Maiden's Wolf (In Deception's Shadow Book 3) (19 page)

Beatrice shifted
in her chair restlessly. It wasn’t that the chair was uncomfortable, but if she
couldn’t get up and stretch her legs she was going to lose all feeling in them.
Candlemarks of sitting tended to do that.

They’d shared a
great deal of the history of the Twelve with her. More than she could possibly
remember, but to be honest she was more interested in the current dangers than
in the origins of the Twelve. The important bit was that the Twelve were reborn
in times of trouble to restore balance and destroy evil.

It was clear
they’d been reborn this time to deal with the acolytes.

And as each
individual member merged their magic with the others, the entire group became
far stronger.

Presently Crown
Prince Sorntar was using mind speech to relay what they discussed with his
parents who were even now mustering an army with the help of the lupwyn rulers.
By tomorrow morning, they would arrive by Gate with an army of Elementals at
their heels.

While she waited
for the phoenix to finish his report to his elders, Beatrice allowed her eyes
to wander. Luxurious tapestries formed the inside ‘walls’ of the pavilion.
Thick, plush carpets lined the floor and ornate wood furniture that matched the
table she sat at gave it the feel of a royal suite. Clearly, even though both
santhyrians and lupwyns were nomadic peoples, they liked their creature
comforts.

Her eyes wandered
to the right where Silverblade had seated himself. On his other side sat Autumn
Shadow. Ashayna, Councilor Tav, and Sorsha were seated across from them. With
Shadowdancer standing at the one end of the table and Sorntar at the other.

Sorntar stood
with his head bowed, unmoving as he communicated with the Council of Elders
over a vast distance Beatrice couldn’t really comprehend. While the phoenix
might not have moved so much as a feather, the same couldn’t be said of the
Falcon Staff he held in one hand.

The talisman was
as tall as Prince Sorntar, its shaft made out of a glossy dark wood. Spaced at
even hand spans apart were wide gold rings that glowed to her mage sight. Some
ancient language she did not know was etched into the bands, likely telling
something of importance. But that wasn’t what kept her gaze wandering back to
the staff.

It was the
staff’s namesake, a life-sized falcon made of gold that had her studying it.

The jeweled eyes
caught the light cast by the mage globes where they floated near the pavilion’s
high ceiling. Depending on how the falcon moved, a rainbow of colors would
reflect across the table’s polished surface.

Made of metal and
magic, the falcon was clearly spell work of the highest order. It fit with her
idea of what a talisman should be. What came as a surprise was the very real
spirit housed within the talisman. Her healer’s magic told her this being was
ancient, powerful and wise, but totally foreign at the same time.

As if sensing her
regard, the falcon stopped preening her metal feathers and fluffed them once
before settling them back in place and turning her sharp gaze upon Beatrice.

Disconcerted,
Beatrice looked away.

Out of the corner
of her eye she spotted Sorntar look up and give his feathered crest a little
fluff not unlike the staff had moments ago.

“My mother will
continue to gather the army and be ready to move it into place at our order.
She’s leaving it up to us to best decide how to get to General Stonemantle and
determine if he or his senior officers have been corrupted by the acolytes or
not. If he is not tainted, she would like to include him.”

Ashayna nodded.
“He is astute and never has trusted the acolytes. If we give him solid evidence
that they are slaves to a demon, he will do everything in his power to
eradicate the danger that has taken root in River’s Divide.”

Silverblade
leaned forward. “We can’t blindly assume he is untouched by the acolytes. More
of them have been arriving by ship. Their numbers may now be enough that they
grow bold enough to start making slaves of others that are not acolytes.”

The Falcon
Staff’s strange, hollow voice echoed softly around the tent. “That is why the
Hunter and the Healer will shortly return to the city of River’s Divide in
their disguises of herb witch and trapper. Together you stand the best chance
to learn if General Stonemantle can still be trusted.”

“I serve the
Twelve gladly,” Silverblade said, but his expression turned guarded. “However,
I will need time. My Larnkin is recovering thanks to Beatrice’s care, but I am
still unable to shapeshift.”

From his other
side, Autumn Shadow addressed the table. “Your pack bonds must be restored
before such a dangerous undertaking.”

“It would be
best, but there is not enough time, not if Beatrice and I are expected to leave
on our mission within a few days. Besides, the strength of the pack is not what
will be needed during this mission. Stealth, not strength, will serve us
better.”

