Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

They were coming to the end of the long theater. The draperies only became more intricate and translucent. The smiles on their faces faded, leaving them all sober. There was a change in the feel of the caves. Where before they felt like a series of inspiring cathedrals, the atmosphere surrounding them as they neared the most sacred of places—the warrior’s cavern, became much heavier.

They stepped inside the worn passage, centuries old, carved out by their ancestors, the rock smooth where feet had trod over so long. There was no doubt it was a little like stepping back in time. The stalagmites and stalactites were everywhere, hanging from the ceiling and thrusting upward from the floor. The circumference of the bases was quite large and there were many of varying sizes and color. Each was sculpted and one could make out faces up and down the stone as if each was a totem pole hand carved rather than fashioned by nature itself.

Tatijana stopped just inside the chamber and looked suspiciously around. The oppressive silence was far different than the other caverns. Not even the three pools of water made her feel better. One was crystal clear, lined with stone, and looked deep and cool, almost an ice blue. The second pool gave off a cloud of steam and was slightly tinged red orange. The third bubbled with mud.

“The stalagmites and stalactites used to hum as we entered,” Fen said. “Our ancestors greeting us. I wonder when that stopped.”

“They hummed the last time I was here,” Dimitri said.

The moment Fen had entered the chamber, he had the sense of being weighed, judged, not by the few living who had gathered, but by the dead whose spirits gathered at every meeting. The presence of his ancestors, warriors long gone from the world, was heavy there in that chamber. The fact that they hadn’t greeted him boded ill.

Tatijana tightened her fingers around Fen’s. “I don’t like the feel of this,” she whispered. “They know what you are, and some of them feel antagonistic. We should make certain we have an exit plan.”

Fen glanced down at her. There was genuine worry in her voice. He was a little worried about the outcome of this meeting, but he was certain he hadn’t passed that on to his lifemate.

She’s got a point, Fen. The air is heavy in here, Dimitri told him. With judgment.

Fen couldn’t say the two didn’t have a point, but he didn’t want Tatijana to worry. He was grateful Dimitri had used their private telepathic path.

“They got their butts kicked royally,” Fen said. “They’re used to being at the top of the food chain. They aren’t too happy to discover they have an enemy out there who is just that little bit faster than they are.”

“You mean superior to them when it comes to fighting,” Tatijana corrected. “You’re one of those Sange raus who can kick their ass. Do you think they all aren’t aware of that? They resent it, Fen. Egos can get out of hand.”

Fen shook his head. “That’s where I think the misconception comes in, my lady. The Sange rau is not necessarily as skilled in battle as most of these hunters. They are faster, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that with a little training, a skilled hunter can’t beat them.”

He tried to avoid Dimitri’s telling glance and focus only on Tatijana.

She stopped moving, tugging at his hand until he stopped directly in front of her. “You mean like Dimitri.” She indicated his brother. “You taught Dimitri how to fight them.”

Dimitri snickered in his mind. You have an intelligent lifemate, Fen. She’s quick on the uptake.

Don’t I know it.

He ducked his head, avoiding Tatijana’s eyes. “I taught him how to hunt and defeat me. Just in case.”

Tatijana’s fingers tightened in his. “That’s my point. You have always acted with honor. I feel as if you’re being accused of something.”

Fen had been around Lycan society for centuries and had grown accustomed to viewing himself as an outsider who had to hide what and who he was. It was a way of life, and in the end he’d chosen to remain with the Lycans. He found it endearing that Tatijana had become so protective of him.

I agree with her, Fen. Maybe this isn’t a good idea, Dimitri advised.

Fen did look at his brother then. Dimitri was an ancient, a skilled hunter of the vampire, but he’d spent centuries giving his brother a refuge when the traits of the Sange rau became particularly difficult to overcome. He knew, more than any other, that becoming what Fen was, was highly dangerous. Worse, Dimitri’s blood was already changing. Both knew it. The Carpathian council could become aware of it as well.

Dimitri had not claimed his lifemate and he could very well be in double the danger. Fen kept his fingers firmly threaded through Tatijana’s. He had expected the chamber to be filled with a good number of Carpathian males, but there was only Mikhail and his brother Jacques, Vikirnoff and his lifemate, Natalya, and, of course, Gregori.

He felt Tatijana hesitate. She lifted a hand as if she might try to straighten her hair. All eyes were on them. He gently caught her wrist.