Imminence Page 18

  Then Marie moved and coughed. I grabbed paper tissues off the nightstand and pressed them to her lips to prevent the unabsorbed medicine still remaining in her mouth from spilling out. Tiamhaidh kissed Marie’s forehead and stroked her hair. Marie looked at him and made a brave attempt at smiling.

  “Hush, love, don’t worry,” Tiamhaidh whispered.

  I saw sweat running down his forehead and knew how he felt. An overwhelming guilt shone in his eyes and had he been able to, I think he might have listened to David and left in the morning. But we all knew that Tiam’s departure would only make Marie’s illness worse and her seizures would recur, at least as severe as the one we had just witnessed. David was the only one who couldn’t see that, and I felt powerless. Would we ever be able to live together as we had before, or would our marriage be history, doomed to fail? Words spoke a different language than deeds and although David had assured me he’d accept us the way we were, I still wasn’t convinced he was truly capable of it. After all, he had practically evicted us from our own home. How would he hold up once he realized he would be the only one remaining here, alone? Marie would go with us and David had no means of stopping her. Marie turned over and curled up in Tiam’s arms, exhausted.

  “We’d best leave Marie to rest,” I said, directing my words at David.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” David muttered.

  “David, this isn’t the time or the place,” I insisted, glancing at Marie.

  David rose and looked at us furiously.

  “This isn’t the end of this! Do you hear me? This matter isn’t closed yet. I still want this house empty by morning.”

  “Empty it will be indeed,” I said in hollow tones.

  Emptiness seemed to overwhelm my mind. I no longer knew what to do or say. David had made up his mind and I knew he was so stubborn that nothing would turn his head.

  CHAPTER 29

  It began in the early hours of morning. A frightful howling rang in the woods surrounding our home. If any of us had been asleep at all, we were all wide awake now. Our living room was full of the befuddled members of our pack and none of us quite knew what was going on. A sense of danger was everywhere and we heard unfamiliar wolves approaching us from every direction. We stared at each other, trying to lead our thoughts along the same track.

  “Sofia, can you penetrate their minds?” Tiam asked.

  “Where is Marie? I want her here with us. I don’t like to leave her alone,” I said anxiously, not bothering to answer Tiam. Of course I could explore the visitors’ minds, and it would not even be difficult for me.

  “Marie is asleep,” Tiam replied. “You find those visitors and I’ll get her,” Tiamhaidh said and looked inquisitively at me.

  I nodded and opened my mind to our surroundings while shielding it from the scrutiny of others. At first I sensed nothing. Only the confused thoughts of my own pack and Clarissa’s growing fear filled my mind, but step by step I managed to close my own pack off my mind and was able to clearly feel the proximity of the surrounding forest. My mind encountered such frenzy that I had to withdraw for a moment before I was able to resume my investigation. I closed my eyes and felt Daniel and Gavin take my hands. Mine felt icy cold in their warm ones. I felt them squeeze my hands lightly and I channeled all my fear into them, trying to focus on the essential. Garbled images flitted through my mind. Lust, defiance, enthusiasm. Who were they and what did they want of us? I concentrated on sorting through my disordered mental images.

  “Males,” I breathed. “They are all males. There are at least six, maybe more. I can’t make it out.”

  “Calm down, Sofia. Focus on the images. Don’t try to force yourself. I know if anyone can do this, it’s you,” Gavin urged me gently.

  “They’re hunters. Shape shifters.”

  “Impossible!” Tiamhaidh said.

  I opened my eyes and saw that Tiam had joined us, carrying a sleepy Marie. I opened my mouth to speak to her but Tiamhaidh gave me a quelling look.

  “Marie is all right. Focus, Sofia.”

  Sighing, I closed my eyes. My brothers tightened their hold of my hands when they noticed me stiffening.

  “Oh, God! They want Clarissa.”

  “Why?” Mathanan asked, flabbergasted.

  “They are shape shifters from various parts of the world and they’ve come to claim Clarissa. What on Earth are we going to do?”

  “Calm down. They aren’t a pack so we have an advantage there. They move alone or in pairs, but we have the strength of a pack. They will have to fight for Clarissa and we won’t give up easily,” Daniel said calmly.

  I looked at the men around me. I saw determination in their eyes, but I also saw affection and love towards my family. I returned their look.

  “Would you truly do it? Fight for Clarissa?” I wondered.

  “Of course. She’s part of our pack and you do know the rules of a pack. Or do you claim to have forgotten?” Gavin grinned.

  “But she’s half human,” I huffed.

  “Which makes us half wolves. Fia, she’s your daughter and she’s very dear to us. Don’t be silly. We will not abandon you.”

  I regarded them with disbelief. These magnificent males would fight for my child while my husband was ready to banish us from our own home. At that moment I realized my marriage with David was truly over. I didn’t see how we could ever settle the differences that had come between us. I would have to steel myself and let David go. If he didn’t want me I wouldn’t be able to force him. As I saw it, I had already done what I could for our marriage. I had given up my beloved in order to stay with David, and there was nothing more I could do. It was time for me to let go of him. However, I decided to leave the analysis of our marriage for later and focus on protecting Clarissa.

