Lunacy (26 page)

I nodded and stayed where I was, determined to be
there when we came to. The sorceress did good work. It didn’t take
more than a few minutes before I felt Teigan’s fingers close
slightly around mine. I smiled as his amber colored eyes opened
slowly, eyelids fluttering for a moment like he had to fight to
regain consciousness. He looked extremely sleepy and gave me a weak
smile, reaching up and brushing a tear from my cheek with one of
his long and slender fingers. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t beat him,
Kaysh...”

I shook my head and held his hand tightly between
mine. “It doesn’t matter, Teig. You tried, and that’s all I could
ever ask of you. I know you did all you could.” I grinned a little
and added, “And you’re a lot stronger than I would have guessed at,
with you being all wiry like you are.” He tried to laugh, but it
came out as a cough. “Do you think you can stand?” I asked.

“If you help me up, I should be able to. Just don’t
drop me,” he said a little shakily. I helped him to his feet, one
of his long arms thrown over my shoulders. Teigan hobbled over to
the throne with my assistance and I eased him back down onto the
ground, rolling up my cloak to give him a pillow to rest on. I
watched him fall asleep, staying near to him and being a silent
sentinel while all the wolves mingled around me.

Something like half an hour must have passed before
he woke up, yawning and stretching languidly like a very large cat.
I smiled as he nodded to me, letting me know that he’d be alright
without a guard dog. Swallowing my fear, I headed into the crowd,
determined to begin the long process of memorizing every member of
this clan. My Clan.

Amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces, I was totally
lost and had no clue where to begin. A pair of arms enveloped me,
possibly to save me from the sensation that I was drowning. I
looked up into the familiar jade green eyes of a young man only
about two inches taller than myself. His eyes were lined heavily
with kohl to offset his shock of thick and bright orange hair. I
wasn’t surprised that he was shirtless; I hadn’t seen a guy with a
clothed torso all night. His skin was darkly bronzed and he wore a
patent posture-improving slave collar. Silver hoops glittered up
the length of his left ear, a delicate chain attaching the bottom
hoop to a similar ring in the left side of his nose. I’d never seen
Feign in all his glory before, and I saw why he probably made a
decent income with his non-pizza delivering job.

He smiled at me, flashing rows of perfect white
teeth. “Evening, Kacea.” he said softly, his voice like whispered
sweet-nothings for my ears alone.

“Um... Hey, Feign.” I floundered, feeling lame and
plain because of the almost sickening charisma radiating from the
young man. I knew then that one of two things needed to happen: I
was either going to run off with him and sate the sudden lust that
his mere presence induced, or I had to get the hell away from him
before I was forced to resort to plan A.

I couldn’t move as he trailed his fingertips down the
line of my jaw, his touch so hot that it felt like it would burn my
skin from my bones. My pulse was thunder in my ears and I started
to lean into his touch, then I felt a more familiar and slightly
cooler hand settle on my shoulder. I took the opportunity to step
away from Feign and closer to Kenshin. “You alright, Kaysh?” he
asked, glaring daggers at the other wolf with eyes almost the same
icy green.

Feign smiled, but didn’t look too awfully happy at
being interrupted. I shuddered to think of what could have happened
if the lanky blond hadn’t shown up when he did. “Yeah, I’m ok.”

“Glad to see that Jynxx chose to keep you, Kacea.”
Feign bowed slightly to me and I blushed when he took my hand in
his and pressed a hot, lingering kiss to the back of it.

“It’s not like he owns me, you know,” I half-growled,
starting to get pissed about the way everyone acted like I was his
property. I stepped farther away from him and backed into Ken.

Feign seemed amused by both my anger and my comment,
merely bowing his head and making himself scarce as he faded back
into the sea of bodies. Kenshin dragged me out of the main crowd
and back near the throne.

“What in the hell are you thinking, running off into
a bunch of strangers like that?” he asked in a low hiss.

“As if I was supposed to know that some of them had
so much animal magnetism that their aura practically oozes sex!
It’s not my fault that no one told me!” I retorted vehemently. “And
besides, I’m not a child, Kenshin. I can...”

