A Love For Lera (Haikon) (21 page)

‘Lera.’

‘I’m with Vifil; we’re in the largest tent.’

Moments later, he pushed his way into said tent.
Lera stood toward the back with Vifil. He had her side profile as she faced off
with Vifil. Her arms were crossed, and she’d removed her jacket. At her feet,
he saw Adric but it wasn’t his eyes which warmed and calmed him when they
settled upon him.

Even though she continued her conversation, Lera
turned her head briefly to meet Kori’s gaze, and he watched her eyes soften for
a short time. Then, they grew businesslike when she focused back on the leader
of this ragtag group of Haikon. Other conversations were being entertained but
he ignored them, moving to Vifil and Lera. Still, he could tell that some were
angry. Torr stood off to one side, and Kori glared at him before sliding an arm
around Lera to press a kiss to her cheek.

Take that, you bastard
.

Vifil stopped talking and met Kori’s gaze. “Who
sent him?”

“His orders came from a man named Sven Hammor. Do
you know him?”

The bearded man shook his head. “No. That’s not a
familiar name.”

“This was the advance attack party. More are on
the way.”

Fire flamed in Vifil’s blue eyes. “They will
die.”

“You need to go, Vifil,” Lera said, her voice
determined.

“Lera?” Kori asked, dropping his arm and giving
her his full attention.

“I was telling Vifil he should take these
remaining Haikon and find more. You and I will track down who’s behind this.”

“No.” Vifil frowned. “You are our hope, Lera. You
need to go with us and convince others to resurface.”

Kori glanced between the two. He didn’t want her
in danger but this was Lera’s decision. He would let her make it and stand
beside her, Dane’s warning as plain in his head now as the day it’d been
issued.

“No. I bring more danger to the Haikon being here
right now. If…when…when Kori and I get to the bottom of this, then we’ll rejoin
and go from there. But you need to find as many others as you can.”

“We’ve always been hunted.”

“These
drekflen
and
ater malum
are
things Kori’s been fighting forever. You have to have some idea of where to
look for more Haikon.” Lera shifted on her feet, her unease palpable. “Vifil,
this is our best bet. Splitting up, we cover area more at once.”

Vifil scowled. “They won’t believe words. Without
you, the prophecy is just that—a prophecy yet to come true. They’ll want visual
proof.”

“Visual proof?” Kori could feel her nervousness.
“Like a large black wolf combined with the confirmation of your own vaj?”

Kori jerked his gaze to her. She couldn’t be
serious. Adric bolted to his feet, lips lifted, exposing large white fangs, and
a low menacing rumble left him. Then, he ran out.

“He’ll go with you. Do what you need to,
stabilize your wounded and get going. There’s no time to waste, especially with
another attack imminent. ” Her words were strained, and her eyes shone with
unshed tears but her tone was commanding. Then, she, too, walked out. Head
high, face set in determination.

‘Lera?’

Her silence was full of sadness, and he longed to
run after her. But this was between her and Adric. So Kori stayed, focusing on
Vifil whose expression mirrored everyone else’s.

Shock.

Chapter Fifteen

Lera ran after Adric. But he’d vanished.

‘Adric?’

Nothing. Nausea, which had filled her the moment
she had uttered those damning words, increased tenfold.

‘Adric, where are you?’

‘Why do you care, vaj? You are sending me
away.’

Pain lanced through her heart.
No!
She
searched frantically for any sign of where he may be, tears blurring her eyes
she ran toward the field behind the tents. Pausing at the edge, she scanned the
area, desperate to find a black spot amongst the pristine whiteness. The wind
began to blow, its chill warm compared to the feeling surrounding her.

‘I’m not sending you away, Adric.’

‘My mistake; what is it called then?’
His
voice reached her drenched in sarcasm.

She slid down the trunk of the tree, the rough
bark gouging into her, but she didn’t care. Knees drawn up, she wrapped her
arms around her shins and sat there in her black and ruddy leathers in the deep
snow. Oblivious to the cold, she cried her frustration out, the screams being
whisked away on the swirling and increasing winds.

‘Where are you,
mo anam?
’

Kori’s voice flowed through her mind like a
velvet rope. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head before jumping up,
shifting and running off. Kori continued to call to her but she ignored him.

She ran until her lungs felt near to bursting.
Back in human form, she remained on the ground, craving the bite from the cold
to take her mind off the internal pain she experienced. Tears of agony and
heartache poured from behind her shades, the stinging wind nearly freezing them
to her skin.

She had run off into a severe storm.

‘Lera! Where are you?’

Eyes remained shut so he couldn’t see her
surroundings via them.

‘Lera! Answer me.’
Compulsion drenched his
tone but she found the ability to fight it off. His frustration poured over
her.

Fingers clenched the snow surrounding them, she
struggled for breath. It was difficult, and she wanted her dad. She felt such
failure. Intense, overwhelming failure.

‘Vaj, you need to get out of the cold.’

She kept her head down and fought for strength.
Her body flooded with the need to hold Adric and to be held by Kori. They gave
her the recourse to go on.

