The Lost Years (7 page)

“Will you come inside the fence again next time?” I asked.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes.” I gave him a peck on the cheek.

He looked stunned and a little embarrassed. I only just managed to stifle a laugh as he fumbled the cutlery.

As he walked to the gate, it crossed my mind that I could still rush him and take my chances. I didn't. Instead, I waved him off as he disappeared into the woods.

For the longest time after he'd left, I tried to make sense of the day's proceedings. Marlow's actions had been unexpected, but what had really confused me had been my response. This had been the opportunity I'd been waiting for so many years. Why hadn't I taken my chance and tried to escape? So what if I'd had to kill Marlow in the process? He was my captor. He was my enemy.

The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. I couldn't allow another opportunity like that to pass me by. The next time he came through the gate, he'd be off-guard. That's when I'd strike. Once he was out of the way, I'd make my escape.

Could I really kill him? He'd said we were friends, and I'd even joined in the toast. It had to be Stockholm Syndrome—nothing else made any sense.

Chapter 11

The next two weeks were purgatory as I waited for Marlow's turn on the rota to come around again. The other guards arrived, unpacked the food, slid it through to me, and then left immediately. No words were exchanged unless I was in a particularly foul mood in which case I'd let them have a torrent of abuse. It was a waste of time because my words had no impact on them at all.

After fourteen long days, it was Marlow's week once again. My thoughts and emotions were all over the place. I was excited at the prospect of seeing him, but nervous at what might happen when he arrived. For the previous two weeks, I'd planned my escape. I didn't want to hurt him unless I was forced. If I could see an opportunity, I'd get out of the gate, shift to wolf-form (if I could remember how) and make a run for it. Maybe Marlow wouldn't come after me. Maybe he didn't want to hurt me any more than I wanted to hurt him. Deep down, I knew I wasn't being realistic, and that there would inevitably be a confrontation. Would I have the heart to fight? What choice did I have?

A cloudless blue sky hailed another sweltering hot day to come. I was around the back of the cabin—looking for field mice—when I heard the engine. Marlow and the other guards always arrived on foot. Who was this? I hurried around to the front of the cabin just in time to see the 4x4 pull up in front of the gate.

“Long time no see,” Layla said. “You're looking a little rough if you don't mind my saying so.”

“Where's Marlow?”

“He's been reassigned.”

“Why?”

“What concern is that of yours?”

“I just wondered.”

“A new guard has been appointed in his place. He can't start until tomorrow, so I thought I'd come see you today. Just for old time's sake.”

“I hear Milton has taken you for his mate.” As soon as I'd said it, I realised my blunder.

“You hear? How did you hear?”

I didn't answer.

“It doesn't matter.” She grinned. “It's true. You're looking at the Alpha's mate.”

“Alpha's whore more like.”

“Your attitude hasn't improved with the years.”

“Neither has your face.”

Layla opened the basket, and allowed the contents to fall to the ground. “Whoops.”

“When I get out of here, the first thing I'm going to do is come looking for you,” I said.

“I won't hold my breath.” She climbed back into the 4x4, wound down the window, and said, “Well, it's been a pleasure as always. Bye.”

What had happened to Marlow? Could someone have seen him come into the enclosure? No one ever came up here except for the other guards. Perhaps he really had been reassigned. I wanted to believe that. The alternative was too painful to consider. If he was still alive, I hoped I hadn't jeopardised his safety with my stupid remarks about Layla being Milton's mate. She might be an evil bitch, but she wasn't stupid. She'd know that I could only have got that information from one of my guards. What had I been thinking? I'd been so incensed that I hadn't been thinking at all.

*********

It was almost a year since the last time I'd seen Marlow. There was nothing to look forward to now. One week had become very much like another. My new guard was a carbon-copy of the other two. He didn't speak or even acknowledge me. I had no one to talk to except the occasional small animal, bird or spider. I'd even started to talk to myself.  I hadn't realised how important Marlow had become to me. He'd been my only remaining connection to the outside world, and probably the only thing keeping me sane. Without him, there wasn't much point to anything.

Today was indeed momentous—there were two spiders in the cabin. The larger of the two was wandering back and forth between the bathroom and the sink. The smaller one seemed content to walk around in circles underneath my bed. I'd been watching them for almost an hour—there was little else to do. Outside, the rain was bucketing down.

I wasn't sure if I'd heard it or not at first. I waited a few seconds—there it was again. The sound of the gate opening. No one had been inside the enclosure since Marlow's last visit. I could hear footsteps in the mud, and then on the steps outside.

