Page 50 of My Fugitive Wolf
Grace went on as if she hadn’t heard. "He wouldn't tell me anything beyond that, and I got angry. I demanded to know how you could possibly grow up to be this great wolf shifter living with a violent creature like Josiah. My words got through to him, though, because he said he would help, but I needed to go back inside and do whatever Josiah told me to do."
"Oh, Grace...." Kellen held her tighter.
Her tears started to flow. "I didn't have a choice at that point. I did my best to make us invisible, hiding in dark corners and keeping myself between you and the omegas. When you became tired and started to cry, Josiah hit me a couple of times then dragged us upstairs. There was a small servant's bedroom near the attic. Once inside, he slammed the door closed and threatened to murder you if I tried to escape.”
A stronger twinge of sympathy for the woman resonated through Samara.
Clearing her throat, Grace continued. "What he didn't notice was a small basket and letter lying on the floor next to the bed. It was from the sorcerer. He gave us the ingredients needed for a protection spell. After I got you tucked away, I followed the sorcerer's instructions. Once cast, I sensed a slight ripple in the air, but nothing else."
"Is that why I don't remember what happened that night?"
Grace nodded. "From that moment forward, Josiah couldn’t focus on us. He would rant at us and order us about, but he never hit me again. Every time he looked at me, he was immediately distracted by something else. Even after he ordered you to train to become an assassin, the other wolves never tortured you or me. The spell kept us physically safe and somewhat emotionally safe."
If he can forgive his mother for staying behind, then I can forgive, if not forget, the woman's refusal to help.
"He's not going to stop at a thousand years," Samara pointed out after a few minutes. "He must want immortality and will continue to do whatever it takes to make it happen."
“I agree,” Kellen said, his arms still tight around Grace. “And each of the packs in this territory, possibly others, has something that he wants.”
Stephen rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “Which means he got what he wanted from the Shadowstalkers early, then killed them all so they couldn’t give it to others. I’m guessing they had the magic spells he needed. Just because our culture doesn’t practice spells, doesn’t mean we can’t.”
“Damn it!” Leo stood up, his easy-going personality gone. The anger on his face clear.
“Do you feel that the thing you didn’t want to talk about back in my office is now relevant?” Kellen asked, while rocking Grace, soothing her.
Leo started to pace. “There is a reason why Firebrand doesn’t talk about this with outsiders. We never even told the Moonclaw pack when they took shelter with us. I’m so sorry my brothers, but I couldn’t break that promise until now. It’s not that I don’t trust you with my secrets, it’s just that telling outsiders about the Limestone Pool just isn’t something Firebrand does, ever.”
“What does the Limestone Pool do?” Samara asked even as her own heart broke. Leo’s turmoil etched his inner anguish across his face, making his skin tighten until it was painful to look at him. Or that’s his wolf shadow peeking through.
Regardless, Leo talked faster as if trying to speed past his betrayal. “There’s a limestone cave about a klick from the center of Firebrand territory. Walking a half a klick inside, the cave’s floor drops suddenly, easy to miss and fall to your death. Firebrand set posts into the limestone with ropes secured around them and tossed the ends over the drop-off. At the bottom, the temperature warms dramatically so there’s some steam rising from the pool.”
Fascinated, Samara leaned toward Leo.
Grace, however, beat her to her next question. “Do you drink the water?”
Leo started to shake his head but then reconsidered. “I mean, you can, but it doesn’t do anything. You have to immerse yourself in the pool, swim around if you like, but most of us just float on our backs.”
“A position of surrender,” Stephen mused. “It takes a hell of a lot of courage for a wolf shifter to voluntarily assume that position.”
“Yes, it does,” Leo said, his gaze darting around the room looking at anything that wasn’t his brothers.
“How does it bring Josiah closer to what he wants—immortality?” Samara asked.
“Regardless of whether you swim or float,” Leo sighed, “there’s a sensation of absolute peace. You still feel whatever it is that’s bothering you, but there’s a clarity that you just can’t find outside of the pool. There’s nothing to disrupt you, or distract you, no disconnect between your emotions and your actions. You can express whatever you feel out loud with the confidence that no one else will ever hear it, because there’s no one else there. You don’t leave until you’re ready, even if it takes days.” He hesitated. “Though, that’s not recommended. There’s folklore that says if you stay in the Limestone Pool too long, you’ll never leave.”
“I can’t see Josiah having any interest in a submerged therapy session.” Samara wrinkled her nose at the image of Josiah naked and floating around in peace. Gross.
“I agree,” Kellen said, his eyes half closed in thought. “The only reason why Josiah would want to control the Limestone Pool would be to extend his life or make him immortal.”
Leo returned to the place where he’d been sitting before. “The metaphysical properties of limestone are centered on health and well-being. That could fuel the pool’s power. We also know that the average wolf shifter life span is approximately five hundred years, but in Firebrand it’s closer to six hundred fifty.”
“Which means the oldest of the pack could live to see eight or nine hundred,” Stephen said. “Closer to the Primum Genus Suum , but not permanent immortality.”
“I don’t know shit about psychology, but I would think the metaphysics of keeping a wolf shifter happier would also grant them a longer life,” Leo said.
“The inverse could also be true.” Grace started to gather her receipts from where she’d spread them out. “The bitter ones, the angry ones, can feed off their hate for generations. I wonder if the Limestone Pool only works on those who want to feel better but need some assistance with their mental and emotional health. Someone like Josiah could overpower that part with his ego and hate and just receive the physical boost to live longer.”
“That would make sense. Whatever drives Josiah’s lust for immortality might be stronger than limestone metaphysics.” Kellen sat up straighter, pulling himself farther away from Samara. “Let’s get away from the Limestone Pool for a moment and focus on what he wants from Moonclaw?—"
