Beyond the Veil (17 page)

“What did you just say?” she asked, not moving her head from his shoulder.

Sorin pulled her tighter to his chest.

“I said, ‘I have waited so long for you'.” Sorin didn’t want to tell her that he had also said that he would never let her go. She was already spooked enough; he didn’t want to add to her apprehension.

“Is that all you said?”

“It’s what’s important that you know,” Sorin said vaguely.

“I am not so fragile that you can’t tell me the truth.”
Elle decided to open the bond that she had been blocking, hoping to show him that she wasn’t going to run again.

Sorin pulled back abruptly to look down at her. She could see the hope shining in his eyes, as well as the compelling way he needed her.

“Have you gotten your markings as well?”

“I don’t know. Where would they be?”

“Anywhere,” he answered seriously. Elle was impressed at his mature ability to pass up the opportunity for a naughty joke.

“Maybe I should check.” She stood from his lap and walked toward the bathroom.

“Let me know if you need assistance,” Sorin told her with a twinkle in his eye.

Ah, there's the man in him
, Elle thought.

“I think I got this, Guardian,” She snorted as she closed the bathroom door.

Sorin was taken back that she had called him Guardian. He had not been called that in a long time, though that had been his job when Fane was a child, guarding the future Alpha of their pack. That had been his sole responsibility.

If he were being honest, once Fane had no longer needed him as his Guard, Sorin had felt a little lost as to what his place in the pack would be. Now, finding Elle, he had a purpose again. Behind those bathroom doors he had a future, and for the first time in a very long time he actually felt at peace about what that future held.

~

It was after midnight when Vasile and his group arrived at the Carpathian Mountains. He drove the van down an old road that wound through the mountains, finally coming to stop in exactly nowhere, as far as Jacque could tell. They all filed out of the van, stretching out after the long drive, which had been undertaken with as few stops as possible.

“How are you holding up, love?” Fane asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Jacque laid her head on his chest and soaked in his warmth and scent.

“I’m good as long as I’m with you.” She leaned back and grinned up at him.

Fane chuckled. “That was a good one.”

“I know, right? Good and mushy.”

Fane leaned down and kissed her softly before stepping back and taking her hand in his. They turned to face Vasile and Alina as everyone else had done.

“I know that you all are tired,” Vasile addressed them, “and I don’t think I really made it clear that we will be hiking and sleeping in the great outdoors.”

Jacque held back a groan, barely.

“We are going to hike tonight for about an hour, then we can call it a night. We are going to need to keep our wits about us the deeper into the mountains we go. There are supernaturals that take shelter in this forest and it would be wise of us to not draw their attention.”

“No offense, Alpha, but we have three Alpha males hiking with five females. How exactly were you planning on keeping us incognito?” Jacque asked.

“Good point, Jacque. I did think of that. Believe it or not, we males can think ahead occasionally,” Vasile teased. “Adam should be arriving soon and he will be cloaking us. He said that he might not make himself known to us right away, but would be covering us from afar. In fact, he might already be in place. I trust him to do his best.”

Jacque gave him the thumbs up. “Good call, V. I knew you were Alpha for a reason.”

“So glad I have your approval.”

Jacque looked over at Alina, who was trying to hide her smile.

“He has mastered sarcasm way too quickly.”

Alina laughed. “You have no one to blame but yourself.”

“Oh no, I’m not taking sole responsibility. Jen is probably guiltier than I am.”

Everyone mumbled their agreement as the males began unloading the van and distributing everyone’s packs.

Once everyone was armed with their survival gear, the group set off. Vasile took the lead, with the others following in a single file line arranged so that each female was walking between two males..

They hiked steadily up a path that hadn’t been used in a very long time. Jacque looked into the dark forest around them and, as usual, was shocked at how well she could see. Having her wolf surface had some serious pluses.

She felt the cool night breeze blow on her face and shivered when she sensed something unnatural and unsettling that she just couldn’t place.

Crina, who was walking behind her, whispered, “Do you feel that?”