“Louise. We have to leave now!” Marlow was soaked through to the skin—his boots thick in mud.

I didn't react. It was probably a dream. It wouldn't be the first time I'd dreamt about Craven or Marlow only to wake up and realise that's all it had been.

“Louise. Move! We have to go now!”

It wasn't a dream. Marlow walked over to the bed.

“They're coming for you,” he said. “We have to get out of here right now.”

“Who's coming?”

“There's no time. They'll be here in a few minutes. Do you have any boots?”

“You know I don't.”

I was wearing the only pair of shoes I had—trainers which were almost worn through on the sole.

“Never mind. Come on.”

He took my hand and pulled me along after him. For years I'd dreamt about walking out of the gate, but I was through it before I had chance to savour the moment. We were in the woods, which were thick with wender berry bushes. Marlow led the way along a narrow footpath, which was uneven and sprinkled with small stones. During my captivity, I'd tried to exercise regularly, but there hadn't been enough space for me to run.

After ten minutes, I pulled my hand from Marlow's so I could stop to catch my breath.

“We have to keep going,” he said, as he looked nervously back the way we'd come.

“Just give me a second.” I was doubled-up with stitch.

“We have to shift. We'll cover more ground as wolves.”

“Shift? I'm not sure I can.” I'd shifted a few times during the early years of my captivity, but not since. There hadn't seemed any point.

“Your body won't have forgotten.” He began to undress.

I turned my back to him even though I knew it was ridiculous to be shy at a moment like that.

Once I was naked, I focussed my mind on shifting to wolf form. Marlow had been right. I hadn't forgotten how, but my body made me pay the price for not having exercised my wolf for so long.

On all fours, I turned to face Marlow who made an impressive wolf. I could sense from his thoughts that we weren't yet out of danger. I still didn't know who was pursuing us. That would have to wait.

My wolf coped better with the demands of the run than my human had. We covered what must have been at least ten miles in no time at all. Marlow stopped in front of a small cave that was almost hidden from view by overhanging branches.

“We'll rest here for a while,” he said, as he led the way into the cave. “We'd better retain wolf-form in case we have to make a quick exit.”

I lay down close to the far wall of the shallow cave.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I'm fine. What happened?”

“I overheard the order go out this morning that you were to be killed.”

“Who gave the order?”

“I'm not sure. I heard it from the security services, but who it came from originally, I don't know.”

“Milton?”

“It's possible.”

“Why now? Why after all of these years?”

“I don't know. It might have something to do with the shifter-vampire alliance. It's on the brink of collapse.”

“What has that got to do with me?”

“You're asking questions I don't have an answer to.”

“I'm sorry. Thanks for getting me out. Where have you been for the last year? I thought they'd found out you'd been in the enclosure.”

“If they had, I'd be long dead. I think they sensed I'd begun to see you as more than just a prisoner. That's why they reassigned me.”

“What's the plan now?”

“We have to get out of this territory.”

“We could head for Terroun.”

“That would be suicide. While you've been incarcerated, full-on war has been waging between the Maja and Terroun. Their borders are guarded in numbers. We'd be dead within minutes of stepping onto their land.”

I wondered for a moment if my being Craven's mate would get us into Terroun territory, but quickly dismissed that thought. I'd been his mate for less than a day, and he'd been dead for many years.

“I have a brother, Pirus,” Marlow said. “He was cast out of the Maja some years ago.”

“Why?”

“Your father exiled him for killing a human.”

“I'm surprised he wasn't executed. My father didn't tolerate that kind of behaviour.”

“Krell did originally given orders for my brother to be put to death.”

“Why wasn't he?”

“My mother, she's dead now, once worked for your father. I think she begged for Pirus's life. Exile often means death anyway. A lone wolf is vulnerable unless he can find another pack.”

“Pirus did?”

“Yes. I had word from him about a year after he was exiled. He lives in Semron territory. We could try to make our way there.”

“Sounds good. I don't have any other bright ideas.”

Chapter 12

We made the journey in wolf-form—travelling only under cover of dark. To steer clear of unnecessary confrontation, we avoided all heavily-policed borders. It felt so good not to have my sense of smell overpowered by wender berries. We fed on easy prey taken from farms along the way. It had been several years since I'd been forced to kill in order to eat.

Two days later, we were standing on the brow of a small hill.

