My Perfect Mate (13 page)

A group of young women sat a ways
apart and appeared to be working on sewing furs into clothing.
Another group of girls poured over a picture book. JP wondered if
they could read and write. Did Aisyt even think of educating them?
She’d been hidden away in the Arctic a long time.

“Help me,” someone cried
out.

JP jumped up and ran toward the voice,
Susan right behind them. A naked young woman appeared running
forward. She held a bleeding pup in her arms.

“Here, let me see her,” JP said
holding out his arms. The woman passed the wolf pup to him and he
laid her on the floor.

“I found her abandoned on the ice.”
Tears streamed down the young woman’s face.

Reaching for his magic JP scanned her
body for injuries. The little one was only a few months old. She
had been beaten severely. Many of her bones were broken. One pushed
through the skin. He started healing her, but didn’t hold much hope
of saving the small pup.

Susan kneeled down beside him. “Work
on setting her bones. She needs to shift, but we don’t want her
crippled.”

“I’m not sure I can save her. She’s
fading fast,” JP admitted.

“I’ve got her! Hurry, set the bones.
I’m going to call her to shift.”

JP quickly envisioned the bones in
place and saw them move to comply. “Okay, now.”

“Little one, you will SHIFT.” JP
realized the command was both verbal and telepathic. Susan gave an
alpha command.

White lights swirled around the pup.
Her form disappeared as the lights coalesced around her. When they
winked out a baby lay before them. She opened her eyes and started
to wail.

“Thank goodness!” the young girl who
brought her exclaimed. “I thought she wouldn’t make it.”

Susan picked up the baby and held her
close, trying to calm her. A line of white in the baby’s dark hair
showed the trauma she’d gone through. JP thought of Qannik whose
hair was all white. What she must have experienced to turn all her
hair.

“This has to stop, Jean-Paul,” Susan
said holding the child tightly. “Somehow we have to stop this
atrocity!”

“You can’t stop hatred, my love. The
healing has to come from within.”

§

Susan sat quietly at dinner. A large
wooden table surrounded by benches of wood and stone filled the
dining space next to the kitchen. JP felt her sorrow and confusion
through the mating bond about the amarok situation, but didn’t know
how to help her. Racism was an illogical hatred. Magic couldn’t
cure it, or take it away. Only the nanuk themselves could stop the
persecution of their amarok children.

Susan suddenly sat forward. “I have an
idea. What if the lycans approached the nanuk and offered to buy
the amarok children. If we make the babies a valuable commodity
they might stop killing them.”

“What you’re talking about is illegal.
Children cannot be bought and sold that’s called trafficking. At
least not legally.”

“So call it something else. Call it
paying to adopt unwanted children. People pay to adopt children all
the time. We could make sure all the polar bear villages know that
instead of killing their unwanted children, we will pay to take
them.”

“Honey, you’d have to have a fortune
available to pay the nanuk, not to mention, you don’t speak for the
lycans. Turning the amarok into a commodity is too close to
slavery. It won’t stop the racism or the persecution. You have no
idea how they will react to your idea.”

“But it’s a good idea. It could save
so many lives. Do you have a better idea? We’ve got to do
something. Please tell me, you’ll help me find a way.”

“I will help you all I can,” JP
assured her. “The problem of racism is too big for us to fix. It
has to come from within the nanuk and amarok. The one thing we can
do is open the lines of communication between the two factions. We
can make the children our priority, but the hatred has to be
released and resolved to promote real change.” Susan loved
children. She’d do what she could to save the amarok
pups.

Aisyt sat across the table from them.
“If we arranged for single lycans to come calling as possible mates
for the amarok, would you be willing to let them leave with their
mates?” JP asked. Being newly mated, perhaps Aisyt could see the
wisdom of the plan.

“Amarok can never be far from the
Arctic. But neither do I hold them prisoner here. If a mating bond
snapped into place, I would give my blessings to the couple.” Aisyt
looked at Ujarak with a smile.

