Wolf’s Cub

Chapter 4

Rafe was on Kelway Island. Dominic was at his side as he always was during the important moments of his life. This was going to be another one, Rafe sensed. For one thing, it was the first time they’d been allowed to go to one of the neighboring islands without either Michael or Colin with them. They’d frequently accompanied Michael to Connaught to trade for building supplies, and they’d gone with Colin to Durbbin when he needed certain rare plants only found on that sheltered isle. But before this day, for them to go somewhere alone? And to Kelway of all places! It was...exhilarating. But more than a little bit frightening too, though neither boy would ever admit that. Still, it was times like this that Rafael was very grateful for his lighthearted twin.

Rafe turned to look at Dominic. His brother’s eyes were wide with wonder as they followed Manelo, the oldest son of the Island Chief, Lanelo. Lanelo had been to their island many times to consult with Michael and Colin, so the twins knew both him and his handsome son well. Manelo was tall and broad-shouldered and Rafe could sense his brother’s attraction, although Dominic was trying very hard to hide it.

The twins were almost thirteen. It was the day before their birthday, in fact, and it seemed like all they did lately was fight. Rafe knew it made Melli upset when he and Nic resorted to physical battles to resolve the arguments they’d always had, and he didn’t want to do it, but he just couldn’t bring himself to give in, to compromise.  And the Goddess knew Nic never knew when to quit, Rafe thought fondly.  Michael was at his wits end with them and even Colin, with his limitless stores of patience, had been growing frustrated with them.  Looking around the strange island, Rafe had the fleeting worry that maybe they had been sent away as a punishment for bad behavior.

Nic’s thought came instantly to his mind. They would not do that...would they?

No, of course not. Rafe paused. And if they did, I doubt it would be to Kelway.

Good point.

Rafe could feel his twin’s amusement and it was comforting. Suddenly, the space around them changed, as it had a way of doing in dreams. Teleporting was a bit like that too, Rafe reflected, and he wondered if he was dreaming, or teleporting, or both. Whichever it was, he was now sitting by the large stone fire, with the beautiful Kelwan maidens dancing around it, their bare breasts swaying so enticingly, the dusky tips looking wet, dipped as they were in the sweet tasting wine served at the initiation ceremony. Nic and he were being initiated into the pleasures of manhood, a time-honored custom of the island. Rafe never did find out whose idea it was to send them on this little adventure as a way to cure their aggression. He suspected Colin figured out the cause and Michael decided on the cure.

There seemed to be a problem, however, with this cure. While he, Rafe, was entranced by the swaying island beauties, he was all too conscious of Nic’s rising panic. All amusement was gone, and instead of the warm arousal that was building in him, Rafe had sensed that his twin was cold with the fear that he was facing humiliation and disgrace.

Will I have to....Nic hadn’t finished the thought. He didn’t need to; Rafe understood what he was asking. And the answer seemed clear. They were now men – they’d have to make love to women.

The boys knew about Kelway, of course. Or thought they did. Each of the islands had developed a specialty, and Kelway specialized in, well, sensual pleasures. As young boys approaching their teens, which was the beginning of manhood for their kind, they’d naturally speculated on the nature of the pleasures to be obtained at Kelway. Colin, as a Druid, did not go to Kelway, which Rafe found perfectly understandable. He and Nic had found it much more surprising that Michael did go there on occasion, and at first they’d refused to believe it when Fen told them that their stern father did go with other men of their island.  They followed him one night, hiding on the beach as he and a few of the island men sailed a small boat in the direction of Kelway.  They didn’t return until dawn. As soon as he’d seen the sails on the horizon, Rafe had woken the sleeping Nic and they’d hurried home to their beds.

When he arrived a short while later, Michael had come to check on them, his footsteps almost unnoticeable. They only heard him when he paused in the doorway because they were lying tensely in their beds, listening for the barest breath of sound.

“Good morning, boys,” he’d whispered, his tone thoughtful, and Rafe had known then with certainty that Michael had known where they’d spent the night. But their father hadn’t said anything more, he’d just left, silent once more.

