Illusions: Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Seekers Book 1) (12 page)

“I…I shouldn’t speak of such things with a stranger,” said the man. “Particularly one who appears to have been listening in on my conversations without my knowledge.”

“So come in and stop being a stranger,” replied Rohan, gesturing for him to enter the house. Paxx walked in, looking around for some any evidence that the place posed a danger and found none.

“Tell me what it is that you want with me,” said Rohan.

“Straight and to the point. Good.” The other man turned to face him. “My name is Paxx, and I have come here at my own peril. We—the Guild—recently took a young woman from around here. Her name is Circe, and I have no doubt that you’re aware of the news.”

“I am.”

“I want to help her to escape. I should inform you that yes, I also wish to take down the Guild from within, to free other women and to ensure that no more will be taken. And I hope that I can count on your help for that. There are few around who are as powerful as I suspect you are.”

“That all sounds like a tall order, and I’m no mercenary. But I’ll consider it. You and I have a common interest, it seems. I intend to help free Circe, for her sake and for her sister, Serafina’s.”

“Good. Because I have one other request.”

“Which is?”

“I wish to engage in the Ritual with the Lady Serafina, and with you.”

Rohan was surprised and yet the words hit him gently, as though they made sense, somehow. It had been a while since he’d given thought to a potential other mate for Serafina, and this man had his appeal: there was a nobility in him, integrity and strength. He and the man he’d been with had seemed to want to do the right thing, to protect women, to take down a corrupt organization. This was the sort of man who would prove worthy.

“I would like to say yes, but you’re asking for something that I can’t deliver,” Rohan said. “I don’t own Serafina. I have no claim over her or her body and cannot offer her to you, or even to myself, for that matter.”

“I understand that. But I should tell you that…I saw you. Last night, in the field. I know that you two have been together already.”

“You watched the ceremony?” Rohan felt himself tense at the thought, more for Serafina’s sake than his own. So this was the man whose scent he’d detected afterwards, in the woods. Of course; it was so familiar. But as for Serafina, what would she think if she knew?

“So then you know that she didn’t see my face. She has no idea that I was her partner, and I am not really supposed to be talking to her, though I’ve already broken that rule in order to offer my help.”

“I realize that she didn’t see
you
. But I am of the same blood as you. I know what happens when there is such a bond created between a shifter and a human. If I know nothing else, I can tell you that she is yours now, whether she admits it to herself or not. She wants you just as you want her. She may not know why or how this has happened, but you are now two thirds of a whole.”

Rohan sat down on one of the wooden chairs in his small, borrowed house. “She is not mine. I wish she were, but…”

“I realize that things are complicated at the moment. And regardless of the outcome, I will help to free her sister. So long as you promise to consider my offer. I understand that you and I are strangers and as far as you know, I’m just another man seeking power, with no intention of fulfilling my end, of being a loyal and protective mate. But I can assure you that I’m nothing if not loyal to the core. The Guild is run by corrupt shifters, led by a Sorceress who is up to no good. But I believe strongly that we can overthrow them. After Circe is freed, of course. Her safety is the first priority.”

“Fine,” said Rohan. “I will help you in any way that I can. But Serafina’s body, as I said, is hers alone. I am not willing to make demands of her. If she tells me to leave forever, I will do so. And you need to respect her traditions and her wishes as well. If ever I see a man attempt to force himself on her or any of her fellow Aspirants I will kill him, no matter who he is. Understood?”

“Of course,” said Paxx, smiling. Rohan was proving himself worthy, just as he’d expected. Here was a noble shifter, one of the Old Blood and the old ways. Where he’d come from was still a mystery, but it felt for a moment as though a knight had come walking out of an Arthurian legend and settled in near Salem, a protector of the oppressed. He was a man to look up to; one that his brother Phist would admire as well.

And Serafina—she was a queen among women, a goddess. Paxx had never beheld any female who’d caused his body to react as she had, pure lust coursing through him. A desire to claim her, to pleasure her, to explore the depths between her legs as he’d watched Rohan do.

But he knew that Rohan had only been fulfilled temporarily. It was in his blood to perform the Ritual as well; to engage with a woman and another man, the three of them creating an indomitable force. One which would ignite powers within each of the three.

Rohan had given Serafina a gift the previous night and in return he’d no doubt enjoyed some serious pleasures of the flesh. But his powers would only come into their full essence when he’d been through his own people’s rite. He could shift, but with her help, he might learn to do much more.

