Blood for Wolves (32 page)

He went back to begging silently
again. I put a hand on his chest. He glanced down at it. His heart beat steadily.
I wondered if it had cracked the way mine had.

And then I didn’t care anymore. I
was alive. Whole. And Wolf was here, and he’d done his best to protect me and
watch over me, and I knew in my soul that if I rejected him now he would limp
away somewhere and die.

I wrapped my
arms around him and kissed him with all the energy I could muster. Forgiven, he
clutched me to him, one hand weaving into my hair as he returned the kiss, full
of relief and desire. The familiar taste of mint and, heaven knew how, berries
filled my mouth, the scent of him surrounding me. Having his mouth once again
on mine was like coming home. More exhilarating than his fierce kisses when I
seduced him, more loving and beautiful than the kiss at the lake. We were
bonded, mates for life. I didn’t know how it was possible, but I thanked all the
stars in the sky and their creator for delivering me to him.

When I finally emerged into the
throne room, I stepped in to a chorus of cheers and applause. People filled the
room, all of them dressed in fine clothing and bright colors. Sentries stood
around the edges, looking far more relaxed than I’d seen since my first meeting
with them. Dishes topped with food and drinks covered the dining table on the
far side of the chamber. Everyone held silvery goblets filled with sweet
drinks, all of them there to greet me.

I walked in, my arm linked with
Wolf’s. He’d helped me dress in a flowing green and gold gown, and managed to
dig up a pair of flat shoes. Though much of my strength had returned, my legs still
felt a bit wobbly, and I didn’t want to try heels. Then he’d taken a moment to
let the Sentries outside my door know I was awake and coming down. I guessed
that gave everyone enough time to set out a feast and congregate in the throne
room.

“Caroline!”

Alex broke free from the crowd and
caught me up in a hug, practically lifting me off the ground. He looked more
handsome than I’d ever seen, dressed in an elegant blue suit with gold thread
embroidered around the edges.

“How are you?” he asked. “Are you
okay?”

I gave him a small smile. “I’m
fine. A little tired, but I’ll live.”

The frantic pattering of feet over
the ground told me that Marianne wasn’t far behind. I knelt on the ground just
in time to wrap my arms around her.

“Hello, honey. How are you?” I
asked.

She pulled back enough for me to
see her face, flushed from her little run. She beamed brightly.

“I’m good. Everyone’s here! The
sorcerers have been talking about you a lot, and my mama and papa really want
to meet you. Some of them were worried you would never wake up like Rosamond.”

“Like who?” I asked, but in that
moment a woman who could be none other than Marianne’s mother swept forward.

“Thank you so much.” She hugged me
even tighter than Alex had. “Thank you! Thank you for saving our little girl. I’m
so glad you were her Guardian.”

She sniffed, trying to hold back
tears. Suddenly I wanted to go home. I wanted to see my mother. My father. My
sisters. To reassure them that I was okay, to apologize for making them look
for me and putting them in such pain.

“Well,” I managed, unsure of what
to say, “she’s a special girl. And I certainly had a lot of help.”

After that I was swept away into
the crowd of people, Wolf on one side of me and Marianne on the other. I met
her father, who thanked me as profusely as her mother. I spoke with the
sorcerers and discussed Marianne’s future role in the kingdom. They would teach
her how to rule well, and I agreed to stay until her formal crowning, teaching
her everything I knew of wolves in the meantime. I found Martock, who
apologized for his role in the Steward mess, knowing how wrong it was for he
and his men to go along with the Steward’s plan, but unable to find a way out
until meeting up with Wolf. He conceded that perhaps wolves weren’t quite what
he’d thought they were after all.

Together we mingled and ate, talked
and laughed. Marianne was excited for me to see her crowning, and I was amazed
at her ability to bounce back after going through such an ordeal. Then again,
kids always did have uncanny ways of surviving things. I knew in my heart she
wouldn’t be quite the same ever again, but perhaps that would make her stronger
and a wiser ruler. With her parents and the sorcerers of the court to guide
her, she had a good chance. Just to be sure, I reached out with my senses to
examine the magicians. Their magic lay quiet, relaxed. No desire to rear up and
be violent to take over the kingdom the way the Mistress’s had.

