19 comments/ 82647 views/ 49 favorites Freedom of Flight By: whitesabretooth Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy. Hi everyone Here it is, the first part of Freedom of flight. Sorry about the wait; my editor, who is awesome, and I have been busy with work and more. We will work as fast as we can to get the other parts out as soon as we can and I will try to post as regulary as possible, I will post updates in my biography if you want to keep track of what is happening. Also for those of you who are new to my stories, this story is a sequal to Kiss of the Moon and I would recommend reading at least that before continuing onto this one, reading Touch of the Wolf isn't really necessary for this story line. Also as this story revolves mainly around Alanna, there is no sex until later in the story. Have fun and all feedback is welcome. * ~Four years after Touch of the wolf.~ Alanna tapped a beat on her thighs as she waited outside of the combined school she had gone to and now Sage was attending. She didn't mind picking Sage up and them walking home together, it was always safer in numbers… or so her mother told them. Amy wasn't referring to hate crimes, for those had curbed and were now a very rare thing. She was referring more to the fact that Sage was becoming quite attractive, despite her tomboyish attitude. Alanna heard the rev of a motor bike. She dipped her sun glasses down to rest at the bridge of her nose and took an exasperated look at the leather-clad man on the bike which was stopped on the same road before her, as a few others similarly clad bikers quickly followed suit. He smiled at her and gave her an appraising look. Alanna had matured and flourished under Wolfgang and Amy's care. Her skin was no longer deathly pale, unlike when she first joined them; she now sported a light olive tan, proof of her Italian heritage. Her body no longer looked like skin and bones due to the fact that she was no longer afraid of the people around her, which used to make her too sick to eat. Firm, lean muscles helped to give her shape and form that had men and women drooling as she walked by. She shook her head and slid her sun glasses back up her nose to cover her green eyes. Her black hair was tied back in a pony tail that finished half way down her back. She was dressed simply in a pair of faded hip hugger jeans, a white peasant top, boots and a handbag finished her look, since she was no longer afraid of people seeing her scars and pitying her; she wore clothes that enhanced her natural assets to their fullest. She checked her watch; a few more moments and school would be out. "Hey, sweet thing." The man on the bike called out. "Want to go on the ride of your life?" His friends laughed and made crude comments to each other. She sighed but continued to ignore them, a car horn beeped, trying to get the bikers to move on. "Come on, sweet thing…" He started to say, trying to sway a better reaction from her. She pulled her glasses off, feeling her wolf coming to the surface of her mind, her hackles up and her teeth bared. These men were dangerous; her instincts told her, an unfriendly growl rumbled in her chest. "Firstly…" she snapped, interrupting him. "I'm not yours, nor anybody else's sweet thing." She took a deep breath while looking behind him to include the bikers behind him in that statement. "Secondly… if I wanted a ride I would have taken a taxi." The men cracked up laughing, liking her attitude, a car horn sounded again. "Okay, lady…" A different, fatter man started to placate her. "Go away… now!" She told them firmly, her eyes shifted for a moment, turning golden. She was used to being the focus of male attention, not that she liked it but she accepted it. She normally let the admirers down gently but every now and again one of them would give her the creeps, the hairs on the back of her neck went up and she would react with aggression to push them back and let them know she could and would hurt them if they didn't back off. Sage joined them at that moment and smiled at her sister. "Hey sis, if you're going to get into a street fight, can I watch you pummel them?" The roar of the bikes leaving was Sage's answer, what neither had seen was the nod the leader had given his crew; the plan was set in motion. She chuckled. "Poor humans, actually thought they had a chance." Alanna joined in the chuckle and picked up her bag, sliding her sunglasses back on and together they walked home. "So what mischief did you get into today?" She asked. Sage chuckled. "I have a new science teacher. He walked into the room, saw my wings and started to talk about the science of magic." Alanna snorted. "There is no science to magic. It is by its own definition, a mysterious or inexplicable quality." Sage nodded in agreement. "Try telling him that. Anyway, he then tried to explain how ma can appear out of thin air." Alanna cast Sage an amused look. "How?" wondering about that problem herself. "It's all smoke and mirrors, according to him." Sage answered. "But I got him a hoot." Alanna sighed. "Enough for the school to call ma and da?" Sage shook her head. "No. The principal listened to my class then fired the teacher, so technically I had a new teacher." "What did you do?" Alanna asked wearily, aware that Sage being a mixed of two completely different kinds of creatures meant that no one knew exactly what she was capable of, so she could have done almost anything. "So I said for him to explain this in the context of science. I stood up the back and shifted. He then said the ability to shift is an illusion. I walked up to him, put my paws on his chest and shifted back, with clothes on of course, so he can't claim sexual harassment. I then asked him to explain how I did it, which he, in turn, just stormed from the room." Sage grabbed Alanna as they stopped to cross the road. "Alanna, you went to my school, there are more Were and Others in our school than humans. There were seven Elementals in my class, even my principal is an Elemental." Alanna chuckled and shook her head as they crossed, Elemental was a nice way of calling someone a witch. They had changed their name to avoid the stereotype humans had imposed on them. Elemental refers to the fact that their powers are derived from elemental categories; earth, fire, wind, water, light and dark, or any combination of those categories. "So are you going to tell ma?" Alanna asked. "Are you mad? She'll clip my wings for a month and I didn't even do anything wrong." Sage stated fact. "But you'll be with Dominic for the summer by then." Alanna reminded her. Sage nodded, the odd agreement between her parents had been quickly put in place after Dominic learnt of Bianca's request for Amy and Wolfgang to take care of her only child. She spent her summers with her father at his keep on Sogol, the home realm of the Da'Vaila, which was the general name of the three races, Gephalim, Nephalim and S'ephalim. So she spent her summer with her father learning about her Nephalim heritage and the rest of the year with Amy and Wolfgang, learning about her Were heritage. "I know, but it won't stop ma from telling him and then I'll get a worse punishment than a simple grounding." Alanna snorted in amusement, Sage loved and respected her father but according to what she had heard, he was a mean task master. They turned left and walked down a side street which was their normal short cut. Alanna sighed as she heard the roar of motor bikes. Sage chuckled. That guy must have a serious hard-on for you. Alanna glared at her younger sister. Goddess, you're crude. I know... but you love me anyway. Sage countered. Alanna rolled her eyes, THAT... is debatable, and Sage laughed. They ignored the revving roar of the bikes as they continued to walk. Alanna finally turned back to confront the idiots on the bikes as their presence was beginning to wear on her. She could accept being ogled by every man who sees her, she was used to being stared at but she hated it when people followed her. It made all her senses start to scream and her flight-or-fight instincts kick in. Sage saw the flicker of a portal opening and knew instantly that they were in trouble. She knew the next portal to open was not due for another four to five weeks and more importantly, it wasn't meant to open here. She watched four Gephalim storm through the portal tear; Gephalim were related to the Nephalim and the only way to differentiate them was the colour of their wings. She suddenly understood that the bikers were not stalking them, they were herding them. Sage glanced back and saw one of the bikers trying to get a hold of Alanna. How had she missed the sound of the dart gun she would never know, she knew she was screwed either way and so she chose to aid her sister. At least then she would know her sister was safe. As she turned to help her sister, Alanna's fist slammed into the jaw of the man trying to drape her struggling form over his lap, the crunching sound of shattering bone was loud to her ears. Her body was fighting the sedative that had been darted into her thigh. Sage jerked Alanna up into her arms as Alanna's legs shook. Take my hand and say sisters bound by blood, Sage told her quickly as two of the Gephalim got into the air to keep Sage earth-bound, not that she would leave her sister to the mercy of the human thugs. Alanna grabbed Sage's hand and their fingers linked together. Sisters bound by blood. She said as she yanked the dart from her thigh and tossed the offending projectile away. Shortly after Sage joined Amy and Wolfgang's family, Alanna and Electra had taken her into the forest and they had become blood sisters, each cutting their palm and holding the cuts together to form a circle. Having lost their families or part of, they had felt a little lost without anything to tie them together except the love of their adopted mother. So they had mixed their blood, making their sisterhood more tangible than mere spoken or written words. Blood is thicker than water was the common saying and they had bound their blood to each other with magic and ancient lore by simply saying, my blood, your blood, our blood as their cuts were pressed together. Never had she thought that that little bit of silliness would turn into an asset in such a time but now she was glad they had become blood sisters. Blood, in Nephalim teachings, was in its own right strong magic as blood is life and was often used to strengthen spells. It was common knowledge that the blood of the mason's was mixed into the mortar to make the fortifications around any Keep or watch tower strong, for as long as the blood line was strong the fortifications would hold. But that kind of mammoth magic, the very protection of the keep and its people paled in comparison to the potential power and magic that the blood bond within a family held. When that magic... that bond was invoked, it took a lot of time and power to break, time they would need to escape. Alanna winced as she felt a dagger pierced her shoulder. She twisted and kicked back, breaking another man's cheekbone with her foot as the low dose wore off. She reached back and tried to grab the dagger but failed as it was just out of reach. "Enough." A well-armoured Gephalim spat and the men stopped what they were doing, it was obvious as to who was in