That had been two years before their own initiation and the incident had never been mentioned. It was shortly thereafter, however, that Colin taught them the anatomy and physiology of intercourse. They had thought they’d have great fun teasing him, given that he was a druid from a sect that usually practiced celibacy. But Colin had proven remarkably thorough in his tutoring and they were the ones who’d left the class red-faced. The druid had been devastatingly frank in his discussion, covering everything from puberty to menopause, with ample attention given to masturbation, penetration and all forms of fellation, including penile, anal and clitoral.

They avoided all girls for a week. And Melli for two.

Now, Rafe’s excitement at actually getting to put into practice some of what he’d learned was rapidly sinking. How could he take one of the island beauties into the bushes when his twin was so unhappy? He was sworn to love and protect his brother, and while this was not a life or death situation....

Yes, it is, I am going to die of humiliation.

Nic’s attempt at humor could not mask his misery. Rafe stood up, and promptly pulled Nic up to stand in front of him.

Since you’re not suffering from my condition, the least you can do is help hide mine while we go make our excuses to Manelo.

Rafe and Dominic walked over to the stone seat where the Chieftain’s son was sipping wine and watching the festivities with the satisfied look of a young man whose world is good. His smile left when he saw his father’s two most honored guests walking toward him, one of them clearly unhappy, the other clearly determined.

“Is something wrong?” Manelo asked. A quick glance told him that nothing was wrong as far as one of their guests was concerned, but the other guest was not enjoying himself at all. As he listened to young Rafael explain that it was he – no, not his brother – who was feeling ill and to please excuse them but they would have to leave early, Manelo, a kind young man, realized what the problem was. He struck his forehead with his hand; he should have anticipated something like this. 

A simple matter, easily solved, when one was a native of the Island of Kelway, where they understood such things. After Manelo listened to Rafe’s stumbling explanation, he said sorrowfully,

“It is such a shame you must both leave. You have not yet had the chance to see the young men dance.”

Young men?

Nic’s voice was squeaking even in his thoughts these days, Rafe noticed, rubbing his head.

Only when I’m excited.

“Maybe we can stay a little longer,” Rafael conceded graciously, and allowed Manelo to lead them back to the circle. With a clap of the young man’s hands, the beautiful girls moved aside for a bit, and out came the most stunning young men the twins had ever seen. They danced nude, their proud cocks oiled and hard, jutting out from their bodies as they danced in tempo to a driving beat from the drums.

When the young women came back out, the twins were pulled into the dance, and there were no more unhappy thoughts that night.

It was a couple years later, after another pleasurable trip to Kelway, that Dominic had posed the question. Rafe was captaining the small sailboat they’d been given as a joint birthday present when they turned sixteen and Nic had been staring at the stars. Typical, Rafe had thought. Nic was the dreamer while Rafe was the doer. Which worked well, since they could not both steer the ship.

Rafe?

Hmm?

Michael goes to Kelway.

Yes. He’s a man. It’s only natural. Rafe had turned to see if Nic’s expression revealed anything of his thoughts. There was a small smile on his face but nothing more.

I was just wondering–do you think he dances with the women...or the men?

Rafe thought about it. I don’t know. Never thought about it, why?

Just that they talk about him – the Kelwans.

Really? What do they say?

That he is a dancer beyond compare – like a Royal. Like the Royal dancers of the past.

The twins kept to their own thoughts for the rest of the trip.

************************

Dominic looked at Colin and Lycan, his face grim and pale but his manner calm and determined as he took charge.

“Lycan, I need you to go with Colin. My brother and sister are in desperate trouble. Colin can teleport you there. Michael and I will follow as quickly as we can.”

It was the right decision, sending the strongest physical fighter with the one currently with the most telepathic power. Michael would be proud at Dominic’s leadership ability, Colin thought, then wished his friend would regain consciousness so he could be both proud, and help. He suspected Michael had drained his mana in an effort to help Rafael, depleting his strength beyond what even his body could sustain. Colin knew that Michael’s physical shut-down was likely a result of all of his psychic power going out to his younger son. He wished he had the ability to help in that manner but he lacked Michael’s skill as well as the blood connection to either Rafael or Mellisande.

