Authors: Doris O'Connor
As if reading her thoughts, Jenkins spoke. His
slightly warmer tones made her open her eyes.
“Take it up with the boss, Miss Marnie. He’s in
the forest.”
Marnie shook her hair out of her face and took
a deep breath of the clean air around her, remembering how the circle had
parted to let her through. The low howls of the pack followed her all the way
to the edge of the forest, and it was only when she was safely hidden by the
trees that she had given in to the overwhelming instinct to just run. She ran
faster than she could ever recall being able to, faster and faster, deeper into
the forest, oblivious to the branches slapping her face, tearing her clothes.
She had to run, to keep going, find a safe place; to find something that she
couldn’t quite grasp. When her screaming lungs forced her to stop, her legs
gave way and she collapsed onto the forest floor, finally allowing the tears to
fall. Tears of frustration and pain at the injustice of it all, the knowledge
of what she had to do, Lucas’ brutally honest words ringing in her ears.
Why her? Why now? What had she ever done to
deserve any of this? She was no one’s destiny, no matter how much the mere
thought of leaving Ion threatened to tear her soul in two. She should have been
appalled at the things Lucas shared with her, but her treacherous heart just
bled for the wolf and all he’d lost. Somewhere along the way she had fallen in
love with him. Marnie, who didn’t even believe in love, not after she witnessed
first-hand what so called love had done to her mother.
She couldn’t remember her father at all. He’d
left them when she had been just a baby and her mother had refused to talk
about him, unless she berated Marnie about how much she was like him. And she
had watched her, her eyes wary, almost frightened, every time Marnie lost her
temper. When she’d hit puberty, the gulf between them just increased further,
until that fateful night when Marnie ran away. Her mother had tracked her down
and dragged her back by her hair, literally. The beating she’d suffered, at the
hands of Mum’s latest boyfriend, had been the worst yet.
There had been so many over the years, as her
mum sought to fill the void left behind by Marnie’s father. Some had been kind;
others, not so much. And every last one had been Mum’s big love, her true
mate––the one who would change their lives. Marnie resolutely blinked the tears
away. Why was she maudlin about this now? All that talk of destiny Lucas had
filled her head with, that’s why. In the end her mother had been killed, saving
Marnie from being run over by the gang of youths she’d got involved with just
to piss her off. She had to live with the guilt over that day, and it was never
far away. Her mother’s last words to her had been damning. “I always knew your
blood would be the death of me.”
So she’d left, determined to prove everyone
wrong, convinced she didn’t need any man in her life. She’d been doing just
fine, forging ahead with the means to bring every last scumbag to justice. The
good-for nothing-men who’d always surrounded her mother; the wife beaters and
the drug dealers. She was going to get them all within the realms of the law.
Never again was she going to be responsible for another person’s death.
Whatever dark nature she’d supposedly inherited from her father, she was going
to beat it. Violence was never the answer.
Yet now, having learned everything she had,
the instinctive, awakening part of her burned with fury at the cruelty of the
humans who threatened the pack, threatened the man she loved. Right now she
wasn’t sure she could resist the murderous urges within her. Hell would freeze
over before she put the pack in jeopardy. What did her personal happiness mean,
when so many lives were at stake? Human, shifter and vampire alike? No matter
what anyone said, this was her fault. Had she not tried to walk home, none of
this would have happened. It was up to her to put it right. She had to make Ion
see sense. There was only one thing she could do, but she had to find him
first.
Tears overwhelmed her anew at the futility of
the task. She was just a little human; she couldn’t track him. This forest was
huge and she had no idea where she was. What had she been thinking? The tall
ferns looked menacing all of a sudden, every Grimm fairytale she’d ever read
invaded her subconscious mind and clutching her knees to her chest, she simply
let the tears flow.
Struggling to sit up now, a new chill went up
her spine. She must have fallen asleep. Oh God, how was she ever going to find
her way out of here?
****
The mother wolf watched him warily as he
approached the den, the freshly caught rabbit between his teeth. Ion crouched
low, mindful not to spook the young wolf. She was getting used to him. Her mate
had been caught in a hunter’s trap three weeks ago and by the time Ion had
tracked her down, she had been half-starved and was giving birth. The litter of
four pups was doing well, from what he could tell from a distance. She still
didn’t trust him enough to let him come much closer, but she was grateful for
the food at least. Ion dropped the rabbit and backtracked to a spot far away
enough for the mother to feel safe to snatch up the animal. He flopped on his
belly and rested his head on his paws. Life was so much simpler as a wolf.
Still fraught with dangers, but infinitely simpler. Hunt, mate, defend your
territory, look after your young.
An image of Marnie holding little Leah swam in
front of his eyes and Ion whined low in his throat. There was no point in
torturing himself with visions of what could never be. He rose to his paws,
ready to stretch and run some more, when the breeze changed direction. It
couldn’t be, he was imagining things. He took off at a run anyway, following
the scent of his little human, until the sight of her stopped him abruptly. She
was crouched low in the slight clearing ahead, her beautiful hair tangled, her
clothes torn, ugly scratches on her skin, where she must have caught it on the
dense foliage this deeply in the forest. The tearstains on her mud-streaked
face caused his wolf to whine and her eyes grew wide when she jerked her head
towards the sound.
What the fuck was she doing here?
“Ion, is that you?”
She sounded like a scared little rabbit, but
the eyes watching his approach were full of trust, as she put one tentative
hand out towards him. It was all the invitation he needed and with one leap he
crossed the distance between them. She closed her eyes when he licked her hand
and his wolf growled at the fresh tears, before he licked them off her face.
