Trusting Love

A pleasant breeze wafted off the coast onto the terrace dining area, pleasant in the ninety-eight degree weather, a perfect day with clear skies and a few dreamy clouds floating far above. The light summer breeze maintaining a cooler temperature than the sun endangered. The ocean a blanket graduating in colour from blue gray to a startling blue then aquamarine and jade towards the horizon. There was peace to be had there, with nothing to look forward to but a lazy day sailing.

Instead, he was looking over the ocean wishing he were sailing. Despite knowing the importance of their discussion he wished they would cease. There was nothing for them to do, the rules had been set centuries past and time had only made them harder still. Nothing would please him more than to have it all resolved to his needs and the good of his people but it was out of his hands. Six of the most powerful men of his people sat behind him and he could not dismiss their worries even though that was what he wanted. His back was to them, hardly civil but he was sure they forgave him, under the circumstances. The future of their people was at stake, his to secure, yet it was not in his hands to decide. An undesirable outcome spelled the end of their people and he was powerless to do anything. Fate was psychotic. Nevertheless, that was his burden to carry and it never got easier. He hoped destiny would hold sway at least she had no issues.

A day in which to forget all his problem, responsibilities and shortcomings that was all he needed. A perfect summer day to laze away accompanied by the waves and the sea breeze, nothing beat the romance of sea weather, so close and yet so far from land it was another world. A gentle and forceful, tender and vibrant world; a lover honest in her emotions, as loving as she was moody, one knew what to expect from her. All who loved her knew to treat her with respect, to watch for her disposition with care. She sheltered her children upon her, nestled them at her bosom and soothed any worries they had, exposed them for the futile endeavors they were. Ageless she was no judge of faults treating all alike. Today she was tranquil, lulling many to her cherished embrace and he ached for her, wished for her serene company. Tension had long been his companion and he needed rest from it.

He stood overlooking the cliff edge from which the balcony rail sprung, watching as the tides crushed against the rocky bottom. Their spray misting the air at the base to the delight of the gracious sun who birthed a rainbow in it. Sea birds hovered above the rocks, eyes on the lookout for any unlucky sea creatures the tides brought in, some rested on the rocks and or preened themselves. He spent as much of his summer days as he could at this balcony when he was here .

"We are not trying to tell you how to live your life," Braeden stated "But this is at the heart of every one of us and we have waited so long, then and now."

Trevyn smiled then turned to face his companions, his eyes meeting those of the mountain prince. "In trying to secure the future of our people you are telling me how to live my life, there is no way around it. The fact remains though; I am not the one to decide how to proceed, my hands are tied. I cannot force the issue or risk putting our people in more peril."

"What do you mean?"

As he was about to answer a wave of terror suddenly washed over him, unimaginable pain whacked his being. He stood by the dining terrace in the fullness of the noon sun yet he was shrouded in darkness. There was nothing in his world to see touch or smell only pain. Intense despair harrowed his soul, a taste of death denuding his sense of self. He was nowhere at the same time he was in two places. Time drained as if its sands filtered through a fine sieve still as it rushed in a confusing kaleidoscope.

A hand caught him as he would have pitched over the railing and he felt its tight grip as if through a plastic medium, the sharp pain of a boot kicking and breaking his ribs more portent. He cried out as the merciless boot repeatedly drove into him. The voices of his companions meant nothing, registering at an insignificant level of his awareness. His legs were useless, yet he stood rigid on them, he had cuts all over his body and still he did not bleed. Nothing made sense.

Trevyn

!

Her voice cried out from his throat and as understanding came his vision became his again. She needed him. Never before had she called him by his full name that she did so now said a lot.

Let me out now!

His wolf demanded understanding at the same time he did. He had to stay in control and not let his animal side take over completely. As much as he wanted to, he could not cross the line his rage and the primal need demanded. However, he needed that side of him to get there in time, if he was not already too late.

Why had he left her? She was his to protect and he had let his pride let him lose focus, now it might be too late.

"Call Rafe," he growled at the shadow that still held him as fury blinded him.

Kill!

His other raged, straining against his control, gaining with each second.

No!

He was a prince of his people, his duty was to secure their survival and if he killed a human it would spell the end for their way of life, the return of the dark times of being hunted which had ended just four decades past. "Don't let me kill him." He ordered the same shadow.

"Kill Rafe?" the shadow asked but he was beyond hearing, in his mind's eye he saw her tied to a table leg, the brute she loved kicking her as if she were a dog.

A howl of fury erupted from deep within, a killing note none could mistake. He shifted as it assaulted the air and all reservations were gone. Ray was a dead man; he was one with his wolf. That puny sorry excuse for a human had dared touch his woman in ways only he should, kept him from his mate for many moons and now he dared to touch her in ways he never would. Nothing would save him from his wrath. Before he even finished shifting, he was running with the six lycan close behind him.

Stretching his body fully he tore off at a ground eating pace. His fury gave him the impetus to overcome the limits of his abilities, his legs stretching as far as they could, faster than he had ever run. Rafe joined them as they hit the beach but Trevyn had no time to answer his questions any more than he had answered the others.

