A snapping twig jolted me awake, heart hammering in my chest. The sky was pitch dark and the moon was high in the sky, but that sound… I reached for the shotgun, only to feel it wasn’t there.
Fuck.
When I heard it cock, my heart plunged into my stomach. I sprang up into a crouched position, but before I could turn around, the cold steel barrel pressed into the back of my neck.
“Who are you?” There was a slight accent to the man’s voice, and I swallowed hard, trying to rein in my fear.
“My name is Mara,” I said quickly, taking Marmal’s name and shortening it. If there was a two-million-dollar vampire bounty on my head, I sure as hell wasn’t saying I was Demi.
“Who are you, wolf?” His voice was scratchy and laced with anger.
“I’m… Mara. A Paladin trader—”
The gun shoved deeper into my neck and I stopped talking.
“You’re no Paladin, I know my people,” he hissed. “They don’t have hair the color of corn silk.”
Oh shit.
What were the odds I would run into an actual Paladin wolf trader out here? Why did the universe hate me?
I chose my next words carefully. “I’m a banished city wolf on the run.”
The butt of the gun eased off the back of my neck and I took that as a good sign. Raising my arms, I showed him my leather wrist cuffs. “These hide my shackles. I’m just trying to get to Light Fey City.”
He pulled the gun completely away from my neck and then the wood creaked as he stepped out in front of me.
Whoa.
Dude, put some pants on. He was nearly naked but for a suede crotch cloth, his muscles as lean and chiseled as a fucking statue. Brown, tanned skin ran the length of his body up to his chocolate brown hair. But it was his eyes that stunned me. His eyes were blue and almond shaped, the same color blue as the man who’d saved me when I fell down the mountain.
“You… look like him,” I breathed, and his whole body flinched.
His grip on the gun tightened and he crouched before me, two streaks of dark blue warpaint on his cheeks.
“Who?”
Shit. I shouldn’t have said anything, but I wondered if he could smell a lie or something, so I decided honesty was best.
I swallowed hard. “The man who saved me when I fell down Waterfall Mountain a few weeks ago.”
His entire face fell, and I saw grief bleed into his beautiful features. This guy couldn’t be but a year older than me, yet he looked so old right now, like he carried decades of stress and sadness.
“What happened?” His voice was sharp but forgiving as his fingers went slack over the gun. “We only found the body and assumed Ithaki.”
I swallowed, my own eyes getting teary as I realized the man who’d saved me probably had a family, maybe even this kid, and I’d done nothing to try and find them, to tell them what happened.
“I was on a school fieldtrip, taking a picture at the top of Waterfall Mountain. I slipped and fell down the back side and right past the territory flags.”
His eyes widened. “You fell all the way down the back side of Waterfall Mountain?”
I nodded, remembering the pain I’d felt, how horrible the fall was.
“I was so scared, in so much pain. A man with kind blue eyes wearing a bone necklace gave me a bitter, yet sweet herb that took my pain.”
He nodded. “Cholka root.”
I steeled myself for his reaction to the next part. “He was sifting through his pack to cover me with a blanket because I was shivering, and a group that I later found out to be the Ithaki… beheaded him and took me.”
The guy went totally still. He just breathed in a steady rhythm that reminded me of the ocean. His chest rose and fell slowly for a full minute and I swallowed hard, feeling like I was intruding on his grief.
“He was trying to help me, he was a very kind man—”
He held up a hand to stop me; his chest shuddered a little as he worked to control his breathing.
Finally he spoke: “In my culture, we believe that a warrior’s soul cannot be free until a witness to their death tells the story of how they passed. Then we tell the story around the full moon once a year forever. The worst thing you can do in my culture is die alone with no story.”
Oh God. Had I known that, I would have found them and told them sooner.
“Thank you for doing me the honor of sharing his death story so that his soul can now be free. I will not forget that kindness.” He placed a fist to his chest and bowed his head.
I did the same, not wanting to offend him.
“Who… was he?” I asked. The man clearly was important to him. His father? Maybe grandfather?
He sighed. “He was our alpha. The last alpha we had. Now our magic will slowly fade with him, as he had no living children.”
My eyes widened so big then, I felt like my eyeballs would roll out of my head and onto this wooden bed.