Murmurs could be heard up and down the
table. Soon every woman of marriageable age would know they had a
chance to find a mate with the lycans. Now all they needed to do
was tell the lycan alphas their plan.

There was still the problem of the
polar bears saying the lycans tried to steal their territories.
Perhaps a peace accord between the two races, as well as the
provisions for the lycans to raise amarok children, could be put
into place.

The Witches Council could act as
mediators. If Ujarak could convince the people of his village to
attend and spread the news through the nanuk, it might work. Susan
could convince the lycans to come to the meeting and Aisyt could
bring the amarok. Jean-Paul explained his plan to Aisyt and Ujarak.
He looked at Susan. Her eyes glowed with hopeful
enthusiasm.

“I guess we have a lot of work to
do.”

Susan stared at the dress waiting for
her on the sleeping platform. White lace beaded with tiny pearls
and crystals adorned the length. She’d never seen anything so
beautiful. She fingered the material gently. Her hand
trembled.

“Do you like it?” Jean-Paul
asked.

“It’s exquisite. Where did it come
from?”

“Aisyt must have brought it
from
Ynys Afallon
or Avalon as you would know it. It should fit you perfectly.
We need to get back to perform the Destined One
ceremony.”

JP seemed to be excited about the
ritual. Susan didn’t know what she felt, but it wasn’t excitement.
She glanced at the sled dogs, now hers, sleeping on the floor. Her
palms moist with sweat, she wiped them on her fur pants. “Do you
have something to wear?”

“Yes. Let me port it here from
Quebec.” Jean-Paul closed his eyes a moment and whispered in a
singsong voice.

Suddenly another outfit appeared on
the bed. Startled, Susan jumped. This one was a doublet of blue
velvet and blue tights. “We’ll freeze wearing these
clothes.”

“No, we won’t. They have magic spells
on them. We’ll feel perfectly normal.”

“Okay.” Susan reached for the ties on
her fur coat. Her face warmed and she turned away from JP. What was
wrong with her?

“Are you all right? You seem nervous.”
JP’s bare arm extended past her as he grabbed the doublet. The
light caught the fabric and Susan realized tiny crystals were sewn
on it as well.

She slipped off the coat and reached
for the dress. Goose bumps ran up her arms and onto her back. The
prickle of cold made her tremble. She slipped the garment over her
head and pushed her arms up through the sleeves.

The dress slipped lightly over her.
She instantly felt wonderful. Reaching underneath the skirt, she
untied the fur pants and stepped out of them. Everything seemed a
little unreal. Now all she needed were some glass
slippers.

“Glass slippers wouldn’t be
comfortable. How about some nice embroidered slippers instead?” JP
used the mating bond to read her mind, again. She pursed her lips
and then sighed.

“Whatever you decide, please hurry. My
feet are freezing.” She still didn’t turn to look at Jean-Paul.
From the corner of her eye, his blue clad arm moved past her to
place a pair of slippers on the sleeping platform.

These items looked otherworldly too.
Susan felt like she lived in a fairy tale. What would happen next?
Mice singing? She picked up the shoes. Tiny pearls and crystals
adorned them in a similar pattern to the dress. She placed them on
her feet. They were warm and she relaxed into them.

Jean-Paul gently grabbed her by the
upper arms and turned her toward him. “What is upsetting you that
you won’t even look at me?”

Susan bit her lip. JP stood before her
looking like prince charming from his dark wavy hair to the tip of
his shiny black boots. He was perfect. Even his pointy tipped ears
looked like they belonged in the scene in front of her. What could
she say? She didn’t belong in a fairy tale. She lost every job she
ever had. She was a failure. Even in this gorgeous dress, she felt
out of place.

She peeked up at Jean-Paul. He
frowned. Removing a hand from her arm, he waved it at the corner of
the room and a long mirror appeared. He took Susan by the hand and
led her to look inside. She gasped. Was that her? Did she really
look like that? Susan ran her hand down the gown.

