Page 47 of The Hidden Falling
“I see.”See what? I want to ask, but he moves his attention to Kade.“Are you still struggling with your wolf, young Kaden?”he asks, maneuvering his body until he lays down in front of us, clearly not seeing Darius as a threat. Though nothing much is a threat to Solvier. His bite could tear you in half. At Kade’s reluctant nod, Solvier tilts his head toward the ground in front of him. Kade sits.“Come, tell me.
I stand there awkwardly and look at them both, realizing I’m not going to be part of this conversation from the silence in my head. I move away from them and sit on the ground, pinching my lip with my fingers as I watch them for a while. I take out my knife and pick up a branch from the floor, idly nicking at the bark. I glance at them from time to time, crossing and uncrossing my legs. Kade nods at something Solvier says, and his head bows, playing with the laces of his boot. But I swear I see tears in his eyes. I look away, giving him his privacy, knowing what they must be talking about.
Cassie.
He barely talks about her unless it’s with Solvier, and even then it’s not often.
I hope Solvier can give him some advice on how to control his wolf and emotions. I know no one wiser. He is family to us, and we trust him and his words. I know he will do the best he can and to steer Kade in the right direction.
I sigh quietly and look out toward the trees. The only problem with that is that puts Darius in my line of sight. He’s still leaning against the tree, looking around the area, his body alert and ready. I let my senses out and feel nothing, but Darius isn’t used to the sounds of Eridian like I am. He turns his head and catches my eye, his head tilting in question. I watch as his hair lands just above his eyes, tickling his eyes brows. Then my gaze drops to the slope of his nose and down to his mouth, remembering the feel of it on mine. I look away, but not before I hear him release a satisfied sound.
It does strange things to me when that man’s eyes are on mine.
I keep quiet, not wanting to disturb Kade and Solvier as they talk even though I can’t hear what they are saying. He needs it. I’m at a loss at what to do to help him. He’s grieving all over again now that he has his wolf. He’s struggling to find balance, and if I dig too deep, he just pushes me away. I’m sick of seeing the sad look on his face when he thinks no one is looking. But I see it. I can feel his pain like it’s my own.
A growl snaps both mine and Darius’ heads toward them, and I stand, putting my knife in my boot. Kade hunches forward, and then all of a sudden his bones begin breaking before his dark gray wolf is there, standing proud. Solvier seems unbothered by the sudden change, but I panic. Solvier moves his head, looking past the trees to our left, but my eyes stay on Kade.
“Kade?” I start toward him, my steps unsure before he suddenly turns, snarling at me viciously. I jolt, shocked at his aggression. “Kade,”I try again in a lower tone down the link, but he blocked me again. “Dammit, stop shutting me out!” Still snarling, he ignores me and stalks forward, teeth bared, head low. What the fuck? I growl, warning him to knock it off, but he keeps coming. I don’t want to hurt him. I would never hurt him. “Carzan, think about what you’re doing.” He’s not stopping, his pace set as his blue eyes darken, his focus entirely on me. I brace myself, hoping I can shove him off me and snap him out of it if he lunges.
“You don’t want to do that, pup,” Darius warns in a tone so low, even I pause. He comes and stands a little in front of me, head lowered, his piercing stare on Kade. My heart rate kicks up.
I’m not doing this again. No way.
“Kade, stop it. What is wrong with you?” I take a step forward, but Darius’ hand shoots out, grabbing my arm none too gently and pulling me behind him. “Darius, don’t.” I can’t see them go at each other again, I can’t. Kade won’t survive it. He’s not even fully healed, and he shifted when he shouldn’t have.
Kade charges forward, and I suck in a sharp breath. Teeth bared, his aim solely on me, I can’t even move. I can’t protect myself.
Darius steps fully in front of me and turns, pushing Kade at his shoulder with his other hand when he’s near to get him away from me.
“Enough,” Darius commands, his dominance flowing freely while I barely breathe.
Kade stops, his snarls softening and my heart breaks at the whine that suddenly escapes him. I look around the side of Darius and see Kade’s eyes on the ground. He shakes his head, backing away from us, before he turns and runs off. “Carzan!” I go to follow, but Darius still has his hand tightly gripping my arm, not letting me go. I grab the hand holding me when I realize he’s staring at Solvier, who is still laying down. I stop and look between them, and Darius’ head shakes slightly at whatever Solvier has said to him.
Solvier makes a small growling sound that makes me jump before he stands. He shakes out his fur, the light reflecting on the strands making it look like he has gold threads flowing through it. I stay still as he comes over to us, and he shocks the shit out of me when nudges Darius’ cheek before doing the same to mine.
“All will be well with Kade. Trust in him. He will always come back to you.”He nods his head.“Trust the dark one too,”hesays.“All will be as it once was.”
With those last parting words, he wanders off, disappearing into the trees.
As it once was? What is that supposed to mean?
Twenty Five
Rhea
Istandfrozen,myheart hurting over Kade’s sudden reaction and wondering what Solvier meant. Something is… off with the big wolf. His last words sounded somber and resigned. I don’t like that at all. What did he say to Kade, and why did he react that way? In fact, what did he say to Darius?
“What did Solvier say to you?” I ask him, both of us still looking in the direction Solvier left. I feel a twitch beneath my palm and realize I’m still grabbing onto his hand with mine. I drop my hand quickly and step away from him, making him release me.
He turns toward me, his brows low. “Nothing important,” he answers, looking me over curiously. “What was that language you used?”
I shake my head at the sudden question. “What?”
“You called the pup Carzan? What language is it?” His stare is intent on mine as he folds his arms over his chest, his eyes watching, waiting for something. I gulp.
I didn’t mean to use the language my family used, it just slipped out. When I don’t answer, he comes for me, and I stumble back, rough bark digging into my back when I hit a tree. What is it with me and trees lately? Darius doesn’t stop until he’s inches away, bringing his arms up on either side of my head, caging me in. Dropping his face so he’s directly in front of mine, he asks me again.
“What language?” he demands, and my fingers grip the bark behind me as I try to think of a way to get around this. The use of that language has always been sacred, pure. I don’t want him to taint it. He growls low when I don’t answer, and I growl right back, unable to stop the reaction, baring my teeth. His hand comes up to my neck, squeezing gently in warning, and I swallow roughly under his palm. He feels it beneath his hand, his fingers twitching lightly before moving a finger over my pulse, rubbing back and forth slowly, as if he’s savoring it under his touch.
