40. Chapter Forty
~Felix~
“Does it get any easier?” I asked Vaughan as we headed outside to shift and begin the search for the intruders.
“Does what get easier?”
“The terror that something might happen to your mate?”
The thought of fae warriors coming to take Evalina away tied knots into my stomach that threatened to push out everything I’d eaten that day. I’d never felt that way about heading into dangerous situations or defending the pack before because I never had quite so much at stake.
“Ah. That.” Vaughan gave me a wry smile as he tossed his clothes to the side. “No. It doesn’t get any fucking easier. At least it hasn’t yet, and I honestly don’t know if it ever will.”
“Great. Thanks. I feel much better now.”
He shot me one more smirk before shifting into his wolf and I quickly followed suit.
Darius, Vaughan, and I each led our assigned groups in a different direction from the pack house to search for intruders. We’d make wide arcs, everyone keeping alert for any unusual scents or strange movements among the trees, while the three of us who had been to the fae realm kept our eyes peeled for anyone who shouldn’t be there.
Could Tarron really have tracked Evalina down already? Even if he had, could he have reached our land so quickly? I knew from Evalina that they didn’t have cars, but I didn’t know what other methods of transportation they might use. The elf from that morning had materialized out of thin air, but I doubted Tarron could do the same. He hadn’t done it when I chased him back to his own world that first night, and that would have been a perfect time to use the ability if he possessed it.
But if not Tarron, who would it be? The elf we spoke to said they had no interest in visiting our world and he had no apparent reason to lie.
I had to be missing something but I had no idea what it might be, and the cool forest air did little to ease the heat of my rising worry.
Since we only knew of one portal on our territory, heading towards it seemed like the best place to start. We advanced quickly, the paws of the wolves behind me barely making a sound as they moved across the packed dirt of the forest floor. Every ear strained for any unexpected sound, every nose trained on the ground, searching for unfamiliar scents.
I smelled it first, maybe because I was in the lead, or maybe because of my visit to the fae realm. A floral scent floated on the crisp autumn air, its sweetness unnatural and foreign in the earthy forest. Not werewolf and not human either.
I think we’re close to something , I warned the others by mind-link. Be on guard and listen for my orders.
The collective tension in our group sharpened, the air charged with anticipation. As we drew closer to the portal, the scent grew stronger, backing up my suspicion that the two must be linked, but I still couldn’t see anything. Maybe they’d come through the portal but had moved away from us, away from the pack house? Maybe they’d already returned to their territory but the scent still lingered? Maybe…
I didn’t get a chance to finish that thought before the air seemed to ripple around us. The trees shifted, and my fur bristled as their forms sharpened into focus. I blinked, my eyes struggling to make sense of what I saw, until I realized they were fae, camouflaged against the trees until they chose to reveal themselves.
A dozen of them, at least, taller than Tarron, who didn’t seem to be among them.
Elves.
A deep growl rumbled from my chest as I pulled up short, a warning sign to them to get off our land immediately.
What is it? one of the other men with me asked in my head as they all came to a stop behind me. Do you see something?
A dozen men are surrounding us. They don’t seem to be armed.
“That’s the one, right in the front there.”
The man Evalina and I spoke to a few hours earlier appeared to my left, just as suddenly as he’d materialized that morning, and a jolt of fury shot through me as I recognized the elf’s smug face.
“He’s the one the prince wants.”
What the fuck? Kai growled, echoing my own thoughts. The prince? Did he mean Tarron? Wanted me? And the elves came to find me for him? Why?
Close in around me , I ordered my men. I need to shift.
They immediately obeyed, and with a circle formed, I shifted in the centre of it.
“What do you want?”
I addressed the elves, who all stared at me curiously, apparently not having seen a wolf shift into a man before.
“Ah, you do speak. That will be easier,” the same man spoke again. “Your presence is requested in the court of Etta. Something about you kidnapping some of their subjects. The details aren’t important.”
My fists clenched at his arrogance, my wolf snarling inside me. Those ‘details’ were sure as fuck important to me. “I didn’t kidnap anyone and you have no authority here. Get off our land.”
Vaughan? Darius? I’ve got them by the lake. Come this way, now. I sent the message out by mind-link as quickly as I could before the elf replied.
“Your unauthorized visit to Exteria gives us permission to visit you. It’s an ancient agreement.”
Shit. Going through that portal with Evalina really hadn’t been the best idea, but since I couldn’t change the past, I focused on the present instead.
“Well, you’ve had your visit, so you can go back home now. We won’t bother you again and you can stay on your side.”
“Certainly. Come with us and we’ll be on our way.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I growled.
“The prince of Etta insists that you do.”
“And you do his dirty work for him?”
The elf bristled but didn’t yield. “We’ll make an exception to our normal neutrality when circumstances call for it.”
Almost there, Vaughan’s voice sounded inside my head. Thirty seconds.
Around me, the circle of wolves pawed at the ground, coiled to strike. If I could stall until the others arrived, the extra wolves would be enough to launch a proper attack even if most of them couldn’t see what they were meant to be attacking. We could drive the elves back and have Calista disable the portal like she did with the other one.
“What circumstances?” I asked, simply to buy myself time. I didn’t really care what deal he and Tarron had come to.
“It doesn’t concern you,” the elf replied before his eyes scanned my naked body with distaste. “You really should have some clothes on, but I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“Sorry I don’t meet the dress code. I guess I’ll have to take a rain check.”
The sound of Vaughan’s approaching steps, along with his men, reached my ears at the same time the elf heard them, and he gave a swift nod to the others. “Let’s go.”
I was about to give him a sarcastic send-off when he suddenly appeared right next to me, inside the circle of wolves. Without a word, he placed a hand on my shoulder and the air around me compressed, my lungs straining as the world twisted and fell away.
Everything seemed to close in around me, the very molecules of the air pressing down on my skin until it felt like I might implode, until, just as suddenly, the pressure eased. The ground lurched beneath me and only the steady hand of the elf, surprisingly strong, kept me upright.
“One werewolf, as requested,” the man next to me said as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to throw up. I’d never felt so disoriented before. “Try not to lose him again.”
With my eyes closed, I didn’t see the man who spoke in reply, but I recognized Tarron’s voice immediately. My blood boiled at the sound.
“We won’t. Trust me: this time, I’m getting exactly what I want.”