charge. He approached Sage and grabbed her, and gave her a sharp tug, trying to pull Sage and Alanna's gripped hands apart. Alanna winced again as her arm was yanked firmly but her hand was fused with Sage's and unless they both agreed to let go, it wasn't going to happen. He growled in frustration and back handed Sage. "Release the pitiful Were." He demanded. Sage kept her growl down barely as her mouth started to fill with blood. She flicked her shoulder-length black and white streaked hair back and glared at the Lord Gephalim. She spat her blood into his face. "Fuck you." She told him angrily. He smirked as he used a hanky to wipe her blood from his eyes. "That… little one is the point of all this." He told her coldly. "You're a dead man walking, Markus." It had taken her awhile to place his breast plate but she was glad that she could, if... no, when she gets out of this, she would have to remember to thank her father for the tedious lesson. He smirked, which made Sage go cold. It wasn't a smirk of triumph; it was a smirk of pure insanity. Like he wanted to be caught and killed for what he was about to do, wanting to taunt the one Nephalim who would spend eternity hunting him until he was dead for his crime. He watched understanding dawn in her eyes, his smirk turned into a smile as he turned to one of his men. "Cut them free." "I wouldn't if I were you." Sage warned, the confidence her plan was shaken but as long as they could stall him all would be good... she hoped. Rational men were predictable, mad men with death wishes weren't. He glared at Sage as he held up a hand to still his man. "Why not?" Sage smirked. "We are blood sisters, bound." Markus went red with anger, he could not break their grip without alerting both sides of their family to what was going on, the shock wave would ripple through the realms, everyone they called family would know and be dragged to them, to fight and protect them. That was the last thing he wanted until he had Sage completely twisted and broken, to teach her father the folly of knocking back his request to arrange a marriage between them last year. He would have her, have fun breaking her in, and may even try to keep her long enough to father a child. But that would never happen if he attempted to separate their hands by force or any means without consulting his magicians, all his plans would have been for nothing. He knew he was as good as dead for his actions, but he planned on leaving Dominic with emotional wounds that would never heal. "Fine… grab them both." He growled. Two Gephalim grabbed Alanna and Sage, Alanna was quivering with rage and fear, she wanted to shift, to bite and fight but she knew she would have to let Sage go to shift and that would leave her at the mercy of the humans. She knew what would happen to her if she was taken by them, she also knew the same fate awaited her through the portal. Only, she knew she had a better chance at getting free there than here as she would be with Sage and not facing this alone, when the time was right they would take their freedom. So for now she had to choose the lesser of two evils. She forced her wolf down as the two Gephalim pushed them towards the portal. "Hey… you said…" The biker who had spoken lost his head before finishing his sentence. "I changed my mind." Markus said, leveling a glare on the remaining bikers. They picked up their fallen friend and fled. Sage? Alanna cast her a puzzled thought. Relax, my father has kept my abilities quiet, they don't know I have full Were abilities, besides stupid Gephalim won't even consider us a threat. Sage said trying to comfort Alanna. They walked through the tear into a dark, dank castle that smelled of damp and rotting wood. "Put them in the dungeon, I need to talk to the magicians about breaking their grip." He stormed off after tearing the dagger from Alanna's shoulder as he needed a sample of her blood, since he already had Sage's, to break their bond. Alanna and Sage were marched down countless corridors and stairways until they got to the dungeons. They were tossed into a dark cell and the heavy stone door was slid into place to prevent them from escaping. The room was small and windowless, which meant they had to stoop over to stop from braining themselves. Sit before you collapse. Sage told Alanna. Alanna sat and pulled her sister into her arms to hold her, she quivered beneath her sister as the enormity of their situation struck her. She was going to be a slave again, a toy to whoever Markus gave her to. She couldn't see the walls, she could barely make out Sage's face which was only inches away from hers but her phobia kicked in anyway. She felt as if the walls were closing in; she started to panic about not having enough air to breathe as there were no windows for air to pass through, her breathing picked up, rational thoughts like the fact that she didn't really need to breathe, as she was immortal, to live fled as her mind started to shut down. "Calm down, Alanna, there are small gaps in the joints, we have air; smell it; it's not stale." Sage knew her sister's dislike of small spaces, hell… she didn't dislike small spaces, she feared them. She remembered being locked in a box as a child where she could barely move and was left alone in the dark for days on end whenever she did something wrong. "It's okay…" Sage said reassuringly. "I have a plan." She was trying to get Alanna to focus on her, not on the situation, a situation that was going to wash away all the hard work her parents had poured into her. It was sadly the hardest thing for Sage to think about, her sister was going to lock herself up again, never leave the manor or the town house, stop seeing her friends; it was all her fault. Alanna nodded and tightened her grip, she tried to keep her breathing steady and her quivering to a minimum. She closed her eyes and focused on her sister, nothing else mattered but the beat of Sage's heart. Slowly Alanna's panic washed away. Sage smiled when she felt her sister start to relax. She closed her eyes and reached her mind out for her father. Since he had mated her mother, he was used to being spoken to mentally. Da. Sage said loudly hoping her mind would be able to reach his or they were screwed. * Lord Dominic dropped his goblet as his daughter's voice filled his mind. Sage? he asked, surprised, as she couldn't contact him from earth, which meant that she was here and he was positive the portal wasn't meant to open for another four and half weeks. He was a large man at over eight feet tall with broad shoulders which were greatly emphasised by his narrow waist. He had black hair that was kept short, his eyes were brown, almost black actually, and his skin pale. He was powerfully built from a long life of training and fighting. No time… Markus has me. She told him. Dominic lurched to his feet in a knee jerk reaction to the knowledge that his daughter was in danger, but it made him ready to go to her aid the moment she left his mind, after she told him everything he needed to know. His men watched him but waited as he had a faraway look on his face. You have to hurry, I have to protect my sister, Alanna… She continued. Which one was that again? Dominic asked. It had been a couple of years since he had met Amy's other children so they were all pretty much a blur to him. The one that didn't wear glasses, I think she was going to be payment to some humans who aided them. I couldn't let that happen. You have to hurry, I don't know how long Alanna and I can keep them from breaking our bond. Sage stated, she hadn't told her father about Alanna and Electra's past and she didn't think now was a good time to broach that subject, she knew it would just enrage him further. I will be there in two hours. He promised, he felt Sage leave his mind. He turned his eyes to the men in his hall. "Markus has my daughter." He stated bluntly. Freedom of Flight Ch. 02 Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy. Hey everyone; Here is part two, I would like to thank everyone who sent feedback and if I didn't get a chance to email you back forgive me, I try to respond to everyone that I can. Again there is no sex in this chapter... sorry that's just how this story goes. A big thanks to my editor, as always and to you the reader, any feedback is welcome. Have fun * Sage awoke slowly, her mind fuzzy as she didn't remember much after the lashings started. She took in her surroundings slowly, realizing that she was cradled carefully in Alanna's arms. Alanna had propped her shoulders against the far wall of the cell as her back bore the brunt of the lashings she had received and this position kept pressure off those same lashings. Sage was belly down on top of her but the added weight didn't bother her. In fact, it was kind of comforting. Pain slowly made its presence known to Sage as her mind started to focus, tears forced their way out of her eyes as it ate at her. "Calm down, slow your breathing and the pain will pass." Alanna said softly, her breaths were shallow to keep her wounds from being torn open. Sage calmed her body and breathing. "How are you?" She asked, concerned with Alanna who should also be in as much pain as her... or worst. "Fine." Alanna responded musingly, not understanding how she could be so calm. This was her worst nightmare come to life yet she was… calm... even resigned to the situation. It might be due to the fact that she was still keeping her mind detached from her body, allowing her rational mind to work. It also helped that she was focusing on counting Sage's breathing more than anything else. "What happened?" Sage asked warily, not wanting to know if she had disgraced herself. "You blacked out after your eighth lashing. Perhaps you should have yelled out 'cos the more we didn't cry out, the harder the lashings became. They expected us to cry out." Alanna told her, trying not to dwell too much on the beating. "I didn't want to give them the satisfaction. They can hit me as hard as they want. I watched my mother die and it didn't break me, you think a few lashings will?" She spat through her gritted teeth then took several slow breaths as pain ate at her. When she had it under control again she asked, "How long was I out?" "I was hoping you could tell me. Where is your father?" Alanna asked quietly, as talking meant moving and moving meant pain. Sage closed her eyes and sent her mind out. Her back immediately twitched in a spasm of pain drawing her back. She whimpered softly and buried her head into Alanna's chest. She shook her head. "Can't." "You can." Alanna said firmly, she wasn't trying to be cold with Sage although it may have sounded that way. She was just trying to encourage her sister. "Ride the pain, make it give you strength." Sage took a shallow breath and closed her eyes, her sister's words giving her confidence to help deal with the pain. She sent her mind back out and connected to her father. Da. What's wrong Sage? Dominic asked, picking up on the slight twinge of pain that laced her voice. Nothing we can't handle. How much longer? Sage replied. She strengthened her mental shields to keep her father out of her mind. The last thing he needed to know was that she had been lashed, not if he was about to go into battle. Learning from her da, she knew that anger and rage had