Dark Wolf

4

Skyler, what are you doing? I can feel you close to me.

The pain in Dimitri’s voice tore at her. At least she was on the right track if he could feel her close. The forest was very dark, the trees large and ancient. She could almost hear them whispering to one another.

Skyler followed the psychic footprints directly back to her lifemate. Again, the path was stretched thin and ice-cold, but it wasn’t long. Triumph swept through her. She wouldn’t have to hold a bridge over a horrendous distance in order to heal him.

You are supposed to be healing.

The pain took her breath as she connected fully with him. She had thought herself prepared—after all, she knew what to expect—but there was no real way to remember the agonizing pain so clearly until one touched on it. She let it burn through her in an effort to acclimatize herself to it.

Josef was totally exhausted. They had made it to the forest in one evening of flight, but it had seriously depleted his energy. Paul had given him a tremendous amount of blood, which in turn had weakened him. She would have to be careful and not take this healing session as far as she had the last one, but she could not be so close to Dimitri and not try to get the worst of those silver threads away from his heart. She’d slept most of the way and felt more energized just because Dimitri was somewhere in the vicinity.

I’ll be more careful this time, Dimitri, she promised. I have to do this. You know I have no choice.

The entire time she’d been asleep she’d dreamt of poisonous silver piercing his heart. His beautiful blue eyes had grown ice-cold as they stared lifelessly at her. Accusingly at her.

“You’re too late. Why were you late?” he’d asked her.

It was a dream, sívamet. A nightmare only. You eased the pain for me.

There can be no untruths between lifemates, she quoted him. It would be impossible to lessen your pain. The threads of silver remaining are still in your body burning just as severely as the ones I removed.

Perhaps that is so, but it felt less. Your love kept me safe from the Moarta de argint—death by silver.

Is that what they call this torture?

It absolves the Lycan council from all guilt. They didn’t kill me. Essentially, I kill myself by moving my body constantly to try to get away from the pain and the silver works its way deeper. They can go to Mikhail with a clear conscience.

That made her furious. How could the Lycan council sentence Dimitri to such a torturous death and then go to a meeting with the Carpathians discussing becoming allies with them?

I’m going to remove more threads, Dimitri, but I won’t be able to get them all. I’m going for the ones closest to your heart.

She didn’t wait for his reply. She entered his body as pure spirit. The hooks she’d tampered with had remained closed off. No new silver had dripped into his body, but the ones she’d left had made progress. She knew what to do now. Calling on her mage heritage, she again used her gifts to push the silver from his body.

Silver, silver, so deadly, so bright,

I summon earth’s power to stay your blight,

As you were created and formed deep within,

I command you, silver, to remove and ascend.

Silver threads that twine and harm,

I release your hold of snaking charm.

I call to you, silver, harken my call,

Retrace the path from which you fall.

Harken to me, silver, hear my command,

Remove yourself doing no further harm.

This time she added a new element in order to lessen the pain of the burn for him. She’d been so exhausted and she’d just left him the night before. She’d been unconscious when she’d returned to her body, but she’d had plenty of time to think about how he was suffering.

Corydalis, Valerian, Meadowsweet all,

Cloak the pain that does now fall.

The silver responded with the same reluctance, almost as if it was alive, moving backward, away from his heart, the tiny silver beads burning his skin as they pushed through pores to drop to the ground below him.

Elation swept through her. The silver responded to her commands. She could see it moving backward away from his heart, as on the other end, it pushed through his pores and dropped to the ground in tiny little deadly beads. However, everywhere the silver touched burned him, both inside and out. This time she wouldn’t leave him until she was certain she had healed every possible wound on his body that she could reach before her strength gave out.

Aloe sweet aloe, green and bright,

I call to your essence, seeking what is held hidden inside.

That which is sticky and filled with balm,

I seek of your essence to heal what is burned.

Kathalai, ancient name,

I call forth your power to steal away pain.

