"You were looking at the tables; you feel the pull of them."
Jacque nodded but didn't speak. She felt Fane wrap an arm around her waist. He pulled her beside him, firmly against him.
"These tables were carved by the Fae. Now, the Fae never do anything without reason.” Wadim gestured to the first table. “This image is of who we were created to be. I'm sure you know the legend behind the Canis lupis – how the moon goddess created us?"
Jacque nodded. "Yes. She created you to save the species of the grey wolves."
"It's deeper than that." Wadim stood up to look at the carving. His fingers traced the wolves as he spoke. "The great Luna saw that man was dividing itself. Family was no longer important. She saw the wars, the hatred, and the children affected by it."
Jacque stepped away from Fane and pulled out a chair from the third table. The others followed suit. As they continued to listen to the pack historian share his knowledge, it was obvious to Jacque why Wadim was the historian. He was so passionate about their history.
"So she looked upon the wolves, who were dwindling in number, and back to the humans who no longer cared for their own, and combined their spirits. She took the loyal, protective, possessive nature of the wolf and took the intelligence, emotions, and love of the human and brought them together. She designed us to be pack.
“The Canis lupis, both wolf and man, were meant to be a family with one another. We gain strength through our bond with each other. This first table depicts what the goddess wanted for us. The second table is who we are today. We have attacked our own, divided our species, even had a civil war. We suffer for going against our very nature.” Wadim shook his head.
“In any event, the third table is who we need to be. We can't survive without children. But the moon goddess has seen the human children suffer because of the wars and division in their species. Her way of ensuring that we understand how precious a child is is by giving so few. She never wants us to forget the blessing of children and the hope they bring. History reveals our path – we are in the circumstances we are today because of the choices we, as a collective species, made. This third table pulls at our wolf. The wolf in us longs for pack, for family, for touch, for children. These tables created by the Fae were designed to draw one's wolf closer to the surface, to open our human eyes in order to see what needs to be done."
They all stared in silence when Wadim finished speaking.
Finally Sorin spoke. "Thank you for that, Wadim. It is important that we remember why we are here."
"Well, I'm sure you didn't come for a history lesson on the moon goddess and our species. What can I help you with?"
"Didn't Vasile contact you?" Fane asked, his brow furrowed.
"No, I haven't heard from our Alpha."
Sorin looked wary. "Vasile told me he would call Wadim to let him know we were coming."
Fane met Wadim's eyes. "Has anyone been here to see you today?"
Wadim thought for a few minutes, trying to remember, but his mind was foggy and the thoughts stayed just out of reach.
"I don’t remember. I don’t even remember what I've done today." Just as his words came out Fane, Sorin, and Crina all whipped towards the archways.
Crina gasped. "Is that smoke?"
Then they were all up and running in the direction of the smoky smell. Fifty feet down the hall, the smoke began to surround them.
"Wadim, go find some blankets – and hurry!" Fane yelled.
Wadim took off in the direction of his room. A minute later, he arrived in the largest archive room and saw piles of parchment, paper, and books on the floor. Flames were steadily reaching out toward them. He threw a blanket to Fane, one to Sorin, and took the remaining one. When he covered the fire with it, stomping as quickly as he could, Sorin and Fane followed suit.
Jacque and Crina looked on in horror.
"This is so not good," Jacque muttered.
"I think that is what you Americans call an understatement," Crina said, unable to tear her eyes from the scene before them.
"Of the century," Jacque added. She began to cough from the smoke, which filled the room as the fire was extinguished.
Fane leaned back against the bookshelves behind him. His breathing was labored and his chest tight as he tried to suck in what little clean air was left in the room. "This has to be the work of that witch."
Wadim's head snapped up. "Witch?" he asked in horror.
Late in the night of the day the two groups had set out, Alina stood at the window of the room she and Vasile shared in the tavern. Her eyes looked out into the night. The sky was clear and stars dotted the darkness. The moon was a crescent, which gave off an eerie glow. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could push her pack on by sheer will, and if she took her eyes away from this view for a second all would fail. She heard the door behind her open and close softly. Strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind and she let her head fall back and rest on the strong chest of her mate."I feel your resolve, Mina." Vasile's breath whispered softly across her hair.
