Wolves of Wrath

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

“I never knew what I was willing to do, what I was willing to sacrifice, until I felt her. Most of my life, she’d simply been an idea, a story told to me by my family. She was a vague amorphous ghost that I waited in vain for, hoping against hope that she’d one day be there for me. And now that day has come. I feel her, and nothing could have prepared me for the emotions that have taken over me and my wolf. And nothing will stand in my way of getting to her.” ~Nick

Nick, Kale, Ciro, Bannan, and Drayden had been running for two days. Nick was pretty sure they were running in circles. He was also pretty sure the other males knew it, too, but no one wanted to admit it because then they’d have to admit they were lost. Hell would freeze over before a male wolf, with the sense of smell of a bloodhound, would admit to being lost. So instead, they simply ran, hoping that, somehow, they’d find a new trail.

Kale finally came to a halt just as the sun was setting on the second day. He phased and the others did the same. Nick wasn’t bothered by the fact that there were four naked men standing around him. It was the way of their lives. Unless they carried clothes with them, they just had to get used to being in the buff when they phased.

“Any of you ’ave any ideas?” Kale asked, his Irish lilt thick with frustration.

“I feel like the forest is working against us,” Drayden, Nick’s Alpha, said. “It’s like as soon as we begin to attempt to take a new direction, the trees shift to put us back on the same trail. I know” —he held up a hand— “it sounds crazy.”

“Not entirely,” Ciro, the Italian Alpha, told him. “Magic can have a powerful effect on nature. This forest could very well have been bespelled so that anyone with the specific intent to find something would simply search in vain.”

“Did any of us consider that might happen?” Nick asked, his own frustration coming out in a growl.

“Nick,” Drayden warned.

Nick lowered his eyes. His Alpha was right. Allowing their emotions to cloud their judgment wouldn’t help the wolves get out of the mess in which they’d found themselves.

“You think this is the work of Volcan?” Bannan asked Ciro.

Ciro nodded. “He’s managed to lock the pixie realm. Who’s to say that he can’t bewitch a forest as well?”

“Are we going to be able to find our way back to the veil into Farie?” Drayden asked.

Kale’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know the answer to that. All we can do is try.”

“We’re just going to give up?” Nick asked.

“No,” Ciro told him. “We’re going to regroup and come up with a plan that won’t have us running in circles for days on end.”

Nick knew what they were saying made sense, but it felt as if they were just tossing in the towel. He didn’t want to leave the forest or stop looking for the veil into the pixie realm until he had Kara by his side. But no matter how much he wanted that, it wasn’t possible right now. He had to be smart, rather than act on his emotions.

“Alright, let’s see if we can find our way back to Farie. We’ll figure out what’s next when we get there,” Kale said as they all phased.

Once again on all fours, merged fully with his wolf, Nick stretched his legs as they ran. He appreciated the fact the others seemed to run as hard as they could as well. He was in no mood for easy loping.

The wind moved through his fur like fingers, and it made him wonder what it would feel like to have Kara’s hands stroking his coat. Every day seemed harder. She was beginning to consume his thoughts. He didn’t understand that, since she wasn’t yet of age. Gypsy healers weren’t supposed to feel their mate until they turned eighteen. Why did he feel the bond so strongly with her already? Why was he consumed with thoughts of her?

These were questions that wouldn’t be answered until they were back in Farie. He’d ask Drayden, his Alpha, first. And if he didn’t know, then Nick would have to wait for Perizada to return and ask her. He had to be patient. It wasn’t one of his strong suits, at least not when it came to Kara, but he would try.

Kale was ready to bite someone. Two damn wasted days. They’d accomplished nothing except some impressive exercise. Why hadn’t it occurred to him that Volcan would have other tricks up his sleeve? This was not a one-trick pony they were dealing with. Kale had been foolish to think the dark fae wouldn’t have a backup plan in order to keep them from getting into the pixie realm.

Now they had to get back to Farie and face Lucian, who was bound to be one ticked off wolf. Regardless that some of them were Alphas, they had formed a makeshift pack of sorts when they came to Peri and Lucian’s home, and that made Lucian the Alpha male in the situation. The fact that five wolves had decided to run off on their own was not going to sit well with the Alpha. Kale knew if some of the wolves in his pack had pulled something like that, even as Beta, he’d have them limping for days when he was done with them.

As much as his wolf would want to fight back, Kale would accept whatever punishment Lucian dealt out. He knew Lucian was a good man and a loyal wolf. He would be fair. But that didn’t make the situation any less humiliating.

His paws hit the ground lightly. They were running so fast none of his paws were on the ground for more than a fraction of a second. His wolf was agitated and the exertion was doing him good, though he’d be a lot better if he’d found his mate. He wanted to meet her so badly he could taste it. He wanted to know what she looked like, what she smelled like, and what her voice sounded like. Kale would simply be happy to have her sitting across from him in a room where all he could do was stare at her. That would probably make her nervous. It didn’t really matter how badly he desired that right now, though. The fact of the matter was, she was trapped in the pixie realm, and he was not.

