Shifter Trials (4 page)

Third Quarter

“This way,” Hayden yelled. “We’re going off trail tonight.”

Talia followed him without question. Unafraid of her, Hayden challenged her—opened her to new ways of thinking, showed her how to live and yes, how to love. His lovemaking sated her body, and lightened her spirit, making her less brittle than she’d been in years. Yes, she had to admit, he’d been good for her and for her clans.

As the forest got denser, and leafless, long-armed branches brushed their faces and scratched at their arms, Hayden slowed them to a jog but didn’t stop. The glare of the three quarters room dimmed, until it was almost invisible, as they ran deeper into the woods, her shifter senses navigating easily in the darkest of nights.

“Are we there yet?” she teased, more curious than anything else, since they were skirting the edges of clan territory. With the strength of two beasts and a body Hayden had whipped into peak form, she could keep a pace like this for hours.

“Almost.”

A whooshing, echo-like sound hit her ears. Breaking water. “Fairy Falls?”

Several places were considered neutral for all clans—either for their aesthetics or their value—to ensure all had access and continuous battles did not break out. 

Fairy Falls, in the neutral zone between clan and fae land, roared into view. The beating of water against water was an erotic drumbeat that attracted lovers into its arms. On this cool, dark night in the late fall, the area was deserted.

“Taking a lover to Fairy Falls is kinda cliché.” She ribbed him, even though her heart pounded and her lower body hummed in anticipation.

“Absolutely. But I figured you were due a romance trope in your life.” He bounded over several boulders piled up by the mouth of the falls, and leaned against the rock face. Spray from the falls caressed his cheek, tempting her to lick it off. In the muted forest light, those green eyes looked almost nightglow, like a wolf’s. “Now, come here and let’s get even more cliché.” 

As soon as she reached him, Hayden kissed her like a man kisses a woman he intends to keep forever. “Say it,” he pleaded against her lips, before drinking her in like he was dying of thirst. Breathless she pushed away, before the words tumbled out of her.

“How can you be so perfect and so annoying at the same time?”

“Practice.” He chuckled, then grabbed her hand and sneaked her through the lip of the falls to a cave behind it to reveal a red checked tablecloth, a wicker picnic basket, and champagne chilling in a silver cooler that could have jumped off of the pages of a dog-eared copy of
Seduction 101
. Camping lights that looked like candles illuminated the alcove. All her favorite foods—salmon, Gouda cheese, purple grapes, pasta primavera salad, and her secret fetish, chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds—covered the cheesy tablecloth.

“Is a violinist or chamber orchestra going to drop by?”

He pulled his phone from his pocket, and flicked a button. “Autumn” from Vivaldi’s
Four Seasons
played quietly in the background.

He sat down and patted the ground beside him. “Extreme romance for the woman who never gets any.”

The hammering of her heart drowned out the Vivaldi. She sat down next to him with a goofy smile plastered on her face. “Thanks.” 

He nodded and picked up a sliver of the Gouda.

“I suppose you’re going to feed me, too?” 

He put the slice to her lips. “Whatever my lady alpha desires.” His kindness hurt—twisting her stomach into knots of pain, crushing the breath from her lungs.

She choked, unable to process romance—something she never expected, so she’d learned not to. They had so little time together, yet he insisted on packaging it with bows and tinsel. When she got the food down, she asked him point blank. “Why are you doing all this? You’re already my lover.” Hot, wet, and naked was what she craved. Gentleness, and the tentacles of commitment it snaked around her, scared her witless.

“You claim to want a love match, yet you reject love in its crazy beauty when it’s offered. Why are you doing that?”

“Because I don’t want the same look in my eyes that I saw in my mother’s every day before she died.”

He created a nest for her in his arms. “Tell me,” he whispered against her hair as one hand tickled down her back, soft, gentle strokes that soothed, tightening the web of emotion she’d fought against for so long.

“My mother agreed to the marriage because she understood the political need to merge the two clans permanently. Only marriage and a child could force that in a shifter clan. But she loved Caleb.”

“One of your councilors?”

She nodded. “And hers. It’s his place in the eagle hierarchy. She spent her adult life with pain in her eyes. You were right. Cletus, I think, loved her in his way, but his jealousy when she looked at Caleb consumed him, made him cruel. They grew to hate each other. So if I shy away from love…”

“But you do love me.” His gaze held hers and did not look away, even when she unleashed the alpha of the wolf and the eagle.

