Broken Promise (The Broken Ones Book 3) (5 page)

Following his gaze, her mouth parted in
surprise to find Rhee-En walking through the trees toward them.

Everything is fine. I think. Rhee-En is
here.

Good, that is good.

Rhee-En nodded to the other Were, and then
all five disappeared into the trees. He stopped before her, a wry smile
twisting the scars running from cheek to jaw across his face.

"What was that all about?"

He regarded her thoughtfully for a
moment. "It appears you have the power to command my Were."

"I…" How should she reply to
that? She'd only done what Garen told her to do. His distracting voice didn't
help. Apparently, she hadn't gotten used to the sultry beauty of it. Like the
first time they'd met, the beautiful sound of it left her flustered.

He gestured her forward to walk beside
him and she obliged, scrambling to gather her wits. "Only alpha's have
that power," he said softly.

Her head snapped around to stare at him
as a lump formed in her throat. Rot. Rot. Rot. How did he know?

Maybe things aren't fine. Rhee-En knows.

Knows what?

That we are a pack.

We will be there soon. I've called Kei. He
comes as well.

She wasn't sure that would help.

"Were you aware of this?"

She froze, unsure what to say, and
didn't answer. Her eyes met his blue and gold ones.

He marked her hesitation. "You are."

Letting out an internal string of curses,
she tried to keep calm. She should have acted surprised. Such a simple mistake
would cost her.

"Some time ago, we felt Were magic.
It was not in our land, so I took little heed of it. At the time I set the
matter aside as a strange oddity." When she remained silent, he continued.
"When you were with us last, many noticed a strange bond between you and
your men. Particularly interactions with Garen. It seemed at times you would
speak to each other telepathically. Though not odd for Prince Shael to do this,
and even you, since it is clear you can speak to any of us, Kei and Bo should
not have this ability. I myself noted how close Garen and Bo are, yet they
should not be able to communicate. It was not until after you left the extent
of this became apparent, and it made me wonder."

She thought she might be sick but kept
her mouth closed and continued to walk beside him. A trickle of fear
threatened, but she squashed it down, burying it under layers of other emotion.
The last thing she needed was for him to sense her fear.

"It appears you have somehow
created a new pack," he continued, seeming oblivious to her internal
emotional struggles. "I have no idea how you have done this. It should be
impossible, yet I can find no other explanation."

She stiffened as a hand settled on her
lower back. Snapping her head to the side, she saw Kei. His eyes glowed faintly
yellow, a good sign he was no longer angry with her.

I'm sorry, Kei. Please forgive me.

His eyes met hers.
Always.

"Kei." Rhee-En acknowledged
his arrival.

What have you told him?

Nothing,
she protested,
allowing anger to simmer within her. She wasn't angry with Kei, but anger at
this time seemed the best option.

Unaware of their conversation, Rhee-En
continued, "You have an affinity toward magic, this much is clear. The
idea itself is unbelievable. However, the thought continued to nag at me. I
decided a simple test would prove it or not. Your personality and the
relationship with your boys, along with your magical ability, led me to believe
you would be one of, if not the alpha of this new pack."

She looked up at him in annoyance and
let some of the anger out in her voice. "That was a test?"

He nodded once. "My Were tell me
your voice does hold command. Though not strong, it is there. Only alphas can
command any Were. These men are not your pack, and yours is small, so the lack
of strength you hold is not surprising. That you are an alpha is. You are not
Were, nor are the majority of your pack."

"My pack," she whispered
faintly.

"What concerns me is I have no idea
how this came to be. If you have one, please do share it now."

She couldn't miss the growing hardness
in his voice. "I…I didn't think it would work. I just wanted to help Prince
Shael." Her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't meant to say those words.
Had he just commanded
her
?

He stopped, grasping her arm and forcing
her to stop as well. The incredulous look on his face surprised her. "Are
you saying you did this? You intended to make a pack?"

Kei growled beside her, shifting
uneasily.

Don't. It's fine.

She shrugged at Rhee-En, trying to pull
her arm from his hand. Mostly, she concentrated on keeping her mind locked and safe
and her tongue still.

"Have you any idea what you have
done?"

"I did what I had to do," she snapped.
She met his gaze defiantly. "They are my family."

A weary sigh escaped him as he shook his
head, dropping her arm. "I do not think it can be undone. Not easily. I
suppose that matters not for now. Such a thing is a matter for the king, not
I."

