Chasing Faete (Beyond the Veil Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Leo looked once again at the traitor, Donovan, as he led them to the site of Erica’s crossing in the direction of the clearing out by the old hunting lodge. He was shocked that it had been their Beta who’d betrayed them, and though his first instinct was along the same lines as Ben’s—to kill him outright for endangering his own mate—his brain knew they needed answers first.

“Tell us, Donovan, where is your brother?”

“I wondered why I hadn’t seen him in two days,” Gabe remarked in between murmuring instructions to the other wolves at his side.

Leo knew that Gabe would be arranging for all the other Alphas in the area to send their own warriors to join them across the Veil. After all, this entire power play of Alefric’s was designed to secure the throne with his own people while starting the enslavement of everyone else. This concerned all shifters everywhere, but that didn’t stop the shock that ran through Leo when Gabe finally instructed Roderick to call the two other shifter groups that lived nearby. Their wolf pack had always been on friendly terms with the bear and cat shifters who lived on Vancouver Island, but nevertheless, they had never called to ask them for assistance in anything. This impending battle was getting more interesting by the minute. Furthermore, the Fae would never suspect shifters other than the wolves, since they were the ones Alefric had challenged, to be called to arms, and therefore, it would be a great advantage for them.

“He’s been missing since the night before Ben and Leo found Erica,” Donovan told them.  “After the pack meeting, Jason called me.  He was supposed to bring April back to the house to meet me within the hour, but they never arrived. Jason later left me a voicemail letting me know that he went back out on patrol after he learned that our mate’s friend went missing. That was the last I heard from him.” Donovan had stopped walking to tell his side of the story, but by the look on his face, the wolf was barely keeping it together at the thought of how long his brother and mate had been in the hands of the Fae. “The King’s guard, Kheelan, called me from Jason’s phone saying that he had both of them and if I didn’t follow their instructions then he would kill them.”

All of the wolves stopped when Donovan fell to his knees in agony, and Leo knew that he would have made the same decision if it had been Ben and Erica in danger.

“I’m so sorry, Alpha. I deserve worse than death for betraying you all,” the man sobbed, “but they are my heart and I could not let them go. Not when there was something I could do to save them. Once they were safe, it was always my intention to find a way through the Veil and kill that son of a bitch.”

Gabe helped the other wolf to his feet and pulled him into an embrace. Leo could no longer feel any hostility coming from any members of their pack. Anyone who was mated had forgiven him already.

“Come, show us where Erica passed though, Donovan. Then we will all go and retrieve the rest of our pack, including your brother and mate.” Gabe grabbed Corrine’s hand tightly as he led their group behind the broken wolf.

Leo was still picking up Erica’s scent when they finally made it to a large clearing, adjacent to a rock face. When Donovan finally stopped in front of the stone, Leo’s wolf began to panic. That was where Erica’s scent abruptly ended. Obviously, this was the point of her crossing. He looked towards his brother and he knew that Ben would charge across into any possible scenario if it meant going after their mate, but they all needed to be smart about this. Corrine was the only one who really knew what lay on the other side of this portal. They could end up directly in the lap of the enemy for all these wolves knew, and that wouldn’t help any of their loved ones.

“Where does this lead to in the Fae realm, Corrine?” Leo asked as he ran his hand along the solid stone. It was almost unbelievable to imagine that it led to another magical place.

“This is the same portal that I came though when I escaped Alefric’s dungeons. It emerges in the forest about a half day’s walk from the palace. It should be safe when we send you through.”

“Leo, Ben, and Donovan, I know you will want to go through right away, but I will need you to do some recon and not immediately storm the palace. I don’t need you three getting yourselves killed because I gotta tell you, right now your best chance is to think like soldiers, not mates. That’s an order,” Gabe commanded before turning to one of his guards. “Roderick, what do you have for me?”

The other wolf had been on his cell phone the entire time since Donovan had started his tale. Leo knew that the pack house must be a flurry of chaos at the moment, trying to coordinate getting in touch with the rest of the local wolves, not to mention the bear clan and the cougars on the Island.

“Alpha, our wolves are coming directly here, and the cougar Alpha is already on his way with about fifty men. They chartered a flight so they should be here within the hour. The bears aren’t fond of flying so they’re—about a hundred of them—taking the ferry. I have no idea where we’re going to fit all those giants!” Roderick rubbed his forehead as though the thought of how to accommodate all of the extra people was giving him a headache.

“That should give us plenty of men to hit the palace. Some of the most skilled and loyal of the original Royal Guard were executed for treason when they wouldn’t support Alefric’s claim on the throne,” Corrine explained as she stepped forward and began to write the gate sigils on the stone with her fingers. “Alefric’s Royal Guard is severely lacking in my opinion.”