The elements were removing themselves at her command and the pain was lessened with the herbs. She managed to remove three more threads before exhaustion took hold of her. There were still several others, coming from his calves and his thighs, two from the hooks in his hips, but the silver from those hooks hadn’t progressed nearly as close to his heart as it had from the ones she’d removed.

Can you manage this pain a while longer? I would take it from you if I could.

You have kept me alive, csitri, and just touching minds with you has made me stronger. Where are you? This is a dangerous place.

Those holding you, are they rogues?

No. Lycans. You cannot possibly understand the danger they represent. They will not hesitate to fight any Carpathian rescue party. You must relay that message to whoever travels with you. My brother. Any of the other warriors with you.

Skyler had to move away from him, backing down that psychic trail. She needed to rest. I am human, not Carpathian and no such rescue party accompanies me.

There was silence. She found herself back in her own body, lying in the hammock Paul had slung between two trees for her. She stared up at the canopy overhead. The wind gently moved through the branches, setting them swaying. She loved the sound of the breeze as it rustled the leaves and the feel of it on her face. She was ice-cold, but the fur coat lay over her. Somehow, even in his weakened state, Paul had managed to take care of her.

Skyler. In spite of the pain in his voice, Dimitri sounded commanding. He’d only used that voice on her a couple of times. Did you come after me on your own? Is Josef with you?

She had known this moment would come. She had hoped it would come much later. Pressing her lips together she nodded, even though he couldn’t see the gesture.

We have a good plan. Once we free you, none of them can possibly harm us. She infused absolute confidence into her voice. She believed they could rescue him or she wouldn’t have had Josef and Paul come with her. She would have come, but she wouldn’t have involved them.

It’s only getting those hooks closed off and the silver out of your body and then we’re home free, she added. You know the Lycans can’t defeat you.

Skyler, I want you to turn around and get out of here. I mean it. I’m not asking.

Even if you did ask, it wouldn’t happen, Dimitri. I’m coming for you. I’m not the child everyone thinks, and you, better than most, know that. You’re mine and these Lycans have no business trying to kill you.

Dimitri, in spite of the pain, and exhaustion, couldn’t help the burst of amusement at Skyler’s furious rant against the Lycans. She was unique. Special. His own personal miracle. So many people underestimated her. He loved the fire in her. He loved everything about her.

He was proud of her courage and tenacity, in spite of the fact that he wanted her out of danger. He didn’t want her anywhere near the Lycans. He didn’t trust what the wolves might do if they discovered she was working to free him. Still . . . how could he not feel elated and overwhelmed with her love, that she had dared such dangers to come for him?

He was a Carpathian male, an ancient hunter and his first instinct—his duty—was to protect his woman. Skyler was his other half, and to know that he had put her in danger was far worse to him than the seemingly endless pain he had endured.

You must leave. I cannot have you in danger and survive this.

There was that moment of silence that made his heart stutter. Had she spent too long trying to stop the silver from poisoning his system? Was she unconscious? Even though he knew she was much closer, the distance was still difficult. She had to use so much energy to bridge the void and then twice that to heal him.

He was well aware he couldn’t push that poisoned silver from his body the way she had done it. She’d been meticulous, and more, everywhere the silver had burned through him, she’d soothed the terrible burns.

You cannot survive this without me and you know it.

Relief swept through him. She was weak. He could feel her energy level was very low, but she wasn’t anywhere near the state she’d been in the last time.

I am grateful that you are removing the silver from my body. Once it is done, I can escape myself. You cannot come any closer.

She made a little sound in his mind, a hmph of annoyance. You cannot unwrap the chains that bind you. If you could, my love, you would have done so weeks ago.

Dimitri was beginning to feel a little desperate. She couldn’t stay. He was helpless to aid her if she got into trouble. She was correct about the chains wrapped so tightly around his body. Had it not been for the unusually strong connection between them, he could never have reached out to Skyler. He had tried reaching his brother, Fen, but to no avail.

Sadly, I’m all you’ve got right now, Dimitri. The three of us. Josef and Paul will do whatever is necessary to help me set you free.