“Think about my proposal,” said Paxx. “I spoke to Serafina not long ago, in town, and told her that I wished to help. It’s my hope that she believed me. And if she trusts you, and if you do as well, perhaps we’ve opened up the possibility of a union.”

“It’s not so simple as that,” said Rohan. “This is not my home. I don’t necessarily intend to remain here, and I would want my partners, my mates, with me…”

Paxx studied the man. “I don’t know your powers,” he said. “Or your déor—it’s difficult to pinpoint. But I knew immediately that you were of the ancient blood. You have that look about you, and you are entirely different from those who lead the Guild. But that’s precisely why we could use you here. This country is off to a bad start, if the
waergas
—the cruellest of the shifters—are intending to spread their seed, to take the lands over. You know as well as I that they will be the most powerful beings around if no one puts a stop to this madness. They will rape and pillage until they possess the entire nation.”

Rohan found himself wishing that he could import his family and burn the Guild’s compound to the ground. A few dragons would show this Guild who the true boss was.

“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “And so of course I will do what I can to help. It’s certainly not in my nature to desert defenceless people who are about to be run down by a herd of thugs. If you’ll come with me now, I’ll bring you to Serafina. We can discuss the matter with her.”

“Thank you,” said Paxx.
“Brother.”

A
s Rohan guided
Paxx to Hedy’s house at the centre of the village, the two men got to know each other a little. It was early yet for Rohan to divulge his own origins, but he did explain that his family was rather impressive.

“My twin sister is one of the most powerful shifters I’ve yet encountered,” he said. “But you’d have to meet her to believe her.”

“I would like to, someday,” said Paxx. “In so many ways it’s unfortunate that Phist and I grew up in this environment, where our kind is either hated or feared. It sounds like your family is well loved.”

“They are that,” smiled Rohan. “They’re known protectors and will continue to abide by their own laws as long as possible, guarding anyone who’s been treated ill.”

“Then it’s fitting that you’ve come here. We need you more than you know.”

As they walked, Ealdor’s wooden doors squeaked open, women’s faces staring at the two broad-shouldered men from within their homes, dumbfounded. By now the news had spread about Circe’s abduction, and no doubt one or two of the Sisterhood members wondered if this was to be another kidnapping. But something in these men didn’t seem to fit the bill; they looked too determined, somehow. Too present, too obvious as they made their way to Hedy’s. Besides, who would steal a
Crone
from her home? The Guild only seemed to want young women.

Rohan knocked at the door, looking around uneasily at all the sets of eyes fixed on him. No doubt some of the women were quietly pondering their capacity for spell-casting.

Hedy opened it, unsurprised to find the two men before her. Silently she invited them in, sealing the door behind them.

“Is Serafina here?” Rohan asked.

“She is,” said Hedy quietly. “In her room. But please tell me who this is with you.”

“I’m Paxx,” said the man. “I met Serafina a few days ago, at a town meeting. I offered my help then and came today to renew my offer.”

“You are in the Guild,” said Hedy.

“Yes.”

“So you’ll forgive my skepticism. No Guild member has ever offered help.”

“No Guild member has ever had the courage to come to your village,” said Paxx. “Unless commanded to do so.”

“Fair enough,” said Hedy, throwing her hands up. She knew that he spoke the truth, and that he meant well. But somehow it didn’t seem right to encourage these young men to wander about the village as though it was their home. “Sera,” she called. “You have visitors.”

In her room, Sera had been crafting stones: the rune of imprisonment. The rune of escape. The rune of heaviness, lightness. Each had its use, but whether they would work was up in the air.

She laid them down gently and walked into the living room, wearing a light blue dress which enriched the blue-green of her eyes and highlighted the golden curls of hair that fell about her face and shoulders.

“Hello,” she said.

Paxx stepped forward and bowed; a strange gesture for the time, but to Rohan it seemed appropriate. Serafina was a goddess, after all. That, he knew better than anyone else. She even
tasted
like a goddess.

To Sera, the sight was overwhelming: these two men in one place, their eyes locked on her. Inside, her emotions flipped themselves over, rational thought and impulse in conflict as her body reminded her what she would like to do to both of them, her mind recalling that she was now a fully-developed member of the Sisterhood. Sexual bonding was a thing of the past.

“I wish once again to offer my help,” said Paxx, taking her hand gently. The gesture, while innocent enough in and of itself, made Sera blush, pulling her fingers away from him as a series of aftershocks trickled down her spine.

“We both do,” said Rohan, not entirely competing with Paxx, but not remaining entirely complacent, either. “Paxx is a Guild member, as I think you already know.”

