Leader of the Pack (48 page)

Aislinn growled appreciatively as she finally felt him push into her sex. He started slowly, driving into her and trying to hold back enough that he’d be able to pull out before they got stuck together. There were too many possible witnesses to it out here tonight. He didn’t even bother to check the shadows. He knew someone was watching from somewhere.

Aislinn shook with the pleasure of each stroke. Everything felt different and new in this strange form. She felt her fur rub against him, and his legs wrapped around her as she dug her claws into the ground to hold herself still.

When Cullen pulled out she whimpered and looked back at him, pleading for him to continue. Cullen licked her dripping sex. His tongue delved into her, and she purred with the shivers it sent through her body.
We can’t finish like this,
he told her.
Change back with me.

It was all Aislinn could do to calm down enough to concentrate on Cullen’s mind.
I don’t know if I can,
she moaned.
Please Cullen, take me like this
, she said and raised her butt toward him enticingly.

Cullen growled and licked her sex again. His tongue slowly stroked her.
We’re being watched. I need you to try, or we’ll have to be done.

The threat was enough to get Aislinn to pay attention. She lay down and panted hard as she closed her eyes and reached out for Cullen with her mind. Cullen went slowly, forcing his wolf to retreat into the back of his mind and allow his human side to take over. Aislinn felt him promising his wolf a much heavier love making session when they returned to their room and closed the door. There was a great deal of protesting.

Aislinn found her cat in her mind and followed Cullen’s example, bargaining with the beast to get it to back down. After an extensive bout of arguing, Cullen pulled Aislinn into his arms, both of them human. Cullen pressed her legs apart and plunged his cock into her wet pussy eagerly. He didn’t have the patience to wait for permission at the moment. She growled in delight as she felt him begin to thrust into her over and over again. They kissed, and as their tongues danced together, she had to admit that although there was lost intensity the kissing made up for it and paws were no replacement for hands. He pinched her nipples roughly as he caught the thought in her mind about hands and listened to her moan with delight.

Aislinn heard the sounds of others around them. Cullen was right. They were definitely being watched. Aislinn turned her head and saw several couples who had come out of hiding. Aislinn’s eyes met those of a woman who was on all fours as a large grey wolf pounded into her from behind. The woman smiled at Aislinn, then closed her eyes. Her head fell forward, allowing the wolf to bite her neck. Her arms collapsed beneath her as an orgasm shook her body.

Aislinn felt her own building. When she looked back to Cullen, she found that he had been watching her watch the others. He smiled knowingly, and Aislinn blushed, but smiled back. As she stared into Cullen’s amber swirling eyes, she felt her body begin to tremble. It built down low in her stomach and flowed in waves through her. Her breath caught in her chest, and her pussy spasmed around his cock. Cullen gritted his teeth and growled. When he felt her walls clamping down on him, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He came into her as they stared into each other’s eyes.

Tá grá agam duit, Cullen
, she thought, in lieu of breath to say it out loud.

He pulled her close to himself and hugged her tightly, rolling them over so that he was on the bottom. He kissed her passionately.
Tá grá agam duit, Aislinn.

Chapter 20

Life is the fire that burns and the sun that gives light. Life is the wind and the rain and the thunder in the sky. Life is matter and is earth, what is and what is not, and what beyond is in Eternity.

-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The pyres burned high into the night sky. All around the reservation, wolves raised their faces to the heavens and howled their mournful song into the night. There were only a few Arnauk not present. Too many lives had been lost for there to be a single person unaffected by the deaths. The only ones who weren’t there were those that had to run the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and the Taigh-O
è
sda. A minimal staff had been left behind. The restaurant and hotel were mostly being run by the human hires tonight.

Aislinn stared at the enormous pyres. The yellow and orange flames licked the sky and sent shadows dancing about the trees. It was a sharp contrast to the howls of pleasure, and the bodies dancing amongst the trees the night before. There was very little talking. That morning they had found two suicides. It was expected. With so many mated losses, it wasn’t unusual for the one left behind, especially if there were no children, to take his or her own life.

The day had been long and hard. Aislinn had seen very little of Cullen, and it was getting harder and harder on both of them. He had spent the entire day being diplomatic and sympathetic to all the families that arrived to attend the funeral. Aislinn had spent the day trailing after Sarah and taking on odd duties that Sarah suggested. Mostly it was to show the rest of the pack that Aislinn was taking orders from them and not the other way around. Sarah hadn’t assigned her anything difficult. She would deliver a message to one person or another. She helped with carrying things in when more important people arrived. She smiled and spoke when spoken too. The only difficult part was answering a lot of questions about herself. In the end she was mentally exhausted.

Aislinn watched Brinah’s body burn, and tears slid down her cheeks. Knowing that her grandmother’s soul existed, but was tied to this place was little comfort. She had questions. Aislinn leaned against Cullen, her arm entangling his. It was the first time the two of them managed to be standing next to each other all day. He knew what she wanted, and she knew that he was uncomfortable with the idea.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “It scared me the first time because I didn’t understand what was happening or why. I need to talk to her.”

Cullen shook his head. “People will notice if you go missing right now.”

“We’re leaving for the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh in the morning. I won’t have another chance.”

Cullen growled. “Aislinn I don’t like it.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But I have to.” She kissed him on the cheek and then walked away from the pyres, and down the path in the woods, toward the stone circle. He watched her walk away, knowing he couldn’t stop her.

Aislinn felt him nearby, knowing that he wouldn’t stray far from the stones. There wasn’t anything he would be able to do, if something happened. Still, he didn’t care about that. He would try if something went wrong.

