chapter 16
Blake and Samantha already stood in the hall. Blake was no doubt certain the coast was clear.
Alon lingered to say farewell to Aldara.
“You’re not just staying to protect him. I can see it in your eyes.”
His sister’s desolate expression tore at him. “He needs my protection.”
“As Alpha leader, I could order you to come.”
Her lip trembled. “Don’t.”
“Come with us,” he whispered. Then his voice took on a chiding tone. “Do you think anything will change afterward?”
“I don’t know.”
“As a Niyanoka, he can’t claim you, not without facing banishment like our father.”
She stared at the carpet. “I know.”
“Is that what you want? To force him to choose between you and his people? He’s their War Chief, Aldara. He has a duty to his people.”
Tears leaked from both eyes. “I know his duty and I know mine.”
Alon nodded and kissed her goodbye.
* * *
The roar of the twin engines made the fuselage vibrate, filling the cabin with a constant rumble as they made their approach at the small private airport outside Butte, Montana. Alon and Samantha were on their way west to find his parents and the rest of his family. Back to join an alliance that did not want them.
Word had come from Blake before they even departed. Neither the Niyanoka nor the Ianoka would accept them in the alliance. If the Ghost Children fought, they would not recognize them as allies. And the Skinwalkers went one step further. Alon’s forces would be treated no different than the enemy.
He wished Aldara had come with them, but she was as adamant about protecting Blake as he was about protecting Samantha so he did not force the issue.
Alon felt a piece of himself wither. It was a fantasy of Aldara’s that once they learned to control their hunger and their shape, they might live among the human race, like wolves in sheep’s clothing. Alon argued that they needed to live apart from humans for the safety of all.
She must know that the Niyanoka would instantly recognize her even if she took human form. She might hide among the Skinwalkers but never the Spirit Children. But she loved Blake Proud. He saw it in her eyes. She loved him and it was breaking her heart.
She chose to remain with a man who kept her hidden like a dirty secret. When this was over Blake would leave her behind.
Alon could hardly believe that he and Aldara were twins, they were of such different minds. Aldara wanted to save the world and every lonely orphan Ghostling in it, while Alon wanted to fight. Fight himself, fight his kind, fight his father. Yes, him especially.
He knew he’d leave Samantha, because that was what she wanted. She’d told him once that she wished to return to her family and be able to use her gifts. If she stayed with him, she’d be a banished Seer and an unwelcome healer.
He couldn’t do that to her.
The wheels touched down and the fuselage bounced then settled into the fast deceleration that forced them forward from the seatbacks.
Cesar and Bess had moved the family a great distance in only a few days, all the way to Wyoming. The Skinwalkers assembled in Cody, Montana, and so Alon made that their destination. Both the Skinwalkers and the Spirit Children had always believed there would be another war. But neither had anticipated it would be against a common enemy. His siblings. Not the ones he knew but the ones they did not find in time. Brothers against brothers. Sisters against sisters. One more cruel blow in a cruel existence. Samantha had been the one bright spot in his life. Soon he must send her away.
The plane stopped and he heard the stairs placed against the exterior. A moment later fresh air and sunlight streamed in through the open door.
Alon followed Samantha down the narrow metal stairs toward a shiny black limo. His father was more than just a Soul Whisperer. He was also a Truth Seeker and a Memory Walker. As a Memory Walker, his father could remove painful memories, like all recollections of some traumatic event. The trouble was, once he did his work, all the reminiscences, good and bad, were forever lost.
So the question was, did Alon want to forget Samantha completely after she moved on or hold tight to the most precious memories of his life and live with the grief?
His father left the limo to greet Samantha. He kissed her cheeks and then his smile faded. He could have noticed Samantha’s upset but likely he read it all in a touch.
“He knows you have feelings for him?” he asked.
Samantha seemed momentarily surprised by the question.
“Yes. But he doesn’t believe it.” She scooted past him and into the rear seat.