Her house was on the same stretch of beach but seven miles from his, amongst the cluster beachfront properties. At his speed it would take him ten minutes to get to her, he only hoped she would be alive. If he failed to get to her in time, it would haunt him for the rest of his life, which would be mercifully short but the damage that would result was unthinkable. He would do all in his power to ensure her life, no matter the cost.

Running across sand was arduous; it shifted beneath his paws, got between his toes, irritating him, especially as it slowed him down when he needed to hurry. This though was the shortest route to her, the best way to save her before he lost her forever. There were no trees or boulders to hide them from view, people would wonder at a pack of wolves running around, would be scared, but he didn't care. Their natural brothers no longer roamed these parts, confined as they were to reserves and dwindling in numbers, hunted to near extinction by ignorant humans. A wolf sighting though would likely spark a hunt, but by then all would be decided one way or another.

Her scent was in the air, clear to his overdeveloped senses rosemary and rose, the scent that wrapped around his heart every time he caught it, fired his arousal to the point of pain as her flavor sank through his taste buds. Ray's drunken stench was also on the wind as was the taste of her blood. Rage boiled in him, he snarled in his throat like a rabid wolf would, lost any sense but his need for blood, the need to protect his mate. With a burst of energy he raced up to her door, his momentum tearing it from its hinges and throwing it halfway into her living room. Without pause, he ran into her dining where the sound of her voice calling to him assaulted his ears. It was weak, a testament she was close to death but to him it was a clarion call to war. He pounced onto the sorry excuse of a man, knocking him off her and landing onto his chest as he fell onto the floor. The coward screamed, a high-pitched wail that would shame any man worth of the distinction, Ray though had already shown himself unworthy of being called one.

Trevyn unsheathed his claws, sinking them into the bastard's chest to the accompaniment of more shrieks; he bared his teeth going after the throat with deadly intent. With the rush of the kill burning in his blood he focused on the pulsing vein at the neck, one bite was all it would take and Ray did not have the strength to fight him off, helpless at his mercy. He relished the power he had over him, the fear reeking from him appealed to the predator bringing out the need to toy with his victim. The hunger for the kill that plagued his kind, their nature that centuries of civilization could not erase arose in him as he had never felt it. Never had he allowed the primitive needs of his wolf to take over, always aware of whom he was and the consequences of his actions, his mate though had never been threatened. That was one thing guaranteed to bring out the ruthlessness of his kind and the instant Ray decided to harm what was Trevyn's his life became forfeit

As he leaned in for the kill already tasting the gush of blood in his mouth, the heat of life pulsing through it in ever weakening spurts as life ebbed away, a two hundred plus body barred into him knocking him off Ray. With speed Trevyn would never have suspected of him Ray scrambled up, out through the back door and into his car before he had regained his feet. Having his primal self aroused then denied maddened him, rage pounded into him blinding his senses that he turned against the other wolf but his reaction had already been anticipated. Trevyn followed wanting to punish the one who had deprived him of his prey and stopped in his tracks. Gérald, he noted by snow flecked midnight fur, but that was not what had brought him to his senses. Jumping over Tara's body the wolf lay down in submission besides her placating sounds vibrating from his throat.

Swifter than he had ever shifted he was in his human form and at her side, she looked so broken, her blood splattered about her, socking what little of her clothes were left. Her beautiful face was unrecognizable, swollen, bruised it did not look human. Her chest was caved in, some of her ribs clearly broken though it still rose and fell with every one of her shallow breaths. Both her legs were tied to a table leg broken in several places in all she resembled nothing human. He wanted to hold her, needed to but could not bear to cause her pain as no part of her was uninjured.

Pain lashed through him, the knowledge that he had failed her ripped through his heart as if a hot knife were slashing it. She was dying and there was nothing he could do about it, all his power and he was helpless to do anything but watch her die. Helpless was something he had never been before and it sat ill with him yet he could not think of a way to save her. She was going to die and all he could do was watch. There would be no last words to hold on to, no goodbyes, no closure for either of them just painful deaths.

Why had he left her alone? He had known she was running scared, afraid of the intensity between them and needing time to regroup. Yet he had left her, abandoned her as if she was nothing and not the most important part of him. He had abandoned his mate to die, failed to protect her.

It hurt too much to see her like this, broken, betrayed by the men who were supposed to protect her. What good were all his powers if they failed at what mattered most? He had betrayed her as much as Ray had and in so doing betrayed all his people. His race was as doomed as she now was and it was all his doing.

"Tara," a whisper had never held such anguish, his hand caressed the air above her cheek as he remembered all the times he had touched her. Shock raced through him as her eyes fluttered open, in her state she should not be conscious but she looked straight into his eyes with the same intelligent awareness she held. There was no pain in their depths, she was in that state before death when all pain ceased and peace settled. "Tara." He had no idea what to say, how to say goodbye.

"Trev," she smiled the smile that always went straight to his heart, this time it bled. "I knew you would come."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner." He replied

"No, I'm sorry; I should have listened to you."

"It's okay sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for."

Tears filled and fell from her eyes but the smile reappeared whilst she looked at him with eyes brimming with more than tears. So many emotions were clear in her eyes, emotions that had him regretting so much. "You are a wonderful man," she said her voice getting fainter. "There is something I need to tell you."

