Werewolf's Way [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 1] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) (32 page)

“Aren’t your guards coming along?” he asked.

Sari shook his head. “Our pilot is a priestess. She will take us to our destination. But everyone else has to stay here. We’ll pick them up afterward.”

“But…they’re your security staff.” Graham simply couldn’t understand it. “Don’t you trust them?”

“It’s not about trust,” Caelyn answered as he closed the helicopter door. “It is forbidden.”

Graham still didn’t get it, but decided to hold his tongue. He made sure his mate was comfortable and safe in his seat and strapped himself up, too. As the helicopter took off, though, he had to ask, “Where are we going?”

It was hard to speak over the sound of the engine, but nevertheless, Sari did. “Does the name Eternelle sound familiar?”

Caelyn’s eyes widened. “Of course. It is the old citadel of the battle of the Great Sacrifice. But it was destroyed. Wasn’t it?”

Sari shook his head. “The actual citadel no longer exists as it used to, but a temple was built in its place, to honor those who died that day. It is a closely guarded secret. Outside the higher ranking members of the Jenarra priesthood, the royal family is the only one aware of its existence. We are its keepers now. My father has agreed to allow you to stay there. Even if a war does start, that is the safest place you can be in.”

After that, Graham didn’t ask anything else. Instead, holding onto his mate’s hand, he forced himself to relax and looked outside through the window. Beneath them, the lovely landscapes of the French countryside formed a picturesque, postcard-worthy sight. Graham had trouble seeing it.

Eternelle. The place where the slavery of his people had begun. What were the fae thinking? How could he, as a werewolf Alpha, step onto the soil where that battle had taken place?

“Perhaps that’s the point,”
Caelyn whispered in his mind.
“Even if they do learn of Eternelle’s existence, the draechen would never guess we are there.”

“But isn’t it a mockery, angel, a mockery of the blood that was shed there?”

Caelyn squeezed his hand comfortingly.
“No, Graham. You aren’t like those wolves who sealed the fate of your kind. By rights, the Directive should have long ago been abolished. It is King Selbrian’s way of acknowledging it.”

Graham threw a look Sari’s way and wanted to kick himself. He had the fae prince practically revealing state secrets, and he was complaining. “I’m sorry,” he said, knowing that Sari must have noticed his frustration with the situation.

“Don’t worry. I can understand your anxiousness. Eternelle is… Well, I cannot describe it. I go there as often as I am allowed since it feels special to me. But I think that it could come to be special for you, too.”

A weight seemed to lift off of Graham’s heart. He didn’t know if it was Sari’s words or just the warmth of Caelyn’s presence that caused it, but he was certain of one thing. He and Caelyn had started something beautiful together, and if Graham had his way, it would be, like their new home, eternal.

A few months later

As always, the courtyard of the temple of Jenarra was quiet, almost too quiet. In the beginning, when Graham and Caelyn had first moved to Eternelle, it had made Graham nervous. Now, he found it natural. The figures of the silent priestesses barely registered anymore, stirring only mild interest from the wolf.

This could be considered both good and bad. Normally, Graham liked it. No one disturbed him, and he didn’t disturb anyone. But now, he’d have appreciated something that would distract him from his worries.

With a mental sigh, Graham padded to the large pillar that dominated the courtyard. Surprisingly, for a work of art that represented an homage to the Great Sacrifice, it didn’t focus only on the deaths of Princes Talrasar and Kaelezrin. In fact, there were no outright graphical depictions on the surface of the pillar, just engravings, writings in a language long forgotten.

But then, it wasn’t a work of art, not really. The Obelisk of Eternelle was considered the closest thing the two princes had as a grave. Graham might have been skeptical about it, but sometimes, when he looked at it, he thought he saw shifting shadows beneath the engravings. He wondered if the spirits of those who’d died here lingered in the stone, seeking a way to give their descendants a clue on how they should act.

