Scent of Valor (Chronicles of Eorthe #2) (18 page)

She hung her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought it better that you were angry at Peder and not your father. It was a situation you had no control over.” He set his head on her lap. “I’m not sure if it matters now, but I do approve of Peder. He’s very resourceful. If it wasn’t for him, I never would have been able to rescue you from…” His eyes traveled to Benic.

“Me!” The vampire tossed his hands in the air. “Fine let’s get it all out in the open. I did something idiotic. What male hasn’t for love? In my culture, females are guarded night and day. I haven’t seen one of my kind since I left my mother. Taking you from a pack that treated you poorly seemed like a grand idea at the time. I see it for the mistake it was.”

She shook her head. “I’ll never understand vampires, least of all you.”

Benic drained a wine glass that had been sitting half-full on a small table. He grimaced at the taste but still finished it.

“Timothy still has Peder.” She glared at Benic. “I’m not leaving this city without him.”

“We’ll come back,” Benic countered. “For right now, we need to get you to pack land. Ahote and I will return for Peder.”

Ahote shook his head. “Sorin will eat your liver if you leave his omega behind. The choice is yours, vampire. I’m happy either way.” Ahote lifted her in his arms as if ready to carry her all the way back to the forest.

“My legs aren’t broken. Put me down.”

He held her tighter. “Stay still. Let the hunter in me settle down first. I’ve been worried sick ever since I discovered the bodies on Temple grounds.” He buried his face in her hair and inhaled. “Little pest, I should have guarded you that day.”

She struck him on the chest and swallowed her tears. Ahote was the closest thing she had to a sibling. “Then you’d be dead too.” She leaned into his embrace. “You shouldn’t have left the pack. Who knows what they’re up to?”

“Sorin laid down tribe law on both Payami and Yaundeeshaw packs. Ten days to mourn then challenges can start for new alphas.”

“That should be enough time to return and take part.”

He nodded.

“Will you fight?” She had to know.

“I will do whatever our pack requires.”

She struggled out of his arms. “First we free Peder and Nahuel. We don’t leave tribe members behind to slavers. Ever.” She struck the wine bottle out of Benic’s hand as he refilled his glass. “I will tear down this city if I have to.”

He glared at the broken bottle. “Fine, fine. I’ll retrieve your pet.” He drank his glass empty again and set it on the small side table. “Ahote, give me directions to this slaver’s keep.” Benic dressed with his well-used chain mail and strapped on his weapons.

“You can’t go by yourself.” She crossed her arms.

Benic gave her a weary smile. “My dear, I’ve been fighting slavers since before your grandparents were pups. You’ll just get in my way.” He eyed Ahote. “Can you keep her here or do I need to knock her unconscious?”

Ahote wrapped his arms around her. “I got her.”

“If I’m not back by morning, then run.”

Chapter Thirty

The guards dragged Nahuel’s blood-smeared body back to the hole where their cages were kept. They dropped him in headfirst.

Peder flinched at the sound of the impact. Lying on his stomach in feral form, he had no fight left in him. Kele was gone, all hope of escape lost, and Nahuel… Peder wished it were him they’d beaten.

A guard undid the chain, but not the collar, while the others held their swords against his body as if expecting him to attack. He was sorry to disappoint them. They had to drag him to the hole and drop him in same as Nahuel, headfirst. He’d used all his strength fighting the chain and collar in futile attempts to save his friend.

His feral form was too big for him to turn over in the cage so he shifted. Naked, he curled against the bars separating him and Nahuel and set his hand on his friend’s chest.

Unbelievably, it still moved.

He’d thought Nahuel dead. The hunter had stopped whimpering soon into the whipping. The stench of his blood hadn’t taken long to saturate the stale air of the pit and Peder’s mouth felt like he’d been chewing thistles. He worked his tongue around, trying to stimulate some saliva so he could speak. They still hadn’t given either of them water. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Nahuel’s breathing.

In and out, in and out…

Breathing along with him, he listened to his heartbeat. After everything he’d suffered through since his birth, Peder still fought to live. Not many could say the same.

“I came real close to meeting the Goddess once,” he whispered to Nahuel. He didn’t know if his friend could hear him, but if he could maybe Peder’s words would distract him from the pain. “Years ago, when I’d just passed the rite of adulthood, not much more than a tall pup with a pretty face.” He sighed and rested his cheek against the cool metal bar. “My alpha had taken too much notice of me. My parents had died when I was young and I only had the omegas of the pack to care for me. They couldn’t fight him off.

“They would tell me when to hide but sometimes I didn’t listen fast enough.” He cleared his throat. “Those rumors you heard about my pack. They’re all about him and how he led the hunters to do bad things. He’d caught me alone on occasion and I submitted to his needs, but once…”

He waited for Nahuel’s chest to move before speaking again. “I swung and hit him.” His mind’s eye opened to that night. Odd how certain details—like the rich scent of soil and the comforting sound of Sorin’s voice—were so clear, yet things like the pain had faded to a point where he could barely recall them. “The alpha didn’t take my small rebellion well. He more than beat me that night. He went feral and didn’t pull his claws.” He winced. Maybe the memory of pain hadn’t faded after all.

