"No!" Hycinth's scream pierced the darkness.
Instantly awake, every particle in my body felt like it had been lit on fire. "What is it, love? What's wrong?"
Little fists pummeled my chest. Her frail body thrashed in the bed next to me. "Don't touch me!"
Still snared by unconsciousness, it was clear the battle was in her mind.
Primal instinct drove me forward. I had no intention of letting her fight this adversary alone. Without thought, I blew our partial mate bond. wide open and delved into her subconscious. For a moment, I was disoriented by the chaos in her head. Stark fear swirled amidst nightmare images-darkness stained with slashes of red, so much blood. No concern for her own welfare, but desperately fighting for the precious innocent she carried in her belly.
"It's okay, you're safe!" I whispered urgently while trying to contain her flailing limbs without hurting her.
Torment all-consuming, she couldn't hear me. Continuing to fight her imaginary foe, she violently wrestled against my hold. "Don't hurt her... Don't hurt my baby!"
"I swear to you on my life, nothing will hurt our pup!" my Wolf urgently pushed his thoughts into her consciousness, using words and a stream of guttural sounds our animals understood.
Nothing worked. Another scream came from her throat. Claws extended, Hycinth blindly scratched through the air, the lethal tips drawing blood wherever they made contact against my shoulders and face. My anxiety increased exponentially. I cared not about the wounds she inflicted on me. My flesh and blood belonged to her. She could take as much as she needed. But, in her lack of consciousness, she could also hurt herself.
Abruptly snaking one hand around the back of her head, I wrestled to contain her thrashing body and pulled her tight at the same time. Hating the amount of force required but desperate to end her torment, I used my hold in her hair to push her nose into my throat and held her in place. I knew of no other influence powerful enough to overcome the demons in her mind but the mate bond.
Gasping in deep lungfuls of my scent; Hycinth finally began to calm down. Screams quieted to whimpers until all that remained were intermittent hiccups and then silence.
Dropping my head against the pillow, my accelerated heart thudded painfully in my chest, ringing in my ears. I felt like I'd run a marathon.
After a long moment, my breathing finally normalized and my keen Wolf sense of smell alerted me to the truth that Hycinth and I were not alone in the small cottage room. I wasn't surprised by his presence. Hycinth's first scream would have immediately propelled him to her just like it did me.
Turning my head to the side, I opened my eyes to find Ever standing silently just inside the closed door. Spine rigid and hands balled into fists, pain radiated from the depth of his stare, both for his best friend and his Luna.
"How...." I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat, "am I going to leave her tonight?" Just the mere thought of walking away from Hycinth for the hours the funeral would take caused my stomach to convulse.
Ever did not offer any options. He knew as well as I did that I had no choice. As the Alpha, all of the wolves were my responsibility, especially the four that now laid still, their lives stolen in service to this pack, to me and to their lost Luna. Instead, Ever muttered softly, "I'm sorry."
A soft glow began to overwhelm the darkness, the sun just cresting the horizon, making it easier for me to see him. Ever waited for the instructions he knew were to come.
In a matter of hours when night fell once again, I would have to find the strength to do the impossible. My mind tumbled over the details, my Wolf adding his own insight. "Prepare a fresh fur and bring it to me."
Ever nodded, requiring no further explanation.
Having just witnessed Hycinth's blind panic and
her response to my scent, he understood my intention. Thinking back to Sydney's suggestion, I murmured,
"Yes. The bikers are more than willing to assist in protecting Hycinth while you fulfill your duty," he acknowledged quietly and then added, "They seem to have acclimated quite quickly to what has to be utterly strange to them."
In the few days since we'd returned from rescuing Hycinth, I hadn't had a moment to discuss the bikers in depth with Ever, and I wanted his perspective. "So you think I made the right decision?" Considering Hycinth was in the room and we were speaking audibly, I left off the end of my sentence...where the alternative was killing the bikers.
Ever understood without my clarification. He rubbed the back of his neck. "It does go against every rule we have in protecting the knowledge of our kind, but there is something about them..." he hesitated. I intimately understood the conflict in his eyes and waited for him to put his thoughts into words. "I can feel their...loyalty. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but my Wolf doesn't see them as a threat. If anything, he finds commonality in them."
"Yes. My Wolf feels the same." I had thought the same thing just the day before. "Do you feel it with all three of them or just Tommy?"
Coasting silently to the nearest chair, Ever sat down. "Oddly enough, all of them."
"Has Tommy asked how long they must remain here?" Even without explicitly stating it right after the battle, Tommy had clearly understood his life and those of his friends were on the line, and he'd agreed to stay for an undefined amount of time until I could decide what to do. But he'd also made it clear they couldn't stay indefinitely. Any suggestion regarding the permanency of their departure to their brothers would cause immediate suspicion and likely bring about an entirely different war that we certainly didn't need.
"Not yet. If anything, he seems eager to fulfill any role where he protects Luca and Hycinth."
His words gave me a small measure of relief. This war was far from over and we needed all the help we could get.
"He also seems highly interested in Sydney."
