The Dark Fey Chronicles Court of Roses

8

It was cold. Everything was cold. I could feel it all the way down into my bones. It froze my muscles and numbed my mind. And it hurts. The pain was almost unbearable. As much as I tried to fight it, the more it hurt. I could tell I was moving. I was on my back and someone was brushing my head with something wet. And there was a sound. I couldn't be sure what it was. It was so muffled. I groaned and tried to force my eyes open but I couldn't seem to get them to obey me.
Pain lanced through my arm and I remembered the Ghouls that had attacked us. Their permanent, carved smiles and sharp, venomous teeth just inches from my face. What had they been doing so far from a graveyard anyway? Ghouls never wandered far unless there were no more bodies for them to feed on. It was rare for a Ghoul to try and kill someone living. Normally they would feed off the decaying flesh of the dead. Pain lanced through my arm again and I wanted to fill my lungs with air and scream as loud as I possibly could. But I couldn't move. Nothing was working. Nothing was moving. I could feel tears burning behind my eyes. A silent sob hitched in my chest.
"Ghouls have a paralyzing toxin," I heard Jax saying. "She is lucky that thing only grazed her!"
There was a loud growl that made me shiver. Erik was not happy. "Why did you even stop the car?" I heard him ask.
"Erik, the Ghouls ran us off the road!" Jax argued. "There was little we could have done!" There was a moment's silence.
"There is a cabin about three miles up the road! We will stop there and wait for Liv to return with the bloodroot!"
Jax sighed. "Bloodroot is dangerous!" he reminded Erik "Give her too much, she could die, give her too little, she could die!"
Erik growled again and the car sped up.
"I'm fine," I gasped as I sat up.
This was the wrong thing to do. Pain lanced through my arm and I hissed in pain. Hands pressed me back down. "Lexi-"
I slapped the hands away. "I said I'm fine! I don't need bloodroot! Let's just get out of here, please!"
I could still smell the Ghouls nearby and I knew Erik could too. As I sat up in the back seat, dizziness and nausea washed over me and I felt like I may be sick.
"Liv is almost here with the bloodroot, Lexi!" Erik told me. I looked up at him.
"I feel fine!" I said as the car around me stopped spinning. "I'm not hurt!"
Erik, who had his arm around my waist, leaned away when I pushed off of him to sit up better in the seat. "But your arm-"
I shook my head. "I'm fine!"
Erik reached and tugged at the torn sleeve of my leather jacket to look at my wound. But the only thing he saw was my blood smeared on my skin and the wound was closing on its own.
"How is that possible?" he demanded.
I shook my head. "I don't know."
It was the truth. I had always healed fast, even as a child. I didn't have any scars or marks of any kind. "Lexi..." Erik trailed off and looked up at Jax who seemed focused on the road. I bit my lip. What would they think of me now? "Drive faster!" Erik ordered and the car sped up. I leaned away as far as I could from Erik but he wasn't having it. His hand snaked around my waist and he pulled me firmly against his side.
It was about an hour later when we turned into an earth beaten road and the car jumped and bumpers along the uneaten road. "Take the car back to the end of the road and patrol the woods around the cabin with Liv."
Erik pushed the car door open and stepped out, waiting for me to follow. I joined him on the beaten earth road and the car pulled away and cashiered down the road.
"Let's walk!"
Erik held out his arms and waited for me to loop mine through his. We walked slowly up the earthy path. "Tell me about yourself," he said. I looked up at him. He was looking straight ahead.
"I'm sure you know all there is to know already," I told him. Erik grimaced and shook his head, still not looking at me.
"I know what others have told me," he reminded me. "I have yet to know anything personal about you. Like what your favorite food is. Your favorite color. Your likes and dislikes."
I looked down at the beaten forest floor. "I'm truly not that interesting to know," I insisted, wondering again if I should have made a run for it when I had the chance.
"Humor me," he insisted.
I sighed and looked up at the waxing crescent moon. "My favorite food is sushi," I told him. "And my favorite color is indigo!"
Erik smiled. "My favorite food is steak!" he sighed. "We were in Vancouver on a border dispute with the Washington Packs leader who thought it was within his right to hunt on my land. It turned into a month-long stay. I'm glad we are going home. I miss my mothers cooking!"
I raised an eyebrow. "You seem to have an extremely large Pack. Does the whole Pack move with you when you travel?"