no place on a battlefield, turning rationality into carelessness and impulsivity. It would do no good and would only get more of her father's men killed. We are just about to begin our assault. He answered her. Sage pulled back into her own mind. They are beginning the assault. She sent to Alanna, too tired to talk anymore. What will they do? Alanna wondered, knowing her sister knew and understood more about tactics that might be used in this situation. If they are smart they would try to move us from here. Sage answered. I will try to hold them off with a shield as long as I can. Alanna supplied, she knew if they were moved they were as good as lost, but she was more concerned about the pain they were both feeling and how their bodies would react to being moved or even forced to. I can give you some extra power, you might need it to keep a shield going long enough for da to get to us. Sage told her. Rest Sage, I'll wake you if anything happens or if I need you. Alanna told her. Sage? She suddenly remembered she had wanted to ask her something. Uh-huh. She responded her mind slipping into sleep. What's a Santaur? she asked, feeling a little silly. They live here too, in the forests… Sage was asleep before she could finish her explanation, her body wasn't used to prolonged periods of intense pain and sleeping was her body's natural defence against it. Alanna kept vigil at her side, guarding her sister's rest. She didn't want to black out and wake only to find herself in the hands of someone she didn't know. She could hear the faint stomp of feet moving pass the cell but no one entered. Finally she heard the stone door move, wondering for a moment who was on the other side of the door, her captor or her saviour? Then immediately she cast a shield around them. She studied her shield with her eyes, looking for points of weakness. It had shocked everyone when Alanna told them she could see her invisible shields once they were cast. Her shield looked, to her eyes, like a screen of white silk that she could see through but no one could penetrate. She had learnt that her shields, although generally infallible, had points of weakness where a lucky hit could get through if a decent amount of force was used. If she hadn't been so muddled and taken by surprise she may have been able to stop all this. One shield and they would still be on earth with their parents. She had been working with her mother on how to spot the weaknesses and reinforce them. This shield, however, was the first flawless shield she had ever cast and she looked admiringly at it for a moment. Markus interrupted the moment as he walked in with a drawn sword. "Get them up." He ordered, slightly panicky. He hadn't thought Dominic would learn of his daughter's disappearance so fast and who had her so quickly, thinking that he would have had time. But now he knew he had very little time to move them before Dominic got here. Four of his men approached only to be held back by an invisible wall that surrounded the two women. "My lord we cannot approach." One told him nervously. Markus roared and slammed his sword down. He jerked, surprised when his sword shattered in mid air against Alanna's shield. He glanced disbelievingly at the handle of his sword, before turning disbelieving eyes at Alanna. "What kind of trickery is this? This cell cancels out magic!" "But not Were abilities because they aren't controlled by magic. It is something outside of the realm of magical law." Dominic said from behind as he pressed his sword to Markus's throat. Dominic glanced into the cell. "Alanna, I am Dominic, Sage's father. Can you keep the shield going for about ten more minutes?" He asked. Alanna nodded as he led Markus from the cell. Sage wake up. Sage opened her eyes blearily, shadows of pain still obvious in everything she did. Your da, he's here. Alanna told her. Wake me when he comes back. Sage asked quietly before falling asleep again, conceding to her body's demand for rest. Alanna nodded and waited. Dominic came back twenty minutes later after rounding up what remained of Markus's men and containing them. Alanna let the shield go as she recognised the crest on his breast plate, elated with her accomplishment of keeping a perfect shield going for as long as she had. Dominic knelt next to his daughter and gently rested a hand on Sage's back before either could warn him. She whimpered the moment his hand touched her back, causing him to jerk his hand away. He now understood the pain that had laced her voice on his approach. "TORCH." He yelled to his men, wanting to see the damage with his eyes, whilst waking Sage in the process. A torch was brought in and as light filled the cell the carnage became visible. The bearer went pale as his eyes focused on the criss-crossed pattern carved into Sage's back as her wings were still trapped in the wing brace. Sage glanced to her father's face and saw shock painted across it. "Is it that bad?" She asked huskily, trying to get him to look away from the mess that was her back and wings. Dominic turned to his daughter. "Worst…" he told her unsteadily. Scihe could hear him trying to control his breathing, trying to control his rage. "I'm so sorry." Sage frowned, "Why? You weren't the one holding the whip." He sighed. "No, but it is still my fault that Markus came after you. I should have warned Amy…" "Enough, da," Sage went to move but he held her still to keep her from tearing her wounds. She accepted what had happened, she lived in two very volatile worlds where anything could happen. She allowed him to press her down to keep her still. "It happened and you aren't to blame. You didn't make Markus come and kidnap us." "I still could have warned Amy." He berated himself before turning to the door and the man peering in, "Organise flight stretchers and people to carry them out." He glanced to the torch bearer. He was a seasoned warrior but the sight before him had turned him pale under his dark complexion. Dominic grabbed the torch and set it into the bracket in the wall, turned back and jerked his head, giving his man the signal to leave. He bowed and hurried from the room. "Was it a normal whip or a nerve whip?" He asked as he needed to know so they could start a treatment plan. There was no way to tell the difference between the two devices. He had his theory as Markus thought normal non-magical whips were for wimps but he needed to hear it confirmed. "Nerve." Alanna answered. Dominic felt his rage as it rose up to an unprecedented high. He wanted to storm from the room and snatch one of those cursed weapons and use it on Markus. He took a deep breath and forced his rage down. Markus would pay for this, he promised himself, he would just pay for it later. His first concern was his daughter and her sister, and the rest WILL wait. Four men squeezed into the small room which was thankfully higher than their previous room meaning that they only had to duck to keep from braining themselves. Two removed their silk sashes which were tied at their waists and walked further into the room. Dominic approached Alanna. "You need to release her so we can get her out with as little pain as possible." He said gently, not wanting to frighten her. He could see that Alanna was almost clinging to Sage, almost as much as Sage was clinging to her. Alanna nodded and they slowly released their bound hands. The silk sashes were looped under Sage's body to run across her chest, another length went under and across her hips. Each end was taken as were her feet. As one, they lifted her up and carried her out. Dominic smiled gently at Alanna, "Can you stand or do we need to carry you out?" Alanna gritted her teeth; she would stand and walk out even if it killed her. Dominic saw her determined look and motioned his men to back off as another four had walked in to help carry her out. "I will need a hand up." Alanna requested, her body was stiff after being held in such an unnatural position for as long as it had been. Dominic stood and offered his hand. He knew that he owed this woman a lot. He believed that Sage would have been in far worse shape if not for her presence and her help, not to mention he felt responsible for everything that had happened. Alanna put her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet. She hissed as she felt the burn of pain build and a wound tear open, spilling more of her blood. Dominic's eyes focused on the pool of blood that Alanna had been sitting in, wondering painfully if it was Sage's or hers. Alanna released him when she had her feet firmly beneath her and slowly left the cell. Dominic's eyes focused on her back for a moment and he barely kept the gasp from passing his lips. He had thought his daughter's back looked bad but it was nothing compared to seeing the disfigured flesh of Alanna's back. Pieces of skin and flesh hung from her body, attached only by scraps of skin or tendon. He could clearly see where the strikes had been so deep that it exposed her bones. There wasn't an inch of her back that wasn't a bloody and torn mess. He took in all that with fury like he had ever known, mentally adding this to what he would plan to do to Markus. In a blink of an eye he was behind her, ready to catch her if she collapsed and he knew she would. But he also felt great respect for what she was doing, even if she was doing it out of pure stubbornness. It took courage and an incredible amount of stamina to withstand what he knew to be excruciating pain to move after such a beating. Alanna gritted her teeth as she moved, to keep the cries of pain from rising in her throat, pausing after each movement to collect and brace herself for the next step. Each step, each movement jarred her back, building the pain to a point where even the smallest of movements like breathing was pure agony. But she would not give up until she had walked, under her own steam, from this cell. She took no more than a dozen steps, only enough to get her from the cell but not from the dank, dark dungeons of Markus's keep. She went to collapse but she was suddenly surrounded by men who gently lowered her to her stomach, they were all doing their best not to stare at the carnage of her back but they couldn't help glancing. Two men quickly undid their sashes and carefully moved the pieces into position. Four men grabbed an end of the silk and a fifth grabbed her feet. They very carefully lifted her and moved forward as not to jar her. The men kept glancing to her back, each wondering how she had walked from the room; the lashes had cut down to the bone in some places. There wasn't an inch of skin that was unmarked. When they were out of the castle, Alanna was gently lowered into a flight stretcher next to Sage. She felt something large and wet being gently lowered onto her back. The pain vanished almost instantly, she sighed in relief as the pain became only bad a memory. Her bearers had been as gentle as they could but she still felt every step, every movement. "It's called numb weed. It is the only remedy for nerve whip lashings." The man who had applied the pad told her. "Can I get something to drink?" Alanna croaked, her throat felt like it had been rubbed raw with sandpaper. "Of course. Stay still though, let the numb weed do its job." He stood and went to get something she could drink from. Dominic knelt near Alanna's head in her field of view, he couldn't question Sage because she had blacked out almost as soon as they had her out of the cell. He was again amazed at the staying power of this young woman. "How many times were you two lashed?" "Sage… twelve… me… I lost count after twenty." Alanna croaked bluntly, she was in too much pain to be diplomatic and although the numb weed was taking the edge off, she could still feel it. She honestly didn't remember how many times the whip had bitten into her flesh. It was only after the man who had brought her, who had also won the bidding, yelled at them to stop that they did. It seemed like they took perverse pleasure out of beating her, of seeing her bleed and not scream. Her very silence and the fact she remained awake was what drove them to disobey their lord's order of twelve lashings. They had wanted to see how much she could take before she broke her silence and screamed. What they didn't know was that she had locked her jaw so that no sound, not even a whimper would pass her lips. