I've posted a new story called A Prophecy of Fire, the prologue is up and I hope to post the first chapter soon!
Perfect for anyone who loves a good fantasy with dragons gu leòr *winks*
Key:
Sgriosail - awful (skriss-al)
Tuatha De Dannan - Gods in Celtic mythology, the children of the goddess Danu (too-ah-tha day dan-an)
How do you feel about uninvited guests?
Chapter 10
"Why can you not wait until spring, a ghraidh? Niamh and I could pick flowers for your hair, and we could arrange a hunt, food, a night of song and dance in the forest." Mother sighed and frowned down at the blue ribbon she wound around her fingers.
"I wish I could wait." I twisted on the stool so I could see her properly, and not in the poor reflection of the small mirror in front of me. Eyes downcast, dark hair veiled most of her face, and her fingers still fretted at the ribbon, twisting it as if she wanted to tear it apart. "But with what's coming, spring might not be a good time, and I don't want to miss my chance with Hati. I don't want to miss this moment of happiness life is offering me. This is a good thing, a happy thing, we haven't had a happy event in a while; even if we can't celebrate traditionally. At least with Hati, you know I won't be running off to start a pack of my own. I'll be right here."
She sucked in a sharp breath. "You remind me of MÃ nas when you speak so gravely, then try to comfort your poor old mother-wolf."
I reached out to brush my fingers against the back of her hand, and immediately some of the tension drained away from her.
"You are neither poor nor old, a mhamaidh. I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm sorry."
Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and nuzzled her warm cheek against mine. She smelt of the sweet bread she'd been baking that morning, and I found I didn't mind her change of scent; it only made it the more homely.
"It's not me I'm frightened for. I know you and Hati won't let whatever is out there do further harm to the pack. It's you I'm frightened for, my solemn female." She lifted her head to meet my gaze in the mirror. "You've always been determined, unstoppable, in your own quiet way. Since we've been here, you've found your voice, and I believe Hati had a hand in that. If all you have told me is true, you have much to face, I know that, but since that pup's death. . .Gods Eabha he was no older than you. . .I wish I could tell you to be careful and know you would listen. But its not in your nature. You're a protector now, like MÃ nas was, and once you're mated, I feel like you're going to fly out my grasp." Her voice hitched. "I know he loves you. I know you love him. I know both of you will put the pack first, but please don't do so at your own expense. Don't let love blind you, Eabha. That is my advice on your mating day."
She patted my hair and straightened up, shaking off whatever melancholy mood had struck her. Her chuckle was scratchy as she took in my expression while she began to weave the ribbon into my braid. "With age comes wisdom, I have that at least. Why have you got such a face on?"
"Because, " I grumbled, blushing as I admitted. "Hati is similarly concerned with my willingness to throw my life into danger, and you agreeing only proves his point."
Her lips twitched. "He sees you well."
Too well.
After a bit of playful flinching as Mother finished my hair, my mood lifted again. My mating day, I reminded myself. This was my day. Our day. And if I closed my eyes, it was almost as if I could feel my brother and uncle in the room too, the swell of their pride.
Arm and arm, mother and I left the room that would no longer be mine. There wasn't anything but the chest of clothes at the end of the bed that needed moved, and that could wait.
"You've explained to the pups they need to keep quiet for a little bit?" I asked, hesitating at the door to my parents den. It had been decided it wasn't fair to keep it from them, the little buggers had caught on something was up when I'd appeared an hour earlier to beg for my mother's help getting ready.
"Of course. Niamh won't say a word in fear of upsetting Hati, and Anndra stopped listening the moment he realised it was about something as sgriosail as mating."
Of course my sister would be more worried about Hati's feelings than mine. "I bet Niamh is excited he will be joining the family."
"Ecstatic," she agreed. "She believes this is her chance to finally get a horse, and not one of the small ponies she's been learning to ride on." Nudging into my hip, she gripped the door handle and gave me a look. "Be gentle on your father today."
Before I could ask what that meant, she flung open the door and swung out her arm towards the occupants to present me.