“Funny how I wish to speak of this now.” He sighed and waited for Nahuel’s response but he stayed quiet as death. “I never like talking about that night. Only Sorin knows of it. I mean, my alpha.” He chuckled. “He’s been trying to get me to call him by name for months and now that I do, he’s not around to hear it.”

A yawn cracked his jaw. Sorin’s father had left Peder to die that night in the back caves, leaking his life fluid into the dark soil.

The dirt clogged his noise as he lay face down. He was forced to pant even though breathing hurt more. He clung to life. The pain reminded him that he wasn’t dead. Yet. Blood coated his skin, much like Nahuel’s.

Nahuel? Who was he?

Peder blinked thick drops of blood from his eyelashes and peered into the dark. How long had he been lying here? Maybe if he stayed still, the alpha would think he was dead and leave him alone. He didn’t scent him anymore though. Had he left?

Soft footsteps crept closer. “Peder? Oh dear Goddess, no.” Sorin’s face came into view as he crouched low and checked Peder’s breathing. A strained sob broke the young hunter’s silence. “I’ll go get the healer.” He stroked his head. “I promise he’ll never touch you again.” Then Sorin left him in the dark.

He waited and waited…

The pain eased and in the distance he heard the cries of his pack. He rose to his feet and glanced at his healed wounds. His gangly limbs had been replaced by an adult male’s muscled body, one made from hard work and fighting. He flexed his arms and for once felt strong.

He strode toward the noise and found his old alpha in feral form within the den. His packmates huddled on the ground as he stalked the main corridor. He remembered this but he hadn’t been standing here. He’d been among those huddled.

Sorin had been here, though.

He searched the area but Sorin was nowhere. Who would save them if not him?

The alpha leaped upon a group of young pups. Their small screams jerked him from his apathy.

Racing forward, he shifted to his feral form and attacked. Fur stroked against his tongue, then the heat of blood filled his mouth. It pulsed and he had to release his hold or drown.

The alpha lay at his feet. His throat torn open.

“Peder?”

He spun around and faced Sorin.

The young hunter lay on the ground and touched his foot. “Alpha.”

Peder jerked awake and hit his forehead against the solid bar so hard it rang. The pain cleared the fog of his nightmare. Rubbing the sore spot, he leaned up on one elbow and absorbed the heat of the pit. He had no space to move around and the cage was getting smaller. He needed to get out.

How had he gotten so far from home? When had he lost his way and who had he become? The omega part of him seemed so distant—like a story of someone else. Feral urges grew harder to resist. Goddess, he’d even killed. But he wouldn’t let go of this new strength. He couldn’t help but feel like he had so much at stake, yet he was trapped here unable to do anything except lock himself inside his head. What the hell was he doing, dreaming of being an alpha?

Nahuel hadn’t moved but it seemed as if his bleeding had stopped. That was a small blessing. Peder returned his hand to his chest.

It didn’t rise.

“Nahuel?” He shook him not caring about the pain he might cause him. “Nahuel?”

The hunter’s head rolled and his unseeing stare met Peder’s.

Peder leaned against the bars, his body unable to support his weight. “May the Goddess take you into her bosom, my friend.” He closed his eyes, lifting his chin, and howled to let the city know a great hunter had passed.

Benic drove the carriage to the slave compound, following Ahote’s directions. This trip was costing him more than he cared to think. The new flintlock pistol secure in his pants just depleted more of his gold funds. Even after all this effort, he bet the packs would still want to suck out his marrow.

A mournful howl chilled the night.

He shivered. He hated when shifters made that noise. Someone had died in the slave area of the city—it wasn’t a shock. The lone howler grew louder as he parked his carriage in front of the locked gate. He jumped down and rang the bell until a guard answered.

“What do you want?”

“I’m here to buy a slave.” He showed his ring.

“We sold the lot this afternoon.”

He dropped his hand. “All of them? Who’s that howling then?” Kele would tear out his heart and eat it while he watched if he returned without Peder. She’d never believe he’d been sold in the short amount of time they’d been separated, no matter how honest he smelled.

“That one’s not for sale.”

“Everything is for sale in New Berg.” How much would he have to spend to find out where they sold Peder? His connections with Lord Weis wouldn’t help much since the lord supported enslaving the wild shifters. He probably owned half these compounds.

A guard inside shouted, “Shut up, Goldie.”

“Goldie?” Benic gave the door guard a knowing smile.

“Like I said, he’s not for sale.”

Benic gripped the pommel of his sword and cleared the flintlock for easy access. Maybe he should have bought two. “Get your master.” Damn that silly omega. What had happened that everyone else was sold but not him? And why was he howling so?

The guard hesitated.

He showed him his pistol. “Now.”

Not moments later, the gate cracked open wide enough to allow him inside. He loosened his sword from its scabbard before entering.

“What do you want?” A large cat shifter loomed over him. Torches lit the open courtyard. Benic noted all the empty cages yet a shifter still howled. Where the fuck was Peder?