He loved her friends. He’d come to know them through her, and her love of them. The two boys were brothers to her, family, but they were boys, not men, not in the sense of warriors who were experienced in battle. They had no idea what they were facing, and how in the world could they possibly protect Skyler from a pack of Lycans?

He took a deep breath to try to keep still. The burn twisting through his body set him on fire. He could barely force his body to stay under his control, instead of moving continually in an effort to ease the never-ending agony bent on destroying him. He had to admit it was a medieval torture worthy of a Machiavellian punishment.

Skyler, I love you more than life itself. He told her the stark truth in a low, compelling tone. Compulsion wouldn’t work on her, but he could use his best, loving persuasive voice. My brother, Fen, will come. He is already on his way. He spoke with absolute confidence. He knew Fen would come for him. I need to know you’re safe. More than anything else, I need that. Stay where you are and continue to drive the silver from my body. That will buy the time my brother needs to find me. You can reach him and know the time it will take for him to reach me.

Skyler took her time mulling that over while his heart accelerated with fear for her. She gave a little sigh. The idea is to get in and get out without anyone knowing we are here. If I call to your brother, he will have no choice but to let my father know. Gabriel will come. With him will be Lucian. Maybe others. There could be a war just when Mikhail is trying to make peace with these cretins.

He knew she was right. Her family would come and there would be hell to pay. Worse, if the De La Cruz family found out Paul was with her, they would come, and there would be no stopping Zacarias if one hair was harmed on his nephew’s head.

Skyler wasn’t going to back down. Desperation set in. He was helpless, chained by silver, hanging in a tree with hooks in his body to slowly poison him. Moarta de argint. He couldn’t save her if she was attacked.

How could he stop her? He didn’t want her in the hands of the Lycans. Despair swept through him when even in his worst moments he hadn’t considered, not for one moment, helping the silver to move through his body faster. He had known he could get the suffering over, but he would never leave Skyler alone, not if there was a chance. But to save her life . . .

Don’t you dare even think about leaving me! Pure fury edged the trembling fear in her voice. If you choose to go, I will follow. I won’t be understanding about it either, Dimitri. We have a pact, you and I, we made it a long time ago when everyone else wanted to decide our fate. We decide together. You. Me. Together.

I cannot stand the thought of you in danger.

It is only because you suffer . . .

Suffering does not matter. The silver does not matter. Death does not matter. You have no concept of what drives me. I cannot have you in danger.

Her voice changed completely. The fear and anger disappeared. Her tone was musical. Soft. Red velvet brushing over every inflamed nerve ending with a soothing touch. My love, no one, not even an ancient so courageous and strong as you could withstand the lack of sustenance. You need to feed. You have been chained for over two weeks, and you’ve suffered agonies no one else could have endured. The combination would drive anyone mad.

At times he had felt mad. His mind wandered. Before Skyler had come, he sometimes couldn’t think clearly, but . . .

You have to trust me. I am your lifemate and I hold you close in my heart. You’re the other half of my soul. Trust me to do this right.

The sad truth was—Skyler had a point. Days and nights ran together. He was left outside and at times he was helpless, caught in the Carpathian paralysis, yet unable to sleep. The sun beat down through the trees, nearly blinding him, burning his skin until he was blistered, but fortunately, the thick canopy—and his Lycan blood—kept him from the death most Carpathians feared.

The silver burned continuously, his insides on fire, his skin and bones feeling as though he was being scalded and scorched endlessly. Hunger beat at him, until he didn’t know which was worse—the need for blood, or the ceaseless agony in his body. Now, all that meant little when he knew Skyler was in danger.

Dimitri. The way you feel about me . . . That is the way I feel about you. We belong together and I cannot go away and leave you alone like this. It would break my heart. I would rather risk everything on the chance of getting you back than know you are suffering and I did nothing.

Call Fen. He will come and I’ll know you’re safe.

He felt her sigh. She was worn. The edges of her mind were stretched thin. She was shivering with cold. He couldn’t see where she was, but he could feel that much.

