Chapter 8
8
J aireth’s eyes darkened.
“Uh oh,” Archer said. “I think he’s going to shift. He looks really mad.”
Dallan eyed Archer, who, for all intents and purposes, was supposed to be his second. But he still needed training, lots of it.
Jaireth growled, drawing Dallan’s attention, the sound reminded him of the Alpha Melvale was turning into.
“Dallan!” Shona said next to him. She anxiously wrapped her arm around one of his, and he gently detached it as King Jaireth snarled, exposing his fangs. “Archer’s right, yer da is going to shift.” He shoved her behind him as Jaireth let out a low growl.
If Dallan hadn’t been watching, he’d have missed it. The shift was instantaneous. Jaireth must be more than a little upset at the news they’d given him.
A gray and brown wolf the size of a small horse stood before them, his eyes a menacing yellow. He growled at them, then jumped over the side of the balcony of the king’s private quarters where they were meeting, and disappeared into the trees below.
Shannell hurried onto the balcony. “Oh, no. He’s upset.”
“You think?” Shona said as she peeked out from behind Dallan.
Archer ran a hand over his short-cropped brown hair. “Well, this is a fine bloody mess.”
“That’s not helping,” Shannell said. She went to the balcony’s balustrade and looked down. They were six stories up, and Dallan was quickly learning that Muirarans, and perhaps himself, had abilities he’d yet to witness. He never thought to ask Shannell what physical form her heart took. He did know her heart fed off wisdom. How much that influenced the heart’s physical form, he didn’t know.
“He’ll come back once he’s had a good run,” Shannell said. She went to a chaise lounge and sat. “You’ll want to take Markhel with you, and Archer.”
Archer’s eyes popped wide. “Me?”
“Yes, you,” she shot back. “You’ve been in training, and your natural talents will come in handy.”
“Natural talents?” Shona said.
Her mother raised her eyebrows at her. “Picking locks. Breaking into places. Thievery.”
Archer blushed and shrugged. “It’s a gift.”
“Some gift!” Shona sighed and turned to her Muiraran mother. “Can you suggest anyone else?”
“If Melvale’s mate is human, you should have some other humans standing by to calm her. But I imagine your father will want this Pari and Melvale brought directly to the palace to keep them safe. So long as she stays calm, Melvale will.”
Shona glanced at Dallan and back. “Gotcha. She knows Halden and Raina already.”
“Perhaps the Lord Councilor?” Shannell suggested.
Dallan eyed her. “I’ll no risk him, Yer Majesty. He has a family and wee bairns.”
Shannell smiled. “He is also bonded with Tylahs.”
Dallan looked at Shona as realization dawned. “Och, aye.” He smiled.
Shona smiled back. “Did I tell you my mother is brilliant?”
“I ken she is.” He smiled at Shannell. “Fine, I’ll take Raina, Halden and the Lord Councilor with us. You’ll have things ready when we bring Melvale and Pari back to the palace?”
“Yes. We’ll prepare Melvale’s quarters for them.” She stood and joined him at the balcony’s balustrade. “We do not know what shape Melvale and his mate will be in when you retrieve them. Nor do we know if they’ve been allowed to touch. If they haven’t, Melvale’s Alpha will be unpredictable. Dangerous. They’ll need time together.”
Shona looked at her. “Kwaku said Pari can walk away from all of it. There’s no pain from a bonding to bind her to Melvale.”
Shannell sighed. “Which is why we must make sure she can’t walk away.”
“But you can’t force her to fall in love,” Shona argued.
“No, but we can give them a chance, let Melvale have her to himself and watch over them in a calm setting. If there is no threat to her, he will naturally try to take care of her, win her.” Shannell smiled sweetly. “In time, she will become a prize beyond anything you could possibly imagine. She is his heart.”
“Everyone keeps saying that,” Shona echoed.
“Because it is true.” Shannell looked over the balustrade. “Fetch Markhel. Take Maida with you as well to help with Melvale’s mate once you have her. That is, if she’s conscious.” She looked Dallan in the eyes. “Infiltrate wherever it is these men are keeping them, let Tylahs do his work, then get Melvale and his mate out of there and bring them straight to Melvale’s quarters.”
“Aye, Yer Majesty, we will.” Dallan gave her a slight bow, then eyed Archer. “Get what ye need and meet us in the meadow of the library.”
“Yes, Time Master.” Archer bowed, then left the balcony.
Dallan watched him go. The man was in his early thirties, with short-cropped brown hair, big brown eyes, and a lithe build. He could climb, was a fast runner, and could break into anything. Or so he was told. Archer had gone on assignment with Dallan and Shona before, but nothing like this.
“Do you need anything else?” Shannell asked.
“Nay, Yer Highness.” He took Shona by the hand and started to leave.
“You know you can call me Mother…”
He stopped up short and slowly turned to her. “Yer Majesty?”
Shannell gave him a heartfelt smile. “Dallan, I am not only your queen, but your mother-in-law. You can acknowledge me as such.”
He looked at the marble floor. “ Màthair ?”
“If you wish.”
Shona smiled as she glanced between them but said nothing.
Dallan gave the queen another slight bow. “ Màthair .” He straightened, a slight smile on his face.
Shannell smiled back. “Jaireth will take a little time, but don’t be surprised when one day he asks you to call him, Father.”
Dallan swallowed hard. “ Athair !”
She smiled again. “ Athair , yes.”
Shona gave her Muiraran mother a heartfelt look and took Dallan by the hand. “We should get going.”
“Aye, Flower.” Dallan led her from the king’s private office and into a long, wide corridor. “Best we find Master Lany and tell him what’s amiss.”
“He’s probably heard by now,” Shona pointed out. She walked to her Sarian companion, Essie, and mounted.
