you.” Sorin stared deeply into her unusual, silver eyes.
“I’m not worried about you hurting me. You can't.”
Sorin’s tilted his head as he asked, “Then what are you worried about?”
“I don’t really know you, and now I’m to spend the rest of my life with you, with your pack.”
“Stay with me, Elle. We will get to know one another.”
“Is it really so simple?”
Sorin smiled gently and Elle’s breath caught. She had never really paid much attention, but now, standing before him, watching him intently, she realized that Sorin was beautiful. Not feminine, but definitely beautiful. He wasn’t especially tall, but he was very muscular and held the presence of a dominant. He had short dark hair that was a little longer on top and in back and contained a natural wave. He had a strong jaw line, defined cheekbones, and a straight nose. Everything about him was symmetrical – nothing seemed out of place. In a word, Sorin was classy. Although he looked to be in his twenties, his eyes and maturity said that he was much older.
“It is only as complicated as we make it, Elle, mon amour.”
“You speak French?”
“I speak many languages. But I find that French is very beautiful when one desires to express one’s...complex feelings.”
“So, what now?” Elle looked around the hotel room.
“Now I will ask you for a small indulgence.”
Elle’s head snapped around and her eyes met Sorin’s light brown, glowing ones.
“Indulgence?” she asked nervously.
Sorin nodded once, taking another step towards her, close enough now to feel each other’s breath on their faces.
“My wolf was nearly out of control earlier. I myself have been more unsettled than I can ever remember being. Not knowing where you had gone, not knowing if I would ever see you again...it was dangerous for anyone near me. I would ask for you to allow me to hold you – to feel you safe in my arms.”
Elle could not believe the amount of vulnerability Sorin was allowing her to see in him. She was, in truth, quite humbled by it.
She nodded her consent to him and in a blink of an eye she was in his lap while he sat on the bed. Even though Sorin wasn’t a particularly large Canis lupis, she was so small that she fit perfectly against him. She laid her head on his shoulder and shivered as he ran small, comforting circles on her back. Before she realized what she was doing, she snuggled closer, needing to be as close as possible and not really understanding why. She heard him murmur in French again. Out of all the languages that she knew, it was amusing to her that French was not one of them.
“What did you just say?” she asked, not moving her head from his shoulder.
Sorin pulled her tighter to his chest.
“I said, ‘I have waited so long for you'.” Sorin didn’t want to tell her that he had also said that he would never let her go. She was already spooked enough; he didn’t want to add to her apprehension.
“Is that all you said?”
“It’s what’s important that you know,” Sorin said vaguely.
“I am not so fragile that you can’t tell me the truth.” Elle decided to open the bond that she had been blocking, hoping to show him that she wasn’t going to run again.
Sorin pulled back abruptly to look down at her. She could see the hope shining in his eyes, as well as the compelling way he needed her.
“Have you gotten your markings as well?”
“I don’t know. Where would they be?”
“Anywhere,” he answered seriously. Elle was impressed at his mature ability to pass up the opportunity for a naughty joke.
“Maybe I should check.” She stood from his lap and walked toward the bathroom.
“Let me know if you need assistance,” Sorin told her with a twinkle in his eye.
Ah, there's the man in him, Elle thought.
“I think I got this, Guardian,” She snorted as she closed the bathroom door.
Sorin was taken back that she had called him Guardian. He had not been called that in a long time, though that had been his job when Fane was a child, guarding the future Alpha of their pack. That had been his sole responsibility.
If he were being honest, once Fane had no longer needed him as his Guard, Sorin had felt a little lost as to what his place in the pack would be. Now, finding Elle, he had a purpose again. Behind those bathroom doors he had a future, and for the first time in a very long time he actually felt at peace about what that future held.
~
It was after midnight when Vasile and his group arrived at the Carpathian Mountains. He drove the van down an old road that wound through the mountains, finally coming to stop in exactly nowhere, as far as Jacque could tell. They all filed out of the van, stretching out after the long drive, which had been undertaken with as few stops as possible.
“How are you holding up, love?” Fane asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Jacque laid her head on his chest and soaked in his warmth and scent.
“I’m good as long as I’m with you.” She leaned back and grinned up at him.
Fane chuckled. “That was a good one.”
“I know, right? Good and mushy.”
Fane leaned down and kissed her softly before stepping back and taking her hand in his. They turned to face Vasile and Alina as everyone else had done.
“I know that you all are tired,” Vasile addressed them, “and I don’t think I really made it clear that we will be hiking and sleeping in the great outdoors.”
Jacque held back a groan, barely.
“We are going to hike tonight for about an hour, then we can call it a night. We are going to need to keep our wits about us the deeper into the mountains we go. There are supernaturals that take shelter in this forest and it would be wise of us to not draw their attention.”
“No offense, Alpha, but we have three Alpha males hiking with five females. How exactly were you planning on keeping us incognito?” Jacque asked.
“Good point, Jacque. I did think of that. Believe it or not, we males can think ahead occasionally,” Vasile teased. “Adam should be arriving soon and he will be cloaking us. He said that he might not make himself known to us right away, but would be covering us from afar. In fact, he might already be in place. I trust him to do his best.”
Jacque gave him the thumbs up. “Good call, V. I knew you were Alpha for a reason.”
“So glad I have your approval.”
Jacque looked over at Alina, who was trying to hide her smile.
“He has mastered sarcasm way too quickly.”
Alina laughed. “You have no one to blame but yourself.”
“Oh no, I’m not taking sole responsibility. Jen is probably guiltier than I am.”
Everyone mumbled their agreement as the males began unloading the van and distributing everyone’s packs.
Once everyone was armed with their survival gear, the group set off. Vasile took the lead, with the others following in a single file line arranged so that each female was walking between two males..
They hiked steadily up a path that hadn’t been used in a very long time. Jacque looked into the dark forest around them and, as usual, was shocked at how well she could see. Having her wolf surface had some serious pluses.
She felt the cool night breeze blow on her face and shivered when she sensed something unnatural and unsettling that she just couldn’t place.
Crina, who was walking behind her, whispered, “Do you feel that?”
Jacque nodded. “It feels like we’re being watched.”<
br />
“Exactly,” Crina agreed.
“Fane, do you feel it?” She reached out to him.
“Yes, it’s putting my wolf on edge.”
“Rachel, do you sense anything?” Gavril asked her quietly, but aloud so that the others would know.
“I do, but it doesn’t feel evil.”
“The pixies aren’t evil,” Vasile said from the front of the line. Everyone’s sensitive ears, even Rachel being a dormant, were able to hear him just fine. “They are neutral until they choose a side. They might decide to test us, so keep your eyes and ears open.”