My love, you and I both know he will not get here in time. The silver was inches from your heart. Even now, I fear resting, afraid something will go wrong. Let me do this. For you. For us. Let me do this, Dimitri. I can do this.

There was no denying Skyler. He knew he was fighting a losing battle. Both of them needed to conserve strength.

Tell me your plan, sívamet.

He felt her love surrounding him. He tried to keep his body as still as possible, but the silver twisted through, burning along every nerve ending until he thought he might go mad. Before, in the darkness surrounding him during the endless days and nights, he had wanted to end it all, but the thought of what that would do to his lifemate kept him trying to be still to keep the poison from finding his heart. Now, with her love, with her courage, he felt lifted up. How could he not stay alive when he had a woman like Skyler fighting for him?

He felt her hesitation and found himself scowling. Skyler was no “yes” woman, and he loved that about her, but more than anything, he wanted her to be safe. His heart contracted painfully. She was going to do something she knew he would never approve of.

Josef has provided us with the best papers possible, three students conducting a study on wolves in the wild. He used your organization and we look very legitimate. The boys are setting up camp now. It should pass any inspection.

That tells me nothing.

It tells you we have planned this carefully. We don’t want a war, we just want you safe and back with us. Tomorrow I’ll go walking in the woods and get lost. I’m human. Someone will find me. One of the Lycans. I’ll have a turned ankle, Josef is quite good at providing such things. The Lycan will escort me back to the camp if for no other reason than just to check out my story. I will plant a tracking device on him. That will lead us straight back to you.

Dimitri closed his eyes. It sounded so simple. Sometimes the best plans were the simplest, but Skyler would be in the deep forest, far from civilization, where real wolves and Lycans both inhabited the woods. Not all men were good—Lycan or human. Of all people, Skyler should know that.

He kept silent, knowing she did know. She had nightmares often. She was risking her life, along with her hard-won peace of mind and she had to be terrified, but she was doing it for him. The thought made him feel humble.

You would do the same for me.

He was an ancient warrior, she was so young and vulnerable. He could feel how exhausted she was. Under any circumstances, healing was difficult. Given the distance and the fact that she’d been drained of all energy the preceding night, he was surprised she could function at all. There was no use in arguing with her.

If anything goes wrong and you get in trouble, swear to me you will call for Gabriel. He capitulated, but his heart pounded and the silver twisted through his body that much faster. He could feel the burn worming its way through his rib cage.

Have no worries, my love, I will be shouting at the top of my lungs.

Skyler reassured her lifemate, honesty ringing in her voice.

I love you and that doesn’t begin to describe what I feel for you. There were no words, Dimitri decided, that had ever been invented that could ever express the all-consuming love he felt for Skyler.

Please be safe, Dimitri. Stay very still. I’m with you, she whispered, tears burning in her eyes as the connection between them abruptly ended.

Skyler hated letting that thread between them go. He was so alone, in such bad shape, far worse than she could have ever imagined. Her Dimitri was so strong, so very powerful, it didn’t seem possible that he could be a prisoner, tortured and near his life’s end.

She felt tears on her face. She couldn’t move, she was just too exhausted, but staring up at the canopy overhead as the branches swayed and danced to the music of the wind, she realized how lucky she was. Dimitri was alive. He was close enough that she could reach him and he could connect to her. They would find a way together.

“Sky, I’m going to give you a few minutes,” Josef said, “and then you’re going to have to try to eat something. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and you have to be in shape.”

She nodded, content to lie in her hammock and listen to the sounds of the forest. The continual drone of the insects seemed familiar to her and yet not at all. Wings fluttered overhead as birds flitted from one tree to the next. Marmots scampered and mice infiltrated the vegetation on the forest floor. The forest was alive with life.

She turned her head to watch as Paul set up a safety zone. There were predators in the forest and, although they had Josef with them, they needed to prepare just in case. She lay in her hammock, thinking about their last line of defense, should everything go wrong. If they were discovered and the Lycans attacked them, it was up to her to provide a safe shelter for them all. Dimitri would be weak. If there was no time to give him blood and heal him, they would be tasked with finding a safe place they could defend while he went to ground to recover.

