Forged by Greed (9 page)

“Can you change back?”

She murmured something incomprehensible with her human mind, then
snarled and tossed her head. Slowly, she lifted herself off the grass and sat
back. Her front legs were stretched out, as if she had a hard time remaining in
the upright position.

“Lay down,” Jatred ordered, encircling her neck with his arms. He
kissed the top of her head, the leopard’s hair soft and silky under his lips.
“And try to shift back. It’ll be easier for me to see the injury.”

Despite the darkness, he saw the air around Jasmira pulsing and
rippling in miniature waves. His Shifter’s vision let him see almost the same
in the dark, as he did during the day. Jasmira curled up on the ground into a
ball, panting.

“Shit, it hurts,” she groaned. “Relax,” she added quickly when she
saw panic in Jatred’s eyes. “I’m not going to die on you.”

“How can I possibly relax when you’re hurt?”

“Give me a minute.”

“No, let me see.” He insisted.

Jasmira shot him an annoyed glance. She took a deep breath,
straightened her legs, and rolled onto her back. Jatred gently moved her hands
away from her stomach and lifted her blood-stained t-shirt. A long cut ran up from
below her navel and disappeared under her bra. Blood had stopped seeping from
it, and the wound had already started to narrow. Jatred pulled the shirt over
Jasmira’s belly.

“Don’t ever jump over that fence again. You can climb in the human
form as fast.”

“You’ve jumped over it a few times. And so did Penelope,” Jasmira
grunted and winced.

“Penelope did? Why? She’s not welcome in here either?”

“You know Pen. She does crazy things for fun.”

Jatred slowly pulled her shirt up again and looked at the wound. It
was still there, although shortened. It now measured about six inches. He
lowered himself onto his side and, resting on his elbow, kissed the freshly
healed spot. She put her hands on the sides of his head. Jatred grinned at her,
his white teeth flashing in the dark. Jasmira smiled back.

They lay in silence, holding each other. After a few minutes Jasmira
pointed to her stomach. “I’m feeling much better. Look.”

The wound was almost gone. She took a deep breath, her chest rising.
Jatred watched her skin mending itself. When the cut was completely healed, he
outlined the still visible scab with his finger.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, not anymore. I have zero tolerance for pain, but I’m fine now,”
she whispered, entwining her legs with his.

“Stop worrying. I’m fine.” Jasmira sighed.

“Right.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

“Let’s go. I haven’t shifted in days and I’m getting giddy.”
 

Jatred reluctantly got up. When Jasmira stood up, he drew her into
his arm, and looked down at her face, his eyes narrowed.

“Oh, come
on
,” she said,
frustrated. “Would you stop freaking out? I wanna go running.”

Jatred laughed and forced a jovial note into his voice, “As you wish,
Princess. Let’s get back to the other side of the fence. Here some people can
spot us—”

“J, you stress out too much. It’s the middle of the night, no people
around.” She pecked him on the lips and wriggled out of his embrace. She
shifted hurriedly into her leopard form.

He followed suit, and soon they chased each other through the woods.

Crouched low to the ground, a raccoon watched the wolf and the
leopard dashing between the trees and bushes. These two looked like animals but
smelled like humans. The raccoon turned and ran in the opposite direction,
unsure what to make of this strange combination.

Jatred leaped to the side and ran next to Jasmira, his keen eyes on
the leopard. He pivoted and lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. They
tumbled down, snarling and nipping at each other. She scrambled from under the
wolf, sprang, and ran forward. Jatred took after her, a low growl escaping his
throat.

Jasmira led him forward, picking up speed, and then skidded to the
left without warning. She liked the rush of the night breeze hitting her muzzle
and cooling her sweat-covered body. Jatred caught up with her. She felt his
pure joy that came from the feeling of freedom.

The leopard dodged a very wide, tall tree stump in their path and saw
Jatred turning his body to the opposite side, skirting the stump on the left,
while she went right. She expected him to reappear when she passed the stump,
but he wasn’t there. Her claws shot out, gripping the ground. Jasmira skidded
and stopped, her tail swishing. The wolf was nowhere to be seen. She walked
back to the tree stump and circled it, sniffing the breeze. His scent lingered
in the air but disappeared right on the other side.

Jasmira waited with her nose raised, perfectly blending with the
darkness of the night. Her ears swiveled and twitched, trying to catch a familiar
noise. She expected Jatred to spring and dash at her at any moment, the way he
liked to play with her. But the forest was quiet and still. “Where are you hiding?
Come on, it’s not funny.”

She started to search the area. Jatred’s smell didn’t extend past
the spot from which he disappeared. She growled, looking around one more time,
but then she lay down on the ground. A minute later she got up and walked back
the way they both came from, her senses alert.
 

Jasmira stood by the fence, sniffing it, her watchful eyes sweeping
the area.
Something must’ve happened. How
could he disappear like that?
She felt a pang of panic spreading through
her body. She tensed with anticipation.
The
bond, I can feel him…

“Jatred. Where are you?”

