Midnight Whispers - Paranormal Romance (6 page)

“Well why
didn’t you say something?” Aunt Sylvia drew back with a frown. “I would have
made you a batch of chamomile tea. It’s always soothed me whenever I’ve had a
restless night.”

“I’m sorry. I
guess I never really thought about it.” Not quite true,
unfortunately—Kyra had debated whether or not to try a herbal remedy, but
she knew somewhere inside her that her problem wasn’t physical—it was
mental. The wolf call was pulling at her soul, and no amount of chamomile tea
was going to release its hold on her.

“Well, I’ll
make sure to make you some tonight before bed,” her aunt said firmly. “Now why
don’t you go and lay down for a bit?”

Kyra shook
her head. “I actually think a walk might do me more good. Clear my head, get
the blood flowing. Do you think you would mind if I went out for a bit?”

That
something flickered in her aunt’s eyes again, the same look Kyra had caught
before when she’d mentioned the woods, but Sylvia only nodded. “Don’t be too
late, child.”

Kyra promised
not to be, then grabbed her shoes and bonnet and stepped outside. Unlike her
first days here, when she’d walked through the fields with a bounce in her step
and the sunshine in her heart, her feet dragged wearily through the grass and
the sun seemed to pound as relentlessly as her headache did. Rather than allow
herself to be held down, she picked up the pace determinedly, allowing a seed
of anger to root itself in her heart as she headed for the woods. By the time
she reached the edge of the trees, the anger had become a bud, and had burst
into a blossom of rage as she entered the maze.

Who do
these shifters think they are, controlling my life like this?
she thought
as she strode through the maze with her fists balled at her sides.
As if it
wasn’t bad enough that Bryce held me tied to a bed and then claimed that I was
mated to him, he then invades my dreams and refuses to let me sleep! Why can’t
they all just shut up for one night with their stupid wolf call so that I don’t
have to fight it?

Thoughts like
this continued to whirl in her agitated mind until she was fairly steaming. By
the time she exited the maze, she looked as if the top of her head might blow
off. The two shifters on duty seemed to notice, because their eyes widened as
they looked at her, their stances automatically shifting to a defensive
posture.

“An
intruder!” one of them exclaimed, pulling a knife from his belt.

“Don’t be
daft!” the other one snapped, though he kept his eyes firmly trained on her.
“That’s Bryce’s woman…  what was her name… Kyra!”

“I. Am. Not.
Bryce’s. Woman,” Kyra growled through clenched teeth as she stepped forward. “I
am my
own
woman, and I am tired of this nonsense.” The guards stiffened
and glared at her, and she had to steel herself to keep from bolting—she
knew she wasn’t entirely welcome, that she was a stranger and they wouldn’t
take kindly to her tone. “Please,” she said more softly, “tell Bryce that I am
here.”

****

Bryce walked
briskly toward the gate, his heart jumping in his chest. Adam, one of the
shifters that had been assigned guard duty for the day, had come running,
telling him that Kyra was here and demanding to speak with him.

He’d heard
the legends and stories of what it was like to be fated to mate with a woman
who was not of your clan, but the experience was all too different. He’d been
certain it would be no big hardship to let her walk away since he didn’t care
much for the idea of being mated to a human, but the past week had been utter hell.
Every cell in his body protested Kyra’s absence, and it only seemed to get
worse. On the hunts at night with the pack, during their nightly song, he
couldn’t help but infuse his cry with longing for her—a longing he
neither welcomed nor enjoyed.

If he’d knew
exactly what sort of torture lay ahead of him, he would have never let Charles
allow her to walk out of the woods. He would have tossed her over his shoulder
and locked her up in his cabin until she agreed to stay with him. He was
restless and moody, constantly on edge, wondering with every breath when she
would return. At night, during their hunts, he couldn’t help but call for her.
Every fiber of his being ached for her presence, and he couldn’t have resented
it more.

He walked quickly
through the village, and his heart lightened as her scent wafted toward him,
relaxing the taut muscles in his body even as it tightened… other areas.
Unconsciously he picked up the pace, needing visual confirmation that she was
here and safe.