"I feel like if I step away, or stop thinking about them for even the shortest breath, their feet will falter and their courage fail. How vain is that?"
Vasile chuckled. "My love, you are an Alpha. It is in your nature to control and protect. Give yourself a break. We have sent out the ones who love Jen and Dec the most. They will keep going until all is right again. I do not doubt them."
Alina knew he was right, but it didn't make it easier to sit and wait to hear from them. To hear if they were all safe and any closer to finding Jen and restoring Decebel.
"You need rest. We both do. Come." Vasile pulled her towards their bed and laid down beside her. "Sleep, Luna. Trust in your pack to be strong."
Alina drifted off to the sound of her mate's low, gentle voice singing softly. She smiled to herself as she thought about how the other males would tease him if they knew he sung his mate to sleep.
Sally and Cynthia gathered twigs while Decebel and Costin broke tree branches to build a fire. Sally couldn’t remember a time when she had ever been so cold. Once a strong fire was burning, the four sat around it as close as possible. Each was wrapped in layers of clothing, hats, scarves, gloves, and blankets. Decebel passed out the jerky and bread that the tavern owner had provided them. Protein and carbohydrates and water. Amazingly enough, Sally knew from her tenth grade health class that the body could sustain itself on even less if need be.
"How are we going to know when we've gotten to where we are supposed to be?" Cynthia asked no one in particular.
"Vasile said she would find us. That we just needed to get farther into the mountains and eventually Perizada would make herself known." Sally looked at each of her friends, her pack mates – odd as that sounded, it felt right.
They were all quiet while they finished their food and drinks, each staring into the red, yellow, and orange flames that danced before them. The silence was broken when Sally turned to Decebel.
"I know it's a private thing between mates, but I would really like to know how Jen is doing. Has she been communicating with you?"
The three watched as Decebel visibly tensed. His face grimaced, almost as if he were in pain.
"I -" Decebel began, but stopped. He ducked his head briefly trying to shake off the feeling that something was very wrong, "I can't feel her. When I try to reach out it's like the bond that linked us has been severed."
Sally shook her head. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Decebel growled at the accusation in the healer's voice. "And what exactly would you have done?"
Costin let out a low growl and moved to sit in between Decebel and Sally. "I know you are my Beta but you will not speak to her that way."
"Costin," Sally's voice was soft, "he's hurting, he doesn't understand. Cut him some slack."
Costin turned and looked into Sally's honey brown eyes, which were full of gentleness and understanding. "I understand he is hurting. But you are a healer and mine to protect."
Sally took in a sharp breath. "Yours?"
Costin closed his eyes for a moment, cursing himself at the slip. "The pack's. But I'm here, I'm pack, and I will protect you even from one of our own."
Sally gently laid her hand on his arm. "Thank you. Decebel isn't going to hurt me. I need to see if I can figure out what's going on."
Costin nodded but stayed where he was.
"Um, Costin." Sally raised her eyebrows at the handsome – yet exasperating – wolf in front of her. "That means I'll need to get close to Decebel."
When Costin didn't move, Sally stood up with a huff and mumbled, "Jen was totally right. Damn stubborn, bossy fur balls."
Cynthia snickered as Costin's eyes widened at the gentle healer showing her claws.
Sally took a seat next to Decebel, "Can I touch you?"
A low growl from across the fire.
"Costin," Cynthia warned. Costin didn't acknowledge her, but he did stop growling.
Decebel nodded to Sally that it was okay. Sally laid her hand upon his chest and closed her eyes. She felt so ignorant when she tried to use this so-called “gift”. She didn't understand how it worked. All she could do was open her mind and let whatever magic that seemed to be inside her do its thing.
Sally felt energy flowing into Decebel as she sought out the bond that he'd spoken of. She felt like an intruder knowing that the bond between mates, from what Jacque had explained, was very intimate. Her mind searched through his, finding the connection the Beta had to his Alpha and to the pack, an intricate web. Finally she came upon what looked like a gold cord, strong and glowing. Following its path, she nearly pulled back when she saw the severed end. It looked frayed, like a rope that was unraveling at the ends. Sally noticed that the end and several inches of the cord were no longer gold, but blackened, dead. She reached toward the darkened part. As soon as her consciousness touched it she felt herself being thrown out of Decebel's mind and back into the present.