Page 150 of The Lands Defying
“The one with two tails.” Another nod.
“I was surprised but it also just made so much sense after Wolvorn. The way I was drawn to you. I didn’t know what to say after I saw that… I needed to get back to stop the Rogures, it didn’t want distractions… which was pointless. You are always my distraction, little wolf.”
I smile softly at the affection in his tone.
“And he can come out separately?” I had never herd of that before, though really, I shouldn’t be surprised.
He nods. “Heirs have different powers, you know that. Seers, strength, healing…” I smile. “I can have Drax separate from me.”
“Like that day?”
“Yes, thought I didn’t understand it then.”
“What happened after I ran?” I ask.
“I was only sixteen.”
“Sixteen!” I think for a moment. “You are thirty seven?” he nods. So young to be an Alpha of the Elites. So young to carry so much weight on his shoulders for the long life we have.
“Thirty eight this winter,” he tells me.
“You were born in winter too?” He nods. Both born in harsh climates but survived nonetheless.
“I followed Drax that day,” he continues. “That was the first time my Heir powers came to me. I think it was because you were near, I’m not sure. But I followed him and when I saw you, I knew everything had changed from that moment, even though I didn’t understand it.” He plays with my hair. “I caught up to Drax, but he was growling at nothing. They must have ported out.”
He doesn’t even question my story, believing me instantly about what happened all those years ago, even though he himself saw no one there.
“After that,” he continues. “My father came, and we had to head home. I wanted to stay and find you, talk to you and make sure you were okay, but he refused to listen and said he saw no one like you, and then we left. I came back about a moon cycle later but you were gone.”
“Not gone,” I whisper, “just in the basement.” A rumbling growl sounds in his chest and I continue rubbing circles over his heart. “That was a long time ago.”
“A time you will never get back.”
“I’m here now, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” I raise my head and he scowls. “Anyway, Draxton was with me in this blackness, and I couldn’t move at that moment, but we weren’t alone. Another wolf was there,” I hedge, and his eyes flash black. “He…spoke to me, in here.” I raise my hand to my head and his own comes over the top of it. “I was scared. I couldn’t move, I was so weak. He came closer and I thought, this is really it this time, but all he did was come over to me and put magic into me, and then I blacked-out from the pain.”
Darius looks thoughtful for a moment. “He saved you.” I nod. “Do you know who it was?”
I shake my head. “No, but he was huge, way bigger than Draxton and had violet eyes.”
“What happened next?”
“When I awoke, the wolf was there and then I was on Draxton’s back. Steps appeared and we made a break for the surface. We made it to Colhelm, I stole some clothes and then I ported out of there with the villagers when rogures attacked.” I don’t want to tell him about the male that tried to take me. “The people of the village there said they do not want to live under the Highers rule. I wonder how many others would help us get rid of them, now that posters of their evil deeds are out in the open.”
“We can only go to them and see.”
I nod.
“Why didn’t you go to Vokheim?” he asks quietly. “It would have been the safer choice.”
“I…I just wanted to get to you.”
“To me?”
I lean my forehead to his. “To you.” I can’t explain the need, I can’t find the words.
“No more talking.”
“But what about the people that came—”
