Arctic Bound (28 page)

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Low growls echoed off the cave walls as members from the Northern Packs made their way up into the mouth of Mt. McKinley. The opening was covered by what looked like a natural rockslide. But to his kind, it was an opening to a den. Some males were fully shifted, others stayed in their human form, while others took their half-man, half-wolf form. His father stood in the center waiting on the others to gather around. The council had already taken their places up on a ledge where they waited to discuss the possibility of war with the Hunters. They consisted of two males and two females. There was Nord, Duloc, Spria, and Phalan. The four of them were not only Werewolves, they were also seers. Their predictions weren't always spot on, but for the most part they had a pretty good idea of what was in store for the Packs. The only problem with the Council Elders were they looked to be only twelve years old, when in fact they were of the original children of Anubis.

“Hunters are here and they are seeking the Silver Bow of Artemis. Ambrogio is also among them, threatening to take us all down. He is going by the name Roman de Bagonerigo Civiti, of the Civiti crime family in New York. We unknowingly harbored his daughter Nerina Simpson.” Victor stopped his father, before he could go any further.

“Nerina has nothing to do with this fight. She aided Colin and me in our escape from the Mistress, when they would have tried to overtake us. Since then, she's been claimed by me, and is no longer an issue. She was my Eros.”

There was silence throughout the den. No one said a word for long seconds.

The ache in his chest was growing larger by the second. He hadn't had ample time to grieve or even deal with her loss, but what he said was true. She wasn't an issue any longer, nor was she a threat to his kind.

“How can you be sure?” One of the council members asked.

“Menes appeared.”

More silence.

“Your warrior wolf?” Incredulity was on the face of the council members. All of them searching his face, looking for the lie that wasn't there. He knew what they were thinking. Warriors only showed themselves during the full moon.

“Did she accept the Reaping?” One of the females queried.

“We had no time to discuss it. I'd only just claimed her. Her father drained her dry. She's dead.”

No one said a word. He didn't expect them to. They'd all wanted her out of the way so that he could mate with Sasha. Now that was going to happen regardless.

“So then, why won't he leave?” someone from the crowd asked.

“Have you not been listening? He's here for the Bow. His daughter was just a means to an end.” Colin interjected.

There were murmurs all through the cave. Some wanted to fight. Others wanted to run.

“We are not going to run anymore. I was once part of the Varangian Guard. I know how Ambrogio works. He wants the Bow for his own nefarious purpose. He may have told the Mistress he was bringing the Bow back to her, but he wants it to control us. So he can once again attempt to take over the world. We can't let that happen.”

“Then don't give him back the Bow.”

“That's what we've been saying. If we don't stand up to him, he will continue to keep coming for us, no matter what.”

Heads nodded in agreements, other's voiced strategy and what should be done, but ultimately it was up to the elder council. Nord was the one to speak for the other three.

“We agree with Victor, son of Thorn. If we are to be rid of the threat, than we must face it head on. There will be grave losses on both sides. This war will not be over quickly, that we can assure you. But in the end, all will be as it should. You go with our blessings, and our promise that victory shall be ours.”

The four elders of the council turned and leapt off their ledge, changing, mid-flight into their wolves, and bounding out of the cave, back out into the wild, until they were called upon again. Victor turned to his father with a grin on his face.

“Well, you all heard what the elders had to say. We go to war with the Hunters. There will be deaths on both sides. All that I ask of you is to die on your feet, not on your knees. Give them no mercy, and take out as many as you can.”

A vibrant sound stirred sagacious in the bellies of all who were in the cave. A roar so loud, so strong, it shook the mountain itself, as all of the Northern Packs agreed in unison with one loud howl. Roman wanted the Silver Bow of Artemis, and now he'd have to fight to the very end to gain it.

Victor knew in his heart the real reason his wolf and human half smiled in unison. He cared for his people, but what he cared about more, was pissing down the throat of a dead Roman. It wouldn't bring her back. But it would give him some measure of pleasure.