“And I’m not your dad, but you don’t know these
people, Kaysh. They’re not all good people, and some of them would
just as soon steal you away and use you as a bargaining chip to
gain power.” He stopped and sighed, rubbing his temples like he had
a migraine coming on. “Look, Kacea.. I’m not trying to be an
asshole, but most of these people are dangerous in their own little
ways. I’ve seen what Feign can do to a woman, and trust me... You
don’t want any part of it.”

I crossed her arms and was silent a moment, finally
sighing in acquiescence. “You’re right. But it’s not like I was
going to run off with him, you know.”

“Spare me, Kaysh. You wanted to jump him right there.
I can smell it all over you.”

“You know, Kenshin... You werewolves and the whole
smelling people thing; it’s kinda gross.”

He shrugged and tapped a finger to the side of his
nose. “Hard to avoid it when you have an extremely acute sense of
smell.” He looked up at the moon and then turned to Jynxx. “It’s
about that time, man..”

The Kongen Ulven nodded and let out one short,
clipped bark that got everyone’s attention instantly. All chatter
ceased like someone flipped a switch and I watched in slight horror
and extreme fascination as everyone around me began to shift. I
winced as I heard the cracks of bones breaking and reforming
coupled with short howls of pain. The air filled with the scent of
the clear liquid that oozed from the lycanthropes as their forms
changed, and the whole congregation soon shifted into an extremely
impressive pack of wolves several hundred strong.

I looked around at all of the quadrupeds surrounding
me, realizing that I could recognize some of them, even covered in
fur. I spotted Perfection by her ruddy coat and different colored
eyes, and Kenshin by his tawny fur and extremely sleek build. The
size of the wolves still threw me. Normal wolves were big enough,
but these creatures… If any of them was less than five feet high at
the shoulder, I’d eat my hat. Jynxx pressed his muzzle into my
side, his cold wet nose startling me and nearly knocking me on my
ass. I turned to him with a scathing comment on my tongue, but
Jynxx’s own maw hanging open in a lupine sort of grin quenched my
anger.

Conner came to my other side, exchanging a look with
the large black wolf that was Jynxx. A brownish wolf came to stand
beside Jynxx, Conner, and Kenshin. It winked a large amber eye at
me and I felt Teigan’s presence in my mind although he didn’t
speak. Gavin, now seeming content with his victory, stood with the
rest of the pack. The streaks of red through his fur told me that
the large, stocky wolf beside Conner was definitely the beta.

The five wolves that made up the core leadership of
the Clan stood flanking me on both sides and from behind, making me
feel tiny in comparison. Jynxx threw his head back and let out a
long, joyous howl and the whole rest of the clan joined in, their
lupine song resounding off the surrounding cliffs. Jynxx nuzzled my
side and I nodded to him, running my fingers through his fur. I
stepped aside and the wolves all took off at a dead run, Jynxx fast
getting to the head of the pack. Their King lifted his muzzle to
the sky and let out a long howl that was echoed throughout the
throng. They spread out and split into several groups, heading into
the woods for their hunt.

Elomina came to stand near me as I sank down onto the
throne with a weary sigh. This whole thing had me stressed out so
badly, and I just felt drained. She was a silent sentinel, and we
were content to just soak in the energy of each other’s presence.
Listening to the far off howls of the Clan brought a smile to my
face and I relaxed, letting my eyelids slide closed.

I heard voices and many feet, startling myself awake
from my nap. I hurried to rub the sleep from my eyes, groggily
looking up to Elomina. The petite trollkvinne smirked down at me as
I murmured, “How long was I out?”

“Not long enough to restore you, Mistress of Wolves.”
The formal title was beyond weird to me, but I shrugged it off as
she went on. “Maybe forty minutes. Less than an hour.”

I nodded, getting to my feet and stretching, the
joints in my shoulders creaking in protest. Apparently a chair made
from stone wasn’t the best place to take a nap. “That’s not too
bad, I guess.”

I was covering my mouth to stifle a yawn when a warm
and familiar pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. I smiled
at the feel of Jynxx’s warm breath as he nuzzled my neck, putting
my hands atop his and soaking in the comfort of his embrace. His
skin felt so warm compared to the chill that surrounded me, I
didn’t even care that he was completely nude. “How’d your hunt go?”
I asked quietly, knowing his sensitive ears could still pick up my
words.

