A Love For Lera (Haikon) (24 page)

From the look on Lera’s face, she either heard it
as well or Perun had told her. The snow leopard stared at her before springing
off in a dead run. She met Kori’s gaze, and he nearly flinched from the anger
in her gaze.

“Lera?”

“He found his vaj.”

He shook his head. “What do you mean?” Dread
began to rise within him.

“Perun. He found his vaj. You need to go.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Go, Kori. If he found his vaj, that means there
are Haikon there. That means my people are fighting, most likely for their
lives. Perun didn’t survive this long to lose his vaj before meeting him. Go!”

“And leave you alone?”

She stepped up close to him and shoved a finger
in his chest. “Go, Kori! Do what you do and help them.”

He stared down at her and knew he wouldn’t be
able to change her mind. “Stay here,” he ordered before shifting and running
off.

When he crested the hill, he found a bloodbath.
This was no amateur battle. A low growl rose up from within him at the stench
of
drefklen
. His wolf raged at the thought of them so near to his woman,
and he entered the fray, shredding the first one he caught then moving on.

Well into the battle, he shuddered when a tingle
went up his spine. Turning his head, he cursed at the sight of Lera appearing
on the hill.

‘I told you to stay put!’

‘What made you think I’d actually listen to
that?’
She swung the bag to the ground.
‘Ward the bag and protect the
babies.’

‘Stay with them.’

‘Ward the damn bag, Kori. I’m fighting.’
With that, she ran along the rim and engaged a creature which had spotted her
and attacked.

He cursed again, tore the throat out of the
animal before him, shifted and did as she’d ordered. Back in wolf form, he
reentered the battle.

‘It’s done, Lera.’

‘Thank you.’

It wasn’t easy but he managed to keep from
watching her all the time. He knew she could fight. And he had to trust she
could hold her own. Even so, he began to slowly move up the hillside toward the
spot she fought.

Suddenly, fiery pain exploded through him, and he
fell to the ground, human, the snow biting into his skin. The world spun, and
he couldn’t find his bearings.

Shit!
More and more pain detonated within
him, agony unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Spots danced before his eyes,
on its heels was darkness. He struggled against it, but he couldn’t stop it.
Not even the thought of being unable to protect Lera could stop the wall of
blackness from swamping him.

‘Lera!’
he cried, then there was nothing.

Chapter Seventeen

Lera stumbled after slicing through an opponent,
pain controlling her limbs. It passed, and she realized it came from Kori.
Heart pounding hard, she canvassed the carnage for him. Rage burst up and
encompassed her at the sight of his wolf falling to the ground. When he became
human, she screamed.

“Get up!”

He didn’t move. His pain could be felt within
her. Five beings moved toward him, and she knew he was helpless. Her name
screamed in her mind then there was nothing.

Kori was down and defenseless. She growled and
began to run, the snow slowing her a bit. Nothing mattered but getting to his
side and defending him. He wouldn’t be in this situation if not for her
insistence of defending Perun.

“No!” she screamed as one man stabbed Kori in the
back with a sword.

She poured everything she had into getting to
him. Even so, she knew it wouldn’t be enough.
Kori!
Tears hindered her
sight as she dodged around others, only one thing in mind.

The man who’d stabbed him in the back lay his
sword against Kori’s neck and lifted it. There was no doubt in her mind what
was about to happen.

Her skin tingled, and power rushed in. She felt
it, flowing swiftly and fiercely over her, empowering her, giving her what she
lacked. It meant one thing. Adric was coming. Tapping into the magic he allowed
her, she never slowed, just shifted and embraced the raw strength of the wolf.

A low roar of fury left her as she lunged the
rest of the way and slammed into the man over Kori, his warm blood spraying her
as she tore out his throat. She pushed from him onto the next before the first
body even hit the ground. The final man fell, and she stood over Kori, prepared
to defend him with her life if need be.

‘Kori. Kori. Wake up.’

Nothing in response. She repositioned herself to
have a better view of the surrounding battle. He stirred beneath her, his body
bathed in a silver glow, the wound healing.

‘Kori?’

‘Fuck me, what the hell happened?’

‘I don’t know. You need to either shift back
to wolf or dress yourself.’

‘Are you okay?’

‘Never better.’
She moved when he shifted
so he could gain his feet. He nuzzled her.

‘You’re wolf.’

‘Adric is close. Are you okay?’

‘Yes. Let’s finish this.’

She gave him a wolfy grin.
‘Let’s.’

Together, they leapt back into the fray. They
battled until the onslaught of night. When the final enemy fell, she shifted
back to human and Kori, beside her, did the same. She felt energized again.
Breathing deeply, she inhaled the crisp air and allowed it to seep into her
pores.

Kori pulled her close and, without preamble,
covered her mouth with his. She purred and pressed tightly against him.

‘Will there ever come a day when you listen to
what I tell you?’