“Truth,” the
Falcon Staff agreed and Beatrice felt Silverblade relax beside her.

He’d been tense
all day, ever since he’d had that argument with Autumn Shadow.

The female lupwyn
looked toward the Falcon Staff. “Did I misunderstand what you asked of me last
night, then?”

“You did not.”

“I still don’t
understand.”

That made two of
them Beatrice decided.

Beside her,
Silverblade stiffened again.

The Falcon Staff
shifted on her perch and looked between Beatrice and Silverblade. “Autumn
Shadow explained this to Silverblade earlier, but he has been remiss in sharing
it with you.”

“None of you have
given me time,” Silverblade said bitterly. “I would prefer to explain this to
Beatrice alone, if you would give us a moment.”

“No,” the Falcon
Staff replied. “Circumstance has not dealt you a pleasant task, but you will do
what you must. The acolytes’ master has given us no time to worry over bruised
feelings.” Jeweled eyes locked upon Beatrice’s then. “For the first time, the Hunter
has been separated from his pack. That has never happened before. As his title
implies, his greatest power is to find what is lost. In this case we need him
to find the other Talismans, but like all lupwyns, his power is tied to his
pack. Once his pack ties are restored, his power will flow down the links to
each member of his pack. While the Hunter may only be able to be one place at a
time, if he orders members of his pack to disperse and use his power to seek
the lost Talismans, his reach will greatly increase.”

“I can see how
that power will be greatly needed, and I understand why we don’t have much
time, but surely if Silverblade and I are allowed to heal his pack bonds…”

“No.” The metal
falcon hopped from her perch and walked across the table. “If you and
Silverblade mate, he will be bonded to you instead of his pack. I am sorry. I
know this will be difficult for you both since the Healer and the Hunter have
always been mates in the past. But this lifetime we are all at a disadvantage
and are required to make sacrifices. After he has forged new bonds with Autumn
Shadow, he will again be alpha of his pack and be free to resume his
relationship with you without risk. I am sorry. Long, long, long ago, I was
once flesh and blood. I still remember the pain of heartache.”

The Falcon Staff
gave a little bob of her head and then flew back to her perch. Sorntar shifted
uneasily as if he didn’t know what to say into the silence.

Beatrice couldn’t
speak past the lump lodged in her throat, and Silverblade was a silent, angry
presence at her side.

Of course he had
to forge new pack bonds. It would take every advantage they could get to defeat
the acolytes. What the staff had said was purely logical. Why then were tears
gathering along her lashes? Oh, yes, because as much as she was this Healer and
wielder of some great and horrible power, she was still a woman, with a heart
made of flesh and blood, not cold unfeeling rock.

Sorsha stood,
slowly looking between Beatrice and Silverblade. “What did the Falcon Staff
just say? Tell me I misunderstood that whole speech, because….because….well
damn it all to the dark! That’s not fair. I think that’s worse than what the
Oracle demanded.”

Beatrice wouldn’t
look up to meet Sorsha’s gaze, but she caught movement as Ashayna placed a hand
on her sister’s shoulder to silence her. “I don’t like it either, but it
probably won’t be the last time one of us has to do something we’d rather not.”

Silverblade sat,
rigid and silent, but Beatrice could feel the turmoil in his body. If she could
do something to make this easier for him, she would. At least they wouldn’t
both have to be in emotional distress.

Autumn Shadow
pushed back her chair and stood slowly. “It is almost nightfall, I will call
together the adults and we will hunt and sing to the night’s beauty. Come join
me when you’re ready. But know I take no joy in this either, I’ve come to love
Beta in the years you’ve been away scouting.”

With that she
left. Silverblade still hadn’t moved or spoken.

After another
long, awkward silence, Councilor Tav stood and made his exit. Shadowdancer held
out his hand for Sorsha and they started away, clearly intending to give
Beatrice and Silverblade some privacy.

Sorntar held his
ground, a stubborn look on his face as if he was going to say something.

“Do not.”
Silverblade said, locking his gaze with the phoenix prince’s. “It is one night.
I’ll survive it.”

Her lupwyn turned
to her at last and took her face in his hands. “You live in my heart already.
None other can come close to touching that love or besmirching its purity. Come
morning, I will be yours alone again, and if you’ll still have me, we can put
this night far from our memories.”

Tears flowed down
her cheeks and her throat still had a lump in it that made speaking difficult,
but she would not let him go without knowing she would not hold this night
against him in the least. “Of course I’ll still have you. I love you. This is a
duty you’re required to perform for the good of all. It changes nothing between
us.”