Paul strode over to her, holding a water bottle. “Here. Can you sit up?” He already had his arm around her back, helping her. “Drink this. We’re nearly set up here. Josef has everything in order. Even our findings will stand up under scrutiny. I can’t imagine that the Lycans won’t buy our cover.”

“Josef said the simplest plan was the best, and I think he’s right,” Skyler admitted. She had to lean against Paul to sit up enough to drink the water. “I’m so tired, all I want to do is sleep.” She looked up at him, frowning. “He can’t go to ground or get out of the sun. The last time, the distance was so great I couldn’t see anything around him or even get a sense of what was happening to him. The pain was so awful, but this time . . .” She trailed off.

“He’s strong,” Paul assured her. “He’ll survive.”

“I know how very fortunate I am that he loves me. Knowing he didn’t deliberately move and squirm to allow the silver to pierce his heart when he’s been tortured all this time just to stay alive for me, is an amazing feeling. I don’t know that I could have withstood that kind of agony as long as he has.”

Skyler took another long, slow drink. The water felt good on her parched throat. Dimitri hadn’t fed for over two weeks. What would that do to him? She looked around for Josef. He was busy with the fire pit. He’d always had a thing about fire.

“If Dimitri hasn’t fed in a long while, Josef, what does that do?”

Josef turned slowly, the flames from the fire pit casting eerie shadows. “That’s not good, Sky. He’ll be starved. It’s best that, when we rescue him, I give him my blood first, not you.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. Josef could be quite adult at times, and he sounded very serious—and concerned.

“Can you get up, Skyler?” Paul asked. “We’ve got a chair for you and the fire is warm.”

“I don’t know.” That was dishonest. If she tried to stand, she’d fall on her face.

Paul scooped her up without asking, carrying her straight over to the fire and placing her in a chair facing it. “Josef remembered the marshmallows and chocolate,” he added.

“Sounds fun,” she replied.

Josef came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, putting his chin on the top of her head. “Do you think you’re up for this tomorrow? Should we give it another day so that you can recoup?”

He was reluctant to wait, she heard it in his voice. She knew the chances of their plan succeeding went down the longer they waited. If a Lycan discovered their camp before she was “lost” their ploy wouldn’t work. She doubted she could get close enough to plant a tracking device without their knowledge if she wasn’t injured and needing help. They would have to find another way to track Dimitri back to his prison. She knew she could find him now, with the psychic trail becoming stronger, but it would take time and energy they clearly didn’t have. And then there was Dimitri. Anything could happen on his end—and none of it was good.

“I’ll be ready,” she said. She took the mug of hot chocolate more to appease both of her friends than because she thought she’d drink it. “What I need is to let Mother Earth help heal me. Can you open the soil here for me to stretch out in?”

“Baby, you can’t sleep in the ground,” Josef said. “I can’t cover you and you’d be vulnerable to any attack. Crazy woman, you aren’t Carpathian yet.”

She found herself laughing. “Crazy man, I meant just a few layers. I didn’t plan to sleep there. The insect population alone would stop me.”

“Worms,” Paul added. “They crawl in and out of bodies . . .”

“The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out . . .” Josef quoted an old song children had sung to one another in play yards the world over.

“Stop,” Skyler commanded. Just being in the company of her two best friends made her feel lighter. Safer. More grounded. “Eventually I’ll be sleeping in the dirt, and I don’t want to think about worms or any other bugs crawling over me.”

She needed to feel her connection with Mother Earth if her fail-safe plan had any chance of success at all. She didn’t want to talk about it yet, not until she was certain she could do it. Everything depended on what she learned there in that ancient forest soil.

Josef kissed the top of her head. “You really are a squeamish little baby sometimes, Sky. Dirt is not a dirty word. You said it with such distaste. Like a girl.”

“I am a girl, you goof,” Skyler pointed out. She looked down at the chocolate in the mug. Her stomach rebelled again. She was going to need Josef’s aid again. “And no girl likes the idea of sleeping in the ground with insects. I am human, after all.”