Aislinn stepped through the perimeter of the stone circle, with the firm intention of finding there, and to her surprise it worked. Everything went still. No breeze, no sounds, just black and the stones, and there in the middle of the Circle stood the ghostly figure of her grandmother.

Brinah smiled with pride, and her blue eyes sparkled an unworldly glow. “You have no idea how difficult what you just did should have been. It took a great deal of energy for me to bring you here that first time. You plane walk as though you were born to it.” Brinah walked over to her granddaughter. “I never dreamed I would regret keeping you from the Circle. Now, I can’t help wondering if I held you back.”

“Why did you leave them? Did they do something to you or something wrong? I know you said you wanted to marry grandpa, but did that require leaving?”

“Straight to the point. You remind me of myself some times. You know that is not a characteristic of the Circle. They are much more… diplomatic.” She smiled. “No it wasn’t a requirement. Except, your grandfather didn’t know about the Circle, and I didn’t know how to tell him. He was very Christian. Traditionally that isn’t a religion accepting of the types of things and beliefs the Circle represents. It was easier for me to hide it, than for me to try and explain it. The Circle itself wasn’t at fault for my leaving. It was my choice, and they let me go.”

“Should I be concerned about the things that I can do? Should I try and learn about it?”

“That’s up to you, child. You can ignore it all if you want, though the fates don’t seem to be willing to let you. Now that you’ve bound yourself to a lycan, it will be even harder if you want to attempt to ignore that side of yourself. The more you use it, the stronger it will become.”

Aislinn nodded. “Then the visions. They’ve been happening more and more recently.”

Brinah tilted her head and stared into her granddaughter’s eyes. “That should only happen if you’re willing to let it happen. You must be becoming more accepting and open to it. Premonitions come when you allow them to.”

“What about controlling it? Can I have one when I want one?”

Brinah suddenly understood, and smiled knowingly. “That’s why they’re increasing. You’re trying to use them.” She shook her head. “That’s more complex an accomplishment than you might think. The fates control the premonitions, and they’ll not let you have influence over them. It takes a powerful druid for that. The best you can do is will yourself to be open to allowing one to come to you. You control them by accepting that one might come. You don’t control the content or influence them. The harder you try the less you will get. It’s kind of like your shifting from one form to another. To have a premonition, you have to surrender your control to the fates, and hope they give you what you want.”

“It seems that the druids are big on stepping back and allowing the fates to control them.”

“Traditionally we’re observers, philosophers, and teachers.” Brinah’s voice was soft and reflective as she spoke. “The people who seek to control things usually get replaced by time or someone else out to control. We move with the fates like the oceans and the tides.”

“What else am I capable of?”

“Now that is a very complex question. Everyone is capable of whatever they like. It all comes down to what you apply yourself to, and if you choose to use your natural talents or seek to develop an ability that may be more difficult to come by, but may be more helpful to you.”

Aislinn stared at her. “No straight answers then?”

“You have the answers. You just don’t know it yet. They’ll come to you as you need it. I’ve given you advice that is more helpful than you may think. Is there anything else?”

Aislinn nodded. “I can’t convince Cullen to deal with Jenna and the books. He doesn’t believe it’s a pack matter. With the recent deaths and the pack dissension as it is, he doesn’t want to risk giving them a reason to doubt his leadership. I’m a big enough problem for him to justify. If he goes chasing down other packs based solely on my word, he risks loyalty issues.”

Brinah’s face fell a bit. “It will become pack business shortly. If he ignores it long enough, it will come looking for him. It would be easier dealt with now than later. The fates will play out as they wish.”

“Can’t you tell me what the problem is? What does Jenna want with the books?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know everything. I only get impressions of paths that could be taken. It’s like when you have a premonition, and you walk in knowing whether it’s the future or the past. You don’t know how you know. It’s just a feeling the fates have allowed. A hint to help you find your way. Perhaps the warning I have given you is enough all by itself to help you survive your path, even if you do nothing other than wait for it to come.”

Aislinn sighed. “I don’t do well with just allowing things to happen. I’d rather do something about it.”

“That’s because you were raised human. Different philosophies. I suggest you do what you believe you need to.”

Aislinn could feel Cullen’s impatience at her absence. “I should go back.”

“I understand. Lycans can be very possessive. And the alpha is very controlling. If anyone is going to be able to handle him, I believe you can.” Brinah stepped closer to Aislinn, kissed her cheek, and vanished into a fog of sparkling silver blue dust.

Aislinn looked around for Brinah, but she was nowhere to be seen. As Aislinn stared into the shadows of the dark, silent stones she felt a presence beyond Brinah. Or more precisely, many presences. It was only then that it occurred to her that the stones had been here for a very long time. At one point they were used regularly for rituals and spells. If Brinah’s soul could be trapped here, what was there to stop other souls from being trapped here as well? The uneasy feeling grew as she turned and left the Circle. She decided that she would definitely need to be very careful about who she was thinking of when she entered the stones.

Cullen was waiting for her when she stepped through the border of the stones. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. Aislinn smiled at him as she felt the fog blocking her mind from him clear. There was a strong sense of concern coming from him. It ranged from concern about the pack seeing Aislinn’s pursuit of her druid abilities as a threat to them, to her pursuit of her abilities taking her away from him. Aislinn approached him, walking straight into his arms.

Holding her close, he took in her scent. “I don’t like the fact that you’re blocked from when you walk into those stones even a little bit.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” she said and hugged him harder.

He growled. “Did you find what you wanted?”