Chapter 35
Feray
Riding on the back of my mate's basilisk is an exhilarating experience. The rush of wind against my face and the rhythmic sound of his scales moving through the leaves is soothing. His giant creature navigates effortlessly through the dense forest, using its colossal tail to push off trees.
Yet beneath the surface of this momentary liberation, a disquieting undercurrent tugs at my senses.
Deep in the pit of my stomach, a persistent unease lingers. Something is amiss with Torben. His usually steadfast demeanor is marred by a subtle tension, a silent burden he carries. The unspoken weight of his emotions hangs in the bond, and my mind races to decipher the cause.
He's grappling with something. The ominous possibilities play out in my mind, sending a chill up my spine.
As Khal glides through the forest, my thoughts spiral into the worst-case scenario. Maybe they stumbled upon something unsettling while I was away. Fear creeps in, and I can't help but entertain the darkest possibility—that my parents, for reasons unknown, simply didn't want me.
The prospect lingers like a shadow.
If they gave me away, why not to another wolf family? Giving me to Fi's family doesn't make sense, unless the needing-to-hide-me angle is true.
Maybe it's not that they didn't want me. Maybe it was for my safety.
Lost in my thoughts, I become a passive observer during the hunt. Khal's efficient strike, using his tail spike to kill a deer, barely registers. The emotional turbulence within me has eclipsed the primal instincts required for the hunt.
Our time in the forest is usually more enjoyable, but this time it doesn't distract me the way it usually does.
Torben is a maelstrom of emotions. Diaval has almost shut the bond down to the point I barely feel him. Easton is focused on being hungry, not letting anything else infiltrate his thoughts.
They definitely found something, and they don't know how to tell me.
The hunt that was supposed to be freeing has taken a dark turn. Torben's concern is growing, other warring emotions churning within him. Unlike Easton and Diaval, he's not practiced in shutting down his emotions.
It feels like a massive storm churning in his chest. Like he's one step away from losing it all.
"We need to go back, Khal. Something's happened."
Before his basilisk can turn, I leap off and shift midair. My paws hit the soft soil, and I take off running.
The world around me turns into a blur. Every fiber of my being burns from exertion as I fly over the earth. Each step feels charged, propelling me forward like a white comet streaking toward its destination.
All I can think is that my mate needs me.
The weight of their discovery feels like a fallen tree resting over his heart.
I blow past Diaval, and he whips around to watch me. He's moving in slow motion to my eyes. Torben turns slowly just in time to catch me as I leap into his arms.
I shift as his arms band around me, and we fall to the ground, rolling for several moments before coming to a stop against a tree.
"Little wolf, are you okay?" He searches me even though he took the brunt of the impact.
"I'm fine, Tor. I was worried about you, so I got back here as fast as my paws could carry me." I smile down at him, proud of myself and how fast I moved.
"Do you realize how much ground you covered and how fast you were moving?" Diaval offers me a hand to help me stand.
"No?" I look around and see the disturbed ground from the path I took.
"Feray, you moved as fast as a car driving at about sixty miles an hour.
It took you less than five minutes to get from where Khal took you to back here.
" Diaval strokes his chin. "The bond worked as navigation.
Guiding you back in an instant when you let your instincts take over.
" He looks around the forest, then back at me.
"All I saw was a white blur. You barely disturbed the soil under your feet. "
"Torben's upset. I had to come back." I look over at my bear mate as he rubs the back of his neck, looking away.
"As much as I was against the idea, you need to see what we found." Diaval leads the way back toward the remains of the house.
Torben pulls me against his side and tucks me under his arm. The heat radiating from his body soaks into me, and I slowly relax.
"What we're about to show you will change everything." He presses his lips to the crown of my head and lingers there.
I brace myself. I know it's going to be really bad by the way he's acting.
Diaval steps up what's left of the staircase leading into the house. Each board protests under his weight. Looking around, I notice that most of the house has been destroyed by fire and time, but sections still stand.
A small ornate box catches my attention by what looks to be the fireplace, and I move away from Torben.
Within the box, on top of crushed blue velvet, two amulets like the one I wore sit side by side.
Hesitantly, I reach out and touch them. My hand trembles, recognizing the power in the gems.
"Mine was like this. The exact same one, just smaller."
Staring at them, a great weight falls over my heart.
My parents were being hunted. They hid their wolves to avoid being found.
If that's true... why did they take their amulets off?
"Yours?" Diaval steps closer.
"Yes. Until the night of the ascension, I wore one exactly like this. Before then, I didn't have a wolf—or so I thought." A soft, bittersweet laugh escapes my lips. "Torben taught me how to shift and hunt."