“You aren’t exactly human,” Josef said, letting go of her. “More like a trippy little alien. By the way, I forgot to tell you, I’ve really gotten far in that database of human psychics Dominic found in South America. I’ve gotten past the encryptions and I’ve figured out the code they were using for each person entered. I’m close to cracking the entire thing. If I do, I can give the names to Mikhail and those women can be protected from the human society trying to kill us, vampires, and anyone else hunting them.”

Skyler’s stomach lurched. An ugly knot had formed. She looked down and the mug was empty. “Thanks, Josef.”

“For the chocolate or the ‘trippy little alien’ compliment?”

Paul snorted. “Is that what that was? A compliment? You’re never going to make it with the ladies, Josef, if you don’t get better at talking to them.”

“I’m not wasting my swag on my sister here,” Josef nudged her foot with his. “I do just fine with the ladies.”

Paul shook his head. “I was your wingman at the last little party we went to together, and I’m pretty sure you struck out once you began talking.” He winked at Skyler. “They all thought he was pretty cute until he opened his mouth and began spouting some kind of number theory.”

“Oh, Josef,” Skyler said, covering her smile with one hand. “You didn’t really, did you?”

Josef took the empty mug from her hand, glaring at Paul. “The girl was beautiful, you know, not all skinny and blond and cloned like most of them. I mean she had a real figure and her hair was dark and shiny and when she smiled, my heart sort of exploded and took my brain with it. When I short-circuit, I fall back on the numbers in my head.”

“He sees in numbers,” Paul said. “Can you believe that?”

Josef thrust another mug into her hand. She recognized the aroma of vegetable soup. Her stomach knotted even more. She closed her eyes, wanting to get it over with. Whether the food stayed down or not was another matter. She knew, before she slept, Josef would give her more of his healing blood. She couldn’t be converted without a true blood exchange, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t feel the effects.

When she opened her eyes, she was grateful that not only the soup was gone, but the mug as well. Paul handed her the water bottle again while she concentrated on keeping the food in her stomach.

“Josef is amazing,” she said, meaning it. “So are you, Paul. I couldn’t be any luckier. Thank you both for coming with me.”

“Don’t go getting all girly on us,” Josef reprimanded. “The next thing you know, we’ll be sitting around the fire sobbing and some Lycan will catch us and figure it would be best to put us out of our misery.”

“Fine, open a patch of earth for me—take it down to where the soil is rich with minerals.”

Josef looked around the forest floor. “Anywhere should be good. This is ancient land and has been regenerating for thousands of years.”

He peeled back the vegetation and topsoil to expose the richness hidden beneath. Paul lifted Skyler again and gently deposited her in the two-foot-deep opening. Skyler handed him back the water bottle and turned her attention completely to the soil.

She lay back, uncaring that the dirt would get into her hair. Josef could take care of that easily. All that mattered was her connection to Mother Earth.

Great Mother Earth, who gave us all birth,

Hear my call.

Help me, great one, show me the path that I must walk,

I place myself in your arms, hear the beat of my heart,

Hear my call.

Sounds came first. The deep booming beat of a drum. Steady. Coming from the earth’s very core and spreading throughout the land to give life to the plants and trees, all the flora and fauna. The trickle of water came next, so soft at first, but when she listened, the sound was powerful, the flow of earth’s blood reaching out like arteries and veins to nourish.

Great one, I am of your making,

I ask for your healing balm,

I have need of you and your gifts,

My body is worn and tired.

She had never felt so stretched thin, afraid if she asked Paul and Josef they would tell her they could see where she was frayed, or holes torn in her very skin. Without Josef’s blood, she knew she would never have the strength to help free Dimitri from such a terrible weapon.

Help me, Mother, bring forth your healing energies to give me strength.

My need is great. Hear me. See me. Be of me. Wrap me in the warmth of your arms.