I stepped in nervously. How was I going to be Alpha Female when even the eyes of my family on me felt overwhelming? Anndra was too busy making noises to accompany the small wooden boat he made fly through the air, but Niamh sat up and beamed.
"I hope your day goes well," Aunt Oighrig said, grinning at me from where she sat with a gurgling Seumas on her lap. "Even with an uninvited guest."
Uninvited guest?
I gave her a wary smile in return. And then I was suddenly being tackled by Fionnlagh. Chuckling, I patted his back.
"Do not tell me you are overcome with emotion because I am to be mated?" I teased, but the amusement fled when he pulled back with an expression as grave as a male twice his age.
"I just want you to know, cousin, that you were always my Alpha," he said, gaze darting around nervously. "You always will be. Mated to Hati or not. I will always follow you."
His sentiment was met with a murmur of agreement from my father, aunt Oighrig nodding from the bed, while my mother dabbed at her eyes.
My heart swelled and my own eyes brimmed with tears as I flung my arms back around Fionnlagh's shoulders. I'd always believed he resented my being older, that he couldn't wait to strike out on his own to start a pack he would be Alpha of, so his words meant more to me than I could ever express.
He hugged me back so tight my ribs creaked.
"Try to keep your mouth shut about my being mated to Hati and being Alpha for another day or two. Don't use my position to boost your own amongst your friends."
Fionnlagh scoffed and pulled away with a mischievous grin. "You taught me to carve out my own place. I am Alpha amongst my friends already. Ow!" He rubbed the top of his ear I'd swiftly pinched, scowling less like an alpha and more like a pup.
"They're your friends. Ulli will grow tired of you if your ego bloats anymore."
"Says you."
"Alpha Female indeed," mother tutted from behind us. "Still squabbling like feral pups over scraps."
If she thought Fionnlagh and I were bad, I wondered what she'd say if she knew her description fit the council meetings as well; if the few I'd attended were anything like the rest of them. I chuckled to myself. My mother would straighten them all out with a glance.
"Why don't we all go for a run, together, as a family?" I said.
The word run made my brother's ear perk up. Anndra clapped his hands and jumped excitedly to his feet. "Yes! Please can we?"
"I think that's lovely idea," Oighrig agreed, standing from the bed just as my mother protested, "I've only just finished your hair!"
"My hair will keep," I promised, sweeping across the room to nuzzle into my stoic father's side. He hadn't said a single word. I peered up at him with a pout. "Please, Father. We haven't run in so long, and it'll be the last time we run when I am not a mated female."
Mother tutted. "Do not try and pull your father's strings, Eabha. Lest he decide he's not ready to give his female up yet."
"As if it is up to me," Father grumbled, giving me a look that spoke of exactly how he felt about my upcoming mating. He gave a gruff sigh and patted my back. "I will show you on our run why you should heed your father's word still, pup."
I grinned at the challenge; one he would probably win now he was well on his way to recovery.
One last run with my family as it was. The next run would include Hati, and I knew well how that would likely end too. Fionnlagh would test him as a newcomer into our family pack, the pups would see how much he'd let them get away with, mother would fawn, as would Oighrig, but my father. . .Father would snap his teeth and throw his weight around. Would Hati let him? Things were so complicated now our family pack was part of another, larger pack. And my father was a dominant male. . .
"Play nice with Hati, please," I murmured, echoing words my mother had asked me on his behalf.
Father chuffed and turned to follow Mother out, helping her keep the pups from darting off in different directions. Then he turned back with a wink.
For well over an hour, we ran as we once did back home. We fell to the pups' teeth, danced round trees, jumped in snow drifts, and all with the comfort of knowing we didn't need to conserve energy to hunt because food would be waiting for us in the hall. It was the most at ease we'd been as a family for over a year. It felt good to run wild. Free of watching eyes, too many scents, restricting walls and clothes and rules and. . .it was good to think like a wolf for a while.