I had been curious because of the large, lavish holdings Erik seemed to own and they were big enough to host hundreds of people. "And where is the rest of the Pack? They didn't leave with us?"
Erik nodded. "Most of them are Sporere. Trackers. They hunt the Hunters."
I shuddered at the word. Erik looked down at me, his eyes glowing a little. "You don't need to be afraid of them!" he assured me. "No one will touch you! I won't allow it!"
I nodded. "I hope you're right."
"If you are worried about Aros, don't be. You are safe with me!" I could hear the double meaning in his words. If anyone touched me, Erik would make sure they were dealt with. I had heard rumors how people wished Aros dead. Erik didn't seem to think any different. I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole thing. Aros was still my father. But everyone in the Pack was making Aros out to be this horrible man. A man who had his own tribe slaughtered and his mate killed. A man who had his own daughter thrown into a Pound knowing what would happen.
My hand involuntarily tightened around Erik's arm and my breath came out a white puff.
"Why do you think that Aros is behind my being in the Pound?" I asked him.
Erik sighed. "He hasn't been seen since that night and his body was never recovered from your house. The first thing I tried was tracking his accounts but everything had been either drained of assets or disabled. He did this the day before the massacre," he said and I could hear the reluctance in his voice. As his words sunk in, I realized that what everyone was saying about him was true.
I looked up at him, his face was unsure, calculating. "What else?" I demanded.
Erik shook his head and looked down at me. "What does it matter?" he asked me.
"You are here, safe, with me!" she reminded me. The cold, freezing ground crunched under our feet as the path began to track upward. "It matters," I insisted, pulling my hand free from under his arm. "It matters to me. I want to know why he did this!"
Erik nodded, his eyes fixed on the path before him. "I'd like to know that as well," he admitted. I felt my face fall a little. I had hoped he had found out what Aros had been up to or what he was currently doing.
"All I know is that he showed up just an hour after Liv showed up in the New York Pound to get you and was not happy you were no longer there," he told me.
I looked up at him now. "What?" I demanded. "He was there?" Had Liv been an hour later, I would not be standing here right now. I wouldn't be next to the man that was supposed to be my Mate.
"I had some people look into the matter as well. Needless to say there were no survivors this time-"
I felt my feet drag to a stop. "They are all dead?" I asked him. I felt sick again.
Erik turned to face me now, his face impassive again. "Yes," he answered me.
The men that had abused me were dead. But so were the innocent Dark Fey that had been trapped there as well. I watched his face darken. "And frankly I'm glad because they would have died anyway. I would have seen to that and I would have gladly made them suffer!"
My heart pounded in my chest at his words knowing me meant every word. I was beginning to see that it was not bloodlust that drove Erik. It was the fierce urge to protect what was his. And, even if I wasn't willing to say it out loud yet, I was his. My heart pounded painfully in my chest now as a fluttery feeling took over.
"Did you ever find out what Aros wanted with me?" I asked him, trying to distract myself. Erik shook his head.
"No."
His voice was flat, dead. "That is why I am not letting you out of my sight until I know he is dead-"
I was already shaking my head before he was finished. "No, I am putting your people in danger!" I reminded him. "Look what happened to Jax! I putting targets on peoples backs when I am the one he is looking for-"
Erik reached and gripped my stiff, shivering shoulders. "Our people!" he reminded me. "And besides. If you run he will find you! You know he will! You don't know if he wants to kill you-"
I shook my head. "He had his chance!" I reminded him. "More than once! If you or anyone else is with me when he finds me-"
Erik jerked me closer, his face suddenly just inches from my mine. I watched his piercing green eyes turn ice white and his sharp teeth bit into his lower lip.
"That won't happen!" he almost growled at me before he pressed his lips together and closed his eyes. With a sigh, Erik leaned forward and I felt his lips touch the top of my head. "I will kill him- rip his head from his shoulders before he can put a finger on you!" he vowed, his lips moving, brushing the top of my head. His smell filled me, making my head swim. It was getting hard to concentrate so I leaned away.
I could see that Erik meant it. But what would the rest of the Tribe think? Would they jump into action on my behalf? Would they risk their lives for an outsider? I could never ask anyone to do that. Not for me. Most of Erik Tribe was already Mated.
Erik sighed and raised his hands to my face. "You are mine. Our people will fight for you because you are their Queen!"
I sighed and looked down at my boney frame. Did I even want to lead people? Did he even want to be Queen? Would I be able to lead them? What made me fit to be Queen? All I knew was that I wanted Erik. I wanted him even if I was not willing to admit it to myself or anyone else. "If you say so," I mumbled.
