Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

It was the scent of blood that caught Zev’s attention first. He stopped in his tracks, observing the plains of Emberdin. It was quiet save for the chatter of wildlife and birds cawing overhead. The brown grass stretched wide into the horizon with a strip of gray mountains in the far distance. A gradient of rich blues blending into purple and pink painted the dawn sky as the sun began to wake. Rawn drew up short behind him, but said nothing as they studied their surroundings. Fair’s hooves clomped on the ground restlessly, sensing what Zev had finally caught after two days of searching. He breathed in the crisp air and it came to him again.

“I smell blood,” he warned under his breath.

Lord Norrlen silently armed his bow.

Zev inhaled again and fell stock still. There were two traces, but beneath the coppery smell, lingered a gentle but so penetratingly familiar scent. His wolf rose to attention. This feeling growing within him, it triggered an instinct—of like calling to like.

The scent of an Other.

A female Other.

There were various scents of more like him, but hers was fresh and so captivating, that he struggled to focus. It carried on the wind, luring him across the plains. Zev forced himself to keep his pace slow instead of running to find her as his wolf demanded. The need was so strong, every muscle in his body tightened with resistance. He searched the tall grass for any movement. Rawn said the Lupin Pack was amiable, but even the most tolerant wolf didn’t take kindly to strangers in their territory.

There was a barely audible crack of a branch. Both he and Rawn tensed. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn’t have heard it. Zev’s wolf eyes ignited as his claws grew.

They waited. Listening.

“Hello?” His voice carried over the plains into the windy silence.

There were no distinct landmarks here. Other than the sparse woods a half mile to the right, he only saw a large lump of a brown rock in the grass.

Except it wasn’t a rock. It had fur.

Zev hurried to it, coming around to find a dead elk. It was gouged out by its throat, and lying beside it was one he scented. A female white wolf. Bright red blood stood out against her coat, most of it gathered by her shoulder. She snarled and snapped her fangs, warning them to stay back.

But he simply stood there. Staring into those vivid blue eyes he had seen before.

“Zev,” Rawn prompted him softly.

Right, she was injured and needed help, but at the moment they were a threat. For a werewolf, or a Lycan rather—she was small. Half his size. Zev thought to make himself smaller and less threatening, but as soon as he crouched, she bolted.

“Wait,” Zev called as he chased after her. “We mean you no harm!”

Even wounded, her white form sped across the plains for the trees. How frightened must she be to combat the pain like that? It would only make her injury worse.

Rawn told him to hold when they reached the woods, but Zev went in after her anyway. He barely caught a glimpse of white disappearing past the bushes. He sped up, leaping across fallen logs. Crossing the bend, he saw her again as her body gracefully leaped across a ravine and missed the landing. The wolf went tumbling into the shallow creek below. She lay there among the rocks, breathing heavily. Her lips pulled against her teeth at his approach.

“It’s all right, I’m here to help.” He paused a few feet away from her, waiting for her reaction. She was too weak to do more than growl. “God of Urn as my witness, I won’t hurt you, little wolf.” He slowly approached, making sure his claws were retracted. He left his neck exposed as a sign of good faith. “May I carry you out?”

She whined weakly, panting with shallow breaths. Zev gently lifted her body, careful of her injured shoulder. She keened and flailed. Either from pain or to escape him.

“You killed an elk all by yourself?” Zev asked to distract her. “That’s impressive. At most, I have seen three, fully-grown males take one down. Never one.”

She fell still at that, and her blue eyes regarded him.

“Many have fallen to their antlers, little wolf. You’re lucky to be alive.” He leaped up the ravine and landed on the ground above. Laying her back down, he studied the gash where she’d been impaled. “Aye, it seems you avoided the worst of it, but may I tend to your arm? If it isn’t set before you heal, it will leave you with a permanent limp.”

She already knew that, of course. Zev simply spoke in soft tones to keep her calm.

“You must change back,” he said. She snarled, and he held up his hands. “Or not.”

She probably felt safer as a wolf. Rawn strolled up from behind and handed him a canteen with water.

“Are you thirsty?” Zev uncorked the top and offered it to her.

The white wolf only continued to stare at him, her nostrils flaring as she took in his scent. Her head tilted, and she sniffed further. She jerked her head back, as if confused. No, shocked.

“Here.” Zev reached out to support her neck to help her drink.