  “Thank you,” I breathed. “I don’t know how I can thank you enough. But thank you, truly.”

  “Stop, Sofia. We need your talents now. Clarissa needs them. You have to concentrate and clarify what it is they want and how many there really are of them,” Daniel lectured me.

  “Very well.”

  Again I focused my thoughts on the forest around us. The wolves had stopped. They had unwittingly formed a circle around our house and now they just stood waiting. From time to time one of them let out a lustful yowl, trying to lure Clarissa to it. I saw a frisson of fear shake her each time. How would she make it through this? David had made the conscious decision to stay away from the living room and I wondered whether he really intended to drive us out of here at dawn, even now that the situation had changed and Clarissa was in danger. I sighed.

  “Twelve. There are twelve of them. There’s no way we can hold them off. There are only seven of us as Marie can’t fight. I don’t think Clarissa is yet a match for them either, so we’ll also have to leave her out of the count. That makes six of us against twelve large adult he-wolves. It’s not looking too good. I’m sorry.”

  “We don’t have a choice,” Gavin stated darkly. “If we won’t fight we might as well give Clarissa to them right away.”

  “No!” I gasped in horror. “I’ll break through to their minds and find out their weaknesses.”

  “We don’t have time for that, Sofia. Otherwise it’d be a very good idea,” Tiamhaidh grunted.

  “Then we need to make time for it,” Clarissa mused.

  “No, Clarissa! Whatever it is you’re thinking of, forget it. We can’t bamboozle them. They’re wolves and they’ll be able to smell deceit from a long way,” I told her sternly.

  “It’s not deceit I was thinking of. I was thinking of baiting them,” Clarissa grinned and even though I could sense her fear, I saw she was forcing her fear aside as the situation required.

  “Baiting? What sort of a bait would be effective enough to make them leave you be?”

  “Me,” Clarissa said in a thin voice.

  “No! We have to find another way. You wouldn’t survive that.”

  “You told me yourself I’m immortal and if they really wa
nt me, they won’t harm me,” Clarissa soothed me.

  “Sofia, she is right,” Mathanan said.

  “Still. I can’t agree to this. I can hardly believe you’re seriously considering this!” I regarded the members of my pack with incredulity, waiting for them to give in to me.

  No one said anything, however. They only watched me steadfastly, certain that I would make the right decision. Finally Gavin broke the silence.

  “Fia, we have no choice,” Gavin quietly pointed out, eyes downcast.

  I scrutinized my pack. Had Gunward been here the strangers wouldn’t have dared venture into our lands and Clarissa would have been safe. But Gunward was far away on Senja and I would have to manage without him. I looked at Clarissa, who stared pleadingly at me. I straightened my back and turned to Tiam.

  “We’ll have to work on the plan.”

  “Does that mean you intend to accept Clarissa’s scenario?” Tiam asked.

  “I don’t suppose I have a choice. But I intend to do this on our terms,” I said defeated.

  “All right. Just tell us what you want us to do,” Tiamhaidh said and I knew whatever we ended up doing, my pack would support me and accept my decision even if we had no real chance of prevailing against the strange males.

  We decided that Clarissa would appear on our terrace and lure the wolves into our garden. When they arrived, Clarissa would demand that they shift into humans so we might negotiate with them. If they agreed, we would improvise the rest and do our best to ensure Clarissa’s safety as thoroughly as possible. Our plan was about as solid as a house of cards and it had very little chance of success. But I couldn’t permit these strange wolves to corner us and leave us completely defenseless. We would have to take the first step and disrupt their plans. We believed the wolves would retreat deeper into the forest at dawn and we decided to put our plan into action the following night. This would leave us some time to refine our plan or even come up with a better one. The only obstacle on our course was David. If he wouldn't let us stay here, we would end up straight in the claws of the strange shape shifters and our plan would fall crashing down.

  We sat quietly in the dimly lit living room and listened to the sounds around us. At each crack of a broken twig Clarissa jumped up, panic flashing in her eyes. Finally Ciall could stand it no longer and went to sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned gratefully against him and closed her eyes. Tiam had lit a fire in the fireplace and the faint crackling of the fire filled the room. From the corner of my eye I also glimpsed David, who had entered the room unnoticed by us. He sat in a large armchair made of dark brown leather, wrapped in a grey woolen blanket, staring out of the window with glazed eyes. I wondered what this all felt like to him. He really hadn’t the faintest idea of what was going on, but he did sense the distress of the rest of us. I knew with absolute certainty that despite his harsh words David loved our daughters. I could no longer be sure of his love for me, but Marie and Clarissa were everything to him even if he might not realize it right now. I tried to refrain from looking at him, but I noticed my gaze drifting to him as if by compulsion. Daniel noticed the direction of my eyes and surreptitiously moved his chair between David and me. I sighed. I didn’t know whether to be grateful or angry. I would have to rest and hope to be able to think of a really good plan to save us from this conundrum.