Erik's finger caught my chin. "I do!" he insisted. "And my word is law! As will yours be once we reach Quebec."
Quebec. The one place I had heard was even more of a fortress than Vancouver had been. Surrounded by an evergreen forest, Erik's home was not only home to Wolves, but all sorts of Dark Fey, protected under is law as long as they didn't cause any
trouble and agreed to help keep his lands safe.
"Tell me about Quebec!" I insisted and stepped back, trying to put some space between us. Erik smiled and nodded to the frozen path before us and we kept walking.
Erik smiled. "It's beautiful," he insisted. "You will fit right in there!"
I nodded. "Yes, but what are your people like?" If I was going to pretend, I needed to be prepared. I was still on the fence about staying with the Tribe. After all, it had only been a few days and Aros was hot on our trail. I needed to be ready to bolt at a moment's notice. It wouldn't be safe for anyone if Aros was only a breath away. If he was as dangerous as everyone was telling me.
"Our people are good, for the most part," Erik admitted. "Summers' father is an elder and is on the Council. He is not a very pleasant man to be around-"
I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing. "I wondered where Summer got her charm from," I said. Erik's lips lifted into an amused smile. I watched him lift his arm and snake it around my shoulders, pulling me closer. "You should smile more often," he reminded me. "You look beautiful when you do."
I felt my face burn and my heart thumped in my chest. "Liv is on her way back with the
bloodroot. Are you sure you don't need it?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm fine!"
Erik pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the lit up screen. Erik stopped dead but it was only for a split second.
"Shift!" he ordered and then lunged forward, shifting into his all sandy gold, wild wolf. I didn't hesitate and did as I was told. I lunched forward, as if I were going to dive head first into the frozen forest floor. My bones stretched and cracked, and before I knew it, I was running after Erik's sandy blond wolf before the shift had even fully taken hold. What's going on? I demanded, directing my thoughts toward Erik but it was no use. I was not Mated or bonded to him in any way so there was no mindlink. I could scream all I wanted in my head and he would never hear me.
A long drawn out howl rang through the cold air and Erik dug his paws in, dragging himself to a stop. I stopped beside him, my ears up and at attention, listening for anything out of place. Wild life roamed through the woods around us. A stream trickled calmly nearby. The only thing out of place was rapid breathing. Someone or something was close. I sniffed.
Dread washed through me. I knew this scent. It was copper like, mixed with the smell of death, wood and sweat. Not very appealing at all. I lowered myself to the ground, my eyes rapidly scanning the dark woods around us. Erik looked down at me, stepped one paw over my head, almost as if he were trying to put himself between me and whatever was out there.
Only he didn't know. I did. I know what it was. I knew who it was. Aros was here. Erik sniffed the air and growled. He lowered himself onto me, my head and neck pressed to his massive, furry chest. A low growl rumbled in his chest. I whimpered.
Then a radio beeped and static echoed from right in front of us. Erik growled and lunged forward into a bush. A man screamed at the top of his lungs and shots rang out into the night. Erik growled and wreaked with the limp dead body of the man he had
just killed. With a quick sharp growling snap at me, we took off again.
I could hear them all now. There were dozens of Hunters here.
How had they known we would be here? How did they know we would be taking this way? Erik was back at my side, his maw covered in dark crimson blood. He looked down at me, lowering himself lower to the ground and nudged my face a little. A small whine left him as he licked the top of my head. Blood stained my white fur, cleaning a smeared stain on the top of my head. Then he turned and waited for me to join and follow him into the forest.
I hesitated, listening. I could still hear them moving around. It was so incredibly inconvenient that I didn't have a link with him. I should have let him Mark me when he had insisted the first time. If I died tonight, it would work out fine for him. He would go on to find another Mate and would live out his days as King. If he died... I didn't want to think about that. It was too painful. Pain lanced through me. I couldn't let that happen.
After another moment, the forest around us seemed to calm. The distant chatter that had been getting closer with each breath suddenly stopped, the echoing of radios stopped and the forest was only alive with nature once more. It was like whatever or whoever had been out there was suddenly gone. Then the wind shifted and I caught the scent again. And this time, so did Erik.
His growl echoed all around me and bounced off of the trees as a tall, dark figure stepped into the clearing at the top of the hill. I knew who it was, even though I couldn't make out his face.
Aros.
He had found me.
