Chapter 8: Sparring

Kyon POV

Hours later…

A lengthy sparring session with Dane and patrolling the surrounding area together in search of the strange red-and-white flash helped Kyon blow off some steam from dealing with Azandra’s parents. Dane and Kyon found no trace of the bizarre intruder, even with the other brothers joining them. After their fruitless search, Jiro and the two younger brothers headed back to start dinner.

“Want to invite Azandra for dinner?” Dane asked.

Kyon smiled. “I’m sure she’d vastly prefer that to dining with her parents right now. Good idea.”

“I occasionally have them. You’ve both been working nonstop. You deserve a break ... and she is your mate.”

Dane would dye his fur pink if Lilia thought it was right. Azandra also thought highly of Lilia’s opinion. She’d gone from jealous rival to wanting to claw anyone who even looked the wrong way at Lilia.

Thinking about Azandra’s fiery ways and her protectiveness made his body tingle. He craved her with his whole heart. He didn’t want to distract her … but Dane was right.

Kyon raced to Tulaska’s home, a much better place for Azandra and the others to heal the afflicted members of their pack than Azandra’s home. He prayed to the Moon Goddess that his intended mate succeeded. He had every confidence in her, in Tulaska, and the witch members of his family … which might include Anneliese someday … These women were the finest healers he’d ever met.

His side still felt tender and achy, like a stitch from running too fast.

What was this thing that nearly took him down? A magical beast? A demon? The witches didn’t know, even Ravyn, who had more magical knowledge in her little finger than the entire pack did. Lilia was no slouch, either, as Dane kept telling him.

Thinking about the bond between Dane and Lilia, how his brother smiled and laughed so easily now and practically glowed, made Kyon more impatient to be with Azandra. Moon Goddess, was this how his brother had felt just before they bonded?

When he bonded with Azandra, what would it be like?

He thought to Dane through their mind link, “Dane?”

“Yes?” Dane radiated joy at being in wolf form.

“Did you feel this … this force pushing you towards Lilia, even before the bond?”

Dane’s laughter bubbled up through the mind link. “I think I feel the pull myself right now. She’s been working non-stop over the last few hours … I’m going to make her take a short break.”

“I’m going to do the same with Azandra.”

“See you there!”

“Not if I see you first.”

Their fur and tails rippled in the breeze and their wolf bodies carried them all the way to Tulaska’s home where they raced inside.

Tulaska blocked them the second they stepped into her house. “Slow down, both of you.”

Kyon dodged her while Dane shifted to human form and gently convinced her to have Lilia and Azandra take a break. Kyon ran up to Azandra and sniffed her, then put his paws on her stomach.

It felt different than before. Smooth belly, soft skin, and WARM. He’d touched Azandra this way without thinking about it because he did the same to his brothers. But he was NOT touching one of his brothers. She gave a little gasp as he stared up at her with intense eyes, wanting her to change.

Tulaska cleared her throat. “I think your mate is trying to tell you something, healer.”

He had never liked Tulaska more than he did at that moment, and he shot her a glowing look.

Azandra smiled, and held his paws…then shifted, the energy rippling so that he felt it through his paws … he stepped back, and her silver wolf form stood before him, her mouth open and teeth bared, her body in a playful posture. He surged toward her and she spun around, then raced out of Tulaska’s home with Kyon close on her heels and her tail waving in his face. Her silver streak shot through the town, faster than anything he remembered.

The blood pounded in his head, demanding that he pursue his mate to the Gates of Fire in the south if he needed to, or to the wood elves’ glen in the north, beyond the Evenhide Pack’s borders.

“Would you have me chase you all the way to the wood elves?” he said in a thought to Azandra.

Her silvery laughter rippled through the mind link. “Do I look foolish? You don’t just chase someone into the wood elves’ grove.”

“You dreamed about going to see them,” he shot back. “When we were cubs. You were afraid to go."

“YOU were afraid to go!"

She pushed her wolf body to the limit and made him chase her all the way to the expanse of green beyond the city before she turned in a whirl of silver fur and leapt on him. He raised his paws to meet hers in a fierce sparring stance.

“And I was too scared to go too,” she admitted.

“True, but you wanted to go because you were scared,” he replied, confident. “Mostly because of what your parents would say. Especially your mother.”

Her paw swiped at him, batting him on the nose, a love tap. “Then why didn’t any of you big, brave, fearless Cresta pups go see them?”

“Don’t change the subject.” But he felt a thrill because she could match wits with him like always.

She nipped at him, but he had the upper paw when he knocked her down with a full body slam, rolling over and over with her, wrestling, pushing each other, their fur pressed flat against each other, so close he must have some of her fur on him. He could only hope.

She smelled of the herbs in Tulaska’s home, but he preferred her natural musk, which made him ache for her, all over, everywhere. He tried licking her face to distract her, but got too distracted by the velvet of her fur under his tongue and the taste of her.

“You taste delicious,” he thought.

She growled. “Are you supposed to be enjoying this?”

He grinned. “Probably not. But I am anyway.”

She howled softly. “You let down your guard pretty quickly.”

