Capturing Caroline (7 page)

Caroline seemed
awed by the town. He'd never been to the human world, but he knew
that the differences were many. Human towns had concrete roads,
sidewalks, buildings, parking lots. They were not unlike the Magica
cities.

For the most
part, the Lycaon villages were built into nature, itself. They did
use concrete sometimes in their construction, but mostly they
favored wood, building into the sides of hills and integrating
trees right into the structures, rather than seeing trees as
obstacles to be removed. If you weren't looking closely, you just
might miss a Lycaon village. This, obviously, was kind of the
point. Besides it being camouflage, the integration with nature
just simply suited their culture.

He could
imagine how strange it must be for Caroline to be here, how alien,
because he'd imagined visiting her world and how odd that would be.
He prayed she liked it here, since it would be home for her long
after he was gone.

They'd come
into town this morning to meet with her sisters and their mates.
There was a meeting scheduled for all the village's decision
makers. The leaders from the other twelve villages would also be in
attendance. Once Jessa had revealed the full extent of her plan,
messages had been sent far and wide for all to come and be
informed.

The last couple
of days had been the best he'd ever experienced. Although they’d
also been bittersweet, since he understood his time with Caroline
was finite. He could see in Caroline’s eyes that this was true for
her as well. That fact made him want to kill the world; it made him
so angry.

He only wanted
her to be happy. Ironically, he would be the one bringing her the
ultimate sadness.

She pointed at
a large oak tree with a door carved with an elaborate swirling
design in the immense trunk. "What is that?" she asked. She'd asked
about pretty much every building she'd been able to spot.

He grinned. She
was like a little kid. "That is a dress shop."

Her eyes lit
up. "Really? What kind of clothes do they sell here?"

He shrugged.
"The normal kind. At least, normal for this world. We don't have
jeans here, or suits and ties, or fancy shoes. We have clothes that
are durable and comfortable. Sometimes the women wear dresses, but
normally they all wear pants."

She looked him
up and down. "I supposed most people go through a lot of clothes
here what with the shape-shifting and all."

He laughed.
"Not usually. We're careful when we transform." He sobered as he
realized that Caroline was a new shifter. These were all things he
would need to teach her before he....left.

"What's wrong?
You got quiet all of a sudden." She caught his hand as they stood
looking at the shop door.

"Nothing. Let's
go in. We have plenty of time before the meeting."

"Oh, can we? I
can't get enough of this place. It's like being in The Shire."

"The
where?"

"Never mind."
She squeezed his hand, and then ran off toward the clothing
store.

He watched her
go, emotion squeezing his chest.

She pulled open
the door of the shop and disappeared inside. He followed her,
taking a few steps down a short corridor and ducking his head to
avoid the low ceiling. In a few moments, he was down into the earth
far enough that the store opened up into an immense space. Racks
and racks of clothes lined the shop. Somewhere to his right, he
heard Caroline exclaim with pleasure to Madeline, the store owner.
Following her voice, he threaded his way through the racks and
found her in the shoe department.

"These are just
incredible," she said, picking up a pair of boots. "They're so
soft, yet seem so tough."

"They're made
from an animal like a deer," said Torrent, walking up to her. "They
are called elopes here. They are plentiful and, like your deer,
have trouble surviving the winter. We hunt many of them, but we use
every single part of their body, even their horns, so they are not
sacrificed shallowly." He nodded at Madeline. "Hello, Maddy."

"Hello,
Torrent. I'm happy to make Caroline's acquaintance. Everyone in the
village has been buzzing about her arrival."

"It
was...unexpected."

Her expression
grew sad. "I know."

Caroline set
down the boots and wandered off into the women's clothing. She was
smiling with delight at her new discoveries.

"Let her have
anything she wants,” Torrent said to Maddy. “Anything she shows
interest in. I'll give you her sizes. Those boots, for starters.
Just have everything sent to my house."

"Of
course."

He had only a
short time to make up for a lifetime of gift giving.

"And will a
wedding dress be needed?" she inquired in a soft voice.