Alpha. Wasn’t Run the alpha? Hadn’t my mother said he was taking over for his father? Was that man… my grandfather?
My head spun as I tried to figure it all out.
“Shit. I’m so sorry.” I didn’t know what to say; the revelation was rocking me.
He frowned at me. “I don’t understand city girl cuss words. Shit means poop, fuck means sex. Who wants to say poop and sex when they are mad? Why not shout snakebite or murder?”
I burst out laughing but he looked offended, so I quickly reined it in and tried to turn it into a cough. “No, that’s a solid point. I’m definitely going to scream snakebite the next time I want to cuss.”
He nodded, looking pleased with himself.
“So, you looked like him… the eyes. Were you related?”
He shook his head. “No, all Paladin look similar. Blue eyes, almond shape,” he said, and I suddenly felt like an idiot.
What a fucking racist thing to ask him. I wanted to facepalm myself, but I’d never met a Paladin before Waterfall Mountain and I didn’t know anything about their kind. It was an innocent question and he seemed to understand that. Probably internally cringing at the stupid city girl.
I gave a nervous laugh.
He stared at me with scrutiny then and I looked away quickly, afraid he might be seeing that we had similar eyes, the color and shape. Truth was that striking blue color he had, just on the verge of teal, it stared at me in the mirror every day… the way the corners of my eyes tipped up the slightest bit… it seemed to be a Paladin thing.
“So you’re not going to kill me?” I gestured to the gun, changing the subject.
He seemed to forget it was in his hand and set it down on the floor beside me. “Not today.” I waited for him to wink to show me he was kidding, but he didn’t. This dude was very serious.
“Well, on that note, I think I’ll try to get some rest,” I said, feeling the grogginess pull at my limbs and just being grateful this dude wasn’t going to kill me.
He nodded, still watching me funnily. “Where are you going? If you’re banished, shouldn’t you be kicked out of Magic City?”
Crap. This dude was smarter than I gave him credit for. “It’s a long story, but yeah. I’m headed to Delphi Academy in Spokane, Washington, where I grew up with my parents.”
Not exactly a full lie.
He frowned. “You grew up in the human world yet you were taking a class in Werewolf City and fell down Waterfall Mountain?”
Fuck. He looked like he might want to kill me again.
“I got un-banished for a few months, now I’m banished again.” I peeled the leather back to show my metal shackles and the angry red skin there.
He frowned, eyes suddenly hardening. “They hurt you? Those poisonous city wolves!”
My eyes widened. “No. This was from vampires. Well, this is my second set. The first one the wolves put on.”
He looked confused. “You’re complicated,” he stated.
I shrugged. “Ain’t that the truth.”
He reached into his waist pouch and came away with two fingers slicked wet with blue paint. Reaching out, he wiped them across my cheeks and then down the bridge of my nose. “There. Now you might pass for a Paladin trader if you tie up and cover that hair.”
This was a very kind thing to do. Maybe paying me back for telling him the alpha’s death story. I didn’t know, but I suddenly felt emotional.
“Thank you. Where are you headed?”
It’s probably like 3 a.m. and I’m tired, but sure let’s do small talk.
He nodded to the left, the way I came. “To Vampire City. They have a job for me.”
Chills broke out onto my arms. “Job? You… work with the vampires?”
He looked down his nose at me. “I work with anyone who pays. We in the Wild Lands don’t have the luxury to choose alliances.”
I shut my mouth, only nodding. I clearly knew nothing about his struggles.
He stood, seemingly done with me. “Goodbye, Mara.”
“It’s… Demi actually,” I told him. “I lied because I was scared you would kill me.”
I didn’t want to start off my only friendship with a Paladin on lies. His face didn’t change when I’d given my real name and I was pretty sure that like the trolls, the Paladin didn’t do TV or have phones.
He nodded. “Goodbye, Demi. I hope you make it home.” Turning, he crept to the edge of the platform and I suddenly didn’t want to be alone in the middle of the night anymore. It was nice to have a friend, or acquaintance, or whatever we were.
“What’s your name?” I asked, as he peered over the edge of the platform, the muscles in his back straining under his tight dark skin.