By the time we started to head back, my fur was soaked through and my tongue hung out as I panted heavily. Fionnlagh bumped into my side, and I knew he was making fun of my struggle to keep up. So I was a little out of shape. He wouldn't be making fun of me when I dragged him along on runs to help build back my strength. I would keep up with him yet.
When we rounded the bend in the road, Hati and Eirny appeared, waiting for us at the gates.
It was time.
I accepted the dress my soon-to-be mate held out and watched with a smile as he took the time to greet each and every one of my family members. Oighrig and Mother offered a rumble of affection as he pressed his cheek to theirs, Fionnlagh puffed up with pride at a comment to his growth in stature and confidence, and my sister was ready to scream the castle down when Fionnlagh and Oighrig attempted to peel her away to go inside.
"I need to have some time with the adults," Hati soothed, though his voice was stern with her as well. "To be your sister's mate, there are things we have to do that you are too young to understand."
She went easily enough after that.
Only then I found myself under that same look, with an added dash of amusement and expected rebellion as Hati turned to me. "If you could wait in the meeting hall with Eirny so I could speak with your parents for a moment, I would appreciate it."
"What do you want to speak to them about?"
He chuckled and kissed me, right there in front of my family. A light peck that might as well have been passion fuelled for how breathless it left me.
"If I wanted you to know, I wouldn't be asking you to give us privacy." His nose brushed mine. "We won't be long."
Eirny took my arm to save her son from having to put up with my stubbornness, tugging gently to guide me inside the hall. "You and I shall have our own conversation. I must tell you about the time I left Hati alone with Astrid for the first time. . ."
***
It was unsettling to find myself once again standing next to Hati's chair at the council's table.
I would get the same looks tonight I'd gained when proclaiming Hati missing, and this time it would be accompanied by looks of further accusation. Sigurd, one of the skinshifter's on council, had accused Gerlac of teaching me to look for power, to climb the hierarchy. Though I hadn't out right denied it, I had been offended by it. And yet, here I was. Is that what I would look like to the wider pack? A power hungry female who'd seduced their Alpha for a title? Our relationship had happened quickly, everything had, is that why my father had doubts too? Did I have doubts?
I tugged my braid over my shoulder and fretted at the ends.
I'd hoped the run with my family would wear me out too much to be this nervous, but the longer I waited in the meeting hall, the more the butterflies in my stomach seemed determined to make me sick.
What on earth could Hati and my parents be talking for them to leave me alone this long. Especially as Eirny seemed to be happy enough watching me stress myself out as I went between pacing and staring at the door.
"He hasn't changed his mind if that is what worries you." She left the warmth of the fire to join me. "Knowing him, he will be promising them your safety, and his loyalty, and whatever else he needs to make your father soften a little."
"Father always spoke of me taking a mate, and now he disapproves," I grumbled.
"That is the way of fathers I have found," she replied, pinching my cheek. "It may have less to do with you than you think. Hati knows of mistakes your father made that he felt he needed to keep from his own mate. . ."
It was like getting the answer to a riddle. But it still made me roll my eyes, and Eirny laughed as she saw the realisation.
My father was trying to protect his pride.
"Males." She shrugged.
It didn't make me any less nervous about what they were talking over. And when another long minute dragged by, I could take it no more. Narrowing my eyes at the double doors, I had every intention of dashing around Eirny and marching right outside to demand answers, but the second I took a step, the grating metallic creak of hinges resounded around the stone walls.
Hati stepped in and immediately locked me under his gaze. A blond eyebrow lifted, and my cheeks flamed. He'd caught me about to disobey an order. His accusation turned to amusement when all I could do to proclaim innocence was scrunch my nose.
My parents trailed behind him, arm in arm and heads close together as they murmured to one another. I searched each of their faces for any tell about what might have been said, my hands gripping the backs of Hati's chair so tight I worried I'd snap the wood.
"We aren't going to deal with council matters first?" I asked hopefully.
Hati cracked a grin. "No, Little Alpha. This comes first, so you can sit at council as my mate. As second Alpha."
"Alpha Female," I corrected.
"Whatever you wish to call it, Elskan MÃn."
My darling? Oh he'd definitely been speaking to my mother. Sweet nothings would get him nowhere.