“Just remember, Leo,” Gabe said, looking pointedly at him, as if he would be the voice of reason even though he had so much at stake, “no one does anything stupid. We don’t want to alert the scum to our attack. We don’t even know if Erica is with Alefric yet. She may still be planning
her
attack. Get the intel and pull back to the gate until we join you.”

Gabe is right,
Leo thought. If this was going to work, they needed to take the False King completely unawares and end his reign permanently.

Chapter Seventeen

Erica shook off the remnants of disorientation that came when one traveled across the bridge beyond the Veil. She dropped to her hands and knees and took three deep breaths, her equilibrium slowly returning with each one. Finally, pushing away the cloud of nausea that had settled over her, she stood up and looked at the forest around her.

The trees in the Elven realm were large, standing straight and tall, much like the giant pine trees Leo and Ben had pointed out on their journey to Gabe’s. Erica had to breathe through the pain that accompanied the thought of her mates. If she were to dwell on them, she would crumble. She had a job to do, and she was going to have to stay strong to get it done.

Standing tall and throwing back her shoulders, she started walking in the direction of the palace. The day was just coming to an end here. The sun was high in the sky and the air warm, gently scented with the earthy aroma of the forest she had loved to play in as a child. Her father would often tease her that she was more Wood Elf than Fae. The memories of her father steeled her resolve once again, and she hastened her steps.

She figured she wouldn’t have to go far before she was met by Alefric’s guard. He would have been alerted to the bridge opening by now, and since she did not attempt to hide her arrival, he’d send guards to meet whoever had entered the realm. Two hours later, she sensed movement ahead of her and stopped in a small clearing. It took all the control she possessed not to draw her blade. Waiting for capture went against everything in her, but it was all part of her plan.

Erica’s skin crawled when Kheelan strode out of the trees before her, his hair pulled back, his black soulless eyes staring at her with barely constrained glee, but what really pissed her off was the fucker hadn’t drawn his sword. Either he didn’t see her as a threat or he had come with a full squadron. Both options had her seeing red.

“Why, Princess Eyrica,” Kheelan’s voice positively dripped with sarcasm, the inflection in her name slightly different as he used the Fae name she had been born with, “it does do my heart good to see you back in the Elven realm. It certainly makes it easier to hunt when the prey presents itself to me in my own forest.”

Erica smiled sweetly at the asshole, knowing that it would piss him off. His narrowed eyes that were now tinged with red told her it had worked. “Well, there you go again, Kheelan, putting on airs and believing your station in life is higher than it actually is. Remember, your position is on your knees in front of your hideous King, or bent over the nearest hard surface. Being the King’s fuck-buddy doesn’t give you the right to claim these forests as your own.”

Kheelan’s face turned an interesting shade of purple. “You think you’re fucking better than me,
Ittee
? My King and I know that you’ve been spreading your legs for those two fucking dogs, and if my eyes are correct, you actually let those mongrels claim you. Have you no fucking loyalty to your Fae heritage?”

“Loyalty?” Erica snarled. “You dare to question my loyalty in being Fae? Look in the goddamn mirror, Kheelan. You stand beside the man who killed the true King and Queen of this realm. You did his fucking dirty work every time you raised your fists to me because I refused to either fuck or marry your False King. You speak accurately when you say I have slept with two shifters, and hell yes, I let them claim me, as I fucking claimed them! They are my mates as foreseen by one of our own seers and destined for me by the Fates themselves. How dare you question my loyalty?”

Kheelan lifted his arm, and eight of Alefric's senior guards walked out of the woods and surrounded her. “Your parents were defiling our world and our people by allowing shifters to roam free. They are nothing but vermin, and if you have allowed yourself to be sullied by two of them, then it is you who has been disloyal to your lineage.”

Erica turned to look around at the guards, staring each and every one of them in the eye. “Alefric killed your King and your Queen. You were their guards, and you failed them.” It might have been simply wishful thinking on her behalf, but Erica thought that perhaps she saw a flicker of guilt on the faces of one or two of them.

Kheelan drew his blade and stepped closer to her. “Enough. You have come back to this realm, and I can only assume it is because you wish to speak with our King. If that is the case, then hand me your weapon.”

Erica drew her blade with all the speed and skill she possessed, grinning when Kheelan stepped back. “Aw, did I scare you?”

“No,” Kheelan snarled back in denial, as a few of the guards surrounding her looked like they were biting back laughter.

Erica dropped into her fighting stance, right foot back, and balanced on the balls of her feet. She held the sword in a two handed grip and sent her power into the blade, charged it with energy, making it glow an eerie blue, telling all those that surrounded her that she battled with skill and power superior to most. “Do you want me to? Scare you that is?”

  She watched as Kheelan fought an internal battle with himself. He hated that she was calling him out in front of his men, and she could tell that he was itching to engage with her. But his hesitation told her that he had orders from Alefric, and Kheelan surely feared disappointing him.