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing what they were doing was excruciatingly painful. "Who ordered the lashing?" Dominic demanded. Six lashings was the maximum amount of lashings anyone could take before blacking out. He knew seasoned warriors who begged for any other punishment than a lashing, it was why Dominic refused to use the cursed weapon. "Markus did." She answered. The man who had went to get her a drink returned. He offered her a glass tube. "Suck… if you need anything, yell. I am Travis." Alanna took several deep mouthfuls then spat the tube out. Dominic went to leave. "Dominic…" she called out. He paused. "Yes." "You need to know… it was eight… she blacked out after her eighth lashing." She informed him. He felt a surge of pride raced through him; his daughter had endured eight lashings before blacking out. That was a great feat for anyone. He turned his back to get ready to leave. "And she never made a sound." She told his back gently, her mind finally started to give out on her, succumbing to the needs of her body for sleep and rest. She would never know that her statement had startled all those who heard it. Freedom of Flight Ch. 02 Travis joined them, his hands were firm on her shoulders and his strength was greater than Jewel's. "Alanna, it's me, Travis. Remember? I got you water after you were taken from Markus's dungeon." He told her as she fought his hold. Jewel quickly poked a wound, hoping the sudden pain would help snap Alanna out of whatever her mind was going through. Alanna's mind snapped back into the present as pain raced up her spine. Alanna instantly stopped fighting the hands that were trying to push her down. She took several deep calming breaths and pressed her face against the cold stone beneath her. Jewel and Travis had placed her belly down on a marble tablet that was built like a shallow basin and was used as a treatment table/cleaning basin for injured who could not use a bath. Alanna tried to remember what had happened, of how she had come to be here, she drew a blank and realised that she must have blacked out after her talk with Dominic. "My name is Jewel and I will be tending to you." She said gently as she stroked some hair from Alanna's face. Alanna's eyes focused on Jewel who was no bigger than her mother but she appeared a lot more fragile than her mother. Her blond hair was pulled back in a pony tail, a faint scar cutting through her right eyebrow. "I'm Alanna." She said not realising that Jewel more than likely already knew her name. She was never at her best first thing after waking from one of those dreams, let alone including everything else that had happened. Jewel smiled, "Hello, Alanna… I would shake your hand but if I move you even a little bit, you'll feel pain and at the moment, I bet that is the last thing you want." Alanna nodded slightly, pain was the last thing she wanted at the moment. "How long was I out?" She asked, needing to know for her own piece of mind. "About three hours. It took a while for us to clean up after the battle and get all the matters of dissolving the assets of the keep." Travis answered. Jewel watched Alanna as she tried to weigh up the rumours against what she had already guessed about the woman before her. "Travis here is going to help me get you out of your clothes and clean. If you aren't comfortable with him helping me, tell me." Jewel gently pulled the drying pad from Alanna's back gently picking free bits of skin and flesh that had stuck to the cloth. Alanna closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying to hold back the pain which threatened to overwhelm her. Jewel was being as gentle as she could but even so, the burning sensation built quickly. When Jewel finally finished removing the pad, Alanna sighed, "Why?" she asked curious. Jewel gently pressed a large sponge to her back, letting more numb weed come in contact with the wounds. "Because if I need to call in other women to help me, I can guarantee you'll feel pain. Travis is strong enough to move you but gentle enough to not hurt you." Jewel answered. "It's fine." Alanna answered, seeing the logic behind Travis helping out. Besides, the mere mention of avoiding pain put everything else in the back burner. "I was hoping you would remain out cold for this part." Jewel stated as she put the sponge away and cut what remained of Alanna's shirt free. Travis gently hooked his arms under her arm pits and slightly lifted her so Jewel could tug the shirt and what remained of her bra free. She was then gently lowered onto the cold stone again. Jewel had already removed Alanna's shoes and socks before she woke up. Jewel used shears to cut the belt and form-hugging jeans from Alanna's body. Travis helped pull the cloth back and blinked in embarrassment, surprised at the scrap of material that was Alanna's G-string. Jewel cut the cloth at each hip and eased it off as Travis removed her jeans. Jewel glanced to Travis as she turned a flexible showerhead on gently spraying ice cold water laced with numb weed onto Alanna's back. Travis nodded; he had not missed the faint scars that marred Alanna's body on the parts that hadn't been damaged by the nerve whip. She had survived some brutal beatings in her lifetime; it wasn't surprising that her body reacted differently if people took in that fact. The ice cold water and the numb weed mix did as it was intended for in moments, Alanna was completely numb to her body. Together Jewel and Travis cleaned her wounds and body of dirt, carefully rearranging the pieces that hung almost free from her body. They couldn't use stitches to keep the flesh together as it would prevent the numb weed from doing its job. "Now while you're numb, we'll dry you off and get you into some clothes." Jewel informed Alanna, knowing that warning her of what they were doing was keeping her calm. "I would really like to use the bathroom." She replied, she had been busting to go for a while now. Travis turned his back to give her the privacy she deserved. Jewel turned the water back on and leant in to whisper, "Just go. Travis isn't looking and I'll just spray you down again." It took a moment to relax because it was quite uncomfortable knowing that people were there and could see and hear her take care of her needs but she was busting. Jewel did as she promised and sprayed Alanna down again completely. She quickly turned off the water. "Quickly." She reminded Travis as he turned back to face them. They quickly dried her off and Jewel rapidly tied on a modesty cloth which was two pieces of cloth, front and back tied with a thong at the hips. They then slid a back fastening smock on and together they got her into the nearby bed. A mat soaked in numb weed was gently lowered onto her back. A metal frame was placed over her back to keep pressure off it and a blanket tossed over it to keep her warm. They left Alanna alone and left the room. Dominic walked up to them as they shut the door. "How is she?" He asked, concerned. "Fine, she woke just as we were about to clean her. Stayed awake the entire time." Jewel answered, reluctantly awed and bemused by that. "I thought as much. I just questioned some of the men who gave the lashings; two survived the attack. They confirmed Alanna's story. Sage took twelve, eight of which she was awake for, she never cried out or flinched. Alanna however took thirty before someone told them to stop, she didn't black out or cry out at any point." Dominic explained, a bit in awe at the last fact. Jewel's and Travis's heads jerked towards the door of Alanna's room. Thirty, she had been lashed thirty times and had managed to walk after that, both of them thought incredulously. "She has been beaten before, many times if the scars on her body are any indication to go on." Jewel turned her head back towards Dominic. "Assure her that I am sending a message to her mother to tell her they are both safe." He told them as he walked off. He was not only thinking about the message he had to send to Amy, but also about a befitting punishment for Markus and the two men who had lashed his daughter and her sister for no better reason than the fact they had showed up his men's training. He hadn't considered that it might also have been a little bit of a backlash for Markus's own bruised ego. He wanted to make them pay for what they had done to his daughter. After checking on Alanna's progress, he paused at Sage's door as a servant was taking food in. Sage was awake and hungry, he mused to himself. He walked in and watched the servant as she went to feed Sage. "Can I talk to my daughter first?" He asked. She nodded and stood leaving the room. Dominic approached the bed and kissed her temple. He sat on the stool next to her bed and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss. "How do you feel?" "Numb." She smirked and he smiled in response. "I didn't mean that, Sage. Are you okay?" "I'm okay, da, seriously. I just need time to heal." She paused. "Da… I need to tell you something." He nodded and waited. "It's about Alanna, you need to know her past." She took a deep breath. "Why?" "Because if we… you don't plan ahead, she'll become unstable." He frowned, "Does it have to do with the scars?" She sighed in relief that someone had noticed the faint scars and told her father, "Yes… da, as a nine year old child she was abducted, and forced to be the mate of a man almost twenty years older than her." He frowned, "But Were law… " "Da… She wasn't born in Haven pack. She was born into an Italian pack which refused to obey the laws of Were, it was why they were dissolved. She was beaten, raped, starved and goddess knows what else, and he wasn't the only person who got to use her like that. She lived that life for almost seven years." She didn't know what else to say. "She doesn't talk about it but she taught me how to deal with the lashings, to use the pain and make it into my strength." "Okay… What do we need to do to keep her calm?" He asked and wished that Bianca was here to help him. He missed his wife dearly but he was slowly accepting her death and parting from his life. He had come to view the ache in his heart differently lately, it was more centred around the fact that his daughter wasn't home. He found himself