Bound by Fate (Moon Bound Series Book 1) (23 page)

“
Welcome, Beth,” Shale approached her, a wide smile on his thin lips, and a warmth in his amber eyes that she instantly approved of.  He was a huge man; Beth had to crane her neck to look into his face, and she supposed he was quite intimidating but she’d had a constant string of Guardians trailing her like daemons for so long that his size didn’t daunt her one bit.  “Thank you,” she replied, taking the hand he offered in greeting.

“
Let me introduce my aids, Loretta and Kadleen.”

“
Very pleased to meet you both,” Beth nodded a greeting to them both, and obeyed the healer’s gesture to move forward.

“
I’m Kadleen,” the smaller of the two said, a smile creasing her wide mouth and merriment twinkling in her silver eyes.  “This is Loretta, my sister.  She doesn’t speak,” Kadleen explained.  “Couldn’t resist one last shimmer, and lost her voice box on the way back.”

Beth had heard of such anomalies taking place during a wolf’s last years of the shimmer.  She supposed losing a voice box was much preferable to losing say, her human nose, or her hands, which had happened, to hear some of the elders speak.

Beth shook the hands of both with pleasure and glanced around at the children who were all staring at her in awe.  She supposed they had heard of her, and expected another dominant wolf to be just as overbearing as their Alpha.  She would work hard to prove herself otherwise. 

“
Hello there,” she said, eyes sweeping the entire gathering of children.  Their ages ranged from three years to fifteen years, and some of them had more wariness than others.  A little boy of what Beth guessed to be five tugged on her jeans with his grubby hands.  When she looked down, one of the older girls whipped his hands away from her with a scalding reprimand not to touch her. 

“
Showwy,” he mumbled around the grimy thumb he’d immediately popped into his mouth.  “I jush wanshed sho know if she wash here to learn like ush.”  A big, fat and glistening tear rolled down his face as he considered the angry face of the girl who had scolded him.

“
Hey,” she whispered, leaning down on her haunches so she could get as close to eye level as she could with the little guy.  “You probably know more than I do,” she assured him in a sing-song voice.  “You could probably teach me!”

Laughing, he pulled his thumb from his mouth and glared at the girl who was now sitting back on her heels, frowning in confusion.  “I could,” he replied, eyes shining.  “I really could!”

As Beth turned back towards Shale, she was sure she could see him out of the corner of her eye, sticking his tongue out at the now silent young girl.  She scarcely held in her laugh.  Shale’s eyes were so full of approval, and genuine amusement that she smiled, and put on the brave face, even though her stomach was twisting and churning from the events of the morning, and the events yet to come.  “So,” she asked him in a teasing voice.  “Which herb should I pick if I want to make my dinner tastier tomorrow?”

“
Well Lovage Seed is wonderful on venison, while Cardamom or Coriander is best with pork…”

Beth forced herself to listen to all the different herbs and spices she could use on her meat, determined that before the month was up she would not only know how to cook them, she would also know how to flavor them correctly.  She was soon to be a Den Mother in her own right, although it could take some time for her to be with cubs, she needed to know this stuff.

For an hour or more, Beth got down and dirty in the soft soil with the others, diligently weeding and mulching ready for the winter that in these territories could literally arrive over night.  The children hummed low to Shale’s slow, deep chanting, imploring the Great Mother for her help in making the earth fertile and rich.  Beth swayed as the tune took over her body and soothed her worries.

There was not much talk going on, a fact Beth was heartily glad of.  Expecting a lecture that droned on and on about this herb and that, today’s task was instead to prepare the earth and protect the plants, which really didn’t need much instruction. Beth’s fingers sifted through the velvety earth, rooting out the weeds that even Shale couldn’t hold at bay.  This was a wild world, and the wild wanted to reclaim it.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” a soft whisper caressed her ear, and a gentle hand cupped her elbow.  “I’ve been looking for you, my mate.”