Jacque nodded. “It feels like we’re being watched.”

“Exactly,” Crina agreed.

“Fane, do you feel it?”
She reached out to him.

“Yes, it’s putting my wolf on edge.”

“Rachel, do you sense anything?” Gavril asked her quietly, but aloud so that the others would know. 

“I do, but it doesn’t feel evil.”

“The pixies aren’t evil,” Vasile said from the front of the line. Everyone’s sensitive ears, even Rachel being a dormant, were able to hear him just fine. “They are neutral until they choose a side. They might decide to test us, so keep your eyes and ears open.”

The rest of the hour, the forest was quiet as they climbed deeper and deeper into the mountains. The only sounds were the soft rustling of leaves and foliage as they passed.

After what seemed like the longest and most uneasy hour of Jacque’s life, they finally stopped. There was a small clearing to the right of the crude path. A few large rocks enclosed the area, giving the illusion of cover. The guys dropped their packs and immediately started gathering wood for a fire. The girls began organizing spots for sleeping gear; no tents. Jacque had asked why and Fane had replied that, “You can’t see your enemy through a tent.”

So that was how they slept, as close to the fire as possible without getting burned. The guys took up rotation of keeping watch through the night, a night that would become the last memory of peace for a very long time – a memory they would reach for in the coming darkness.

“Sometimes what you think is true, what you think is safe and good, is actually evil in disguise. Evil so enticing, so deceiving, that you don’t know it’s evil until its wrapped you up and caressed you as a lover. You gaze into its eyes, enraptured by the pretty words it whispers softly in your ears, realizing too late that the pretty words were all just twisted lies.” ~ Jacque 

Adam watched the group from afar as they settled down for the night. One person in particular had held his attention from the very second he had flashed into the forest. Crina. It was taking everything in him not to go to her, to wrap her in his arms, and never let her out of his sight. Something had changed in him the moment he saw her, and something in him defined that change with one word – mate. She was his mate. So Peri had been right. He had been chosen by the Great Luna to be a mate to one of her wolves. He couldn’t believe the instant intensity and the passion he felt for Crina. He understood now why the males of their race acted the way that they did. Something in him cried out for her. He didn’t want her to be in a group with a bunch of males, whether they were mated or not. He didn’t want to be so far from her.

He'd decided that it would be best to wait to reveal himself sometime the next day. In truth, he was stalling. For the first time in his very long life he felt insecure. He knew she would be drawn to him, but what if she didn’t like him? Adam had always been confident, cocky even. He’d been with females of his race. Never anything serious, though, so this whole mate thing was definitely new territory as far as commitment went.

The Fae kept the cloaking magic over them as they slept, and watched as the males each took his respective turn keeping watch. It was a long night. His eyes rarely strayed from Crina’s sleeping form. He wondered what she was dreaming about and hoped that it wasn’t about another guy.

Whoa, where’d that come from?
Adam thought to himself.
I have never been jealous
but the idea of her dreaming or fantasizing about another guy, well, pisses me off.
He decided that he needed to walk away from that line of thought and instead focused on what he would say when he finally stepped out of the shadows and into her life.

~

Morning came and went.  After they packed up their camp and resumed their hiking, the forest came alive.

Jacque smiled as she watched rabbits scamper away from them, birds swoop down, searching for a meal, and squirrels barking from the tops of the trees.  Even the trees themselves seemed to be reaching out, beckoning the sun to guide them from the cold winter into the vibrant, new spring.

Crina smiled as she walked up beside Jacque.

“It’s amazing how refreshing it is during the day and how foreboding it is at night,” Crina commented.

Jacque nodded. “It certainly does feel different than it did last night.” She looked over at Crina. “How you holding up?”

Crina looked up at her and Jacque froze at what she saw. There was a haunted look in her eyes, as if they were vacant of any personality.

“Crina, honey, what’s wrong?” Jacque asked softly.

Crina shook her head and tears began to slip down her cheeks. She looked at Jacque, desperate for understanding.

