Page 23 of Vengeance and Fire

“We’ve had unwanted guests on Pack Lands the past few days. Mages, Fae, even some of your Dragons, Thaddeus’s Barons. All under the banner of the Fae Queen. She is trying to rally the Shifters to her side. Apparently we needed to be wary of you.” He raises he eyebrows in question followed by a knowing glance.

“How could she have beaten me here already? Damn it.” Cordelia looks down, lost in thought chewing on her beautiful bottom lip. I am sure she thinks she’s already failed, but judging by the Wolves behavior it seems they don’t want what Maurelle is offering.

“She’s been planning this for a while, Cordelia. You are here with a purpose. You got this,” Dravyn speaks up from the back of the group and we all nod in agreement. She is here with a genuine offer. She is here to help.

“Take me to your Alpha, please?” she asks.

“With great pleasure, Queen Cordelia.” Riese turns and leaps into a full shift, when his feet hit the ground, he’s on all fours. He turns his glowing eyes on Cordelia and waves his massive head, for us to follow.

“Show off.” I nudge Cordelia and she laughs.

I will keep her laughing for as long as I can. It’s better than the look of stress and worry she’s been wearing since we left the seers. If I could take it away from her, I would. All we can do is help her shoulder the burden, if she would let us.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

ADRIAN

We follow Reise deep into the woods, about a mile from the town. In his Wolf form Reise can cover more ground than us. Keeping up pace with him is harder on Cordelia. She doesn’t complain but we can feel her fatigue through the bond. It has already been a long day for her. Time moves differently here than it does in Arcadia, by now she would have already slept and headed into a new day. It feels like we’ve been up for two days already. Hell, I am dragging my ass through the trees myself. Looking around at my brothers I see they aren’t faring any better. We all look exhausted.

Cordelia stumbles suddenly on a branch, quickly righting herself with a huff, she continues behind Torin and Gale. Stubborn woman. Something has ignited in her, it is simmering below the surface, and instead of facing it or telling us, she’s chosen to run herself into the ground.

I reach out, running my hand down her back. My touch brings her eyes up to meet mine. “Delia, you’re tired. You want me to carry you?”

As if on cue she yawns, offering me a small smile. “I’m fine.” She waves me away. “Besides, what kind of first impression would I make if I’m carried in to meet the Alpha in your arms,” she says with little bit of a bite behind it. “I’m not weak. Yes, I am tired, but so are all of you. If you can cope, then so can I.” She tsks, turning away from me and charging ahead, clearly irritated. Well, that was not my intention at all.

“Cordelia, baby. What’s going on? No one called you weak,” Dravyn says behind us, but Cordelia doesn’t respond. I know she heard him. I turn around to look at Dravyn, he shrugs, his eyes are narrowed, and brows raised with concern.

“Something is wrong,” he says as we continue to follow the group, falling into step next me.

“No one is going to judge her for being tired, or new to all of this.” I stare at the back of her head, and sigh. “It’s a lot to handle. Maybe that’s the problem. She learned a lot today, I think she needs time to process,” I say, not quite convinced.

“Tell me about it. I’ve lost magic, helped bring her father back to life, and met my not dead mother. All in one day.” Dravyn rubs his hands down his face. “We’ll see how she is in the morning,” he replies as we finally reach the clearing at the edge of the woods that lead to a dirt packed road.

“It’s already morning.” I chuckle, patting him on his back. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for all of us lately. We are literally jumping from one crisis to the next. A reprieve would be nice.

As soon as we reach the road, we see more chalets like the ones in town lined up on either side. Some were nothing more than handmade log cabins, the rough bark gives the homes an earthy authenticity, complete with chimney smoke. The light of the streetlamps intricately placed between every other house casts circular shaped spotlights on the path ahead. You can see wolves who had previously settled in for the night suddenly approach their windows, pulling back lace curtains to gaze at the newcomers. Most of them know Torin, Gale and me. We are no strangers to walking down this road all the way up to the massive three-story log cabin Pack house. This road leads directly back into the town, but no Humans are allowed this far into the forest. There are a few local shops and a general store for Pack use, mainly for wolves who prefer to stay away from Humans completely. It is all one big peaceful community, and it is run with military precision.

“This is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Dravyn said. I can feel his awe and wonder at our surroundings as he takes everything in. From the intensity of her feelings, I know Cordelia is just as taken in by this place as he is.

“Wait until you see the Pack house. See the bonfire up ahead in the distance?” I point up the road, even from here you can see the fire blazing brightly. Dravyn nods his head, giving me his full attention. I realize then that this is the most I’ve ever spoken to him. Not like we’ve had much time to get to know each other, but like me he is quiet, more inclined to observe. I appreciate that about him. It is good to finally have a chance to talk.

“The fire is always lit during the night. It’s a way for the Wolves to come together as a community near the Pack house. It’s their general meeting spot,” I tell him, thinking of the spot we have near the ocean back home where we used to meet as a community inPanlongia. Now, it’s a place of mourning and a memorial to my sister and mother.

“I’ve spent the majority of my life in the shadows alone. Living with lots of people, like this.” He gestures around us, arms stretched wide. “I can’t imagine it. It’s going to take getting used to when we finally settle somewhere.” Dravyn looks straight ahead and continues, his thoughts I am sure are about us. In this moment I realize living in the public eye, as Cordelia’s mate, and not being able to hide anymore, it’s all going to be very different for him.

* * *

“I can’t believe that all this time she’s been right here on Earth. Your mate was here all along.” He points to her, arm extended out in front of him, almost bowing. “My mind is blown. Not much surprises me these days, but you, here, is a treat indeed.” Falyn is an imposing figure, standing seven feet tall, with muscles on top of muscles. His hair is braided to his scalp in a zigzag pattern, and skin as dark as night. He is a charmer, with a kilowatt smile that makes all the ladies swoon. He is also unmated. Of course he made us all growl in warning when he approached Cordelia a few moments ago when she was introduced to him. We are all standing by the bonfire in the middle of the Pack compound surrounded by his Betas. The same Betas that accosted us back in town. I can tell despite Falyn’s booming voice echoing in the night that they are on high alert. Torin and I both eye each other across the fire.

“They are anxious. I wonder what kind of threats they’ve been receiving?”I ask him telepathically, making sure that I include my thoughts to Cordelia, Gale and Dravyn.

“Falyn seems fine,”Gale retorts. He visibly shrugs.

“Look at him. Who would want to mess with this giant of a man? I mean, look at those muscles,”Cordelia says with a hint of humor behind it. We were all internally growling.

“Do you think Maurelle and her pets will return while we are here?”Dravyn asks, his adrenaline spikes down the bond. I know it’s the thought of confronting more Barons or even his father that’s making him respond in this way.

“Cordelia, we will follow your lead. I think the faster we can get this done, the better. I am feeling a bit uneasy.”We all look over at Torin. By this time the Wolves had gone quiet. Falyn looks amused as he watches us communicate silently. He doesn’t appear offended in the slightest because he and his Betas communicate the same way.

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