“You are the one who stepped back into this realm, Erica,” Kheelan pointed out. “You came here I assume to surrender yourself to Alefric, and if that is the case, then drop your damn sword, and we will take you to the palace. You will be heavily guarded but you will get your chance to talk with him, and I have to be honest, he is curious as hell as to why you would have come back.”

Erica stood up gracefully, placing her sword on the ground, and then stepping back away from it with a smile. “That is something you’ll only find out when I talk with Alefric. I’m a lady who doesn’t like having to repeat myself.”

Kheelan walked forward and picked up her sword. As he stood up, he moved with a speed that belied his size and swung the back of his hand across her mouth. Erica’s head snapped sideways and she almost dropped to her knees, but fought to keep her feet firmly beneath her, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fall.

Spitting blood to the forest floor, she flicked her hair off her face and looked back at him. “Let’s not keep your King waiting a minute longer, shall we?”

Kheelan’s gaze narrowed and he turned with a growl, calling for his men to bind her hands. Erica looked up at the two men who stepped forward to tie her hands behind her, and she knew she wasn’t imagining the look of respect that flickered there. The Fae were a race that applauded strength.

Erica stood placidly, holding her arms behind her. Once she was secured, they started toward the palace. Erica felt an odd sort of calm settle over her. Today was the day she would take back what belonged to her. Alefric stood between her and the future she longed to offer her people and her mates, and if the cost of ridding her realm of Alefric and securing the safety of her mates was her life, then so be it. 

Chapter Eighteen

Ben was going to be sick. He dropped to his knees as nausea overtook him. His head began to spin as his insides protested the unnatural state of atoms reshaping themselves to pass through some mystical portal, which very much resembled a bridge. Even his wolf felt it. Once they passed through the Veil, the bridge seemed to materialize out of nowhere. It was made from what looked like a thick felled tree with the inside carved out. Intricate green vines decorated both the inside and out, and some kind of translucent white mist encompassed them as they crossed on heavy footing.

He glanced over at his brother and Donovan, to see them both in pretty much the same state. Donovan was actually busy upchucking whatever he had recently eaten.

“Fuck, that hurt!” Leo groaned as he stood up on shaky legs.

Ben and Donovan grunted their agreement before they, too, stood up and tried to regain their bearings. He could only hope that when the time came for Corinne to bring through the reinforcements that they really would be able to come through undetected and have enough time to recover. Corinne had reassured them that they would enter undiscovered, but Alefric’s guards could be lurking anywhere.

He wondered if the Fae experienced the same pain and discomfort when they passed through and immediately thought of Erica. His wolf growled at the thought of her suffering, even though he still felt the sting of her betrayal. He knew why she did what she did and admired her strength, but they were a trio now. He and Leo would get her back—there was no other option—and she was already forgiven, but she sure as hell would never do that to them again.

“Let’s move somewhere under more cover,” Leo suggested. “We’re too exposed out here.”

The three of them walked deeper into the large forest where there were plenty of thick trees and large rocks to hide behind if need be. Corrine had also been generous enough to provide them with a map of the terrain and pointed out the routes to avoid or take. The main goal was to reach the palace completely undetected, but if necessary they could pass through the areas where sympathizers for the true royal family lurked. She had informed them that none of them would lift a finger to help them being that they mostly just kept to themselves. Wise, since that was probably what kept them off of Alefric’s radar for now. But at least none of them would report their entering the realm either, Corinne seemed confident of that.

When they spotted several guards patrolling near their location, Ben, Leo, and Donovan had to veer off course as Corinne had suggested, and just as she had predicted, the Fae folk who lurked mostly in shadows barely paid them any mind.

Ben couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of the quiet forests. It looked like something out of a fairytale with its bright green colors and strange mist, almost like on the bridge only it shimmered above rather than encompassing them. Creatures he had never seen before, large and small, poked through small openings in between bushes, branches, and rock openings to stare at them as they passed, just as curious about the three trespassers as they were of them.

One particularly large man, as large as a bear shifter in a full shift, stepped out in front of them, blocking their path. Ben, Leo, and Donovan were all pretty large men themselves, but the brute before them stood well over seven feet tall. His features were human-like, though everything from his eyes, nose, hands, etcetera, was exaggeratedly larger. And add to that, he looked like a badass biker with his raven colored, shoulder length hair pulled back in a ponytail, and what resembled tribal tattoos poked out of the sleeves of his shirt. He also sported small symbols on the sides of his neck which were indecipherable to Ben, more than likely because they were in the Elven language. And if he wasn’t mistaken, the larger symbol that began from his cheekbone and ended in a swirl around his eye, appeared to have been moving.

“So much for them not interfering,” Ben mumbled under his breath. The bear man looked poised for a fight.