“
Donovan,” Beth replied, almost hypnotised by the melodious chanting, her eyes half-mast and hazy. 

“
Come with me,” he whispered, lifting her to her feet.  “I’m sure Shale won’t mind if I monopolize my mate for a while.”

Shale nodded once, slowly.  “You just make sure my newest pupil is back here first thing in the morning for her first lesson.”

“I’ll do that, Healer,” he promised earnestly, leading Beth away from the little gathering, deeper into the wood.

“
Where are we going?” Beth asked excitedly, thankful that he’d had regained his characteristic good humor.

Donovan moved his arm to settle about her shoulders in a proprietary fashion, and Beth tried not to bump hips with him as they both found a comfortable rhythm to walk in.  “Oh, I was thinking we could explore a little,” he informed her, eyes smiling.  “A little bird told me you’re joining the hunt this evening and I thought you’d like to walk the trails with me beforehand.”

“I’d love that,” she exclaimed, tightening her grip on his waist. 

Shoving the thought of Gareth to the back of her mind, she wiggled her fingers beneath the light cotton of Donovan's shirt, to stroke the heated skin above his jeans waistband. 

He looked at her quickly, heat in his golden stare, and Beth offered him a small smile.  She knew he was reluctant to take any invitation she offered him, in the event that it was snatched back like it had been before.  Shaking her head slightly at the question in his eyes, she came to a halt and wrapped her other arm around his neck, swinging around in front of him.  The kiss was soft and undemanding, their lips brushing slowly against each other, tongues stroking unhurriedly.

“
Beth,” he croaked, wrapping his vast arms around her waist, dragging her closer, his breath hot on her cheek.  “The things you do to me, my mate.”

“
Are you going to join us on the hunt, Donovan?”  Beth was a little breathless herself; that was the first kiss on the road to a Bond, she knew, and it was hard not to feel nervous and frightened, while at the same time feeling guilty for the enjoyment she took from one of Donovan's devastating kisses.  Silently willing her mind to prevent all thoughts of the state she would be in by now if it was her other mate who she had been kissing, she glanced into his bright eyes.

“
Would you like me to?” he asked.

She sighed.  Why must everything be about her?  Why couldn’t he simply say that he didn’t want to, or that he did, or that he would see how the mood struck him?  Why was it her decision?  “I don’t mind,” she offered. 
Make up your own mind,
she silently begged of him.  She didn’t want him to be but a puppet, acting out her wishes. 

“
I have a lot of work to do,” he confessed.  “Although the thought of a run with you is too tempting by half.”  He grinned down at her and loosened his hold.  “I do believe I’ll try my best to join you,” he told her, long legs carrying him through the wood.

She followed, memorizing as best she could the trails and the clearings.  There were copses of softwood competing for survival in amongst the giant hardwoods like the majestic oak and the greenest ginkgo trees.  The softwood conifers rising like giant stalagmites yearning for the sun always made Beth feel dizzy and insignificant.  The thought that these trees were seeded here before even her village elders were born served to remind her that life goes on, whether she wanted it to or not.

“Donovan?” she queried, pointing to a small hare scampering across the trail ahead of them.

He grinned, releasing the clasp of his belt with one hand while pulling his shirt over his head with the other.  Beth stepped out of her trainers, sliding her jeans over her hips, she let them fall to pool around her ankles while pulling her own shirt off. 

Before Donovan had stepped out of his own footwear, Beth stood before him panting in her wolf-form.  With a wry twist to his lips, he swung his head to keep track of their prey. 
You snooze, you lose,
Beth thought, taking after the wild hare.  White fur flashed as the hare tried to out pace her, his long paws thumping the ground like a heartbeat.  Beth stalked it easily, herding it out into the clearing to the right.  If it reached the small copses and shrubs they’d never find it again.

As she directed the animal, she flicked a glance back and found Donovan hard on her heels.  He was swift and sleek, dark as coal and powerful as a bear.  She could well imagine him leading the hunt, tracking the prey and taking it down in one almighty lunge.

