Fated: Hare and the Spirit (Pack of Heirs Book 6) Read online

  And speaking of a bear coming out of hibernation…

  My glance flicked over to Bear and Ashe. That was when my draw to this family really took a turn for the worst. I didn't know what I was thinking when I incited Ashe’s heat. A ridiculous curiosity took over me—I simply wanted to see what would happen.

  That was always my worst trait. A mortal-like sense of curiosity that did nothing but get me into trouble.

  But my gamble with Ashe paid off. When Terranus attacked him and Bear, they willingly gave up their magic to me. I saved them from that ugly brute.

  Why did I throw myself in danger for a pair of mortals? I still didn't know. It was a question that plagued me every day.

  And it didn't end there. With the energy Bear and Ashe gifted me, I was able to save the beaver shifter and the mer from those filthy human poachers. Without that reserve of magic, I wouldn't have been able to erase those men's memories.

  I looked towards the mouse shifter and his harpy mate. Those two took me for a wild ride, I had to admit. I was frustrated with both of them for refusing to cooperate with me, but by the time their son was born, I lacked the energy to uphold my anger. When I saw that baby's face, everything inside me melted. The feeling of wanting to protect that child was so strong that I let Meeko have the sword. My sword.

  My magic and my weapon… I was fond of having things taken away from me or giving them away, wasn't I?

  I opened my palm, flexing my dark claws. With every pair of fated mates that popped up in this family, I seemed to gain strength. I wished I knew why. If I was able to replicate this elsewhere, shouldn't I have done so? Why wasn't I out there, seeking other pairs of fated mates in the world?

  I put my hands back on the branch, squeezing tightly. The thought of leaving this family behind made my skin prickle with discomfort. I didn't want to be too far from them.

  What an utterly ridiculous thing for a spirit to think.

  Look at them. Look at how stupidly happy they are all the time.

  Then my gaze drifted over to the last group—the newest generation. The children.

  My heart softened immediately.

  When it came to the adults, I could be as sarcastic and cold as I wanted. But the kids were too sweet, too innocent. They had committed no crime except being born into this family that currently drove me crazy.

  I watched over them fondly, especially the ones I'd met. The fox with the shadowy wings—Celeste—bounced on top of an adult’s head. I couldn't help but smile. When Quinn and Farley allowed me to use their magic, I’d had just enough to bless that little girl with wings. Was it necessary? Absolutely not. I could've kept the magic all to myself. Perhaps that's what I should have done. But channelling it into a blessing for her came naturally, like an urge I couldn't stop. And I didn't regret it.

  And then there was Jace, the little mouse shifter. He was barely visible from this distance. He, too, seemed to be fiddling with the adult's hair. In fact, all of the children swarmed over this one person who was lying belly-down in the grass.

  This one was unfamiliar to me. I hadn't met him before. I knew nothing about him except that he possessed no spirit blood and that he was childless. By choice or by circumstance, I didn't know. But my draw towards this family had to be because of all the fated mates within it. And since this man didn't have one, I had no interest in him.

  Yet, I couldn't look away.

  A quick shape moved towards the family. A she-wolf. She was another one of them I hadn't met face-to-face, yet I suddenly felt a new surge of energy trailing off of her body like invisible mist.

  I perked up. Had she found her fated mate, too?

  My hunch was confirmed when her loud voice declared it to the world. The entire family rushed towards her with greetings and congratulations.

  All except one.

  The man who had lain on the grass, entertaining the children, stayed back.

  I had enough patchwork knowledge about these mortals to recognize the she-wolf as the man's sister. That was odd. As siblings, wouldn't they want to share with each other first?

  The thought made me chuckle darkly. I knew from experience that wasn't always the case.

  As the family gathered like a swarm of insects, my gaze stayed on the lone man. He'd shifted into his animal form—a hare.

  Hares were solitary animals, but one's animal form didn't necessarily dictate their human personality. I wondered why this man wasn't as boisterous and outgoing as the rest of them. From my bird's eye perspective, he was truly the odd one out.

