“She’s on borrowed time,” Lina stated and Gavin growled, and suddenly took off running to the tent where we had spent the night.
Lina left as well and slipped inside her tent, returning with a folded bundle of clothes and a carved bone dagger. She stood before me and handed the bundle to me. “Nothing made from a machine can accompany you on your soul’s journey. This cloth was hand dyed and woven and has been blessed. Nahuel carved this knife himself last night, just for you.”
I nodded and took the clothes gratefully, slipping into her tent to change. The cloth was so soft and beautifully designed, it was heavy and I knew it would keep me warm at night. Slipping the skirt on, I saw that it fell to mid-calf. I tossed my machine-made underwear and bra on the floor and slipped the soft cotton tunic top over the skirt. Guess I was going commando on this journey. I eyed some leather moccasins that were also in the bundle and slipped them on. They were lined with lamb’s wool and extremely comfortable. Lastly, I tied the leather belt around my waist and slipped the bone dagger inside, snuggly riding against my hip bone. Reaching up, I quickly tied my hair into a long braid to keep it out of my face.
When I stepped out of the tent, Gavin was standing before me in low slung sweatpants and no t-shirt. His eyes burned yellow and his face was drawn with concern.
“You can’t go alone. Not without me, or Jaxon, or your wolf. It’s not right. It should be me going.” He paused, looking down. “I’m so sorry.” His voice was husky and raw and his eyes swam with emotion.
I smiled weakly and stepped up on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. His 24-hour stubble tickled my cheek as I spoke. “Since the night the dreams began, I wanted you to be mine. I’m glad you have my wolf, she will keep you safe, and Iwillcome back to you. I promise.”
Then I stepped back down and looked up at him as his lips crashed into mine. I was aware that everyone was watching and I didn’t give two shits. I met his kiss with mirrored passion and relished in the way he tasted, the way he felt. I wanted more of these moments, thousands more, not these quick and rushed displays of affection. It was clear that I had been brought into Gavin’s life to save him, now I needed to save myself.
Finally, I pulled back and squeezed his hand. He held my gaze, my own wolf peering out behind his eyes. Well, it was his wolf now; it was time to let her go. I nodded to him, dropping his hand and walked over to the ceremonial fire that was blazing. Jaxon was pacing in his wolf form just behind the warriors.
Lina nodded as I entered the circle. The sun shone high in the sky.
Lina walked in long fluid strides over to where I stood and gave me a leather hand-sewn canteen full of water. Oh, thank God, they weren’t actively trying to kill me. I slung it around my shoulder and Lina looked me up and down, beaming with pride.
“I am the keeper of this land, over a thousand acres of raw untouched wildlife.” She gestured behind the tents and into the thick green forest. “The warriors and your brother will guard the perimeter of the land from evil. You will walk and sleep and eat and breathe and live the forest until you come home whole.” Her eyes blazed with intensity then and my heart began to race in anxiety. She expected me to walk around a thousand acres with a raging fever and no food … and not die? Shit. I was so screwed.
Lina’s eyes narrowed as if she picked up on my thoughts. “Remember, you have courage, wisdom and strength. I send you on this journey to find your soul’s purpose and remind you that you have all the tools you need.”
She was right, I was my mother’s daughter. Bring it on.
Chapter Seven
When they had first told me about the prospect of running around the woods alone, I wasn’t fazed because I knew my wolf could handle it. My wolf ran over creeks, rolled in moss, peed on fallen logs. But without my wolf, I was just another twenty-year-old chick alone in the woods and had already squealed three times because of spiders and a garden snake. I had no watch and no way of telling time except the setting sun. I had heard my brother’s wolf howl twice and Gavin howl once. Did that mean they were fighting something? Or were they just letting me know they were out there somewhere? I tightened my grip on the dagger just to be sure. The woods had thinned out into a beautiful meadow and I saw some dandelions. My stomach growled as I jogged over to begin pulling the edible flowers. I grew up on a mountain with a pack of wild werewolves, you bet your ass I knew how to forage for food up here. I wouldn’t have anything great like rabbit meat because I had no fire and no wolf, to hunt. But flowers, roots, and berries would get me through.
I had spent the entire day hiking through the woods and was no closer to a spiritual epiphany than I was to a cheeseburger. Mmm … cheeseburger … with bacon… and spicy mayo. I eyed the dandelions and blackberries in my hand with disdain. If I survived this little quest, I was legit rushing to the nearest burger joint afterwards and ordering everything on the menu.
I picked a nice flat rock and sat down, picking the stems off of my dinner. My wolf liked the sweet, crunchy taste of the dandelion flowers, but my human side? Not so much, so I would stick to the stems. As I munched on flower stems and berries I took in my surroundings. The Canadian country was jaw droppingly beautiful. If I wasn’t raging with fever and scared of dying without my wolf, I would even say I was enjoying my time here. Everything was simpler, alone in the woods. No bills to pay, no cell phone to check, no house to clean, no relationships to maintain. You just put one foot in front of the other and walk, all while drinking in the towering massive trees and singing birds. I could see the appeal and why the natives encouraged this type of thing. If I had done this at thirteen years old I would probably be a different person than I was today.
