Pack Captive (Moon Called Book 1), page 9
I wasn't going to be the next Tyra, no matter how much I wanted to obey that command.
"I can't."
I pulled my arm out of his grip and descended the dais, sticking to the shadows as I turned towards the Dawn Palace.
And I felt completely alone again.
12
Ayla
It was hard to believe that a day ago, I would've been clawing at the walls of Lykos and the shackle, trying to escape, but now I was relatively content to return to the Palace.
I didn't want anyone to see me; it was bad enough that everyone had gotten an eyeful of my hands all over Ryden's chest.
My pack had always prided themselves on moving up in the world on their own merit. Our Warriors had a strict hierarchy.
The idea that I would try sleeping with Ryden just for the sake of mating an Alpha sickened me, even though that defiant voice inside me was very much into the idea of it for its own sake.
I had to be worth that first.
Worth an Alpha's attention, and that meant working my ass off to show the Elder Caller that I was more than a failure.
I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't realize I'd followed the shadowed streets past the bridge leading to the front doors of the Palace.
Instead, I found myself all the way on the other side of the lake.
From here, I couldn't even see the broken section of the Palace or wall, and there was something almost secretive in the quiet hush of the night. Even the water lapping at the rocky shore seemed to be muted.
I frowned, squinting back the way I'd come, but there was no one around. I did catch sight of two Guardians at the top of the wall, strolling back towards the other side of the city, but that was it.
There was another bridge leading to the Palace's island here, but it was much thinner than the first grand bridge I'd seen. Instead of white marble, it was carved from gray granite.
Either way, it led to the interior of the Palace. I didn't want to risk going back and being found by any of the wolves who might make my life harder than it was right now.
The narrow-eyed Claw who'd stared me down popped into my mind. I definitely didn't want to meet her in a dark alley.
So I quickly walked across the granite bridge instead, keeping my head up and my stance casual.
It wasn't like I was sneaking in anywhere. I just wanted to get back to the upper rooms of the Palace without exchanging a word with another living soul.
I stepped on the island, river rocks clicking underfoot. Like the bridge, the door leading inside was plain and utilitarian, made of heavy, solid wood.
I didn't like the lack of Guardians posted here. Anyone could just walk in, and we all knew how sneaky the Fenris wolves were.
Nobody stopped me as I approached the door. My curiosity was rising under the distinct impression that I shouldn't be here.
Bad idea, Ayla.
I shut the voice out as I reached for the door handle and pulled. It didn't budge so much as a centimeter, but something sparkled against the unmarked wood grain.
I peered closer, catching sight of faint lines.
Lunar runes, marked for binding and wards.
Really bad idea.
Well, bringing me here and dropping me into the city without so much as a tour of my new home was also a bad idea.
I ran my fingers down the door, and the lunar runes lit up, blazing pale blue before fading back to their inert state.
There was a solid, heavy clunk, then the door's lock clicked, an almost anticlimactic sound. I pulled again, and this time it opened easily despite its weight.
There was no glittering marble palace inside the doors. Just a dark, stone stairway leading down.
I chewed my lower lip, then stepped in and shut the door behind me.
One way or another, it led into the Palace itself. And I wanted to know what Ryden was hiding that needed to be kept behind a door marked with powerful lunar wards.
Guttering oil lamps lit my passage down the stairs. The air grew cool around me as I descended into the earth, and I realized I must be far below the surface level of the lake. It was almost cold enough for me to see my breath by the time I reached a landing, and I found myself rubbing my arms, trying to stay warm.
There was another door on the landing, but this time I touched the door and unlocked the runes before testing it.
It clicked, proving me right, and I stepped inside.
When my eyes adjusted, I almost scrambled back out, but the door had swung shut behind me.
I found myself with my back pressed flat to the door, and a pair of pale green eyes watched me hungrily from across the room.
They drew closer, flashing yellow when they caught the light, then stopped.
Once my moment of panic had passed, I realized the wolf was in a cell. Thick iron bars lined the cell from floor to ceiling, and I had more than enough room to straighten up without him being able to reach me.
The wolf was black-furred, but his lunar runes were like nothing I'd ever seen before.
All pure, moon-blessed wolves had runes that glowed a brilliant blue.
This one's runes were bloody red, so deep a scarlet they looked like fresh wounds. I had the distinct impression of pain as I looked at them.
"Fenris," I whispered, groping for the door handle without taking my eyes off the wolf.
Who else but Fenris would have bloody runes?
The wolf cocked his head, a minute movement. Then he shifted, rising as his human form appeared.
He was as handsome as Ryden, the Alpha's dark inverse. Rumpled black hair, strong, lush features and bronze skin, eyes as pale as jade. He towered over me, even from feet away.
If it weren't for those bloody runes, he would've been breathtaking.
He leaned against the bars, blatantly looking me over. I realized I'd been doing the same thing to him.
"You're not Tyra." He flashed me a humorless grin, teeth white and sharp. "But you've heard of my people."
My heart was still galloping painfully. "You're not Fenris?"
