Awakening the Beast, page 2
“Has she woken up yet?” Ranolo came in through the door.
He glanced up from the stone lion and stared at the leader and shaman of the two-natured tribe. It was difficult to believe he was Illiana’s father because none in the village knew about her at first. Ranolo was almost as tall as Belik. His brown hair was peppered with gray and heavy with it at his temples. He had aged some in the time Illiana had spent at the village. His skin was more golden than tan. He was tall, but robust, muscular, and his brown eyes held a lot of wisdom. Side by side he could see the likeness of her father. She had his nose and the shape of face. Her hair had copper highlights in it that glinted in the light. Illiana explained that the flock were only raven shifters and they all looked alike, long black hair, pale skin, and black eyes. Although her aunt Coret had blue eyes because she was a priestess. She had always revered her aunt more than her mother, so Ohanzee knew the shock of Lelana flying this distance had not worn off.
Ohanzee glanced at the closed bedroom door. “I don’t know. Illiana hasn’t come out of the room.” Ranolo was about to go inside, but Ohanzee grabbed the other man’s arm. “What do you think about Lelana? I mean is she going to be okay? What do you think happened in the forest to make her come here?”
The shaman shook his head. “I don’t know. She was babbling when I found her. Illiana did a wonderful job healing her mother. She can be so much more. I know it, but she has to embrace the beast inside of her. It had to be something awful to make Lelana abandon the flock and come here.”
“What do you mean about accepting the beast? She’s already embraced both of the animals inside of her, wolf and raven. Are you saying that she has another beast inside of her? How is that possible?”
“No. She only has two animals within her, but if she doesn’t rein in all of the elements, they could control her. Think of each one as a living thing and they have a mind of their own and until she loses her fear of them, they will rage inside of her.”
“So the elements are going to possess her? Why didn’t you tell her that in the first place? Why haven’t you warned me and Belik about this?” He grabbed the leader of tribe and shook him.
Ranolo removed Ohanzee’s hand from his arm. “Illiana knew the risk. We’ve discussed it at length. There is a dread in her that she hasn’t mastered yet. That’s why we’ve been spending so much time together. Working with her mother was the first step to accepting her gifts and integrating the elements into her very being. If she doesn’t master it, then it could tear her apart. You’ll be there to help her and so will Belik. Now we have to focus on Lelana and her flock. Then we can go from there.”
He opened the door and Ohanzee peered inside. Illiana sat near the bed perfectly resolute. Her long black hair hung loose and covered her face. Her head was bowed so the strands brushed the tops of her knees. Firelight caught her copper skin and enhanced her beauty. It hardened his cock, but it was not the time for him to think about being with the woman that he cared about. He needed to focus on making sure her mother was okay and that everything was running smoothly around the house.
“Aren’t you going to come in too, Ohanzee?” Illiana asked softly.
The earth rolled beneath his feet and a small pebble hit his foot. The shiver of power that surged through him sparked his ability to talk with the element, but hers was so much stronger. It seemed every time she reached out and touched the elements that she was getting better control of them. He could not see how she was afraid of the elements inside of her. Her accuracy was pinpointed where his was miniscule in comparison. When he thought about the earth, the voice of the curmudgeonly old man who was always stubborn to talk with came to mind. Sometimes the element did not respond to him at all. The first time he had touched Illiana it had amplified his affinities with earth and water. He had helped her crack the earth and be able to communicate with it. But they had moved beyond that and into a realm where she was the teacher and he was the student. If he did have questions, he asked Ranolo because he was more experienced with the different aspects of the elements.
Ohanzee stepped into the room and a small smile turned up his beautiful mate’s full lips. “How is she?” he asked Illiana.
Illiana raised her head and pushed her hair back. Her eyes flashed silver and black for a moment before the silver died away and revealed her beautiful midnight eyes once more. “She’s better, but her dreams are troubled. I’ve watched her sleep. Whatever’s happened is bad. She’s been screaming in her sleep.”