As the sun began to set, I thought of Avery and Mason, my mom and dad. How was the pack? I felt like a rogue wolf with no comforting presence inside of me. Then my thoughts turned darker. I reflected on this Skin Walker douche bag and what he did to Gavin’s teenage mother. He was evil incarnate. Just then, a wolf’s howl rose up and I didn’t recognize it as Jaxon or Gavin. I swallowed hard, eyeing the trees in the clearing as a gust of wind kicked up and the leaves rattled like crazy, sending chills down my arms. I was about to be drenched in total darkness with no light or fire. Shit. It was going to be a long night.
Standing, I picked up my pace and trekked across the clearing. After finding a grove of huge Douglas Firs, I settled into the base of a Red Creek Fir. The largest tree I had ever seen, bigger than the ones on my father’s mountain. The base was as wide as my car and had a half hollowed out center that I was able to squeeze myself into comfortably. It would be a good shelter and companion for me to rest my back against and pass the time. Would I sleep tonight? Hell no. There could be a Skin Walker child rapist running around wearing animal skins. Bet your ass I was gripping this knife like my life depended on it and praying this quest was over soon. I still wasn’t even sure what the hell I was supposed to find or do. Clearly Gavin was fine, he had my wolf, now I was in danger of dying half empty and I wasn’t sure what the remedy for that was. Find a wolf? Sacrifice it and merge our souls? Was that crap even possible?
God, I wished my mother was here, she was into all this spiritual juju and she would know what I was supposed to do. Yoga, meditation? What! I was just about to start braiding the fringe on the hem of my dress to pass the hours and keep me awake, when I heard a twig snap nearby. Darkness had descended on this neck of the woods and with the trees being so thick, only slivers of moonlight made their way to the forest floor.
I held my breath and listened for more, other than the insane beating of my heart, I heard nothing. I exhaled. Another twig snapped. Shit frick! My palms began to sweat as I gripped the homemade bone knife in my hand and chastised myself for crawling into this damn tree with no way out. If whoever was out there found me, I was dead. I couldn’t run, I was trapped. Then something occurred to me. I didn’t have my wolf anymore, but … I still had my magic. The snapping of twigs drew closer with every breath I took and I could swear I heard sniffing, like someone was tracking my scent.
I laid the bone knife in my lap and put my hands out in front of me to form a wall. Taking a deep breath, I felt for my magic. It was there! Pulsing and strong.
“Conceal,” I said in the barest of whispers and pushed my magic out. I had no idea if this was going to work. My wolf sure as hell wasn’t with me anymore but suddenly a hazy magical wall went up in front of the tree opening just as a huge, menacing black wolf walked in front of me and stopped. My breath caught as the wolf’s head turned and pinned me to the wall with its glowing red eyes. That was not a natural wolf … it was three times the size, and gave off an aura of evil.Skin Walker.I knew, I felt it, it was him. Mother-effer. I wanted to jump out and slit his throat for Haseya and Gavin. But I had to be realistic, I was basically a mid-level half witch hiding in a tree waiting for some animal powers to find me and hopefully make me a badass again. I barely breathed as it continued to stare at me, nostrils flaring. I slowly took the knife in my hands, ready for anything, but the wolf just gave a low growl and moved on, nose to the ground, sniffing and scouting.
I released my breath and leaned back, letting my head rest up against the tree. For the first time in my life I wanted someone to be talking inside my head. Being a twin and an Alpha’s daughter didn’t lend too much privacy but now I was desperate for companionship. Maybe that was the point. Being out here alone, I was supposed to find something more.
“Spirit, please guide me,” I whispered softly and waited but nothing happened. Sighing, I tried to brush off the sleepiness that was settling into my limbs. I was a fit chick but the ten hours of walking wasn’t exactly normal for me and with the fever sitting just under my skin, it exhausted me. Losing my wolf to my mate this morning, being sniffed out by a Skin Walker, that shit hit me like a train. I was so tired, I just wanted life to ease up a bit because it was coming on pretty strong right now. I allowed my lids to close for a second and that was it. Lights out.
Nahuel came to me in a dream. We were standing out in the same beautiful meadow I had eaten my berry and flower dinner at earlier. Nahuel had a full-feathered headdress on and a fire was lit. As I approached, he acknowledged me with a nod.
“Evil is afoot,” he said ominously.
I looked down at my body because it felt warm and heavy and I was shocked to see that thick patches of dark brown fur covered my arms and legs. What the? I shook it off. It was a dream.
“What am I supposed to do?” He was my guide, right?
Nahuel dropped down into a crouch and began to wordlessly trace in the dirt with a stick. I tried not to lose my shit, but I really needed some help here. I was hungry and tired and sleeping in a fricken tree while some evil raping bastard looked for me!