Alon stilled as he watched it happen. His father’s hand trailed from Samantha’s arm as his expression changed. He looked stunned. An instant later, he glanced at Alon. What truth had he read in that touch? Alon was burning to ask. Instead he opened his arms to his father, knowing his dad would soon know all his thoughts, as well.
“Samantha told you?” asked Alon.
“I read it in her thoughts. Our offer was rejected by both the Niyanoka and the Skinwalkers. Can’t say I’m surprised.”
Cesar opened his arms and Alon stepped into his father’s embrace. Cesar clasped Alon to him. His father’s hand pressed to the bare skin of Alon’s neck. He needed this contact to receive answers. Alon knew it was not necessary for him to speak or for his father to ask a question. Could his father read the grief and longing or only Alon’s thoughts?
“Both,” said his father as he released Alon.
“Mom’s with the others?”
“Mom’s already joined the Skinwalkers in Cody. Flew out yesterday. She’ll speak to Sebastian. Try to convince him we are not his enemy.”
Without a jet, Alon knew. Bess preferred her feathers to fuselages.
“We’ll meet them soon.” He turned to Samantha. “I’m proud that you have taken our side. I’m sorry they didn’t accept our offer. People are often afraid of what they don’t understand.”
Samantha seemed momentarily surprised, but she nodded. It was hard to get used to how much his father could perceive in such a brief touch.
“I’ve sent all those under thirteen away with Cody and Callie. Don’t worry. Those two will be here for the fight.”
These were the third set of twins his father and mother had found. A good choice to protect the babies and young ones, Alon thought, since Bart and Bella were still with Michaela Proud, the first Seer.
“All the rest of our family is ready to fight.”
“How many?” asked Alon.
“Including the ones who have been arriving each day, forty-nine.”
Alon wondered how many Nagi had coerced into service.
“They’ve been coming in pairs and small groups, all fleeing the ghosts who have been stalking them. Even the wild ones seem to recognize that their place is with us.”
“These new arrivals might attack the Skinwalkers or Spirit Children,” Alon cautioned. “It’s dangerous to include the feral ones.”
“These are dangerous times.” Cesar motioned to the open door. “Before leaving Bess spoke to a Puma Skinwalker. She said Nagi’s Ghost army is amassing in the Bighorn National Forest, west of Rapid City. Clearly he knows where to find us. She told Sebastian to move from Cody to intercept them there.”
Alon stilled and stared at his father. Had Sebastian chosen his ground based on the mumbo jumbo of a lion?
His father must have seen his disbelief because he grinned. “Lions are never wrong, son. Not like Clairvoyants because they don’t see possible futures. They only see what is happening at the present in a different location. Apparently she had her teeth on one of the Ghost Children who joined Nagi, but he got away. Now she can see him and he is with our enemy.”
Alon climbed into the limo across from Samantha, who now stared intently out the window. They needed to speak about what had happened between them.
He wanted to reassure her that he would not try to trap her into a relationship that would cause her pain. He knew the soul mate connection troubled her. He could assure her if he only told her the truth—how could he be a soul mate when he had no soul?
If she knew, would it change her conviction to fight at his side? If they survived she would surely leave him after the battle was done.
The war with Nagi loomed, but somehow losing Samantha alarmed him more than losing his own life.
* * *
In the two weeks that followed, Alon organized the Ghost Children into a fighting force. The only thing he seemed to put more energy into was avoiding Samantha. She knew that by not telling him immediately of their connection she had hurt him badly. Her silence told him all he needed to know about her feelings—or lack of feelings—for him.
What he didn’t understand was that her silence came from fear. Fear of what she would lose if she chose him, fear of admitting aloud what she already knew in her heart. She didn’t need the aura to tell her that Alon affected her like no one else or that she could feel what he felt when they touched. But was that love?
Her parents could read each other’s thoughts when touching. But since Alon would not touch her, she did not know if their lovemaking forged this new connection or if that came only with the commitment of the heart.