"The king?" Her words came out
sounding strangled.

"He knows of you already."

"Why? Why would he know of
me?" As panic rose within her, Kei's hand found hers, lending her
strength.

"The king knows of everything in
his lands, Arowyn. We are to report to him anything out of the ordinary or of
interest. Since the first time we met, he has known of you."

Of course, since a human traveling with
Fey and Were and an Elven prince was certainly not normal. "I suppose he
knows of me fighting the Vor."

"Yes. And the prophecy, and you
healing the Fey. Also of your healing. He knows everything."

"Rot," she muttered, rubbing
her face. Though she felt Rhee-En meant her no harm, that didn't mean she
trusted him. Not when it came to the lives of her boys. "What will he do?"

"That I do not know. He has shown interest
but has not come. He has been north most of the summer. However, I would not be
surprised if he will come now."

"Does he know already?" Rhee-En
shook his head. "Do you have to tell him?"

"He is my king."

That of course, meant more to the Were
than it did to her. "Wither me."

"Her ability to heal the Fey should
act in her favor," Kei said quietly. "The Were will not fight
alone."

"That is only an issue if she does
as the prophecy says soon. The Vor rise quickly. There may not be time. The
king will not take kindly to outsiders using Were magic."

I wish we could read Rhee-En's mind and
know what he thought.

Ask him.

It took effort not to roll her eyes at
Kei's simple response. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt, and perhaps he'd
answer honestly. Brows drawing together, she finally sighed and looked up at
him earnestly. "Tell me your thoughts on this. Yours, as alpha of your
pack. As Rhee-En."

He smiled gently, and the gold in his
eyes sparkled more brightly. "I find it extraordinary. If you had been one
of us, I would take you under my wing. You have the potential to be a great
alpha one day. Yet you are not one of us." He paused a moment. "This,
too, I have thought on. There is something special about you, Arowyn. I believe
there is a reason you can do all of the things you do. I do not believe you are
a threat to us. For these reasons, I will support you as I can."

His words, after Damon's conversation,
now sent a shiver down her spine. She bent forward in a slight bow. "Thank
you, Rhee-En."

"Do not thank me yet. For now, I will
wait to inform the king until this evening. Everything will depend on what he
shares with me." He turned slightly. "Garen and Bo approach and we
are almost to the settlement. Let us get you cleaned up, fed, and rested.
Tomorrow we will speak again."

She wasn't sure if she wanted to wake up
in the morning. Kei's hand squeezed around hers.

Everything will be fine.

She hoped so, but she'd heard that
before.

Chapter 5

Making Plans

Aro swayed absently by the door, gnawing
on a fingernail. The sun hadn't yet risen, but its light began to pierce the
darkness slightly. The dark didn't bother her. When she woke, it'd taken only a
thought to adjust to her new Fey eyesight.

Weariness pulled at her. She should have
tried to go back to sleep, but her mind started spinning immediately. Again.

When they reached the Were settlement
they hadn't been met with the same friendly faces who waved them off only days
ago. It came as a shock, and for some reason she'd felt guilty as she quickly
ate food set out for them and cleaned up in the bathhouse. The others felt
uneasy as well, and they'd all retired to the guest cabin early. She'd told
everyone what happened with the Were and what Rhee-En said. Their worry didn't
escape her, but they'd decided to wait and see what the king said before
speaking on it more.

That didn't stop her mind from
frantically running through the worst possible scenarios. At least it kept her
from obsessing about Prince. When she'd finally fallen asleep, even her dreams had
been of the Were King. Nightmares really. She should be used to them by now.

Waking up to find Kei squished onto her
small bed with his arms around her shouldn't have been a surprise. He'd started
out in his own bed; she was sure of that much. The nightmares must have woken
him at some point. She hated them. She hated how weak they made her feel.

There wasn't a lot of space for pacing
in the one room log building. Four beds lined the long back wall, heads to the
wall and one each against the sidewalls. The room was neat and orderly, the furniture
simple but well made.

Her eyes dropped to Garen, curled up at
the base of the bed Bo claimed against the wall. She'd taken the one on the
other side of the room, and Kei the one next to hers. Eyes moved to the unused
bed and her thoughts turned to Prince. Last time…

Shaking her head, she muttered a curse.

The strange, high pitched sound of Garen
yawning made her jump.

