“No more false heats?”
“He went into quite the intense heat when you left.” Seath almost blushed at Caine’s words, thinking of his boldness on the beach, but said nothing. That heat was undoubtedly his fault. “But, no, normal after that.”
What Caine didn’t add was how Lycan seemed to drift toward him whenever he returned from these meetings with Seath, and his theory was that Little Wolf’s scent ability was coming back stronger. He didn’t want to give Seath false hope. If Lycan could sense anything about Seath when he returned, that would make itself obvious in its own time.
With the power of Samhain, the coven believed they could unlock the rest of Lycan’s wolf at the next coven. Maybe some of the spellbound memories, but at least his wolf. Perhaps even remove enough of the mental barriers to really see the magic being used. Shifter magic included an ability to heal even near-fatal wounds when shifted. Spending time in one’s alter form could also be beneficial to non-physical issues such as depression or anxiety. Both the coven and Luke were of the mind that if Lycan could shift, his body could do a great deal of self-healing. Maybe his mind as well.
“You seem to be handling things.” Caine leaned back enjoying the view from Seath’s rooms. Seath himself seemed exhausted, but Caine guessed that was from working himself to distraction.
“My wolf is settled, hates being away from Lycan, but understands.”
“Only a few more weeks. Any additional news about the threshold barrier breach? I hear the elves were willing to observe it, and the Centaur herd.”
Seath sighed, rubbing at his temples. “It remains intact. How ever Lycan crossed it without triggering it I do not know. And the coven has little more than that.”
“I have a theory, if you like.”
Seath smiled, a genuine, if tired, one. “Of course, you do.”
“The barrier recognized Lycan as Pack, and let him in.”
“Caine . . .I couldn’t even smell his blood, he was so spellbound when he arrived.”
Caine laughed. “You wolves and your noses. Have to smell it to believe it. Perhaps boundary magic works differently. Don’t you think it’s odd that he portaled to outside our boundary? Of all the places in the world he could go, he lands there. Why? It’s one thing if he knew us, quite another that he did not.”
“What are you suggesting?”
Caine shrugged an elegant shoulder. “Fated Mates is its own kind of magic, Alpha. Different to that which made me or you or turned Lycan, if my theory holds that he was turned. Different than the Threshold magic that loves him, and different from the omega-magic he carries. That’s all.”
Seath rubbed his chest. “I miss him. I’m doing the work the pack needs, so it will be a long few weeks, but I’ll make it.” There was an empty ache inside of him, but when he thought of all that Lycan had suffered, it seemed small in comparison. He would do his job and do it well. He and his wolf needed to be an Alpha that Lycan could be proud of when he learned of their fated nature. There was no real way to get through this with his integrity intact, of course. That ended as soon as he asked Greene about breaking the oath to the fated bonds. But, just maybe, he could try to do it as right as possible.
“I brought you a present, and then I need to go. I promised to be at dinner in the Pack House.”
Caine laid a small velvet pouch on the table.
“Portal dust!” Seath exclaimed, opening it. “Where did you find something so rare? I thought there was still a trade embargo with Famir, due to the Fae.”
“The dragon I sought out to exchange your emerald had this, and I managed to get it as part of the bargain. Jamie established Lycan’s fund so that he can have his own means, but you can tell him all about it.” Caine smiled. “I thought it might ease your wolf, to know you could get to your mate in a matter of seconds, of your own accord, if need be, without digging into the portal dust reserves, or calling upon me.”
“My mate.” Seath said the words with reverence. He meant them, too. “Thank you, Caine.”
On the next leg of his trip he would be in a seaside village of Hanover. Hanover was mostly human in population, but outside of it there was a sacred shrine to the Fated. Seath had already planned a pilgrimage to one of the shrines, as he did every Quarter Day. Fated shrines were everywhere in the Pack lands, but this one was older than most. And now he had something special to offer. Not all the portal dust, but some. The Pack had some in storage, but knowing no more was coming for a while due to the Fae was sobering. Coupled with what it meant to him specifically, it felt right for an offering.
He had gone to the shrine before, always in reverence, always with thankfulness. This time he would be going there to beseech and request. To ask for help with his own fating.
It used to be the case that the Quarter Day travels would happen at least in part by portal dust, but the Fae were unhappy with moves made in other countries, and the dust they made was now a precious commodity. Which normally suited Seath fine. He liked to run his lands in his wolf form, to be connected to the earth in that way. It allowed him to know the needs and sense problems. A field that needed lime to rebalance the soil, a stream that needed cleaning upriver. That was easy to know when his paws were in the ground.
But, Caine was right. It was easier knowing that he could instantly be at the portaling ground outside the Pack House in a matter of seconds. For the first time since leaving for his Quarter Day duties, his wolf relaxed.
Chapter sixteen
Nesting Bunks
Lycanplacedsomecoffeein-front of Jamie, who gave him a tired smile in return.
“Thanks, Ly.” Jamie rubbed his eyes. “The Talla accords and the Fremont Agreement aren’t being very helpful to figuring out this issue.”
Lycan smiled back, rubbing his lower back. His false heats had stopped, thank the goddess, but he could feel a regular one coming on. His energy was languishing behind a deep desire to nest.