“Arrow.” He tipped his head to me, and I tipped mine back, and then he jumped, disappearing into the night like a bird, causing me to scramble to the edge of the platform and peer over the side looking for him.
Showoff.
I had no idea if it was 1 a.m. or 4 a.m., but I felt so tired, it had to be closer to one. With a sigh, I lay back down, trying to fall asleep, but I kept replaying what he’d said in my mind.
He was our alpha. The last alpha we had. Now our magic will slowly fade with him as he had no living children.
Alpha.
Alpha.
Finally, sleep took me, and I welcomed the relief from my own thoughts.
The next morning I was stiff from sleeping on the hard tree platform but grateful to be alive. There were small tracks from some kind of creature all over the ground and I even spied a dead rat that looked like it had been half eaten. I was worried about Ginny, but she seemed fine as she ate her oats or whatever out of her bag. Whatever pest roamed the ground at night, it didn’t like donkey. After peeing at the base of a tree, and brushing my teeth, I was good to go.
This day felt longer than the previous one. The sun was hotter, Ginny felt slower, and I was bored out of my damn mind. Bored, but also on guard for any foe, so super heightened and mentally alert. It was not a good way to feel, and I imagined it would just get worse as I went through the Dark Fey Territory. And when I got there, I wouldn’t have Ginny, so I would have to make my way on foot.
This was a nightmare.
How had things taken a turn for the worse so quickly? One second I was making love to Sawyer and we were imprinting, and the next I was like some fugitive on the run from vampires who wanted to drink and bottle my “essence.”
What the fuck?
Not to mention the things that Arrow told me last night. That man, the one who saved me… he was the alpha, which could only mean he was my grandfather, right? I was so confused. But either way I wanted to know more about the Paladins. They seemed like a reasonable people. I mean, sure, Arrow almost killed me last night when he thought I was a regular city wolf, but when I told him I was banished, he was cool…
The rift must run really deep between the two clans. Probably what you get for cursing Sawyer’s family line.
I was so absorbed in my thoughts, I didn’t hear it until it was too late. A whistling sound cut through the air, then hot unyielding pain shot down my spine and an arrow lodged into my injured shoulder. A wild scream ripped from my throat as I lurched forward, lying flat on Ginny’s back. “Go!” I yelled and kicked her hard in the ribs with my feet.
She started to run as I fiddled behind me with my good arm and reached for the shotgun. When I felt my fingers grasp around the cool metal, I yanked it from my pack and sat up, spinning around at the same time.
I’d preloaded it this morning, and thank God for that because when I turned, I locked eyes with a giant troll. He was flying through the air, about to jump on my back. Without thinking, I pressed the butt of the shotgun to my good shoulder and pulled the two hammers back before squeezing the trigger with zero hesitation.
Holy crap.
A deafening blast exploded in my eardrums as the base of the shotgun kicked against my shoulder, but I held it firmly in place. A shrill whine rang in my ears, and everything went muffled. At the same time, the two shotgun shells ripped into the chest of the giant male troll and his body flew backward in a heap of blood and flesh.
There were two other trolls running behind their fallen friend, and instead of pressing on to attack me, they stopped to examine his body as Ginny ran like a bat out of hell. I pinched her belly with my thighs, trying to hang on while simultaneously searching for more shotgun shells as blood dripped from my shoulder wound and down my back.
That was a problem for future Demi. I needed to reload in case these asshats tried to come for me like their friend.
The trolls pointed to me and said something, but the ringing in my ears was so loud I had no idea what it was. They looked like bandits or something; they wore dirty crude clothing and had traveling packs on their back. Dirt and grease marred their ugly faces with yellowing tusks poking out of their leathery cheeks.
With shaking fingers, I managed to use my elbow to pop open the shotgun and load two new shells. The metal was hot, and I singed my finger before snapping it closed. My poor shoulder was bleeding and hurt like all hell, but I kept my focus. These guys would either fall back or seek revenge.
I waited as Ginny ran into the woods and the men started to heave their friend backward, taking his body with them while they retreated.
Thank God.
I sighed in relief. Relaxing only a fraction but still alert. Keeping the gun propped on my lap, I patted Ginny. “You can slow down, girl.”
She lessened to a brisk trot and I looked down at my shoulder.
