Page 49 of Cultivating Caden
Chapter 13
“Josiah, where are you going?”
“Out.”
“But you’re supposed to be watching me.” There was a hint of whine to the voice. “Mom said you couldn’t leave.”
The scene was old, Quade could tell by the way they were dressed in skins and leather, but the words were current. He stood as an observer, watching the interaction between two boys, obviously brothers, with their dark hair and gray eyes. The visions stirred discomfort in Quade, as though he was seeing a long-forgotten memory that he knew would end badly.
“Look, bro. I’m totally going to get her tonight. We’re going running under the moon, and as soon as we shift back, I’m gonna nail her.”
The boy winced at his brother’s vulgarness. The boy liked Marissa a lot. She was the daughter of their shaman. A pretty girl, with dark hair and almond-colored eyes. True, she had a rough streak, and her language would probably make any sailor who came to their harbor town blush, but she also could be gentle. She used to sit with him and tell him a story she’d heard. She’d do the funniest of voices when she got to the part of the giant and the boy from the beanstalk.
His brother ran a hand over his hair. “She’s gonna be sweet, let me tell you. She’s cherry, you know.”
No, he didn’t know. He had no idea what that even meant.
“There’s nothing like that first time. They scream and cry and fight you. It’s incredible.”
His brother stood, an enormous tent in his pants. The boy looked away, embarrassed.
“You should come with us. Get your first fuck, finally be a man.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, once I’m done with her, you can have a shot.” He cuffed his brother on the shoulder. “Do you good to get a little pussy for a change. You have to be tired of your hand by now.”
His brother was talking about rape? He was going to hurt Marissa, and he was laughing about it and telling the boy he could take part. The kid was horrified.
“No!” He turned and started to run toward the door, needing to get away. “I’m going to tell Mom.”
His big brother snarled, grabbed the boy by the shirt, and lifted him off the floor, then slammed him against the wall. He got close, and the boy could smell the alcohol. His brother’s eyes glinted with what the boy could only describe as evil. “Listen to me, you little bastard. You breathe a word of this to anyone, and you’re going to be next. I don’t give a damn if you are a boy—you’re probably just as tight as she is.”
His brother had always been mean, sometimes violent. But now? The boy was afraid of him and promised he’d stay quiet.
That night when his brother left the house, the boy followed. His smaller legs had trouble keeping up with the older wolves as they ran, but he did his best. Still, he fell behind. By the time he caught up with them, his brother was already rutting with Marissa, and she was screaming and crying, begging him to stop.
The boy made a split-second decision and charged his brother, throwing himself at him and knocking him off Marissa. She scrabbled back, tears in her eyes. He was hoping she’d run and get help, but she sat there sobbing and covering herself as best she could with the scraps of clothing she had on.
Before he could shift back and tell her to run, his brother’s wolf was on him. The boy had no chance against the much larger wolf and knew he was going to die. When big jaws closed over a small neck and crunched through bone, the lights went out and the boy was left in silence.
Covered in blood, his brother went back and attacked Marissa again. He tore at her body, biting and snapping at her, until she, too, went quiet. He then stood, shifted back to his human form, and fled into the forest. The boy waited until Marissa’s soul stood with him, and then they turned and walked together into the moonlight.
Only….
Marissa moved through it, but the boy was unable to. He was drawn back to his brother. He watched as he stood there and told of an attack. How he’d tried to fight off the other wolves, but they were too strong and there were so many. He cried over the deaths of Marissa and the boy, but the boy knew the truth. His brother had murdered them both. Still, he could do nothing but watch as the clan gathered and prepared for war.
He stood as a silent witness to the carnage as clan fought clan, women and children were cut down, and the men were taken and hanged, their bodies mutilated. The horror was like nothing the boy had ever seen, and through it all, his brother smiled.
Time passed and his brother grew in his power. He challenged the First to a fight for leadership and easily killed him. Then he began to take over other, more peaceful clans, absorbing them into his. He taught them the ways of war, and blood continued to be spilled.
Then, in his hundredth year, his brother finally died. He lay panting harshly, surrounded by the women who had given him the poison, swearing retribution against them. When he took his last breath, the moment the boy had waited nearly a century for finally arrived and his brother’s soul stood there, waiting for judgement. The boy rushed forward and grabbed his brother, holding him tightly. True, physically he had been no match, but after nearly a century, his spiritual powers had grown. He dragged his brother down into the pit, kicking, screaming, pleading. Just as the boy had. Just as Marissa had. And the boy felt not one bit of guilt.
When the demons came and claimed his brother’s soul, he expected them to turn on him as well, but a light from above shone on him and a hand reached for his. He looked up and saw Marissa smiling down at him. She lifted him up into the light, and the two walked off together, waiting for the time when the elders of the sky saw fit to return them to the world once more.
Warm tears skidded down Quade’s cheeks as the images seared into his mind. Ten stepped back, pale and shaking, before he collapsed on the bed.
“That boy was you. Well, you more than a hundred years ago. Yes, your people have always had a rough edge, but they were also capable of love and kindness, art, music, and so much more. One person was all it took to pervert it and drag the tribes into chaos. You wouldn’t believe me when I told you, and I knew showing you would hurt, but you had to see. Maybe you can finally embrace your wolf. The two of you fit together as one piece, but neither was willing to give up control. You were supposed to realize both of you were in love with Caden, and it was going to awaken you to the truth. Now that won’t happen.”
