Shifters’ Fae Captive by Lacey Carter Andersen
Chapter 10
Ann
The morning trudgethrough the woods is long and tedious because every few yards, every time a bird flaps its wings or a breeze blows through a branch, one of these super-careful guardians of mine yanks me down while the other two assume warrior poses until the “danger” has passed.
The danger of a little bird.Real scary.
It’s been a day and a night since the battle with the trolls. After we’d slept for most of the day, the guys had taken me around the woods, and four more shards had started glowing when I got near them. None of them said anything about it, but I got the sense that the shards' reaction to me was really important. They’d simply collected the glowing pieces, refusing to let me look at them more closely or touch them before we retired to the cave to sleep more during the day.
Dusk, at least, had explained that they always slept during the day, because the creatures couldn’t come here when it was light out. No matter what. He said that even on nights when the moon was full and bright, there were far fewer attacks because it was harder for the Shadow King to keep his creatures together in the light. So, at night the shadow beasts stayed awake and ready for attacks, while combing the forest for the gently glowing moon shards, because until me they couldn’t see them at all during the day, and during the day they rested and prepared for the next night.
They were also even more careful with me that night after collecting the shards too. We stayed in the cave, and all three of them stood like guards at the door all night, while I tried to ask more questions. Questions that none of them answered.
These guys are a frustrating lot...
Now, it’s the crack of dawn, right before the world wakes up, so there are noises that don’t belong to trolls, even though they seem to think they do. They see danger lurking under every blade of grass and every tree trunk. It’s a little frustrating. Not just their overprotectiveness. No, it’s not just all of that. It’s also that I barely slept all the day before, and that right now I wish we were sleeping instead of hiking through the woods.
I’m exhausted enough to sleep right here and now. But I don’t get to sleep under a random tree in the woods, nope, that would be too easy. My only semi-comfortable place to sleep is on a bedroll with one of the guys. And, so far, I’ve slept next to Phantom each night, which is frustrating for entirely different reasons. When we are first falling asleep, Phantom always tries to keep a few inches between our bodies. But when he eventually falls asleep, he always pulls me closer and cuddles into me.
And, fucking hell, sleeping next to a half-naked hunk of a man is like being tortured. I can feel his very hard cock against my ass all night long, and any time I shift, he groans and rubs against me a little.
I should have pulled away from him. I should have kept to my side of the blanket, or woken him up and told him to get his dick under control.
Instead, I held myself still. I maybe even rubbed my ass against him every so often to see what he would do. Part of me wanted to see if I could make him come in his sleep from something so small. I wanted to feel him begin to thrust against me until my own control slipped.
Which is insane.
Just the thought of it makes me ache to touch myself. Several times while we were laying together, I ran my hands along my stomach, debating about whether anyone would catch me. It became such a terrible need that I was undoing the button on my pants when Dusk stirred from his sleep and turned to look at me. I stopped myself before he saw anything, I think, but then he’d woken Phantom up and switched places with him.
And, hell, it must have been as long for them as it had been for me since they had sex, because Dusk was equally hard. It was even more difficult to pretend to be asleep as he adjusted, sighed, and moved around, his hard dick pressed against my ass the whole time. But eventually he too fell asleep, and I was left wondering if I was still adjusting to their sleep schedule, or if I just needed to get laid.
The tightness in my body since then said the latter, and the urge to sneak away and get myself off was building. When it was fully light out, I’d have to seriously consider whether relieving this pressure was worth the possibility of these three hunting me down and catching me in the act.
Probably not, but damn it I’m horny!
“Ann,” Dusk whispers, pulling me down behind another bush.
I sigh and shrug him off, feeling frustrated for way too many reasons.
“It’s just another fucking animal,” I mutter under my breath.
My gaze connects with Onyx’s, and there’s no doubt the bastard read my lips, because he looks irritated.
So, I mouth back at him. You are annoying.
His brows rise, and then I give him the universal sign of annoyance and flip him off.
The big man’s dark eyes darken further, and I swallow, a little too hard. But he just turns away and focuses back on the forest around us. Which is probably a good thing. As irritating as I find him, I don’t think I want to find out what he’ll do if I push him too far.
“It’s nothing,” Phantom says, and we all rise to our feet and start back up.
“What are you doing out here exactly?” I repeat the question, figuring I’d get the same standard answer as before, “walking.”
But Dusk shakes his head, a smirk on his lips. “You really like to know everything that’s going on, don’t you?”