Murderous snakebite! It was bad. Really bad.
The arrow’s metal tip had completely protruded through my shoulder, right near my armpit. I peeked behind my back and saw it poking through the other side.
A whimper left my throat as I reached up to probe the wound with gentle fingertips, and pain seared my skin there. Okay, I was leaving it in until I could stop somewhere and figure this out.
‘Sawyer, help,’ I sobbed, and then cried out when the cuffs lit up, stopping my magic.
There was no reply. I was all alone and that was a depressing realization.
Ginny probably saved my life. She trotted double time, taking me through the forest and finally to a creek where we could take a rest. My legs were so stiff and wobbly I collapsed when I slid off of her. I caught my wavy reflection in the surface of the water.
Holy hell.
I looked like a beaten yet badass warrior. I’d forgotten the blue paint Arrow had placed on my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. The bruise around my eye was an angry purple at the center, fading out to a sickly yellowish green at the edges. The wooden shaft of the arrow jutting out of my shoulder really sealed the deal. If I had my camera, I might even take a picture for shitty memory’s sake. I erupted into a fit of laughter, pretty sure I was losing my mind, and then I reached up and grasped the feathered end of the arrow sticking out of my shoulder.
I needed to deal with this. No knight in shining armor was coming to save me. Marmal was far away and I’d run out of luck. This was all me. I had to suck it up and get through this no matter how scary or painful it was.
Reaching down to bite the leather shoulder strap from my arm sling, I braced myself for pain, then I snapped the end of the arrow off.
Murder snake shifter hell! I could no longer cuss without thinking of Arrow. That dark and mysterious Paladin had me wanting to visit my biological father’s people and know more about them.
I groaned as the sharp pain flared to life in my arm and then throbbed down to my elbow and back. Black spots danced in my vision as I fought to stay conscious, and my forehead broke out in sweat.
“Help me,” I whimpered, unsure who I was calling out to. God? Sawyer? Ginny? My wolf?
I needed to get these damn cuffs off, but first I had to deal with this arrow. I was afraid if I left it in, it would get infected, but if I pulled it out I might bleed to death if it had hit an artery.
My breath shook as I looked at sweet Ginny. She was plopped down and drinking from the stream downriver. “What do I do, girl?” I asked her, wondering how I’d survived this long without talking to her. I’d never gone twenty-four hours without a TV or phone or social media. I felt like I was losing my mind.
She looked up at me and then went back to drinking her water. With a shaky hand I filled the canteen in the river and decided that it was impossible to have a main artery in your armpit, right? Your neck yes, your thigh sure—that’s where they inserted heart catheters, right? But I’d never heard of a main artery in the armpit. If my smart, pre-med boyfriend—er ex-boyfriend or whatever he was—were here he could probably tell me, but he wasn’t, so…
Digging through the bag Marmal had packed me, I looked to see if she’d left me any more of that salve or anything useful for this moment. Sifting through the brown paper food packages, my eyes fell upon a small leather pouch tied with twine. There was a note hanging off of it.
Just in case you shoot yourself in the foot or get injured. – Love Marmal
Yes! Please be four Vicodin and a suture kit with a YouTube video explaining how to do stitches on yourself. Unwrapping the package with one hand took time, but I was able to get it open, and when I saw the contents I frowned.
Figures.
Instead of Vicodin, there was a chunk of that root that my alleged grandpapi Paladin gave me. What did Arrow call it? Chucka root or something? The other item confused me. It looked like a lighter from the eighteenth century, and a small, four-inch, thin steel rod lay next to it. What was I supposed to do with this and where was the suture kit? I tore a chunk of the root off with my teeth and winced at the initial bitterness before sighing at the sweetness that splashed over my tongue. The root’s outside shell was creamy white like ginger, but the inside was bright yellow like turmeric. And its shape was very bulbous. I tried to make mental note of it in case I needed to forage for more. I hoped to be in the safety of Sawyer’s arms in a few days, but I had no idea how long it could take if I got into trouble. A week? Longer? Oh God, the thought made depression settle over me like a heavy cloud.
As the root settled into me, making everything feel light, and the pain ebbed a little so that I could focus, I realized what the lighter and steel rod were for.
Oh snakebite. This was gonna hurt.
