Chapter Four
Peder stared at the stone ceiling of the omegas’ quarters. The comforting sound of the others breathing or snoring didn’t ease him into sleep as usual. The ache in his chest wouldn’t let him rest. He should have pursued Kele like a hunter instead of waiting on his heels as an omega, but it was difficult breaking one’s nature.
He glanced at the sleeping others. Was it really his nature, though? Who in this room trained with the alpha? Had any of them left the safety of the den without hunters? None had spent two days in the Payami den. Maybe he’d been born a hunter. No one would ever know. Too many terrible things had happened to the Apisi, molding them into something warped and broken. The next generation of their pups, like Susan and Sorin’s, would grow to be fine shifters.
If only he’d been born now. Without the constant struggle to survive, maybe he could have grown into someone he’d be proud of.
Who knew? These nighttime musings would probably fade into the shadows with the morning light, except the fact remained that he was unhappy. His parents had passed away when he’d been a pup and the pack had raised him, so in moments of deep doubt, he didn’t have anyone to confide in.
He rolled over and punched his thin pillow into a better shape. Why bother trying to sleep? It would be dawn soon. He growled at the wall. Kele would be mated by the afternoon. Would she choose to stay with this hunter after their first pup?
“Peder, go walk it off. Some of us are trying to sleep,” one of his fellow male omegas whispered across the room.
With heavy limbs, he rose to his feet and gathered his clothes. How would he survive the day?
Out in the canyon, the air still held some of winter’s bite. He had his leather kilt untangled from his worn sweater when a dark, heavy shadow moved at the far end of the canyon by the den’s only gate. Peder dropped his clothes and crouched low, scanned the top of the walls for the hunters guarding their home, but saw no one.
He melted into the shadow and shifted to feral form. If this turned out to be some animal, he’d never stop hearing about it from the hunters. Whatever he’d seen had either gone very still or left, since he couldn’t make out any shape from this distance or scent their presence. Moving as Sorin had taught him, he crept close to the ground and kept to the darkest parts of the night.
As he drew near the door, an itch developed between his shoulder blades as if something hung close to touching him. He spun around and, upon seeing the familiar face, clamped his muzzle shut before he howled in relief.
Sorin stood behind him in civil form, grinning like a fool. “You did well.”
Peder leaned against the canyon wall, panting. It took all his strength to keep his knees from knocking. “There are kinder ways of killing me than this. What are you doing awake?”
“Waiting for you.” Sorin returned to the spot by the gate where Peder had first seen the shadows move. “Took you long enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you going after Kele?”
He hadn’t planned on it, but since Sorin mentioned it, that seemed like a fine idea. “How would I sneak into her den to grab her?”
Sorin leaned his chin in hand. “You’ve no idea what to do.”
Peder fell to his knees. “Of course I don’t. I’m so fucking confused. She stopped answering my letters months ago. I might just make a fool of myself.”
“And?”
He jerked as if struck by the question. “And I don’t want to?”
Sorin smacked him across the forehead hard enough to make the den spin. “Stop being an ass. If you want the female, you have to challenge the hunter.”
“Oh, is that all?” Peder couldn’t withhold his sarcasm, not after his bellyaching all night.
“You can do this. The worst that will happen is he’ll win and take her as a mate. That’s going to happen anyway if you stay home and hide.”
“I’m not hiding.” He snapped his teeth at his alpha before his civil mind restrained his feral instincts. Falling to his stomach, he touched Sorin’s foot. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Sorin petted his furred head. “First, you’re in feral form within the den. That never ends well. Second, you’re young and in love. That rarely ends well either.” He tapped Peder’s shoulder for him to sit up. “I’ve taught you everything you need to know about fighting challenges. The only thing left for you to do is to have the courage to enter a ring.”
The alpha’s words clicked inside Peder’s head as if they were a missing piece of a puzzle. Courage. He’d never lacked it before, not even when faced with a castle filled with vampires. What he lacked was confidence. No one would hand that to him on a silver platter.
He’d fight for Kele if she loved him or not. If he won, he’d give her the choice of mates. He wouldn’t force her, but at least he could enjoy her rejection face-to-face. He shook the thought from his mind. It wasn’t what he wanted. If he lost, he’d crawl back home and lick his wounds, but he could be proud. He also had plenty of lovers who’d pamper him back to health, but he didn’t want that anymore either.
He wanted a mate, a true match to bear his young and stand at his side with pride. Not some shifter who just fancied his pretty fur and face. Kele saw past all that. At least, he thought she did.
He rubbed his sore head. If he kept thinking about this, he’d go mad. “I’m going.”
Sorin slapped him on the shoulder. “Good. Susan will be furious with me for letting you go, but she doesn’t understand our ways.”
Peder laughed. “You’ve more courage than the rest of us.”
“You do too. If you doubt stepping into the ring, remember this: Kele couldn’t find a better mate than you.”
He nodded and took a deep breath as the tense muscles in his chest relaxed. For the first time since they’d left Temple lands, he felt settled. This was the right thing to do. He gathered his clothes before tossing them into a pack, which he slung over his back.
Sorin opened the gate. “Beat him to the ground,” were his parting words as Peder raced out into the forest.
Pale coral of dawn light outlined the mountain tops as he climbed the pass leading to Temple lands. He’d arrive before the mating parties and rest. Maybe even wash in a stream. He’d stand tall in the center of the Temple until both packs arrived. It was easier if he pretended to act like a hunter than to truly think he was one. With enough practice, maybe one day those lines would blur.
The sun hung just above the horizon, blazing with a hint of summer, as Peder descended the mountain. He turned around a sharp corner of the trail and stumbled upon a band of males. Digging his claws in the dirt, he came to a sudden halt. The wind blew in the wrong direction for him to have scented these vampires. No one should be on this part of the pass. It was still Apisi land.