 

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The town had been mostly empty as Nerina made her way up the hill. The heater from the car she'd stolen did very little to warm her up. It was below freezing, and she was not wearing a jacket. Her skin looked a bit paler as well, again, she knew it was due to Alaska's weather, but just days ago the weather hadn't been an issue.
Maybe it's because he drained you.
That could be it, but it still didn't explain why she was almost blue. Nerina hadn't been out in the elements long enough for there to be exposure. It was still dark, but barely three in the afternoon. The sun wouldn't be out for at least three more hours, and even then it was only going to make an appearance for two hours tops, she needed to get in and get out without being seen. The radio called for snow later on this evening, and she wanted to get a head start on the weather, ensuring there were no delays in flights.

Her cabin was cold and silent as she entered through the front door. Quickly grabbing her parka, she made quick work of her stash. Grabbing only what she needed for the two and half hour drive back to the airport. She didn't care where she was going; she only needed to get the hell out Talkeetna. Good thing she always had a plan B and C. Nerina took a look around the cabin. A place she'd first thought to call home. Somewhere she could settle down and not have to worry about life's drama. But like any other place, this place held secrets. It held memories, and it was now a place of pain for her. It was true she and Victor hadn't spent much time together, and knew little about each other but she wasn't going to lie to herself. She would have taken the time to get to know him. Explored more of where her submission to him would have gone. Had he been the one to take her on the journey. She'd thought he'd earned the right to control her pleasure.
You win some and you lose big.
He'd made a mockery of something beautiful. Something she herself hadn't fully understood until the last moment.

She wasn't going entrust her submission to another human, or non-human male ever again. The time for experimenting was over. She could trust no one but herself. She was the only person she could depend on.

Self-exile.

Rejection.

The life, she'd thought she'd chosen had been thrown in her face, not once, but twice. What she was feeling now was the cold bitterness of betrayal. It was something that would stay with her forever. She knew she shouldn't have left any trace of her whereabouts. Left no sign that she was even still alive. Not for her father, and certainly not for Victor. But she couldn't let them both off with an easy out. Nerina was confident enough in herself, that if she didn't want to be found she wouldn't be. The note was addressed to Victor, and in it she laid all that she couldn't say bare on the paper. What was left of her feelings was now inked into the paper that now rested on the counter of her one bedroom cabin. Without looking back, she grabbed her backpack, and her parka, and made her way back to the car and headed for the airport. Destination, unknown. But wherever she ended up, this time it would truly be a place of seclusion. She didn't know enough about Hunters or Werewolves to know if they would come looking for her. But she knew enough about running and hiding. This time she would do it right. No contact with the outside world. She'd stay completely off grid.

Chapter 20

 

He had no right going back to the cabin. He was supposed to be preparing for war. The Bow had been put away by his father for safekeeping. The Elders didn't want to know where. All they cared about was that it would be hidden. Blue had come to stay in town with his sister and nephew, Teak. Cassandra hadn't been happy about his appearance, but Blue had assured her that he was there purely for protection purposes.

“There was a car here about three hours ago.”

Cassandra said as he pulled his jacket from the coat hanger. The temperature was cold even for him.

“Do you know who it was?”

“I didn't care to look. I was more concerned with whether or not we were going to war. I can tell you, it was someone looking for Nerina. Maybe someone her father sent?”

Could be. He was on his way up there, so he'd be able to check her place out when he got there.

“It was probably her father sending someone to come and collect some of her things. Now that she's gone.”

“She was such a lovely human. Even if her father was a Hunter.” His sister said with true heartfelt feelings. She really did like Nerina.

“Well she's gone. There's nothing to be done for it.”

“I understand you claimed her brother, but it would have never worked. She was human. Sasha would have never allowed her to thrive as your second mate. There would have been more problems than civility.”

“As the Alpha, it wouldn't have mattered either way, both would have come to understand. Nerina was my Eros.”