She nodded.

His hand gripped her chin. “Tell me,” he whispered, the authority in his voice in full force.

“I love you.”

He kissed her hard, declaring his love against her mouth, her throat, her breasts, her belly, her sex. With the words finally free, he repeated it at will. When he entered her, he groaned out “I love you” in whispers and bellows with every lunge into her wet, willing warmth.

“Say it again, before we go,” he insisted before they shifted to fly home.

“Haven’t you yelled, moaned, shouted and cried it out enough for both of us?” she teased, with a puppy-dog smile shy on her face.

“I can never hear it enough. Again.”

“I love you,” she repeated, finding it easier to say the second time.

“Whatever happens, I need you to remember that.”

Waxing Gibbous

Talia paced around her bedroom. The full moon would rise tomorrow night, and she habitually gave her body a rest the night before so she’d be primed if an aspirant called the trials. Her skin stretched tight on her bones, her body refusing to relax. Training might not have been a bad idea. Wind hit her cheek. She looked up to see the skylight opening and a bat hovering. The shadowed three quarters moon a backdrop to those white-tipped wings. She waved Hayden down.

“Couldn’t sleep either,” she said after he shifted to human and before he consumed her with his kiss.

She grabbed his hand intent to lead him to the bed. Sweaty gymnastics would cure all that ailed her. He didn’t budge.

“Put on warmer clothes and let’s take a walk.”

She molded herself around him like plastic wrap. “A walk is not what I need right now. Your body agrees with me.”

“My body is ready as soon as I scent you. But we must prepare for tomorrow. Emotionally and psychologically.”

“I’m stronger than ever, thanks to you. No shifter can beat me.” And vamps couldn’t compete, even though the one in front of her owned her heart. Her fury at the trials flared brighter. Irrespective of Hayden’s protests to the contrary, she was trapped, stuck in a political reality that required she keep her love and lover veiled in the shadows.

“With brute strength and speed, no, you have no equal among full shifters. But you don’t do well with surprises.”

“No buts, Hayden. I can’t choose my life partner, but as long as I remain victorious at the trials, I can choose you as my lover. So love me now.” She grasped the bottom of her t-shirt, but warm hands stopped her from pulling it off.

“We are more than sex in a dark room. Walk with me.”  

He was wrong. That was all they could have. But she’d give him a walk and, like at the circus hidden at the periphery of life, pretend for a little while they might be more. “Okay.”    

In eagle form, she followed him to the training circuit. As soon as she landed and turned human, he took her hand and led her backwards along the course. His steps were firm but lazy. Their journey silent but for the low buzz of the forest—the wind through the trees, the scurrying of nocturnal wildlife, whirring of insects. Every now and then Hayden would point out the change in slope of a section of the trail, a new angle of a turn, all because the perspective—going backwards—had changed.

Restless, she tried to hurry it up, but he held firmly onto her hand and continued to set the pace. Her skin itched, her muscles vibrated—she needed physical activity. She yanked on Hayden’s hand. “If you insist on this, can we run at least?”

“You’re not seeing what I’m trying to show you. How can you have two different eyes, yet only see one way?” He frowned at her, his pupils dulled to a moss green, as if this made him sad.

“I’m too needy right now.” A truth she’d only ever been able to tell him. That ability to be fully herself, open and honest about everything she was and needed, was the real gift Hayden gave her. They were more than sex, but only the darkness gave her the courage to be so.

He blew out a breath, then grinned. “Then, my sexy lover, I will see to your needs. Meet me back in your room.”

Once there, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her until her toes curled. When he had his fill of her mouth, he rained bites along her jaw to her neck, biting her for the second time. Unlike the first time, which was a simple sharing, she felt calm, serenity, and openness flow into her. So vampires could control the emotional current. If she didn’t trust this man fully, she’d be frightened. They kept these abilities secret for a reason. She let his bite relax her, and she slumped into his arms. He picked her up, set her on the bed, removed her clothes and tenderly laid her down on her back. After licking the neck wound until the puncture closed, he kissed his way down her body, finally loving her with his mouth until the gentle waves of an orgasm washed over her.

“Rest now, lover. Whatever happens, please know in your heart that I love you. I’ve always loved you.” 

Her eyes closed, sleep tugging at her. She felt his hands tuck her in and heard rather than saw him fly out. As the feel of wind on her cheek and the sound of the skylight closing lulled her to sleep, a part of her realized the direction of the wind was different. He was not taking his regular route home.

