Chapter Two
The touch of a hand to his shoulder woke him. His sister, Maia.
"Nix, wake up."
"I'm up," he grumbled, sitting, and glancing outside. "It's the middle of the night, Maia."
"March wants to see you."
If he hadn't been awake before, he was then, scrambling to his feet.
"Is it time?"
"He didn't say, but I think so."
As he stood, he straightened his clothes, trying to neaten his appearance to little avail. Maia helped, combing her fingers through his unruly hair.
"You'll have to do," she said. "We can't keep him waiting."
"No," he echoed. "We can't."
Maia led the way out of their hut and across the makeshift structures that made up their village. The closer they got to March's house, the better the quality of the buildings. These were occupied by the coyote shifters, the people who had arrived in the aftermath of their village's decimation and had kept them safe since then. In return, the village did their best to keep the coyotes comfortable.
They knocked on the door and one of March's personal guards opened it. He led them through the house to the open courtyard at the back. There was a fire burning in the center and March knelt before it, his eyes closed, his hands thrown up towards the sky. Words of magic fell from his lips. Nix could feel it in the air around them.
His mother was already there, kneeling to one side of March. Loren, another of their people's elders, knelt on the other side. Maia squeezed his arm and gave him an encouraging nod. Stepping forward, he stopped just outside the circle of light thrown by the fire. Two coyote shifters circled the courtyard in the shadows.
March lowered his hands as he opened his eyes.
"Come forward, Nix."
He stepped into the light, watching March uneasily as the flames reflected in his dark eyes.
"Kneel."
He dropped gracefully to his knees before them.
"I have looked into the flames, Nix, son of Tristan. It is time for you to go out into the world. For you to follow the path fate has set for you."
Nix closed his eyes, nodding at March's words. He had known this moment was coming for almost all his life. March, in his wisdom, had seen the reason Nix was saved from death long ago. Nix was ready to fulfill his purpose, even if his heart was heavy with fear.
"You will fulfill your destiny, to save our people and the shifters of this territory, and wreak vengeance on the one who destroyed this village."
"I am ready and willing, March. I place my life in your hands."
All their lives were in his hands. They gave what they could in repayment but Nix wasn't sure it would ever be enough.
When he opened his eyes, his mother and sister were kneeling side by side, tears trailing down both their faces. He hated to leave them, but it could only be him. He was the only one who could play the part of Trojan horse. He'd been chosen by fate to mate with the bear of their territory, the shifter who, twenty years previously, had destroyed their village and killed his father. The bear who'd returned, when he was still a child, and had killed his brother. The need for revenge was a burning desire within him, quenching the fear and strengthening his resolve. He could, and would, see the Alpha brought to his knees. March and the coyotes would take care of the rest.
Orion hadn't managed to sneak from the house unseen but he did keep the goodbyes to a minimum. He traveled all day and evening, sleeping in his bear form under the stars.
Waking at dawn the next day, he continued his journey in human form, enjoying the difference in perspective. He would reach his home in the east by early evening and the other shifters would arrive there that night.
In contrast to the dry air of the previous day, the sky was overcast, the clouds dark. There was a storm coming.
He picked up his pace, not wanting to get caught out in the open during a thunder storm. He was only a few miles from the cover of a forest.
Above him came the call of a bird. He glanced up to see it circling above his head. It too must know the weather was turning.
A crack of thunder sounded in the distance and he looked toward it. An odd cry carried through the air followed by a yell and a shadow crossed him. He spun around as it hit the ground with a thump and a shout.
Orion stood there, unable to believe his eyes. There was a man sprawled across the grass in front of him. A man who had just fallen from the sky. The man in question groaned and moved, lifting his head an inch before sinking back to the ground.
Cautiously, he stepped closer, kneeling next to the stranger.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, watching for any reaction.
The man spat out a curse.
"No, of course not, this hard, packed earth is a perfectly soft landing pad."
Orion was taken aback by the man's abrasive tone. "Well, in that case, I'll leave you to your own devices." A bird shifter maybe. They could be phenomenally bad-tempered.
He chose to continue on his way as a flash of lightning crossed the sky and another roll of thunder carried through the air a few moments later.
"You're really walking away from an injured shifter? Some Alpha you are."
He turned back to the man who still lay on the ground.
"What did you say? Who are you?"
There were few who'd be brave enough to take that tone with a bear. Yet there was something about the man's voice. Though he had yet to see his face or scent him, his words pulled at Orion's conscience.
The shifter didn't answer his question, so he knelt next to him again. "Can you stand?"
With another groan, the man tried to get his hands under him and push himself to his knees, but his right arm gave way and he cursed as his upper body sank towards the ground. Lifting his head, his dark green eyes met Orion's. And Orion knew.
"Are you going to help me up or what? I've traveled a long way to find you."
Orion set him on his feet in one smooth movement, avoiding his clearly injured shoulder. The shifter was small and light, his scent an intriguing mix that Orion couldn't untangle. Shifter. Magic. And something else.
"My Shaman sent me. My name is Nix. I'm your mate."