Were her feelings strong enough for her to choose banishment for him? And could she really love a man who so hated himself?
Once upon a time she had known what she wanted: to be free of Nagi and become a true Seer like her grandfather, Michael Proud. She had longed to use her gifts to help others. Now she faced a hard choice: Alon or her dreams. For if she chose him, the Niyanoka would surely banish her. Marrying a Ghost Child would be far more grievous a breach than marrying a Skinwalker.
That was why she had remained silent. Not because Alon was less than her or not worthy of her, but because loving him would be costly.
Now she had another secret. She’d used a pregnancy test and, though less than a month along, she knew that she carried his twins. It was likely two, as twins ran in both families.
This pregnancy would be Alon’s greatest fear come true. He had told her more than once that he would never have offspring, as he called them. So this news would be unwelcome.
As the battle approached, her anxiety grew. Tell him or don’t tell him? Explain or don’t explain? Choose him or leave him? One thing she knew was that when the battle ended, so would his promise to protect her.
If any of them survived, Alon would return her to her family and he would go his separate way. And that frightened her most of all.
Samantha stayed with Bess and Cesar, who camped in the national forest outside Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, in RVs and trailers and tents filled to bursting with their adopted children. More Ghostlings arrived every day, seeking out Alon and joining his ranks.
Reports from the Ghost Children scouts were that Nagi’s army had twice their numbers and possessed hundreds of humans ready to act as shields.
Tomorrow they would join the others, interlopers fighting for a cause they believed in, in a place they were not welcome. Tomorrow they might all die. Alon knew it, just as she did. So tonight Alon would not avoid her. Tonight, at least, she might once again lie in his arms.
* * *
Blake finished his meeting between the Skinwalker leaders and his people. The battle plan was set. It was a historic day. But Blake’s footsteps were slow and his heart heavy. He had tried to include the Ghost Children and his proposal had been soundly defeated.
Now he had to tell Aldara. True to her word, she had stayed with him, protected him and remained hidden from all but him. But now, as the battle loomed, he could feel the bond between them breaking.
Gradually Aldara had become his confidante, his adviser, his lover. He thought of his mother throwing away all ties to her people to have his father. But his mother had been raised by humans. She did not know her people. She was not War Chief. To claim Aldara was to leave the Niyanoka without a leader in the most important battle of their existence. To claim her was to destroy the alliance.
He glanced up and saw the mist that hovered at his side. Blake veered from his course and away from the circle of tents, both the traditional conical tepees and their nylon counterparts. They had commandeered a camping area, with the help of the Peacemakers, who suggested to the humans that, for various reasons, they needed to move on sooner than expected.
When he was away from the lights, away from the responsibility, she came, transforming naked before him. He smiled and opened his arms, but she stepped back. He felt a punch in his gut. Was she leaving him?
“Is it done, then?” she asked.
He nodded.
“You brought the alliance. You should be proud.”
Instead he felt ashamed. “I’m sorry I could not convince them to accept your people.”
She lifted her face and he saw that her lovely blue-gray eyes were swimming in silver tears. They spilled down her face. “I would fight beside you, Blake, if you would permit it. I would protect you as I have done since we met.”
“If they see you, they will kill you. You cannot fight beside me.”
Her gaze lowered again to the grass brushing her hips, her cheeks flushed with the shame he caused her.
“Then I will join my brother. Tomorrow will be a terrible day for my people, for we will die on both sides of this war.”
“Aldara, I don’t want you to fight.”
Her voice was fierce now. “That is not your choice.”
“Afterward, will you come back to me?”
Her eyes shimmered like the ocean as she stared for a long, silent moment. “Come back to a man who is ashamed of me? No. I will not. Better to leave now and retain my pride.”
He felt desperate to keep her and desperate to keep the alliance. “But we are soul mates.”
She shook her head.
“Afterward we could move away from the others. No one would have to know and we’d be free.”