  My gaze lingered on him for a few beats too long. I wanted to pull away, to cast my focus somewhere else, but it was suddenly difficult. Perhaps the man felt like a mystery I wanted to solve.

  Ridiculous.

  Mortals were all the same. There was no point in trying to 'solve' any of them. Deep down at their cores, there was only selfishness and greed.

  I'd already figured that out the hard way.

  I closed my eyes tightly. When I reopened them, I was still staring at the man.

  I huffed and tore my gaze from him, looking at the open sky instead. There was a flicker in my chest I chose to ignore.

  Remember why you're here, I told myself.

  I raised one of my dark palms, slowly curling my claws inward.

  I felt the low, steady thrum of magic coursing through my veins. I didn't have veins, of course. Not the way mortals did. Immortal spirit bodies were composed differently. I was born of stardust and ancient magic. My flesh didn't contain organs or muscles or blood—though for all intents and purposes, I possessed functions similar to theirs.

  The mortals in the pack knew that already. We'd been in... altercations.

  My eye twitched as I recalled my first encounter with this pack: the wolf and the orca.

  Upon waking from my dazed state, all the awful memories had flooded back to me. I was inconsolable with rage.

  And when that alpha and omega interfered, in such a stereotypically mortal fashion, I lost my cool.

  Which led to me being tricked. And getting my arm bitten off by a killer whale.

  It grew back. But still, it wasn't my finest moment.

  Now this pair of fated mates and their child were utterly content. Their happily-ever-after was complete.

  It turned my stomach for reasons I didn't understand.

  I placed my claws on the back of my neck. The injury I sustained there no longer hurt, but it was a reminder of one of the few times a mortal had harmed me physically.

  I turned to look at the assailant in question, the omega mouse shifter. It was always the same story with the omegas in this pack. I threatened their precious alphas, and they threatened me in return.

  Or in Meeko's case, they took a knife and stabbed me in the back.

  But I held no animosity towards him. Mortal or not, he was everything I liked to see in an omega. Strong, capable, self-sufficient—and above all, a caring parent.

  My gaze drifted to the sword at his side. My sword.

  I might want it back eventually, but for now, I was satisfied knowing he would pass it down to his omega son.

  Would the other spirits have done the same thing in my position, I wondered?

  Would they have given up a powerful weapon in order to protect a mortal?

  The bitter laugh that came out of me was answer enough.

  The other spirits weren't like me. In many ways, I was the odd one out—just like that hare shifter down there.

  I'd have my revenge on the other spirits. But to do that, I needed more magic. I needed what was stolen from me.

  I closed my eyes and sensed it flowing through me. It was strong, no doubt about it. This was the powerful magic born from fated mates. It was something spirits couldn't create—only mortals.

  As a matter of pride, spirits didn't like knowing mortals were better than us at something, myself included. I abhorred admitting it, but this pack of brothers and their heirs proved stronger than I thought they were capable of.

  After following this family for so long, after trial and error, after risking physical harm and my own precious magic, and suffering mysterious stomach-churning bouts of jealousy… I'd finally figured it out.

  These mortals were at their strongest when protecting their loved ones.

  If I separated the weakest link, one of the few remaining adults without a fated mate, the others would rush in to save them. My skin tingled at the idea of just how powerful they would be if they worked together.

  I'd bargain for their magic—magic that mortals didn't even have a use for—and I'd return to my former glory.

  Then the other spirits would see what happened when they crossed me.

  So the question remained: which one of them was the weakest link?

  To my knowledge, there had been three adults without mates. That number was now down to two with the she-wolf's return. Even if her aura didn't scream newfound fated mate, her loud mouth picked up the slack, blaring it across the land.

  That left the mountain lion girl and the hare.

  My first impression was to pick the hare because he was male. I wasn't interested in women. But then I realized what an utterly ridiculous idea that was. I wasn't kidnapping one of them to fall in love—I was kidnapping them to regain my powers.

