Chapter 6
RENNEN
Rennen stretched and the stroke of fur down her torso told her she was naked. She felt so strange. At peace and perhaps even safe. She did not want to move, but relished the feeling. The vibrations were strange like she was in the middle of a flock of birds. Or a colony of ants.
Or a pack of wolves.
Wolves. Memories poured down like a waterfall, Gant, the chase, the Eldest, the wand. Her peace broken, her heart awoke in a panic, trying to escape her body. Did she dare open her eyes?
“You don’t have to pretend to be asleep, my lady.” A gruff voice said far too near for comfort.
Her eyes flew open. Adelram, the old wolf had called him. Adelram sat next to the bed. He’d been so close and she’d still felt safe. “Adelram, where am I?”
When he grinned, his eyes widened and his whole face softened, the grin of a child delighted by a surprise. “You, my lady, are in my den.”
She swept her gaze across the walls. Rounded dirt walls and floor made her feel at home. A natural feeling space with the bed she was on in the middle of the room. On the left colors. Wild, chaotic, red, blue, purple, and yellow splashed across the walls. A frenetic sunrise. Maybe he was more than a beast. She met his gaze, wondering who he was.
“Why do you call me my lady?” That seemed the safest of questions.
He bit his lip and looked down. “I don’t know your name.” His voice was soft and hesitant. He glanced up and looked almost hopeful.
The ludicrousness of her situation hit. She snorted. Once, twice, and then fell back in helpless laughter. Her life hadn’t gone as planned. She was supposed to be the chosen one to reunite her people. Instead, she was banished from her home and in a Wolves' village. When she was done she said mostly to herself, “Pre-mated and my mate has no idea my name.”
His mouth opened as if to say something but nothing came out. He tried three times before he shrugged and turned his red face away. He cleared his throat. “Hungry?”
She sat-up and the blankets slid to her waist before she could grab them. Cold air smoothed from her shoulders to the top of her breasts. Dryads went naked for many occasions, but alone in a wolf’s den, her nakedness felt different and dangerous.
A gasp had her looking over at him. A strange expression crossed his face. He stood quickly and whatever was on his lap clattered to the floor. A pile of cloth landed on her lap, before he bolted out of the room. “Come out when you are dressed,” he called over his shoulder as he left. She’d think his response amusing if it were not for the strange pull in her chest at the look on his face.
She closed her hand on a simple leather short sleeved shirt and tie around skirt. Fur trimmed the bottom of the skirt. Fur was not her first choice for clothing. She would almost prefer to be naked, but his reaction to seeing just her bare shoulders and breasts made her want to put on more clothing, not less. His expression had been covetous and wild and had confirmed the dangerous feeling coiled deep in her core. Not an expression a male had cast her direction. Some small part of her liked it, but the rest wondered if that was his beast showing.
She slid the shirt over her head and when she smoothed it down, felt her bare throat. Her bond necklace was gone.
Her heart stuttered and her hands shook. She searched the bed. Gone. If her bond necklace went missing she could never mate. Panic stabbed through her system. She was not ready to give up having her mating recognized by her people. Not yet.
She crawled on her hands and knees. Her hand swept under the bed and found nothing. She shook the blankets off the bed, but still there was no sign of her necklace. She sagged back. The Dryads only recognized a mating with the necklace. Even her mother with her human mate had put their sacrifice on the Shattered Oak.
She had no way to bond with Adelram, even if she wanted to. Not for real. But if she did not mate him the way his people mated, he would die. She pushed away the guilt. She’d led him into traps when he’d chased her. How was this choice different?
Blaze Woods was near. She could still get to Zinnia and get back some semblance of her old life. Maybe she could find her necklace. Or find a replacement. Did it matter? A bond necklace should only be used for love and she didn’t seem to be able to love. Her head ached with conflicting options. There was no clear path.
When finished dressing, she walked out into the bright sunlight. Adelram leaned against the wall outside the door. His relaxed pose looked as if he could stand there all day. Like he was used to waiting. His gaze scanned the area, drawing her attention to the wolf village laid out in the valley. A sliver of dread pricked her back. She was in danger, soon to be surrounded by monsters.