“Uh, yeah, who likes to be kept in the dark?”
Onyx shakes his head and turns away from us.
Dusk laughs. “Okay, I guess it won’t hurt anything. We’re checking the perimeter.”
“The perimeter of what?”
Phantom and Dusk exchange a look.
I glare at them. “Come on!”
Dusk pushes some branches out of the way and indicates for me to keep going.
I cross my arms in front of my chest.
“Just walk,” Phantom says.
“I think I’m done walking without any information at all.”
Phantom glances over me as if he’s considering just picking me up again, and I hold my breath, hoping it won’t come to that. “We’re checking the perimeter of our area for any enemies.”
Okay, I guess that’s something. I keep walking through the branches Dusk parted for me, and we continue walking. It honestly seems like a waste of time. We’d spent most of the night at our camp. We’d eaten, and then they’d checked over their weapons and supplies before we’d started walking around. The guys, apparently, had some kind of freaking night vision, so they seemed to know where we were going and what we were doing, but it wasn’t until the sun’s early rays started streaking the sky that I had a clue where we were.
Not that seeing a bunch of trees helped me determine my position at all.
So, a walk that should probably only take about an hour takes until the sun is up, beating down through the trees, because they’re treating me like I’m made of glass. A sheen of sweat coats my skin and I wipe my brow with my forearm while Onyx and Dusk walk silently beside me and Phantom leads like he’s the one in charge.
It’s another twenty minutes before we make it to the large cave, they’d shown me before full of shadow beasts. We go through the moss as before and circle deeper and deeper into the earth until we reach the massive cavern. There are men sleeping in various states of undress around the fire. None are completely naked, but none are completely dressed either. And the amount of muscle in this cave makes it look like the Gold’s Gym models have all decided to commune together in this one cave.
A woman in a leather top with straps, torn to reveal her stomach covered in scars, comes down the stairs on the side of the cave. A strange eagerness fills me. Another woman, an actual woman! Yeah, she’s a shadow beast, but us both being female is something, right? But I don’t speak up because as she passes, the look she gives me--half grimace, half scowl--isn’t one of friendship.
Damn it. I guess I’ll be as good at making friends with the shadow beasts as I was with the fae...
We take the tunnel that we’d taken before, and it brings up unsettling memories of the strange drink, suddenly understanding my men, and a strange black cloud. We pass the unconscious guy, and I hesitate at the doorway. In a strange way, he reminds me of Rayne. They both have more delicate features than the shadow beasts, and the shade of almost-blond hair. But it’s more than that.
I take a step to go inside, and Phantom catches my arm.
“We’re not here for that this time.”
Well, that’s good at least. “Who is he?” I ask, wanting to move closer to him.
“Adrik,” he answers, and there’s sadness in his voice. “Come on.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
I feel the tension instantly hit all of them, and hold my breath, but none of them answer. Glancing between the man and them, I decide this might be one thing best left alone.
For now.
I force myself to turn away from him, and then we move deeper into the cave. The tunnel is lit by flame torches and there’s a definite old world feel to the place, combined with the same glowing crystals on the walls as before, but there are fewer here.
“Where are we going?” I ask Dusk who’s walking beside me, but it’s Phantom who turns around and answers. “We’re going to see a tribe elder. He’s the oldest living member. He’ll know what to do.”
That’s ominous since I don’t know which part we’ll be asking him about.
But I follow. And follow. And follow, because this is the cave that just doesn’t end. We have to be halfway across the state by the time we come to a shoot off from this tunnel that ends in a small room. lit by rustic-looking lanterns. There’s a man sitting in a small cocoon chair hanging from the ceiling, a cocoon chair that reminds me of a hammock. His feet rest on the ground though, and he seems content. He’s just reading a dog-eared copy of a leather-bound book and has a pair of glasses perched halfway down his nose, turned a little to catch the light from the flames from a fire in one corner.
Phantom approaches him slowly and gives a little bow. I don’t know why that surprises me, but I expected a secret handshake or something similar. Anything but this formal bow that feels more like the actions of a prince than the shadow beasts I’ve met so far.
“Hello, Solemus,” he says to both Phantom and Dusk with a bow of his own, before giving a nod to Onyx.
“Hello, Elder Auero,” Phantom says, and his expression is grim.
Dusk and Onyx make their way forward to greet the old man, who looks a little like Sam Elliot but sounds a lot like Sean Connery. He has shorter hair than the others, but still touching his neck, that’s pure white in color, and his eyes are a light brown. He has a thick white mustache, and no beard, but an easy smile.