****

The climb was grueling, but Hayden barely broke a sweat, adrenaline fueling every seemingly-impossible reach, the taste of Talia in his mouth an inspiration to keep going. The cold rays of the moon, almost at its apex, lit the way. At the top, he settled himself under a tree, pulled an energy bar from his pocket, and quickly refueled. He had more to do tonight, not because he needed to, because he couldn’t bear to be in his own head. A wild wolf inched near him, nuzzled his knee, then lay down beside him and flopped on its back. Hayden scratched the wolf’s belly until the buzz of his phone drove it away.

“Yeah,” he answered rudely, not wanting to talk to anyone, especially Maya.

“Ready for tomorrow?”

“I’m in prime shape.”

“I know that. It’s not what I’m asking.”

He ran one hand through his hair. “I’ll do it. Don’t worry. I understand its importance.” And the depth of the betrayal it entailed. He was going to curse Talia with the one thing she’d fought all her life to avoid.

“She may forgive you in time.”

“No, she won’t.” Her hatred, like his regret, would know no bounds.

“One woman’s anger is a small price to pay.”

And one man’s heart.

“If we could have done it any other way…”

“I get it. No other choice.” He cut the call.

How ironic. Neither had any choice in the matter. And after tomorrow night, the only thing he ever wanted would be denied to him forever.

Full Moon

The full moon gleamed in the night sky. Talia, dressed in her competition togs, took her place on the stage in the clan’s outdoor amphitheater. The fire pit blazed, red and blue flames dancing in the night air. A sea of people huddled together for warmth within the corded barricades. The audience grew for every trial. She wasn’t sure if they wanted her to win or lose. Nicca, who represented the wolves, was in her official position, at her left shoulder, three steps back. Caleb, her councilor from the eagles, her mother’s lover, stood in the same place on her right. 

“Where’s Hayden?” she asked in Nicca’s direction. “He should be here at the call for aspirants.”

“I forgot to tell you. He called to say he’d be a little late. Something about a vamp pup. According to the rules, you must get started.”

His commitment to pups equaled her own, and it was one thing she could forgive him for. She nodded, and picked up the bronze disk and placed it over the fire. Whoever lit the fire would be declared the winner. “The trials are now open. Let any aspirant request entry.”

“I request entry.” A voice came from the back of the crowd, a dark-haired form shouldering his way up, followed by what looked like an entourage. Whispering among the crowd grew louder as the aspirant and his team came into view, emerald green eyes blazing into her own.

“Hayden? Feathered hell, what do you think you are doing?” Anger burned red in her veins, seared her eyeballs until she had to rub them to keep tears from dripping out. He’d been lying to her the whole time. 

“Everything I’ve done, and will do, is because I’m in love with you.” There was that smile that made her want to jump his bones.

“Explain the party of vampires at your heels, if this is only about you.”

“Observant, girl,” said the older female. Hair as black as Hayden’s but peppered with silver and white. Those eyes, like chipped flint, cold and clear, could only be alpha.

“You’re Maya, vampire clan leader. Whatever the hell you’re trying to do here, vamps can’t compete.”

“Hayden is my son. If he wins, the marriage creates a permanent alliance to the vamps and the urban council.” Her smile reminded Talia of a snake before it struck.

“You knew about this of course.” A cold numbness spread through her body, unable to process the level Hayden’s betrayal. His cheeks flamed pink. At least he had the good sense to look embarrassed.

“Doesn’t matter. Only shifters can declare as aspirants.”

“My biological father was a shifter.” A massive black wolf with emerald eyes stood in front of her. A lone wolf—dominant, powerful, what her beasts had been responding to all along, but his scent obscured by the vampire blood.

When he shifted back to Hayden, she slapped him across the cheek.

“If I had told you the truth, you wouldn’t have let me near you. Nicca, is my entry valid?”

“I am sorry, Talia. As long as he shifts using our method of atomic restructuring and not fae magic, he can compete.”

“I won’t race him.” She turned from the crowds, needing a minute to quash the tears threatening to spill. Damn him for making her love him, when this was just another political power play.

“You have no choice,” Nicca whispered, a gentle hand on her shoulder. “A legitimate aspirant called the trials. You are legally bound to respond.” Nicca was right of course. Talia would do her duty. It’s what she was brought up to do, and she was good at it.

Cloaked in her fury, the only thing she could call her own right now, she turned back to face the crowds. “Then I’ll whip his ass good. Read the rules and let’s get this farce started.”