Lycan spoke briskly. “Let us go quickly then with this teleport. Bran, take Kell and a team of strong runners with you to get the Cub and his Sire to the druid stones as fast as you can. Leave guards in place here. Put Jax in charge.”

Nodding to signify his readiness, Lycan stepped close to Colin.  His face looked calm but Colin could sense the animal’s instinctive mistrust of the unknown. Which made his act of stepping forward even braver. Colin was not sure himself how the Metamorph’s body would react to teleportation, though nothing he’d ever read said it would harm him.

Nothing ever said it would be safe either. It was not mentioned in any treatise he’d ever seen.

With a quick but fervent prayer to the Goddess, Colin clasped hands with Lycan and cast his spell. Now that Michael had made him aware of the magic coursing through these wolves, he wondered that he’d not seen it before. This man had a powerful magical core, different from theirs, but with some similarities, and he focused on that as he linked them to teleport.

They arrived just as Mellisande was casting her own spell to teleport away. Colin was able to stop a large demon from grasping onto her skirt and going with them – which would have been disastrous, as one such evil demon could have immediately brought the others to their home. Colin’s lightning strike removed that threat with no time to spare.

Lycan sized up the situation at once and jumped to the attack. He transformed in midair and scattered the demons that had made their way inside the circle, closest to where Melli and Rafe had been. Those were the biggest threat at the moment as they could try to trace Melli’s magic and determine where she had gone with Rafe and the old man. Colin wished he could follow her immediately to help Rafe, whom he saw was badly injured, as well as to discover who the old man was, but their home needed to be safe-guarded first. He had to trust to the children’s training to protect them until he could get there.

Colin used lightning to force the demons away from the stones. Lycan was choosing a more permanent solution by killing them off, one by one. The wolf’s way was slower, but more certain in the long run, Colin thought, as he found himself casting at the same dozen over and over.

“You need to do something different,” Lycan yelled, even as Colin reached the same conclusion. “The Cub’s in trouble.”

Colin sent out his thoughts. Melli was frantic with worry but Rafe was alive and there seemed to be no immediate danger from the old man. Fen was with them - good - as well as one of the older girls, Magda.

The Cub. He means Nic. Colin’s thoughts reached out to Dominic and Michael. They had made it halfway to the Breslin Circle. A dozen large hellhounds had them encircled. Michael and Nic were both standing – good – but they weren’t able to attack. They were merely holding the hounds at bay, their wolf companions guarding their backs, growling, teeth bared bravely at the dark creatures three times their size with coals of red fire for eyes.

Colin almost fell to his knees. Where were all these dark spirits coming from? First the blackness in Lycan’s pack member, weakening them before the battle, then this attack at the stones to draw out Rafael and Mellisande at the very moment when Michael and Colin were distracted. Now, their whole family, so closely guarded for years, cherished, kept safe – they were all of them separated, weakened, dying....

No!

Colin sent out a psychic blast similar to the one the twins had sent at the unwitting Bran. But this one, this one was amplified by the stones set in place by druids hundreds of years earlier, refined with the skill of a druid who devoted his life to pursuing the knowledge of a lost age, cast in the language taught only to the druids of a celibate sect, a spell usable only by the purest of mages and effective against the darkest of spirits. Colin’s magic spread out into the sky like a huge bird taking flight, lifting the black demons away on massive wings, dispersing them into nothing.

Two leagues away, Michael and Dominic stood, hands linked, arms outstretched, and they felt Colin’s magic hover over them and protect them. They added it to their own, raw earth power blended with air and water power, causing a crash of sound, like the largest of waves crashing against the shore.

The hellhounds dropped to the ground, unconscious. Bran and Kell and the other four wolves with them fell upon them then, using their claws to rip and shred, knowing instinctively not to taste of the black blood that spilled from these creatures. Michael and Dominic assisted in finishing their foes, but they reserved their mana, using it only to burn the remains of the dead hounds to ashes.

“Come,” Michael urged as soon as the enemy was destroyed. “We must hurry, before anything else can delay us.”

************************

Mellisande looked worriedly at Rafael’s white face; she still could not reach his thoughts.  He was either very deeply unconscious or in a coma. Or, he was still shielding his mind from attack so that even she could not get past his guards, she realized. She looked at his arm, the one struck by the arrow, which Benra, the druid they’d rescued, had healed. It still had three thin black lines running through it, creeping slowly closer to his shoulder.