wanting to turn to her whenever something exciting happened. He respected his late wife's request and even understood why Sage needed to learn about both sides of her mixed heritage or she would never be whole. It, however, didn't stop him from missing her. "You'll need to knock her out. She doesn't sleep an entire night without some kind of nightmare. If she has a nightmare, it takes her a while to snap out of it." He nodded, "Sleeping drought it is." He waited for anything else he needed to know. "Try to keep men away from her, she's vulnerable at the moment. It will make her tense and even more importantly, men shouldn't go into her room without a woman present." He nodded. He was going to do that anyway but having his daughter confirmed it helped. "When she eats… she doesn't like people trying to take her food, even in jest. So don't take her food from her until she says she's had enough." He rested a hand on her head. "We'll take care of it and I'll inform Jewel. If you think of anything else, tell me. I don't want Alanna becoming unstable while she is recovering." "No, that's about it." She told him, her face scrunched up trying to remember more. He smiled and stood and leant down, "I'm sorry that you were dragged here and hurt, but I'm not sorry that you're home." He kissed her temple, "I missed you." He pressed the side of his face against hers and gently rubbed his cheek against hers, a traditional greeting among close friends and family. "Missed you too, da… you don't know how much." Tears filled her eyes, she loved Amy, Wolfgang and her siblings, they were her family as much as he was but he was her father, the man who had given her life and love from the moment she was conceived. Her love for him was deeper somehow but she could never explain why that was so. Perhaps blood is thicker than water... but that thought was quickly cast away for it felt like she was betraying her family. She wondered about what the fates would have done if both she and her mother hadn't needed to go through the portal a little over five years ago. She understood why the gods had put the restrictions on the portals, it forced those who used them to return to their world or remain trapped and possibly killed. Her mother had to constantly travel back to earth only to return or be forced to remain in one realm for the rest of her life, as the portals wouldn't let her through. Her father had always come with her, to learn more about Were, organise the peace treaty and later to establish trade. Sage was born on earth during one of these nesscessary trips, forcing her to travel with her mother back to earth once every year. It had been a bad set of circumstances five years ago. Her father had a war to fight but they had to go through the portal. They then had five months to wait for the next portal to open. Bianca decided to get a job and had enrolled Sage in school to help pass the time. Then August the 3rd happened and her mother was killed. Amy had been true to her oath because as soon as the dust settled and she had recovered, she opened a portal, as ancients could open their own portals to Sogol that left no markers, and went to inform Dominic of Bianca's death and of her dying request. From that moment on, Sage no longer had to worry about markers as Amy would open her own portal for Sage to travel through negating the need for natural portals. He pulled away and gently used his thumbs to brush away her tears. "Don't cry… you're home now." He kissed her temple again. "I'll send Gemma in with the food." Sage blushed, she was positive the whole keep could hear her stomach rumble. He chuckled and went to leave. "Oh da…" She suddenly remembered something very important. Dominic turned back to her. "Give her Bounce and tell her it's from me." He frowned in shock. Bounce was the stuffed animal he had given to her as a toddler, the toy which had pride of place on her bed, he could even remember a time when Bounce had to have his own dinner plate and seat at the high table. "Why?" He asked as he walked over to the rocking chair where Bounce had been placed when Sage was moved to her bed. "Because it will help her remain calm. She always sleeps with some kind of toy." She explained. He nodded and picked Bounce up and cradled the stuffed animal in his arms like he used to when she was much younger. "I'll go give this to her then inform your mother you're here and what happened…" He smirked, "That is if she doesn't already know." She nodded, "Night da." She knew the moment she had eaten they were going to make her drink sleeping drought, a strong drought as well which would make her sleep until sometime tomorrow. "Sleep deep." He told her and left the room quietly. Gemma was waiting for him outside of the room, the bowl of thick stew had been reheated so that it was hot. "She's starving. I hope you have enough." Gemma smiled, "I always have enough food for Sage." He held the door open for her and she walked in. "Yay… food!" He snorted at his daughter's obvious delight. He walked down the hall to the room that had been prepared for Alanna and spotted Jewel approaching with a heavy platter of food and two sealed jugs; one was beaded with condensation so he guessed that one was water and the other sleeping drought. She paused before her lord. "We need to talk before you go in. Do you want me to take that…" He offered. Jewel set the tray down on a chair outside of the room and dusted her hands on her thighs. She was always a little in awe of her Lord, hero worship, Bianca had called it but she couldn't help it. He had saved her life from much the same situation he had saved his daughter from. "There are a few things you need to know about Alanna. She…" he hesitated, not knowing how to broach this with her, unused to having to break things softly. "She had a hard childhood…" he sighed; that hadn't come out right. Hard was an inadequate word to describe her childhood. "Jewel… what happened to you… happened to her, only… it started when she was still a child… and didn't stop for almost seven years." Jewel gasped in horror. She had guessed parts of Alanna's story, she was thinking along the lines of an abusive parent, one that beaten her but not this, not that kind of abuse. She had been so absorbed in what he was telling her that she hadn't noticed that Travis had joined them until he wrapped a comforting arm around her. He kissed her temple to comfort her. "Be strong." He whispered into her ear. She nodded, she could do this, "Okay, what do I need to know?" She knew she had some peculiar habits after what had happened to her. "Don't take her food away from her unless she tells you she's had enough. Men are not to be alone with her in her room and you might have to give her sleeping drought every night. She has bad nightmares and you know as well as I do that she'll be experiencing aftereffects of the lashings, one day for every lash. She doesn't need that." Jewel nodded, picked up the tray of food and together they walked into the room. "Alanna," he said as he walked into her field of view. "I'm going to send a message to your ma, I will explain what happened. Do you want to add anything?" He asked. She nodded slightly, "Tell her I'm fine and that I don't want her to freak out or anything. Oh and…" He interrupted guessing what she was about to say. "Don't worry. I will be telling her about the men who aided Markus. I even managed to get their names when I questioned some of the prisoners." He paused for a moment. "Sage asked me to give this to you. His name is Bounce." He offered the prized stuffed animal to her. She smiled weakly as she took the animal and held it close. "Can you thank her for me?" Alanna asked, her voice dripped with emotion for her sister's thoughtfulness. He nodded and smiled, he had always wanted a big family, with lots of children. However Bianca had been old for a Were, towards the end of her child-bearing years although she looked no older than 30. They had tried but it had been a miracle that Sage had even been conceived. He was glad that Sage got to experience siblings, something they couldn't give her. "Um… after I eat, is there any chance of getting me something so I'll sleep deeply without dreams?" She asked, she didn't want to dream, she knew they would quickly turn to nightmares and her body just couldn't withstand the added stress. "We have a flower that when pressed makes a drink we've called the sleeping drought, deep sleep without dreams. I'll get you some once you've eaten. I was going to suggest it as I know Gemma will be pouring the stuff down Sage's throat after she's eaten." Jewel told her in a matter-of-fact tone. He left the room knowing Jewel would be able to help her far better than he could. As he walked down the hallway, he thought about ways to really punish Markus before he eventually killed him. Normally he would have just gotten it over with but after seeing his daughter's back, after seeing the damage his orders had done to Alanna, he wanted to teach Markus a lesson before he sent him off to the after-life. The more pain the better, he thought to himself. He wished Markus could feel what he had done… he smirked… he had the punishment now. He refused to use a nerve whip on principal and his men worked harder because of that trust. But he was more then willing to make an exception on Markus. He doubted that Markus had ever had the device used on himself; it was time that was rectified. He considered quietly as he walked, how many lashes that would be dealt to Markus before his death, how many steps would he force Markus to make, how many days of pain would he be forced to endure. The number of lashes was simple… he had ordered twelve lashings, twelve lashings he would receive. Twelve steps he would take after the lashings, the same amount of steps as Alanna had bravely walked to get out of the cell he had forced her into and he would endure all twelve days of pain without numb weed before his life would finally end. He walked into the great hall, [noticing that] his men were still on alert, most simply wanting to hear how their princess and her sister was before they went to take their armour off. Several stood with Markus, both to protect him and to contain him. Several more of his men guarded the other two men who had beaten Sage and Alanna and had been unlucky enough to survive the assault. The others who had survived were already in cells to await Dominic's judgement. These men, however, were going to be treated differently as they had personally injured Sage and Alanna. Freedom of Flight Ch. 02 "Throw them in the pits. Bread and water are all they are to be given. When Alanna is well will the punishment and death sentence be dealt." He decreed. His orders were carried out instantly, each man eager to get them out of their halls as not to sully them further with their presence and for their punishment to begin. He walked up to his chair and sat, a server quickly poured him a large horn of mead as other's put down food and bread. He pushed his meal aside for a moment and grabbed a scroll and quill. He shook the ink well to make sure the ink was mixed and would not fade too quickly. He carefully pulled the stopper from the well and dipped the quill into the ink. He spread the scroll and used gold weights to keep the heavy