“The rules are simple. Each contestant must run at least one third the race in human form.  A maximum of three shifts to our animals is allowed. Only human or shifter powers permitted. No fae magic. Hayden, that means you may not turn bat—only wolf and human. And no vampire speed. Keep your maximum run in human to fastest clocked shifter time.” Hayden just lost his advantage.

“Talia, you are required to give it your best, or the trials will be rerun over and over again with the same aspirant until you do, or the aspirant gives up.”

“No worries there.” Like she would give him the satisfaction.

“We should also change the trial circuit.” Caleb added his gravelly voice to the discussion.

“This circuit’s only been used twice,” Nicca countered. “We change the trial route every three attempts.”

“This is an unusual situation. They have trained together on this circuit.”

Talia nodded her ascent.

“Hell’s Climb,” Caleb said

Good choice, Caleb.
That route gave the advantage to flying shifters—to her.

Hayden blanched. His Adam’s apple shot out before his face turned to stone. He’d regained control. “Agreed.”

Nicca raised an eyebrow at him. She would understand what he meant to her and what this trial and his betrayal would do to her. There was no going back. “Entry accepted.”

“Why? I thought we had something good.”

“We
have
a tryst, hidden in the dark. I want all of you. I had hoped you’d want the same thing. This was the only way to do it.”

“Bullshit. You want the marriage-based alliance.”

He looked down. “Yeah, under the orders of my clan leader.”

“Only the vamp powers let you beat me. You can’t win, so how was
this
supposed to get us together?” Disappointment and rage warred inside her. He tricked her, used her, loved her. “I will never forgive you for this. Begin it,” she spat, staring down Caleb. She wanted only to move, to find an outlet for the cocktail of emotions exploding under her too tight, too hot skin.

An eagle shifter blew the kalenka, the ritual eagle trumpet used for all ceremonies. She echoed the screeching of the instrument as she shifted to eagle and took to the skies. The cool wind skating against her feathers offered no relief from the blood boiling in her veins. She’d never started the trials as an eagle, but Hayden taught her to use surprise to her advantage. With her superior eyesight, she watched him move. He started in human form, probably saving his shifts for later. Knowing he was wolf, the anomalies in his body type made sense. The predatory grace of his gait, the flexing of thick, corded muscles usually absent in vampires, that musky, outdoors, way too sexy smell. He was truly beautiful to behold.
And I’m an idiot for noticing.

Time to decimate him.

She grabbed a current to thrust her forward, passing him easily in the air. Her heart broke as every flap of her wings pushed her ahead of him. The serenity of the clouds, the abstract beauty of the treetops cloaked in the orange and yellow of fall, the feel of the wind, once her refuge from the stress of leadership, did nothing to soothe the aching emptiness Hayden’s betrayal ignited. Anger and adrenaline made her fast, soaring mile after mile, until a frightened whimper pulled her out of her thoughts. It grew louder. She flew higher, losing speed, but gaining a wider view. 

About twenty yards outside the trial path, a young pup she recognized as Beatrice hid behind a bush. No other adult in sight. After what happened to Yuri and Carlotta, she didn’t think twice and headed straight for Bea, shifting to wolf as soon as she hit the ground. Nearing it slowly, she tapped her nose to the pup, taking in a deep whiff to see if she smelled anything off. The scent was normal. She heard a branch crack somewhere. The smell of fall spice and changing leaves overpowered her senses. The pup looked into her eyes, and she licked along its back, looking for scrapes, cuts, bites or other injuries. Nothing, probably just lost and scared. The investigative licking allowed Beatrice to relax and sidle up to her. Her gray fur had an unusual silver pattern at the nape, almost like a lion’s mane. She’d have to bring Bea with her until she found someone she could pass the babe off to. Using her teeth, she grabbed Bea’s nape, and began to run. Talia had created a substantial lead in eagle form and should be able to maintain it, even with the pup’s added weight.

The wolfling, used to being carried, calmed into the heavy pace. Talia maintained a healthy thirty miles per hour, spurred on by the crisp fall air, the scent of ripe apples heavy on the trees, and hard, pebbled earth under her feet. A familiar scent hit her nose. Hayden was catching up. Desire to run by his side, to share the earth with him as a wolf, slammed her heart.