“It’ll be okay. We have to wait for her to wake up,” Ranolo responded.
“No, you don’t. I’m awake.” Illiana’s mother opened her eyes.
Ohanzee’s stomach quivered in anticipation of the news. Whatever Lelana would reveal, it would forever change his life.
Chapter Two
“Mother, you should stay in bed.” Illiana tried to keep her mother down.
Lelana waved her off and wrapped the dress that Illiana had set out for her around herself. The midnight blue gown was too big for her mother and cut in the style of the flock. It was a wraparound dress that tied at the waist. All the flock wore similar dress because it was easier to drop the clothing and shift. Illiana had taken to wearing a mixture of clothing that the two-natured tribe wore and that of the flock. Her shirt was a long tunic that wrapped around her waist, but she wore pants as well that buttoned instead of tied. It helped her to fit in.
“She’s right, Lelana. You should rest. You had a rough ordeal. Your body hasn’t recovered from your arduous journey.” Ranolo stood at the end of the bed.
Lelana glared at her father. “Ran, I don’t need you to tell me what I can and can’t do. You lost that privilege a very long time ago.”
Her father sighed and a few lines creased his forehead. His brown eyes were troubled, but she could understand. This was a shock to him as well. Her parents stared at one another until her father finally looked away. Illiana had never seen her father back down from anyone. Not that anyone was afraid of him because he was a fair leader and balanced the spiritual role of shaman and chief, better than her mother had ever balanced leading the flock. Ranolo made time for her when she needed a word of advice. On the other hand, Lelana brushed her off and told Illiana she would realize one day that the goodness of the flock came before her personal life. Illiana understood that her mother kept an iron fist on everything, but to her that did not mean Lelana had to sacrifice her personal happiness. Her mother had made a lot of sacrifices because she thought it was best to raise her as a raven—like not informing her of her other animal nature until it woke up.
Christopher had been the catalyst to awaken her wolf. He had said some awful things to her in the heat of the moment, but he did not mean them. At the time it had hurt her more than anything because he had been her best friend all her life until he had rejected her. She had run and run until she lost all thought and feeling. At some point during the run, Illiana had become the wolf. It was challenging for her to pull up the memories of that long trek from the forest to the sea, which was over a hundred miles from the center of Corvi village. The next morning, she was human once more and knew that something special had happened to her. Nevertheless, those unhappy feelings toward Lelana lingered.
“Illiana, did you hear my question?” Lelana crossed her arms over her chest.
She glanced at her mother and that dark penetrating stare shot right through her. It was that same scrutinizing gaze, studying her to come up with some quip about her doing something else wrong. “No. What did you ask me?”
“Still daydreaming even after I flew all this way. I was hoping that you would’ve grown up by now and—”
“Begging your pardon, ma’am, but you have no right to talk to Illiana that way. She saved your life.” Ohanzee growled.
Illiana looked at her mate and saw the fierce look in his eyes. The same one he had when he was pursuing her. A fleeting look of shock moved across Lelana’s face. Ohanzee joined her and slipped his fingers through hers. It bolstered her spirit. She had found the courage to stand up to the woman before she left, and Illiana had nearly forgotten that. But this was her home. This was her mate. She did not have to be treated like she an unruly child anymore.
“Mother, this is Ohanzee. He’s one of my mates and you will respect me and him, along with my father in our house. I understand that there’s been a great tragedy and we need to know what happened, but this is my home. I’ve learned much in the time away from you. More than you can ever know.”
Her mother studied Ohanzee for a second. A small smile came upon her lips and then she met Illiana’s eyes. The gray in her mother’s hair was more pronounced. The lines around her mouth and her eyes were tighter than ever. Her mother had aged in the past year that she had been gone. Whatever had happened, it had given her more of a roadmap to her life than she had ever expected spread out on her face.
