The Alpha's Concubine (Historical Shifter Romance) (55 page)

Reunion

Despite being weary, Khelt and Fern ran all afternoon and into the evening. It seemed that none of them wanted to spend another night out in the wilderness, and despite Netya's best efforts to tend Caspian's wounds, he would still need a more experienced healer to examine him sooner rather than later. The moon was out that evening, and as they approached the outcrop Khelt let out a long howl to announce their return. It was echoed a few moments later by whoever was keeping watch, signalling that they had been spotted.

By the time they reached the bottom of the slope a small crowd had gathered, but they hung back in anticipation, unsure of what was about to greet them. Netya should have been anxious. After all, the pack had thought her a traitor just a day earlier. But as she dismounted and helped Caspian down from Khelt's back, she could only respond to the spiteful looks being shot her way with a glower of her own. She had no patience for their suspicion. Lives had been lost that morning.

The ride had left Caspian weak, and the wound in his side had begun bleeding again, but he still had the presence of mind to pause when he saw Hawk and Essie's daughter, Wren, waiting at the front of the group. He motioned Fern over and leaned in close.

"Tell her gently, somewhere away from the others."

Fern's eyes widened slightly. "Me?"

"She has always been fond of you, and I fear none of us understand what she must now face better than yourself," Caspian said.

The expression of fear that crossed Fern's face mirrored that of the girl waiting for her parents. Netya wanted to insist that she break the news in her friend's stead, but she held her sympathy in check. Fern could not have been much younger than Wren when she lost her own parents. If ever there had been a time for her to share the one thing she never spoke of, it was now.

Fern hesitated, but when she looked at the worried young girl gazing past them, searching for two more figures that would never arrive, she swallowed her fear and hurried up the slope, ignoring the others as she led Wren back toward the camp.

Netya turned Caspian's chin toward her and kissed his cheek. Even when he was barely able to stand by himself, bleeding and exhausted, his kindness and understanding shone through. She would never have thought to suggest Fern be the one to break the news to Hawk and Essie's daughter, but now she could think of no wiser choice.

Khelt approached the pack, straightening up and squaring his jaw as he prepared to deliver the news they all waited on. He made it quick and simple, his voice betraying little emotion. Two of their pack were gone, and two of the Sun People lay dead with them. He did not mention that one of them had been their leader, or that Netya had been found and brought home safely. Her presence spoke for itself, and she doubted drawing attention to it would do much to ease the pack's burden of grief. Some of them would blame her for what happened. She could see it even as Khelt spoke. Hawk and Essie had gone out to find her, and they had died for it.

Before the alpha could even finish, the crowd parted as someone pushed through from the back. She was having difficulty walking, her face still pale and her dark hair tangled, but even when she was hobbling with the aid of a tree branch to prop her up, Adel commanded a respectful silence from the crowd.

The den mother ignored those around her, walking straight past the alpha to Netya and pulling her away from Caspian into an embrace. Without fully understanding why, Netya found herself hugging her mentor back, filled with such relief that she had to struggle to keep her eyes dry.

Then she remembered the familiarity of the embrace. When she had been lost and afraid in the spirit world, it had been these arms that held her. There had been a reason Netya risked so much in her attempt to save the den mother. She may not have realised it, but a bond had formed between them in the months they had spent together. Their reunion said everything it needed to without a word being said.

Though Netya felt the sincerity in Adel's embrace, she realised it also served another purpose. In one simple action, she had demonstrated her faith in her apprentice's innocence to the pack. After witnessing such a show of affection, who would dare voice their own suspicions aloud?

"If any of this was your doing, Witch," Khelt murmured, his voice low enough that no one else would hear, "I will see my pack rid of you for it."

Netya's blood ran cold for a moment, but the alpha was already walking away, approaching his people as they clustered around their leader.

Adel scowled after him. "And he seeks to blame me again for those who died under his leadership."

"Not now," Netya whispered. "No one is to blame, Khelt is just upset." She tugged the den mother away, and she reluctantly acquiesced. At a call from Adel, two of the seers hurried forward to take Caspian away from Netya and help him up the slope. She clung to his hand longer than she should have until their fingers parted. She would have stayed with him all night, but she knew his wounds needed proper care.

"Tell me what happened, and why you ran," Adel said.

Once more, Netya recounted the events that had occurred the night the den mother was poisoned, leaving out the painful details of the reunion with her mother. She was still not ready to speak of what had happened back in the village. The hurt was simmering in her heart, waiting to harrow her again, but she would not speak of it this night. As she talked, many more curious ears began listening in, and soon half the pack was hanging on her every word.

Before she reached the end of the tale, she fished inside her clothing for the small bag of seeds that had been paid for with so much blood.

Adel took it from her and examined the contents, nodding slowly in approval. "I may not have needed them this time, but these seeds will still be valuable to us. I shall have my seers become familiar with them. In the years to come, they may save other lives."

The only other part of the story Netya refrained from mentioning was Vaya's involvement. Her instinct was to keep it a secret for now, to tread carefully, but she quickly realised that the question of how she had travelled back home was one that would need answering. When she caught sight of Vaya's face among the crowd, the eyes of the huntress glaring at her in distaste, she no longer cared for caution.

All of Netya's righteous anger at the woman boiled to the surface. Every jibe, every taunt, the blow that had broken her nose, the memory of seeing her spear snapped in half, and the despair of realising she had been abandoned at the edge of the village. Gripping her weapon tight, she pointed the tip at Vaya.