  CHAPTER 30

  Morning broke clear and crisply cold. Thin tendrils of mist had overtaken our garden, but I knew they would dissipate with the warmth of the rising autumn sun. A diver called somewhere far off and when I went out I saw some two dozen Canada geese flying over our house in an uneven formation. Winter was already very close and even though the nights weren’t yet frosty, the temperature was a mere six degrees above zero. It was still quiet inside the house. Clarissa slept curled up in Ciall’s arms and Marie lay half on top of Tiam. Tiam’s alert eyes looked inquiringly at me, but when I gave him a tired smile he relaxed and pressed his face into Marie’s hair. David snored lightly in his chair as did Daniel and Mathanan, but Gavin was up and about and came quietly to me. My heart had always had a soft spot for this gentle he-wolf and the fact that he was here, supporting me, meant very much to me. Gavin gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and handed me a steaming cup of hot, spicy tea.

  “I thought you might need this,” he said.

  “Thank you. Morning is always so beautiful. As if it wiped off all the frights and shadows of the night and returned peace to the forest.”

  Gavin stared silently at the forest.

  “You do know they’ll still be there somewhere?” I mused, half to myself.

  “I know, but they’ll have to rest at some point, won’t they?” Gavin looked at me questioningly.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. But I can’t sense them nearby, even though I’m certain they haven’t gone away either,” I said quietly.

  I, too, now stared at the forest. Nothing indicated that wolves or any other animals were hiding there. Tree branches swayed gently from time to time as a light breeze touched them, and the chittering noise of a magpie sounded a few times, but otherwise the forest emanated a deceptive calm. I slurped hot tea and coughed briefly. The hot tea scalded my throat and shook me out of my thoughts.

  “I’m quite certain they’re still there. Twelve males, Gavin! We’re truly in deep!” I huffed.

  “Trust Clarissa. If she can make them shift into human forms we’ll have a better chance of finding out who we’re dealing with, and we may even be able to come to some terms with them,” Gavin tried to calm me down.

  “Terms? What do you mean? I won’t use my daughter as a bargaining chip!” I shrieked and took a step backwards so quickly that tea spilled out of my cup and onto the floor.

  “Nor will I!” David thundered from behind us.

  I turned to stare incredulously at David. Now Clarissa was his daughter again, was she? Only a few hours ago he’d been about to drive us away and now he wanted to play loving father. I swallowed my angry words, but threw him an angry glare and turned my back to him.

  “Pay him no mind. We’d already be gone from here if those uninvited guests hadn’t besieged us,” I said in an aggrieved voice and sniffled theatrically.

  “Sofia,” Gavin began.

  “No, Gavin! It’s the truth and he has to understand that. He’s the one who forced us into this.”

  Gavin threw his hands up and stepped back.

  “Very well. This is your playground. I’ll go wake up Daniel and then he and I are going to do a bit of recon.”

  “Be careful. We don’t know anything about them yet,” I warned him apprehensively.

  “Always, sister,” Gavin grinned and swiftly backed out of the approaching storm's eye.

  I stubbornly continued to stare at the forest, desperately trying to close David off. David didn’t give up, though. He came closer and laid a cautious hand on my shoulder. I shook it off but he put it back again. I turned angrily to face him.

  “How could you? I trusted you. The girls trusted you,” I said angrily and tried to back farther away from David.

  “Do you really think Marie would’ve stayed with you? Don’t you see she’s a part of Tiamhaidh and vice versa? It can take centuries, even forever, for a shape shifter to find a soul mate. They are together forever,” seething, I tried to figure out a way to get rid of David or to hurt him as he had hurt me.

  I knew I was being childish, but he wanted to drive me and Clarissa out of our home and even though I was no longer certain whether he'd stand by his decision, I couldn't let him off this easily. I lifted my chin and stared at him, challenge in my flaming eyes.

  “Forgive me. I’m here now,” David said wearily.

  “I don’t know what got into me. Madness, I suppose. All this kept feeling suffocating and unreal,” he went on, gesturing at our pack.

  “I don’t know if I can trust you anymore. We’ll be off as soon as this situation has been dealt with,” I said stubbornly.

  “Sofia, ple
ase,” David begged.

  “No. I won’t be able to go on if I have to keep looking behind me to see whether or not you are there. This is my life and now Clarissa and Marie share it. I won’t be able to fulfill your expectations and act as if nothing has happened. Look at them, David! All those men in our living room are also part of me. They are my pack,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

  “And I am not,” David said quietly.

  “No, David. That’s where you’re wrong. You are one of the pack, but you obviously don’t want to be and we can’t force you.”

  I regarded David pensively. I tried to stay firm because I couldn't give in to him. What if I risked trusting him again and he betrayed that trust? Even if I could bear it, could our daughters? They worshiped David and couldn't understand why he refused to accept our shape shifter friends as members of our family. I blew air out of my lungs and tried to calm down.

  “It’s you who called us freaks and wants us out of your house. We weren’t going to abandon you – you abandoned us,” I said as calmly as I could.

  “I am sorry for it, but don’t you understand how much of an outsider I feel?” David said, sounding anguished.