“Well, I’m glad that you’ve found a place for yourself. You never really had one in the flock, and certainly not in the pack. About saving my life, well I barely remember how I got here. I had a few strange dreams with you in them…they could have been hallucinations.”
“Think whatever you want. You never accepted me for what I was anyway. Since we’ve caught up, can you tell me what sent you all this way?” Illiana could not quell the severe edge in her voice. Were her dreams true? Had the forest burned? How many had died? Those questions remained stuck in her throat and only one came out. “Is Christopher still alive?”
Lelana nodded. “He’s alive.”
Relief flooded Illiana’s being. Knowing that her wolf was safe was the most important thing. That gave her hope that she would one day see him again. “Thank the spirits.”
“You won’t want to thank them after you hear the rest of the tale.”
“Then tell it,” Ranolo insisted.
“Can I have some water first and a place to sit?” Lelana asked.
“Of course. This way.” Ranolo took her mother’s arm and led her into the common room. He poured her a glass of water from the pitcher on the dining table. Her mother sipped it slowly and then took a deep breath. At that moment, Belik slipped inside of the house and flashed her a small smile.
“Lelana, you’re awake and moving.” He gave her a quick hug and went to Illiana’s side.
He brushed Illiana’s cheek with a kiss and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Good to see you two are still together. Two months after you left, a man and a woman came to the edge of the wood claiming they wanted to trade with the ravens and the wolves. They had a letter written by you, Illiana, saying that I should consider trading with them. They were a cougar clan from the plains. Does that sound familiar?”
Illiana nodded. “Yes. We went into their village and when they discovered I was two-natured, they were going to kill me. In order to leave, we made a deal with them. I wrote the letter to get out of there.”
“I took it before Christopher and the wolf council. I also talked to Coret to be sure it would be okay. She saw some possible misunderstandings between our peoples, but nothing we couldn’t work out. Once all parties agreed, we invited them into our homes, showed them the village and the aeries. Things went well through the winter. Then one day, the leader of the vulture clan arrived with the cougar clan leader to finally meet us because he had been on another trading mission to the north and hadn’t been able to come before. He said that he shared territory with the cougars. People started to go missing. Then some of the wolves were found slaughtered although they had put up a good fight. We confronted the vultures and the cougars, but they declared they knew nothing about it. Three months ago during the annual initiation, we were taken by surprise. The vultures came from above, more than we had ever seen, and overpowered the flock. They pushed us out of our aeries to the edges of the forest. The wolves were fighting their own battle with the cougars and more were arriving from the plains each day overwhelming the pack. Things were falling apart. The Corvi are peaceful and haven’t had warriors in our ranks for centuries. So we gathered in secret with the wolves and decided to do the only thing that we could do, hoping it would drive the interlopers back to their territory.”
“You set fire to the forest,” Illiana whispered.
“Yes. We torched the aeries to drive them from our homes. How did you know that?”
She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. Oh gods.”
“During the fire, all hell broke loose. We tried to get everyone out. The fire burned some of the aeries, but then it began to rain. The fire spread more on the ground than in the canopy. It all happened so fast. The vultures and the cougars retaliated. They began killing senselessly.” As her mother imparted the story, her voice became haunted and her eyes were glazed while she remembered everything that happened to her. “Coret tried to lead the young ones away, but one of the vultures caught her in his talons and dug into her. They took the hatchlings. The ones who did not escape were rounded up by the vultures. The same with the wolves by the cats. I never thought I’d see the day where we’d be pulled into slavery. The only thing I could think of was getting here. I barely made it out and I kept on going west.”
Tears slipped down Illiana’s cheeks. The guilt of it weighed on her shoulders. The rush of the elements roared in her head like a waterfall and she could not shut them out. She even covered her ears with her hands and shook her head. “It’s all my fault.”
* * * *
Belik caught Illiana and kept her from collapsing after what her mother had revealed. Ohanzee had her other arm and together they led her over to another chair so she could sit. The full implication of what the leader of the flock said hit him. The forest and all of the ravens had been decimated all because they had gone to the cougar clan, all because he was tired of being alone during their journey. He shook his head and felt the sting of tears gathering in his eyes.
