Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (21 page)

“I’ll try.” Lia felt a bit sick. She hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself in front of a pack of hunters.

“It should be fun. Since you just Turned, you likely won’t feel this strong again in wolf form until the next full moon. If you don’t want to go today, we should probably wait a month.”

She might just talk herself out of it if she waited a month. “Now should be good.”

“That’s what I want to hear. And remember, Kane and I will be there the whole time.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll get the hunters.”

He returned with Kane, Fox, Dash, and Flint. Huck had drunk far too much birch beer the night before, and was left to moan into a bucket.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Lia asked Ronan. “He sounds really bad.”

“I have the feeling he’ll recover a few minutes after we’ve left. He really doesn’t like hunting the day after feasts.”

“So why doesn’t he just say that?” Lia asked.

“Huck has his pride. He deserves a rest anyway, if he wants one, after he brought down that boar the other day.”

Lia didn’t argue, though it all seemed rather silly.

They headed toward the woods, shifting as they went. Lia ran forward, trying to unleash her wolf. Flint, Fox, and Dash were trying very hard not to look like they were watching her, but she could see them stealing glances out of the corners of their eyes. It was a little disconcerting.

She tried to shift twice, stumbling when she failed. Part of her was worried how the others would react. They’d seemed to lose their minds when Delirium descended. Would they be able to control themselves in their wolf forms?

She shouldn’t have worried. Ronan loped on one side of her, Kane on the other. They wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She focused on them. Closing her eyes, she asked her wolf if she wanted to play with her Alphas.

When she opened her eyes, she was running on all fours. Ronan and Kane lifted their heads, their deep howls like a victory call. The others joined in, their voices rising and falling in eerie harmony.

Tilting her head to the sky, Lia joined in. The notes came from some primal place inside her. Her howl was strong and effortless, an octave higher than Kane’s and Ronan’s. It blended perfectly with those of her Alphas. It was almost as if they were challenging the forest, giving their quarry a head start to flee.

Be warned. The wolves are coming.

They sprinted through the trees. Only Fox was able to match her stride for stride. Even he fell back eventually, though Lia suspected he had let her win. She tried to rein her wolf in. They needed to stay with the pack.

Lia could have run through the forests all day with them. There were so many things to smell, so many noises to hear. It was like the curtain had been drawn back to reveal a secret world. She could smell that deer had rutted here yesterday, hear a nestling hiding in a tree. She could sense the deadness of an ancient tree, between the scent of rotting roots and the sound of insects eating it from the inside. Lia wanted to run through the forest until she knew it down to every rock and tree. She wanted to know everything about her home.

Kane slowed, and she was the last one to notice. Belatedly, she stopped.

He sniffed the air. Looking at Ronan, he pointed forward with his nose.

Ronan nodded, then shifted. “It’s a buck, Lia,” he whispered. “It’s in the clearing ahead. You can watch as a human. Shift now.”

Her wolf warred with her, not wanting to shift with prey in sight.

Do you want to spoil the hunt?
Lia asked.

She was able to shift after that, but she could feel her wolf sulking. Lia crouched behind a tree to watch the hunt unfold.

She recognized Flint, his white coat flecked with gray, slinking behind the buck to cut off its escape. Fox and Dash hung back, ready to give chase if necessary. Once everyone was in position, Kane and Ronan moved in.

The buck tried to flee, but it was too late. It gave a bugling cry as Kane leapt on its back, snapping its spine. Its back legs collapsed. The buck tried to step forward, but its front legs buckled too. Lia cringed. The buck, sensing movement, locked its sorrowful eyes with hers.

She had the fleeting wish she could fix it. It was such a noble creature, in its prime. It would have many seasons ahead of it if not for the pack.

The buck rose, whole again, ready to face down the Alphas. Kane snarled in surprise.

Within Lia, her wolf growled in answer. The buck needed to die for the pack.

The buck crumpled, twisted on the ground again. The Alphas looked at each other, confused. Lia’s heart went out to the buck.

It crumpled further, this time turning to bone. It disintegrated into a fine powder, and as the wind swept it away, a buck in its prime rose from the pile. It took a step, then fell to the earth, its antlers growing, muzzle whitening, until it turned to bone again.