I turn my gaze to him fondly, grateful he was there when I needed him most.
"So a witch bound your wolf, then?" He glances from the amulets to me.
"I can only guess that seeing these, my parents needed to hide. Can't hunt a wolf you can't find or sense." I stroke my finger over the stone, and my wolf growls in my head. "I can only imagine the hell my parents' wolves gave them. Mine doesn't like me touching the stone."
Closing the box, I hand it off to Torben and walk around the room, looking at what's left of the little trinkets.
I turn toward the stairs.
And that's when I see it.
The white of a skull sticking out from under boards.
A deep growl escapes my lips as my hands shift. Using my claws, I rip at the wood until I uncover the skeleton.
Deep grooves are cut across the skull where the face should be. The finger bones all bear the same deep gouges, as if held up in defense.
He fought. He fought until the very end.
"By looking at the hip bones, Easton says this body is male." Diaval says, looking at the phoenix on his shoulder.
Nodding, I keep examining the area. A pocket watch is all that remains near the bones. Claridon Jokull is inscribed on the lid.
"This is my dad."
I say it with certainty. All the records point to him. Here he is, years dead, and I still don't know why.
The grief hits me like a physical blow. This pile of bones is my father. A man I never knew. A man who died protecting me.
"Why did they have so many different names for you?" Diaval muses.
"Thyra they put down as dead on the records here. Maybe Feray was the next name for her to assume for their next move—if we base it off the trunks being packed." Torben watches me gathering up my father's bones on a cloth. "What are you doing, little wolf?"
He crouches down and hands me several bones.
"I'm going to ask Easton to cremate him. If we find my mom too, I'll add her bones to the pile so we can lay them to rest."
I'm numb, if I'm being honest with myself. I want to cry and rage, but at what? At who?
"What did I miss?" Khal's voice comes from behind me, and I see Diaval move quickly to catch him up.
Easton glides over and stands close by, watching me work.
"I want to finish searching the house, then leave. We'll cremate my parents before we hit the tundra."
When I have all the bones stacked, I tie the cloth shut and stand.
I offer my forearm to Easton, and he flies up to land on it. Torben takes the bones from me as I wander around what's left of the downstairs.
Pots and pans remain on the stove as if making dinner. Bowls and utensils sit in the sink, waiting to be washed.
The guys remain silent as I explore.
I'm starting to piece together the final hours of my parents' lives. They were preparing a meal—maybe their last—before departure.
Turning my head quickly, I look back toward the front door. I can almost imagine a dark being ripping the door to pieces before it entered.
"Where would I send my mate with a baby to be safe?" I say out loud, moving to stand where we found my father's bones.
"What are you doing, Precious?" Khal moves toward me.
"She's working through the scene. We found what we can only assume to be her father's bones at the foot of the stairs." Diaval informs him.
Where would I send my mate and baby? I look up the stairs.
"Dad sent mom up the stairs. He stayed behind to hold the beast off." My voice cracks. "He made his last stand here."
I point to the floor beneath my feet.
My father died on this spot. He died so my mother and I could live.
Turning slowly, I go to head up the stairs, and Torben stops me.
"I'm not stopping you," he says quickly. "Let me come with you. We don't know what we may find up there."
I nod. To be honest, I'm almost afraid of what's at the top of the stairs.
Each step up the flight of stairs, my feet feel made of lead.
As much as I want answers to what happened—or even why it happened—I know I'll never get them. Closure is all I'll get out of this leg of the trip.
Dad died protecting me and mom.
Did mom live?
I don't know. As we near the top to what's left of the second floor, I have a sinking feeling we're about to find out.
Torben stops me, and Easton goes flying down the hallway ahead of us. Diaval moves alongside me and gives me a gentle nod.
They know something.
Deep gouges from claws mar the walls, as if whatever it was dragged its claws to frighten my mother.
I poke my head into each room on the way down the hall. One room, scorched by fire, appears to have been my parents' room. A large metal bed frame sits under the missing ceiling. Leaves and debris litter the floor. A heap of what I guess was the bed sits in the middle of the frame.
Nothing to see here.
Turning back down the hall, there's but one room left.
Easton comes out squawking, using his wings to stop me.
"Maybe I should go first..." Diaval offers.
I nod.
Easton lets him pass, and I stand and wait.
I can only imagine what he found that made him stop me.
My heart pounds against my ribs. My mother could be in that room. Her bones could be lying on the floor, waiting for me to find them.
Or maybe—just maybe—there's a window. An escape route. Evidence that she got out.
I cling to that hope like a lifeline, even as everything in me knows the truth.
If she'd survived, she would have come for me.
She would have found me.
The fact that she didn't tells me everything I need to know.