He’s not at all what I expected one of their elders to look like, in all honesty. Yes, it’s true that the fae have a lot of old traditions, and that those traditions often merge with newer, more modern, technology, but I thought this elder would be sitting in a corner over a fire, chanting to himself. For some reason.
He moves from his seat to another arrangement by the far wall, one closer to the fire. There are a bunch of cushions on the floor, made out of fur, gathered together, facing each other. I sit beside Phantom while Dusk sits across from us and Onyx remains standing against the wall. The old man walks toward us and sits in one spot that I suspect is his typical seat between us all.
Onyx watches Dusk who seems ready to translate anything that Onyx might need. Or, maybe, there’s another reason Onyx is watching Dusk. One that I have no clue about.
More secrets and mysteries… who would have thought?
“The shadows are whispering.” The old man glances at me. “I guess you’re the reason.” His smile is serene and if not for the tension among us, I might smile back. But I don’t. I sit with my hands folded in my lap and my body curled in so I don’t accidentally rub shoulders with Phantom, who spent a very long night with his body pressed against mine. And I could feel everything from his shoulder to his knees.
Every. Single. Thing.
“Whispering?” Dusk asks, and I lean forward, eager for his answer.
Do the shadows really whisper to these people? And if they do, what do they say? And what’s so special about it this time?
“Fortunately, or unfortunately, yes.” I like the elder’s voice. It’s smooth and rich and the accent is one of the most decadent sounds I’ve ever heard.
“It’s been foretold that the end of this chaos will be brought when a light fae,” his pointed look is directed at me, “and the shadow beasts are mated.” He looks at Phantom who nods, then at Dusk and Onyx. They all turn to look at me. “The bond must be made if there is any hope of defeating the Shadow King and saving this planet from his creatures.”
Mated. Bonded. These aren’t words I’m particularly overjoyed to hear, even though I’m hearing them a hell of a lot right now.
I shake my head. “No. No. Not me. I’m not… mating or bonding… no.” I hold up a hand and stand. “Whatever world saving you guys are doing, it seems you were fine before me, and likely will be fine without me. So, the answer is no.” Four pairs of eyes are pointed at me and not a single person in this cave is smiling. Me included.
But I don’t care. Let them stare. I already had a mate once and I lost him. It tore out my heart and destroyed something inside of me that can never be repaired. So even if by some miracle I could have another mate, I wouldn’t.
I will never hurt like that again.
Onyx begins to sign from his spot by the wall, and Dusk speaks for him. “Are you sure? There’s no other way?”
The Elder shrugs. “I am not the Moon Goddess. I do not know everything. But I have listened closely to the shadows, and they are excited. They see this as a chance to win, not just a battle, but the war.” He hesitates, his gaze moving to me. “But you should mate her soon, or it could open us up to more dangers.”
“Moon Goddess? War? Danger?” I give a humorless laugh. “You guys get that I’m just a normal light fae, right? That if you hadn’t kidnapped me, I’d probably be taking classes right now, and worrying about finals. Not… saving the world from whatever imaginary thing you’re afraid of.”
Not that the trolls and monkeys are imaginary...
Dusk moves to stand in front of me. “Ann, there is a dark cloud waiting to take over this world.” He tilts his head as if that is the thing that’s going to change my mind or make him look more sincere. “The Shadow King isn’t going to stop sending rot monkeys armed with moon stone shards. And once they’re in place and the cloud spreads, he will block out the sun, people will die. The earth won’t be inhabitable.”
Wait. What?I stare at them in shock and confusion.
Phantom stands on the other side of me. “And you can save them.”
My gut churns. No, I can’t save everyone from some magical cloud. There’s no way.
“By mating with you I’ll save the world?” I look at Dusk. “But not just you, you too.” Then at Onyx. “And you.”
And what girl wouldn’t consider having these hotties as anything but good luck, but there’s too much pressure. This isn’t like when Esmeray fell for Rayne’s best friends. No, she had never had a mate before. She’d never really loved before or lost before. We were different people. And I am not someone who is ready for any of this. Who can handle any of this?
Besides, I’d had my mate. “Isn’t it possible that you guys have this wrong? That I’m not even your mate?”
This time, they all look at me like I’m a fool, but Phantom is the one to answer. “No. The mate bond is as real as this cave. It’s not something that can be questioned. We feel it, with each breath we take. We feel it down to the deepest parts of our souls.”