After stealing one look at the symbols, Graham curled at the base of the monument. His wolf didn’t really care about complicated histories and blood-tainted pasts. It liked this place. There was something about it that seemed so very peaceful, reaching out to that part of Graham that desperately needed the calm.

Absently, he watched the priestesses as they walked past him. Some of them had been wary of him at first, especially when he shifted. However, in a strange development, when they had seen how much both he and Caelyn enjoyed visiting the obelisk, their apprehension had vanished. It seemed that Caelyn and Graham’s openness toward Jenarra had earned them the respect of the priesthood. They even greeted him with warm smiles and nods, without intruding on his privacy.

But in spite of the beauty of it, Graham couldn’t stay still. He was very tempted to access his mate bond with Caelyn, but he forced himself not to. The priestess in charge of checking his mate over had respectfully asked him to hold back, insofar as he could, for the good of them all.

It was easy for her to say. Graham got up and randomly sniffed one of the flowers growing at the base of the monument, sneezing as the pollen tickled his sensitive nostrils. With a frustrated growl, he started to pace around the statue. Just how much longer was his mate going to take?

Finally, just as he was debating throwing all caution to the wind and bursting inside the temple, the familiar feel of his mate’s presence encroached on his senses. Graham allowed himself to access their connection once again and was greatly relieved to feel only warmth and happiness coming from Caelyn.

As he turned, he saw his mate approaching, a wide smile on his face. “You know, I’m not sure the priestesses will be very happy with you eating their flowers,” Caelyn commented as he reached the monument. Impossibly, he looked even more beautiful than usual. The simple fae robes framed his figure nicely, but also allowed the slight bump of his stomach to be seen. Whenever he looked at it, Graham felt a surge of pride and possessiveness course through him. This was his mate, his family. Looking back at what his life had been a few months ago, it seemed unbelievable.

Graham melted back into his human form and grinned at his mate. “I’m not eating them, merely…assessing them. Besides, it’s all their fault for not letting me be with you during the examination.”

Or so he said, but really, he understood why the priestesses had requested Caelyn to be alone while they checked him over. At first, they had allowed Graham’s presence, but soon, it had become obvious that Graham’s wolf instincts were simply too powerful. Sometimes, the priestesses needed to touch Caelyn’s naked body to make sure everything was in order, and on occasion, it made Graham’s animal rear in anger or in lust. For the purpose of easier checkups, Graham had, in the end, agreed to back off.

He brushed a kiss over Caelyn’s lips and briefly embraced his mate, then changed back into his wolf form. It would be rude for him to prance around naked in the presence of the priestesses. Here in Eternelle, Graham and Caelyn were the only men around, as, for the fae, the Jenarra clerics were exclusively female. Apparently, Sari and his father, fae king Selbrian, were the only men who ever came here. Even they were rare presences, as Sari only had permission to visit once a month, and Selbrian was too busy. It seemed a little strange to Graham, but who was he to question their ways?

As they started to walk away from the monument, Graham used their bond to ask,
“So it went well?”

“You know it did,”
his mate’s answer.
“Our son is doing great. He is developing quite nicely, and his magic responded to mine beautifully.”

“So he’ll be sprite then?”
Graham inquired. The thought didn’t bother him in the slightest, although it did puzzle him slightly. He had to admit that ever since he’d learned about Caelyn’s pregnancy, he’d been looking forward to teaching his pup what it meant to be a shifter. But even if it didn’t happen, even if his son wouldn’t be a wolf, he would be very loved just the same.

“Half-sprite, naturally,”
Caelyn shot back, arching a brow at him.
“All signs point that he’ll have shifter abilities, although he is developing in human form since my body isn’t compatible with giving birth to a puppy.”

Actually, that made sense. In hindsight, Graham should have figured it out since he’d learned that Caelyn was only carrying one child. Most shifter pregnancies had at least two children, as in the case of Graham and Stuart. Their litter had been smaller than those of other wolves, but nevertheless, single births were very rare.

