Liv’s face was a perfect oval, her blue,
almond-shaped eyes framed by thick, curved black lashes. The shade
shifted from azure to steel-blue to deep, sparkling lapis lazuli,
depending on her surroundings, or, even more often, on her
emotional state. Her high forehead, her nose, straight and narrow,
her lips, not too thin, not too full, her chin, her translucent
white skin… all parts of that beautiful head were in harmony. She
was tall, just a bit shorter than my 5’ 8”, with a firm, full bust,
narrow waist, nicely rounded hips and long shapely legs.
And with all that perfection she would’ve
been just another beautiful woman if it hadn’t been for the
elegance of her movements, sleek and smooth like a tigress’, the
tone of her voice, velvety and warm. Her charm radiated from her
complete personality, including her capable mind and sharp tongue,
from her deep humanity and open-mindedness, from the aura of
eternity and something definitive and absolute that surrounded
her.
IN SPITE of our earlier decision, we did talk
about our boys. Well, Tristan was mentioned occasionally. The main
topic of our lengthy conversation was Jack.
We sat at Palatine Hill, waiting for our
order.
I was officially on my vacation leave. That
would mean lots of time with Jack. In spite of the potential
complications that such physical closeness could bring, I was glad
to have the opportunity to talk to him and learn more about the new
life I would soon start.
There were questions, however, that I
preferred to discuss with my friend. A bit of girls’ talk.
“So, what can you tell me about Jack?” I
started with an open question, leaving it to Liv to take whichever
path she liked.
“He’s a good man, Astrid. Smart,
compassionate, honest and brave. Tristan and I met him, well, some
time ago, when we had so much trouble with our own kind. You know
what was going on then; you know the story. The Red Cliffs clan
didn’t hesitate to help us. It was Brian’s decision; he was the
Einhamir then. He, Jack, your father and James were closest to us,
they fought with us, side by side. We became friends. During that
time we became close to your grandparents and some other wizards,
for the same reason: they helped us fight against Warren and his
followers…”
I KNEW the story. It had happened before I
was born, but not so long ago as to become a legend, or a part of
our own folklore. Warren had wanted total control over the
Tel-Urugh population and, through that, over all other kinds,
including humans. He’d regarded humans as a source of food, and
built his case on the fact that the world was overpopulated; that
humans would, eventually, overpower all the other races due to
their great numbers. He had gathered a small but bloodthirsty,
powerful and extremely dangerous army of his ideological followers
and mercenaries, to first eliminate their own kind who dared to
oppose him, and then whoever tried to stand against him.
The ordinary Tel-Urughs had quickly risen
against the ‘Legionnaires,’ as Warren’s soldiers had called
themselves. Feeling not directly threatened by Warren’s plans,
wizards and werewolves initially had decided to stay neutral,
regarding the vampires’ little civil war as their internal problem.
Except some wizards and some werewolf clans, who’d immediately
offered all kinds of support to the threatened vampire population,
honoring the ancient alliances between the three races. The
werewolves had provided a refuge on their sacred grounds. Wizards
had used their power to make vampires invisible to and untouchable
by Warren’s Legionnaires, to secure their houses, to keep them
safe.
My grandfather and Brian Canagan, Jack’s
father, had taken upon themselves the difficult task of convincing
the reluctant wizards and werewolves to side with the threatened
Tel-Urughs. ‘When they finish with their own kind—if we allow
them—they’ll go after us. This is not the Tel-Urughs’ war only,
this is a great battle for our own freedom. If we don’t stand up
against them today, tomorrow there might not be anyone to stand up
for us,’ these were said to be my grandfather’s words.
They did listen to them. There was a great
battle in the end, but the outcome was predictable: Warren’s
soldiers didn’t stand a chance against the united front of
Tel-Urughs, asyngaer and blaidd-dynion, and most of them had been
eliminated.
“SINCE THEN,” Livia said, “Jack’s been like
family. He and Tristan are literally blood brothers.” A gentle
smile brightened her face. “It was Jack’s blood that saved
Tristan’s life, and Ella’s that brought me back,” she finished
quietly.
“What happened? Why don’t I know about
this?”