As I spoke
with a handful of people, recounting some of our journey, I took a moment to
scan the crowd in search of Alex. He’d wanted to go home ever since he found
me. I wondered how he felt now. I spotted him off to the side, casually
chatting with a pretty maid who giggled, thoroughly enjoying his attention. Alex
caught my gaze. He winked at me and I laughed.

Later, when I was alone in my room
again, I stood in front of the three-paned full length mirror, naked.

The number of scars covering my
body seemed unreal. Every wound closed by the lavawort left a mark on my skin. I
looked like something out of a comic book. The Mistress’s curse had opened
plenty of cuts; they criss-crossed over my back, sliced down my arms, made my
legs a pattern of lines. I was lucky she’d gone for pain and a slow bleed out;
if any of them had sliced deeper, a few major arteries might have been severed
and there wouldn’t be any coming back.
Still…

The door opened and Wolf slipped
inside. I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself. He cocked his head at
me.

“What are you up to, my heart?”

I faced my image in the mirror again.
“Look at me.”

I’d never considered myself
perfect, but I still always thought my skin was rather nice. I looked at the
palms of my hands. I’d slashed both of them with the knife—even they were
scarred over.

He chuckled. Fabric rustled. Then
Wolf stepped into the mirror beside me, naked as well, his body covered in just
as many scars, several of them much worse. The kehmet claw marks across his
abdomen had long since faded from their new-pink color to a slightly lighter
shade than the rest of his skin. He turned to offer me a full view of them. I’d
never looked at them this closely before. I recognized the sword slash on his
shoulder blade.

“Do you find me any less
appealing?” he asked once he’d finished his circle.

I blushed. “No.” In fact, a good
part of me wanted to jump him right then and there.

“Besides, yours are nobler, love.”

“What do you mean?”

He lifted his foot to show me a
rough-looking scar along his ankle. “Angry badger.”

I laughed. When I finally stopped,
he smoothed my hair and gazed down at me lovingly.

“You’re beautiful, Caroline.”

He took my hands and turned my
palms up. He kissed each one before kneeling and, holding my leg gently, began
to kiss each and every scar. He took his time, pressing his lips to my skin,
front and back, slowly working his way up to the small of my back, my belly, my
arms, my shoulders where he lingered at the barely visible bite marks, neck,
and then tenderly kissed the scar on my cheek and the tiny one above my eyebrow
where I’d hit my head after meeting him.

I wanted to do the same to show him
how much I treasured every part of him, but I was shaking, I wanted him so
badly. I dragged him closer and fastened my mouth to his, relishing in the
softness of his lips and the velvet swiftness of his tongue. His hands played
over my back, tracing the scars before pressing flat to hold my body tightly
against his. I would never get enough of him, his taste, his scent, the way his
lean muscles went taut every time he was around me, the way my body went crazy
just being near him. I lifted one leg and wrapped it around his body, offering
myself eagerly to him. Breathing heavily, he broke away just long enough to
speak.

“I should let you know, after
tonight, you might need two more days of sleep.”

I nuzzled my cheek against his. “Bring
it on, babe.”

I gave Marianne a huge hug, glad to
finally be going back, yet sad to leave her and the luxury of the castle
behind.

“Will you come back and visit?” she
asked into my hair.

“If I can, of course I will.” I
pulled back and looked into her face. “And I trust that you’ll remember
everything I told you?”

She nodded, sniffing as she tried
to hold back tears. I smiled at her and smoothed her hair.

“Just remember, it might be hard,
but you have people here that will help you.” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “You’re
a very strong girl, Marianne. If anyone can put this place right, it’s you.” I
hugged her again.

After a few more farewells between
the court and myself, Alex, and Wolf, the three of us set off, laden with packs
of food, good drink, and clean clothes. There was no question about Wolf coming
to our world. I couldn’t leave him, and he couldn’t leave me. But I felt pretty
certain he’d adjust well. After all, I lived in a small cabin in the woods and
studied wolves for a living. Exactly the sort of thing Wolf could adjust to—maybe
even help me with.