“Why are those marks still there?” she demanded of Benra.

He’d introduced himself quickly before helping her treat Rafe; indeed, he’d taken over the treatment and proven to be as knowledgeable as Colin. He’d insisted that his own injuries could wait. And indeed, already he seemed to be much stronger than he’d appeared at the Breslin Circle. At her question, he shook his head sadly.

“They’re trying to reach his brain,” Benra said heavily. “I was successful in removing much of the poison but not all of it, as you can see.”  He looked at the young Royal who’d been so brave at the Druid Ring, He looked very familiar. Benra wondered if he could be one of the ones he was seeking? He looked at the girl, ignoring the others who gathered around. They had some power, he sensed, but were not of the Royal lines. Of that, he was sure. He smiled wearily at the girl called Mellisande.

“Goddess be praised, that I’ve found a surviving child of the Blood. To think that there are two! But to lose one in this way. Destiny cannot be this cruel,” Benra said, shaking his head. “Where are your teachers, child? I’ve been weakened by the attack but surely they will be able to help heal this brave young man. If they had the skill to build a Circle....” He left off, the question implicit.

The young man who’d met them at the druid circle here on the island spoke quickly to the Royal. “Melli! Don’t say more to this man! You don’t know anything about him. For all we know, he’s the reason Rafe is in this condition! We need to get help but you must send this man from the room!”

“Listen to him, Melli. Please. For Rafael’s sake. We need you to help us reach...our teachers.”  The dark-haired young woman spoke calmly but the look she directed toward Benra would have smote a demon or two. Shame Magda wasn’t at the circle, Melli thought tiredly.

“I am doing all I can. Please! You both know the rules of hospitality. Benra, please excuse us. Magda and Fen are worried and it makes their tongues harsh. If nothing more can be done for Rafael now, perhaps we can convince you to eat something? And you must need to rest. I know you are weary. As soon as our teachers arrive, I will let you know.”

There was a slamming of doors and running on the stairs just then.  Dominic burst into the room with Michael a step behind, Colin one step behind him. Fen was satisfied to see the stranger, Benra, forcibly moved to the far wall by one of the Emorys. Colin frowned to see a druid treated so roughly but the sight of Rafael in such dire condition made him forget all else. Melli was about to voice her objection – along with her relief at seeing the rest of the family – but the sight of a large wolf entering the room behind Colin made her fall silent in shock. When it morphed into a large naked man, she felt faint.

Michael glanced at her and snapped, “Get Lycan some food...and some pants. And I hope you have a good reason for leaving the island.”

Exhausted by her frightening day, terrified for Rafael, the last thing Mellisande expected or needed was a reprimand. Angry tears filling her eyes, she turned to Colin for support, but he shook his head. “Not now, Melli. Just do as he asked...please. Then I must ask that you three leave the room. Lycan, watch our guest please.”

Melli turned and left, shaking with anger. She’d never been dismissed by Colin like this. Even forced against the wall as he was, Benra spared her a kindly look of sympathy and she was touched. Taking a deep breath, she forced back the tears that threatened. She was a royal telepath, as strong as the twins – she would not be ordered to leave when danger threatened, she told herself.

Benra was released from his position against the wall but with the large mean looking wolfman standing between him and the others, he didn’t dare move. He was afraid to even sit, even though his legs were shaking from exhaustion.

A chair skittered across the room and bumped against the wall next to him.

“I guess you can sit.” The wolfman grinned at him, his amusement seeming more intimidating than his anger, Benra thought. He wished the young Royal would come back. He tried to see what the others were doing, but his view was blocked by the large creature in front of him. The man, wolf, whatever he was, he was not at all ashamed of his nakedness. He stood at ease in front of Benra, his arms crossed over his massive chest, his genitals hanging right out there in the open. Benra looked away.

Mellisande came back in, carrying a robe and some pants of Colin’s that were very baggy on him, as well as the requested food and some water. She did not know what to give a wolfman to eat and drink. She knew it was bad for dogs to have alcohol so she thought it might be bad for a man who was part wolf to have wine, since wolves were similar to dogs. At least, she thought they were. She held the clothes out first but he looked pointedly at the bread and cheese she’d brought.