“Yes,” said Sera.

“He can give you invaluable information about the Guild’s headquarters, about the guardians, their strengths, weaknesses. Perhaps between the three of us, we can break Circe out.”

Sera’s face lit up. “That would be wonderful,” she said. “I’ve wondered if I can manage alone. My skills have improved, since…” She stopped before mentioning the Bonding. The men, of course, weren’t supposed to know about these things. “Since Circe was taken,” she said. “I’ve been working.”

“Good,” said Rohan. “Perhaps it’s time for us to draw that map of the compound.”

“Yes, that would be fantastic,” said Sera. “I’ll get some paper.”

“It’s already done,” said Hedy, laying down parchment and a quill and ink, having anticipated the next step.

Paxx sat down at the table and began to draw what looked like a floor plan: a long building with entrances at either end, corridors at right angles throughout, leading to various rooms. Down one corridor, on the second floor, was a series of small cells.

“This one is where they’re—we’re—keeping Circe. My brother, Phist, is keeping a close eye on her. He is on our side, and very protective. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Thank you,” said Sera. “And so, how many men do we have to contend with?”

“There are one to two men on each entrance. One man guarding the cells. He has the keys.”

“We won’t need those,” said Sera. “I have runes for such things.”

Rohan eyed her, admiration written all over his face. He’d never met someone like this, who seemed to create her own abilities, rather than come by them genetically. As though her mind were her déor, developing as time went by.

A knock at the door interrupted them for a moment as Hedy went to answer it. An inquisitive-looking older woman stood in the doorway, and Hedy pulled it shut behind her, locking herself and the woman away from the conversation.

“Now that we have you alone, Serafina,” said Paxx. “There’s something that you ought to know. The women that are taken—it’s for a reason, other than a simple show of strength.”

“Yes. Rohan told me something of the Ritual last night,” she replied. She’d thought of it as she’d drifted to sleep; of her naked body, mingling with theirs. Of a mouth caressing each nipple…

“The Ritual gives men powers, which you know,” Paxx continued. “And gives women powers, as well. the Sorceress, for instance.”

“The Sorceress?” said Sera. “Who is that?”

“You don’t know?” said Paxx.

“Know what?”

“She is mated to our leader, Crow, and to a man named Mace. She basically heads the Guild now.”

“What does this—Sorceress—look like?”

“She has long, red hair and dark green eyes. If she weren’t so utterly ruthless she’d be quite pretty, I should think.”

“Of course,” said Serafina, the words coming out in a breath. “Melina.” She recalled the young woman’s face from the Bonding ceremony; those eyes, that wicked smile. “That’s what she’s been up to.”

Everyone had known that Melina had left for a man, but if she’d found one of these shifters—one of the powerful ones—that meant that she was dangerous. If she’d undertaken the Ritual, she would be the most powerful woman around; more so than Sera herself, and more even than the Crones.

“Is this why they want my sister?” she asked. “For one of these Rituals?”

“Yes. And no. The Guild wants
you.
They want you to come to them willingly, to trade your body for Circe’s. They want you to bond with their own, to mate with two of them.”

Sera let out a bitter laugh. The thought was absurd; she would do anything to save her sister, but the notion that she would willingly give her body to two men she’d never met, who had threatened violence against her sister, was madness. “That will never happen,” she said. “Anything that happens to my body is according to my will. I will never allow them…” She interrupted herself. After all, she’d engaged in the Bonding. She’d given her body over to a man who was meant to be a stranger. Would it be so different?

Yes, it would.
The difference was that the Guild was made of cruel men. She wanted nothing to do with them. It was one thing to have the Crones select a mate for her; having two strangers force themselves on her was entirely different.

“If it’s the only way to get Circe back, I will do anything,” she said. “But I would sooner run at them with knives and torches and try to take the building down myself. I cannot give myself over to them. If they take me by force, so be it. But I will never bond with any of them; not really.”

“There is a way around it, short of your torches and daggers,” Rohan said quietly, looking at Sera from under his mane of hair. “If you were to engage in the Ritual outside of the Guild, they would have no claim to you. They cannot take a woman who has already mated in that way. It is against the rules to break such a bond, and besides, they would have nothing to gain from such a thing. Once you’ve performed the act, you’re mated for life. Your powers mingle with those of your partners and your children, but no one else. You would be safest to mate with men who would devote themselves to you, to your happiness and protection.”