“I am Ishaya, keeper of the forest. You must pay a toll to pass,” the bear man thundered.

“Oh yeah?” Leo asked, cool sarcasm dripping from his tone as he continued. “What may be the price? But before you answer, you got a deed or something we can inspect to make sure you are said
keeper
of the forest?” He made air quotes when he said the word “keeper”.

“Maybe antagonizing him isn’t the best solution,” Ben said. What he had in mind was more along the lines of pummeling the large man if he didn’t get out of his way soon, scary looking biker dude or not. He didn’t care who he had to mow down to get to their woman. Turning to face Ishaya, he asked, “What’s your price? I got about eighty bucks on me, a few sticks of gum, a debit card, and my car keys, though I imagine you’d have no use for the latter two. I haven’t seen any paved roads, and I tell you, finding an ATM here has been a bitch.” He did not mention the fact that he had several knives and a gun strapped to his body.

Ishaya threw his head back and let out a full blown belly laugh. “I’m just messing with you. Had to see if the mate, or mates, in this case, our princess chose were worthy of her. But I think I like you two. Not quick to fists, but no pushovers either. Hard to miss the fire in your eyes. Who is the oth—”

“You’ve seen her?” Ben interrupted, hearing the desperation in his own voice.

“Yes. I was closer to the main road a little while ago and saw her being escorted by a few guards toward the palace.”

“How did she look?” Leo demanded. When Ishaya lowered his head and fisted his hands at his side, both Leo and Ben let out simultaneous growls. Heads were going to roll, and they were all going to die.

“She had a red mark across her cheek. I couldn’t … I couldn’t…” The large man lowered his head again and shook it. But then he raised it and quickly added, “She held her head high and walked with dignity. She’s the bravest female I know. We will not sit idly by anymore as the scum King tears apart our lands.”

Donovan, who remained silent up until that point, turned to Leo and Ben, a determined look on his face, and asked, “Neither of you had planned to come here just for intel, did you?”

“No,” Ben and Leo said in unison. Ben continued, “We’re not going anywhere without her.” He then turned to Ishaya. “We need your help, big guy. For Erica, for your people, we can’t take the chance of him hurting our mate and us not … not getting to her in time.” Ben took a deep breath, trying to chase away the unacceptable scenarios. He produced the map that Corinne had given them and pointed out the location from where they had entered the Veil. “We need someone to go there and let our Alpha know as much information as you can give him, about the guards, their patrol patterns, and the best way to get into the palace without being spotted.”

“We have secret caves and tunnels that only forest folk know of. We keep them carefully hidden from the guards. Even the King and Queen themselves were unaware of some of them.” He then explained how Erica, as a young child had stumbled upon one of them and used it to sneak out to come play with Ishaya and the forest folk.

Ishaya easily agreed to help them and began barking out orders to someone they couldn’t see, until that is ten more men, some larger than Ishaya even, had stepped out of hiding, followed by several other, much smaller forest folk, and several Fae. One of the bear looking men headed straight in the direction that Ben, Leo, and Donovan had come from. He would apparently be the messenger. The three of them were then led to one of these secret caves. That would be their way in, their way to Erica.

When they entered, Donovan turned toward Ishaya. “Have you seen any other wolves? One who looks like me, but just slightly taller with lighter hair? A girl was with him. A human girl.”

Ishaya tilted his head to the side. “Yes. I saw them a few days ago. They were being dragged to the palace.”

It was Donovan’s turn to growl now. Ben couldn’t help but feel sorry for him despite what he had done. In all fairness, however, Erica would have found her way here with or without his help, even if she had to go through Donovan to do it.

“Wait a moment, a human girl, you say?” Ishaya asked. When Donovan nodded, a cryptic “Hmm,” was all the large man added before leaving the three of them alone in the cave. Ben wondered what that was all about, but they had no time to decipher Ishaya’s meaning now.

“We split up when we get there,” Leo said to Donovan. “Ben and I will go find Erica while you go locate your girl and brother. Don’t do anything stupid, Donovan, you understand me?”

Donovan nodded.

Leo continued. “You find them and free them if you can without attracting attention. If you can’t, then recon, and assume lookout position.”

“What is it, Donovan?” Ben asked when Donovan suddenly stopped walking.

“Erica—she asked me to pass along a message to both of you … in case…”

“She can give it us herself,” Ben snapped. The idea that there was even a remote chance of never seeing her again made him sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to hear a parting message. He looked over at Leo, who seemed to be struggling with the same thoughts.”

“Just know that she loves you and the decision to leave you was very difficult for her.”

Ben already knew that. It would have killed him to leave her behind, especially if he thought he may never see her again. “We know that.”

The three of them picked up the pace, making some more plans until they got close enough to the palace to split up.

It was time to get their pixie and to kill a whole bunch of motherfuckers.