“I’m hungry; I’m not cold,” he told her, his lips lifting in what could be considered a smile. Keeping her eyes on his face – not easy when other parts of him were much closer to her line of vision, she thought. She said, “but if you put the clothes on, you’ll be able to concentrate on eating so much better.”

He looked at her skeptically. She raised her eyebrow, in unconscious imitation of Colin. But then, as he just stared boldly back at her, she bit her lip and said,  “Please?” 

She held out the clothes a little further.

He laughed at that and reached out to take the pants. “You can give the robe to the old man here. His is torn and dirty and smells like demon.”

That comment caught Colin’s attention from where they were working on Rafe. After conferring quietly with Michael, he left them and walked over to see exactly who it was who lured Mellisande and Rafael from safety to the attack at the Breslin Circle. And who smelled like demon to a metamorph.

Colin stared at the old druid in shocked dismay.  He looked familiar to him. No, not just familiar, he knew this old man. He had been one of his own tutors, many long years ago. Veris Benra. He must be, Colin added the years in his head. Ancient. The man was ancient. He’d long been believed to be dead.

Colin, I need you here and we cannot have him knowing all about us until we check him out. I do not care if he changed your wraps before you were weaned. If you cannot render him unconscious, I will.

Michael was sharply cold. Worry always made him that way. Still, Colin hesitated. Benra may not have changed his wraps but it was a distinct possibility. Dominic was kneeling by Rafael’s bedside. He was dimly conscious of the debate between the Assassin and the Advisor – it was one of those times when his instincts aligned with his father’s, but he knew that he only felt that way because he did not have Rafe to make him contrary. Normally, he would agree with Colin. Worried as he was over Rafe, he knew that Colin was distressed and worried that he would hurt the old druid. But Michael was worried also, worried that the unknown druid posed a risk to all he held dear.

Dominic saw a solution. 

Wolf, I need the old man unconscious, but not hurt too badly.

You’re piling up favors, boy.

A glint of humor and something else sparked between them. Nic knew that he was not afraid of any promises he might owe his Wolf. He heard Melli’s cry of alarm.

“Old man’s asleep,” Lycan announced as he slung him over his shoulder. “Where should I put him?”

“The bed in the corner will do,” Colin sighed. “Melli, please watch over him. It is best you stay away from Rafael until we determine the nature of this poison. We don’t want to risk you. Dominic is essential due to their twinlink or he would be sent away also.”

“Benra said it was heading for his brain, to harm him there,” she whispered. Michael shared a look with Colin.

“I don’t want her to sit with the old man,” Michael decided, speaking in his Assassin command voice. “Lycan, is he out for at least an hour?”

“I’d say he’s out for the rest of the daylight,” Lycan assured him, slightly affronted. Did the Pup’s sire not think he knew how to hit a man to knock him out?

“Thank you, Lycan.” Michael’s voice turned stern again as he said to the girl he considered a daughter.  “Melli, you’ll be safest out of the room.” 

“But, I want to help.” She looked to Colin once more seeking support but he was looking at Rafe, his expression grim.

“There’s no time for this, Mellisande. Please go to your room, get Magda to stay with you and do not leave until I say you may.” Michael’s voice was low and calm, a clear sign of his anger. Yet Melli remained, resolute.

Dominic spoke, the first time he’d said anything to her since coming into the room. She couldn’t recall if he’d said anything to anyone now that she thought about it. “Please, Melli, the best thing you can do for Rafe right now is be safe. You know he’d want that. As do I.”

Turning, she left the room without another word.

“About time,” Michael muttered.

Colin felt compelled to defend her. “She did what she thought was right, what she’d been taught was right to do.”

Michael’s voice was low, intense, his green eyes burning as he looked up at Colin.