Good morning.

And to you.

He rubbed at an eye slowly with one paw.
You didn't sleep well last night.

No, not really.

Kei didn't either.

She winced.
Did I keep you all up?

No, I meant he too had nightmares.

She stared open mouthed at the Were.

You humans forget so quickly. Only days
ago you were dying. The entire incident is a frightening and painful memory,
and one neither Kei nor I will ever forget. Or Prince, for that matter,
he added.

She turned, finding Kei sprawled out on
her bed. Waking up in his arms meant something different now. He hadn't only
done it to comfort her, but to comfort himself. Her being in his arms proved she
lived.

"Oh, my Kei," she whispered,
her heart breaking for him.

We are family, Arowyn. Yet even family
misunderstands sometimes.

She turned back to Garen, confused.

Though Prince and I, and even Bo, are
much older than you, Kei is close to your age. Sometimes he doesn't think. He
doesn't have the experience to understand.

Understand what?

That sometimes a person doesn't want to
talk, not right away, if at all.
Garen sighed.
He took your silence
as you pushing him away.

Oh.
A blush crept across her cheeks.
Kei's actions made much more sense now.
Thank you, Garen.
She took a
step forward and then paused.
Please feel free to point these things out to
me sooner in the future. Sometimes I don't think either.

His chuckle echoed in her mind as she
made her way quietly to the side of her bed.

Stopping, she stared down at Kei's
sleeping face. He looked so sweet and innocent, even more so asleep than awake.
His light hair stuck out in all directions but she didn't bother to try to
smooth it out. That was Kei.

Crouching down, she brushed her fingers
across his cheek. His eyes snapped open, glowing with a faint yellow light.
"Move over," she whispered, not wanting to wake Bo.

Kei blinked a few times as the glow
faded from his eyes. She smiled, and a moment later, he answered with one of
his own. Reaching out, he pulled her into bed as he shifted himself back toward
the wall. Fitting easily into his arms, her head on his shoulder, she wondered
at how different it felt compared to when Prince held her. Kei brought her
calmness and comfort, no racing heart or flashes of heat, yet she loved him.
Just as much as she loved Prince.

"Are you thinking about him?"

"No, I'm thinking about you." Partial
truth. She tilted her head to look at him. "I'm sorry, for everything I've
put you through lately."

He shrugged and ducked his head, not
meeting her eyes. "It's been hard, on all of us."

"Yes, it has," she agreed.
"Too much, all at once." She shifted, freeing a hand to touch his
face, forcing him to look at her. "I don't want you to think I don't need
you. I do. Very much. I just didn't feel ready to talk about everything. I just
needed you by my side while I tried to sort everything out."

His golden eyes searched hers and he
sighed. "And I wasn't there."

"Of course you were. You're always
with me."

He smiled at that. "You're not
angry with me?"

"No, of course not. But I still
don't know if I'm ready to talk about him. He left me so confused… I just… I
don't even know what to think or do."

"You're thinking too much."

"Probably," she admitted
ruefully, curling back against him.

"No, you need to think less, feel
more." He brushed hair from her face. "Just feel your love for him.
Remember the moments. The future will bring whatever it does. Thinking won't
change it."

He spoke so solemnly, she frowned,
taking in his words, the seriousness and truth to them. Finally, she said,
"I hate it when you're right."

She fought not to swat him as he laughed
quietly against her hair. "The sun is rising. Should we wake Bo?"

"Probably," she agreed.
"We all need to talk about what to do."

She sat on the edge of the bed and
started putting on her boots while Kei poked and shook Bo awake. He awoke
mid-snort and groaned before sitting up and starting his morning ritual of
stretching and cursing about being old. Aro had to admit his body made an
impressive amount of popping and cracking sounds.

"How's your leg doing?"

Reaching down, he rubbed the spot where
one of the small, crab-like Vor had stabbed right through his leg with its
spikey tail. "It aches some."

"No infection?"

His eyes shot over to hers, and he shook
his head quickly. "No, and yes, I do check."

She smiled weakly. It was a touchy
subject. Gut rot had almost killed her.

"Anyone have any thoughts on what
to do now?"

I think we should still wait to hear from
Rhee-En on what the king says to him.

"We must go to the city, whatever
is decided," Kei said quietly.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise as
he thumped down on his bed to put on his boots. "I thought…"

He shook his head and avoided her eyes.