I felt his lips curve upward and he pressed a
scorching kiss to my ear. “I’ll put it this way: meat is a whole
lot different when it’s fresh.”

“Eww!” I stuck my tongue out in distaste.

He chuckled and the deep rumble of it from his chest
pressed to my back heated my insides. “You ready to get on home,
kitten?”

I felt drained from the stress of it all. More than I
wanted to let on. “Yeah. I feel like I could sleep all winter and
still wake up groggy.” I covered another yawn with the back of my
hand and he came around me, going to grab my cloak from the ground.
He shook it out and draped it over my shoulders, taking my face in
his hands and kissing me in a way that almost made me forget we
were surrounded by other people. “What was that for?” I asked, a
little out of breath and flushed.

He gave me a soft smile, his dark eyes looking down
into mine like no one else in the whole world even existed. “You’re
the most gorgeous woman on the planet, Kacea. There might be some
alien chicks out there that are hotter than you. I don’t know.” I
slapped his chest and we both laughed. “But seriously, kitten. I
love you.”

My heart stopped beating for a second. The dreaded
L-word. I’d been thinking on it before, but did I love him? All I
really wanted was to see Jynxx happy and safe, no matter the
cost.

Sounded close enough to me. I stood on my toes to
press a soft kiss to his lips, echoing his declaration. “I love
you, too.”

Chapter 24

The winter came and went, which is saying something
if you’ve ever had the pleasure of living through a New York
winter. It was cold and dark, but none of that mattered because I
had everything I could have ever wanted. A car, a job, decent
grades, and a gorgeous guy who genuinely cared about me. Sure, that
guy was learning to cope with being the de facto leader of a troupe
of supernatural creatures that shouldn’t exist, but we were both
adjusting to it. We kept each other warm, and the snow was melted
and nothing but a fading memory before we knew what had
happened.

Spring was starting to come to a close and the
temperature was climbing. The time for everyone to start
landscaping and cleaning their cars in earnest was upon us. That
also meant two major things were about to happen at Oberon Public
High: prom and graduation.

Graduation was nothing to worry about. Those horrible
robes were supplied for us by the school, black for the guys and a
dark royal purple for the girls. But a prom dress… That meant
shopping, especially since this was the first year I had a
legitimate date. Mom wasn’t going to let me ditch the function, or
just wear something I already had in my closet.

After shopping occurred, a dreaded day-long affair
with the assistance of Aya and Taylea, I kept looking at the dress.
Every day I’d go into the walk-in closet and take it from the
garment bag with care, observing it with both trepidation and joy
mingled into this weird knot in my stomach. My main concern: was
Jynxx going to like it? I’d had it registered, so no one else from
our class would have the same dress, just to be sure I wasn’t
accidentally matching one of the yuppies. All Jynxx knew was the
color of it so he could get an accessory to make us look like the
perfect pair. It was a gorgeous dark emerald satin number, and it
had almost made me cry when I had it on in the boutique.

My mother’s smile of approval had sealed the deal.
“That’s definitely the one,” she’d said, her green eyes sparkling
in a hue similar to the garment that fit me like a glove made for
no one else. I could only nod my agreement, the price tag being
lower than I would have expected. Mom forked over the nearly four
hundred dollars without even batting an eyelash.

This was the last week of final exams, and prom was
to follow all the stress of excessive testing on Saturday. I had
mostly short days all week, being able to leave once my tests for
the day were finished. Friday morning hit me in the face with rays
of sunshine that nearly blinded me, my alarm clock screeching its
daily greeting. It made me want to crawl into a cave and just die
peacefully. The only perk to the day ahead was that this last big
test was for my English class. All I had to do was write a few
papers in the allotted time frame, and I was in the clear. No more
tests, just a few days of classes next week for closure and the
chance to bid farewell to friends; old and new alike. Once grades
came in, my diploma would be in the mail and I could move on up and
out of this quiet little town. On to bigger and better things, I
hoped.