Liv shrugged. “Unfortunately, you don’t know
many things you should, in my opinion. In short, we were both
gravely wounded. I was one of the most powerful Tel-Urughs and
Tristan was already very strong, but we were grossly outnumbered.
Anyway, Tristan would’ve made it, maybe. I wouldn’t have, for sure.
Never in my life was I closer to the end… Ella slashed her wrists
and let me take her blood. Blood of every humanoid race has its
unique healing properties,” she said with a smile, “and wizard
blood is the most potent of all… Jack gave his blood to
Tristan.”
“And with it, they transferred to you some of
their powers.”
“That does happen when we share blood, and
that’s why the practice is strongly discouraged and heavily
regulated by the Blood Law.”
“Does it cover turning humans to
werewolves?”
“It does. And it’s monitored, so that nobody
abuses it. Fortunately, it also allows us sometimes to save a
life... Now, back to Jack. What else do you want to know about
him?”
“How old is he?”
“Thirty five,” she said, too readily. “He
stopped aging relatively late. Werewolves sometimes do, especially
alphas or other leaders. You need to look a bit older and mature if
you are going to be the boss, right? Who would trust a man who
looks forever in his late teens?”
“Liv.” I stopped her, “I didn’t mean that age
and you know it.”
“Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t. I just want to know.”
“He was born in 1894.”
“Oh.”
Even though I knew I was sitting across from
at least Julius Caesar’s contemporary, I still had to take a deep
breath to let the revelation of dating a man of my grandfather’s
age sink in. But then I saw Jack’s handsome face, his disarrayed
brown hair, his warm, amber eyes with an everlasting smile lurking
in their depths, his muscled body in a tight shirt washed one time
too many and faded blue jeans. I saw his strong and beautiful
hands. I perceived his scent and the warm flow of our bond as if
he’d touched me that moment. And the world, which had seemed
distorted a flash before, resumed its usual shape.
“He’s actually young for a werewolf. He’s
about Tristan’s age,” Livia said as if that was proof of
anything.
“Practically babies.” I snorted and continued
with my veal cutlet. “I’m fine, Liv, really. It’s just a matter of
seeing things from a different angle. You, for example, look
fantastic for your age.”
Liv laughed. “Well, you joined the club three
years ago, if I remember correctly. It’s still unnoticeable to the
naked eye, but you haven’t aged a day since then. That’s why Jack
is under the impression that you are too young.”
“Is he? He treats me like a child
sometimes.”
“Don’t exaggerate. Jack is very aware of your
womanly side,” Liv said. “No, it’s not that. He’s overprotective,
and not only because he’s a werewolf. His human part is also
possessive, but he’s aware of that and he’ll do everything he can
not to squeeze you too much. But that’s something that you will be
dealing with from time to time. He’ll try hard not to make the same
mistake again, but he’ll have relapses, for sure.”
“He was incredibly open-minded when Ingmar
popped up,” I said.
“He was, indeed. Did you know how much effort
it cost him to be so tolerant? To leave his beloved with her ex, oh
boy! But yes, he was fantastic. He also almost broke the table at
Flamingo he grabbed it that hard.”
“What else can you tell me? Come on, Liv, I’m
marrying the guy, I must know. Why did you say he wouldn’t make the
same mistake again? Is that why he went to France? He said it was
some time ago, and for me it still means relatively recently.”
Liv cleared her throat. “He had a girlfriend,
a serious relationship. She was young, and he was quite smitten
with her. She’s quite attractive, I’ll give her that: tall, dark
hair, beautiful face… She was like a raw diamond, a bit unpolished
but beautiful. I didn’t like her, I thought she was selfish and
shallow, but it might be she’s changed for the better in the
meantime. People do change sometimes... Never mind that now. Jack
was ultra-possessive; she rebelled and ended up marrying another
guy. Jack was quite heartbroken and miserable for a while, and yes,
went to France, and then collected himself and continued with his
life.”
“What was her name?” I asked. I needed to put
the name to the face.
“Madeleine Blackwell. They call her Lanni. It
was over long before Jack met you—”
She stopped, detecting the signs of my
distress.
“Astrid, are you okay?”