"Best get this out of the way so you can both focus on your duties to the pack," Father agreed, dark eyes creasing as he gazed down at me, his knuckles brushing along my jaw. "Hold yourself well, and no wolf will question you. If they do, you have your mother and I at your side, and Hati. Eirny too. You will be mated today."
But would there be a standing council by the end of the day?
"If Gerlac bows, the rest will follow," Hati promised, tucking my mother's arm into his as he led her around the table to join us. She beamed up at him, patting the back of his hand.
Father muttered something under his breath. He and I would both have to get used to how easily Hati slipped into our family's affections.
"He won't refuse us," Hati continued. "Not now he has little to leverage with if he wants to keep his position here. To deny me the links to the human nobles would be to deny the whole pack; he won't do that and risk making an enemy of us all over wounded pride. Especially as I believe he is fond of you."
"Or he will be fond of the idea of being teacher to an Alpha." I chewed my lip. I had the sinking feeling that the outcome today, if it relied on Gerlac, also relied on whether Ingrid had gotten over her temporary embarrassment last night.
"You might want to mention that to him. That would definitely give him enough of an ego boost to settle his ire at no longer being father of an Alpha Female."
And to think I'd been joking.
Hati slid his hand into mine and squeezed tight, offering me one last small nod of encouragement before the first of the council members began to arrive.
The first were the Vargr, and neither of them so much as blinked in surprise to see my parents here. A younger female had apparently taken Magne's place while he was gone, young enough that I wondered if she was here more to learn from the male she clung to than to really take part in the meeting. The male's daughter? They had similar faces, though she lacked her Father's eerie split pupil in his right eye.
He'd spoken up for me when I'd said Hati was missing. And called the council a pack of barking dogs, or something near abouts.
The male spoke to Hati in a language I recognised only a few words of, enough to catch what seemed to be a mocking exasperation about how long it had taken us to do this. It seemed friendly enough as Hati let out a tight laugh that only made his kin poke more fun at him.
The Vargr who resided here had always seemed so wary of me, all accept for Magne and Eirny. Even now they both cast unsure glances my way, trying to soften curiosity with smiles. Saving their Alpha hadn't earned me their complete trust yet.
"That's Harald and his daughter Helga. She has a good head on her shoulders so I invited her to join us while Magne is away," Hati mumrured, squeezing my hand again. "You'll get to know them."
"They don't like me, the Vargr."
He snorted. "They like you well enough, they just need time to get to know you too."
So they could like me even less?
It was as if Hati could tell what I was thinking. He tutted and reached up to tap my nose. I was still unused to the fact this male could be playful, never mind do so in front of others in the pack. My nervousness only amused him more, and he opened his mouth to, what I guessed, was say something that would have pushed his luck, but the next wolf to enter was Gerlac.
He walked at the head of the rest of the council members, and something about the sight of the skinshifter's arriving together made the two Vargr rise from their seats. Hati stiffened, but refused to let go when I attempted to tug my hand free of his. The door closed with a resounding thud, and despite the holes in the roof and crumbling windows covered only by flapping fabric, it became stiflingly hot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my Father turning his body towards my mother's, and she in turn tucked her head beneath his chin, her eyes shimmering with a sheen of gold as she eyed the group. She was protecting his throat as she would in the wild. Was that what Hati had told them? To prepare for a fight?
I nearly snapped my teeth in irritation. Gerlac was showing how desperate he was to ally himself with Sigurd.
"I know what you expect us to grant you today, Alpha Hati," Gerlac began, bowing his head only just low enough to show due respect.
"If you think to deny me-"
"I do not."
Hati eyed the other male cautiously. "You are playing games that you know well I do not appreciate. Speak what you wish, Gerlac. That is what these meetings are for. If you do not wish to deny me, why this farce?"
A nod sent Loa and Sigurd to their seats, and a little of the tension left the room. Gerlac straightened the strange studded overcoat he wore and pulled out his own chair, but didn't take his seat quite yet.