“No, she didn’t. She acted rashly, without thinking. She is still doing so. I do not have time to argue this now, Colin. Rafael is close to death, if this is doing what the old man said, and I can only assume he said it because he’s studied this specific poison enough to know what it looks like, and if so, it is a very old one from the earlier age of druids, or he knows what it is because he cast it.  It was designed especially for the Royal house of the Second Kingdom, Colin. There are ways to defend against it, but Dominic is not as well versed in them because it is usually a poison used against the King or Queen. I made sure Rafe knew how to save Nic from it, not...” Michael ran his hands through his hair. “I am weakened beyond anything I’ve ever felt, and Dominic is doing a beautiful job but we are just stopping its progress, not lifting it. As soon as one of us fails and the other cannot step in, the lines will advance.”

Colin placed his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “What can I do?”

“I need strength so I can give it to Dominic.”

“Use mine,” a deep voice said.

Michael looked up into the golden eyes of the Leader. 

“When your son healed Bran, he drew on my strength. I felt him do it...can you both do it now?”

“It shouldn’t be possible, but...” Michael took Lycan’s hands and placed them over Dominic’s, which rested on his brother’s cold arm, the one with the black lines running through it. Lycan could feel the chill in his Cub’s hands, the chill that was fighting against his Cub’s warmth.

“Feel the warmth? That is Dominic’s mana – imagine yourself keeping him warm, adding to his warmth, building the fire higher and brighter.” The green-eyed man’s voice was deep, melodic. Lycan closed his eyes and he could still see their hands joined, a glow forming around them. The other two men linked hands and placed theirs over his and his Cub’s. The warmth from the fire burned so bright now that it was driving out the chill, forcing out the cold in the Cub’s brother’s arm. The black lines were melting, fading away to mist and disappearing.

Lycan’s arms were already around the Cub so it was easy to enfold his arms around him as the boy fell back against him.

He’s safe now, We’re warm. It’s good.

The thoughts blended in his mind and Lycan could not tell if it was his Cub or he who thought them. It didn’t really matter. They were both right. He lifted Nic up and placed him carefully into the bed next to his brother. Then he climbed in on the other side of him, stretching his long arm out over both boys, to Colin’s wonderment. With a minimal amount of shifting and snuggling, the three of them fell fast asleep within moments.

Michael and Colin looked at each other.

“You know,” Michael said quietly, “he can ‘talk’ to that wolf without the rest of us ‘hearing.’ and I am fairly sure the wolf not only hears, he talks back.”

Colin nodded. He’d sensed that as well. 

Michael looked across to where the old druid lay unconscious. “You told me several years ago that this day would come, when we’d meet two strangers.”

“And both rode on destiny’s wings, but one brought danger and the other salvation,” Colin softly spoke, quoting the words of the dream he’d had long years ago. Years of peace and happiness, they seemed now.

Michael complained, “That’s the trouble with visions. An argument could be made that Lycan brought danger, since Dominic’s meeting him set everything in motion.”

“I was going to argue that,” Colin smiled ruefully.

“And I still have not met the young man who really set the wheel of destiny rolling. The one that came back with Fen. But...I’m not happy about this old druid, Colin.”

Colin sighed. “I know you aren’t. But...he’s my old tutor, Michael. I think we have to trust him. He left the sect years before I went to guard Mellisande. He was believed to have been killed in the first massacre but he was one of those who predicted its coming.”

“Like with the poison,” Michael said thoughtfully. “Was he wise due to scholarship and reading the signs, or did he know because he was involved in the plot?”

“What are you saying?”

“Is he the help we’ll need, and the salvation brought due to Melli’s act of selfless kindness, or is he the enemy we’ve hidden from all these years, brought home by a misplaced act of trust?”

“We taught them always to trust in doing what is right, and to let the Goddess guard their destiny.”

“You taught them that,” Michael grinned wearily. “I taught them offensive and defensive spells.”

“Both were used today. You need to talk to Melli. She is quite upset, and I think justifiably so. She and Rafe acted bravely and strongly at the circle. Those demons were strong. I had trouble with them. She should have been praised first, then her decision analyzed.”

Michael sighed. “I know. I was...too harsh.”  He was silent a moment, then said, “I cannot lose them, Colin.”

“I know, Michael, I know.”  Colin wrapped his arms around his weary friend. This time, Michael allowed himself five minutes of comfort. It had been a very tough day.

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