Belonging

Noises filtered through the cotton wool of her mind down into her consciousness as she lay on the pallet of cushioned blankets. She savoured the familiar sounds of camp life – the clink of cooking pots placed over the fire, the deposit of firewood on a pile near but not too close to the flames, the rustle of leaves as people wandered around. Sounds that had once been a part of her life until she had been forced out.

She rolled on to her back, grimacing as bruised limbs protested against the movement. Lying on her back, she felt as though every inch of her was part of one major bruise. Despite the pain she managed a faint smile to tease at the corners of her swollen lips. Pain meant that she was alive, something that she had doubted ever being again after last night.

She opened her eyes, closing them instantly as more pain jabbed at her brain. Was this how Timo felt when he had drunk too much Mison wine? Possibly, although she doubted that his body felt as though it had been dragged for miles through the forest. She took a deep breath, grimaced when her ribs protested, and opened her eyes once more. A few seconds passed whilst her brain struggled to focus her eyes on the bland canvas ceiling of the tent.

For a few moments, she lay there, tracing the stains on the ceiling, the mix of haphazard and neat stitching where the tent had been repaired. It was tempting to just lie there, safe and protected beneath soft woollen blankets whilst her body slowly healed but she knew she had to, no, needed to, get up and see what was left of her world after last night.

It took a while, and a lot of cursing and wincing and gasping when she caught sight of the deep purple marks on her pale skin, before she was ready to push open the tent flap and step outside into the hustle and bustle of the camp. She was surprised to see that the sun had already set on another day and that the moon was high in the sky above the woods. Had she slept so long? She must have been more injured than what she had believed when she had awoken.

A small group of women were knelt by the campfire, serving bowls of meat and vegetables from the large cookpot that stood on the platform over the fire. Wolf cubs and young children ran between the tents in an age old game of chase, their laughter and excited yips echoing around the camp. She savoured the sounds, enjoying the signs of a new generation living and exploring their world.

“Kayla? You’re awake at last. How are you feeling?”

She turned and looked into the kindly face of an older woman holding a toddler on her hip. The woman had a welcoming smile on her face and there was no sign of any reproach in her eyes as she regarded the younger woman before her.

“Okay. I hurt a little but nothing serious,” she replied, playing down the severity of her injuries. She was not one to seek out any form of sympathy or mollycoddling. “How is everyone else?”

“Hurting, some more than others, but they’re healing.” For a second the woman’s smile wavered at a memory but then the shadow disappeared and she was once more smiling at Kayla.

“Did we …. did we lose many?” She hated asking but she needed to know.

The smile faded and sadness tinged her features as tears welled at the corners of her eyes. “Some. We did what we could to save them but their injuries were too great. We almost lost you. Zarik placed you in a drugged sleep to give you a chance to heal.” The woman bit her lip as though she had revealed something that should have remained secret.

“How long was I asleep?” Kayla asked, dreading the answer. She did not want to know that she had missed days whilst she could have been helping and supporting these people.

“A couple of days.” The woman placed her hand lightly on Kayla’s arm. There were scratches on her fingers indicating that she too had been involved in the fighting that had raged through here. “Do not blame yourself, Kayla, for their deaths. They died nobly, fighting for a cause they believed in, protecting someone they cared deeply for.”

Tears threatened to spill from Kayla’s eyes at the woman’s sincerity. They did not know her very well, she was a stranger to them who had brought a war to their doorstep yet they did not blame her or hate her for what had happened. Had she been back home, with those who were supposed to be her family, it would have been a different picture.

“Where is Arik?” She prayed that he wasn’t one of the fallen, that her quest had not been in vain.

“He’s over at the edge of the camp, keeping watch as he always does.”

She smiled her thanks to the woman before turning and heading off towards the outskirts of the camp where she knew Arik would be guarding. Even though he was the camp leader he was not a man who would shirk his duties not his responsibilities. Camp safety had always been high on his priorities.

It took her longer to reach the camp edge than she would have wanted. People stopped her to enquire after her health, to offer advice on how to deal with her injuries, to thank her for what she had done for them. Children stared in awe at the woman dressed in the black lace shirt and leather trousers who had stood side by side with their parents defending their home from her own kind. Their hero worship deepened as she paused to speak with them rather than dismissing them as some adults would.

For Kayla, it was an experience to be regarded as a friend and equal to these people. At home she had always been dismissed as inferior, not worthy of attention unless she was the bargaining piece in forming a new alliance for her father. She was tempted to stay and bask in their warmth but another need was pressing her, driving her on towards a small clearing at the camp perimeter. Far enough away from the hustle and bustle to be a private spot yet near enough to be able to protect should the need arise.

He was there, sitting as still as a statue looking out over the expanse of the forest. He barely moved, yet Kayla knew that he saw and heard everything that went on around him. No one was more in tune with the forest than Arik.

“Are you going to stand there all night or come and sit by me?”

The rough timber of his voice echoed in her mind, confirming her belief in him being one with the forest. She knew she had made no noise as she had reached this spot nor did she wear anything with a strong scent that would alert him to her presence.

“I did not want to intrude,” she replied, coming to stand by his side.

“You should not have met me if you wanted that.” Amusement laced his tone although he did not look at her. “How do you feel?”

“A little sore but it’s fading.”

“Liar. Your body is one ball of pain and all you want to do is crawl into your bed until it goes away but you are not someone to give in to pain.”

“You know me so well apart from it being your bed I want to crawl in to whilst you take the pain away.” She saw him tense and smiled to herself. He liked to think of himself as in control yet she knew how to undo those silken threads and make him as responsive to her as she was to him.

“You play with fire, my love. I hope you are strong enough to deal with it when it rages.” He glanced at her, silver eyes twinkling in the moonlight as he regarded her face. She saw pain darken his gaze when he saw the bruising on her cheekbone and the scratch that ran from just above her brow to below the corner of her eye. It would scar, even with her rapid healing but she was not going to dwell on it nor was she going to allow Arik.

“I love to play with fire,” she whispered against his ear, smiling as she saw him twitch at her nearness.

Reigning in his control Arik breathed deeply as he tried to calm himself down. This woman eroded his self-control with just a glance. “Have you eaten?”

“Someone left some blood for me along with a meal for when I woke up. I wasn’t expecting it,” she admitted.

“As my mate you will have to get used to it. They will get used to you just as you will get used to them. They will forget that you are a vampire in time.”

“Will you?” she asked looking at his face. In his wolf form it was hard for her to read him, to know what he was feeling whilst she knew that her feelings were emblazoned across her face almost as brightly as the bruises that marred her pale skin.

“I became used to you as soon as I accepted that you were my mate. Our differences are not a barrier to us, only a bridge to build within our two worlds. Others will see this and peace will once more return to us.”

A weight lifted from her chest as she slid her arms around his hard muscled body. Her fingers slipped into the thick, lush fur that covered his back and shoulder, revelling in the silky feel over steel muscles. As soon as she was healed they would complete the mating bond and she would be able to experience sitting out under the moonlight, feeling the wind tease at her fur whilst her heightened sense of smell picked out the most minute of scents that floated by in the wind.

Until then, she would just have to content herself with sitting by his side, her arms around him, fingers buried in his fur whilst she listened to his voice in her mind telling her everything that he was seeing and feeling. She could feel herself starting to relax, the tensions and the pain of the past melting away as a sense of belonging seeped into her. She was home. She was safe. She belonged.