Dallan mounted his Sarian, Willah, and they were off. Their Sarian companions raced toward the Lord Councilor’s private quarters. Alasdair, Dallan’s young brother, would be there. He and Master Lany’s son Vyn were inseparable. They spent most of their time with Shona’s young brother Mykhal, the prince. He was Alasdair’s and Vyn’s age, and the trio of six-year-olds could stir up more than their share of trouble.
When they reached Master Lany’s quarters, they were greeted by Cari, his wife. “Dallan, Shona, what a pleasant surprise.”
“You might not think so once you hear what’s happened,” Shona said.
Cari’s eyebrows shot up. “What are you talking about?”
“I need to speak to Master Lany,” Dallan said.
“He’s in his study. Alasdair is here, but you probably already knew that.”
Dallan didn’t acknowledge her and headed for the Lord Councilor’s study.
Cari took him by the arm. “Alasdair misses his older brother.”
Dallan’s chest tightened as he cringed. “Och, aye, I’ve no been able to spend much time with him since bringing him here.” He looked Cari in the eyes. “I’m sorry ye’ve had him with ye so much.”
“We don’t mind. He’s like part of the family.” She smiled at Shona. “So is Mykhal. I swear those three boys are joined at the hip.”
Shona smiled. “I’m glad Vyn, Alasdair and Mykhal are such good friends. I haven’t spent much time with any of my siblings after Dallan and I went through our Sutyne ceremony. So much happened, and Lida…”
Cari looked at the floor and nodded. “Any word? Have they found anything?”
“No,” Shona said. “My sister Lida is still missing.”
Dallan took Shona by the elbow. “We must speak to yer husband. I’ll speak to Alasdair as soon as we’re done.”
“Thank you. He and the other boys are playing in Vyn’s room.” Cari said nothing more and led them down a hall to Lany’s study. Cari knocked, opened the door, then ushered them inside.
Lany looked up from some papers he was going over and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“You’ve already heard?” Cari asked. She turned to Dallan. “What happened by the way?”
Dallan approached the desk. “Melvale and his mate have been taken.”
Cari gasped. “What? What do you mean, taken?”
“We think it might have been the doctor from Hawaii,” Shona said. “They used tranquilizer darts similar to the ones used on Melvale then.”
Lany paled as he slowly stood. “What? Are you sure?”
“The drug used is still being tested,” Dallan said. “But Kwaku believes them to be the same or verra similar.”
Lany looked like he was going to be ill. “Living stars…”
“Lany…” Cari went around the desk. “Are you all right?”
“No, I’m not.” He looked at her, then pulled her into his arms. “How, where?”
“New York, in the year, 2024,” Dallan said.
Lany blanched. “But… we ran into those people in Hawaii in 1996!”
“That’s twenty-eight years apart,” Cari said in alarm. “How are they doing this? How are they traveling through time without a Time Master?”
“Perhaps they have one,” Dallan said. “One others think dead.”
Lany shook his head. “That can be easily found out. Ask Jaireth or Mel… oh, I guess you can’t ask Melvale.” He let go of Cari and leaned against the desk. “I can do some checking…”
“We need ye to come with us,” Dallan said.
Lany backed away from the desk. “What?”
“We need Tylahs, not to mention another human to help with Pari,” Shona explained. “We’ll have Maida, but my guess is, Markhel isn’t going to let her anywhere near the danger. He’ll tuck her away someplace safe while we rescue them. Once we find them, that is.”
Lany sat down hard in his chair and ran a hand through his premature gray hair. “Oh, boy.” He looked at them. “Tylahs is playing with the boys.”
“I can get him,” Cari offered.
Lany held up a hand. “No, not yet.” He took a deep breath and looked Dallan in the eyes. “What do you want Tylahs to do?”
“Take out the enemy holding Melvale.”
Lany’s eyes widened. “As in, do away with them?”
“Knock them out,” Dallan said. “He no has to kill them. In fact, I’d like to take one prisoner and find out a few things. Like how they found Pari, Melvale’s mate, and how did they ken Melvale would be looking for her? They had to have known they were a pair.”
Shona wrapped an arm around him. “It’s like they were waiting for Pari and took her to trap Melvale.”
Lany stared at them with wide eyes. “That’s impossible. How could they know…” He went even paler.
“What?” Dallan asked.
Lany blanched. “Camera footage. Cameras were everywhere by 2024. The law of the time used to catch criminals using street cameras, the cameras on buildings, that sort of thing.”
“Okay, I can understand that,” Shona said. “But how did they know Melvale was… oh… I know.”
Dallan glanced between them. “Explain, Flower.”
“Kitty discovered it when she got a hold of that cell phone to help us find things. Everyone’s phone had something called social media on it.”
Dallan cocked his head. “What is social media?”
“As I recall,” Lany said. “It was a way for people to communicate with each other without actually having to talk face to face.”
Dallan frowned. “Why?”
Lany shrugged. “Who knows? Suffice to say, if someone got a photo of Melvale and it got posted somewhere…”
“Like a video site. Kitty showed one to me,” Shona said. “People could take pictures and film things with their phones. It’s amazing really.”
“Aye, someone else thought so too when they caught sight of Melvale and took a picture,” Dallan groused.
Shona nodded. “That’s exactly right. Somehow Dr. Whateverhisnameis, saw it, and investigated.”
“That still doesna explain how this doctor got to 2024,” Dallan mused. He shook the thought off. “Enough of this, we ken where they nabbed Melvale, and need to start tracking him. As soon as we find his location, we’ll need Tylahs to help us free him and his mate and bring them home.”
Lany gave them a quizzical look. “Only this isn’t his mate’s home. What are we going to do if she wants to go to her home?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, aye?” Dallan headed for the door. “Let’s go.”