“But it is safe? There isn’t any risk to you?”

“Of course not,”
Caelyn replied, chuckling.
“Like I said, the priestess gave me the green light, although we do have to continue monitoring my pregnancy carefully.”

Graham might have asked something else, but as they walked out of the temple, they were greeted by the sight of Sari approaching. The fae waved at them enthusiastically, smiling brightly. “Hey,” he said, brushing a brief kiss over Caelyn’s cheek. “How are you doing?”

Caelyn hugged his friend tightly, and Graham barely managed to suppress a little growl. Intellectually, he knew there was nothing between the two, and that Caelyn was his, but his wolf couldn’t help it. It howled that Caelyn was his, and no one else should touch the lovely sprite.

As Caelyn broke the embrace, he glanced at Graham with that look that screamed,
“Are you serious?”
Knowing that he’d displeased his mate, Graham gave Caelyn a pleading glance, wagging his tail slightly and doing his best to look harmless.

Sari’s glance fell on him, and his lips twitched in a small smile. He was too nice and diplomatic to comment on it, though, which just made Graham feel even worse about his jealous nature.

Caelyn rolled his eyes and hooked his arm through Sari’s. They started to walk in the direction of the little cabin Caelyn and Graham used as a home. Eternelle was truly a beautiful place. The main complex, positioned in a huge clearing, was formed out of the temple, a security facility, and several other buildings reserved for research and administration. For the moment, Graham hadn’t been given an official position, although he had taken to assisting the guards with making rounds.

Meanwhile, the actual homes were situated outside these important buildings, hidden in the trees. As they left the main complex, Sari glanced at Caelyn again. “So I take it someone looked you over?” he inquired.

Caelyn nodded. “Just had my checkup. Everything’s in order.”

“Excellent,” Sari answered. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”

“What about you?” Caelyn asked. “How is the situation in Rose Noire? And has there been any further news of my family?”

Sari had been monitoring the situation of the Sutharlainn for them. Fortunately, the draechen had freed them, and from what Caelyn and Graham had been told, the fae family had already returned to their previous home. Similarly, he’d also looked into the situation of the Connors family. Apparently, their human friends were convinced that Caelyn and Graham were dead, which had caused a great deal of suffering. Still, other than that, the Connors were fine, which had relieved both Graham and Caelyn.

“Things seemed to have settled down a little. I think the Great Krites intervened on behalf of your family, so no harm has come to them.” He glanced toward Graham. “According to my mother, your pack is safe. In the end, news of your supposed death led your previous Alpha to continue to lead them.”

That took a weight off Graham’s shoulders. He would have liked to express his gratitude. Fortunately, Caelyn did it in his stead. “We appreciate you looking into their welfare.”

“We knew you would be concerned,” Sari answered. “Besides, I’m just conveying a message. My mother was the one who did everything.”

Graham suspected Sari was minimizing his contribution with regard to his and Caelyn’s rescue. Perhaps he’d have shifted and addressed it, but Caelyn chose to inquire into a matter that had been bothering both of them. “What about you, Sari?”

“For my part, the rumors of my involvement in your escape have died down—in every circle,” Sari answered. “It never got too far in the first place, but now, it’s been completely abandoned. I’m told that the draechen emperor might have something to do with that.”

Sari looked thoughtful, and not entirely pleased. Graham didn’t blame him. It all sounded a little too perfect. “You think it’s too good to be true,” Caelyn said, echoing Graham’s thoughts.

The fae nodded. “I’m unsettled. The truth is, I just came to see you two and pray. My father requested my presence. He seems to want to talk to me about a matter of grave importance.”

“How is that unusual?”
Graham asked his mate since he couldn’t speak to Sari. As Caelyn repeated the inquiry, Sari released a heavy sigh. “You have to understand that while my father and I talk all the time, this is different. I was officially summoned. It’s going to be a conversation between a king and his subject. Under the circumstances, I just know the draechen are planning something.”