“Free? Hiding away from your people as your mother has done? Hiding our powers. I have been hidden my entire life, for fear the humans might see me. Now I have my third form and still you ask me to hide. But I am done with hiding. Tomorrow I will stand in the sunlight in my first form and I will fight the sire to protect the Living World. I will do all this so all can see that I am not ashamed of what I am.”
Bright green light flashed and Blake lifted his arm across his eyes. When he lowered it Aldara stood before him in her first form. Silvery hair covered her muscular body that now stood eight feet tall. Spines raised up on her head and her pointed teeth glistened. She stared out at him with yellow eyes, daring him to look away.
She garbled her words as if they were hard for her to form, but he understood her. “This is what I am.”
With that Aldara vanished into a fast-moving cloud of mist.
Blake ran to the place where she had last stood. Her scent remained. He breathed deep, trying to hold this tiny scrap of her essence. If he could have flown after her, he surely would have.
* * *
Samantha glided across the meadow shrouded by the descending mist. Wet grass swept her calves as she paused at the entrance of the conical tent fashioned like the tepees once used by their ancestors. The flap was open, an indication that Alon welcomed visitors. Had he hoped that she would come?
“Alon?” she breathed his name like a sigh.
He was at her side in an instant. The breeze lifted the tails of his open white shirt, and his snug jeans were unfastened at the waist.
“You came,” he said. He took her by the shoulders and lowered his forehead to hers, resting like that for a moment as if too weary to hold himself without her there.
At the touch she read his longing and his sorrow. Did he already anticipate the casualties that would come with the dawn?
Nagi was delayed by his human army, who walked slowly overland. They would be here tomorrow. Alon would not give them time to rest.
He guided her through the raised opening in the canvas tepee, past the symbols of green lightning someone had painted on the surface. He paused only to lower the ring of sticks that supported the flap, indicating that visitors were no longer welcome. They were alone and no one would disturb them.
A single kerosene lantern hung from a peg, the wick turned low so to cast a golden light. Woven rugs, pillows, blankets and soft furs circled the interior.
They stood with hands clasped in the center.
She read his need, he read her longing. Samantha pressed her body to his.
“I feared you would send me to my dad,” she said.
“You are safer with us.”
Samantha lifted one hand to his cheek and he pressed against her palm.
“It’s dangerous for us to be together again.”
“More dangerous than facing Nagi tomorrow?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Then let us have tonight.”
She placed one hand on each of her opposite shoulders and lowered her head to concentrate. The energy pulsed and her cloak transformed to a single golden rope that circled her neck. The medicine wheel glinted between her breasts. He lifted the symbol of her Seer power and kissed the center of the cross.
He gathered her gently in his arms. This meeting had none of the frantic fury or rush of their first joining. Instead he lingered, stroking her bare shoulders, caressing her neck as she used her fingernails to lightly rake his back. The groan that issued from his throat made her tingle in anticipation. He rubbed his muscular chest against the soft cushion of her breasts, and she closed her eyes at the sharp darts of delight. Need beat within her, building with each pulse of her heart.
His sweet breath fanned her cheek as he dipped his head, capturing her earlobe between his teeth and sucking the soft, sensitive nub of flesh until her head dropped back and she shivered in pleasure.
His tongue traced the shell of her ear and then darted inside. She pressed herself flat against him, savoring each hard edge as she rubbed her hips against the rigid evidence of his desire. His sharp teeth scored the arched column of her throat, and she moaned in longing. His hands slid down her back until he cupped her bottom, using his strong arms to bring her even tighter against him, and still it wasn’t close enough.
Samantha lifted her hands, raked her fingers through the fine silk of his hair and tugged. Alon lifted his lips from her throat and stared into her eyes. His mouth glistened and his eyes glittered, the color changing from blue to green. The flush of his skin and the panting breaths aroused her until she quivered with anticipation. He was hers at last, and they had the entire night. After that, who could tell?
One night, a thousand. She knew it would never be enough.