hand-made paper flat. He picked the quill up, gently tapping off the excess as he composed the letter in his mind. He sighed and put the quill to paper, writing in his long flowing script as he poured out the events of the day as he knew them and added everything he had learnt. He picked up a small clay pot when he was finished and shook it over the page, covering it with a fine layer of very fine sand to collect the excess ink to prevent the letters from smudging. He removed the weights and carefully lifted the page and let the fine sand run off the page and onto the ground. He rolled the letter up and put it in a travel tube, sealing the cap with wax. He picked up a hollowed reed whistle and blew a series of notes. A blue, gold and red phoenix appeared in a blinding flash of light and landed before him on the stand that was there just for him. He ducked his head down and drank from the cup set onto his perch. He smiled at his long time pet; although he never actually treated Remus like a true pet, "Remus, old friend, I need you to give this message to Amy. You remember her right?" He asked the intelligent bird. The majestic bird dipped his head in a nod. He knew and liked Amy, she would always give him a glass of brandy when he went to deliver messages to Sage. He particularly liked the brand she kept hidden behind some books in her study. He offered the message to Remus with a bow. Remus took the message in one of his talon feet and took flight, he whirled around the room for a moment as he focused his mind on Amy. When the moment was right he vanished in a blinding ball of light. Freedom of Flight Ch. 03 Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy. Hi everyone Sorry about the delay with this chapter but here it is. Also one of you sent me the address to the perfect picture of Remus, if you want the address just email me with a return e-mail address, as I don't think I'm allowed to put it up on the site, and I'll send it to you. As always feedback of any kind is welcome. Have fun. Freedom of Flight Ch. 03 The moment Alanna's feet were steady beneath her, he released her and stepped back. She blinked, saw his black wings and reacted. She spun and kicked, her foot landing firmly on his chest, ignoring the protests from her body and the slight tearing of stitches as she moved. He grunted as his body was thrust back by the force of her kick and landed on his back painfully. He laid still for a few moments, stunned. Never had he been caught off guard like that and what made it worst was he knew she had been bed ridden for four weeks… yet she could still manage to land him on his back. He wondered again what it would be like to battle her when she was back to her peak. He tilted his head forward and gave Sage a glare as he finally noticed that she had cracked up laughing. Sage stopped the moment she saw her sister's glare. "Alanna… this is Tarval. He's kind of like my grandsire." Sage introduced as she raced to his side and helped him back to his feet. "Tarval is rare, he has four white feathers. He was created that way and he isn't really classed as Gephalim. Like I said, Gephalim have pure black wings. Michelle has four black feathers but she's not really classed as S'ephalim either. They gave birth to the Nephalim." He opened his wings slightly and shook them to settle his feathers back into place, showing a few of the white feathers in his wings to prove Sage's story. He was a very handsome man, appearing to be in his early to mid thirties with strong regal features. His green eyes were a shade off being the deep rich colour of emeralds. His straight black hair was slightly long, giving him a rough dangerous look of a mercenary. Like all Gephalim, he was tall, standing at eight feet and was broad across the chest with powerful arms, narrow waist and long powerful legs. Alanna went to apologise. He shook his head. "Don't… I startled you, you reacted, it's normal." He told her quickly. Alanna rubbed her face, she felt a little embarrassed about landing him on his arse for no reason other than the fact that his wings were black… well, mostly black… but how was she to know? The white feathers were only obvious when he opened his wings. Her mother had taught her not to judge a person by their race and she had over-reacted. He smiled at her, making him seem even younger in her eyes, a dimple appeared in his left cheek and his eyes sparkled in friendly curiosity. "Any good with a sword?" He asked, not denying his excitement anymore. Alanna smirked. "I beat Sage all the time." Sage gently slapped her sister. "Only because I let you." "Bullshit." Alanna retorted, amused. He chuckled and stepped aside to let them go, realizing that he has been forgotten in the ongoing banter. Only when he was sure they were far enough away did he rub the spot her foot had landed. Never had he been dropped on his arse like that before but he liked the way she had reacted. He knew, when recovered, she would be as deadly as she was beautiful; a dangerous combination. Freedom of Flight Ch. 03 She frowned. "But Bianca will reincarnate." He frowned as well, "Reincarnate?" She nodded and continued on, "Were believe that when we die, we get reborn to live again, over and over again until our debt to the fates is paid and then we are born into an immortal body to live out the rest of time with our soul mates. Bianca will come back, eventually." He shrugged. "Eventually may not be soon enough for him. He was at his happiest sitting under this tree, holding Bianca and rubbing her swollen belly. He loved Bianca more than anything in the world, including his daughter although she rates a close second." "He can't just take his own life, Bianca could have already been reborn to be with him again! If she loved him as much as you say she did, he won't have to wait too long for her. Ma says a soul will never find peace if it isn't complete; two halves of one whole. And what about Sage? She loves him too!" She may not trust Dominic but she didn't mind him. Her senses were saying he was a good man, and like her father, he was fierce-looking but deep down he was a softy. "What Dominic does is his own business but I really hope he doesn't kill himself. Even if it is possible, I can't begin to imagine what it would do to Sage." He sighed, knowing that Sage wasn't the only reason he didn't want Dominic to die. Dominic was the closest thing he had to a family and he cherished that bond, that togetherness which had eluded him for so much of his life. Freedom of Flight Ch. 04 Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy. Hi everyone Here it is the long awaited and demanded chatper of Freedome of Flight. Sorry for the delay; for those of you who don't already know my editor has been sitting her mid year exams and only recently finished them freeing up her time to edit. As always a big thanks to her and to you the reader. Don't forget to vote and comment, all feedback is welcome. Have fun Part 4 Alanna shifted uneasily as Tarval joined them during their morning spar the next morning. Sage's comments had kept her up last night, thinking further on what she was going to do about Tarval: let him in or keep him out? He smiled at them, "Morning." He greeted warmly, noticing her slight unease. "Hey Tarval, what brings you here this morning?" Sage asked, trying not to snicker at her sister's obvious discomfort. Alanna jumped her sister to keep her from blabbing about what they had discussed after he had left and after their pillow fight. They started to tussle trying to unseat the other but both slammed into the ground as Alanna kicked Sage's legs out from underneath her, making her go down but still she refused to release Alanna, dragging her down with her. Right before landing, Sage twisted and landed on top; she struggled for a moment but managed to get Alanna into a headlock. Alanna growled and as Sage was changing her grip to deal with her struggling body, she bit Sage near her wrist and bit hard but not hard enough to break skin. "Hey, no biting!" Tarval refereed, trying to keep the tussle from turning into a brawl, sensing that this may not be their normal way of sparring. Alanna released Sage, "Hello, there are no rules in immortal battle dummy." Sage smirked and added, "Well, one rule: no pulling feathers!" "And no pulling punches." Alanna jerked her head back, breaking Sage's nose. Sage released her and was on her feet in an instant. She righted her nose wincing a bit at the pain as she set her nose and glared at Alanna as she wiped blood from her face and flicked it onto the ground. "Watch it..." She growled warningly. "Bite me." Alanna dared back as they started to circle. They had gathered a small crowd; their duel less than a week ago had perked the interest of many of the senior warriors. Alanna was the first to attack again as she spun and kicked at Sage's head but Sage ducked while trying to sweep Alanna's legs out from under her. Alanna skipped quickly away before she was struck. When it came to hand fighting Alanna was faster than Sage; when it came to wrestling Sage was stronger and bigger, so when they fought they mixed both styles of fighting to keep things even. Sage took a stance more akin to a boxer's as Alanna took a stance closer to kick boxing and martial artists. They circled carefully, looking for the opening that would allow them an advantage. Alanna twitched her muscles, faking her attack. Sage took the bait and quickly changed her footing to meet the believed attack she had seen was coming only to have her feet kicked out from under her. Alanna's foot came down and landed on Sage's stomach with a thud which forced the air out of Sage's lungs. Many watching winced as Alanna skipped away and waited for Sage to get up. Sage glared at her sister as she sucked air back into her body. She flipped onto her feet and charged at her sister. Alanna caught her around the middle and bent back using Sage's speed and weight to slam Sage face first into the training mat, re-breaking her nose. There were collective gasps and murmurs from the watchers. Sage tried to buck and move but Alanna's arms were firm around her arms and torso. She tensed her muscles as Sage tried to break the hold. There were gentle cracks as several of Sage's ribs broke, "Ah!!!!!!... yield!" She cried. Alanna smirked and released her sister, letting them both collapse to the ground. "How many times does ma have to tell you, never charge a smaller opponent." she pushed herself up and helped Sage to her feet, wincing when she saw the damage she had inflicted upon her sister's face. Sage went red when she realised her father had seen that fight. "Amy is right, Sage, never charge a smaller opponent. Go to the healers and let them have a look at you." He told her seriously, he would never let on just how impressed he had become in his daughter's fighting under Amy's tutorage. He knew very well that if he did she would become even more cocky. She nodded and left the training court. Dominic turned to Alanna and reprimanded gently, "You didn't have to be so rough." "Yeah I did, Sage knows what I can do. If I go easy on her she'll go mental and if she goes easy on me, I'll pummel her. She'll heal and she already forgives me. She would have done the same if our positions were reversed." She explained as she looked