But he and Rawn whipped around at the sound of running paws tearing up dirt. He rolled out of the way in time to miss the flash flying over his head. A massive, white wolf landed in front of the female. Its fur bristled as it lowered into a threatening crouch and let out a deep, vicious growl.

Arctic wolves. Two of them.

And the new one was male. The wolf bared its sharp fangs, threatening to attack.

Keeping his head lowered and arms wide, Zev slowly backed up, and Rawn did the same. He took in a discreet sniff and it told him two things. This wolf was an Alpha, and kin of the female. The male’s eyes were different, however. One was yellow and the other blue.

“I only meant to help her,” Zev said. “Nothing more.”

The female whined, catching the male’s attention. He circled her and chuffed at the wound angrily, then nuzzled her cheek. She must have communicated something to him through the Pack link because he spun his head around to Zev. His nostrils flared wide, and his fur receded to stand on two legs. The male stood a couple inches shorter than him. Light blond hair fell above his unusual colored eyes. Less vivid, but one remained blue while the other settled to brown instead of yellow. He was perhaps a few years older than Zev. Body coiled with muscle and marked by the typical scars of a wolf.

On his shoulder, he bore black markings in twisting, angular patterns. It wasn’t a Pack Mark Zev recognized.

After staring at him for a long minute, the male at last spoke with an unusual accent not heard in Azure. “My sister says you helped her.”

Sister…

“But that isn’t why you’ve come.”

“No. My name is Zev Astron. This is my companion, Rawn Norrlen. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” They smiled in greeting, though both of them had noticed the large shapes slinking through the trees. “We’re here searching for the Lupin Pack. For more of my kind.”

“Your kind.” The Alpha canted his head, eyebrows set low over his eyes. “We have not seen your kind in many years.”

Zev frowned in confusion. “Are you not Lycans?”

“Yes. I mean to say, your breed is uncommon. The last I have heard of your kind they had all settled in the south within Lykos Peak. You’re far from home, Zev Astron.”

The Alpha kept his eyes on him as more wolves prowled forward and surrounded them in a loose circle. Not quite a threat, but enough to warn that they were prepared to fight if need be. From scent alone, they were all ranked as lead warriors. He felt their stares as they sized him up.

Zev’s wolf growled inside of him to show it wasn’t intimidated, but he kept himself calm. Fair nickered, jerking on the reins. He settled with a soft murmur in Elvish from Rawn.

“Pardon,” Zev said. “I’m not seeking to trespass on anyone’s territory or position. Nor do I seek to recruit members for Lykos.”

The Alpha studied him further, probably listening to his heart rate. “Good,” he said once he decided Zev wasn’t lying. “Lupin isn’t in a position to lose anymore wolves.”

Zev caught the strange wording. “You’re not part of the Lupin Pack?”

“We’re friends having come to visit.” The Alpha accepted the bundle of clothing a gray wolf carried to him in its jaws. He slipped on a pair of trousers then held out a tunic to the female. “I am Ronin. This is Lara.”

She attempted to shift but whined sharply when putting weight on her legs. Zev instinctively moved to help but Ronin growled at him. Lara shifted on her second attempt, and it cast her scent through the air. It swam through his senses, luring him in such a way, it made Zev take another step. Her brother viciously snarled, and the Pack formed a perimeter of protection around her.

Ronin blocked her out of view with his large body, his claws extending.

“Zev,” Rawn warned under his breath. “Don’t take another step.”

But at the moment, Zev didn’t care if he got bitten. He didn’t know what this feeling was, but she’d triggered a primal instinct to get close enough to breathe her in. She inexplicably drew him, filling him with the need to…mark.

A burly male with dark reddish hair stepped in Zev’s way and flashed his fangs in a feral growl. “Stand back, mutt.”

The male expelled a territorial musk. The sign of one who had declared a female for himself and would kill anyone who challenged him.

It snapped Zev out of it. “Ah…sorry…” He flushed. “I didn’t mean…”

Ronin nodded stiffly. “Unmated females can have that effect on males. They sometimes forget themselves, so I prefer they keep their distance from my sister.”

“Aye.” Zev swallowed, his face heating further. “Sorry.”

He’d seen something similar happen in Lykos Peak. When an unmated female smelled so enticing it drove the males mad. It would fade once she had been marked by her chosen mate.

Not that Zev had any intention of doing anything.