The magic pond—or doorway—sat
several days away, but for once I didn’t worry about traveling through the
forest. The Kingdom still had a long way to go in terms of wolf-human relations,
which is why Alex wore a Sentry outfit and Wolf kept his tail hidden, but at
least this time we weren’t in any hurry and didn’t have to concern ourselves
with a werewolf witch. We didn’t need Sentries to accompany us to the pond. Every
now and then when I glanced into the trees, a flash of gray, tan, or white
would pass through the foliage.

It only rained once on our way to
the pond, the rest of the days were clear and cheerfully bright. We hiked in
the cool shade of the trees, ate warm meals at night, recounting our different
experiences. I asked Alex what it was like to be a stag, eventually leading him
to admit he wasn’t sure he wanted to hunt anymore. Wolf and I tried to figure
out why my heart would break as a human, finally giving up and simply
attributing it to my steadfast love for wolves.

“You know,” I said when we reached
the pond, “I forgot we had to jump in and get all wet to get home.”

We stood around it, staring at the
placid water. A frog croaked.

“Well,” Alex said, and then fell
silent. Neither of us had come up with a sufficient story for our
disappearance. We’d been gone for almost a month. So far the best we could do
was claim injuries and lost radios by a bear attack, rescued by another hiker—Wolf.
At least I had enough scars to potentially trick some people, though they
looked nothing like bear attack scars.

“Now or never,” I said. “I hope
it’s not raining.”

Wolf took my hand, and together we
jumped in.

Just like last time, the pond went
much deeper than it appeared on the surface. We seemed to sink forever before
finally finding the bottom and pushing ourselves back up. I wiped the water
from my eyes once we emerged and glanced around. Different. I looked for the
little stream that led away from the pond. Sure enough, it ran south and not
north, the way I was familiar with. Alex came up beside me, coughing and
sputtering.

“I think I swallowed a frog back
there.”

The sun rested low on the horizon
here, dim orange light seeping through the trees. We crawled out of the pond,
wringing out our clothes. From here it would only be a handful of miles back to
where our cars were parked.

“Oh my God,” I groaned. Cars. Keys.
“Alex, do you have your car keys?”

He gaped at me. “No.”

I smacked the palm of my hand into
my forehead. Then he laughed.

“I left it unlocked.”

And he always kept a spare key
hidden under the seat. I punched him in the arm.

“By the way,” Wolf said, reaching
into his jacket, “I have something you might want.”

He produced one of our radios. To
my astonishment, it looked dry.

“Where did you get that?” I asked.

“The werewolves took it from Alex,
and I stole it from them. I thought since it was one of the things you used to
save me in the village, it might come in handy again. I had one of the
sorcerers at the palace charm it so it would be able to pass through the water
safely.”

He handed it to Alex and within
moments, Alex had it live and searching for a frequency.

“Brandon, you there? Over.”

After a few seconds, a voice came
through. “Alex? Jesus Christ, is that you? Where the hell are you? We’ve been
looking for you for two days.”

“We’re north of the,” Alex stopped.
I gaped at him. “Brandon, did you just say two days?”

“Yeah. You said you were going to
go check up on something with your sister and we haven’t heard from you since. Are
you two all right?”

Alex and I could only stare at each
other. We’d traipsed through a warped fairy tale world for almost a month and
we’d only been gone for two days? Suddenly I felt like celebrating. For once in
my life I was glad that no one had noticed I was gone. My parents and sisters
wouldn’t be panicked, thinking I’d fallen into a ravine or been eaten by a bear.

“We’re fine,”
Alex said once he recovered from the shock. “I’ll give you a full report once I
get back. Right now I have to take Caroline home.”

I opened the door to my house, glad
that like Alex I’d left the door unlocked. I’d have to get new keys to my car
and fetch it tomorrow.

“Well,” I said, “welcome to my
humble abode.”

Wolf walked in after me. I couldn’t
help but grin. It was weird watching him, here, in the flesh, in my house. My
half-wolf from a faraway land. He titled his head, smelling the place. Though
he’d found the car fascinating, he hadn’t exactly enjoyed riding in it.