Silverblade
pressed a kiss to her forehead and then he stood, spun on his heels, and
hurried from the tent.

Beatrice watched
him go and thought by the pain in her chest, he must have ripped her heart out
and taken it with him.

She didn’t want
to think or move and she most certainly didn’t want the others’ sympathy. She
wanted to be left alone. But more than that she wanted Sorntar to stop pacing.

“I don’t care
what my Talisman said, Silverblade is half phoenix,” Sorntar said with a frown
directed at Beatrice. “This will harm him in ways only a fellow phoenix would
understand.”

“Sorntar,”
Ashayna tried to silence her bondmate but he wasn’t listing.

“What the Staff
askes of him is unnatural.”

“Sorntar!”

“And Silverblade
has clearly already given Beatrice his heart.”

“You’re not
helping.” Sorsha joined her sister to try to reason with the phoenix.

Sorntar ignored
the sisters and said to Beatrice, “You should just challenge Autumn Shadow,
become pack alpha in her place.”

Sorsha looked up
at the phoenix suddenly. “What? If that was possible, why did Silverblade not
suggest it?”

Smiling, Sorntar
came back to the table. “Because he’s protective of Beatrice. He wouldn’t risk
her getting mortally injured in a dominance fight.”

“You’re both
unhinged,” Ashayna muttered. “But let’s say for a moment you aren’t. How will
that help?”

“If she defeats
Autumn Shadow, she can take the pack bonds by force. Once Beatrice is Pack
Alpha, all she needs to do is bring Silverblade back into the pack the same way
Autumn Shadow would have…”

“She’ll never
survive a dominance fight with a lupwyn.” Ashayna’s tones sharpened with
annoyance and then she changed tactics. “Come Beatrice, I’ll show you where you
can sleep tonight.”

Beatrice stood
but not to follow Ashayna. Instead she met Sorntar’s gaze. “Tell me more.”

As Autumn Shadow
had promised, she had called the pack together for a hunt, which in turn would
lead to other social activities since they were in a fertility cycle. Already
excitement for a group hunt was building within the pack, howls and barking
echoed through the camp.

Santhyrians
raised their heads from grazing or whatever other task they were performing to
watch. After a few moments they grew bored again and returned to their tasks.
With a heavy heart, Silverblade reached the edge of the camp and wandered into
the grass with no real destination in mind. Autumn Shadow would track him by
scent once she and the pack returned from the hunt.

He didn’t plan on
returning to the camp until…afterward. There was no way he wanted Beatrice to
experience firsthand the pain of accidentally seeing the one she loved with
another. That he would spare her at least. He only wished he could spare
himself. Oh, once the pack members started to love each other, he wouldn’t be
immune to the magic and lust rising within the other lupwyns.

Looking down at
his mostly human body, a new thought occurred and he started to chuckle.
Perhaps he wouldn’t be affected by the other lupwyns in this form. Then they’d
just have to wait for the pack bond to form naturally over time. Of course, if
that was the case, he and Beatrice couldn’t be together during that time for
fear of forming a single link with her.

He growled.

Beatrice should
be here with him. That’s all there was to it. The Twelve, duty and acolytes be
damned. Back at the pavilion when he’d forbidden Sorntar from saying anything
to Beatrice, he’d been so close to holding his tongue and letting the other
phoenix speak his mind. But he still wouldn’t have wanted his beloved to risk
herself in a leadership fight even though there had been a few stray thoughts
that kept flashing through his mind this day.

In them she
always came and claimed him as hers.

He would have
blamed his Larnkin for them, but Silverblade was pretty sure these ones came
from his own heart’s desires.

Lupwyn courtship
involved both parties displaying their interest in combat and posturing. But
Beatrice was human.

Snarling softly,
he broke into a run, putting more space between himself and the camp before he
did something stupid like return to her side.

*****

Four candlemarks
earlier, the first of the lupwyns had returned with a deer. It was now cooking
over a fire in the central fire pit. Other lupwyns were now starting to race
into camp, yelping and greeting the youngsters who had remained behind in the
care of their santhyrian nursemaids.