It wasn’t the fact that she was unmated that called his attention. There was something fascinating about Lara’s specific scent his wolf demanded to explore. It was something new yet not, as if he recognized it. Even though he’d never come across it before. He caught a glimpse of her glowing blue eyes past Ronin’s shoulder and knew he had seen them.

In the void.

Nothing else of her was visible except her slender feet. She shook out the dark gray tunic Ronin handed her and slipped it on. Zev was suddenly aware she was very naked. He cleared his throat and moved several feet back.

“What kind of Lycan is he?” the burly male sniffed the air. “This breed, I cannot place it.”

“You have not met his kind before, Finn.” Ronin slowly eased out of his tense position. “A rare breed. Lucanis.”

The pack members growled low under their breath. Some were threatened, but others seemed intrigued. There were many different breeds of werewolves, but Zev’s previous pack had only one.

Lara stared at him openly.

“Lucanis.” Finn circled Zev, sniffing him. They were more or less the same height. “You must be big, eh? I am Rucanis breed. Red wolves of the Northwest. I’m rather big myself, but I doubt you’re as big as me. Shall we compare?”

The Alpha rolled his eyes. “Is that necessary?”

“I know you, Ronin. You want him on the line.”

Ronin crossed his arms, eyeing him again as though to take his measure. “You must admit, he would do well. We don’t have any Lucanis yet, and they are massive.”

Zev glanced between them, trying to decipher what they meant.

Finn’s large palm shoved Zev’s shoulder, or attempted to. He didn’t move an inch. “Shift.”

Zev pushed his hand off. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I’m not a threat to you or whatever line you have. I’m not interested.”

“I want to see your wolf.” Finn’s eyes flashed vivid green. “Show us the mighty Lucanis.”

Zev’s own yellow eyes flared, his body tensing at his wolf rising to the challenge. “I don’t wish to fight.”

A barking laugh boomed from Finn’s chest, and he turned to the pack. “I ask to see his wolf, and he immediately thinks of violence.”

“It’s not a challenge,” Ronin’s mouth hitched up on the ends. “But there is no reason to bend to my beta’s demands.”

Beta. Of course. Arrogant. Authoritative. It fit the mark.

They were both very young to hold such a prominent position. Zev should have noticed by the way Finn stood on Ronin’s right as his second. On his left remained the gray wolf who had passed him the clothing earlier. That must be his delta.

“Where is your Pack Mark?” Finn asked him.

At the question, Zev inwardly braced. “I don’t have one.”

Every wolf present reacted to the news differently. Some with contempt, others with wariness or surprise.

“He’s an omega,” Finn announced, as if they hadn’t already heard him clearly.

Zev suspected he merely wanted to make his position clear.

He was a lone wolf.

Unwanted.

And the word was said with as much derision as when Zev was called the Other. But he understood their wariness. Omega wolves were outcasted for a reason.

“Why did your Pack not accept you?” Ronin asked. It was a personal question and one that needed addressing.

Zev exhaled a heavy breath. “Because I was different from them.”

The Alpha only gave him an understanding look, and the wolves quieted. They knew what it was like to be cast out. “For being an Other?”

For being a monster, the Madness whispered in his thoughts. For who should want a kin-slayer?

Zev looked away and responded with a short nod, agreeing with them both.

If the Alpha knew how far gone he was, this Pack would cast him away as well. One look at Ronin was enough to prove he’d long regained control over his Other. No imprint of chains marked his body. No burns scarred his wrists from wearing silver manacles every full moon night for years. He only bore the scars of a wolf, not of shame.

And for once, Zev was grateful Cassiel had erased his scars. Because to get help, he would have to keep that secret.

A slip of movement drew his attention to Lara coming out from behind her brother. Zev’s next breath stalled as he took in her form. Her height reached Ronin’s shoulder. Long white-blond hair fell around her shoulders in waves. Her blue wolf eyes stayed on his face, and he found himself memorizing hers. The elegant angles, skin the color of the moon, lips like petals. She was strong. It was clear in how she stood and in the lean muscle of her graceful form. The dark gray tunic she wore fell mid-thigh with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. His gaze dropped to her feet, following the path of her long legs, up her arms, to the blood seeping through the fabric on her right shoulder, and rising again to the soft curves of her face.

Lara was beautiful.

He’d known she was since he saw her wolf. And not a scar to be seen.