Not forever. His wolf growled at him. He was right. She was not lost to them forever. They were closer to having her than they ever had been. Be a patient hunter. Yes, Kale agreed. The best hunters, the most successful hunters, were the ones willing to wait. The ones who struck too soon, or were paralyzed when they needed to move, were the ones who failed to catch their prey. Kale wouldn’t fail, not when it came to his mate.

Ciro had acted rashly when he’d agreed to go on the hunt for the pixie realm. He was an old wolf. He’d been around for a very long time, and he knew better than to go running off into the forest like an emotional pup on its first hunt. Now, here they were, two days later, lost as a flock of geese. That’s what listening to their emotions had gotten them.

Just want to find her, need to find her. His wolf argued.

You aren’t helping. He growled back at his wolf. Usually, his wolf was the smart hunter, but not this time. This time his beast had been nipping at his heels to do something, anything. He just wanted to be in motion, to feel like he was actively trying to get their mate. But sometimes, motion for its own sake wasn’t the answer. Sometimes, being still was needed. Being still meant being able to focus on whole problem, rather than the single piece that was affecting him. Being still allowed you to separate emotions from facts, so that you didn’t make foolish mistakes and wind up running around in circles for two days. That’s what they needed, to be still and think.

Lucian stood at the veil leading from the human realm to Farie. He’d followed the scent of the wolves that had left Peri’s residence without telling him … or anyone. Sorin and Dillon stood beside him looking as grim as he felt.

“You seem awfully calm,” Dillon, Alpha of the Colorado pack, said. “Aren’t you at all angry that they left without discussing their plans with either of us?”

“Some of them are Alphas,” Lucian remarked.

“That’s not the point and you know it.”

Lucian did know it. He also knew that losing control of his anger or frustration wouldn’t help the situation. There would be consequences for their actions. That was a given, and he had no doubt the wolves knew it. They’d known it when they’d made their decision to leave. They weren’t fools; they understood the pack hierarchy. Whether they liked it or not, Lucian was dominant to all of them. Regardless of their Alpha status, they could not stand up to his wolf. It had to work that way. Wolves could be volatile and territorial beasts, and it was important they all knew their place. It kept the peace.

“Peri would wipe the floor with them, let them heal, and then do it again,” Dillon said.

His words made Lucian smile. “Yes, she would.” His own punishment wouldn’t be quite so violent, but equally as effective. “But I am not so temperamental.”

“Do we even want to know what you’ve planned?” Sorin asked, speaking for the first time since they’d arrived at the veil.

Lucian kept his eyes on the forest, watching for any movement, listening for any sound, and sniffing for any scent that would indicate the wolves were on their way back. It had been two days. Though their intentions had been noble, they were fools for attempting it on their own.

“When their females are finally brought out of the pixie realm, they will be able to see them, hear them, and smell their unique scents. But the men will not be able to get near the ladies and they will not be able to speak to them. The wolves will be within reach of what they long for, but unable to attain it.”

Dillon whistled low. “Damn, that’s harsh. I take it you will have your mate issue that punishment?”

Lucian shook his head. “This is not fae magic. This is pack magic. Just as the females have the ability to keep their mates from touching them, the Alpha of a pack has the ability to keep unmated males at a distance from their future mates. It is rarely used, for obvious reasons. But, occasionally, it is necessary.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Dillon admitted.

“Nor have I,” Sorin said.

“Hence the rarely being used.”

Half an hour later, though too soft for human ears, the unmistakable sound of paws hitting the ground met Lucian’s ears. He gathered the power he kept suppressed inside of him and began to let it flow outward. Dillon staggered a bit but righted himself quickly. Sorin hit the ground on his knees but was on his feet in the next breath. Lucian could have warned them, but he found he was getting more irritated as the wolves came closer.

The group of wolves slowed their pace as they approached. They trotted cautiously now, though none of them cowered or tucked their tails. They wouldn’t, regardless of the fact that they were less dominant than Lucian. All would, however, avert their gaze, but that was about as much submission as they were going to give. It didn’t bother Lucian. He did not require their full submission to stroke his own ego. Lucian knew his own power and was secure in it.

“Shift,” he said, pushing an Alpha command into the word. All of the males were in their human form in a matter of seconds.

Lucian simply stood there, his eyes moving from face to face, meeting glowing eyes briefly before moving onto the next male. When he’d met each of their gazes in turn, his wolf issued a low growl, asserting his dominance. Apparently, the wolf was not feeling quite as generous as the man.

“What did you hope to accomplish by hunting the pixie realm?” Lucian finally asked.

Ciro, the most dominant of the group, though not by much in regards to Kale, stepped forward. “We wanted to see if, since the magic that had been used to seal the veil out of Farie had been lifted, it was also removed from the pixie realm. With Peri gone, no one has checked.”