Page 45 of Frost and Fate
“Change now.” It was a command they all had to follow—a direct order from the Alpha. For the first time in his life Darren fought it. He fought the natural hierarchy. It physically pained him to do so. It felt as if every fiber of his wolf was being torn apart.
He lunged toward the Alpha. There was a moment of pure shock in the Alpha’s eyes. It was quickly replaced by a coldness and detachment that Darren had never seen before. He didn’t care. He was hurting so badly that he wanted to be destroyed. If he couldn’t be with Nova he didn’t want to exist. Just feet before impact with the Alpha, everything around Darren dropped away. When the shimmering faded, Darren found himself in a world of grey. As his vision cleared, he saw Romani standing in front of him, hands thrown up in a defensive posture.
“Darren, snap out of it.”
Darren’s wolf writhed, confused. His surroundings felt strange, like some sort of dark void. It unnerved the animal and he relinquished control back to Darren. An intense migraine hammered into his skull as he shifted back. Once in his human form, he saw Romani relax some. “Where are we?” he asked.
Romani gestured around. “This is the Veil.” Darren tried to make sense of the last few moments. He had lost control; he had nearly allowed his wolf to go feral. “You are a danger to everyone in the pack,” Romani said, his tone more serious than Darren had heard it before. “I won’t take you back until I know it’s safe.”
A coldness was taking hold of Darren. He did not like it here. Not one bit. He let out a deep breath. “I’m okay. I lost control, but I’m back now.”
Romani seemed unconvinced.
“I’m sorry. I know what I did was wrong, but I promise it is never going to happen again. Please take me back.” The energy in the Veil was stifling. It felt like it was stripping Darren of every ounce of joy he had ever known. There were strange sounds in the distance. He could have sworn he saw creatures in the shadows and felt eyes all around him. “Please get me out of this place.” His body shuddered.
“Okay,” Romani said. “But if that happens again, I won’t hesitate to bring you here and next time, leave you.” He placed a hand on Darren’s shoulder and together they slowly shimmered out of the Veil. Back outside of the complex, Romani set them several feet away from the area they had left behind. The group turned toward them as one. The second Gideon saw Darren, he was on the move. There was only one thing Darren could do. He dropped to his knees and bared his throat up to Gideon in a show of submission.
Gideon stood very still before him, his wolf measuring Darren. It was searching Darren’s wolf for weakness, for deceit, or for true submission.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. I broke the trust of my Alpha and my pack. I offer up my life.” The entire courtyard was as silent as the grave. After several very long moments Gideon reached a hand down to Darren. Darren took it and stood up.
“Lance tried to explain that having a mate is unlike anything we can imagine. He said he would have done the same if something had happened to Laurie.” They turned to where the Beta stood with his wife. “I cannot understand it, but I trust my Beta. If he thinks we should forgive you and move forward, then I agree with him.”
Darren looked gratefully toward Lance, who stood with an arm around Laurie. Lance gave him a knowing look. “We have to get her back,” Darren said to Gideon then.
Gideon’s eyes glowed. “We will.”
* * *
Nova was in the frozen cave. She hadn’t been here in so long. Time felt more urgent here. She heard voices, whispers all around her. A cold wind blew through the passage, urging her forward. She had never made it to the end of the chamber before. Something glowed so brightly it burned her eyes. She ran toward it, gliding across the ice. Snow fell around her, building up around the ground. She began to leave footprints in the fresh powder. The chamber seemed to lengthen, making it harder and harder for her to reach her prize. Her legs ached and a chill spread through her veins. She could see it now, the cavern’s end. There was a pedestal against the far wall. Atop it sat an ornate gold box. Nova finally reached the pedestal, breathless and coated in a sheen of perspiration. The dampness was causing her to freeze. Her pulse began to slow. She reached out for the box, but recoiled when the top of the metal burned her skin. Searing hot pain stabbed at her fingertips. She reached out once more, fighting the heat, and began to lift the lid.
Nova jumped awake as the door to her room opened again. The hooded figure walked in and leisurely lifted a large hand in the air. Some invisible force pulled her arms together in front of her. She fought against the culprit as her hands were forced together, and fingers involuntarily interlocked within each other. She tried to call on her magic, but only succeeded in creating a barrier of ice around her clasped hands. She stared down in shock. Who was this hooded being?
“Now that that’s out of the way. Creedin wants to see you.”
“Who are you?” Nova asked as panic rose in her throat. Not being able to call on her powers was creating anxiety that drove her heart mad. The hooded figure did not answer. He simply turned and strode out.
Suddenly, the man stopped and stared into the far corner of the room. Nova turned and did the same, but she saw nothing. A moment later the man whirled and continued out of the doorway. Nova didn’t know what else to do. After a few moments of hesitation, she followed him out and into the hallway beyond.
They moved through a maze of dimly lit tunnels. Nova tried to get some sense of the direction they had gone, but the complex design of the cave system had her completely turned around. The tunnels began to slope downward and she had a feeling they were headed deep underground. All she knew for certain was that the farther in they went, the stronger the scent of decaying flesh became. She found it curious that the hooded figure did not share this putrid scent with his fellow Collectors. Something about him smelled different, even pleasant. Who was he?
After several minutes they reached a vast inner chamber. This cave was much,muchlarger than the room Nova had been in, with a ceiling that was several stories high. A massive array of candles and lanterns covered the walls and were scattered across the floor. Under different circumstances the twinkling glow of the hundreds of flames illuminating the cavern would have actually been beautiful. Several stone tables sat on either side of two carved thrones. The thrones were facing the far side of the ominous open space.
As they moved closer, Nova noticed a large stone archway that had been erected against the cavern’s dark wall. A group of figures emerged from the opposite corner. Nova made a mental note of the multiple entrances into the cave, hoping she could find the right moment to get to one and escape.
“Don’t try it.” The hooded man’s voice jolted her out of her thoughts. Nova shuddered. Was he reading her mind?
The group approached the stone tables and Nova recognized Creedin at the front. He was flanked on either side by at least a dozen decrepit-looking Collectors. A warm hand wrapped around Nova’s arm as the hooded man began walking them toward the others. She struggled again to use her powers but only continued to reinforce the barrier of ice that trapped her hands together. “You’re the one who took Aria.”
His hand tightened around her upper arm.
Nova spoke quietly and quickly. “Who are you? Please, please help me. I know you’re not like the rest of them. You are different, I can feel it. My magic can feel it. Help me get out of here, and whatever trouble you’ve gotten yourself into, the pack can help to get you out.”
The man let out a bitter laugh. “Once your pack learns just how different I am, they’ll never help me.”
Nova didn’t give up. “I don’t believe that. Please, I know you don’t want this.” She could sense his hesitation. Somehow she just knew he wasn’t like Creedin, or the rest of his fanatic followers. “Help me get out of here and I’ll make sure you never have to serve Creedin again. You could use your powers for good.”
The man remained silent. Nova sagged, defeated. Just before they reached the stone thrones, the mysterious stranger bent low to Nova’s ear and whispered, “It’s within you. Find it before they do. That is how you’ll save yourself. It’s how you’ll save all of them.” What? Nova turned to ask the stranger what he meant but stopped short when she was abruptly shoved into one of the stone seats. The man stood behind her with his hands firmly on both of her shoulders.