They held the stare for a moment before she said, “I would like to see your wolf.”

A faint accent tinged her words. But her voice—it reminded him of crisp nights and the rustle of a soft breeze. Of the free wild.

Zev stilled, stunned by the sound and her request. If they considered him a threat now, surely they would if he shifted. But she was watching him with those vibrant eyes. Waiting. And damn if his wolf didn’t bristle with pride. They both knew his form was impressive.

Not looking away, he kicked off his boots and peeled away his tunic. Her gaze immediately dropped to the many scars marking his body. The sign of his chains was gone, but not of the brutal life he lived. An omega was always challenged, and it had been marked by claws and fangs.

Her stare dragged over every inch of him as she took in each scar along his arms, chest, and ridges of his stomach. Then he removed his trousers next. The glide of her eyes slipped to his feet, and ever so slowly, made their way up to his face again.

Zev called on his wolf.

An ache passed through his body as his muscles rippled with the shift. His large paws hit the dirt, and he rose to his full height. The pack snarled, some stepping back and others holding their ground. Their alarm barely registered when he was so focused on the sharp rise of Lara’s chest. Her scent heightened in his senses and her pupils dilated, mouth parting with a low breath.

After a pause, she walked away.

“You’re right,” Lara told the beta as she passed him. “He isn’t as big as you. He’s bigger.”

Finn’s mouth curled as she passed and he crossed his arms. “He’s dangerous.”

But there was only a gleam in Ronin’s odd eyes. “I’m willing to bet he is.”

“Is that what you want in Lángshān?” Finn asked him.

Zev stiffened and shared a startled look with Rawn.

He quickly shifted back and stared at the Alpha. “You’re the Garou Pack from Xián Jīng.”

Zev and Rawn lingered by the tree line as the Pack worked on dismembering the elk for meat. Ronin had Lara pulled aside. She kept her head low as her brother lectured her on the reckless hunt. Zev tried not to listen, but his wolf was so highly aware of her that he couldn’t help but catch their voices in the wind.

“What were you thinking?” Ronin growled.

“I was thinking of food. They haven’t been able to properly hunt for weeks.”

“I know that, Lara. We’re leaving them our provisions, and I had the men out hunting.”

She shook her head. “Dried meat and a few measly rabbits won’t sustain them. I saw the elk and I made a choice.”

“A foolish one! Instead of coming to find me, your Alpha, you hunted on your own. You could have been killed. I agreed to take you with us because you promised to stay out of danger. Not to get yourself skewered.”

Lara’s shoulders sank, the confidence seeping out of her demeanor beneath her brother’s chastisement. It drew out a memory of the way Dyna deflated when Zev refused to let her learn how to use weapons. He had only wanted to protect his cousin, as Ronin wanted to protect his sister. But the hurt on Lara’s face was a mirror reflection of how Dyna had looked. And it left behind a new weight of shame over his head.

Lara covered her wound, looking away from her brother. “I will live, Ronin. Which is more than the Lupin Pack could say if they don’t have food.”

The Alpha sighed heavily. “Half of their pack is gone. I don’t think the other half will make it through winter.”

Zev straightened at the news. Lord Norrlen nodded that he heard as well.

She shook her head, sadness entering her eyes. “There is still hope for some. We can’t leave them behind like this.”

“We will do what we can for them. We take care of our own.” Sighing, Ronin mussed her hair. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. Please don’t give me cause to worry. We have lost enough already.”

She mumbled something in return.

He nodded. “Go help the Pack take the meat back to Lupin territory. But don’t carry too much with that wounded shoulder.” Lara made a face and joined the others. Ronin glanced at him next. “Come with me.”

He continued walking east and Zev joined him. Rawn followed behind, leading Fair along.

“There seem to be various breeds among you,” Zev commented. “In Lykos, there is only one.”

“Lara and I are of the Arctic breed. My delta, Valto over there, he is Canis.” Ronin motioned at the gray wolf that had yet to shift. “The Garou Pack has nearly every breed.” His odd eyes glanced at him. “Except for yours.”

“Are you many in number?” Zev asked.

“I would say so,” Ronin said. “It wasn’t always that way. It began with my father when he decided to search for other Lycan’s, and he found them. Scattered lone wolves casted out for being half-breeds. He became Alpha when they gathered together as their own Pack. Every three years, he would visit the Packs in case another Lycan had been born. If they were rejected, we took them in. Now it’s my turn to lead the Pack and to find more like us.”

