Page 33 of Those That Defy the Realm

I know I need to talk to her. And I don’t know what I’m going to say. I can still feel the warmth of her skin against mine, my heart gives a stronger thump when I remember how it felt to have her cocooned in the cage of my body.

This is all such a mess. I should tell Ash the truth, set him straight. If I tell him that I’ve moved on, that nothing can happen between us, then it’ll sort out my problems.

Only, my chest tightens when I tell myself to do just that.

Stepping out onto the wrap-around porch on the rear of the house, the air hits me like a cold shower. It has cooled quickly with the setting sun, and the night chill has already set in, as you’d expect for the time of year. I make my way slowly down the few steps to the open yard below. To an onlooker, my balance probably looks totally fine, but I am starting to feel the effects of having fought for my life with my prosthetic.

Pausing to listen acutely, I cannot distinguish between the sounds of the wolves that are out here from the sounds of the other wildlife. The night is still, the trees sitting further back, and lining the entire rear of the property aren’t rustling but there are sounds of birds or bats flapping and other small creatures scurrying about.

I make my way over to the edge of the open grass, the sense of aloneness comforting after being surrounded by others for so long. Finding a large trunk, which I think is a sycamore, or maybe an oak, I ease myself down, resting my back against the bark. I can easily hear if any intruders get within range of the house, but I’m far enough away that the sounds of those inside it are dulled.

An hour or so passes and I just enjoy the stillness and try to stop my brain from yo-yoing between thoughts of Ash and Claire. I manage quite well until the wolf in question finds me. He slinks out of the trees and comes to sit beside me. His dark coat gleams in the moon now risen in the sky and the urge to bury my fingers in it again, to feel its softness, rises with fierceness.

Before I can make that decision, he shifts in front of me. In a blink the majestic wolf is gone, the man appearing, legs crossed and his lips pulled up in a grin that lets me know he knows what I was just thinking.

“I think you might prefer me with four legs rather than two.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t be staring.”

“Stare all you want.” He holds my gaze with an intense stare of his own. His deep midnight blue eyes matching the colour of the sky above us.

Forcing myself to look away, breaking the connection, I instead focus on my outstretched legs, bringing one hand to massage my knee joint. It’s a reflex movement, although it does instantly relieve the aching joint.

I sense Ash’s confusion. Feel the air shift as I bet his eyebrows knit. “Is it okay? Is your leg hurting?”

“It’ll be fine after a day or two's rest,” I reassure him.

He nods in my periphery. “Can I help?”

My eyes shoot back to him as he moves, shuffling forward so that he’s sitting beside my legs. “Do you have any clue what you’re doing?”

“I live on a secluded island where we have very little access to medical care. You pick up a thing or two.”

“Don’t you have any doctors?”

“We have a couple of guys that had medical training in the war. We don’t have any officially certified practitioners. Thankfully, we have a couple of midwives, and shifting seems to sort out most injuries like broken bones or ligament sprains. But for illnesses or long-term physio injuries we’re pretty much self-taught.”

Ash’s hands remove mine, allowing me to lean back again, then he gets to work on my joint. He applies just the right pressure and starts massaging the inside of my kneecap, it feels like bliss.

We drift into silence and I contemplate what he said about the medical provision on their island. I’ve read the treaty, studied it, written papers that included it but I guess I haven’t delved deep into the practicalities of the isolation. Most of my work has focused on the vampires, on trying to dispel the propaganda that has been pushed for the last few centuries. Of course I’ve been careful and haven’t alluded to our continued existence in the slightest. And from a practical viewpoint living in secret, whilst a pain, hasn’t removed us from key institutions when we need them.

Illnesses are thankfully rare, and a boost of blood can fix most ailments, or we can steal the drugs we need from the hospitals as we need. I’ve even heard that there are members of the Carnio pack that are practising medicine.

Any career is a risk, and most vampires are simply getting by with jobs that earn enough to live but don’t come with paper records. But if we’re careful, we can still get educated and pursue our passions. Take me for example, I might be seen as a total hermit amongst the faculty of West Scotia University, but at least I can have a career.

Is living in plain sight better or worse than being trapped on a small island with a harsh habitat?

“What’s got you thinking so hard?” Ash interrupts my thinking, his thumbs now working small miracles up my thigh.

“Sorry. I’m simply wondering if there is a way to break you out of your exile as we hopefully make some progress with the authorities for my kind.”

“Stop apologising to me,” he says, shaking his head. “And if you come up with any ideas, let me know. It’s the reason I’ve been granted this small reprieve. My mother is somewhat of an excellent negotiator if you hadn’t already gathered. She wants me at the table when we discuss these new laws, and to see if we can work a deal out with Froan. See if there is a way to put a loophole in the treaty and allow us some freedom to come here. Even on a work or education visa, even short-term, it would benefit the pack so much.”

A small laugh works its way out of my throat, because indeed, even in the couple of months I spent with his pack, I could tell how tenacious Theodora is. And that’s without her reputation as being the alpha that single handedly fought for and secured the treaty the wolves now live with. Without her they would be extinct or living in secret like the vampires.

“Your mother is certainly a force to be reckoned with. I can’t imagine you got away with much as a kid.”

Ash laughs now too. “Strict yes, but I don’t think you can be anything less than regimented with seven children. And despite the restrictions we live under, they are the most supportive and caring parents I could wish for. Do you have any family left?”