Rich soil poured around her body, over it, a thin layer, but almost up to her neck. She should have felt claustrophobic, but instead, she felt warm and safe. As if from a great distance, she heard a gasp from Paul, but her mind was connected to the steady drumming beat of the earth’s heart. Her own heart matched that strong rhythm. She felt the new growth, long twisting vines, pushing out of the soil beneath and beside her to wind around her body, a cover of forest green.

Skyler felt as if she was in the very cradle of life, held by loving arms. Small hairs from the roots reaching toward her brushed along her legs and arms. Little shoots of greenery reached for her, to snuggle in close to her body, beginning to weave together into a thin, fine blanket over her body.

I need you, great one, my soul mate burns,

He is hung on hooks, their tips delivering silver poison into his body,

Threads of silver burn their way toward his heart.

His life runs out through my fingers like fine grains of sand.

Hear me, great one, bring forth your healing energies,

Give me your strength, heed my call, heal me, Mother.

Already she could feel strength flowing back into her. The small cracks she felt fragmenting her mind slowly closed and the continuous pounding in her head faded away. Her legs and arms felt stronger than ever. The chaos in her mind stilled, and she found herself calm and determined.

Tell me, great one,

Those of the Lycan breed were born of this place,

What was their making?

How can they be subdued?

Show me their path,

Reveal to me their weaknesses,

Show me the way to diminish them.

Give me the power to release their hold.

She had to feel the Lycans when they came near. They were pack hunters and gave off little or no energy. They were somehow able to contain it, so that even the Carpathians couldn’t feel their presence before an attack. She would need to know where every single wolf was, why they were there and what their plan of action would be.

Mother Earth had seen it all played out on her surface. Centuries had gone by and the Lycan species had taken on the mantle of civilization, but like the Carpathians, they were predators first. They were wolves. They hunted in packs, rather than as single hunters like the Carpathians. Packs generally had an alpha pair and they used the tried and true attacks that had worked for centuries.

They had evolved, strong, fast, very lethal, and they were smart. They had integrated into human society, looking civilized, but deep under their skin, they were always Lycan. They still hunted the same way they had been successful so long ago.

Skyler absorbed the information stamped into the very ground by the Lycans who had used this forest for so many years. She took her time, grateful to be a daughter of the earth, grateful the offering was so detailed. It was important to learn about Lycans as pack hunters in order to figure out the best way to elude—or defeat them.

When she was certain she knew how the inner workings of the pack were managed, she gave thanks and then asked for help with Dimitri. His weakness beat at her. His hunger. He was starved, and no Carpathian could go days or weeks without going to ground.

Great Mother, my beloved is of your making,

He is your own son, a son of Mother Earth.

You have judged him, you know him. You know his worth.

Spare him, Mother,

Bring forth your healing power,

Aid me in his healing,

Use me, bring forth your power through me.

Skyler hadn’t realized how truly shaken she was after connecting so often with Dimitri and seeing, no matter what she’d done to help him, that his suffering continued. There was little she could do about the silver chains binding him so tightly from neck to ankle, not from so great a distance. She had barely allowed herself to acknowledge those evil chains.

She knew it was the thin loops wrapped so tightly around his body, a mummy suit of silver, that kept Dimitri contained. He couldn’t reach out to his kind for aid. He couldn’t free himself, or fight his enemies. She had to find the best way to remove the silver and make certain she could heal the burns in his body at least enough to allow him to travel fast.

She really didn’t want to start a war. It would be so much better if they could rescue Dimitri without being detected.

If their plan worked, she would take the information Mother Earth provided on the Lycans, their strengths, weaknesses and habits, their nature and the very characteristics unique to them, and she would use those things against them.

Their last fail-safe depended on her. If they were wounded, or Dimitri was too weak, they needed that last safety zone. She would need to call on every ounce of her mage blood, of her connection to Mother Earth, of her Dragonseeker lineage, to provide a protection spell strong enough to allow anything human or Carpathian to enter, but hold all Lycans out. If she succeeded, they would have a place to run to, a place to defend if the Lycans attacked them. If not, they would all certainly die.