Shadow of the Wolf

Chapter Nineteen

She looks so peaceful, Dartian thought, as he looked down into her lovely face. The light touch of her hand had made his heart pound out a rhythm to match hers. She was beautiful as she slept, like an angel sent from the gods. He felt dirty and vile compared to her goodness and compassion. Lightly rubbing a golden strand of her silken hair between his fingers, he avoided letting go. In the distance Dartian heard a grunt from Zachius. Reluctantly, he released the hair he held and slowly bent down, placing a tender kiss on her forehead.

Getting up and moving out of the room, Dartian quietly closed the door behind him, allowing her peace and quiet to regain her strength. Shooting Zachius an annoyed look, Dartian couldn’t help but laugh at the smirk covering Zachius’ face.

“She is an amazing woman, Dartian.” Zachius stated honestly. “She will make a good mate for you; perhaps she can keep you in line.”

“Yes she is amazing, but she is not my mate. We are of two different worlds.” Though he prayed he could find a way, he also knew he had to face the facts. He was a shape-shifter…she was not.

“And your point?”

“Well…she is fool-hearty, headstrong, willful.” he tried desperately to list qualities he felt were bad but all he could think of was her good things. “But she is also beautiful, courageous, spirited, compassionate, and full of light. Such the opposite of me, it is scary.”

“Dartian, I know you better than you know yourself my friend. She is everything you say, true enough, but she is also your true mate. I can see the way you two look at each other. She may be the opposite of much of what you are, but that could be why she is right for you. And race be damned, you know the legends.”

Dartian heard the sincerity in Zachius’ voice. Nevertheless, he knew their world was volatile and that the union between two different races had never been sanctioned by the elders. Too many unstable problems could arise from the pairing. It would not matter if they were meant to be, they would both be outcasts if they proceeded. Shaking his head, he slowly moved to the window, looking out into the bright blue sky. How had his world gotten so turned around? He knew the answer, but it didn’t help matters any.

*****

Muffled voices coming from the common room followed Saleene as she began to drift into a fitful sleep. Questions swirled in her mind. So many things were unanswered. She could feel that whatever had attacked Nadrin was only meant to incapacitate him, not kill him. That bothered her. The combination of the venom mixed with the earlier attack had been staged precisely. Few would be able to control, let alone inflict, the damage in the right amounts to avoid death. She wondered who here could possess that knowledge. Worse than that, what purpose did it serve to administer it to the village’s healer? These questions tormented Saleene as she fell into a deep sleep.

Moments later, Saleene awoke once more. Still feeling drained she looked around the room, but all was quiet in the home. Confused, she got up from her bed, placing her bare feet on the cold tile floor. Barely any light filtered throughout the room, indicating that night had fallen.

“I know I told Dartian to let me sleep only an hour or so. Why did he let me sleep until nightfall?” She knew the others could not hear her. Listening she heard only silence. The quiet in the house made her nervous. Concerned that something more may have happened while she slept, she opened the door and made her way to the common room. No one seemed left in the house. Why would they have gone out without her? Could they have gone to the leader already?

Annoyed that Dartian might have left to visit the leader without her, Saleene picked up her pace, heading for the door. Looking around the interior, something just did not feel right. Before she could stop herself, she opened the door, allowing a gush of air to push into the home. The slam of the breeze forced the breath from her lungs and knocking her to the floor. Trying to regain her balance, Saleene looked up from where she had fallen back at the doorway only to find a large wolf staring back, his eyes blazing red with fury.