He is scared…

“J. Answer me.”

Crystal. Was it Crystal?
Did she summon him? This can’t be good.

“Jatred!”

CHAPTER 10

Winter Realm.

The black wolf stood confused.
Snow?
Daytime? What happened?
Frantic thoughts swirled in his head.
“Where is the forest? Where am I?”

“Jasmira!” he shouted with his mind, his nose pointed up, smelling
the nippy air. She wasn’t with him. He couldn’t detect her scent anywhere.

“Prince Jatred.” The wolf heard the Winter Goddess’s voice.

The Winter Realm! Of
course.

Slowly, he turned around. She stood a few feet behind him, barely
visible, almost translucent. She shimmered in the sun like a diamonds-encrusted
ice statue. Crystal, the only creature he’d ever dreaded in his life. She was
obeyed and feared by all Winter Shape Shifters. She was the Law and the Ruler.
And she wasn’t merciful.

“My Goddess,” Jatred said with his mind, his heart pounding against
his rib cage. He felt uneasy, unsure why he was summoned here.

“You wonder why I summoned you.” Crystal smiled, as if hearing his
thoughts. “The girl.” Her smile disappeared, replaced by a frown. Her body solidified,
becoming like a human’s.

The wolf didn’t offer a comment. He stared at the Goddess, and what
he saw in her expression scared him. She stood more than eight feet tall. Her
long dark hair tumbled down her shoulders. Wavy and straight lines were tattooed
on the upper half of her face, and a narrow
half-moon—on each cheek. A skin-tight
silver top cinched at Crystal’s small waist. Her lean arms were bare and adorned
in wide silver bracelets. Round metal rivets ran down the side seams of her
snug-fitting leather pants. The snow crunched under the thick soles of her
knee-high boots, when she slowly walked around the wolf, her arms crossed over
her chest. Jatred turned his head and watched the sun reflecting off the metal
buckles on Crystal’s boots.

The Goddess stopped in front of him. The
snow was intact; she didn’t leave footprints on the soft, white surface.

The wolf kept his tail low between his hind legs. He dropped his
head down, lifting his shoulder blades, his eyes on the Goddess. The fur on the
back of his neck and along his spine stood on end, making him look even bigger
than he was.

“You must end it immediately. I will not tolerate your involvement
with the Summer Princess.” Crystal’s expression was firm, her eyes cold.

Jatred lowered his head even more.

“No! She. Is. A.
Summer.
Princess!”
the Winter Goddess enunciated each word forcefully and distinctly. “There is
too much at stake. Our Races do not belong together. This is not a request.
This is your duty as the Race’s future King.”

Jatred instinctively crouched low, taking a step back. He put his
ears down and looked at Crystal’s face. Her icy expression began to thaw. She
was beautiful, strong, and commanding. The wolf didn’t look away until he
caught a small movement in his peripheral vision. By the edge of the forest a
pair of huge wolves sat back on their haunches. One of them was black, like
Jatred, and the other was snow-white. They were even bigger than he was, and
there was something ancient about them.
 

Crystal followed Jatred’s gaze and turned her head toward the trees.

“Do you remember the first Royal couple, Freki and Geri?” Her voice was
free of emotion.

“I’ve met them a while ago. When I was maybe twelve. Or eleven. I
don’t recall them being super friendly.”

Crystal nodded, her eyes still on the wolves. They got up, turned
and slowly walked away, disappearing in the thicket of the snow-blanketed
trees.

“I see not much has changed since,” Jatred said.

A small smile flickered across the Goddess’s heart-shaped lips. She
crossed her arms over her chest again. The silver top she wore reflected the
sun in hundreds of tiny specks of light on her arms.

“Go now and remember what you have to do.” She turned and walked toward
the snow-covered mountain peaks visible on the horizon. Her body began to
shimmer and dissolve in the air, and soon Jatred saw only a mere silhouette of
the Goddess. Two huge black ravens flew to her, cawing loudly. They circled
over her head, high up in the air as they continued flying above her.

When Jatred shifted into his human form, Crystal flicked her hand
without stopping or looking back at him. He felt a rush of freezing wind and
saw a mass of snowflakes whirling around him in an impenetrable wall of
whiteness.

***

Human World. August 20,
around midnight.

Jatred’s eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. He lay on his back
on the ground, wincing. A broken tree branch pressed against his spine. Pain
soared between his shoulder blades. He gritted his teeth and hissed a long
string of profanity. The night forest was quiet, only a breeze ruffled the tree
tops above him. The dark sky twinkled with millions of stars. With a heave
Jatred got up and staggered. He grunted and steadied himself, his hand on a
tree.

Something huge was crashing through the forest toward him. He heard
Jasmira’s voice calling his name, and the black leopard leaped at him, knocking
him down to the ground. The air went out from his lungs, and another spasm of
pain seized his back.

“What happened?” she shouted, shifting into her human form. Her long
hair tumbled onto his face, covering his mouth and nose. He shook his head and
coughed, gulping the air.