“If I were …” He wouldn’t mention Dane. “If I were Jiro, you’d never get near me.”

“Ha! He’s a softie underneath … Lilia has him wrapped around her finger. A lucky female will slip through his defenses. You mark my words.”

Kyon melted, because he loved that she could see beneath Jiro’s shy, cautious mask.

And while he was distracted, she swiped at him and he blocked her blow with his pause, then shoved her, trying to knock her off balance. Her paws kept flying and her teeth grazed his ear.

“You taste delicious too,” she said, her thoughts halting and slow. “You … smell … so much better than I ever thought. I have this urge…”

He felt it too.

Could he mark her?

He didn’t even know if she was his fated mate.

Instead, he nuzzled her, kissing all over her face, licking everywhere he could … and it occurred to him that this would be incredible if they were both in human form …

That thought and the wind got knocked out of him when a smaller black bundle of fur slammed into him.

“It’s time for dinner,” Dirge announced. “Dinner at Cresta House. That means you too, Azandra.”

“You couldn’t … umph … have called before this?” Kyon tried not to scold his youngest brother, but the pup had Fenrir’s own timing.

“We did. Several times,” Dirge said, not sounding bothered in the least. “Be thankful it’s me interrupting you and not Patch.”

“We are,” Azandra assured him. “So grateful we’ll even save some dinner for you.”

She raced off, and Kyon howled appreciatively. What a wolf. What a woman.

He loped beside her, determined to reach Cresta House before Dirge did. Childish, yes, but the Crestas lived for competition, the chase, and the joy of being brothers. To have Azandra by his side made that so much sweeter.

* * * * *

Azandra POV

Meals at Cresta House had always been a big deal. A table crammed with dishes full of meat and vegetables and various side dishes such as purple yams, stewed fruit, and other treats, including Mrs. Cresta’s famous bread. Azandra could still taste it. A hearty mouthful slathered with butter. Serra, the housekeeper, and Jiro made a good loaf of bread, but it didn’t taste quite like Mrs. Cresta’s.

More than the tender, flavorful meat, and the bread, Azandra ate up the family talk and laughter. Even with the worry over the latest crisis, and the welfare of the entire pack on their minds, Dane, his brothers, Lilia, and Ravyn smiled and laughed constantly. Anneliese was part of the bunch too. Ravyn and Anneliese had returned to the Bloodstone, Lilia's family business, during the last month to check on it, and since it was in good hands, they came right back to Evenhide lands. The pack had well and truly claimed them.

If she mated with Kyon, this could be her future.

Kyon devoured another plateful of meat while teasing Jiro that he really needed to eat more vegetables, which made Jiro threaten to launch a forkful of vegetables at him. Sitting next to Kyon, Azandra protested because she might get splattered. And Jiro promised to have deadly accurate aim.

“I never knew anybody could be so picky about food,” Dane said, sitting on the other side of Jiro, with Lilia next to him and Patch next to Lilia.

Jiro answered with a lifted eyebrow and a serious tone. “You’ve only known me your entire life. I was like this the minute I was born.”

“He’s got you there, Dane,” Kyon said with a smirk. “Of course, he was nothing compared to Dirge …”

“Me?” Dirge looked innocent.

“Refused to eat anything but Mom’s bread for weeks when you were a tiny cub,” Patch said, joining in.

“Can’t blame him there,” Azandra sighed wistfully.

Ravyn laughed fondly and ruffled Dirge’s hair. “Dirge’s behavior sounds familiar.”

Bashful, Lilia lowered her head. “Me?”

“In your case, it was fruit pudding,” Ravyn confided.

“And then she discovered your cobbler,” Dane complimented, making Ravyn blush.

Azandra listened to the good-humored banter, but instead of this loving, cozy family, she saw in front of her the stiff, cold wooden table at Birdcliff with the dishes arranged just so.

“Don’t eat like that, Azandra,” her mother Titania said, pulling away the platter of meat. “You’ve had enough.”

Her dad made a weak protest. “She’s a growing pup.”

“No Alpha wants a Luna who eats like a goblin, dear.”

“Goblins eat more than I do for their size,” Azandra said.

“Azandra. Sweetie.” Her mother gave her that sweet smile and sugary voice. “Do you want to meet goblins?”

“Yes,” Azandra said. “And elves.” And see humans, without them seeing me, she thought.

Titania tossed her head, laughing that too-sweet laugh. “Lunas don’t do such things.”

“Azandra?” Lilia’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Are you alright?”

The chilly, awkward memories faded and she focused on the warm faces of the Crestas. “Yes.”

“Good,” Dane said with a knowing look. “Because you may be family one day, and we’d do anything for you. There’s no enemy we can’t face, no problem we can’t solve.”

Lilia banged her goblet on the table. “With shifter power and witch wisdom! You’re one of us, Azandra. You’ve been part of this family for a long time.” Anneliese banged her goblet on the table too, more enthusiastically.

All the other Crestas agreed, with love in their eyes. Only Jiro looked a little distracted, and his eyes darted about. He leaned in as if listening to some sound beyond their hearing, then announced, “I hope that’s right because we have an intruder.”