Chapter Five
Valac was climbing the walls from boredom and it was only the first day he’d been out of bed. He’d already taken a shower, eaten breakfast and lunch and it was only eleven o’clock. Cadence was holed up in her workshop and not to be disturbed he had been informed. With nothing else to do, he’d ventured outside and began to pace the small porch. Without knowing how far he was able to safely walk around the outside he was stuck and it was pissing him off.
With a huff of annoyance, he dropped down onto the steps and looked out into the woods. He’d always heard communing with nature was good for the nerves, right now all it did was frustrate him. The trees looked like bars on his makeshift cage. The breeze rustling the leaves, the mocking of his captors was driving him to the brink of insanity.
Between the voices, images and the self-imposed captivity he was going to lose his mind quickly. The last few months on the run had taught him many things, mainly being that a person could go mad listening to the cries of hundreds of others day after day. Up until this point, it was just background noise he’d been able to mostly ignore. Now, they were getting louder, more vocal and he had visual aides. He was terrified what would happen over the next few weeks. He needed to find something to ground him or he was going to give up, just to save what was left of his sanity.
“Brother, I beg you. Let me go. I did nothing to you to deserve this fate. I was your favorite brother, I never betrayed you directly, I never did anything to hurt you. Your feud with Jericho wasn’t yours to take on. Release me from your hatred and torment, I beg you.”
He couldn’t stop the tears that began to fall as the only reply was Aeron’s mocking laughter. Valac cradled his head in his hands and let the tears fall freely. A man could only take so much. A soft keening brought him back to the world around him a short time later.
He glanced up as he dried the tear tracks from his cheeks. A few feet in front of him was a small carving of a wolf, behind it just inside the tree line was the wolf he’d seen in the alley.
“I’m glad to see you’re okay. I was worried they’d hurt you.” Valac said without thought. He felt stupid talking to the animal but for some reason, it just felt right. “It’s a beautiful carving, but I’m not sure I can leave these steps to look at it better.”
The wolf barked softly and nodded. He wasn’t sure if he was agreeing he shouldn’t leave the steps or saying yes, it’s safe to grab the statue.
“Pretty sure that wasn’t there when I first came out here. Should I be worried it appeared out of thin air like that? You wouldn’t know anything about that would you, wolf?”
Why he was pausing as if the animal would reply was beyond him, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from doing it.
“Since you were in town, I’m going to assume you’re a shifter, right?” The wolf stared at him almost as if saying duh. “Well, if you are why don’t you shift and talk to me instead of standing there?”
The door opening behind him made him turn in time to see Cadence step outside. He nodded a greeting and turned back to the wolf, but he was gone.
“Your wolf is beautiful.”
Valac frowned and glanced at her in confusion.
She nodded towards the small carving, “your wolf. It’s beautiful. Why haven’t you picked it up yet?”
“I wasn’t sure if it was safe to venture off the porch. You never said where my boundaries were and I didn’t want to take a chance when my stores are still so depleted.”
“My land is a few acres. This cabin sits in the middle, though it’ll be easier to protect you if you stay in the clearing around the house. The woods are safe, but like I said, people can still venture into it. I don’t want a situation to arise that causes you to leave unexpectedly and our brother to grab you because of it.”
Valac grunted in agreement, stood and took the few steps to reach the small gift. He was amazed at the quality and craftsmanship. It was gorgeous and if he wasn’t mistaken an exact replica of the wolf he’d been speaking to a few minutes before.
“It’s amazing, so detailed. Do you know who could have made this?” Valac asked as he looked back over his shoulder to where Cadence was standing only to discover her staring off into the woods with a curious expression on her face. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, nothing to worry about. There will be patrols in the woods, they are there for your protection.”
“How do you know this?”
“Your wolf told me. He’s still close, watching you. He doesn’t like seeing you hurting.” Cadence cocked her head and glanced to Valac, “What’s happened?”
“Nothing, why? What do you mean? Is it Jericho?” Before Cadence could reply he used his link with his brother to call to him. “Jericho? Are you okay? What’s happened? Talk to me brother!”
“I’m fine, what’s wrong. Nothing’s happened that I know of.”
“No, Jericho is fine. It’s you I was referring too. Your wolf says you were upset.” Cadence clarified.
“Valac, damn it. What’s going on?” Jericho demanded, “you’re freaking me out here.”
“No, I’m sorry. Cadence was being vague and I thought something had happened to you. All is well here, don’t worry.”
“I’m on patrol tonight. I’ll stop in before my shift begins. You need me to bring anything?”
“I think you’ve done more than I could’ve hoped for. Thank you in case I didn’t say that before. I don’t know how this will end, but I’m glad I’ve gotten the chance to see you and to get to know you again. I’d love to see you and your mate together. Not that I doubted what I did was worth it or anything. But to see you two happy, together and safe would mean a lot to me.”
“Consider it done, but don’t think you’re going anywhere. I just got you back, I am not saying goodbye.”
Cadence laid a hand on Valac’s arm, “You talk to your brother through a mental connection, but can you do it with others?”
He didn’t mean to jump, but he hadn’t realized how close she was. “I’m sorry what were you saying?”
“I asked what had you upset earlier and if you could talk to others like you do Jericho?” Cadence repeated.
“I don’t know if I can honestly, though I admit I’ve never tried with anyone else. It was our way to stay connected when he was locked up and I was forbidden to see him. Why do you ask?”
“Your brother can talk to anyone that way. I can only talk to those who I have a close connection with. The Wolfe pack mostly and a couple others, but that’s the extent of my ability. From what I can tell it works for me when I have a high level of trust in that person.”
“So when you say you were talking to the wolf, you really were talking to him?”
“What did you think I meant? I’m a witch, not a mind reader. And if you’re not going to answer my earlier question, I’m going back to work.”
He wasn’t trying to evade the question, he just wasn’t sure how to explain that he’d had a meltdown born out of pity for a few minutes. Valac glanced down once again at the piece of wood in his hands before glancing back out to the woods. “Thank you for this. It’s beautiful and majestic.”