around noticing that no one would meet her eyes directly in a sign of respect for a greater warrior. They had seen the way she moved and they knew they had barely seen what she was capable of, not that she was ready to get up and personal with any of these men. "So... can I help you train?" Tarval asked, hoping to get closer to her so that she would trust him enough to answer his questions. It slightly amused him that they would have to beat each other up in order for him to get closer to her but he was beginning to see that she was not what he considered normal for a woman. Nor, he suspected, will this be a normal relationship. She watched him for a moment, trying to decipher his intentions; her wolf, however, was all for the idea as she might get close enough to smell him again! "Okay." Alanna was surprised the word had tumbled from her mouth because it was certainly not in her mind but it was too late to snatch it back, nor did she really want to. "Good, how about you show me some of those moves you used on Sage? All I know is boxing." He asked as they walked over to an empty training ground. "Okay." **** That set the routine for the next several days for Alanna and Tarval. They trained in the morning, her teaching him the finer art of martial arts and him swapping tactics for boxing and wrestling and in the afternoon she taught him to swim. Their relationship was growing slowly as they carefully tried to learn about the other, Alanna out of nervousness and Tarval out of a need... simply to be with her. Slowly she was learning to trust him as she learnt about him, like although physically he was stronger than her, he never displayed that strength, realising that he was doing his best not to scare her. It was the middle of the afternoon so Dominic knew he would find them at the lake. Alanna was showing Tarval how to side stroke to conserve energy if he was forced to do a long swim. She stayed close to him to help him if he floundered or to correct his strokes, their bodies accidentally touching, sending conflicting emotions through her body, of desire and fear. Often when she was drying off after a lesson, she would wonder which emotion would ultimately win; the desire or the fear. She would then brust it off, knowing that eventually she would know the answer. Dominic watched them for several moments before he cupped a hand around his mouth and called them in. "Sage said she was beginning to itch." He told them as Alanna patted herself down and they waited for Sage to finally join them. She frowned as she was wondered why Sage had even told her father. It seemed like an odd thing as she never talked about getting itchy with their parents. She saw the questioning look in his eyes, wanting to know if she was getting the need to immerse herself in her beast. "I don't itch. My wolf is content just not being in a cage or chained up." Dominic frowned thinking that that was the curse of her childhood: she was content with small things that people in her society often took for granted. Tarval listened carefully, hoping that more would be said as he still had not learnt about what Sage had meant. Dominic shrugged it away, knowing that Sage had told him about her past so that he could help with her recovery. He also knew that she just wanted to get on with her life and for him not make a fuss over it. "Anyway, I've been talking to Mather and as long as you stay this side of the lake, you can run in his forest... although he might move his herd closer to what was Markus's land." Her head tilted to the side as her eyebrows shot up, she was used to terms like Pack: Pride, Ambush, Clown, Flock, Strike, Coven, Drove, Pod, Skulk, Kennel, Tribe and Flight but she had never heard of Herd before. "Herd?" "Yes, Santaurs." Dominic answered, not understanding her question. She sighed at herself for her ignorance. She was often so concerned with getting back to her physical peak that she had completely neglected to learn about the new world she was in. "Okay, assume I know nothing about this world and explain what a Santaur is." Tarval chuckled, the rich sound made her body tingle and desire raced through her, which was quickly chased away by fear. "Forgive him. He forgets you are new to this world since you have been here so long. Santaurs are like relatives of Centaurs. The only difference between a Santaur and a Centaur is that Santaurs have antlers and are bigger. They are more like half man half deer, instead of half man half horse." "And they own the forests." She asked slowly, trying to understand while fighting not to feel those strong opposing emotions. Tarval nodded, "Yes. We own the sky, they own the forests and plains; it has always been that way. But we organise treaties so we can hunt in their forests and they want treaties from us because we keep the galphons away." "Galphons?" She asked, her eyes going wide now, distracted enough to have succeeded in fighting her emotions back. Dominic chuckled at her face. "Sand monsters. They own the deserts and every now and again they try to conquer the forests and plains. We protect the land temporarily for them then because if we are in a treaty with the Santaurs, their land is a good source of food for us." "But there can be misunderstandings. Sage's ma almost caused a war when she went for a run and mistakenly tried to kill a Santaur, not knowing that Santaurs are not food sources." Tarval added but suddenly he remembered that this memory might be painful for Dominic but Dominic didn't seem too distressed by his reference. Sage joined them, having taking longer to get to shore as she had been dive bombing off the wall. Sensing the slight unease, she tried to steer the conversation back to Santaurs, having heard most of what was being said with her sensitive ears. "They look like deer until you get to where the neck should be. They also smell like deer, which is why da has to warn the Santaurs when we go for a run. They put limitations on where we can go, keeping us from the herd. We will also be watched by guards just in case." Alanna frowned, she had never had to guard herself when she went for a run. "All that for a run?" She asked, incredulous. "What do you like to do when you run?" Tarval asked. Alanna thought about it and shrugged. "I like to explore, smell, scratch, dig and run. Sometimes I hunt, others I just chase because I can." Tarval was suddenly intrigued, he wondered what it was like to be Were, to be able to let go of everything that made them sentient and immerse themselves in their primal minds. "What is it like?" He asked curiously hoping to get another understand of the woman before him, of what was in her mind. "What do you mean?" Alanna questioned back. "To shift, to immerse yourself in your beast." He elaborated. She thought about it for a moment, "It's freedom." She answered simply, not understanding what he wanted from her. "I get that but why is it freedom?" He pressed on. Alanna smirked, "What's it like to fly?" She countered. "Wouldn't you call flying freedom?" As one, both Alanna and Tarval turned to Sage as she was the only person they knew who could experience both so she would be the best person to get their answer from. Sage glanced between them, startled that she was being dragged into this. "What?" She demanded not getting why they had suddenly turned to her, Alanna and Tarval rolled their eyes in unison causing Dominic to smirk as they both had the same annoyed look on their faces. "Since you have wings and can shift... explain." Dominic interceded before an argument started. Sage thought for long moments, "It's hard to put into words, it's not like they are the same things or have the same things in common." She argued to the people who were waiting for her answer, she could tell by their looks that they weren't going to let her get out of this so easily. "Okay..." she thought for several moments, there was no point in trying to explain, as she couldn't, but maybe she could get away with reminding them of a memory and comparing those feelings to their argument. "Alanna, remember that day when the triplets were still really little and us girls went out with ma and some of her friends and we just ran around acting like fools, we raced through the forest running as fast as we could dodging and weaving, feeling the air rush through our coats." Alanna nodded, it was perhaps one of her fondest of memories. Sage turned to Tarval, "remember when we went so high up it was almost as if we were touching the stars, then we free fell and pulled out at the last possible moment." He nodded, following her. "The freedom of flight we experience when we do a freefall is like running at break neck speeds in an endless forest for no other reason then because you can. That sheer joy is what it is like to be Were and vice versa." She glanced at them hoping that they would accept that answer, she quickly changed her mind as she wasn't going to try to explain this again. "It's the best I can do, there is nothing common between them." Dominic smiled, suddenly remembering to give Sage the news that she longed for. "Mather has agreed to three runs: one tomorrow, another after your birthdays and another a month later." Tarval smiled, strangely pleased that Alanna's birthday was soon that she would have reason to celebrate and that he would hopefully get a chance to see a different side of her. "So what do you want to do for your birthdays?" he asked, hoping that whatever they would dream up involved him somehow Alanna and Sage shrugged, they didn't really care. They were used to having a combined birthday because their birthdays were only a day apart. Their ma, however, always made a fuss about birthdays and they felt a little sad that they weren't going to be able to spend time with the woman who had come to mean so much to them. **** Amy frowned after she returned from dropping off the information Electra needed on missing pack members. It was going to be a strange couple of weeks for her as she always made a big fuss over her adopted daughter's birthdays and this year she would not be able to fuss over the girls. Since Electra and Alanna had never had birthdays growing up, she had made it a point to cause the biggest fuss she could. The delight in their faces as they experienced events they hadn't been able to made it more important for her to continue that fuss but now she fussed over all her children's birthdays. Wolfgang wrapped her up in his arms and nibbled at her ear. "Maybe we should have a holiday and go somewhere." He suggested gently, he could feel her sadness about not being with her daughters. She had only just gotten used to Electra's busy life that kept her from her family but Electra always tried to make up for it by stopping by for dinner or breakfast as often as possible. "Where to?" She asked as she rubbed her nose against his chest, in search of comfort. He growled gently as his blood sung and the careful control he had been forced to learn, to keep control of his lust for his mate crumbled. It hadn't been easy for him to learn control, the long hours away from his mate as she worked, it made him long for her badly when she was near him, he had to have her, to touch her, to love her. It had led to some embarrassing encounters for the humans around her, when he couldn't control it