"What?" he asked but her eyes were already closed and her chest still, something shifted in him, a void opening where his soul dwelt. Taking her hand in his he held it as if it were a fragile flower covering it with his other and closed his eyes.

"Trevyn, I..." Braeden started to say.

"Don't." Trevyn commanded. There was nothing to say and if there was he did not want to hear it. What was the point of words, what could possibly make a difference? "Leave." He ordered and was grateful when they left without saying anything. It was bad enough their pity clogged the air he did not want to hear it. "

Sibum ammeni sunu simtim alaku

" (witness why they go to one's fate) he gave her the parting blessing of his ancestors.

* * * *

A council of immortals had convened, something that rarely happened given the smoldering hatreds that had endured millennia. None of the different races sat together, even some of the same race sat with that certain distance between them, the one that existed regardless of space. Although their concentration was elsewhere they all watched each other despite the assurance there would be no trouble tolerated. The safeguards placed on the meeting place were extensive, designed to kill any who went against the rules they had all given signature to but nothing was ever foolproof. In their world there were no guarantees and the business that had brought them here was evidence of that. They watched as the prince of the urlykae mourned the eminent death of his mate, listened as she struggled with her last words then breathed a collective sigh of relief as she took her last breath. Instant celebration broke out as they toasted each other on the unexpected good fortune.

Owain of the fey found the whole scene disturbing but knew not show it. He sat and drank the toasts as they were made and kept his face emotionless. It would not do to let the powerhouses around him see his defection. That they could plot and rejoice at the death of an innocent sickened him and the fact that he had no choice but to go along did not bode well for his kind's future. Security was one thing but the innocent were never meant to suffer. Always he had believed it was a matter of security but as he watched the glee and smugness on most faces about him he wondered. Acts like these though tended to birth more trouble than was anticipated and who was to know what further actions security would demand. Who would be the next liability to security and who would gain from it? He knew his race was competent enough to be the next perceived threat or thereabouts, it was time to make a stand and new alliances.

Looking about him he saw others who like him were not overly exuberant, dismissing most of them he surreptitiously studied the remaining before settling on four who were of the same race. Though he knew none other would see it he could tell they were of the same mind, what concerned him was the fact they did not get along, could barely stand to be in the same room. Their honour nonetheless prevented any unpleasantness to the point that they were even civil to one another, still their race was as powerful as his and they were likely to be targeted next moreso because of their infighting. The leonine princes had never gotten along, just as their ancestors had not but in the past fourteen years they had declared a war without allies, indiscriminately killing any of the others until they were vastly reduced. At the rate they were going they would all be gone, another of their races to fall into legends for the future generations and he could not have that, not from any ultraism. The lions were the only ones in the current group he could remotely trust and he had to have allies.

They were alike not just in looks but in principles despite their differences. Fernán, heir to the throne of the forest lions in the amazon belt, had a distinctly Castilian cast to it with the high cheekbones and reddish skin that pronounced an Indian heritage. He had dark hair and cat green eyes that were incisive and missed nothing, he tended to watch listen and analyze more than he talked and when he made a decision he stayed true to it. Sitting next to him was Jabír, prince of Abzin, a kingdom populated by mostly afro-arabic leonine shifters situated in the mountains at the borders of Libya, Niger and Chad was dark haired with tawny eyes like a lion's. He was decisive, never one to waste time and implacable with a no nonsense attitude. Besides him sat Alaric of the snow lions from the Antarctic where the prides lived with little human interference. Their fur was snow white to give them better camoflash them as a result they were mostly platinum haired with tawny eyes and decidedly pale skin. Alaric lived on his honour, was known in their world to be a man of his word, he was the oldest of the four princes and tended to take that as a reason to be the most responsible. Last was the prince of the north American werelions Nayel, platinum haired and green-eyed he was a humourous guy who made a point of having people underestimate him. His eyes were normally at half mast as if he could not care less what was about him, a glint of amusement danced about his lips and could be found in his eyes. He had a relaxed indulgent air around him but any who knew him well saw through all this to the steel behind his pose, for that was what it was.

Their collective principles were well-known, their honour unquestionable so he wondered how they had been included in the meeting, he himself was known to have dubious honour, he kept his word but it was the way of his people to be ambiguous and out for themselves no matter who got hurt. Making up his mind to approach them he turned his eyes to the screen and froze.

We need to talk now.

He mentally sent to the four who bristled collectively at his intrusion and tone. Without giving them any more mind he walked out of the room, there would be no suspicion of them as others were already making new alliances within their perceived victory. As he had known the four followed him maybe out of curiosity but definitely to put him in his place but he would not give them a chance.

He waited at one of the many balconies that bordered the island that was not where the meetings always took place. It like the rest of them overlooked nothing more that the tenebrous mist from which the island was made. Many found the sight irksome as the mist was known to destroy even immortals but he like his kind was a creature of mists.

"Tell me, who do you think is going to be next on the list of security risks?" he asked when he felt their presence behind him, turning as he did.

"There are no more security risks." Jabir replied.