Torrent pressed
his lips together. "I don't know yet, Maddy. I'll let you
know."

She nodded.

Torrent let her
shop for as long as he could before they needed to leave and attend
the meeting. He didn't tell her that Madeline was keeping track of
every tiny thing she seemed to like. Sometime later that day, she
would be surprised by a cartload of clothes, shoes and jewelry. The
thought of her pleasure eased the ache in his heart a little.

They left the
shop and made their way across the village. It was deceptively big,
nestled as it was in the forest. Finally they reached an entrance
set into the side of a large hill. This building would certainly
surprise Caroline if the others hadn’t already. One couldn't see
from the outside that it was a cave. The inside was incredibly
large and even contained a theater where they held plays, concerts
and dances. In fact, Caroline’s sister, Paige, was a dancer and
performed here from time to time.

Once inside,
Caroline gasped. "This world never fails to amaze me," she
murmured, looking up at the huge domed foyer that had been painted
with frescoes from Selaryica’s past.

"I'm glad you
enjoy it."

"It's so
strange, but this village just feels right to me, even though it's
so different than what I'm used to."

“It's not
strange. This place speaks to your blood, the part of you that is
Lycaon. Not even tens of thousands of years of human genes can
remove that. It's too powerful."

She looked up
at him. "Kind of how I feel about you. My feelings for you are
inexplicable. I've only known you for such a short time. Logically,
I shouldn't love you as deeply as I do." She paused and swallowed
hard. "But now that I’ve met you I know I've never known love
before now."

He dipped his
head and kissed her softly. "I feel the same." He paused, fishing
out a small box from his pocket. "I was going to wait until the
meeting to do this, so your sisters could be there, but—” He
dropped to one knee. He'd read that's how they did this in the
human world. Handing her the box he said, "Please become my mate,
Caroline Susan Gannet. For however short our mate bond may last, I
want it to be official."

She took the
box and flipped it open, then drew a careful breath

"Torrent, this
thing is huge." It was a lavenstone. It looked a lot like a diamond
from her world, but had a lavender tint to it.

“Is that your
answer?" He grinned up at her.

"Yes. Of
course, my answer is
yes
." She knelt and embraced him.

He kissed her
deeply, losing himself in the scent and feel of her. Somewhere
above them people clapped and cheered. They looked up to find
Caroline's sisters and mates standing at the top of the winding
staircase looking down on them.

"Paige and I
can plan the wedding," yelled Kaitlyn.

"We can’t
wait!" chimed in Paige.

Torrent helped
Caroline to her feet. Tears were running down her cheeks. "This is
almost perfect," she whispered.

He agreed.
Almost. They started up the stairs together. Now it was time to do
the hard stuff, planning the salvation of his people...and his
death.

* * * *

Caroline sat at
the end of the long table. Her sisters, her brothers-in-law, Jessa,
Logan, Torrent, and leaders from the other Lycaon villages were all
in a heated discussion about how best to kill her fiancé.

Looking down at
the table, she swallowed hard and willed herself to keep it
together. Selfishness was not an option here. If Torrent dying
meant an entire race could survive and live in peace, then it would
have to be done.

Didn't mean she
had to like it.

All she wanted
was to stand up, slam her fist on the table and yell,
No!
Not doing that became harder with every word they uttered. She
examined her hand. Torrent's ring sat nicely on her finger. Like it
had been made for her. She twisted it back and forth, listening to
them talk about the location of this "switch," and what would
happen were they able to activate it. Apparently the reality would
split forevermore. Lycaon territory would separate from Magica and
be forever out of reach.

"But wait," she
said suddenly. The murmuring and private conversations all halted
at her loud voice. "The Magica created this ability to manipulate
realities. How do the Lycaon know that once the worlds are
separated, the Magica won't just find a way to bring them back
together again, or, worse, simply blink the Lycaon world out of
existence? That would be easy for them. Get rid of the Lycaon in
one blow."

"It doesn’t
work like that," answered Jessa, seeming exasperated.