His sister eyes widened, slowly she lowered her head whispering. “To lose your Eros, that is a terrible loss to you and your warrior. I'm sorry brother.”

He knew this already, but didn't comment on the subject. Couldn't. It wouldn't bring her back.

“I'll be back within the hour.”

Victor made it to her cabin in record time. The house smelled like her. It was like she'd just left. Her scent bled through the walls of the cabin and saturated his senses with an overpowering awareness that threatened to drive him made. Someone had been to the cabin. The snow had already begun to fall, covering any tracks of the car that had made its way up the drive. The inside of the cabin looked untouched, and the only sign that someone had been in her place was the note that was left on the counter.

 

If you find this letter, then you know I'm not dead. I don't blame you, Victor. How can I? It isn't your fault that things ended up the way they did. How was I to know what my father really was? Or what that mean to your kind. There is also the issue of your connection with Sasha. Though we never got to know each other well, I would have liked to have taken whatever this was that we had to the next level. I've given you so much of myself already in return, and all I had from you was empty promises. You claimed me, yet you choose another. I can't begin to tell you how that made me feel. I know for you its Pack politics, but for me it was something more. All that I am, all that was me, could have been yours. I won't ever forget that night in the club. It was so beautiful; it was so peaceful and quiet inside my soul. Thank you for showing me that. For giving me the chance to find complete and total security in my submission to you. I only wish it could have been more.

Nerina.

 

Victor crumbled the paper to his chest. Why would she think leaving could ever stop him from finding her? How was it that she survived being drained by her father?
Unless he didn't drain her dry?
Did that mean she was a Hunter now? Hunters could be human before they were made.
Is that why she left?
Determination weighed heavy on his mind as he stepped from her house, only to be greeted by Blue and his brother Colin.

“She's alive.”

“Well, I'll be damn. Some people just won't die.” His brother said, rubbing the back of his neck. Colin was just confused as he was.

“Or they're put here for a reason.” Blue countered.

“We've got company. Roman and his men are here looking for the Bow.”

Victor grunted. They could search for the Bow all they wanted. They were never going to get it. If he had any say in the matter, the Bow would never see the light of day again.

“Let's go and give them a proper welcome.” His father had made sure that all the women and children were nowhere to be found, just in case things went from bad to worse. There hadn't been a fight between their kind like this in centuries, and now, because he'd stolen the Silver Bow of Artemis, their white landscape would become red with blood.

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Nerina made it halfway down the mountain when she started to hyperventilate. She pulled off on the side of the road, gotten out of the vehicle in the biting cold and dry heaved. Why couldn't she leave? This wasn't her fight. They weren't her people. Neither side was. Somewhere along the line she came to care about more than herself. She didn't want to see anything bad happen to Teak, Cassandra, or even Allesandra. There were kids in that town. She knew how her father was. He was narcissistic, and suffered from bouts of involuntary rage. Although, now she didn't think they were involuntary. It was more of necessity for him. He was a predator by nature. A hunter of humans and Werewolves it seemed. Running away wasn't going to make the problem go away. If anything she had an advantage because her father thought she was dead. She could be of help to Victor and his people. Lights from an oncoming vehicle had her quickly turning out the lights on her car
. It was still cold as hell, and even though she had on her jacket, her body still hadn't warmed. She'd
left her guns back at the cabin. She did have a serrated bowie knife. Though she was cold as hell, she could definitely snap someone's neck if she had to.

The black sedan passed, and she knew it was her father and uncle. She only had maybe a few minutes to cut through the forest and hopefully get to the town on time to at least warn them. She didn't know how far behind Victor and the others were. She could at least help. Cutting through the trees, Nerina made a run for it. There was a lot more strength in her legs now, and even though she was cold, she didn't let it slow her down. She bounded over fallen logs, and frozen trees. She heard the life of the forest as she made her way through. Elk, Caribou, and even a bear or two were nearby as she sprinted for the small town that she'd come to care for. When she made it to the back of Thorn's store, she could hear voices.