"You shamed my daughter last night. You might as well have claimed this female then and there." Gerlac threw a hand towards me, but he'd yet to so much as actually look my way. "What will be said about my Ingrid now? Whether others saw what I saw between you and your southerner or not, they will certainly look back and see it if you announce you have mated the very next day."
"The contract was already broken between your daughter and I, on our terms, whether the wider pack are aware of that or not." Hati released my hand to brace himself on the table. "I already overlooked the fact that the news of Ingrid and I being due to mate somehow got out of the confines of this council."
Was that a smirk Sigurd was hiding behind his fingers? He was enjoying this. Fortunately I believed it was the dress down of his rival that pleased him so. It wouldn't surprise me if he'd bolstered Gerlac only to leave him on his own.
"If other men of high birth find out how she was cast aside by you, it could ruin her reputation. I might never find a suitable match that will see her with all the comforts and security she deserves!"
A flicker of guilt crossed Hati's face. "I do apologise for how the situation may look to others, I should have thought about that, but her prospects are hardly ruined. You could marry her to a human noble where such rumours would not like reach and she can have all the comforts she wants still."
I was getting ready to sneer at Gerlac's attempts to receive some sort of restitution, but suddenly I came to understand - if I put myself in the shoes of these Christian nobles. Wolves who lived amongst humams would probably still hear the news that Ingrid was left by an Alpha famous the world over, would they see that as being because something was wrong with Ingrid? And while wolves kept their secrets from humans, they too might wonder why these lords reject her too.
"If my daughter is to lose her place then in return you must promise to use your influence to help me find a match amongst a noble family. If that fails, she will be mated into your highranked. I also want your word that I will remain a teacher and advisor to Eabha, and if I choose to remain here when all is safe in the world again, I will be so to any pups you should have as well."
My gaze met Hati's and I hoped he could read what I was thinking: Gerlac was one step ahead of us.
Clearing my throat, I hoped my voice didn't sound as shaky to everyone else as it sounded to my ears. "I was going to offer that position to you. I want you to continue teaching me, and I would be honoured if you did the same for any pups I might have."
I felt Hati's eyes on me, and knew he was remembering the only time we'd spoken of pups. My mind might change if we did one day have peace. For now, it wasn't like to, but Gerlac didn't need to know that. The rest of the demands were up to him to agree to, but I found nothing wrong with them. Hati knew better about what position he would be in with Ingrid mated to one of the pack leaders. I knew she would prefer to be married to a human of position as far away from pack life as possible, but maybe she would be happy here if she still had some rank to claim.
"To make it up to your daughter, I will do whatever is in my power to see she is settled in both comfort and luxury if that is her wish. We have enough connections in the pack, and Ingrid is. . .clever enough. . .that she should have her pick of men from the continent, and beyond."
The two males seemed determined to stare the other down, and I held my breath as we waited to see if Gerlac would accept. He had to. Unless he thought we wouldn't agree, and now that we had, he was trying to come up with something else?
Sigurd definitely wasn't pleased with the new turn of events. He straightened up in his chair, sharp eagle eyes darting between Hati and Gerlac in disbelief. When Gerlac dropped his gaze and tipped his head to give Hati his neck, Sigurd couldn't keep from spluttering.
"Just like that?"
Gerlac smirked at him as he took his seat. "I got what I wanted. Eabha has proven she can keep the rest of us in line when we are without Hati, and what she lacks in, she will have me to guide her. The pack will do well."
I allowed him that slight to my character.
Before Sigurd could explode again, Loa lifted her hand. "While I understand why Eabha was granted a position on the council, the point of your marrying from the council was to strengthen the pack. Marrying my Linnea would have given you status in trading connections I have so far as the famed Silk Road. Marrying Ingrid would offer you access to money from Gerlac's business, connections to human royals, armoury, weaponry, things we much need. What does this girl bring?"
