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Chapter 5
ADELRAM
Adelram winced every time the maid’s breath huffed out. She was so stubborn. Her face seeded with pain, grew lines and furrows as its harvest. Her arm cradled her side. She tripped on exposed roots and stumbled along the trail. He resisted the urge to pick her up and carry her. When she had fallen by the shallow pond, he’d offered. When she’d paused so long with her forehead pressed against an oak, he’d cajoled. But she’d refused and reminded him of their agreement. So now when she stumbled, instead of offering to carry her he put an arm around her to steady her. For as long as she’d let him.
They did have an agreement and he wanted her to keep her end. He just needed to start the process of binding with her and hopefully the rest would work out. He’d never seen a Maid out of a tree for so long. He’d only ever caught glimpses. Even as her energy flagged, every attempt to carry her or look at her wound was evaded.
He held her wrist carefully. Her pulse was still much higher than it ought to be. Step by step, he brought her closer to his clan’s land. Now all he had to do was get the clan to accept the mating. No one else had a non-wolf mate. Such a thing had happened in their history but had to be approved by the Elders.
When he crossed the border, his shoulders relaxed. Clan land. The outer guards would pick up their scent soon. He threw his head back and opened his throat with a series of yips and then belted out a long howl that deepened at the end. The guards knew now he was here with another non-wolf and planned to go straight to the elders. The guards responded adding their notes to his song. He was free to pass.
The maid jerked at the first note and pulled away from him. Her eyes wild.
“Shhh. All is well.” He kept his tone low and gentle and used the same tone he would soothe a scared pup. If she struggled too wildly, she would hurt herself more. When he stroked her arm, she gazed at him blankly for a moment before calming. She didn’t seem to be completely aware of her surroundings as if she was hoarding her energy.
He took the left fork in the path and headed to the sacred glen. The glen didn’t look like anything special until he stepped into it. Only then his non-magic sight could see the power that radiated from the ground. It even smelled magical, like summer lightning. The hairs on his back stood. At the center, he knelt next to her and waited to see if the clan would honor his request.
Moments later, the shadows under the trees thickened. The air grew colder. Five pairs of golden eyes circled. They blinked in and out of view. The elders were here. A large wolf with white muzzle and paws, gray body and a black tip on his tail loped from the trees. Adelram knew him only as the Eldest. He favored one leg just enough to give an odd hopping gait. The gold had faded from his eyes leaving them a milky blue. He approached them.
The maid grabbed a branch, and slammed the Eldest as he approached. He flew back into the brush.
Adelram held his breath, this could be the spark and spirit that would cause the clan to honor his request. They did not want weak members of the pack.
The rest of the elders howled in amusement.
She shivered and backed into Adelram. The warmth of her back pressed against his stomach. He did not want to notice how soft she was. Or how womanly and warm she felt against him. He certainly did not want to give her any reason to move.
The Eldest rose. The fur slid back into his skin, the claws and fangs shrank leaving a wrinkled old man crouched before them. The folds on his face twisted into a grin. “You are in the mating circle. Adelram requests a mating.” The vegetation thrummed at the deep note. Adelram’s heart picked up. The pack would allow the mating.
“T-to me?” Her gaze pounced to his. Her eyes wide and startled, her lips parted, and she tried to step away. She must think him a monster.
The elder chuckled a series of yips. “The clan is bound to protect you regardless of what you choose.”
“Why?” She sounded so unsure, so hesitant, his stomach tightened in sympathy.
“Will you accept his suit?” The eldest circled and marked the ground with his foot. Digging deep with bare toes and then he lifted his foot to add a delicate line with his big toe nail.
“If I do?”
“You will be mated.”
“And if I don’t?”
The Eldest shrugged as if it was no matter. “He will be killed.”
Even though Adelram knew the code, his heart stuttered hearing it said aloud. Mating was risky business. It was permanent one way or the other.
She jerked in Adelram’s grasp. “K-killed? For nothing more than bringing me here?”
Adelram felt a flush of warmth in his chest. She did already care for him, at least a little.
“Eldest, my lady is wounded.” He’d seen the wince when she moved too quickly.
The Eldest tipped his head toward the maid. “May I?”
She bit her lip and then nodded.
The Eldest pushed apart her shirt to expose her wounded side. A swift calculated expression crossed his face. “I could heal you if I had a wand.”
Adelram glanced between them. Where were they going to get a wand?
She stared at the Eldest for a long moment and lifted the branch in her bloody hand and murmured something that sounded like the wind in the trees rustling the leaves. The branch shimmered, the blood, nubs and twigs melted into the base, and it straightened. A pattern of leaves and stems, and sun and moonlight swirled around the outside.
His breath caught. He caught the Eldest’s gaze, realizing that this maid might be more than a Dryad. When he looked back, the glow had faded around the wand. She looked dazed and drained, her face pale, an arm drooped listlessly at her side. The wand clutched to her chest.
The Eldest bowed with hands raised palms up to accept the gift. She placed the wand in his shaking hands. A bright flash of light flared and thunder boomed through the clearing.
The Eldest hummed his approval. He flipped the wand up, caught it in one hand and pointed it at Adelram. “This is going to hurt her.”
Adelram shuddered. He’d experienced the pain that came from magical healing. The healing worked better if you could stand still through the pain. That had been easier to do when someone had held him. This service was the least he could do for the possibility of having her as a mate.
“The healing will work better if I hold you still.” Adelram brought the wrist he held across the front of her body to her shoulder. His other hand snuck under her other arm which lifted it up. He held her firmly in his arms.
She trembled but did not pull away. “I understand.”
The Eldest stabbed the wand into her wound. The air shimmered with magic like sand sparkling in the sun on a hot summer day.
She jerked and moaned, but Adelram held her firmly. His stomach twisted. He hated her feeling pain. He told himself that it was necessary. He closed his eyes and pressed against her wishing he could take her pain. The smell of burnt flesh hung heavy in the air. The golden light glared brighter and then died.
Sweat dripped down her neck and she shuddered. The heaving rubbed her back against him. He felt every tremor. Every shake. He held her close and gave what comfort he could. She sagged against him.
The Eldest cleared his throat his gaze fixed on the maid. “Since you did not deny the bond, the first part is now placed. You have three days to accept his suit. Do you understand?”
Adelram had thought her passed out, but she flinched in his arms and raised her gaze to his. Alarm, dismay, and fear flashed across her face. She must still fear him. She swallowed and nodded. The energy seemed to leave her in a rush, her body went limp in his arms.
Adelram picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Her hair fell like silk across his shoulder. Now that the mating focus faded, he cringed. A spirit of the forest would not think much of his clan or his den. Could he convince her to accept his bond? Would being mated to an other confound the dark curse that haunted him?
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