I raised an eyebrow. That was interesting.
Lip curling into the smallest of smirks, Ever added, "Not that she gives him the time of day."
Holding back a chuckle so I wouldn't disturb Hycinth, I murmured, "He's certainly adventurous, I'll give him that." Setting his sights on a volatile shewolf, particularly one of Sydney's caliber, was definitely bold.
Ever snorted, "That...or suicidal."
Becoming serious again, I murmured, "Although, I had wondered about her and Luca...maybe someday." The memory of Luca and Sydney's earlier unexplained fight and then spontaneous kiss filtered through my mind.
Ever's expression made it clear he also hadn't forgotten their surprising interaction but he shook his head, sadness radiating in his eyes. "I don't think so. Maybe they had something once. But not now. Luca is holding on the best he can, but he's nowhere near ready to consider other female."
Getting back on track, I lapsed into using the mind link, "What news is there of any potential attack? Will we have enough sentinels to stand guard during the ceremony?"
"So far, all is quiet." A muscle ticked in Ever's jaw. "I'm not foolish to believe we have no more enemies and certainly, whoever remains knows we are burying our dead tonight so continued vigilance is a must. But both the Diamante and the Nightshade packs are also burying their lost and their numbers of dead far outweigh ours."
I shook my head silently. So much violence, so much needless loss of life, but yet, the vicious cycle always seemed to continue.
Ever and I discussed the details for another hour before he left, and I reluctantly got out of the bed to start preparations for the evening.
The daylight hours went by far too quickly. Almost routine now, I fed, changed and bathed Hycinth. Grace and Sydney were never too far away, only leaving for short periods of time to attend to their other duties. Luca had also stopped by. After an hour spent at Hycinth's bedside, softly telling her stories, reminiscing about the past, and urging her to wake up and talk with him, he gave up in defeat and left.
As the sun descended in the sky, the dread in my stomach increased exponentially. Silently, I disrobed and spread the clean fur that Ever had delivered earlier on the floor. Without conscious thought, I shifted into my Wolf. Standing on all fours, he intently examined the fur beneath his paws and then dropped to his haunches, full-body rolling over every inch, drenching it with his scent. I waited silently for him to finish. After several minutes, he stood and sniffed random areas, making sure he hadn't missed a spot. Once satisfied, he relinquished control and I shifted back into skin. Not bothering to redress, I carefully maneuvered Hycinth's small frame to one side of the bed and then placed the waiting fur next to her. Again moving with the utmost care, I tucked her into the center and wrapped the edges around her tightly, completely enveloping her little frame and making it impossible for her to move her limbs, the fur pressed all the way to her chin right beneath her nose. Praying it would be enough to keep her calm during my absence, I stepped back.
"Okay, "I murmured through the mind link.
Instantly, Ever and Asher opened the door and silently slipped inside.
They were dressed identically, a mere lambskin loincloth covering their privates and nothing else. Evenly spaced black lines covered their faces, arms and legs.
Ever handed me a matching scrap of lambskin. With an efficiency sadly gained from years of brutal conflict and extensive losses, I quickly settled the garment around my hips and tied it securely in place. Once I was dressed, Asher stepped forward, a small pot cradled in his hands. He lifted the lid. Reaching his fingers into the pot, Ever extracted a thick black substance crafted from tree sap and ash. Settling the small pot on a nearby table, Asher followed suit, coating his fingers with the inky material.
Silence weighed heavily in the air as they drew matching stripes along my cheek bones, forehead and chin before making their way down my body to adorn my biceps, forearms, thighs and calves with the thick substance.
Once completed, Asher replaced the lid and stepped back.
Obviously communicating through the mind link, the door opened and Sydney slipped inside. Without a word, she made her way to the end of Hycinth's bed. No softness could be found in my Delta's countenance. Feet planted firmly beneath her, Sydney stood in fierce protection, her posture radiating aggression and hate for anyone who would dare try to harm her Luna. Completely engaged in her profound responsibility, there would be no tenderness or soft caresses tonight, at least until I returned and Sydney was assured Hycinth was no longer at imminent risk.
My gaze left Sydney and zeroed in on my frail and defenseless mate. Everything in me wanted to give her a final kiss goodbye, but I suppressed the instinct, knowing I wouldn't be able to leave her if I touched her now. I stood frozen, battling against my very nature.
"You can do this," Ever whispered.
Taking a deep breath in, I let it out slowly.
Asher opened the door and waited.
It took every ounce of fortitude and strength I had to turn away from her and force my feet out the door.
The door clicked shut behind me. Nostrils flaring, I sucked in the cool night air.
On my left, Tommy stood ready and alert. Dressed in all black, almost every inch of his body was covered in a vast array of knives and guns. Given the added bulkiness of his stature, I had no doubt he was in full body armor beneath all of the weaponry.
His keen assessment of me didn't go unnoticed. Dark eyes flickered down and back up my body, taking in the absolute lethalness of my countenance. The site had to be strange to him but he held strong, unafraid. My Wolf stared back at him, pleased by his fortitude.