Silver smoke rose from a large center mound. Three circles made of smaller mounds had what looked like neat-rowed gardens growing on the tops.
“Wolves have gardens?” She didn’t mean to sound so surprised, but she hadn’t known wolves had gardens.
“Go up and see.” He gestured to a ladder affixed to his hut.
She climbed up. His garden was a tangled mess speckled with trilliums and violets. Carrots, onions, squash and other edible plants fought for space against the weeds. It seemed to have been left to run wild on the top of his mound, but she knew if managed right, the space could feed a family.
A black bird darted down to the village. The elevation made it obvious that Adelram’s mound was not in an outer ring. It was off to itself away from everyone else. A small bit of sympathy tightened her gut at the thought of him being an outcast even amongst predators.
When she came down from the garden, his face seemed harder, shaking her from her soft thoughts. This was not the time for sympathy. She needed to get to Zinnia.
“When can we go to Blaze woods?” She didn’t miss the flinch her words caused.
“Let’s get some food first.” He did not quite meet her eyes.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat after a magical healing.” His voice was firm. He was right, she could feel the rumble in her gut. She needed to eat. Being low on fuel was not wise. Especially while she was in enemy territory.
He took her hand and led her to the village. What would a whole village of monsters be like? She braced herself for anything. As they wound their way between the houses, she waited for something to happen.
Just as they entered the village and rounded a corner between two dens, a movement near her feet caught her attention. A small black wolf hunched ready to spring at something around the next corner. The pup wiggled its butt and tail. She could almost feel the pup’s excitement. Then the pup launched itself and a moment later a startled yelp sounded.
“Mommmm.” A high, young boy’s voice called.
Rennen broke Adleram’s hold and peered around the corner. The wolf pup tugged on the hair of a small hairy, brown-haired boy sprawled on the dirt.
“Lydia get off your brother and go take your Pa some water.” A small woman in hybrid form, a fuzzy human with extended fangs, sat crosslegged on a nearby mound. She had materials to make a basket laid out around her and the shell of a basket was started in her lap. Her hands had not paused in weaving as she scolded her daughter.
A snitch sounded from the roof of the house behind her. A large hairy man dug in the garden roof. The shovel moved in an easy rhythm. The black pup slunk to the well where she transformed into a dirty young girl. She dipped the dipper into the well and went up the ladder where she presented the cup to her Pa.
The man paused and ruffled the girl’s hair as he took the cup. “Thanks.”
The girl grinned at her Pa and then turned her gaze to stare at Rennen.
Rennen realized she had stopped and had been staring at the family. Heat razed her face. She tensed waiting for an attack.
“Adelram.” The man nodded at him.
“Patrick.” Adelram nodded back.
The two kids slipped back to wolf form and crept closer, and sniffed at her feet. She backed into Adelram’s hard chest.
“They are but curious.” His warm breath tickled her ear, making her gasp. She nodded and let the pups sniff her fingers and legs.
“You should scratch their backs.” Adelram said. She glanced at the parents who smiled with no teeth which made her feel oddly disarmed.
The little girl was the first to pounce on Rennen’s foot. She reached into pup’s thick fur and gave a good scratch. The pup arched under her fingers and then rolled over tummy in the air legs splayed. The little boy meanwhile rubbed against her leg. She stroked his chin and jaw. The girl pup made growly noises while she rubbed her back on the ground. Rennen chuckled. The boy pup bumped her hand which had stopped moving. She gave him another good rub. He bumped again, but his sister chose the moment to pounce on his back. They bounded away yipping and pouncing.
They were just like the kids in her hamlet. That thought occupied her as they went deeper into the village. Wolves in full furs and in partial fur talked, laughed, and worked. They didn’t seem to notice her at all. Didn’t seem to consider her prey. At least not yet.
