Hidden Realms Read online

  Jack Peterson was the undersized wolf whose foreleg I'd broken while Sam Giles had been impaled by the tree branch and Alison Whitaker had been hamstrung and savaged.

  James' eyes lit up as he took in the wounded wolves, but I ordered him away before he could act on years of pent-up anger.

  "We're not going to kill them. They're free to go, or to stay here with us if they so desire."

  A chorus of growls sounded from the girls, and even Isaac didn't look overjoyed at the thought of letting roughly a third of Brandon's pack leave when we had the ability to kill them and equalize the odds.

  I walked over to Sam and carefully pulled him off of the tree, wincing a little at his yelp of pain. He reverted back to his human form as soon as I set him down, partially to speed the healing process and partly because in wolf form his wounds would pull more than as a human.

  "Why would you let us live? Brandon would never do that for one of you he caught wounded and isolated."

  "You're right, but I'm not Brandon. I've never caught the three of you approaching the excesses of Nathanial or Simon. I'm going to let you live now so you can think about the choices you're making, about the fact that you've got other options."

  "More like you are going to let us live and send us back there so that Brandon will kill us for you and you can keep your lily-white hands clean."

  Jack had shifted back to his two-legged form, but in keeping with the defiant tone of his words he wasn't curled up on the ground like Sam, and I felt the first streak of discomfort. Brandon's pack didn't wear the ha'bit, instead like most other packs dealing with the casual nudity and increased fights that it could have prevented.

  "I won't lie and say you're not going back to suspicion and distrust. Brandon won't really believe I let you go out of sheer decency. If you go back he'll suspect you've become double agents, or maybe were double agents all along, but I don't think he'll kill you."

  Alison had shifted back now, curled up in a ball either out of shyness or due to the pain of her wounds.

  "We have to go back. If we don't, our parents will suffer. You don't know what it's like there."

  I managed a shrug with the massive shoulders of my hybrid form. "I can imagine, but that isn't the point. The point is I'm not going to compel you either way. You can stay or you can go, but remember that it doesn't have to be like this. The packs are evenly matched now, but if the balance were to change slightly we'd all be looking at a completely different world."

  I watched while Sam pulled himself to his feet and picked Alison up. Their progress was slow and erratic, but they started back towards Brandon's territory followed by Jack.

  As we returned to the estate, Jasmin ran at my side, and I was surprised to feel some of the anger dissipate from her over the course of the few minutes it took us to arrive. I wasn't so fortunate where James was concerned, and he was in my face as soon as we stopped running.

  "Why would you let them go? We could have killed them and tilted the odds in our favor."

  It was Jasmin who spoke up before I could respond. "The Coun'hij, James. Alec couldn't risk doing something that would cause them to come after us. They were in our territory, but given how aggressively Brandon's been operating lately I think it's a safe assumption he's confident they are going to support him over us unless he really screws up."

  Her words gave James enough of a pause that I was able to insert my follow-up reason. "If we'd have caught Vincent, Brandon, Nathanial or Simon I would have killed them. Even if it had been Cassie that we caught I'd have probably executed her and dealt with the Coun'hij if they chose to become involved, but those three aren't the murderers that Nathanial and Simon are. If we can convince them to defect it will swing the balance of power even further in our favor than just killing them would have."

  The argument finally subsided into surly unhappiness and I let Donovan bandage me up. A few seconds after he finished I collapsed into my bed again. Although the wounds would have been cause enough to get some additional rest, they weren't my real reason for retiring so early.

  I was vindicated when shortly after dropping off to sleep I found Adri once again participating in my dream. It seemed silly now. I was about to talk to a figment of my subconscious mind, but I'd already promised myself I wouldn't let any possible avenue go unexplored.

  She was sitting on the edge of a cliff on the extreme south edge of the pack's territory, gazing out over the arid landscape. I approached to within thirty feet of her and then called her name.

  "Adri, would you mind some company?"

  She turned around guiltily, and then shrugged. "I thought maybe I was finally done with you in this place. You haven't been here in a while."

  I took that as a yes, walked over, and sat down with her.

  "I'm not going to apologize to you. I'm grateful for what you did at the opera house, for shutting those guys up, but that doesn't change the fact that your sister totally stood me up."

  My heart sped up as I realized this was the first actual conversation we'd ever had that didn't include hurled insults and instant anger.

  "I don't know what to say other than that she's sorry."

  She turned away from the view long enough to give me a questioning look. "I never would have expected that out of you, not even out of dream Alec."

  "You're welcome. I hope those idiots didn't ruin your experience the other night."

  "They didn't. They would have if you hadn't stopped them, but it was the most amazing night. The show was everything I'd hoped it would be."

  I nodded in satisfaction, and joined her in watching the breeze cause the sparse vegetation to sway back and forth.

  "This is usually the part where you tell me that it wasn't as good as the London version, or that the seats weren't as soft as the theater on Broadway. Surely even here and now you'll find a way to offend the rest of us mere mortals."

  Asking forgiveness wasn't usually a key part of my nature. I wasn't so proud as to refuse to admit my shortcomings, but this was different. I didn't care about right and wrong with Adri as much as I wanted to ensure she was happy, that she didn't grow to hate me even more.