She held perfectly still, whilst he did his best to clean her up. His gut
clenched with the rush of raw emotion and fierce protectiveness, when she
wrapped her arms round his neck and buried her face in his fur. He could sense
her desperation in the strangle hold she had on him, her body shaking with
silent tears. And she was so very cold, her skin clammy, her hands buried in
his fur like icicles. He wrapped himself around her, wolf and man both needing
the contact as much as she did. He had no idea what made her run this deep into
the forest. He would have expected her to run away from him, not to him, but
since when had she ever done anything he’d expected of her? His wolf rejoiced
at the way she snuggled into his fur with a small sigh and they sat like that
for a long time, neither one of them willing to break the moment.
The howl of the she wolf broke the spell and
Ion shifted, putting one hand over Marnie’s mouth as the mother came into view,
followed by her offspring. They were downwind from her, so she hadn’t spotted
them. Ion knew that they must be on their way to the spring and he couldn’t
help the proud smile, seeing the little ones totter after their mother. Marnie
shook his hand off the minute they were out of sight and her beautiful eyes
were full of suspicion.
“Is she the reason you’ve been spending so much
time in the woods? Are they yours, Ion?”
She scooted away from him a bit more, her small
teeth biting into her bottom lip. Her knees drew up to her chest in a defensive
gesture and Ion’s wolf whined, whilst the man had to suppress a smile at the
look she threw him. His little human was jealous and his smile deepened. After
everything Lucas must have told her, she was jealous of a full wolf. He shook
his head at her next words.
“Is that a yes or a no, Ion?”
“Why do you want to know, little one?”
Heat rose in her cheeks and she didn’t look at
him as she mumbled, “Never mind, I’m making a fool out of myself. It’s none of
my business anyway.”
Oh yeah, she was definitely jealous. Silly
little human. One taste of her and he’d been lost to any other female. Surely
she knew that? He wrapped a strand of her hair round his fingers and tugged,
forcing her to look at him.
“For the record, Marnie, no, they’re not. I
prefer to have my hands when I have sex, as you well know.” Her blush deepened
and her eyes darted down his chest, before she jerked them back up to his face.
“I found the wolf’s mate in a trap a few weeks ago. I tracked her down and have
been keeping an eye on them ever since. Full wolves are rare and protected. I’m
glad they’re doing so well, I was worried for a bit.”
“And the trap?”
“Destroyed, of course. I put up more patrols to
keep the humans out. This is my territory and no damned hunter is going to set
foot on it.”
He let go of her, as he was talking, reliving
the
talk
he’d had with the snotty-nosed kid, who thought it was fun to
put up illegal traps on his land and the small hand on his arm jerked him back
to the here and now. There were fresh tears shimmering on her eyelashes.
“I’m so sorry, Ion.“
“Hey, little one. This isn’t your fault.”
The pressure on his arm increased and her voice
shook with emotion.
“I know, but humans have hurt you so many times
in the past.”
****
Marnie held her breath, watching the myriad of
emotions flit across Ion’s face. Surprise, pain, denial. His whole body went
taut with the sudden tension.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. I’ve had my revenge
several times over. I’m sure Lucas has filled you in.”
The eyes of his wolf were staring back at her
slight nod.
“He has, but it doesn’t change things, Ion. I’m
still not afraid of your wolf.” His low growl vibrated through her and she
squared her shoulders, taking his head between her hands. He went very still.
“Lucas told me about your Zoe. It wasn’t your fault she freaked out and
couldn’t handle it and I’m sorry she did such a number on both of you. I can
even understand you two sharing women, sort of. It was your way of protecting
yourself, right?”
He pulled away from her then and she could have
sworn he was blushing. He wasn’t looking at her when he mumbled: “It seemed a
good idea at the time. I wasn’t going to risk being bound by any prophecy. The
fucking thing killed my mother. She was forever searching for the elusive human
to make it come true. “
Marnie’s heart constricted painfully at the
emotion in his voice. It dropped a few octaves and he looked lost in thought,
the small muscle in his clenched jaw the only movement in his powerful body.
“What happened, Ion? Lucas told me, but I would
like to hear it from you, please. I’m not sure I understand this whole prophecy
thing, or even if I believe it. Lucas seems to think it’s me, but that can’t be
right, can it? Ion?”
She didn’t think he was going to answer her and
when the words finally came, his voice was so low, she had to lean in to hear
him
better.
“My mother was given a prophecy when I was
born. She’d had trouble conceiving and lost several babies before I came along,
so she went to see a witch, known for her fertility charms. It worked, because
she fell pregnant and I stuck. But the night after I was born, that witch paid
her a visit. The price for me was a curse on the bloodline. I was destined to
be mated to a human. If I gave in to my desires, any babies my future mate and
I would have would be full humans, as would their descendants. There was a get
out clause: If I found a human with ancient bloodlines, one who could track her
ancestry several generations to the origins of our species and if this human
would accept me, then the curse would be broken. My mother, bless her soul,
latched onto that fact and made it her mission to find her. My father was more
sceptical. No alpha can afford to dilute the bloodlines by taking a human mate.
We need full shifters as our offspring. No ancient family would allow a union
such as the one needed to produce that elusive human my mother searched for. So
basically I’m fucked either way. As alpha I need an heir and the only female I
am destined to want to procreate with is human.”
He glanced at her with such longing in his eyes
she had to scoot closer to his warmth. A sigh went through him when she wrapped
her arms around his waist and kissed his shoulder. He relaxed into her embrace
at her whispered, “I know. I understand, Ion.”
“Do you, little one? Really?”
She swallowed at the intense heat in his eyes,
when he turned in her arms and brushed a soft kiss against her lips, before
touching his forehead to hers.
“I have had this hanging over me from the first
time I shifted and my parents told me my destiny. Well, mum called it my
destiny, I believe my dad’s words were hocus-pocus and mum threw her frying pan
at him.”