“Then why don’t I feel it?”
A hurt expression comes over Phantom’s face. He opens his mouth, then closes it.
“Are you sure you don’t?” Dusk asks softly. “Because I think you do, you’re just trying to ignore it.”
I don’t want to hurt them, but I want to be clear. “I’ve felt a mate bond before. With Rayne. My kind usually only ever have one mate… well, they can have more than one at a time, but typically they feel the connection all at the same time. They don’t have one mate, lose them, and then walk down the road and find another mate. That’s just not how it works!”
“Our connection can’t be wrong,” Phantom says.
Onyx signs something with a frown.
Dusk glares back at him. “Even if it isn’t convenient, it’s not wrong.”
I shake my head. “How is it that you guys aren’t getting this?” I feel tears prick my eyes. “My mate died not so long ago. I still miss him each and every day. You guys aren’t my mates.”
“Be reasonable,” Phantom says.
My spine stiffens, and I know I either need to get angry or cry. “You be reasonable. Because you might see me as your mate, and some weird piece to some weird puzzle, but you’re just the guys who kidnapped me to me!”
I walk out of the cave into the tunnel and make my way along to the main cave. At first, I’m just storming along, but my anger seems to fade with each step I take until I’m pretty sure I’m just going to start crying.
Was I mean to them? I can’t imagine feeling like someone was my mate and them saying those things to me. But at the same time, I’m right. I don’t feel the connection like I did with Rayne. Yes, I feel something. Something I’ve never felt with any other men, but that doesn’t make us mates.
I’m suddenly striding past a familiar cave. I pause in my steps and look inside. The unconscious guy is still there, like some kind of strange Sleeping Beauty. Is he in a coma? Is it something else? I don’t know, but I feel compelled to go closer to him. And I can’t help but be curious about these hands of mine. Can they help whatever’s wrong with him?
Looking in both directions in the tunnel, I see no one. Biting my lip, I get the sinking sensation that this is a bad idea, but I enter the room anyway and cross the space to stand beside him.
When I crouch next to him, he doesn’t move. Doesn’t even shift. But the slow rise and fall of his chest isn’t normal either, human or not. And I can’t tell what he is. It’s jerky and uneven. Like someone fighting for breath.
That’s not good.
Reaching out, I push back the hair from his forehead, and stare down at his handsome face. He really does remind me of Rayne in a way I don’t quite understand. Rayne rarely ever slept. He was so focused on solving the problems of our world and uncovering the secrets of our kind.
But even though I don’t understand why they feel similar to me, I have a yearning to try to save him. If only for the fact that he’s a young man who seems to be slowly dying.
I try to summon the power to my hands, to focus on the energy inside of me. At first, I just stare at my hands. Then, I glare at them. When nothing happens, I try to remember how I was feeling when I healed Onyx. I wasn’t really thinking about my hands, I was thinking about my desire to save him.
My hands suddenly glow. They’re brighter in this cave, somehow. A bluish light stronger than the moon. And as I picture the moon, their glow seems to brighten, and I feel a strange tingle move through my body. It makes a strange warmth spread over me like lying in the sun. What did the healers call this? Life force.
Yes, that’s what they called it. Life force. A power you take from deep inside yourself and push into another person. Even though I don’t understand why this ability would awaken within me so late in life, I don’t care, I’m strangely glad it’s here. And, right now, all I want is to push this energy into this man and see if it can help him.
So, I touch him, lightly pressing my hands on his head.
To my shock, he moans as if in pain.
I’m trembling. What if what I’m doing is wrong? What if I hurt him worse than he already is? In some strange way it feels like I’m both trying to save Rayne, and may watch him die all over again.
It’s scary, but for some reason, I don’t stop.
After a second, I move my hands down to his shoulders, over his heart, down to his ribcage. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but it feels right. Like falling asleep or waking up. Something that’s so normal that I don’t even have to think to do it.
A breath fills his lungs. A bigger breath than before, and then his breathing evens out.
I leave my hands there for a long minute, but the glow from them fades away. Whatever this new magic had done, it was finished. And based on his breathing, it must have helped something.
But what? And will it be enough?
“Something is better than nothing.” I whisper to myself.
But this absolutely doesn’t mean I’ve developed any kind of interest in saving the world, just because I couldn’t watch this one man die without trying to help.
None whatsoever.