Beatrice waited
by the fire pit, its fuel now reduced to glowing embers and a few stray flames.
Prince Sorntar had started it himself while he explained his plan. She also
wore a long mage cloak he’d given her. It covered her from head to toe and
would keep her warm once she left the fire and ventured out into the plains

More and more
lupwyns arrived out of the tall grass to join the others near the fire where
the deer was almost cooked. Other types of food and drink appeared and so too
did small drums and other musical instruments she did not recognize. But none
of that held any interest. Only Autumn Shadow interested her at this exact
moment. The female hadn’t arrived yet, but Sorntar had informed her an alpha
always returned to begin the feast by taking the first portion. Once the pack
had fed and the youngsters were put to bed the rest of the pack would ghost
away into the night to sing to the moon and partake in other activities.

At last she
spotted her prey returning. When the other female approached the central fire
pit, Beatrice unsheathed the small knife she’d been holding all evening.
Discarding the sheath, she tossed it to the ground and stepped directly in
front of Autumn Shadow and then just as quickly turned her back on the alpha
and made her unhurried way to the cooking deer.

Once there, she
sliced off a piece and blew on it to cool it and started back toward the
baffled alpha. When she was a few steps away she met the other’s gaze and
slowly took one delicate bite. She chewed that and nibbled on another piece
while she continued to stalk toward the other female. When she was almost upon
the other’s location, she made certain to snap the edge of her cloak so it
deliberately hit Autumn Shadow’s leg as she passed.

As she’d both
hoped and expected, the alpha growled out something low and dangerous-sounding
in her own language. To add to the insult, Beatrice continued on her way
without acknowledging the female.

Behind her she
heard Autumn Shadow turn and follow. Good. If this all went terribly wrong, she
didn’t want to be responsible for killing half the pack. She continued out of
the camp and over to a small rise in the land where a lone tree grew. It was
sickly and old, rot already working away at its trunk. But the tree suited her
purposes just fine.

Autumn Shadow was
still trailing her, and behind the alpha the rest of the pack had started to
follow, likely curious to watch the spectacle of a tiny human woman challenging
their alpha.

Beatrice arrived
at her chosen tree and leaned against it while she waited.

“Challenging me
is remarkably foolish, human. You can’t hope to win a fight against me.”
Sighing, Autumn Shadow, added, “I’ll not harm you if you submit to me now.”

“I promise the
same. You should also know I promised that I would be loyal to Silverblade and
guard his heart—I view this challenge as part of that. And I don’t break my
vows.”

“Fine, but you’re
going to have some bites and bruises come morning.” Autumn Shadow stalked
forward and shifted to all fours. Giving herself a full body shake, she
stretched and limbered up in a showing of strength.

Smiling coldly,
Beatrice tossed back the mage cloak, revealing her body clothed in nothing but
the dark flames of her death magic.

“A challenge is
strength,” Autumn Shadow said with the first flush of fear entering her voice.
“Magic is forbidden.”

“No one told me
that detail.” She shrugged. “This will be more an execution than a challenge, I
suppose.”

Freeing one arm
from the billowing cloak, she reached out and caressed the long, waist high
grass as she walked. When the dark flames of her magic touched it, the grass
crumpled and disintegrated. Gone in the blink of an eye.

Autumn Shadow
continued to circle her slowly, but Beatrice could see the fear in her eyes
now. “I am only doing as the Falcon Staff asked. I do not even desire
Silverblade anymore.”

Beatrice’s
healer’s magic studied her opponent’s physical responses and realized her words
were true. “Then I’m doing you a favor.”

“By challenging
me to be alpha?” The lupwyn snarled and started forward but halted when
Beatrice made an off-handed gesture. Her death magic raced across the distance
and collided with the already dying tree. Her power sped up the process a
thousand-fold and like the grass before it, the tree crumbled and vanished.

“Silverblade
chose me,” Beatrice continued in a calm voice. “And I him. It has always been
so. By the dawn I will be alpha and he will be my mate again.”

Walking forward,
she sent her healer’s magic into the lupwyn and sought a particular cluster of
nerves. They flared brightly to her mage sight and with a thought she ordered
them to go dark. Back legs folding under her, the startled lupwyn collapsed to
her side helpless.

“I don’t want
your death. And I don’t really want to be alpha, but no one asked what I or
Silverblade wanted. The thought of not having a choice is distasteful to me, so
I am going to give you one. You can choose to submit and go free unharmed, or
you can be hardheaded about this and my healer’s magic will dig out the secret
of how the alpha’s pack bonds work.”

“I submit.”

Beatrice smiled
as she swallowed back both her death magic and her healing power.