He pulled out his dagger and cleaned under his fingernails. “A few days ago, some slavers trespassed on my lands and stole some of my shifters. I’ve tracked them here.” As he spoke, he moved toward the last howl he’d heard. The shifter had quieted.

“You have to take that up with the slavers. What I purchase is mine unless Lord Weis says otherwise.”

“I’ve already been to Lord Weis’s.” It wasn’t a lie. Cat shifters weren’t as good at scenting lies as wolves but he wasn’t willing to take any chances. “I understand you have my golden omega.”

The cat snorted. “I have no omega, only a hunter on the verge of becoming alpha.” He rubbed his forehead. “A real pain in my ass.”

“Let me buy him from you then.” He cut a full purse from his belt and tossed it at the cat shifter’s feet. There was enough gold in there to buy a dozen slaves. At this point, he just wanted to return to the comforts of home.

The big cat toed the bag. “Pull them both out.”

“Both?” Benic watched the guards open a grated metal flooring. One of them jumped down as another lowered some rope.

“I have two hunters left from that purchase.” The cat’s smile grew wicked. “You can have both.”

The first body they pulled out was covered in blood and lifeless.

Benic’s stomach plummeted. “What did he do to deserve this?” The question was out of his mouth before he could filter it. He knelt next to the young male as a wave of guilt washed over him for being relieved it wasn’t Peder. Nobody should die in this manner.

Another body was tossed next to him.

He gasped at the sight of the omega. He’d changed since the last time Benic had seen him three or four months ago. Peder had put on more muscle and despair had dulled the spark of mischief from his eyes. His lips were cracked and dry. “Give him some water.”

The guard who held the rope dropped it and carried a bucket of water to his side.

Benic dribbled some in Peder’s mouth.

Peder rolled his tongue around and blinked as if seeing Benic for the first time. He furrowed his brow as if confused. “Benic?”

He helped Peder sit up and held the bucket as he drank. Benic scanned the compound. There were three guards and the cat shifter. He couldn’t imagine anyone not being curious enough to come check a middle of the night visitor. These four had to be the only on duty.

Peder dropped the bucket. “They killed him because of me.” He rolled and touched the dead shifter. The utter remorse in the young omega’s voice snapped something inside Benic he’d thought long gone.

He rose and drew his sword. Forget the money. This lot owed a blood debt to his packs. None of them had deserved this abuse.

Peder staggered to his feet next to him. “The cat is mine.” His shift to feral form was a smooth as Sorin’s or Inali’s. The cat shifter had been right. There was no omega here.

Peder loped toward the other shifter with an unsteady gait.

Benic shook his head. Peder would get himself killed. Movement in the corner of Benic’s eyesight caught his attention. He loosed his dagger at a guard, who moved to defend the cat, and buried it hilt deep in his throat.

Staggering back, the guard blinked repeatedly, his mouth moving soundlessly. Before the other guards could react, he stabbed the closest in the heart with his sword, then attacked the third one. His skills were fine for guarding chained and caged shifters, but Benic had spent decades fighting free wild ones. Parrying his attacker’s sword swing, Benic lunged and wounded him enough to knock the guard on the ground. If Benic didn’t have to kill his own kind, he wouldn’t. There were too few of them left.

He twisted around to check on Peder.

The cat and wolf shifters circled each other. Peder had fresh blood on his left shoulder matting his fur. It was obvious his injuries were giving him trouble since he moved slower.

Benic wiped his sword clean on the fallen guard’s shirt then sheathed it. He could let the cat shifter kill Peder. That would clear him of guilt. Peder had insisted on fighting the slaver. Kele would hear the truth in Benic’s words.

With a flash of speed, the cat caught Peder by the throat and squeezed.

“Shit.” Benic drew his pistol and shot the cat in the knee. The Apisi shifter had suffered enough. When the fuck had Benic grown a conscience?

The cat yowled in pain and fell with Peder suddenly on top of him.

Benic approached Peder’s great golden form. The beast tore at the cat shifter’s neck. He lifted his head, his teeth bared.

Lifting his hands in front of him, Benic stopped moving forward. “Peace, Peder. If you’re done tearing him apart, I’d like to take you home to Kele.”

The feral monster before him snarled when he said Kele’s name, then shifted back to civil form. Blood coated Peder’s skin and he weaved on his feet. “We can’t leave him here.” He pointed to the dead hunter and then he sank to the ground.

Benic lifted Peder in his arms and carried him to the carriage. Sentimental fool would have him drag a corpse home? What would they do when it started to bloat and smell? “I can’t waste what little resources I have on a dead hunter. I’m sure your friend would agree with me.” Oh, of all the fools on this planet why did he have to save Peder?

Then Benic regarded his vampire brothers. He crouched between the guards. “He stole from me.” Benic pointed to their dead master. “I’d suggest you gain employment more wisely in the future. Many are not as forgiving as I am and would have dealt you the same fate.” His gaze traveled to Peder. “You’d be better forgetting about him. If anyone asks, he was sold with the other slaves.”