"You are members of my council because of these connections you speak," Hati replied, his tone darkening as his brightening gaze swept over each and every one. "Your knowledge of trade and business, culture and language, are why you are here. I agreed to mate to strengthen these alliances, not to have them dangled before me with the threat of being taken away should I refuse. What Eabha brings is far more than any written agreement or monetary value. Besides the fact she might be the key to keeping us all safe, I love her. She brings me as much peace as she brings me chaos, she makes me stop and think, and she is willing to defend this pack as a she-wolf worthy of leading her own. Who better to have at my side, leading us, but another Alpha?"
I wanted to kiss him.
And I wanted to hit him for making heated declarations.
My skin crawled as they stared at me, and I did my best to keep still, to keep my head held high and proud.
Loa hummed and sat back. "I suppose, like Gerlac, we will all have a chance at reforging alliances when there are pups to be mated off in future."
My mother uttered a sound of dismay. I felt it too. How could anyone see pups, sons and daughters, as things to be fought over and bartered with? I knew they loved their young, but to be seen for your value like a coin, that would diminish anyones light. I was understanding Ingrid's past actions better and better the more I heard about human ways of thinking. Shouldn't the focus have been on them marrying good males who loved them? Who would treat them well? Maybe I could hunt out a well suited male for my sort-of friend myself.
For Gerlac to bend so easily, she had to have forgiven me for getting carried away with Hati last night, right?
"I'm glad we have all come to an agreement." Hati straightened up and once more grabbed my hand, dalrneing amber eyes appraising me. "Are you ready to become my mate?"
Blinking, I froze. It felt surreal. Standing with my parents turning towards me, the council rising from their seats behind me, and Hati's gaze burning into mine. . .
"Yes. Yes, I'm ready."
His grin was contagious, and I wanted to thank whichever wolf let out a celebratory cry that broke some of my nerves. At least someone was happy for us outside our immediate family. My mother's eyes glittered with a mix of pride and upset as she stepped towards me and cupped my cheek, pressing her own against the opposite, before releasing me to do the same to Hati. I nearly laughed as he stopped down to reach her, but then my Father was taking her place.
His beard scratched my cheek, and I swore his was damp but I saw no tears in his eyes when he pulled away and winked in that way he always did. My heart skipped a beat when he pulled Hati in to do the same, my hand flying to my chest. And from the wide-eyed look on Hati's face that turned into a gentle smile, I knew the embrace meant something to him as well.
Eirny followed my parents lead, unaccustomed to our traditions. She whispered a congratulations in my ear, and Hati chuckled as she placed a kiss on me as well. Something told me he'd spent his youth avoiding such a thing when Eirny rumbled contentedly as he let her kiss his cheek too.
Standing back before us, my mother grants us the honour. Voice thick with emotion, she bowed her head and greeted us as a mated pair for the first time. "Welcome to the family, Hati Mac Fenris, mate of my first daughter, Eabha Nic Tabhin."
A gust of wind battered the crumbling hall, so loud it moaned through the rafters, louder and louder, sending loose brick tumbling to crash below a window across the room. One of the tapestries fluttered to the floor in a crumpled heap to give us a view of darkening clouds.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Chairs screeched as they were shoved back.
It wasn't just the wind. A howl accompanied it; long drawn out tones that were a very specific warning. Someone was on the territory that shouldn't be.
"The patrol," Hati murmured, frowning at first, before leaping into action. "Sigurd, find Caldar and send him here. Gerlac, I want everyone within castle walls now, try not to cause alarm. Blame it on the storm coming, or human passers by, but get them inside. Vargr, with me."
The commotion was enough to make me stumble on the spot. Hati span back to me and gripped my arm tight, his eyes wild and distracted. "I am sorry. I wanted this to go how you wanted. Get your parents inside. Keep yourself inside. Don't disobey."
"But-"
A frantic kiss cut me off. His teeth nipped and claimed, leaving me breathless, but all to soon he was pulling back.
"My mate," he growled, his fingers tangled tight in my hair. "Mine. Keep our family safe."
All I could think as I watched my mate march off into danger only seconds after my heart had soared with joy, was the warning Oighrig had given about an uninvited guest. I should have taken proper note of it. Perhaps the Tuatha De Dannan were still watching me too.