The wolves had shifted back to humans in their astonishment.

Ronan turned to Lia. “Are you doing that?”

He broke her concentration as the buck rose once more. Her fists unclenched. The buck leapt away, but no one seemed to notice he had gone. They were all staring at Lia.

She stared back, but she didn’t really see them. There was a pounding in her head, like something wanted to get out. Lia put her head in her hands, pressing her palms to her temples, but the pounding only got louder.

“What’s happening?” she whimpered.

Lia fell to her knees, sinking her fingers into the earth. A carpet of flowers bloomed in the clearing, buds of yellow and purple opening up to drink in the light. Kane raised a foot as if afraid to squish anything, but was unable to put it back down as every inch of ground was covered in petals. The flowers opened and closed rapidly, stretching up toward the sun and then wilting back to earth. For a moment the ground was bare, but then the flowers sprouted again.

“Look at the trees,” Ronan said.

The leaves were cycling madly, from green to yellow to orange and red and brown, then falling to rain down on them. The naked branches quickly developed buds, which unfurled and started the process anew. But the flowers bloomed while the leaves burst into a riot of colors. Everything was out of order. Wrong. Lia’s head throbbed like someone had taken an axe to it.

Fox nudged Dash, pointing to a bird on a branch. It shrank to an egg, which rolled off its perch. The egg broke apart in midair, revealing an ugly pink hatchling. It sprouted wings, and the fledgling flew just before it hit the ground. It flapped up to land on the same branch, where it turned into an egg.

They looked at Lia, a hint of fear in their eyes.

She leaned forward, her hands over her eyes, her forehead in the dirt. She wanted them to stop staring. She wanted it to stop.

“You three go ahead.” Ronan’s voice sounded like it was bubbling up from a deep spring. “We’ll stay here with her.”

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?”

“Yes. Just go.”

Their footfalls shook the earth, making her ears ring. At last, they subsided.

She felt Ronan’s hand on her shoulder.

“Lia,” he whispered. “We’re here.”

A strong hand stroked her back. It must be Kane.

“Come back to us,” he said. “Please.”

She couldn’t stay like this. She could feel the magic rushing out of her, slipping out of her control. But she’d never dealt with this much before. She didn’t know what to do.

“Lizabeth,” she mumbled. “Help me.” She could see her friend through the fog, reaching for her, trying to save her. The image twisted. Now Magda was the one reaching. She withdrew her hand, cackling madly. Bending close, she whispered in Lia’s ear.

I told you that you’d never be a witch. I was right to cast you out.

Of course they wouldn’t help her. How ridiculous. They didn’t care.

The pack cared, though. Kane and Ronan cared. That’s why they were still here with her. She just needed to find her way back to them.

A small wolf stepped out of the mist, its fur jet black. It bent so Lia could climb on its back. She did without question. The wolf was comforting somehow, familiar. It began to run, faster and faster, until the fog cleared and she was back in the sunlight.

Lia sat up with a gasp. Ronan gripped her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Of course she’s not,” Kane growled. “We need to get her back to the den.”

Ronan rocked back on his heels. “Is she ready to travel? Maybe we should get her some water first.”

“And by ‘we should,’ I assume you mean ‘Kane should.’”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ronan snapped. “You stay with her, I don’t care.”

Kane rose. “I’ll get the water. For Lia.” He stalked off.

Ronan rubbed his face with one hand. “Not the best time,” he murmured. “Anyway, it’s all right, Lia. We’re here.”

Tears leaked down her face.

“Why are you crying? Are you hurt?” He sounded panicked. “Do you want to lie back down?”

“I’m fine. But I ruined the hunt.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He smoothed her hair. “We’ll catch something else. We wouldn’t be a very good pack if one lost buck could do us damage.”

She sniffled. “Am I a freak?”

“No. But maybe you should stick to fishing.”

Lia had to laugh. “Clearly I need to work on my deer whispering skills.”

“You don’t have to be a hunter, you know,” Ronan said. “There are many other roles you can fill.”

“My wolf wants to hunt.” She sighed. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for it. I told you I hunted frogs for Magda, but I never really liked it. They tend to let out one last pitiful croak as they die, and it’s just…” She shuddered. “Maybe I should help cook or something. I don’t want to be the reason the pack goes hungry.”