‘What fun would that be, Kori?’

‘I don’t know what I would do if I lost you,
Lera. I don’t even want to think about it.’

She nipped at his tongue.
‘Then, don’t. But,
just for the record, I have no plans of losing you either. How’s your back?’

He drew back and smoothed a hand down her face.
“I love you, Valera. It’s fine. I mostly healed it before I shifted again. I’ll
do some more later.”

She smiled then turned her attention to the
people who approached them. A bit cautiously. Perun was beside a younger
looking man with dark hair and eyes.

“Thank you,” the man said, stopping before them
with tears in his eyes. “Thank you for bringing me my vaj.”

Lera took his hand in hers. “He found you. And
would have found you even if our paths hadn’t crossed.”

His head dropped slightly before he looked her in
the eyes again. “It is an honor to meet you, Valera Grace Sidorov of the
Haikon. We’d begun to lose hope that you were naught but a rumor. Can’t tell
you how pleased we are to know you’re real.” He smiled. “I am Judoc.” His entire
face lit up. “And you’ve met my vaj, Perun.”

She dropped her attention to the snow leopard
that stood at his side.
‘I’m thrilled for you, Perun.’

He stepped forward and nuzzled along her leg.
‘Thank
you, vaj. Thank you. I look forward to meeting your vaj.’

‘I can’t wait.’
She touched Kori and said,
“This is my mate, Cormac.”

“An honor.” Judoc stared at Kori as he spoke.

The men shook hands.

“Come. I know our clan would love the chance to
get to know you, Valera.”

“Of course. We can talk but let’s make sure all
the injured are healed first.”

Judoc nodded in understanding. All together, they
moved toward the rest of the survivors. This time, the assessing gazes didn’t
bother her. She met them all with a confident one. After all, what did she have
to fear? Kori was with her, and she could shift again, proof that Adric was
growing near.

They worked quickly to set up camp and dispose of
the dead. When food was cooking over the fire, Lera stood beside Kori, Judoc,
and Trehean, the leader of this clan.

She felt this whisper of trouble flicker along
her skin. Releasing Kori, she glanced over her shoulder back up the hill to the
ridge. In the final rays of daylight, she saw her bag.

The cubs.

Spinning around, she sprinted off across the
ground.

‘Lera?’

‘The cubs, Kori. I just left them there.’

The air made her shudder with concern. Something
else lingered but she couldn’t see it. She felt Kori behind her but she didn’t
slow. It had totally escaped her about them. Lying there, unprotected. What if
his wards had failed while he’d been rendered unconscious?

She skated on her knees to the bag and gathered
it close, opening it and releasing a sigh of relief when their breathing was
detected. Tugging off her glove, she reached in and touched them all. Over this
journey, they’d come to mean so much to her, and her heart melted when three
sets of eyes looked at her.

“Are they okay?” Kori asked.

“Seem to be,” she replied, pushing up and keeping
the bag before her. “They’re so cute.”

“They love you,” he said.

“I love them, too.”

The gentleness in Kori’s gaze gave way to fear
and hatred. She spun and gasped. Before her stood something she had never seen
before. Tall, grotesque and dripping with what she could only make a guess at
what it was. Numerous limbs, large and gnarled with massive hands. Four eyes
stared at her, and all she could see was soullessness.

Kori’s hand landed on her shoulder, and she knew
he was going to yank her away. She didn’t fight him, only moved the bag so the
cubs would be out of the way. But it was too late. One arm moved like
lightning, and she felt a twinge in her belly. She got jerked back and bumbled
a bit to stay on her feet.

Glancing down, she checked the bag and saw it was
undamaged. Eyes back to Kori, she noticed him knocking the creature away before
looking back at her.

His mouth moved but she couldn’t hear him. Odd.
He wasn’t that far away. The world shifted, and she stumbled again. This time,
however, she wasn’t able to remain on her feet and collapsed to her knees.

“Kori?”

She struggled to hold the bag to him, wanting him
to keep the babies warm. He was before her but she still couldn’t hear anything
beyond the pounding of her own heartbeat. Kori began to fade, and she had no
energy to hold back the dark blanket coming to cover her like a shroud. Then,
blessedly, there was warmth holding her.

She woke a few times, briefly. Each time, she
could see Kori beside her. Once, she thought she picked up seeing Vilfi as well
but she was too weak to stay awake for long. When she woke and felt like staying
awake, she glanced around through lowered lashes, they were in a tent. She lay
on a bed of furs. The crackling of the fire could be heard. Her gaze landed on
a sleeping Kori. His face tight with tension and worry.

‘I’m glad you’re awake, vaj. I was worried.’

Adric’s voice filled her head.

‘Adric?’

‘I’m here, vaj.’

‘What…what happened?’