As the gates
came into view, so did she, standing in front of the guard, her arms crossed
over her chest in a defensive posture. Those eyes of hers sparkled with a
mixture of fury and fear, and he could tell by her rigid stance that she was
very uncomfortable standing out in the open with everybody staring at her.

As though she
was able to scent him, Kyra froze, then whipped her head around and pinned that
glare on him. He noticed that even though her eyes still sparked, some of the
tension strung through her body dissipated, and couldn’t help but grinning. So,
she was happy to see him too.

“It’s about
time you showed up!” She jabbed a trembling finger in his direction, tears
shimmering in her eyes now. “Do you have any idea the kind of hell you’ve been
raining down upon me for the last week and a half?” She didn’t seem to want an
answer, because she kept right on talking. “You’ve been stalking me in my
dreams during what sleep I get, which is far too little because you’ve also
been keeping me awake with your stupid wolf call!”

“Did you
consider,” Bryce drawled, folding his arms to prevent himself from reaching out
and hugging her like he wanted, “that if you’d heeded the call instead of
resisting it, you could have saved yourself much of this needless suffering?”

“If by
‘heeding the call’ you mean coming back here and offering myself up to you,
then yes, I admit that I did consider it countless times—or rather my
body did. I’ve been fighting the impulse this entire time, and I’ve only come
now because I’m asking you to make it stop. This morning my Aunt wanted to call
a doctor because I looked like a ghoul from the lack of sleep!” She bit her
lower lip and looked around nervously and whispered through her teeth. “I know
I’m not welcome here by anyone, least of all you. So why won’t you just let me
go?”

He took her
by the shoulders, gripping her tightly. “I’m not sure if you remember a word I
said to you the last time we met, but mating is not a voluntary act. I didn’t
pick you any more than you picked me. Fate is a cruel bitch, and unless you
know of a way to bargain with her there is nothing I can do. Of course, there
is
something
you
could do, if you’re really so keen to end this.”

 “And
what would that be?”

Smiling
bitterly at the look of hope in her eyes, he took her hand and pressed a dagger
into it. “You could plunge this into my heart. Once I’m dead there will be
nothing to compel you back here. Fate only ever chooses one pair of mates, so
you would not be bound to another member of my Clan. Either that, or you could
continue to put us both through misery until we either survive the next thirty
days, or one of us dies from exhaustion. I’ve heard of that happening too.”

Kyra’s face
blanched, and he could tell by the combination of horror and fascination in her
eyes that she was both repulsed by the idea of killing him for her freedom and
tempted. Her eyes narrowed once more. “What do you mean, ‘put us both through
misery?’ You don’t look like someone who has been tortured in the last few
days.”

“If you’d
seen me about ten minutes ago, you’d disagree. Being in close proximity to each
other reverses the effects. Didn’t you notice your energy increasing the closer
you got to this place?”

Kyra’s eyes
widened. “I… I thought that was just because I was so angry.”

“You were. In
fact, you still are. But I doubt you would have been able to fuel that level of
anger without that renewed sense of energy. The fact is, Kyra, you and I need
to be together if we want to survive. Now, why don’t you put the dagger down so
we can go and discuss this out of hearing of the entire village?”

Blinking,
Kyra looked around to see a large gathering of people watching them. A blush
suffused her cheeks with vivid color, and she ducked her head. “Fine.”

Chuckling a
little at her sudden change of demeanor, he held out her hand, then took it
when she placed it in his own and led her to his cabin. The crowd parted for
them, and he made certain to hold the eyes of anyone who sent a hostile look
toward Kyra. As the Epsilon, only four other pack members were higher in rank
than he, and it would not look good at all if he didn’t make it clear that Kyra
was his, and not to be touched. He could afford no show of weakness, either for
himself or for Kyra’s safety.

Shutting the
cabin door behind her, he crossed the room and sat down in the wooden chair. He
noticed Kyra’s hesitation, and couldn’t help but smile.

“Don’t worry,
it’s perfectly safe for you to sit on the bed. I’m not going to tie you to it
again.”

