The Nosferatu Adventures
page 325, chapter 325
Rolf's Kingdom
2026
He sat with his feet up on a tree stump, a cap down over his eyes, a well worn bit of licorice root between his teeth. His hair brushed his collar in shades of chestnut and silver, the short beard completely silver. Squinting up at the late day sun, he grunted to himself as he got up from the chair and stretched before moving slowly around the edge of his property. They were late. At lest four hours if not more. Dax was always, if nothing else, exact with his timing, and everything pointed to the fact they were late. He waited, listening to the emptiness of the trees, counting in his head as he managed to grab another canvas bag from the small wood shed, filling it with bottled water, dried fruits, cheese and bread. "You're late. Missed dinner." he said as the figures approached from the edge of the woods. Rolling up his sleeves, he bent grabbing up the second canvas bag.
"You knew we were coming?" Reuben asked as he led the three females exhausted up the mountain trails. They had been climbing for half the day, the efforts beyond showing for Shayne and Anezka. Shayne was now doubled over, her hands on her knees breathing hard, while Anezka was near tears staring at her scraped and bruised hands. Our heroine was drenched in sweat, but after all the time she'd spent in the Carpathian mountains with Vlad, she'd gotten used to such a climb.
"Yeah, four hours ago." he commented tossing the canvas bags at the feet of Shayne and Anezka. "You two, can't be here. Nothing personal. I just can't risk having you two here during the full moon." he hitched his thumb over his left shoulder. "You keep traveling north for another few hours, and you'll find a small shelter." Dax turned looking Reuben and Nosferatu over from head to toe, his one hand now at his hip. "You two are fine." he gestured towards them then the cabin, before turning again pointing north farther into the mountains. "I'm serious now get!" his voice rose to a violent level as he kicked dirt towards the two females. Shayne glared at him as she bent grabbing up the bags, swinging one over her shoulder, while holding the other out towards Anezka. When the raven haired female didn't move to take it, didn't acknowledge the situation, Shayne grabbed her by the elbow dragging her in the direction Dax had pointed.
"How did you know we were coming?" Reuben asked combing his fingers through his hair pulling it back into one of his trademark too smooth to be human ponytails. "You a witch or just a seer?"
"Whichever one keeps you from ripping my throat out." Dax replied shrugging. He turned towards the cabin opening the door. "You coming or what?"
"Why turn them away but not me?" our heroine asked following him into the cabin. Dax reached for the lantern nearest the door moving it closer to the fireplace to the right of them. He moved silently then towards a shelf filled with scrolls and maps, scratching his temple as he laid one after another flat on the kitchen table.
"Stupid question. Isn't it obvious?" he pointed towards them both. "Your mate." he replied.
"Uh, my mate is who I'm trying to get back to."
"No, your other mate is who you're trying to get back to." he leaned over balancing on one leg, the other out like dancer as he grabbed a small leather pouch off another bookshelf. Untying the cord from it, he tossed the contents across the nearest map. Our heroine moved closer to see the runes spread out in a half fan pattern. "There are legends about you. Prophecies. Were you aware of that?" Our heroine shook her head no. Dax grunted nodding before pointing to a few of the runes that landed near the edge of the table. "Two blooded. A creature that walks the line between worlds. Not dead not alive, but favoured by both. Able to journey between the worlds without fear." he picked up one of the runes that had landed upside down. "The destroyer who builds."
"Okay, I understand how that sounds like Nos here a bit. The fact she has traveled through portals and is a banshee. But the rest?" Reuben remarked as he inched closer to the female, his arms crossed over his muscular chest, his shoulder touching the back of her neck as he leaned in sniffing her hair.
"You." Dax replied picking up another of the runes holding it up for them to see before dropping it down on top of the map again, then taking another placing it on top of that; the pile getting larger. "A vampiric creature who gave birth. You, joined the werewolves and Vlad's army. You, who created a new pack in a realm without the level of magick really needed to even have lycans." Dax answered as he leaned both hands on the tabletop, slowly putting our heroine in mind of a panther gracefully moving, stretching itself out; his knuckles exposed as his powerful fingers were tucked into his palms. The light from the lanterns flickered across his eyes, exposing a flash of deep amber-maroon. So Dax wasn't just a seer or even a witch, he was a Familiar.
"I didn't...create a pack." our heroine whispered. Dax grunted nodding again.
"Yes you did. You brought together those humans...what were their names? Ruthven, Seward, Quentin and Zeddy? And that seer, Landin. The detective, Arthur who was turned into a lycanthrope, by your mate Edric who you woke up shall we say, and of course Vlad. A pack every step of the way." He pointed then towards Reuben. "Other mate. Course that other mate isn't the pack Alpha." Reuben shifted then uncomfortably as he grabbed a chair perching on the back of it, his feet firmly on the seat. Hunching over the dark haired male wolf draped his wrists over his knees.
"Neither am I." Reuben spoke as if he were chewing something mindlessly. "Dagan was...is the pack alpha."
"How could he be when he's not here? Huh? Answer me that." Dax continued as he pulled himself up to a standing position again, his eyes never leaving Reuben. "Dagan, is off in some other realm of reality all by his lonesome. Yet, you're the one here, holding it all together. Deny it all you want, but you sir are indeed the alpha in these parts. King of the kingdom while the real king is mentally trapped in his own nightmares. Parent to her spawn." he nodded again towards our heroine. "Doesn't everyone come to you with their problems? The people of the kingdom? The other lycanthropes in the area? Aren't you the one who day in and day out maintain the upkeep of the castle and peace between the neighbouring packs? You're alpha through and through."
"So what just because he's the alpha you are saying he's automatically my mate?"
"No, I'm saying he's your mate because he claimed you before."
"Only because of the full moon ritual." our heroine said bitterly.
"The first time. But..." Dax picked up another of the runes adding it to the pile. "When you two went through the portal to the past, he was your mate for a brief time as well."
"I've heard enough, I'm going for a run." Reuben snarled as he moved from them, the door swinging before either had a chance to argue. Our heroine turned her attention back to Dax.
"He wasn't the last male that claimed me though during that part of my life. Reuben's claim on me was severed when the kid was born. He came back here, and Jacob claimed me."
"And you killed him yes yes. Terrible. But, haven't you wondered why your other current mate Edric was able to claim you without shacking you? Huh? He did it with just a smear of his blood. Or why he became a hybrid when you turned him and not just a shapeshifter or just a banshee? Or why when Edric turned Arthur; Arthur didn't become a hybrid; just a werewolf? Or for that matter why Arthur is part of the Oaken bloodline and not Frankenstein?"
"Edric is...you're saying he was Jacob?" her voice became a harsh whisper as tears began to cloud her eyes.
"In another life and reality yes."
"And Reuben? How does all that lead to Roo being my mate now? Here?"
"Weren't you listening?" he tossed a rune at her watching it bounce off her stomach back to the table to spin before landing at the foot of the little rune pile. "He was the last one from this reality to have claimed you that's still here. All the other mates you've managed to have, are on the other side of the portal. And that in itself is mind boggling. When a werewolf mates, it's for life. But you somehow keep picking ones that die on you. How rude."
Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. So if Edric isn't the pack alpha in the modern reality, who might it be?)
No comments:
Post a Comment