  "I'm sorry if I've rubbed your face in my family's wealth. It wasn't intentional. If it were possible I'd go back and do things differently."

  She'd turned her attention to an ant that was making its way manfully across a small stick in its path.

  "I wish things could have been different. Especially at the start. I'm in completely uncharted waters these days. The geeks all hate me, the popular kids are convinced I'm sleeping with Brandon to climb the social food chain, and my boyfriend hangs out with some of the worst bottom-feeders in the school."

  It was too good of an opening to pass up, even at the possible expense of the goodwill I'd just built up.

  "In my experience we tend to congregate with those who are most like us, regardless of whatever shell we may present to the outside world."

  She looked up at me with real curiosity in her eyes, and I felt something inside me wrung dry to provide the moisture needed for future tears.

  "You aren't talking about me, you're talking about Brandon."

  I nodded slowly, and she tilted her head to the side deliberately as a gust of wind whipped her beautiful blond hair around.

  "What if that isn't the case? What if he's where he is because he's driven by duty to them? Duty to his family, duty to the town? Your friends aren't the best character references, buddy. Jasmin is a complete sociopath and Rachel is scared to death of losing your goodwill."

  "Jasmin isn't petty. I don't always understand why she chooses the path she takes, but there is always a good reason behind it. One doesn't go through the things she's gone through without developing an incredible capacity for empathy. I'd back her morals over almost anyone else I know."

  It wasn't what I'd planned on saying, but as I said it I realized it was true, and the knowledge freed me to go on.

  "As for Rachel, I can only say she's better than me
in almost every way. I continue to fail to live up to my heritage, but she's stood by me despite that. I believe that means she sees a seed of something good inside me. Someday I think I may manage to live up to that potential. For now, whatever good I do have inside me worries about what Brandon will eventually do to you."

  Adri's pulse was smooth and unhurried as she reached out and placed one hand on the side of my face. The contact sent little thrills of rightness through my being, but even that wasn't a match for what I felt at her words.

  "You really believe that. You may not be right, but you're not lying."

  "No, I'm not lying. That is the truth as far as I know it."

  "I can tell. Your heart remained steady through it all."

  Chapter 19

  Rachel found me covered in paint, slumped against the wall in the gallery that separated my studio from my bedroom. I'd finally given up ever finishing up Adri's sleeping portrait. My mind's eye had utterly failed me when it came to reproducing an actual likeness.

  "I think maybe it's time to give this one up, big brother. I haven't ever seen you so frustrated and consumed by a project."

  I reached out and brushed a stray hair back behind her ear and then shrugged. "I think you're right. It had the most potential of anything I've ever painted, but I just can't seem to get it right."

  "So do I ever get to see this near-masterpiece?"

  My mind instantly shied away from the idea. Apparently my unease was obvious; Rachel held her hands up in surrender. "It's okay, there's no need to feel guilty. If it never ends up in the gallery, it never ends up in the gallery."

  The week had been incredibly busy. I'd eventually had to go back to school. The tactical purpose of my absence had been accomplished on Monday night, and after that I couldn't continue to justify remaining home. I'd used my time at home, however, to get far enough ahead in my studies that I could spend more time with the rest of the pack.

  I'd sparred with James and Isaac, spent additional hours in the machine, and slept more than at any other time since I'd first manifested a second shape. Everyone assumed it was a result of the tremendous abuse I was putting my body through in my strength training regime, but while I was extra tired each night, the real reason had been the hope each night that I'd share my dreams with Adri.

  Only there, safe from the dominance games and worries about how Brandon would use her against me, was I able to open up and talk to her.

  In real life she'd remained just as cool and distant as always, and after one or two abortive attempts to talk to her I just hunkered down and did my best to ignore the yearning tearing at me.

  Inside the dream world things were different. I quickly learned just how dry her sense of humor was, that she talked with her hands when she got really excited, and that I had to be very careful of mentioning her father, her sister, and car accidents in general.

  It had been a wonderful, hellish existence, but I'd been neglecting Rachel. I looked back up at my younger sister and caught her eying my clothes.

  "I think I'm going to have to start buying you stuff a half size up from what I normally get you. That weight-lifting program seems to be working."

  My laugh was nothing more than a courtesy to show appreciation for her humoring my latest wild attempt to save us all from Brandon. It was impossible for me to have put on the kind of mass she was indicating in such a short time.

  "Rach, did you and Adri have a fight on Monday?"

  She hung her head like she expected to be kicked and I was momentarily reminded of dream Adri's assertion that I bullied Rachel.

  "Yes. She wasn't happy about my not going to Les Mis. I can't really blame her, but I haven't managed to find a way to make it up to her."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "You've been really busy this week. Besides, there wasn't anything you could have done about it and I didn't want you to feel guilty for it."

  "Maybe I should feel guilty. She's just a normal human. You could have gone and been okay, but I was too busy jumping at shadows."