"She is the one responsible for this! She pretended to help me, then left me at the mercy of the Sun People! She knew the den mother needed the medicine. She has hated me since the day I arrived, and now she no longer cares who she hurts in her efforts to see me gone!"

The gathering quietened. To accuse someone of Vaya's status so openly was a clear challenge, and not one that could go unanswered. All eyes fell on the huntress. She remained still, her arms folded, refusing to speak. Had her lies and trickery finally caught up with her?

"Answer when a seer addresses you," Adel said coldly. Netya was pleased to see how it made Vaya flinch.

"It is true," the huntress responded. "It happened exactly as she claims it did. I will not argue the truth of it. My only regret is that I kept it to myself until now."

"You admit your guilt?" Netya said.

Vaya looked at her, but there was no fear in her expression. "What guilt? You have been a fool as usual and misunderstood, even after I put my dislike for you aside. I helped you because I feared for the den mother's life, as did we all. You claim I abandoned you, but did you not see the band of hunters chasing me across the plains? Once the sun began to rise, I feared it had all been a trick, that you would not return, only to find myself fleeing from the spears of your people moments later. And you think I acted unreasonably?!"

"You were gone long before that!" Netya retorted. "Those hunters came for me, not you!"

"Vaya is not lying," one of the hunters spoke up. "When we met her yesterday a band of the Sun People had tracked her far across the plains. We were fortunate they turned back when they did."

"Yes, the hunters followed her tracks, but Vaya left long before them!" Netya said. "She was not chased. She did not even wait for me!"

"Quiet the both of you," Khelt rumbled, finally abandoning his own talks to investigate the commotion. Netya held her tongue, but she could not help but feel a smug sense of satisfaction now that the alpha had intervened. He had punished Vaya before for far less. Now she would finally get her comeuppance.

This time, however, Khelt's words were cold and harsh. "I have no time to listen to two bitter females bicker like children. You say one thing, and you say the other," he gestured to both of them in turn, "who am I to believe?"

Me,
Netya thought, her throat growing painfully tight,
you should believe me. Am I not the one you care for?
But Khelt had barely said a kind word to her all day. Perhaps the sting of seeing her with Caspian still hurt. Perhaps he was only trying to be a fair leader. Either way, her time of receiving preferential treatment from the alpha seemed to be over.

"I will need the strength of my hunters and the skills of my seers in the days to come," Khelt said. "Settle it between yourselves, or make sure this disagreement never reaches my ears again. I have no patience for it."

"And what of my poisoner?" Adel said. "Or would you rather wait until they attempt to kill your den mother again?"

"If you think Vaya or Netya had a hand in it, then decide for yourself," Khelt snapped. "I will concern myself with fighting the enemies I can see over those I cannot."

"What do you mean?" old Oke said. "You speak as if a greater threat will be upon us soon."

Khelt pressed his lips together, turning toward the group, then announced what must have been on his mind all day. "One of the Sun People we killed was their alpha. If it was me who fell to one of our enemies, I know how my pack would retaliate."

The gathering fell silent at the gravity of the alpha's words sank in. The hatred between the Moon and Sun People had always been strong, but never strong enough to drive their rivalry to its final, bloody conclusion. Was the death of a leader enough to tip the balance?

"I do not know what may happen," Khelt said, "but the pack must be ready. No more hunts without my permission. I want scouts on the plains keeping watch night and day."

"And what will you do if the Sun People come?" Adel said. "Kill one another, as you did with my pack, until there is no blood left to be spilled?"

"I will do whatever is necessary to protect us." Khelt shook his head. "I wish I could have returned home with better news. We must all hope that nothing comes of it. For tonight, let us remember those we have lost."

The atmosphere among the pack was as tense as Netya had ever felt it. She shared in their dread for what might happen if her people decided to seek vengeance. Some of the males began boasting of how they would gladly meet their enemies in battle, but beneath even the most boisterous of claims she could still sense a hint of unease. Everyone had loved ones nearby. There were elders and children who could not fight. If the Sun People found the outcrop, it would not just be the warriors who faced one another in battle.

Khelt led the group back up the slope to the central fire, but Vaya and a handful of others remained behind. She was one of the few who seemed unfazed by the alpha's words. Her eyes remained locked on Netya, their business clearly unfinished.

"You heard the alpha," she said. "It is for the two of us to settle between ourselves now. Among our kind, only a coward backs down from a challenge."

Netya glared at her, still gripping her spear. She would never have believed herself capable of engaging in one of the bloody fights she had witnessed between the Moon People, but for Vaya's sake, she was almost tempted. Thankfully, Adel was not about to let her apprentice's temper get the best of her.

"What a glorious challenge that would be," she said, her voice dripping with scorn. "A seasoned huntress against a girl of the Sun People. The only coward would be the one to suggest such a single-sided contest in the first place."

"She has learned to use her spear," Vaya said. "I would not deny her the weapon she needs to match my strength."

"I forbid it."

Vaya shifted uncomfortably beneath the den mother's gaze. "The alpha said—"

"Even he would not look kindly on a huntress maiming one of his seers," Adel snapped. "Now get out of my sight." She kept her eyes fixed on Vaya as the huntress made a sullen retreat back up the slope. Once she and Netya were alone, her harsh expression faltered, giving way to a look of concern. "Something must be done about her. I fear I cannot protect you forever."

"She was the one who poisoned you," Netya whispered. "I am sure of it."

Adel narrowed her eyes. "
Are
you sure? Or is it only your anger speaking?"

"Who else could have been responsible?"

"It seems the alpha believes I myself am to blame," Adel said. "And he is quick to dismiss good sense at the best of times, let alone when I am involved."