Had Benic finally decided to kill him off? It seemed too cowardly for the vampire; he would prefer to sink his blade in Peder’s back personally. Besides, these bloodsuckers didn’t wear Benic’s colors.
They drew their weapons.
He backed away. “You’re on Apisi pack land.”
One of them laughed. “Shifters don’t own land. This is Lord Benic’s forest last I heard.” He spoke with a thick lilting accent.
“You’re not from his castle.” The cliff walls on each side of him were too steep to run and if he climbed, the vampires with bows would find him a fine target.
“No, we’re not.” The leader chuckled. “And you have rather pretty fur.”
His men fanned out around him.
Peder’s racing heart stopped. They wanted his fur? He scrambled backward but the loose soil under his claws made it difficult to gain any distance. Panic didn’t help either. Shifters were stronger than vampires, but there were four of them and only one of him. What were they going to do with his fur?
“Easy, mate. We ain’t going to hurt you,” one of the closer bloodsuckers said. “We’ll get a fine bag of gold for this one.”
Peder rose on his hind legs and snarled like Sorin had taught him. His fur stood on end along his spine.
“Don’t let him escape,” shouted a vampire as he pulled a blowgun from his belt.
Peder swiped his claws at the vamp that wanted him for gold. Something stung his neck. He clapped a hand over the spot and pulled out a thin dart.
Dog shit, not again. His knees turned to water and he kissed dirt.
Kele ran her fingers over the fine blue and white beadwork that formed a white wolf on her dress. “This must have taken forever to do.” So much fuss for a simple mating. Her parents weren’t known for their modesty. Everything had to be on a grand scale, including her mating day.
Mother hadn’t even let her do her own hair.
She stood behind Kele, brushing out the knots. “Don’t you dare drop your gaze when you meet him. Never let your mate think you’re submissive in any way or he’ll wander.”
At this point, she didn’t care if he wandered as long as he was discreet. “Does this hunter have a name?”
“Nahuel.”
“That’s pretty.”
Mother made a rude noise. “Your father picked him. I hope we don’t have another Ahote on our hands. That one is enough trouble as is.”
“He could use a little competition.”
She cuffed Kele across the head.
“Ow.”
“Kele, you keep a rein on your male, otherwise I’ll castrate him.”
“I’ll be sure to add that to my mating vows.” She grimaced as her mother tugged the brush through her hair with unnecessary roughness. After tonight, she’d no longer be a virgin. She wasn’t sure if she should admit this to her future mate or not. Would he be able to tell? Her lack of experience would probably be evident. She should have taken advantage of Peder when the opportunity arose but being an omega, he would have only viewed her the same as all his other lovers. She’d wanted something different for both of them and just didn’t know how to go about it. Looking back, she realized how unfair it was of her to expect an omega male to act like a hunter.
Too many mistakes and no time to correct them.
Mother finished braiding her hair. “Let me help you with the dress.”
Kele eyed her. When had she become so helpful?
Mother slipped the dress over Kele’s head and tied it closed. The soft doeskin caressed her flesh and clung to what little curves she owned. Her challenge injuries were showcased by the short sleeves and revealed her hunter’s nature. Nahuel would know that the female he mated would not bow at his feet when he laid his gaze on the wounds.
Someone knocked on her door, and her mother answered it. Was it time to leave already?
A hunter loomed over a young male who fell at her mother’s feet.
Kele’s heartbeat startled like a flock of birds taking wing from a field. Peder? She pushed her mother aside and gazed at a head of hair too dark to match her omega’s golden color. She tried to breathe as hope plummeted. “What’s the meaning of this?”
The hunter nudged the omega gently. “Tell her.”
Holding up a small, wrapped package in trembling arms, the omega said, “A gift from Lord Benic.” He kept his gaze glued to her feet and the scent of his fear filled the air.
What was that vampire ferret up to? She should send the gift back unopened but she couldn’t pull her gaze from the omega at her feet. Would he be punished for her petty actions? Knowing Benic, it was possible. Who else would send a domesticated omega into a forest filled with wild shifters? He could be so blindly cruel. She took the package and addressed the hunter. “Feed him then make sure he leaves our lands unmolested. I won’t have us known to abuse the gentler ones of our kind.”
The hunter’s gaze darted to her mother, who remained uncharacteristically quiet.
Kele snapped her fingers in front of the hunter’s face.
He jumped.
“Is there a problem, hunter?”
Ducking his head, he broke eye contact with her. “Not at all.” He motioned for the omega to rise and follow him.
Mother closed the door and faced her. “That was well done.”
“I’m surprised you let me order him.”
“Not as surprised as I am that you did.” She cupped Kele’s cheeks. “You will make a fine alpha one day. Now we just need to find you a mate who can match your strength.”
Couldn’t she be strong enough for the two of them? Did her mate have to thump his chest and prowl after her like an animal? If she had been drawn to hunter males, she would have been mated already.
She opened the package and revealed a pendant covered in sparkling rubies the shade of fresh spilled blood—a fitting gift from a vampire lord.
Mother whistled low and ran her fingertip over the gems. The pretty stones held less worth for their kind since they valued personal traits over material things, but the necklace was eye-catching. Mother took the chain and clasped it behind Kele’s neck. “A gift fitting for the white wolf of the Payami.” Her mother stepped back, her gaze traveling over Kele from head to toe. “Daughter, I’m very proud.”
Kele barked out a sharp laugh and hugged her difficult mother. They fought more than had fun but she never doubted her mother’s love. Chaska did not praise others with ease. “Thank you.”
“Let us start our journey to Temple lands and see if this hunter can be tamed.”
Her stomach rolled. Kele didn’t want to tame her mate. She wanted to be loved by him.