Ronan wiped away a tear that trickled down her face. “Don’t cry over spilled tallow. That wasn’t the only buck in the forest.”

“Yeah, but you basically had it on a plate when my stupid magic decided to fix it.”

“It’s all right, Lia. Really.”

Kane bounded into the clearing, water sloshing from an overfull wooden cup. “Here.” He thrust it at Lia. “It’s the best I could do on short notice.”

Ronan studied the cup, one eyebrow raised. “But you had time to carve an ‘L’ on it?”

“It only took a moment,” Kane said gruffly.

Lia ran a finger over the letter. The cup itself was roughly made, but the L was delicate and precise. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

“It’s nothing.” Kane actually reddened. “Just drink.”

She did, hiding a smile. The water slid down her throat, cool and delicious. She hadn’t realized how much she needed it. Tilting the cup back, she drained it.

“Feeling any better?” Ronan asked.

She nodded. “I’d like to go home, though.”

“Do you want to run, or do you want to ride?”

“Ride.”

Kane and Ronan exchanged a look, and for a moment Lia was afraid they might fight for the honor of carrying her.

“You just fetched her water,” Ronan said to Kane. “I’ll take her back.”

Kane said nothing, but judging by his expression he didn’t find Ronan’s offer to be all that generous.

They both shifted. Lia pulled herself onto Ronan, too tired to mount gracefully. She clutched his fur with one hand, holding on to the cup Kane had made her with the other. She didn’t want to lose it.

The Alphas sped through the forest, the sound of their paws against the earth lulling her to sleep.

She woke in Ronan’s bed.

“Oh.” She sat up. Thankfully, the room stayed still. Warm light filtered through holes in the stone ceiling. “How long have I been out?”

Ronan padded over to her. “Only a few hours.”

Lia lay back. “Thank goodness. I thought it might have been days.”

“Not this time.” He sat beside her on the furs.

“Good.” She coiled her body around him. “I’m sick of sleeping.”

Ronan rubbed her arm absentmindedly. “Lia,” he said at last, “do you have any idea what happened back there?”

“No.” She buried her face in the furs. “I’ve never done anything like that before, anything big. I mean, I healed that buck, didn’t I?”

He nodded. “Right after you turned it to bones a few times.”

Lia stiffened. Was he scared of her, too?

“Lia?”

She shrank away. “Yes?”

“Can you do me a favor?”

Oh no. Was he going to ask her to leave? “I’ll do anything for you, Ronan.”

“If I get hurt, please don’t try to heal me.”

Lia laughed. “Deal. Though you might be singing a different tune if you break your back.”

“Fair enough. But try to skip the pile of bones part, if you can.”

“All right.” She bent to pick up a dead leaf on the floor. Twirling it in her fingers, she tried to turn it green again. She had turned a whole clearing green earlier. One leaf should be easy.

It remained brittle and lifeless. The place inside where she called her magic from felt hollow, like her gift had been all used up. Maybe it was for the better. This way she couldn’t destroy anything.

Ronan laid a hand on her leg. “It’ll be okay.” He took the leaf from her, setting it in a crack in the wall. “Try again tomorrow, after you’ve had some rest.”

She looked at him, hating the tears that brimmed in her eyes. “But what if it doesn’t come back? That was the most magic I’ve ever done. What if that was everything, and it’s gone?”

“I don’t think it’s gone. You’re more powerful than that.”

“Ronan, you don’t understand. My little magics were all I had. All I was.”

“That’s not true.” The words came out forcefully. He winced, softening his tone as he continued. “You’re smart. Kind. Caring. A good friend. A good mate. And did I mention gorgeous?”

“Ronan…” She felt her face heating.

“It’s true though, all of it.” He cradled her face in his hand, his touch cool. “I want you in my life, Lia. You’re irreplaceable. I wouldn’t care if you couldn’t shift, couldn’t cook, couldn’t hunt, or couldn’t do magic. I love you, just as you are.”

Now the tears did spill over. “I love you too, Ronan,” she whispered.

He kissed her, and she leaned into him gladly. His lips were soft and sweet against hers. He was her home, her harbor in the storm. He was the man she had always wanted, though she didn’t know it until she met him.