“Is this what it feels like?”

“What
,
what feels like, sweetie?” Jacque asked calmly, though she felt anything but calm. In fact, she was beginning to feel uncharacteristically agitated.

“To not be with him, to know that he’s out there, but unable to be close to him – unable to connect?”

Jacque’s mouth dropped open. “You mean a mate? To not have your mate close?”

Crina nodded and the tears came even faster.

A strange feeling cut through the group, and Rachel turned around and noticed that all the males had glowing eyes and seemed to be on edge, shifting from one form to the other. She herself was feeling odd, as if her emotions were amplified somehow.

Rachel stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Crina. She murmured soft words in her ear as she tried to calm the hysterical she-wolf.

“What the hell?” Jacque said loudly. “Is anyone else concerned that we have an unmated female in tears over not being able to be with her mate? She’s acting like he is out here somewhere and she can’t get to him.” When nobody answered, she grew even more frustrated.

Fane was watching Jacquelyn and his wolf began to stir. He didn’t like to see her upset. Looking around, he tried to see who was upsetting her.  Who did he need to take down for messing with his mate? A low growl escaped his throat as he watched his Alpha approach her.

“Jacque, look at me,” Vasile told her calmly, in the form of a command. “How are you feeling?”

Jacque looked at her father-in-law like he had lost his mind. “What do you mean, how am I feeling?” She threw her hands up in agitation. “I’m feeling like my friend is hurting and I don’t know how to help. I just want to scream.”

Vasile looked at Rachel. He noticed that she was watching everyone closely.

“What do you think, healer?” he asked her.

“Something is influencing our emotions. I feel upset, though I don’t know why. Something is in the air.”

Vasile stepped off the path toward the forest.

“We come peacefully into your territory. We do not mean any harm.” Vasile’s voice rose and carried through the trees and over rocks
. He
waited;
a
ll the while
Crina remained on the ground, where she had just collapsed. Rachel continued to hold her, trying to console her. Ever so slowly, the heaviness that had fallen over them, that they hadn’t even realized was there, began to dissipate.

Jacque let out a deep breath. Fane came over and wrapped his arms around her, laying his cheek on the top of her head.

“That was so not cool,” she growled out. “I seriously felt like I was completely out of control of my emotions. I knew I was overreacting, but I couldn’t make myself calm down.”

Rachel stood up with Crina. “How are you?” she asked the distressed she-wolf.

Crina took several deep breaths. “Better, but my wolf is pushing me for control. She senses something and I still feel like I’ve lost something so important...breathing is difficult.”

Everyone whipped around at the sound of footsteps. The males took up defensive positions in front of the females. Adam walked purposefully out of the trees. Without giving the others a passing glance, he walked straight to Crina. Their eyes connected as everything and everyone around them faded into the background.

“Are you alright?” Adam asked her softly as he cupped her cheek gently with his hand. Crina leaned into his hand, unable to stop an action that was as natural as breathing to her.

Adam didn’t know everything there was to know about the Canis lupis, but he knew that touch was important, a source of comfort and reassurance.

Crina nodded slowly before answering, “I am now.” Her lips turned up in a small smile. “You’re my mate?”

“That I am, beautiful.” He winked at her, digging deep for the confidence that he usually wore like a favorite pair of pants.

“How can this be?” Crina’s head turned to look at her Alpha for the answer.

“We need to talk,” Vasil
e answered
tersely
.

Half an hour later, after everyone had taken seats on any surface they could find, Vasile finished explaining all that Wadim had told him. The group was quiet; the only sounds were the life in the forest, which were carrying on as if no destinies were being forever changed, and no species were forever altering the history of their race.

Adam looked over at Vasile and the look he gave him asked for privacy. Vasile stood, motioning for the others to follow. Adam took Crina’s hand in his to keep her next to him. He waited until
they
had gone far enough that they could not be seen. Adam reached for his magic to create a barrier so the others could not hear their conversation.

“They can’t hear us,” he told her with a grin.