He loped around to flank the hare, sending it scurrying back toward Beth.  It had no choice, its instincts told it that the smaller wolf was the lesser threat, so it took the only choice available.  Ahead of it was a stream and behind it to either side were the wolves.  It tried to cut across Beth, darting its hind legs out of reach of her swiping paw.  Beth growled in frustration and leaped, landing upon the frightened animal in victory. 

There she pinned it with an outstretched paw, easily holding it no matter how it wriggled and writhed.  Donovan sauntered to her side, sparing the struggling hare barely a glance before snapping at Beth’s foreleg, willing her to release her prey.  She did, slowly watching it beat feet towards the small grove to her left. 

Earning a reprieve, the hare disappeared into the dense undergrowth while Beth began to trot back towards her discarded pile of clothes.  Donovan was right – she would hunt in truth this evening – there was no need to kill the hare.  She remembered him explaining the method of conservation.  There would be no hunting for fun on Tall Grass lands.  Her human half recognized and even commended that, but her wolf wanted to bite into the soft underbelly of the hare, ripping intestines and flesh free.  Unsatisfied, she growled softly in warning as Donovan nipped at her flanks.

She was in no mood to play.  She’d wanted the taste of the kill.  The thrill of the chase was nothing without the satisfaction of completion.  This was just one more thing she had to get used to.  Before her mate could realize the mood she was in, she flashed him a quick wolf-grin, baring her teeth and growling softly.  Something to be said for no pack ties, she thought.  He can’t read my mind.

“It’s not very practical to show you around the trails in wolf-form,” he announced as soon as he’d shimmered back into human-form, crouched down on his powerful thighs.  He really was a fine specimen, and Beth appreciated the view. 

Whining, she shimmered back herself, reluctantly shaking off her wolf-form to assume her two-legged stance.  She lost track of the time as they wandered through the wood, trees standing tall and proud, vague bubbling sounds indicating a stream in the vicinity.  There certainly were plenty of signs of wildlife, she mused.  Tracks here, there and everywhere.
It shouldn’t be too hard to find something delicious in this forest.

“
I have to get back,” Donovan told her as he led her toward the clearing she had spent the afternoon digging in the soft earth.  She nodded distractedly.  “I have a meeting with my father,” he announced, immediately putting her on edge.  “Perhaps I will see you for the hunt.”  His soft, callous-free fingertips trailed down her cheek, and turned her face up for his farewell kiss.

It was a chaste meeting of lips, which took no longer than the blink of an eye, and then she was alone, Donovan lightly jogging toward the path.  She decided now was a good a time as any to track down the sinuous Mistress of the Dance.

The door to the Common House swung open to reveal a sparsely populated area.  Only two wolves lay, curled up by the fire, regarding her with lazy eyes.  “Alanna?” she inquired.  Both wolves shook their heads slightly.  She nodded her thanks, backing out.  She would search a while and then return to her room to await tonight’s hunt.  She had a good ninety minutes or so before the sun began its descent.

She must live in one of these cottages, Beth thought to herself, frustrated.  Where was everyone?  The village seemed strangely deserted and she wondered if there was an event nobody had thought to mention to her.  The first home she approached belonged to the apprentice healer, Felicity, as she found out shortly after issuing a light knock upon the pine door.  “I’m sorry for disturbing you, Felicity,” Beth hastened to apologize.  No wonder there had been no sign of the apprentice in the clearing – she looked like death warmed up.  “Are you quite well?”

The woman gazed upon her, half dazed with watery eyes and a sheen of sweat upon her brow.  She had a high color reminiscent of a temperature.  “Oh, I’m fine, Beth.”  The pretty mouth curled into a rueful smile.  “Lady problems,” she explained softly. 

“Ah,” Beth replied just as softly.  She was obviously in the iron grip of a monstrous heat, and her mate was absent.  “Is there anything I can do for you?”