Kyra glared
at him. “Of course you weren’t. I wasn’t thinking about that.”

Bryce laughed
as she sat down on the bed. “Yes you were. I can tell when you’re lying
remember.”

She folded
her arms. “That isn’t a point in your favor if you want me to stay with you.”

He sobered.
“It isn’t a part of my nature I can change.”

Sighing, she
stretched her legs out and crossed them at the ankles. “Didn’t you say
something about thirty days?”

He rolled his
eyes. She would have to latch onto that one point, wouldn’t she? “If you can
outlast the call for thirty days, it’s true that the bond will be broken and we
will be free of each other. But the call strengthens with each passing day,
making it harder and harder to resist, and I’ve never heard of a single case
where the strain hasn’t killed at least one of the two who were fated.”

She frowned.
“But you did say that when we are in close proximity the symptoms disappear,
did you not?”

It was
Bryce’s turn to sigh. “I did. But I’m no expert on mating, and I can’t say
whether or not it will continue to be the same or how long the relief lasts. It
could be that seeing each other for a short time every day will enable us to
get a good night’s sleep, but maybe only for the next week. As I said, the call
strengthens, and there’s truly no way to know. The whole point is to force us
together, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Yes, I do
believe I did notice that,” Kyra said dryly. “But really, what is the harm in
trying? If we can do this successfully, we will be free of each other. You made
it obvious to me the last time that you were not interested in being mated to a
human, so I don’t know why you would object.”

Bryce
hesitated, not certain whether or not he should tell her. But in the end, he
thought she should know what her actions would do to him. “As I said earlier,
the fates only mate us once. Should we outlast the bond and go our separate
ways, I will forever lose the opportunity to have a family of my own.”

Kyra stilled,
and for the first time her face softened in compassion. “You cannot have
children with anyone other than your mate?”

He shook his
head. “It is nature’s way of ensuring that our offspring are born with as many
advantages as possible for survival. We are mated to the one who is
biologically compatible for that purpose.”

A knock at
the door interrupted them before Kyra could respond, and she stiffened.

“Come in,”
Bryce called, standing.

Charles
stepped inside, his blue eyes sweeping the room and then landing on Kyra. “I’d
heard that you’d arrived,” he said with a smile. “I am surprised you resisted
the call for so long.”

Kyra
straightened her back, but remained seated, and Bryce held back a
smile—she was being deliberately defiant. “I am still resisting.”

Charles
arched a brow. “I see.” His lips twitched as he spoke. “I came in because I am
trying to understand why it is you came back, if not to complete the mating.”

“She came to find
relief, Charles,” Bryce interjected, drawing the Alpha’s attention to him.
“She’s been feeling the effects of the mating, and wanted to know what it was
all about and if there was anyway I could do anything to stop it.”

Charles
chuckled. “That would be like trying to stop the sun from rising.”

“I have every
reason to resist,” Kyra interrupted. Her eyes swirled with anger, annoyed at
just how nonchalant he was about such a life-changing decision.  “You are
asking me to give up everything that I have left, and trust me, while it isn’t
much, to abandon it in order to become part of your clan… I just —“

Bryce reached
out and laid his hand on her shoulder. “We understand what we are asking of
you, Kyra.  We know it can’t be easy.”

Kyra forced a
smile, though her belly heaved in waves at the realization that she was holding
onto a life that had
already
been torn away from her.  With her
parents dead, her aunt was all that she had left, and while Kyra did her best
to help her, she still couldn’t help but feel as though she were nothing more
than a burden.  Yet, this clan – they wanted her—
needed
her to join them, yet she found herself resisting.  For what reason, she
couldn’t say.

“I don’t even
know you,” she whispered, without thought.  Her eyes remained locked on
the wooden floor of the cabin.  “We should get to know one another.” 
She forced herself to look up at Bryce, only to find his eyes dripping with
sympathy.  His lips were pursed tightly, as if he had to force himself not
to speak his mind.  Kyra wished it were her that could read his
thoughts—especially now.