“This is it,” Marlow said—pointing to the town in the valley below.

“What do we do now?”

“You wait here. I'll try to find Pirus.”

“I'll come with you.”

“No. It's best I go alone. As soon as I've found him, and I know it's safe, I'll come back for you.”

 It made sense, so I stayed put while Marlow sprinted off down into the valley. I found a sheltered area beneath a small rock overhang. I could hear voices somewhere above me—humans out for a walk probably. The foliage was thick, so I was confident no one could see me. My wolf was exhausted, so I shifted to human form. It was good to feel the air on my bare skin.

I had no idea what we would do if Marlow's brother wasn't here or if he turned us away. Were we still being hunted by the Maja? We hadn't seen or heard any sign of them during our journey.

I hadn't intended to, but I was so exhausted that I drifted off to sleep.

A noise startled me. Footsteps? It was probably Marlow, but I daren't show myself in case it was border guards. Suddenly, the foliage in front of me parted, and a male shifter, in human-form, appeared.

“Very nice, brother,” he said. “I approve of your mate.”

Just then, Marlow appeared at the shifter's side. He was now dressed in jeans and a polo top, and seemed to be transfixed by my naked, human form.

“Louise, this is Pirus,” Marlow said—averting his gaze. “Here, I brought you some clothes.”

Feeling weirdly embarrassed, I took them from him, turned my back, and slipped on the skirt and top. Only then did Pirus's words register with me. He'd referred to me as Marlow's mate. Is that what Marlow had told him? 

“You'll be safe here while I try to clear this with the Alpha,” Pirus said when we arrived at his apartment. “Jessie will be back soon. If you're hungry, help yourself to food.”

“Did you tell your brother I was your mate?” I asked, after Pirus had left.

Marlow's cheeks flushed. “I had to. Asking the Alpha to allow his brother and his mate to join the pack is a reasonable request. Asking that his brother and some stray be allowed—”

“Stray?” I laughed. “Did you just refer to me as a
stray
?”

“Sorry about that.” Marlow grinned “I think it will be best if everyone thinks you're my mate—including Pirus and Jessie. Are you okay with that?”

“I guess so.”

I understood why Marlow had said what he had, and I wasn't about to object. It still felt wrong though. I already had a mate even if he was dead. I wasn't looking for another, and I wasn't sure I ever would. Craven would always be my fated mate even if we had had only a day together.

Jessie made us feel welcome. Despite my objections, she insisted on giving me a selection of clothes from her wardrobe. She was a little taller than me, but not enough that it mattered. Marlow also took advantage of the fact he and his brother were of almost identical build.

Pirus was back in time for dinner. The Alpha had given the green light for us to stay.

“You can live here until you find jobs and somewhere to live,” Jessie said.

“Thanks,” I managed to say in-between mouthfuls of her delicious beef stew.

“We have a spare bedroom, so you can stay as long as it takes,” Pirus said.

Spare bedroom. Singular? Only then did it occur to me I'd be expected to share a bed with Marlow. As far as Pirus and Jessie were concerned, and more importantly, as far as my new Alpha was concerned, Marlow and I were mates.

 Pirus had work the next day, so at ten PM he announced he was turning in. Jessie decided to call it a night too.

“I can sleep in here on the sofa,” Marlow said, once Pirus and Jessie had gone into their bedroom.

“That's no good,” I said. “They'll know we aren't mates if we don't share the same bedroom.

“Okay. I'll sleep on the bedroom floor then.”

“That won't work either. If your brother or Jessie find you asleep on the floor—well, they're not stupid. We'll just have to share the same bed.”

“I'm not sure that's going to work,” Marlow said.

“Why not?”

He gave me a look of exasperation.

“What?” I'd no idea what he was trying to say.

“You must know by now I'm attracted to you,” he said.

I knew he liked me, and I considered us to be friends. More than that—I'd never given it a second thought. Craven was my mate and always would be.

“I'm sorry,” I blurted.

“Don't apologise. It's my fault. I know you don't feel the same way, and I can live with that—just about. Sharing a bed with you? That would be too much to bear.”

I smiled. “Come here.”

He stepped closer and I took his hand. “You're a good friend, and I love you dearly, but not in that way.”

“I know.”

“We do have to share a bed if we're going to carry this off,” I said. “We'll put a pillow down the centre of the bed.”

“Okay, but it had better be a thick pillow, and you'd better wear something totally un-sexy.”

“I'll see if Jessie has a flannelette nightie.”