Before either Erik or I could react, a few dozen Wolves appeared all darted forward and charged at the shadowy figure as a mossy brown wolf came to a halt beside me. She reached down and nudged me telling me to follow her. I looked back at Erik who was now in a fight with a rather large man who was brandishing a silver rod at him. I watched as the man swung the rod at Erik and struck him over the head. Erik went down and I saw red. I howled loudly and rushed over to him but he was already on his feet, turning to face me, growling and showing off his teeth. Warning me to stay away. He wanted me to leave? But how could I? If there was a fight, why should I be the one to run? He growled at me and snapped his teeth at me again and the brown wolf beside me but me gently, pulling me back. With a small snot at Erik, I followed Liv back into the forest. Soon the sound of fighting and screaming faded away. Before long, we reached a small cabin. It was dark and quiet inside. With a small growl at me, Liv trotted over to the door and sniffed it before she circled the house, making sure no one else had been here. I stayed crouched in the bushes where I was. When she was satisfied that no one was here, I watched her shift back into her human form. Liv sighed and stood to her feet, her pearl naked skin almost glowing in the moonlight. Her silver hair was down, matter, knotted and dirty, her skin scuffed with dirt and scrapes. She waved for me to join her on the porch. "Come on, Lexi," she hissed at me and reached up to run her fingers along the top of the door frame. When she found what she was looking for she smiled. "Right where my father left it!" she told me and held up the small bronze key in her hand. I padded over to her and with one last look around, I shifted back, my knees buckling as I crumpled to the rough wooden floor. "Come on, we don't have much time!"
Liv reached down and helped me back to my feet and pulled me inside the cold cabin. I shuddered and my breath came out in a white puff. "It's cold!" I said through catering teeth.
Liv walked over to a sofa and pulled an afghan off the back and tossed it to me. "Come on, we need to get dressed!" she said, but before I could speak something landed outside the cabin. We both froze. No one breathed.
"Lexi?"
I straightened, staring at the door, not believing my ears. My heart pounded in my ears. There was no way. Erik had told me there had been no survivors. No one had come down from my family Mountain home that night. Just me. Aros had let me go, knowing what would happen if the Hunters got me.
"Lexi, please, open up!"
Now I was sure. I was at the door and unlocking it before I really understood what I was doing. I pulled it open but Liv was there to slam it shut quickly.
"Lexi!" she snapped my name and I looked up at her. "What are you doing?"
I shook my head. "Move!" I told her and shoved her hand aside. Liv struggled with me for a moment.
"What is it?" she demanded. "You can't open that door!" I sighed and stepped back.
"Move!" I ordered.
It was odd. I watched a confused look overcome Liv's face for a moment and she backed down. She stepped aside and I, not wanting to dwell on the fact that Liv had just looked at me as if I had just slapped her silly?, I tugged the door open quickly.
Sure enough, there he was. My cousin Declan. He was nothing like the shy, bony kid I remembered.
Declan, my mothers nephew, was like a brother to me. We weren't really related because Declan had been adopted into the family so we were not really related by blood. He was tall now. His lean body and toned muscles were that of a man. I shook my head, looking back at his blond hair and two toned eyes. One black. The other white. He smiled at me.
"You look like hell!" he told me.
A sigh left my lips but before I could say anything Erik was on the front porch, dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans. He stepped between us, puffing out his chest.
"Step back, Shifter!" he said in a low threatening voice. Erik towered over him and I watched as Declan backed away down the stairs, his hands up.
"The Modori King himself," Declan greeted Erik and bowed low before him. "King Erik, it is an honor-"
Erik growled and Declan fell silent. "Lexi, go with Liv and get dressed, now!" he ordered. His voice had gone dead, void of emotion and his eyes, dead and black, were fixed on Declan. I turned away and followed Liv upstairs without another word. Erik and Declan remained in a death stare.
I followed Lexi upstairs and into the first bedroom. My duffel bag was on the bed and I sighed in relief. I dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of thick leggings and thick turtle neck and my boots, I threw my hair up in a messy bun and hurried back down the stairs. This had only taken me seconds. I wanted to hurry.
Erik didn't know this was my only living relative that had been at the Mountain that night. He was the only one alive that could help me piece the rest of that night together. If Erik decided he didn't trust Declan he would either be dealt with or turned away. And with Hunters in the are, Declan wasn't dumb enough to stick around with Hunters in the area. I had questions. And I hoped that Declan had the answers.