Something sank like a stone in Zev’s stomach, and he came to find it was an odd mixture of dejection and resentment of having no one come searching for him. “I never knew there were others. I’ve always thought I was alone.”

“You’re a Lycan. You’re not alone.” Ronin searched his face with a knowing sympathy. “Thirty years ago, my father attempted to approach the Lykos Pack, but they’re territorial purebloods. They nearly killed him for being a Lycan, so he never returned. But if I had known you were there, I would have gone for you, Zev. That is the Garou way.”

They reached a small village in the forest. It was made up of burrows carved into trees. Zev immediately halted at the sickly scent in the air. It smelled of waste and rot. The Lycans he could see didn’t stir at their arrival. They laid in their fur beds, coughing and retching.

“You came here searching for help,” Ronin sighed. “But Lupin isn’t in a place to give it.”

Zev stared at them, alarmed. “This is distemper. It’s a fatal disease for our kind if not treated.”

“There is no treatment. We can only do what we can to keep them comfortable and wait to see if some are strong enough to survive. I wish I could bring them to my healer, but they cannot make the long journey with us to the west.”

“So you will leave them here like this? Winter is coming.”

“We will stay as long as we can, but I have little hope they will live another week.”

Zev hated seeing this. To find there were more like him and left to die such a slow death.

The rest of Ronin’s Pack arrived with the food, and they moved through the village, handing out meat and water to the ill. Lara passed by them, now fully dressed with the gray tunic tucked in a pair of black, form fitting pants and knee-high black boots. Streams of sunlight seeped through the barren trees. He watched the light illuminate her long blond tresses that fell in soft waves along her back. She looked more ethereal than mortal this way.

“Don’t get too close,” Ronin warned.

Lara ignored him. She gathered a sickly pup in her arms and helped him drink. The Alpha groaned under his breath in annoyance. He took a step as if he might drag his sister away.

“Ronin,” Zev caught his attention. “I came here searching for more Lycans in hopes they could help me track down a friend of ours. A sorceress. Like an enchantress,” he amended at his confusion. “I believe she might have come in this direction, but I lost her scent. We need her magic to find my kin. One who happens to be a powerful healer.”

The news brought a stillness all around them and Zev felt several eyes fall on him.

“I don’t mean to use that to influence you, but I think there was a reason I came to be here.”

He glanced at Lara, recalling the white wolf he had chased in his dreams, then not moments ago. Something brought him to them.

“I believe it wasn’t simply to ask for help, but also to give it.”

“You may be right.” Ronin studied him for a long minute. “My sister saw you coming.”

Zev furrowed his brow, not sure what he meant. He couldn’t help glancing in Lara’s direction but she had fallen out of sight.

“Lara told me she had crossed through the moon mirror in her dreams. Have you heard of it?”

Zev shook his head but the dark void with reflective water passed through his mind.

“A discussion for another day perhaps. In this dream, a black wolf had appeared. We didn’t think much of it since they haven’t been seen in many years.” Ronin canted his head as he continued observing him. “Yet we crossed paths with you a few days later.”

Zev didn’t know what to think about that. It had not been some hallucination brought on by fever? He didn’t understand what it meant, but wolf was still inside of him, seated on its haunches, listening.

“I saw her in my dream as well,” Zev said faintly. “A white wolf…with her eyes. I had not thought much of it either, until now.”

“It’s strange how the world works at times.” Ronin said with a thoughtful smile. He motioned at the gray wolf, and it trotted over. “Valto had been northeast visiting another pack before reuniting with us. I don’t know about a sorceress, but he mentioned crossing paths with a witch.”

The air stalled in Zev’s lungs. “What did she look like?”

Valto’s fur rippled and receded as he came to stand on two legs. He was a young man with dark skin and light brown eyes. “I didn’t get a good look at her,” he said, his voice tinged with another unfamiliar accent. “As soon as she noticed us, she threw out her spells.”

“What color was her magic?” Zev asked urgently. “Was it purple?”

Valto’s eyes widened. “Yes, how did you know?”

Zev let out a shocked laugh. Relief welled his vision. He turned to his friend, and Lord Norrlen’s throat bobbed as he swallowed back his own emotion.

They had a lead.