“You look beautiful. You are
beautiful.”

“I don’t know. My hair…” She couldn’t
help but look for a fault.

JP waved his hand over her and
suddenly her hair was perfectly styled. The long blond tresses were
piled on her head and fell in tiny ringlets. “There. My lady fair
is a vision of grace and beauty. Come on. Aisyt is waiting for
us.”

“Do you really want me?” Susan
suddenly asked. Her cheeks turned red. Did she really say that out
loud?

“More than anything, little wolf. I
know you feel out of your element. I’m right here with you. You can
do this. The ceremony is a beautiful ritual. You’ll like it. Now,
no more stalling. The whole amarok pack is waiting for us.
Come.”

Jean-Paul pulled her toward the
door.

§

Jean-Paul smiled. Susan would take on
racism to save the amarok children, but didn’t feel worthy of a
pretty dress. She was a puzzle with more layers than he could
fathom, and she was his. A warm glow filled his chest. He smiled,
again. He couldn’t help it. He tightened his grasp on her hand and
led her through the great cavern.

Joy bubbled inside like a frothy
churning stream. He didn’t know what the future held, or if they
could change the fate of the amarok children. What he did know was
he couldn’t wait to face the future with the woman who dragged her
feet behind him. A sudden thought made him frown. He stopped
abruptly. Susan bumped into him from behind.

“Umph. Hey, a little warning would be
nice,” she grumbled.

JP turned and took her face in his
hand. “You do want me, don’t you?” He searched her eyes.

She blinked and her cheeks reddened.
Suddenly she reached for him, wrapping her arms around his waist
and holding tight. “Yes, Jean-Paul. I want you.”

His hands went from her face to around
her back. He crushed her to him. A fear he didn’t realize he had
melted away.

“All right, then.” He grabbed her hand
and pulled her down the path.

“Hey. You can’t act like that and then
rush off. I didn’t even get a kiss.”

JP stopped. Susan ran into him, again.
She growled. He turned and pulled her into his arms. His lips came
down hard. This woman made him question himself.

He took her mouth, demanding entrance.
She acquiesced. He dove in, needing to claim her. To make her
understand she belonged to him.

Her willingness spoke to the wildness
he felt. His thrusting tongue and gripping hands gentled. She
wasn’t fighting him. Her hands held him just as tightly. His lips
didn’t press as hard. He ran his tongue gently against hers, then
withdrew. Sipping at her lips, he licked and nibbled. Finally, he
stepped back.

Susan’s gaze was dreamy. Her full lips
red from his kisses. He caressed her cheek. “Better?” he
asked.

She nodded. He tugged her into his
side and started off again. He wanted this ceremony done. Susan was
his. The ritual would make that fact, forever. His stride
lengthened.

Susan stumbled. JP was hard pressed
not to pick her up and carry her. Instead he slowed his pace to a
more comfortable rate for Susan’s shorter legs. They entered a side
corridor and went through a large arch carved into the earth.
Inside, a huge circle was outlined on the floor. Torches lined the
walls. The amarok waited milling around the edges while Aisyt and
Ujarak stood in the middle next to a large stone altar. Everyone
stopped as they entered.

Aisyt smiled. “Places, please.” The
amarok lined up around the edge of the circle.

JP led Susan through the
crowd to the altar. He nodded to Aisyt and Ujarak. They both
changed into outfits from
Ynys
Afallon
as well. A gold silk rope lay on
the stone surface. Jean-Paul frowned a moment thinking of the
ceremony to come. “Give me a minute.”

He dropped Susan’s hand and called his
magic. He had lived centuries and his magic was strong. Sparkles of
light filled the air around them. Soon a swirling mass of light
formed beneath his hands.

He thought of Susan and pulled on her
essence. She was lycan and more, she had been human. Still there
was something else. He went deeper, searching in her DNA. Ah, here
it is, her grandmother was witch-kind. That explained Susan’s
affinity with animals. She had a touch of Earth witch in her
past.