His hands slid down the backs of her thighs until he had control of her. Then he lifted, spreading her legs to make room for him between them. For a moment she was high above him and his rough cheek was scoring the sensitive flesh of one breast, and then next he was lowering her inch by thrilling inch onto his erection. She stared at his wild green, unnatural, exciting eyes and knew that no moment would ever be so perfect.
He slid inside her gently, her body stretching to take inch after inch. She wanted to throw her head back and cry out in pleasure. She wanted to fall upon him in a hot, needy rush. But she kept her eyes locked on his as he drew her down until her bottom pressed tight to his hips.
Only then did she arch, using her legs to clamp onto him and pull him even deeper. He sucked in a breath and dropped to his knees. The jolt drove him still deeper and the fall brought her upright, clinging to his shoulders.
He chuckled and nestled his face between her breasts as he took her to her back. He withdrew and then paused, arms stiff, hands flanking her head, the veins of his arms and at his neck blue and pulsing beneath his pale skin. He wanted to move. She knew it.
Samantha opened her legs to him.
“Come on, then.”
He drove forward but stopped there to kiss her hard and fast, his tongue darting into her mouth, thrusting against hers and leaving her gasping for breath. She lifted her hips and bucked, but he pressed her down with his weight and took one dark nipple in his mouth, sucking and licking until she tossed her head from side to side and made a kind of mewling sound deep in her throat.
Her orgasm built like a slow fire until it roared through her, burning her to ash. Alon drew back and closed his eyes as the waves of sensation pulsed down every nerve, and she knew he felt it, too.
She expected him to take her hard and fast, but he withdrew and dropped between her legs, holding her twin cheeks in each hand. He kissed and licked.
“So sweet,” he murmured. “I love to taste you.”
Her limbs were weak and trembling. She could not resist this new sensual assault, but she was so tired. Alon used his clever tongue. He flicked and circled the sensitive nub at her cleft until she was lifting her hips and bucking against his mouth. She was so close, so...
Samantha screamed his name as her pleasure broke. She arched and moaned as the waves spun out from her core.
She fell back, panting and quivering, her muscles spent. Her mind reeling. And then she felt him sliding into her again.
Now he would take his pleasure and she would feel it. He’d be fast, he’d be rough, just like she wanted.
Only he wasn’t. He was slow, his hips undulating in a leisurely assault.
“Faster,” she ordered.
His deliberate slide and draw remained unchanged.
She glanced up at him to find a devilish smile on his face, and she knew he would not be hurried.
Samantha groaned her frustration. She wanted...wanted. Oh, the tingling delight that came with each lovely, lingering glide. Her body rolled and surged in counterstroke to each measured thrust. Her body quickened again and she gasped with surprise and delight.
“Yes,” he whispered. “Come for me again.”
She moved faster and this time he relented, matching her frantic pace. She felt his release as a powerful, bursting wave of pleasure. An instant later the rippling contractions coursed through her.
They fell together onto the soft furs in a tangle of damp limbs. For several moments she drifted in the glow of her receding pleasure, breathing heavily, content and replete.
“Oh, Alon. That was perfect,” she whispered, her eyes drifting closed.
“Yes. Perfect.”
She felt his emotions again. Not just the sensations he experienced, but something new. She recognized his longing to keep her safe and the fear that he could not. His dread cut through him, bright and sharp as a knife blade. She stroked his shoulder and arm, offering silent reassurance. Gradually his restless mind calmed and he drifted to sleep.
Slumber then stole over her, and when she roused it was to the feel of Alon’s erection, smooth and hard against her hip. She rolled on top of him, kissed his chest and stroked his pale skin as the dance began again. They would not waste a moment of this night, not when it might be their last.
Afterward, in their sanctuary, Alon held her close against his side. She nestled there in calm contentment, one leg thrown across his muscular thighs. She pressed her cheek upon his strong chest and felt the calm assurance of his steady heartbeat. Outside the world rested, still and dark.
From somewhere beyond the curtain of their shelter, the first lark began to sing.
Alon tensed.