A few more steps brought them to the large center mound. It was tall enough to cast shadows between it and the next mound. Stone stairs on either side of the entrance led to the garden above. Gray stones arched above the entrance and more stone formed stairs into the mound. She glanced at Adelram who just smiled in return. Taking a deep breath she stepped in.
The ceiling glowed a pale yellow, reminding her of sunshine. Rows of wooden tables and chairs lined the walls and at the far end a gray haired woman stirred a boiling pot. The lady ladled stew into bowls on the table in front of her. This scene was not what she’d expected at all. It was peaceful and cooperative.
While she was occupied looking around, Adelram picked up two bowls and gestured to a table. The bowl was heaped with bits of meat and potatoes. Her stomach lurched and she pushed the bowl away.
“You should eat.”
“I can’t eat that.” Her voice sounded horrified to her own ear.
He took her bowl and wolfed down her portion. “We can go to the garden.”
He finished the last of his portion and licked his lips. There was nothing wrong with what he did, it just made her wonder what his lips might taste like. Her heart sped and a tingle started low between her legs. What was wrong with her? She needed Gant, not this Wolf. Heat crawled up her neck and face.
He smiled, a slow easy smile that said he knew about her tingle. His eyes wide and hopeful started a chain reaction in her body. Everything felt more intense and the air heavier. Sensations like the brush of fur trim on her thigh, the vibrations of ten different warm bodies in the kitchen flooded her awareness.
“What did you do to me?” Her voice sounded low and strangled.
A loud scrape broke the silence between them. A giant red haired male perked up and scented the air. He stood and stepped closer, towering over her. She shrank toward Adelram who growled low and menacing. He batted the reaching hand away and shoved the other man’s shoulder.
Red snarled back and circled to bypass Adelram.
But Adelram stayed in front of Rennen, and matched how Red circled, never once backing down or taking his eyes off him.
“She’s mine.” Adelram lashed out his hand now tipped with six inch claws. He raked them across Red’s shoulder and drew blood.
Red snarled, but backed away slowly.
The smell of fresh blood sent the room spinning. Rennen needed to get away before she was tainted by the violence and the blood. It was the spilling of blood that caused the final irreversible step on the path of Dryad to Tree Protector. It was what her mother, and everyone from her line, had done to earn their red hair. Rennen would not be like her mother. A dryad who killed and kept killing as part of her human mate’s army. No, she would never be like her mother. The urge to flee rose and would not be denied.
Rennen stumbled up the stone stairs, and pushed past a knot of wolves. Everyone oriented on her frantic first steps out of the hall. Her gut plunged. This was no time for panic. Not in the middle of a village of predators. Their ears twitched and noses sniffed. They shifted toward her as if drawn by her wake. She had to calm down or risk one of the wolves attacking her. A deep breath did nothing to calm her, but she slowed her steps anyway. She needed a place to hide, the garden was the best option.
She climbed up the stairs to the garden with slow measured steps. Being surrounded by greenery helped, but her heart still thudded. When she looked down from her perch in any direction, a wolf stared up at her. She was no closer to being free. For a moment, she wondered where Adelram was. He would’ve been able to handle any unwanted attention. He would have protected her. She shook her head, casting the thought away, she didn’t want his protection.
She moved to the center of the garden and crouched so no one could see her. The plants were strong here. They were willing to gift her power. She carefully collected wisps of energy, being sure not to harm the plants, but spread out the request across the garden. When she had enough, she focused the energy on her hand making it tingle. The tingle intensified until the skin shimmered and took on a transparent leafy pattern. The tingle spread up her arm and the camouflage followed. She stood.
Zinnia was to the west which was also the side away from the mound’s entrance. If she moved slowly, she might be able to get to the edge of the village undetected. Or at least without being stopped. She slid down the side of the mound. The nearest wolves shifted and sniffed the air, but did not seem to see her. So she walked past them, keeping her distance.
A few puzzled looks and slow sniffs followed her progress through the village, but no one stopped her. Hopefully she would be free of the village before Adelram caught her. Then she would not need his protection and could resist her growing attraction to him. All she needed was to make it to Zinnia’s land.
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