  Rachel shook her head and hugged me. "No, you were being my protective big brother, the one who lives in a dangerous world so that he can keep me safe. I understood even before you told me I couldn't go that it was likely my friendship with Adri was going to be the price I had to pay to convince you she wasn't a threat."

  Her tone had taken on textures I couldn't really place. I opened my mouth to tell her she wasn't making sense but she talked over the top of me.

  "She's my friend, and when you are someone's friend you do what's best for them even if you have to make sacrifices to see that happen. Our friendship was a small thing to sacrifice in order to convince you she wasn't a shape shifter. She's going to need your protection very soon, and you'd never have given it if you still thought she was like you rather than like me."

  It was the oddest thing I'd ever seen out of Rachel. She turned, looking a little lost, and left the gallery before I could ask her what she meant, and once she was gone I couldn't bring myself to chase her down.

  Jasmin knocked on my door as I was stripping down to my ha'bit. "You're leaving then?"

  I hadn't consciously made the decision, but as she asked the question I realized she was right.

  "I have to, Jasmin. I'm sorry, I can't really explain it, but I need you to trust me. I've realized you must have a good reason for the crazy things you've been doing lately, and I need you to trust that I've got a good reason for this."

  For a moment I thought she was going to argue with me, but then she sighed and nodded. "If you've got to do something stupid, I guess tonight's as good of a night to do it as any. Brandon's people will all be at the kegger. Vincent's too much of a party animal to miss a bash as big as this one is supposed to be."

  I nodded my thanks and hurried out to the garage. The Hummer didn't boast all of the comforts of its shinier sibling, but it was the same vehicle the military opted for when the mission called for the ability to go almost anywhere.

  It was already dark, so I didn't need to worry about anyone seeing me running around in my wolf form, but something compelled me to take a vehicle at least part of the way. I visualized the rough map that had been passed around the school earlier in the day, and then checked it against the prevailing wind. I was going to have to detour quite a ways off of the shortest path, but I couldn't risk anyone catching my scent and deciding tonight would be a good opportunity to take down the rival alpha.

  I pulled off of the road and dropped into a ravine that was sometimes used by jeepers when they were looking for a new challenge. My progress slowed as the terrain became increasingly rugged. I knew that I could make better time if I dismounted and took to four legs, but stubbornly kept to the Hummer. When I got to within three miles of the party site I finally parked the Hummer and slipped out into the night.

  It had cooled down somewhat over the last few weeks. It wasn't what anyone from Idaho would call cold, but some of the oppressive heat had left, and I found myself invigorated by the clean, crisp smell of the breeze.

  I bounded over fallen trees, splashed through the tiny trickles of water that passed for springs, and otherwise enjoyed the trip until I got close enough to hear the thrumming beat of the music and smell the crowded bodies and spilled alcohol of the truly drunk.

  Brandon's pack was ever-present on the wind as I slowly advanced forward. Brandon's heavy musk especially burned my throat and made me want to be elsewhere, but I sought it out regardless because floating along like an aromatic accompaniment was Adri's enchanting scent.

  I spent nearly an hour hunkered down in the middle of a group of night-blooming cacti that was especially pungent and which would go a long ways towards hiding my scent if someone did happen to circle around and get downwind of me.

  I'd almost decided I was the worst kind of crazy. I couldn't hear any conversation over the music and there wasn't anything to be learned by scent. I stood to leave when the music suddenly skidded to a stop.

  "You shou
ld forget your stupid lies. If you repeat them you'll be sorry. Every single person here will vouch for Brandon."

  Cassie's shrill voice was impossible to miss in the sudden silence. It rang through me with the subtlety of an amputation and I somehow knew who she was talking to.

  "Get out of here. Don't wait around, don't ask anyone for a ride. You had your chance with Brandon and you blew it. He's mine again, and if you're not out of sight in the next five minutes I'll kill you myself and end this stupid experiment once and for all."

  The last was spoken more quietly. With the wind pulling it away from the rest of the party, it was possible nobody heard her death threat, but I felt a surge of anger crash through me as I realized I didn't believe that. The kids who hung out with Brandon were completely cowed by the dominants.

  Adri was moving now, her steps clearly audible over the continuing lack of music. I heard her fall and nearly left my hiding spot. It was incredibly unfair for her to go through this at all, let alone by herself, but she wouldn't welcome my presence in my current form. It was safer for both of us if Brandon's people didn't scent me.

  She was moving at right angles to the wind, so the possibility was slim, but it still existed. My resolve was tested as the music resumed, drowning out the sound of her flight, and then I got the first smell of blood on the air.

  My beast roared to life as part of me classified her as prey and therefore good only for running down and consuming, but I'd had years of practice sublimating those urges. I shoved my baser instincts down and walled them away behind control very nearly the equal of Isaac's.

  I was attempting to follow Adri's progress on the wind when a low howl most people would have mistaken for a wolf floated to me. I lurched to my feet and took off at a sprint before I'd fully even classified it as belonging to Nathanial.

  They were hunting, either out of pure sadism or because they lacked the inclination to dominate the wolf's desire to capture fleeing prey. The second howl didn't really surprise me although it dramatically worsened my odds. Simon was Nathanial's usual partner in depravity.