He looked down at himself, reaching up to touch one of the runes on his cheek. "Not me."
I stared at him, unable to take it in. What had happened to him?
"How did..." My voice failed, and I gestured towards his face. "Are you one of the shadow wolves?"
He knew what I meant.
His hand dropped away from the scarlet marks on his cheek, but those green eyes never left my face. "One of the servants? No. They're made of nothing but blood and dust."
My stomach dropped, but I finally found the door handle.
I couldn't bring myself to turn it. I'd never met a Fenris wolf who could speak before, and it wasn't lost on me that he hadn't told me how his runes had turned red.
"How do you know Tyra?" I demanded. "Who are you, if you're not Fenris?"
Instead of answering right away, he made himself comfortable, draping his arms over the crossbars of his cell so he could hang there and stare at me. The shadows cast over his face made his eyes seem that much greener.
"She tried to convert me," he said conversationally, as though he had strange Callers walking into his cell all the time. For all I knew, he did. "She'd spend hours a day in here. It always started with the moon's purity, the call of the stars, blah blah blah. Then she'd spend the next six hours waxing eloquent about her precious Alpha and how she was going to become the next queen of Lykos."
He flapped one hand in a mimicry of talking.
"Boring." The red runed wolf heaved a sigh. "I'd rather sit in here alone and go insane than listen to that."
The Alpha...I'd inferred this Tyra had had designs on Ryden, but it still made me a little sick to think about.
Maybe he'd slept with her. Maybe he fucked all the new Callers he caught and brought back.
"You seem to talk a lot yourself," I told him evenly. "And you never told me who you are."
"Just another one of Ryden's little captives." His eyes dropped to my ankle and the shackle around it. "Like you."
My lip drew back in a sneer, but I couldn't refute it.
Besides, I felt...a little bad for him. He was in a cell, probably spilling his thoughts to me because he was kept in total isolation.
"You can call me Merikh. That was my name before he found me."
"Before Fenris found you?" I felt my hand slip away from the door handle. I wanted to know what the Alpha of Fenris was like, from someone who had known him in the flesh.
"Who else?" Merikh snorted. "To answer your previous question, he is the how behind this."
He tapped a finger against the scarlet marks on his cheekbone, making them flare with bloody light.
"What is he like?" I took a step closer, taking care to remain well out of Merikh's reach. "Are you still with him, or did he force you into this?"
He searched my eyes for a long moment, then that cruel smile cut across his face again. He could give Calian a run for his money in looking like a complete asshole without even trying.
"I was willing," he said quietly. "When you have nothing, and you're offered everything...well, let's just say that's a very difficult proposal to turn down."
"Was it worth it?" I crossed my arms, looking him in the eye.
A look of surprise crossed his face. "Nobody's ever asked me that. The why, the how, the who did I kill...but never if it was worth it."
I raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
Sympathy had welled up in me at the bitterness in his voice when he indicated his runes, but I needed to remember what he was.
A prisoner for a good reason. One of Fenris's allies.
He might've once led the shadow wolves against my own pack. My Warriors' blood might be on his hands.
Merikh rested his forehead against the bars. He blinked, the dark fringe of his lashes nearly touching the scarlet runes. "I don't know."
He sounded almost plaintive. Lost.
I steeled myself. "It got you locked in a cell, so to be honest, I don't see much worth in it at all. Nor do I care to convert you. It's pretty clear to me whose side you're on."
He looked up at me through those lashes. "Oh, I'd be willing to give it a chance for you, just for asking me an honest question. Why don't you try? You could claim what Tyra could never do."
Merikh stretched out his arm, as far as he could possibly go, offering one fingertip.
"I swear by the Void I won't harm you," he told me, giving me a sultry smile. "This is your one free pass."
By the Void? I'd never heard that before.
And there was a small, selfish part of me that wanted to prove I was better than the infamous Tyra, that I could do what she couldn't.
And maybe an even smaller part that felt inexplicably drawn to Merikh, and wanted to make physical contact just once.
I was secure that my faith in the Moon was strong. Touching him wouldn't shake that faith.
The lunar power residing in me flickered as I drew on it, intending to shove it into him, to see if I could make those bloody runes flash blue.
If they did, maybe there was a sliver of hope for him.
I took a step forward, extending my arm just enough to press my fingertip against his.
Something that felt like white-hot coiled darkness flowed down my arm, slithering into me, trying to reach into my soul—
But the lunar power left in me drove it out.
I mentally pushed as hard as I could, forcing it back into Merikh and giving him a blast of my own pure magic.
He hissed, pulling his arm back into the cell as he gave me a suspicious look.
A moment later, he'd recovered, while I was still frozen in place, gasping for breath.
What had that been?
Merikh shook his hand, smiling again, but this time his expression was tight. "Ouch. You pack a punch, tiny Caller."
"What did you try to do to me?" The darkness was gone, burned out by the light of the moon, but I still felt sick to my stomach from how invasive it had felt.
Merikh just shrugged. "I didn't try to harm you. I gave my word. It was just a little test."
