Chapter Twenty-Four
In his dream, he lay in his family's hut. Orion's strong arms held him against a broad chest, the scent of his mate surrounding and comforting him. His sister knelt next to him, laying a cool cloth on his forehead and, across the room, his mother brewed tea on their small stove.
Orion's hand stroked his face. "Phoenix, are you with us?" The feel of Orion's hand across his skin brought him out of his hazy reverie.
"Not dreaming?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Maia's worried eyes met his. "No, Nix. You're here, with us."
"I…" He tried to sit up, but Orion stopped him. "Easy, don't move just yet."
"Orion?"
"I'm here."
"I was burning."
"Yeah, you were. You did."
His skin, what he could see of it, looked whole, untouched.
"Am I burnt?"
Orion's nose nuzzled against the back of his ear, the intimacy of the gesture helping him relax back into Orion's arms.
"No. You lived up to your name though."
He puzzled over the meaning of that for a moment but was quickly overtaken by other worries.
"Maia, Mother… you're okay?"
"We're fine, Phoenix. It's all over. March is dead. Most of the coyotes have gone. And we know now… we remember, what really happened." Maia looked to their mother who was pouring tea with shaking hands. "At least now, we can heal."
"Yes," his mother agreed, carrying the tea towards them. "As a family." She gave Orion an uncertain smile as she joined them.
Nix reached for her and she took his hand, holding it tightly.
"My brave son, you set out to save us, and you did, though not in the way we expected."
"Did March hurt you, when I was gone? When I didn't return?"
Maia shook her head. "He had the coyotes guarding us so we couldn't slip away. But the others brought us food."
Orion helped him sit up straighter and drink some tea. It was hot and sweet, the way his mother made it after a long, hard day. He was home at last.
Later, when they were alone, Orion told him the full story. How they'd hidden the presence of his brothers' mates and Dylan's father from Nix. How they'd approached Leona and the nearby Coven for help and rounded up as many other shifters as were willing to join them. Then Orion and his brothers, with Nix, had acted like bait, taking March and his people's attention while the Wiccans helped mask the others' approach.
"It just goes to show what you can do when you work together. The only thing we hadn't counted on, the one thing we didn't know, was what March was actually doing to you and your people. It wasn't just your food he was taking. It was your magical energy. That's the reason why you and your people have struggled to change shape as easily as you had in the past. March kept food scarce so that you'd blame that when the truth was he was siphoning energy from everyone, but especially you. That was what your brother discovered and when he looked deeper, sought help from outside, he learned the memories of his father's death were false too. He and a small group tried to overthrow March, but it went wrong. Bran and the others were killed. But some may have escaped."
"Escaped?"
"Yes, including Beren, who was your brother's mate."
And Nix had a flash of memory, of a girl with long auburn hair and a soft smile.
"She used to sneak food to me, sometimes, when she and Bran would return from hunting. An apple or some nuts." He could taste the sweet tang of the apple on his tongue. "March said they were all dead. But if he was lying, where are they?"
"They probably went to ground after your brother was killed. They must have been very frightened that March would come after them, given how powerful he had become. Leona believes distance has some effect on March's ability to invade thoughts and dreams, so they may simply have gotten out of range."
To Nix, there wasn't anything simple about it.
"The coyotes—"
"We've been rounding up the ones who fled. Thane is handling it. I'm not keen to banish them; they'll just become someone else's problem. We'll ask them to decide amongst themselves, pick a leader, and take things from there. It won't be the first time we've had to integrate a wayward Pack back into a territory. Fionn's Pack is a good example. Though, given the history they have here, we may relocate them to Thane or Cal's territory. Give them one more chance."
He wasn't sure they deserved another chance and he said as much. Orion traced a finger along the mating mark that had appeared on Nix's shoulder. "You got a second chance. Don't you think they deserve one?"
"That's not the same thing."
"You don't think it's possible they were lied to and manipulated just like you?"
Nix turned his head, pressing his ear to Orion's chest to hear the steady beat of his heart. "I guess. Will my people have to leave too?"
"No. Unless they decide they want to. Life isn't the easiest up here on the mountain."
"It wasn't so bad before. Not in the stories my mother used to tell us. Before… before March." Though his memories were now clear and solid in his head, it was still hard to keep it all straight.
"Do you feel like getting up and going outside for a while? It's just after midday, plenty of sun outside."
It was hard to believe only hours had passed since they'd confronted March. With Orion's help, he got to his feet. He was wearing some of his old clothes. Orion was wearing borrowed clothes, from someone clearly not as tall as the Alpha.
"You look ridiculous," he said with a grin. Orion glanced down at himself, then grinned back at him.
"It was this or wander around naked. I'm not sure your people would have appreciated that once the fighting was over."
"We're no stranger to nakedness. Some might even appreciate a physique like yours," Nix replied.
"Well, in that case…" Orion went to strip and Nix stopped him with a hand to his arm. "Maybe keep them on. For my mother's sake."
Orion pulled Nix into his arms with a laugh. "Yes, let's not shock your mother if we can avoid it."
"Does she know? That you and I…"
"Are destined mates? I think she knew that already, Nix."
"I mean that we…"
"Mated? We didn't discuss it. It's not really any of her business what happens between us."
Nix bit his lip and Orion cupped a hand under his chin.
"She doesn't look too displeased. And I think, given time, she'll come around. It must be quite a shock to realize the man you were holding responsible for the death of your lover and your child isn't who you believed they were and, more so, is your surviving son's mate."
A wave of tiredness washed over him and he relaxed into Orion's arms.
"Do you want to rest some more?" Orion murmured in his ear.
"No, I'm okay. What did you mean before, about me living up to my name?"
"You know the legend of the Phoenix, right?"
"A bird that grows old, bursts into flame and is reborn in the ashes?"
"How much do you remember from the fight, after you got to your feet?"
He thought back, his memories fractured.
"I saw March, he had Maia. He looked over at me and… I felt like I was on fire."
"Do you remember shifting to your bird form?"
Nix shook his head against Orion's chest. "No, I couldn't have. I was too weak."
"Weak you may have been, but you did. You rose into the air and there was a brilliant flash of fire and March and a handful of the coyotes, they…"
Orion hesitated.
"They what?" Nix couldn't imagine what came next.
"They turned to ash."
"I don't understand… I- I did that?"
"We think so. Leona believes March, in an effort to bolster the coyotes against us, had drawn energy from your people. When he saw our reinforcements, he tried to drain all the energy from you, but it backfired spectacularly. You went full phoenix on him, only it was them who turned to ash rather than you."
"I can't believe that was only a few hours ago. I feel so much better."
"Hours? Nix, it's been three days."
"Days?"
"You were dead to the world for the first two. You woke and drank some soup yesterday evening. Don't you remember?"
He didn't.
"Come on, let's go out and say hello. Your people have been eager to see you."
Taking him by the hand, Orion led him outside.