He stepped into her line of sight, and she
blinked back tears of joy seeing his jet black coat. His massive head lowered,
and he nudged the slumbering form of the man who owned her heart. Those gray
eyes focused directly on her, and he moved close. Kori’s hand trembled when he
reached it out to her.

“Lera,” he whispered, his fingers trailed down
the side of her face. “I thought I lost you,
mo anam.
”

“What happened?” And why did she feel so damn
wiped?

He shook his head. “We’ll talk later; you rest.”

“The babies?” His expression grew pained. “Kori?
What happened to the cubs?”

“They’re fine. Another man has a female snow
leopard that just had a litter so she took them in. I’ll bring them to you
later.”

Rest. Sounded divine. She knew he was worried but
she didn’t have the energy to think about it right now. So, she smiled at him
and closed her eyes, breathing even easier when Adric lay along her side,
allowing her fingers to burrow into his fur.

Kori sat beside a still slumbering Lera. In his
lap, he held the three cubs, knowing she’d want to see them when she woke next.
He couldn’t get the image of her going to the ground with blood seeping from
her belly out of his head. Nothing had mattered but getting to her. And now,
nothing mattered other than seeing her open those gorgeous eyes again.

Adric lay beside her, pressed up close, appearing
to sleep but Kori knew he, too, was alert. It had been a week since she’d
gotten hurt. Vifil and the rest of that clan had joined back up with them. They
also had found five other smaller bands, so the camp now was widespread, and
everyone pulled for Lera.

She stirred, and he held his breath. Her fingers
moved, seeking Adric. Then, her eyes opened, and Kori found himself held
captive by her gaze.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“
Mo anam,
” he replied.

Her gaze honed in on the small wriggling objects
in his hand. Without making her ask, he brought them closer to her. All three
of them crowded as near as they could to her and, with a collective sigh, fell
asleep against her.

“Tell me what happened, Kori,” she said, lifting
her gaze to his.

He sat beside her on the furs and placed her head
on his lap. Trailing one hand down the side of her face, he took a moment and
just took in her beauty. Her skin had regained most of its color, her hair
shone with health. There was some lingering strain at the corner of her eyes
but he’d never been so grateful.

“You almost died.”

“I feel different. What was that thing?”

She stared up at him with so much love and trust,
he didn’t know how to feel except honored. “That was a top guard for the
ater
malum
. Hard to find, harder to kill.”

“Why was he here?”

“To kill you and as many of the Haikon as he
could.”

“Did you kill him?”

“Not really. Judoc and his clan did. After you
fell, I stayed with you. More came, and eventually, so did Adric and Vifil’s
clan, plus more. They did it. There’re over one hundred Haikon here.”

Her smile was like a sucker punch to his gut.
“Then, it was worth it.”

Not to him, it wasn’t. But he didn’t tell her
that.

Her brows furrowed, and she laid a hand on top of
his. “Kori?”

He swallowed. There was no easy way to say this,
and he didn’t relish telling her. “There is something else.”

“I can see it in your face. What happened?”

“You got stabbed in the belly.”

She nodded. “I know. It still hurts.” She tried
for a smile. “Guess I’ll have another belly scar.”

“
Mo anam
, you lost the babies.”

Shock filled her face. Then disbelief. “Babies?”
Her entire body began to shake. “Are…are you saying I was pregnant?” Large
tears welled up and spilled over.

Words stuck in his throat. How did you tell the
woman you loved, yes, she had been, and now, she no longer carried the result
of your union? He could feel the sting of his own tears and blinked them away.

“Yes. Their healer said you were carrying twins.”

Her entire countenance fell. He could feel her
pulling away, on every level. Gripping her chin, he forced an eye connection.
Her gaze had filled with such self-loathing and pain he didn’t know what to do.

“It wasn’t your fault, Valera,” he stated in a
firm but gentle tone. “None of this is your fault.”

She rolled away from him and buried her face into
Adric’s pelt. It tore at Kori, and he didn’t know what to do. A noise indicating
a guest outside the tent startled him. So in tune to Lera, he never heard
anyone approach.

He rose and opened it, stepping out instead of
allowing anyone to see Valera in this condition. Vilfi stood there, face
somber.

“The clans are gathered. Is she fit to see them?”

“No.” He shook his head.

“I’m ready. I don’t know what they expect me to
say, but I’m ready to let people see me.”

There was no emotion in her voice. Dipping his
head back in to where she stood near the flap, he stared at her. She seemed
like a shell of her former self.

‘You don’t have to do this now, Lera.’

‘This is why we came, Kori. Let’s do it and
get it over with. I want to go home.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m not sure about anything anymore, but I
know I can’t let anyone else down.’

He froze at her words. “We’ll be right there. I
just need a moment alone with her,” he told Vilfi.

Understanding lit the man’s expression. “Take
your time.”

Kori stepped back in, forcing Lera to move back
or get run over. Once the flap had dropped, he grabbed her upper arms in his
hands.