Crina smiled back.

“How are you?” he asked her.

“It’s a little bit of a shock.”

“Are you -” Adam paused, steeling himself to ask the question that he wasn’t really sure that he wanted to know the answer to. “Are you okay with this? I mean, do you want me as your mate? You know, even though I am Fae?”

Crina didn’t respond right away and Adam took that as her answer. He let go of her hand and scooted back, giving her space.

“I understand if you don’t want to be mated to me. I’m not exactly what you thought you would end up with.” His words were gentle, but Crina could hear the hurt beneath them.

She scooted closer to him, closing the distance he had created. She took the hand he had pulled away and looked up into his face.

“It is a shock, but it is not a disappointment. I’ve known all of my life that I would one day have a mate, someone I would spend the rest of my life with. I knew that I would be bound to him
and would be enamored and completely in love with him. Yes, this is different than what I expected, but it is still a joyous thing. I am scared, but so
excited to finally have found my
mate.” Crina looked down, suddenly not as confident. “My apprehension is that this is not something that
you
would have expected or prepared for. Can you love me? Can you choose this, us?”

Adam leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her onto his lap. He pulled her close to his chest, enjoying the feel of her body against his.

“I won’t lie and say that I ever thought that I would spend my life with one female. But I look at you and my soul feels like it has been searching for you forever. For the first time in my life I feel complete and excited about what is to come. I choose us, and I know that we are going to have to get to know each other. We'll take it as slow as you want.

“I can tell you that whatever crazy thing created this bond has also created a very protective and jealous man. I understand now why your males are so possessive. I have been watching you since last night and it has taken incredible control not to take you away from these others males. I also understand the importance of touch. I look at you and long to be close to you, to feel you, whether it be just your hand or more.”

Crina blushed at his words, her usual in-your-face demeanor softening as the words of her mate poured reassurance into her.

“So we just go forward from here?” she asked him.

“I wouldn’t want to go backward, to before you were mine.” He leaned forward and looked into her eyes. “May I kiss you?” he asked her, not wanting to take such a liberty too soon.

She nodded shyly. Adam cupped her face and pulled her closer. Their lips touched, and what was meant to be a simple, chaste kiss became laced with passion. Crina reached around his neck and pulled him closer. Adam refrained from seeking entrance into her mouth, satisfied that she had let him be so close to her, and he reveled in the fact that he was not the only one feeling the fire between them.

He pulled back but did not let go of her face. She stared back longingly and it took all of his self-control to not continue what they started.

“The others are waiting for us,” he whispered to her.

She licked her lips as she smiled.

Adam groaned. “Please don’t do that.”

Crina laughed, and for the first time in a long time, felt joy, real joy, fill her heart.

Adam stood, placing her feet on the ground at the same time. He lifted the magic that kept the others from hearing them.

“Vasile, we are ready.” Adam didn’t raise his voice; he knew that the Alpha would hear him just fine.

As the group came into view, Jacque made a bee line for Crina.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her brow furrowed, searching intently for anything that would indicate otherwise.

Crina looked up at Adam and smiled. “I’m better than okay.”

Jacque let out a breath and smiled back. “Excellent. I was really hoping the guys wouldn’t have to kick Adam’s ass if he hurt you.”

Adam glanced at the males with a single brow raised.

“I knew you would make the right choice,” Vasile told him confidently.

Adam nodded his thanks.

“Okay.” Vasile turned to look at the path they had been following. “We need to continue on. The pixies showed an interest in our presence earlier with the little emotion stunt. We need to be on guard and move quickly.”

“When are we going to finally talk to the little buggers?” Jacque asked.

“When they are ready to show themselves,” Vasile answered. “Until then, we keep moving.”

Minutes after they had continued on their trek there was a loud crack, like a gun shot. The group stopped abruptly, everyone going into full alert. The males created a circle around the females and prepared for anything that might lunge out of the forest. Another crack sounded, seeming to come from above them. Adam glanced up and saw a large branch begin to fall from the tall tree.