  I shook off the unexpected thought and focused. I had to think clearly about this.

  But when I read the aura of the mountain lion, it wasn't weak. It was whole and complete, surrounding her like a fortress. She didn't feel the need for a mate at all.

  I drew back, blinking in confusion. She was happy just the way she was. I had a strange feeling in the center of my chest. Why couldn't I feel like that? Why couldn't I be like her?

  I pushed the thought away. Now wasn't the time t
o get caught up in my emotions, and I was sick of envying mortals.

  That left only the hare shifter.

  "Leveret," I murmured. That was his name—a fluid word that rolled off my tongue.

  I had a good feeling about this one. His aura was watery and thin, mingled with sparks of jealousy. In a way, I felt sympathy for him. I knew what that was like.

  But I couldn't afford to be sympathetic towards mortals. I'd walked that path already and it led to nothing but disaster.

  Leveret was a tool, a means to an end. And before this night was over, I'd have him in my clutches.

  Three

  Leveret

  After a disappointing conversation with my dad, I stepped away from everyone and everything. I found an empty nook by the trees and curled up at the base of one, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging them.

  Too many bodies, too much sound, too much happening.

  I just wanted to be alone.

  I closed my eyes and buried my face in my knees, turning everything dark. That helped a little. Being by myself dampened the roaring waves in my chest, but they didn't disappear. I knew from experience that these spikes of high emotion always went away. But it took time. All I could do was wait.

  Doubts clouded my mind. Was I blowing my family's reactions out of proportion? I did that sometimes, even when I didn't want to. But this felt different. This time, I had a reason to be upset. How could I not be when they made such random assumptions about me? Even my own father didn't realize I felt so strongly about finding a mate.

  It wasn't a secret. They just never asked.

  I let out a grunt of frustration, burying my forehead deeper into my knees. Sometimes I wished I could think and act like them. Maybe then I'd feel normal.

  The sound of rustling grass drew my attention. I lifted my head, frowning when I saw my sister running towards me in wolf form.

  I didn't really want to talk to her right now. I didn't want to talk to anyone. Lupa was usually good at figuring out how I felt, but she was also incredibly stubborn. If she wanted to talk, I couldn't get out of it without completely shutting down and ignoring her until she went away.

  I was upset, but not that upset. Yet.

  When Lupa reached me, she shifted to human form. "Hey, Lev. One to ten?"

  That was our shorthand for how rough my mood was, and how badly I wanted to be left alone. I appreciated the fact she bothered asking. That alone took me down a notch or two.

  "Seven," I said.

  She grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

  I nodded.

  "Can I sit?" she asked.

  I thought about it for a second, then gave her a curt nod.

  She slowly sat next to me, careful not to brush my arm by accident. When I was in a bad mood, I generally didn't like being touched.

  Surprisingly, she was quiet. I realized she was giving me space to talk.

  "I'm not like Starry," I said.

  "I know," Lupa said.

  "That's not what you said before."

  "That's because I didn't know before. I know now."

  Even though she hadn’t said anything particularly inflammatory, I was still annoyed. I tried to utilize the skills Len taught me about telling people specifically what upset me.

  "I don't like that you made assumptions about me," I mumbled.

  "I know, Lev. Sorry."

  I turned to her. "Why did you think I don't want a mate?"

  My sister shuffled uncomfortably. "You never brought it up."

  She had a point. It wasn't something I made a habit of talking about. My dad, Hugo, always reminded me that other people couldn't read my mind. If I didn't say something out loud, nobody would know how I felt.

  "You're right." I looked right into her eyes so she got the message. "Lupa, I want a fated mate."

  She grinned. "Okay, okay, I get it. Stop staring at me like that, you're freaking me out."

  I stopped staring at her.

  "Do you think I'm too different to have one?" I asked.

  Her eyes widened. "Too different to have a fated mate? No way."

  I plucked a clover from the ground and fiddled with it. "How do you know?"