‘Vaj, I can’t carry you. Get up. This storm
will only get worse. We have to get to shelter.’

She tried to push up but the cold didn’t allow
her limbs to work. There was no energy in them. After three feeble attempts,
she gave up and fell face first into the snow.

‘Vaj!’

‘I’m sorry, Adric. I just wanted to get stuff
done faster.’

‘Get up!’

‘No. Get out of this weather. Save yourself.’
It was as if ice pellets pummeled her skin.

‘I’ll not leave you, vaj.’

The sensation of being dragged was the last thing
she remembered before succumbing to the warmth sleep provided.

Popping and crackling woke her. She slowly opened
her eyes and saw a fire burning, its heat keeping the chill of the cave at bay.
More heat pressed into her from the back. Adric. She longed to move and touch
him but she still hurt.

‘Adric.’

‘I’m here, vaj. You scared me, vaj.’
He
nudged her.
‘No more stunts like that.’

Movement from beyond the fire snagged her
attention. She stayed relaxed when Adric remained unconcerned. Kori
materialized and crouched down to add more food to the fire. His eyes were hard
when they met hers.

“Kori,” she muttered through spilt and chapped
lips.

He stabbed at the wood, sending a shower of
sparks and embers upward. The flare of light momentarily highlighted his
features, drawn tight in his anger.

‘Are you okay, vaj?’

‘No. I ran like a child and put not just
myself in danger. I feel like a fool.’

“How’d I get here?” she asked aloud, craving the
comforting timbre of Kori’s voice.

“Adric.”

It was a single word that told her so much about
how truly angry he was.

‘You brought me?’

Adric nuzzled her.
‘I couldn’t leave you out
there. I dragged you until your mate arrived. He carried you the rest of the
way and built the fire.’

She struggled to a standing position. Kori
watched her but stayed back. She knew he’d be right there if she needed it.
Adric stared at her, his black eyes gleaming like obsidian in the firelight.
Disoriented, she took a breath.

‘Thank you for saving me from my own
stupidity, Adric.’

‘You are my vaj.’

She understood. Which left the man standing a
short distance from her. Her partner. Her lover. Her mate. With a swallow, she
licked her lips and walked toward him.

The light gleamed off his ebony hair and tan
skin. His eyes zoomed in and held hers prisoner as she approached. Emotionless,
they were not. A myriad of things flashed through them.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, stopping before him.
“I was foolish and immature.”

He said nothing and didn’t move. Her heart
dropped to her feet. Unsure of how to handle his disappointment in her, she
turned away so he wouldn’t see the sheen of tears in her eyes. Faster than she
could breathe, he grabbed her and whipped her around to claim her mouth with a
brutal kiss.

His tongue plundered her mouth, taking all he
wanted, headless of her chapped lips. Fingers dug fiercely into her bared
shoulders as he held her in place. Not that she was going anywhere. A whimper
of surrender left her, and she sagged into him. He shifted his hold and wrapped
corded arms around her.

‘Don’t
ever
do that again,
mo anam.
’

His graveled tone told her how concerned he’d
been. The kiss gentled but didn’t end. Her palms rested against his chest, and
she could feel the familiar beat of his heart.

‘I’m sorry, so sorry, Kori.’

‘I was scared, Valera.’

‘Of what my daddy would do to you?’

He broke the kiss and placed one hand along her
face. “No,
mo anam
. I was scared because you are my world. I don’t want
to live without you.
Anáil de mo anam
.”

The raw honesty in his tone sliced through her,
and she realized how utterly selfish her running off had been. Turning her
head, she kissed his palm and looked for her wolf. He was focused on her, his
black eyes unblinking.

‘Adric…I…I…’

‘You are not solely at fault, vaj. We both
are. I am sorry as well.’

She transferred her gaze to Kori. His gray orbs
were no longer hard but molten. Pushing up so their lips could meet, she kissed
him. He responded with a deep-throated groan of possessiveness, and his arms
tightened around her like steel bands. Digging into her belly was the length of
his erection.

‘Kori.’

‘I want you,
mo anam
. I want to be
buried deep within you, your heat surrounding me tightly.’

‘Yes.’

He lowered her to the ground, his long, hard body
pressed against hers, pushing her back into the furs beside the fire. The storm
outside the small cave raged but Lera felt none of it, only the deep burning
heat that Kori created within her. When her scream rent of the air, it was
echoed by a low roar before both sounds were whipped away in the wind.

Exhausted, she snuggled into the man who held her
so protectively and drifted back to sleep. The smell of roasting meat woke her.
Kori stared out the cave’s mouth but glanced at her when she sat up. His hair
was tousled like he’d been running his hands through it. The worry on his
handsome face faded into a smile.

She pushed up and walked to his side, leaning
into him and staring out into the blizzard like conditions.

“We should get going.”

“Eat first,” he replied.

“You hunted in this?”

“Not me.”