Boy, that hurt! Jealousy, no matter how
irrational it was, swept over me in hot, raging waves, twisting my
stomach and filling me with pain and anger. An invisible claw
squeezed my heart so hard that I lost my breath. I was hurt and
angry because Jack had loved somebody before, cared for her, kissed
her, made love to her, let her hurt him...
He’s mine!!!
My wolf roared deep
inside me, and I wholeheartedly joined her. I could hear her and I
knew I would remember her this time.
He’s mine!
I hissed in
unison with her.
I won’t let anybody else have him! I’ll never
hurt him. He is mine!
I fought a compulsion to go and find him
and tell him that: “You are mine!”
“Take it easy, Astrid.” I felt Liv’s firm
grip over my wrist, and heard her concerned, fast whisper.
“Darling, please don’t change here, in the restaurant.”
“I’m okay, Liv.” I even managed a tiny smile,
and took a few deep breaths. “I’m okay. You witnessed the bond in
its full power.”
Liv screened me, quickly assessing my
emotional and mental state. “Your eyes have changed color. I
thought for a moment you were going to turn. What happened? I’m so
sorry if I upset you with this story, but somebody was bound to
mention it sooner or later.”
“It’s okay, Liv. I overreacted. It’s
ridiculous, but I was so jealous for a moment.” I shook my head in
disbelief. “Jealous of his past, of something that happened before
I knew him, of everything he gave her. I know it’s illogical and
stupid, I just couldn’t help myself. And the wolf, of course, had
something to say about it.”
“I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No, Liv, it’s okay. I asked about Jack. I’d
have asked about that particular part of his life even if you
hadn’t told me. What else can you tell me about him?”
“He is a great man, Astrid. You are in love
with each other. That’s more than enough for the start. Build on it
and don’t question every word and every move. Relax, Astrid, let it
be.”
I’d frightened Liv with my crazy reaction so
much that she decided not to tell me anything more.
“Okay, where is he now? Have they finished
shopping for tonight?” I said.
“You should be able to see that. I’ve always
been surprised that you’ve actually never wanted to use your
power,” Liv said with an edge in her voice.
“You know that my entire life I’ve been told
not to use it!” I snapped. “All of a sudden, everybody is less than
happy with how I manage my skills!”
“For some reason, Ella and Arnaldur trained
you more how to control your power rather than teach you how to use
it, and then control it. Ingmar thinks the same. You are
undertrained. Your skills aren’t fully developed. Ingmar thinks
that your real potential is enormous—”
“I don’t care what Ingmar thinks.”
I immediately regretted my outburst. “I’m
sorry, Liv. I’ve been edgy recently. The change is coming and I’m
frightened because it seems even more difficult since Jack
came.”
Liv laughed. “Of course it is. He’s been
tickling your wolf. It will be fine, Astrid. Too bad you are not a
Tel-Urugh, I would love to train you... Now close your eyes and
concentrate. Don’t ask that wolf of yours for help. Can you see
Jack? Try to feel him. Try, Astrid.”
I did as she asked, closing my eyes and
concentrating. My mental and emotional sensors searched for traces
of Jack’s scent, his voice and his tall figure. At first there was
nothing. Suddenly an image flashed through my mind, distant and
blurry, as if looking through water. Then the sound of his
laughter. For a split second I saw Jack with his elbow leaning on
top of a wheeled rack full of suits, and Tristan on the other side
of it, laughing.
“They are in Maurizio’s buying clothes,” I
whispered, looking at Liv in astonishment.
“Brilliant! Yes, they are there.”
“It was just a flash.”
“But you saw them. Astrid, you must complete
your training. Talk to Jack.”
“Liv, I’m going to Red Cliffs. Who would
train me there?”
Liv smiled. “Jack will think of
something.”
The waiter came with the bill. I paid for
lunch before Liv, in spite of all her great speed, could reach for
her purse. “Let’s go find us some nice dresses for tonight,” I
said. “And our boys.”
I WANTED a little knee-length black dress.
Liv had a different idea and pulled out a little knee-length
red
dress, tight, long- sleeved, with a deeply scooped
neckline.
“Hmm, lipstick-red. I’ve never had anything
so bold. I’m not sure, Liv,” I said and skeptically stepped into
the changing room.