  "If the rest of our annoying-ass cousins can find fated mates, then so can you."

  Even though she’d said something rude, I knew she meant it playfully.

  "I don't think our cousins are annoying," I pointed out.

  "Hey, you weren't there when Ashe threw a tantrum a while back. Anyway, Leveret, you're a total catch. And if anyone disagrees, I'll rip their eyes out."

  "Don't do that. It's mean."

  "I'm just joking." Recognizing that my mood had mellowed out, Lupa patted me on the back. "You're worrying too much. Look, our whole family—the whole frigging pack—is made up of fated mates. Why would fate skip you, out of everybody?"

  I frowned. That was a possibility I hadn't even considered, but now it nagged me.

  "It's statistically unlikely for this many people to find their fated mates in quick succession," I said.

  Lupa rolled her eyes. "Who cares about statistics? What are you, a mathematician?"

  I ignored her comment. "Fate doesn't owe me anything. Just because everyone else found their mates doesn't mean I will." I leaned my chin on my knees. "Maybe I'm too different."

  A wolfish growl rumbled in Lupa's throat. "Don't say stuff like that. Look at Bear. He's different, but he found his fated mate with Ashe."

  "Bear is not that different," I argued. "He's mute, like Starry. No one else is like me."

  "So?"

  "So there might not be anyone out there for me."

  Lupa huffed. She was frustrated, but I couldn't help it. I wouldn't have felt this way at all if she and Starry had never said anything. They'd opened this can of worms and now the lid wouldn't go back on.

  "Lev, you're not an alien from outer space. You're not that hard to understand. You just have a different way of communicating sometimes. All it takes is a little effort to know you," Lupa said. "Are you worried that a potential mate won't put in that effort?"

  I nodded miserably.

  Lupa shook her head. "Your fated mate is out there. Someone who'll understand you no matter what."

  Was that true? Was there really one true mate for me out there? A person who loved me despite my quirks?

  I didn't know. But I held on to that hope.

  "Do you know what I think?" I asked.

  "What?"

  "I think you're saying all this to make me feel better."

  "So what if I am? That doesn't make what I said any less true," Lupa countered.

  There was no winning arguments with her. Despite that, I couldn't help smiling. It was nice of her to try. Even if we were polar opposites who didn't always agree, we were still twins. I could always count on Lupa to be on my side.

  "I'm sorry I wasn't more excited earlier when you told me about Hazel," I murmured.

  Lupa smiled. "It's okay. I know you get overwhelmed sometimes."

  I was glad she understood. I hoped my future mate—if he even existed—would be as understanding as her.

  "I want to meet Hazel someday," I said.

  "Of course you will! Once she stops acting like such a human about everything," Lupa said with a laugh.

  A human… Now that was strange. Even if they were different species, everyone else in our pack had fallen in love with other shifters. None of us had ever been fated to a human before.

  "What if my fated mate is a human, too?" I asked.

  "Who knows?" She grinned. "We're twins, so maybe fate will play a big joke by pairing us both with humans."

  I fantasized about that in my head. A human would be unusual, but not bad. I wouldn't mind. Shifter or human, it didn't matter as long as my mate loved me.

  Lupa got up with a big stretch. "Well, it's getting late. I gotta rest so I have enough energy to visit Hazel tomorrow. It's a long way to town."

  "Okay. Good night."

  "Night, Lev. Feel better."

  Lupa shook off her human skin, transforming into a familiar wolf. But just before she took off, the temperature suddenly plummeted.

  The unnatural cold snap made me shiver. There was no wind blowing across the grass—why did the temperature drop?

  Then I saw it. A large wisp of black, like a curtain of smoke, descended from thin air. As the mist dissolved, it left behind a tall, pale figure standing between me and my sister. Spiralling black horns jutted from his head, the color matching the inhuman claws on his hands and feet. Inky hair flowed down his back, turning oddly translucent near the tips. He wore a thin black cape, almost like a gown that billowed despite a lack of wind.