"Kei," Bo said sharply.

"Should the broken prince be
returned, those remaining must take shelter in the city."

They all stared at him for a long
moment.

"You remembered another prophecy,"
she said finally.

He shrugged a shoulder and finished with
his boots. "It's been hovering there a bit, since we got Prince home.
There is…" He paused and then let out low, irritated growl. "There is
more to it, but it's just out of reach."

You have done well, Kei. When you
remember, let us know,
Garen said.

Kei nodded solemnly.

Aro frowned, uncertain what to say to
him. The prophecies he remembered frightened him. She cleared her throat.
"One thing I did think of was for you all to remember making us a pack was
my idea."

Bo scratched at his scar, "Well it was?"

No,
Garen argued.
I mentioned the
power of a pack.

"No," she said firmly.
"Bo remembers correctly. None of you had anything to do with it."

Kei sprang to his feet. "What are
you doing?"

"I wanted to save Prince. It was my
idea. I told you what to do. I called the magic, or whatever it was that
happened." She glared at each one of them in return. "I did it.
Remember that." Her voice softened, "Please."

"You can't take this on yourself,
pup."

"Of course I can, and I will. I'll
not drag you all into this. The consequences are my responsibility."

"But–" Bo protested.

Do not demean her efforts. She means to
protect us all.
Garen turned to look at her.
Yet she also knows we will stand by her side. The
king may still punish us as a pack. Taking full responsibly merely removes the
possibilities of individual judgment.

"Yes, that," she agreed.
You
need to teach me to speak like that.

Garen chuckled in her mind.

Come to the dining tables,
Rhee-En said.
We
will eat and then talk.

Taking a deep breath, she relayed the
information to the others.

Bo grinned. "Good, I'm
starving."

∞ ∞ ∞

They joined Rhee-En at one of the large
tables, already set with plates of food.

She tucked her cloak around her, glad she'd
decided to wear it. Though the sky remained clear, a cold breeze bit at her
skin. Kei didn't seem to notice, but then the cold never bothered him.

"I should have worn mine," Bo
whispered to her with a grin.

From her other side, Kei elbowed her and
handed her a roll. "You need to eat more."

To avoid that topic she looked across
the table at Rhee-En.

He shook his head, anticipating her
question. "Eat first."

Disappointed, she filled her plate. At
least she seemed to be getting used to his smooth voice again. "What kind
of eggs are these?"

"Chicken."

She glanced up in surprise. "You
have chickens?"

The scars on his face twisted as he
smiled in amusement. "We have a sustainable society, child. We tend our
own fields and gardens, and raise livestock."

"You don't just live off the
land?"

"No, though we do manage the
wildlife as well, making sure we do not over hunt."

She mulled that over as she chewed.
"Where do you have fields?"

He laughed again. "Our land is not
only forest. There are areas here and there we can use for crops."

"I see."

"We are not always fighting the
Vor," he explained. "When not on patrols or training, we all take turns
doing the things that need to be done for us to live in comfort. It is also the
duty of an alpha to ensure their people are fed and housed."

"So you make everything?"

"For the most part. We trade with
other packs, as well. Things we cannot make we go to the human cities
for." He brushed crumbs from his fingers. "We live a simple life, but
we work hard for what we have and do not tolerate waste."

She quickly finished the food on her
plate. It took some effort not to fidget while waiting for the others. Rhee-En
seemed in no hurry. She wondered if he ate slowly on purpose. She eyed his
large frame, imagining the muscles hidden beneath his simple clothes. Perhaps
he just needed to eat a lot.

When he chuckled, her eyes snapped
backed to his face and a flush heated her cheeks as she realized he'd noted her
scrutiny.

I had thought your interest to be with
the prince, but if that is not the case…

Her entire face burned and she ducked
her head to hide behind her hair.
No!

He laughed out loud.

Kei's hand brushed her thigh.
What's
wrong?

Nothing! I'm fine.
She took a deep
breath, trying to calm her suddenly racing heart, and raised her head to glare
at the alpha across from her.

Kei growled low in his throat, sensing
something amiss.

Rhee-En's strange gold and blue eyes
held his laughter even as he tried to keep a straight face.

"I think it's time for us to
talk," she said stiffly.

Her words stole his mirth away and he tipped
his head in her direction. "Very well. I spoke with the king late last
night. As expected, he demanded to know what had occurred."