Swallowing the pain, she accelerated, but ensured the comfort of the pup until she hit Hell’s Climb—a four-hundred-foot rock face with precious few hand- and footholds. She’d have to fly around it with the infant. Eagle’s talons, meant to hold prey, could easily carry a small wolf pup. But that would use up her shift allotments. She’d have to run the rest of the race as a human, her slowest form. With enough lead, she could still beat him.
Why did you do this, Hayden?

Blinking madly to keep control of her emotions, she gently placed the pup down. After a quick nuzzle to Beatrice’s throat, she switched to eagle and slowly, tenderly picked it up in one foot. Beatrice squirmed and twisted against the razored talons, whimpering in fear. Talia had to let her go, then gave her another wolf nuzzle as best as she could with the beak, while allowing the pup to smell her. Her scent remained similar no matter which form she took. Talia quieted her own mind, in case Beatrice was reacting to her anger, not her eagle shape.

Precious minutes later, Beatrice calmed enough to be picked up. As soon as Talia hit the air, she saw Hayden arrive at the bottom of the rock, eyes gleaming. Her wolf noticed his size, the power of his flanks, his speed and dominance. His shift to human was smooth and rapid. He easily found a starting hold and maneuvered up the rock face faster than she’d ever seen anyone do it. Sleek muscle rippled with every long-armed reached, and bend of his legs. He was superb. Getting her head out of her libido, she headed toward the final segment, what should be an easy sprint through the valley. Even with Beatrice. Hayden might be fast, but he still could never scale Hell’s Climb swiftly enough to win. With every beat of her wings, her heart shriveled a little more.

She landed next to a copse of trees between two small hills that served as the entrance to the valley on this trial circuit. As she put the now sleeping Beatrice down, the pressure change of the flight had knocked her out, she was about to morph to human, but a clicking sound caught her attention. She gazed around, could just see the fire pit, an easy five miles away, with the precision of her eagle’s eye. Nothing seemed out of place. Using her wolf’s sense of smell, she scanned the area, picking up the same almost-exaggerated scents of fall as earlier but nothing else.

From around one of the trees, two eaglets appeared, talons tapping the ground as they walked. She nudged them with her beak, and they settled against her wing. She gently rubbed them again, let them take in her scent before switching to human. No other adults around, she’d have to run with Beatrice and two eaglets. Taking off her long sleeved shirt, she fashioned it into a makeshift sling. Her tank top would serve as a barrier between claws and her skin, as she carefully placed the babies in it. Using her hands to keep the youngsters in place, she plowed forward down the hill into the valley at a rapid walk. Running, even jogging, was impossible without jostling the infants. 

Although she lacked the speed of her wolf, and the babes weighed heavy after the first mile, she maintained the steady pace. One foot in front of the next. Four miles to go. The babes jostled and whimpered. Her shoulders screamed with pain. Three miles, then two. She caught a whiff of deep forest, musk and fur. Hayden was catching up.

At the mile marker, she’d reach the corded section that held the crowds. She’d be able to pass off the babes and run full blast. Refusing to look backwards, she kept advancing, trying to ignore the scent that got stronger with every breath she took.

One mile. When she reached the edge of the cordoned area, Talia gingerly handed over her precious cargo to one of her scouts. “Take care of them.” She sprinted toward the fire pit. A heavy weight tapped her thigh. Hayden. She quickened, he kept pace. Nose to nose they flew. She pumped her arms, gulped stale air into her lungs, squeezed her abdominals and pushed every last ounce of speed from her thighs and calves. Heavier and stronger, Hayden jumped the finish line, onto the podium, shifting in mid-air, landed on his feet, and grabbed the torch, just as Talia’s feet hit the stands. The fire blazed, tendrils of blue and orange bringing light to the shadow.

She’d lost. She’d actually lost.

And she would be given to another—a political marriage. No matter that she craved him like a madness. No matter that she loved him, soul deep. Her freedom, her choices were lost to a physical trial of strength and endurance and a political betrayal beyond what she ever imagined, and could never forgive.

The crowd was silent, surprised as she was with the result. Her consort would be half vampire, part fae, the first vamp-shifter hybrid ever known. The clans’ future, tied to hers, was now murky, frightening, unknown. Hayden’s clear green gaze drilled into her, refusing to let her do anything but stare back. Very few could do this. His dominance, his strength, fiercely attracted her. A gray wolf pup with a unique set of silver markings on her nape bounded on stage and nuzzled Hayden’s legs.

“Hello, Beatrice,” he said with a big grin, as he scooped her up and gave her a cuddle.