Shadow was darker, a thick pelt of nearly black fur, tipped in gray so that he could slide through the darkness without detection, and he was definitely an alpha. He adhered to Dimitri's back along with Sonnet, the wolf with the most surprising voice. He was large and a stealthy hunter, working closely with Shadow to bring down game.
"Did Moon give you any indication there was a threat to you?" Ivory asked.
Skyler sighed. "If she did, I didn't feel it. I think she's still in a snit because I tried carrying them as a fur coat earlier. When I shrugged it off and tried to throw it out smoothly to allow them to go free, instead of the coat sailing through the air flat, the pelt was bunched up and she got tangled. She let me know she wasn't happy."
Ivory shook her head, covering her smile with one hand. "I had so much trouble with the coat," she admitted. "It isn't easy to learn all of the different weapons, as well as how to hunt with the wolves. The movement on your skin has to be subtle. You never want anyone to know your wolves are the real deal."
Skyler nodded. Ivory had so much to teach her.
Us, Dimitri corrected. I'm learning, too.
You're so good at everything. I feel like the dunce in class. I'm used to being the top student.
Dimitri burst out laughing. Both Ivory and Razvan raised eyebrows.
"I'm sulking because I'm not at the top of my class," Skyler confessed with a wry grin. "Dimitri thinks that's very funny. I really want to be able to do this."
Ivory smiled at her, touching her arm briefly. "The most difficult task has already been completed. The wolves had to accept you. You will have to find another female for Shadow. Little Moon is his sister, and she doesn't have an alpha bone in her body."
"Actually Shadow will find her in time," Razvan said. "When he does, you'll know, and you'll have to train her as well."
"They need to be worked with every day," Ivory cautioned. "A pack is cohesive and successful as long as they have good leaders. You have to hunt with them when they go after game. Direct and help them. That's part of being alpha."
Skyler ducked her head. She didn't mind hunting and killing vampires, but it was difficult for her to hunt live animals even though she knew the wolves needed to eat. She was working hard to overcome that squeamish feeling in the pit of her stomach each time they took the wolves out to hunt.
More and more, she wanted to spend time learning to use her weapons and the wolves for hunting vampire, not game. She was determined to be an asset to Dimitri. If it took centuries of practice she was going to make certain she was the best so he didn't have to worry.
"I'll always worry when you're in danger," Dimitri said aloud.
"Not if I get really good at this."
"Even then," he assured. "But I'm very proud of you, Skyler. You've come a long way in this last week."
"Ivory is one of the best hunters we have," Razvan said, "but as her lifemate, I worry. That's not something that will go away. You're improving every time we go out."
Skyler sent him a smile of thanks. "I'm not very good with a crossbow yet," she admitted. "And I'll need to be if I'm going to be of any use on a hunt."
Dimitri winced a little at that. She planned to hunt vampire with him, just as Ivory and Razvan did together. The idea still didn't sit well with him, although she learned fast and the wolves would give them an edge. He had to admit that she'd been a huge asset when she'd rescued him. Without her, he'd be dead. She didn't panic and she was methodical.
Skyler sent him a long look from under her lashes. He knew that look. He found himself giving her a sheepish smile. "You've already wrapped me around your little finger, sívamet, I can't deny you anything. But you will wait to hunt until we all think you're ready. All three of us, not you."
Skyler resisted rolling her eyes. Razvan would side with Dimitri, saying just a little longer before she could hunt with him, but Ivory . . . She smiled at the woman who was fast becoming a close friend and ally. Ivory would advocate for her, but only if she worked hard and learned the lessons necessary to become an asset to Dimitri.
"I know I can't possibly learn every weapon in a few weeks, but eventually I will."
"You can't just know how to use them," Ivory said. "You have to have it be second nature to you. Vampires use all kinds of tricks, illusions and deadly poisons, not to mention their own weapons, when you hunt them. You can't hesitate when you go in for the kill. We'll keep working on your training until we know for certain you're capable of destroying the undead."
"I know you don't like to hunt game," Razvan added, "but that, more than anything, will help you adapt to hunting with the wolves. Your speed, stealth and ability to read the animals will improve fast."
"You need to create a home for the wolves so that they're with you all the time," Ivory added. "Your house will serve you well, but they'll need to know they can lie by the fire while you're moving around the other rooms. When you go to ground, they'll want to go to ground with you. Never forget they're Carpathian and need the rejuvenating soil just as you do."
Skyler reached out her hand to Dimitri. Immediately his fingers closed around hers and she felt the warmth of his love enfolding her like a blanket. More, the wolves felt it as well. Already, she was tuning to them, sharing her mind with them, as Dimitri did so naturally. They seemed to snuggle closer to her, brushing against her back in affection before settling.
She knew they had difficult times ahead. A war with an unknown enemy was brewing and her people had to be protected. She wanted to be able to fight if necessary, to protect those she loved. The wolves gave her added confidence.
"The tattoos suit the two of you," Razvan said. "I would never have thought those scars would diminish in the way they have, Dimitri. I can barely see evidence of them, only faint white circles. On your back, the fur of your wolves just blends seamlessly."
Dimitri tugged until Skyler was beneath the protection of his shoulder. "Skyler has skills beyond anything I've ever seen."
A flash of pride lit Razvan's eyes. "We were all amazed that she was able to save Zev. Has anyone heard how he's doing?"
Dimitri shook his head. "He's still hanging on, thankfully. Branislava has woven her spirit to his and holds him to this world. Fen says they aren't out of the woods yet, but he has taken blood each time they've gone to feed them both."
Razvan's breath hissed out and Ivory moved closer to him, simply touching his arm in a silent gesture of comfort, reminding Dimitri that Tatijana and Branislava were Razvan's aunts. They'd all three been prisoners together in the ice fortress where Xavier had ruled and carried on his malicious experiments.
"Bronnie barely had surfaced again before she did this," Razvan said. "I hadn't even seen her." There was quiet acceptance in his voice, learned no doubt from centuries of torture and having to accept things outside of his control, no matter how distressing.
"Bronnie knew what she was doing," Skyler explained. "There was no other way to save him. His wound was so bad, fatal, however you want to put it. It took all three of us working for what seemed hours to mend him from the inside out. Had Bronnie not woven her spirit to his, and locked him to her, he would have drifted away."
"I don't understand," Razvan said. "A spirit can be surrounded and held, why would she have to tie her fate to his?"
Ivory took his hand. "He would have chosen to leave us," she said softly. "But his instincts to protect others are very strong in him. She knew that, didn't she, Skyler?"
Skyler nodded. "We all saw it in him. He's deadly and scary when you first get inside his head, but then you find his first instinct is to defend and shield others. By weaving her spirit through his, Bronnie took away his choice to leave. He would take her with him if he did, and that is something almost beyond Zev's capability."
"Unless the wound kills him," Razvan said.
Skyler nodded. "There's always that. But I go nightly to work on him, and Mother Earth has accepted him as her son. She works harder than I do to attempt to save him. I think he's getting better. A wound like his is such a trauma to the body. It takes time."
"He's Lycan," Dimitri added. "Lycans regenerate faster than most, and because he's now mixed blood, that should give him added strength and speed to recover."