“What are you proposing?” Sera felt a mix of horror and arousal as she contemplated his words. She knew his meaning, deep inside. She knew that he was suggesting that she take both Rohan and Paxx, make love with them, lie with them in a bed, allowing them to penetrate her, to pleasure her. And the very concept aroused her to the point where she needed to sit down.

“I think you know,” said Paxx, his voice soft, tender. “Rohan and I would be kind, gentle. Rohan is a powerful shifter, skilled, experienced. And though I have not yet come to my own powers, mine would enhance yours—and his—further. I would protect you from harm. And I would be kind.”

“I cannot,” she said. “I can’t do that. It’s against the rules. I’d be expelled from the Sisterhood.”

“Yes,” said Rohan. “I suppose you would. But you would be strong; able to save Circe. Able to help the Sisterhood from the outside. And you would have two devoted men by your side, always.”

“Always?” What did he mean? For the Sisterhood, the Bonding was a one-night affair. His voice dictated that he was speaking of eternity.

“Yes. We shifters cannot mate without forming a bond which is unbreakable. And so the Ritual is a sacred rite, joining three beings for life. Only death breaks the bond.”

“Does no one ever find that they don’t want to remain together?”

Rohan laughed, thinking of his sparring fathers. “Sometimes it’s difficult,” he admitted. “But then, it’s far from a traditional marriage. Most males have duties, as do the females. It is rare to find three who spend all of their time together.”

“I see. And tell me, if one of your kind mates with a woman alone—outside the Ritual—is a similar bond created?”

She hardly dared look at Rohan’s face as she asked the question. What had she done to him? Had she injured him? The sacrifice that he had made in offering his body, his powers, to her, had been greater than she’d known.

“A bond is created,” he said. “And it is very painful to sever it. But it
can
be severed if necessity calls for it. You must understand the loyalty of men such as us. Once that bond exists, a man will do anything to help the woman with whom he’s mated—made love—however I should put it. A man will protect her with his life, as she is a part of him.” With that his eyes went to hers, and he felt his skin grow hot with the thought of how much he’d grown to care for her in the short time since they’d met.

She felt it too, this chain linking them together. And now Paxx wanted it extended his way. This explained her body’s reaction to him when she’d first seen him; somehow, she’d been pulled towards him, even though logic had dictated that she should push him away.

Every biological aspect of Sera wanted to grant the men the wish. Even now she felt a sweet ache between her legs, her body preparing itself for the men, her mind envisioning what it might feel like to take them both into herself at once. She recalled the instant when Rohan had first entered her, his engorged cock driving into her channel as she cried out in delight. To have two such men making love to her…

Placing her palms flat on the table, she rose.

“I cannot,” she said. “I’m sorry. I would like to help you in any way that I can, but I simply can’t do that.”

“It’s all right,” said Paxx, masking his disappointment. “We would not want you to feel obligated in any way to us. And we will find a way to free your sister. But we must do it soon. I need to return to the compound, or they’ll grow suspicious. Melina is clever; she can work out the goings-on in a man’s mind, even if she can’t read thoughts directly. I will have to invent a story to tell her where I’ve been.”

“I’m sorry,” said Sera, and she truly meant it. “I wish that I could give you what you want.”

“It is not what we want, unless it’s what
you
want,” he said, putting a hand on her arm. “A true man does not make demands of a woman. Unless you give yourself freely—unless it’s what you want most in this universe—I would never take from you. Not so much as a kiss.”

Her eyes met his. For the first time she noticed how bright and alert they were; like those of an animal. But kind too, as though all the world’s empathy were locked up within them. Paxx lived up to his name; here was a man who wanted everything to work out, to be for the best. He wanted to save her sister and to free the world of the shackles of the Guild.

And yet, she was unwilling to make the sacrifice that he wanted. All her life, Sera had waited for her coming of age, to develop her powers, to become a woman like Hedy, who could subsist independently, to be strong.

She couldn’t give all of that up because of an urge between her legs; it made no sense.

He would understand. But as he walked through the door, moving by Hedy and her neighbour, Sera watched him, wondering if she’d just made a huge mistake.

“I should go too,” said Rohan. “I will come back tomorrow, and we should make our move. The Guild will want to come for you soon, but we need to advance before they do. We can’t put the village at risk.”

“I understand,” said Sera, whose voice was breaking under the weight of it all.

“Serafina.” Rohan’s voice caressed the air like a feather floating on a breeze. She looked up at him as she slumped into a chair. “You will know what is right, one day soon. And if it’s not right for us to be together, I will leave and go back to my home. There is no reason for you to feel remorse for your decision.”