“Well, Sorntar
was correct. He said you would submit.” She knelt next to the lupwyn. “The
feeling will return in your legs shortly. While we wait, why don’t we start
transferring those pack bonds?”

*****

Silverblade heard
the excited howls of his pack drawing nearer. They had his scent and would be
upon him shortly. He’d almost managed to push away the deep ache in his heart
and find a few moments of peace once he’d found this little patch of mossy
ground, sheltered by a river on one side and a ridge of rock on the other. A
large willow grew off to one side. Now that his pack had found him, bitterness
returned.

He turned to face
the first of the lupwyns. Several had stopped before they intruded upon his
territory, but Autumn Shadow continued on as he’d expected. What he wasn’t
expecting was the cloaked rider upon her back. When the other lupwyn halted and
allowed her rider to dismount, Silverblade caught Beatrice’s scent.

“What do you
think you’re doing bringing Beatrice here!” he snarled, rage igniting in his
soul.

“Obeying her new
alpha’s command,” Beatrice said in a calm voice as she lowered the hood of her
cloak. “You may go now.”

He’d thought the
words directed at him at first until Autumn Shadow and the other lupwyns all
ran off into the forest with excited howls.

Shocked
speechless, he could only look at Beatrice in silence.

Hope curled in
his chest and he took a step closer.

“How?”

“Sorntar
explained everything about how an outsider could become alpha by winning a
challenge against another alpha and forcibly taking their pack bonds. When I
asked why you didn’t simply do that, he told me it was because the pack had no
alpha male for you to challenge. So that left it to me. I knew I couldn’t beat
her in a fair fight so I tricked her into an unfair one. Not one of my prouder
moments,” Beatrice said with an unapologetic shrug and parted the cloak to show
him the pale, glowing lines of the pack bonds upon her naked flesh.

Silverblade
thought them the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and reached out to trace
his fingers along one of the lines on her skin.

“Stop.” Giggling,
she covered his hand with hers. “That tickles.”

“Then I think I
shall spend half the night touching them just to hear that lovely sound again.”

“They are rather
noticeable aren’t they? Prince Sorntar and Councilor Tav assured me the silver
glow will fade once my body finishes accepting them.” She frowned. “This is not
how I would have…. that is … I know I must still bring you into the pack
tonight and this isn’t how you wanted it to be, but I couldn’t allow another to
do it. Because you are mine.”

“Yes, from the
moment I first found you digging in the garden outside Old Mother’s hut.” He
reached out and dragged her closer so he could run his jaw along hers and then
bury his nose in that favorite spot where the graceful curve of her neck joined
her shoulder.

Hmmm, her scent
was her own but now mixed with pack. It was lovely. He nipped and flicked his
tongue along her jaw while toying with the clasp holding the cloak in place. In
the end, he decided to leave it for now. The glimpses of her skin when she
moved were like little rewards for all he’d endured in the last few days. He pressed
his lips to her throat where her pulse pounded just below the skin.

“What are you
doing?” Her voice came out a startled squeak.

“Submitting.”

“I don’t want
that.”

He was sure he
detected a tiny lie in her voice.

Nuzzling his way
to her other shoulder, he bit gently as he slipped his hands under her cloak to
rest on her hips. He kissed his way up the curve of her neck and nosed aside
her hair until his lips brushed her ear. “That would be a lie. But I can be
more dominant if you’d like.”

To prove his
words he pulled her closer and sealed their lips.

After a time she
broke away to breathe and then cupped his face in her hands. “I don’t care if
you are dominant or submissive, I only care if you’re willing.”

“I’m very
willing. Never fear that.” He stepped back but kept their fingers entwined, and
slowly dragged her back to a spot where a soft patch of moss and ferns could
act as a bed. Once there, he used his other hand to free himself from his
clothing.

That was done, he
reached for the clasp holding on her cloak and it started to slide from her
shoulders. Even distracted with watching her body revealed to his gaze, he
managed to catch the cloak. With a twist, he spread it out on the ground and
then sat on his haunches.

Beatrice blinked
at him, but when he held out his hand and told her to come, she did and settled
on the ground in front of him. When he leaned forward to kiss her, she crawled
onto his lap, her legs settling to either side of his naturally.

“How do I bond
you to your pack?”

“Touch, warmth,
love making. The longer we are together, the stronger the bonds grow. I can
already feel my bonds flaring with new life, reaching for you.”