She rotated her head and found Adric lying near
the fire. Blinking, she moved to him and fell to her knees before him.

‘Adric, I’m sorry.’

‘Vaj?’

‘No. Listen to me, please. I don’t want to be
apart from you. Quite the opposite. The very idea makes me nauseous. But I
think it’s the best way and the quickest. These creatures hunting us are relentless
in their pursuit.’

‘I should be there to protect you then.’
His tone rang low and fierce, bringing a smile to her face.

‘And I would love for you to be, but it is
safer for you to be with the Haikon. Go with them and help gather our kind.
We’ll be together again soon. Kori and I will be going to places where you’d
stick out, and there’d be little or no forest.’

He rose smoothly to his feet and stepped close,
his broad head pushed into her chest.
‘Take care of yourself. I did not just
find you to lose you.’

Tears threatening, she delved her hands into his
scruff and pressed her lips to the top of his large head.
‘That goes double
for you, Adric. Keep yourself well.’

‘Hurry back to me, vaj.’
He maneuvered out
of her arms and padded toward the entrance. There he took Kori’s forearm in
powerful jaws for a brief time. Whatever was shared between them, they kept
private. Both males looked at her before Adric leapt through the mouth of the
cave and vanished into the snow’s blinding whiteness.

‘Be safe, vaj.’

She bit her lip and closed her eyes.
‘You,
too, Adric. You, too. Tell them what transpires.’

‘I have already done so. They are moving on
instead of fighting, hoping this storm will give them extra cover.’

Opening her eyes, she sighed and got to her feet.
Kori had moved closer to the fire but didn’t speak. He remained focused on her
as he crouched by the flames, the flickering light added power and mystique to
him. All the while, it highlighted his feralness. There was nothing
domesticated about him. Here, in some of nature’s harshest climes, he survived.
Prospered.

“Do you know how long it will take us to find
Sven?” she asked causally while she reached out for a piece of the rabbit over
the fire. The meat fell away with a flash of her blade, and she chewed the
succulent meat while waiting.

“A few days at the most, I would guess. That guy
didn’t seem like he’d traveled far. We’ll go to the nearest town and see what
we can dig up.” He ate in silence for a while. “Lera, before we came through
the tunnel, your father said—”

“Something about a prophecy,” she interrupted,
meeting his gaze. “I know about it.”

A slight smile curved up his kissable lips.
“There you go finishing my sentences again,” he teased before he sobered. “Tell
me.”

She took a deep breath and collapsed fully to the
cold floor of the cave. Staring at the flames, she took another breath before
relaying what Herald Siencyn had told her.

“The prophecy is such.

‘
Power held by the men,

Weakened over time,

Awaits the arrival of a woman,

A warrior bearing the blood of old.

With the loss of that which is most precious,

The Haikon are strong again
.’ That was all
he said.” She shrugged. “Not like I needed any more to be weirded out by.”

Kori’s eyes narrowed, and his brows converged.
“I’ll not lose you, Valera,” he swore, a deep rumble of conviction.

“They’re just words, Kori. And there’s not any
certainty the prophecy is about me.”

It was obvious her words did little to appease
him. She recognized the look of possessive determination on his face. It warmed
her to know he would do anything to keep her. On her feet, she maneuvered
around behind him and trailed her hand along his neck.

“I’ll be fine, Kori. I have the best protection
in the world.” She winced and was grateful she stood behind him at the ache which
lanced through her. Containing it quickly, she fought to keep it from him.

“What’s that?” he asked, tilting his head to
follow her movement.

“You.”

She continued to her bag and withdrew her cell. A
disappointed sigh left her at the no bars, so she turned it off and returned
it. Strong hands settled along her shoulders and drew her back to rest against
his chest. For a brief moment, they just stood there, not talking. Just
touching.

“We should go,” she murmured.

“I love you,
mo anam.
” He nibbled along the
shell of her ear.

“What does that mean?”

He kissed her with more tenderness than she
believed possible. “My soul.” Then, he shifted to wolf, and the fire faded.

She shifted as well and followed him out into the
blinding fury of the storm.

Kori ran through the blizzard. He could feel Lera
via their link, but there was no visual connection. Hell, he could barely see
the tip of his snout in this storm. They’d been moving for two days now,
setting a brutal pace. He continued to repeat the words of the prophecy over
and over in his mind. What the hell did it mean? He had no intentions of
letting her sacrifice herself for people content to be in hiding. Lera was his!

‘Kori!’

Lera’s scream ripped along his skin. Whirling
around, ready to defend her to the death, he frowned.

‘Where are you?’

On the biting wind, he heard her. With a single
powerful jump, he landed beside her. Her human body.

‘Shift, Lera. You’ll freeze otherwise.’

She growled at him.
‘I…I…can’t.’

Fear laced him. He shifted and wrapped her in his
coat. The cold took his breath away. His eyes stung, and he cast out to find
shelter. He found it and began running with her in his arms. By the time, he
pounded on the small house, Lera barely moved, except for the tremors that
racked her. But even those had weakened considerably.