Caroline stared
hard at her. "Paige told me about this woman, Alisa. She was born
Lycaon, but brought up by the Magica. When her Magica adoptive
parents were endangered, she was forced to become a traitor. She
was the reason Paige and her mate Jarek were taken by the Magica
and nearly died."

Jessa's lips
pressed into a thin line and her eyes narrowed for a moment before
she replied. "What are you insinuating?"

“Paige and her
mates took Alisa in, but Alisa ended up betraying them.” She met
Jessa’s eyes. “The same thing could happen with you. I’m sorry to
say it, Jessa, but we need to be careful.”

Torrent touched
her hand. "Caroline, I understand you're angry about this
situation, but I don't think that's a reason to make such an
accusation."

"I
am
angry," said Caroline, "and I don't necessarily believe Jessa is a
traitor to the Lycaon. We have no reason to think so. But there are
more Magica rebels involved in the creation of the switch, isn’t
there? Ones we don’t know? I'm simply asking we examine this
closely before we start sending people we love into danger and
death. I don't mean any offense. I like you, Jessa, but how can be
sure this isn't a trap?"

"I think
Caroline makes a valid point," added Kaitlyn. "And not just because
she's my sister."

"I do, too,"
Jarek chimed in, "I remember Alisa all too well. I carried her on
my back, and then she stabbed it." He glanced at Jessa. "You seem
like a great person and I like you...but I liked Alisa too."

Logan stood up.
"You don't trust Jessa because she is Magica. So trust me, I am
Lycaon." His voice shook with barely contained rage. "You don't
know the sacrifices that Jessa has made for you. She has given up
her culture, her city, her people, and even her family. She has
risked death, she and her rebels, to do this for us."

"We are only
righting a wrong on behalf of our people," whispered Jessa. Then
her voice grew louder. "But I understand your concern and the
question is a smart one to ask. I wish there was a way, other than
Logan’s testimonial, to prove our resolve and our loyalty. But let
me assure you that once this magick is tripped, there is no
reversing it, and there is no way to crush an entire reality out of
existence. We can shift and we can separate and we can pull through
if the energies are strong enough. We cannot destroy."

"We must take
your word for that," said Paige.

"And her name
is good!" roared Logan, slamming his fist onto the table.

"I trust Jessa
and her judgment regarding her followers," said Torrent, standing
up. He held Caroline's gaze. "I think you should too. All of
you."

Caroline held
his gaze. "I want to trust her, but there is something I hold very
dear about to be lost. I don't want it to be for nothing."

Jessa stood,
walked over to Caroline and knelt beside her chair. The older woman
took her hands in hers and stared into her eyes. "I promise to you
on my honor and the lives of my families that what I bring to you
is true. If you and Torrent make this sacrifice, it will save the
Lycaon. I realize it's a lot to ask—"

"It's
everything," whispered Caroline immediately. "You're asking
everything of me." A tear rolled her cheek.

Jessa bowed her
head for a moment, seeming to reach for composure. Finally, she
raised her gaze to hers again. "I know and I'm sorrier than I can
say." She paused. "It must be this way."

"Why can't
someone else flip the switch?"

"I would not
ask anyone else," said Torrent.

Of course he
wouldn't.

Jessa stood and
walked back to her place, measuring her words before she answered.
"It must be Torrent because of his specific genetic makeup. No
other Lycaon is linked so intimately with the Lycaons that helped
the Magica remove this reality from Earth's so long ago. Torrent's
DNA is the key."

Great. So good
her soul mate was the chosen one.

They finished
up their meeting and made plans about how they would infiltrate the
Magica city of Titan and throw the Sifta’s switch. They would need
to get past security at the south gate to gain the proper papers
and be able to travel the streets freely.

Caroline hardly
heard a word. She'd gone numb, a black sensation taking hold in the
pit of her stomach and growing tendrils through her veins. She
wished time could stop. She wished she and Torrent could run away.
She wished she'd never met him...no, she didn't...not really. She
just wished everything was different.