“It’s all my fault,” Illiana said again.
He hugged her closer. “No. It’s mine. I was the one who wanted to go with Rama into the village.”
She stared at him and he saw the guilt in her eyes. “No. I wrote the letter.”
“Wait. What are you talking about? What happened exactly?” Lelana asked.
Belik looked at Lelana. “We were camping for the night and the next morning we were surprised by Rama. She invited us to her village. We got there and when they discovered Illiana was two-natured, Rama did the only thing that she could think of to get us out of there. And poor Marta, they were going to kill her, too, but Rama gave her little sister to us to be saved. She’s happy with a family in the village here. After walking for three weeks, I wanted to meet other shifters. I noticed the vultures while we traveled along the way, but I never thought…”
“It’s not your fault. Either of you. You didn’t know what was going to happen,” Ohanzee said and squeezed Belik’s shoulder for support.
Ranolo knelt before Illiana and took her hand. “He’s right. You didn’t know what would happen when you wrote that note to send the cougars to the forest. You can’t blame yourself.”
“Can’t they?” Lelana huffed.
Hearing that was a smack in the face and a cold chill went through Belik. He never thought he would hear something like that from Lelana. He understood that she had endured some hardships, but he never suspected that she would put all the responsibility onto Illiana. He curled his hands into fists and held onto his anger, forcing out his words. “I’ve always respected you even when you didn’t take your daughter’s side when she needed you regarding Christopher. You let the one man she’s loved since she was a child slip through her fingers. You didn’t even show up when we left the forest. Coret was the one to see her off. How could you not even care about Illiana? Now you’re placing guilt on Illiana when even Coret saw some darkness around the trading. How was Illiana to know that the cougars and vultures would overtake the forest? When we met them, their village could hardly be called a village. Their homes were in much need of mending. Their children were dirty and they didn’t show they had enough force to do much harm to a whole flock.”
“If it wasn’t for the letter that Illiana wrote, they never would’ve come. And my reasons for not seeing you off are my own.”
“Enough! All of you, enough! We can argue this many ways and place blame on this one and that one. The blame really falls on the vultures and the cougars. Sometimes things happen. Lelana, if the only reason you came here was to place all your contrition on Illiana, then I suggest you leave. I’m here to make sure that our daughter is safe and happy. Look at what you’ve done.” Ranolo gestured to Illiana.
Belik saw she had slumped forward in the chair. Illiana had a vacant look to her gaze. “Illiana, you can’t do this. You can’t run away from what’s been said. It wasn’t your fault,” he pleaded with her.
Illiana’s eyes focused on his momentarily and she whispered. “It is. You heard her. She blames me for everything. They lost their lives and the forest is gone. The wolf village is destroyed. The rest of them are slaves or maybe they’re all dead. I don’t know. What am I going to do?” She tried to get up and stumbled a few feet before she collapsed.
Fright claimed Belik because he could feel the wavering emotions from his mate. He was afraid that if Illiana did not come back to herself, she could be lost. Ohanzee scooped her up and cradled her head.
“What happened to her?” Belik asked.
Ranolo felt her forehead and her cheeks. “Shock. A lot has happened, plus I don’t think she’s slept since Lelana has been unconscious. It’s okay. Bring her over to my cabin. I’m going to talk to her mother.”
Belik grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry for what I said, but this has always been the way between Lelana and her. I don’t know what else to do.”
The shaman sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll handle her. Make sure that Illiana’s okay. Go on.”
Ohanzee and Belik went to Ranolo’s cabin and laid Illiana down on the shaman’s bed. The hawk shifter moved the hair from her face. Over these past few months, Belik had grown close to the other man. They were wrapped up in one another’s lives and Belik realized he would not have it any other way. The most important thing was to make sure Illiana was okay and that nothing happened to her.