I didn't want to risk getting too comfortable in here, close enough for him to touch again. I backed towards the door and gripped the handle. "I would say it was a pleasure talking to you, but it wasn't. Enjoy your stay."
Merikh laughed, and I made the mistake of glancing back and finding him casually draped on the bars. "You'll come back. Fenris hurt you; I see it written on your soul."
I scoffed, but he grinned wider.
"I'm the only one with your answers. Have fun playing hide the salami with Ryden, Alpha's pet. Maybe when he grows tired of you, you'll come down here and get the full story."
"I won't be back," I growled under my breath, stepping out and yanking the door shut behind me.
I still heard Merikh's laughter as I practically sprinted up the stairs.
And ran straight into Calian at the top.
13
Calian
Ayla slammed into me, and almost plunged backwards down the stairs when she pushed away in a blind panic.
I caught her wrists, pulling her out of the stairwell and out into the cool night air. "What were you doing down there?"
There was only one thing down there, and he wasn't good. At all.
The moon only knew what poison he'd been dripping into her head while she was alone with him.
There were no flesh-and-blood Guardians stationed here for a reason—Merikh the Bloodfang had proven he was too fucking dangerous with his words alone. He could talk a saint into blasphemy.
Ayla was pale, but she looked up at me, a hint of irritation in her features. "I was exploring my new home."
Her emphasis on the word wasn't lost on me.
"There are some parts of Lykos that are off limits." I nodded to the warded door. "This is one of them. I'm going to let you go now."
She nodded, her breath coming more evenly now. "I'm not running off again. Why do you keep one of Fenris's wolves here?"
I did as promised and released her. She rubbed her wrists as I stepped up to the door, pushing it firmly shut and placing my hand, flat-palmed, against the door.
The runes that Caller Yasemin had marked there swarmed around my fingertips, re-sealing the wards.
Even if Merikh slipped through his bars, he wouldn't be able to touch this door. Not without his own corrupted runes causing him intense agony.
"Where else would we keep him?" I asked, my tone cool. "Should we let him walk around free? Let him run amok in Lykos and slaughter everyone he comes across?"
I looked back at her, and saw she'd gone pale again.
I was dying of curiosity—what had they talked about? But there was no way I was letting her know that.
"Is he that bad?" She wrapped her arms around herself. "He didn't seem..."
Ayla stopped herself, slamming her mouth shut.
I took pity on her. If all she'd ever known was the shadow wolves, she was going to be in for a world of hurt when she went up against one of Fenris's Warriors for the first time.
"Yes. And that's his forte—making himself seem like he's not that bad. He'll smile at you and tell you everything you want to hear while he drives a knife in your back."
She nodded, her lips set. I had the feeling that she'd just made up her mind about something. "That's a shame. I was hoping his runes could be repaired, but—"
"You touched him?"
Ayla flinched at my roar. I hadn't meant to; but even worse than talking to the Bloodfang was touching him.
Without asking for her permission, I reached for her, tugging her arms away from her chest.
Her facial runes were still blue, still pure. I knelt down, pushing her skirt aside to reveal her entire leg, running my thumb over the Caller marks emblazoned on the silky skin of her thigh.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice catching in her throat.
"Making sure he hasn't corrupted you," I growled. Her Caller marks were also pure. If she'd actually touched Merikh, then she'd walked away from the encounter luckier than most. "Did you touch him? Actual, physical contact?"
I looked up, and saw that she was nodding, biting her lip nervously.
And realized my hands were still wrapped around her leg.
She was thin, but there was strong muscle under her warm, smooth skin. And if I moved my hands up only a few inches...
I released her like I'd touched a hot coal, then stood up and brushed myself off. "You're fine for now. Don't touch him again. And stop acting like I'm going to bite your head off."
She looked up at me wide-eyed, and I realized I'd snapped that.
Like I was, in fact, going to bite her head off.
I really sucked at being nice to women. Especially pretty women who made me feel like I'd been caught off-guard.
I heaved a silent sigh. "Come with me, Ayla. I'll get you back to the Dawn Palace. Don't come here again."
She followed me silently as we strode towards the bridge. All of the ways around the island had been blocked to this particular door, so we'd have to take the long way.
"Is there any route that we won't come across other wolves?" she asked, and I nodded, pointing her down a winding side-street that cut through several gardens to the back of the Palace.
"We'll take this one. No one comes here."
I could imagine why she wanted to avoid other wolves. It had to be difficult to live your whole life in a tiny, quiet valley and suddenly be surrounded by people and constant sound.
The celebration must've taken its toll on her, especially after the last several days.
As we took to the shadows, her head lifted, and she stopped walking like she was trying to creep on eggshells.
I glanced at her sidelong and saw the relief on her face.
"I know it's hard to adjust to. It took me a few months before I was comfortable here." Make that a few years, but she didn't need to know that. It'd only make her adaptation harder. "You'll get used to it."
Ayla shrugged, reaching out to touch a jasmine bush as we disappeared under the trees. The thick, floral scent filled the air, following behind us. "It's not...never mind. It doesn't matter."