and was so tightly strung that he ended up pressing her to the nearest wall and taking advantage of her, not that she would ever deny him. He knew that here at home he could let go of his control and do whatever he wanted but he was trying to learn further control, to learn not to jump her bones the moment they were alone or that she was in the house. "To visit our daughters. Vivian explained that we could go there and come back, we just can't bring them back with us," his voice muffled because he was nuzzling her neck before gently taking her skin between his teeth. She thought about it, recalling that Rhiannon made the same suggestion. They could go there and come back by creating their own portal but the girls couldn't return to earth because they had been dragged through a natural portal that left markers so they could only return the way they had been taken. Since the portal that had taken them had been forced, the magic which allowed a portal in the first place basically sealed the world off. No one except a special few creatures could come and go as they pleased. "We can surprise them." she said mischievously, warming up to the idea and to the desire coursing through her from her mate. He chuckled and moved his lips and teeth to nibble on her ear, feeling her desire rise to match his. "There's no surprise about what you want." Amy added drawlingly. He chuckled again, making no excuses for his libido and tightened his arms preventing her from escaping his lips. As he moved in for the kill, a high-pitched scream made him groan, and not the pleasurable kind he had been going for and released his mate, Temperance. Maybe we should continue this once the cubs are in bed for the night. She suggested, placating him. He smiled in helpless surrender, knowing there's no way around this. Their cubs came first but he knew that once the cubs were asleep he would get his wicked way with her, and leant down to brush her lips. Another high pitched scream and something crashing and breaking brought them apart. "Bastion is going to kill her." She mumbled while she pressed her face to his chest and took another deep breath bracing herself for what ever her daughter had gotten up to this time. He laughed and together they hunted down the oldest of the triplets. They found her outside of Keira's room surrounded by a broken pottery. Keira was on her knees, gathering the pieces carefully, with tears falling from her eyes as she cradled the precious pieces. Her mother, her biological mother, had given it to her shortly before her death. She had been an artist and was becoming quiet well-known before her death, but this plate had been the last one she made, and she gave it to Keira to celebrate her birthday. It was the one thing she had left from her mother. Sienna knelt and helped her gather the last few pieces. Wolfgang picked up Temperance and handed her to Anna who quickly took Temperance and put her in the naughty spot in the kitchen and went back to work on dinner, ignoring her. Sienna gently wrapped an arm around Keira, she knew how much that plate had meant to the young woman. Keira sobbed in Sienna's neck. She closed her eyes, trying to keep her own tears away. She couldn't stand to see her daughter so upset, after loosing her last two pregnancies through still-birth and miscarriage; she had poured all her love into Keira. Wolfgang went to make several phone calls. Freedom of Flight Ch. 04 Amy knelt next to Keira, she felt like she had to do something, she couldn't apologise for Temperance, only her daughter could do that but she could try to make things better. "Here, let me try something." She asked gently. Keira shook her head and held the pieces tighter to her chest, although in pieces, they were still very important to her. "I won't make it any worst." She promised comfortingly. Keira hesitated for a moment before she gently put the pieces down on the rug. Sienna kept an arm around her for comfort. Amy let her hand hover over the broken pieces. She willed them to go back to the way they were before the breaking. The pieces started to move; chips that had been missed rose into the air. Slowly, carefully the pieces went back together. Five minutes later and with a large amount of will power from Amy, the plate gently floated down to the rug. Keira carefully picked the plate up with hands that shook, in shock that it was whole and hoping that it would not disintegrate the moment she touched it. It was whole again with only fine cracks to show it had been broken. She gently stroked the plate then hugged it carefully to her chest. She stood and walked into her room, returning the plate to its place of pride. She then wiped her eyes. Amy and Sienna watched Keira; they knew they could do little to console her. That plate was too important to her. They couldn't really chastise Temperance for her natural tendency as a cub to explore and learn but they knew that Temperance knew that she was not meant to go into Keira's room without permission. * "I don't care, have them here within the hour." Wolfgang ordered and slammed his phone down. Thais sat on a rug playing with blocks completely oblivious to what his father was up to and he knew Serenity would be with Susan, either sleeping or playing. "Your sister has been naughty again." Thais looked up when he realised his father was addressing him. Although all the cubs could talk, Thais rarely did so. He had tried to explain once that talking covered the invisible music all around him but Wolfgang hadn't understood him. He gave his father a resigned look as if saying, what has she done now? Wolfgang smiled, amused at the serious look on such a young face and explained what his sister had been up to. "She broke Keira's plate." Thais's eyes went wide and he packed his blocks away before going to Keira. Thais knocked on the door frame before popping his head into the room. Sienna smiled as she stepped out of the room. "Ker." He said gently to her. She glanced up from her pillow, she sniffled and pushed back her flaxen hair; her green eyes were glassy from crying. "Ker, want a hug?" He asked softly; hesitantly, knowing that Keira may want no one near her at the moment. She nodded and rolled onto her side, opening her arms. Thais walked in carefully and crawled onto the bed and up to her. She pulled him close and hugged him. She loved her little cousins... well, Thais and Serenity at least. They knew about private space and things that weren't meant to be touched. Temperance, however, either couldn't grasp the concept or didn't want to. She would be angry with the little girl for days. She had always been surprised by Thais, the way he always seemed to be in deep thought. She had asked Amy about it and she had explained that Thais was an old soul trapped in a young body, that he was no normal child. The world around him was viewed through eyes that, although were young, had all the memories, knowledge, wisdom and experience of all the different reincarnations of his soul. It made him exceedingly insightful and sensitive to the emotions of those around him and a very quiet, thoughtful boy. Thais nuzzled against her. Normally Serenity would be here and would purr for Keira. Thais, however, could not purr: he was wolf whereas his sisters were sabres. No one understood why Thais wasn't like his sisters but at the moment no one cared as long as he was healthy and growing well. Keira fell asleep holding her little cousin. * Amy frowned as she watched several men assembling a glass case an hour after Temperance had broken Keira's plate. "What are you doing?" She demanded of Wolfgang who was over-seeing the entire process. "Making sure Temperance can't get her hands on Keira's plates." He answered. "Plates? She only has the one!" "No, she has all fourteen now. I had to pull a few strings to get all of her mother's plates but I managed to get the other thirteen. I had these made by Mryddin. He swears Temperance will never be able to get in and the door will only open for Keira. I'm irritated that I didn't think about this before, it might have stopped that plate being broken." "I managed to fix it. The cracks are still there but the plate is whole." She told him then frowned. "Why are you setting up in here?" "This is going to be Keira's new room." He explained. "But she already has a room." He smiled. "But not her own bathroom. She can lock this room up easily and Vivian said she'll put wards up to keep Temperance out. Sienna and Gillian agreed since she's turning eleven this December and soon she would be a teenager. We're moving her stuff in as we speak. Thais is doing me a favour and keeping her asleep..." "Wolfgang, you know I don't like the cubs to use their powers. They are only four year-olds!" She told him, angry all of a sudden. She didn't want the cubs to grow dependant on their powers. As part Ancient, part Were, what they could do was limitless. She wanted them to learn to use their minds and think of solutions before taking the sometimes easy route of magic. "Especially on Keira. How is she meant to trust us if she can't trust us not to manipulate her? It's not like she can defend herself or pay Thais back for what he is doing..." She waited for him to react. He glanced away suddenly, feeling guilty for what he had done, he hadn't thought about the ramifications of what he was trying to do. "I was just trying to surprise her. To... to make things better." He stuttered as he tried to find the right words to explain what he was doing. Keira had come to mean a great deal to him and he didn't like to see her hurting. "When did you ask Thais to do this?" She demanded. "They were napping, I slipped into his mind and asked him, since she was already asleep all he is doing is keeping her asleep." He explained guiltily, wanting her to know that he hadn't asked him to make Keira sleep only to keep her from waking for a little while. She felt a little better about him using his magic, at least he hadn't forced her to do something against her will. "Fine, but you take the blame. Tell her you asked Thais to keep her asleep." She spun on her heel and left. She walked into the kitchen and glared at her daughter. Temperance had spent the last hour sitting in the naughty spot but there was still a hint of defiance in the way she sat. Amy picked her up, "You and I need to talk." She told the toddler after taking a deep breath to calm her self. She walked them into Temperance's room and sat her on her bed. "Temp, do you know why you were put in the naughty spot?" Temperance hesitated for a moment then nodded. "I broke Keira's plate." "That is only part of it, Temp. You were in her room without her permission. Then you broke her greatest treasure." Amy waited to let her words sink in. Temperance remained quiet. "How would you feel if Keira came in here and tore up Cuddles?" Temperance shot around to look at her beloved teddy, seeing that he was okay, she knew what her mother was trying to get through to her. She would be devastated if anything had happened to her Cuddles, and she had gone and done just that to Keira's plate. "Now stay in your room until dinner is ready and think about what you are going to say to Keira." Amy said as she stood and left the room, leaving Temperance to think. Her cubs weren't stupid; they learnt faster than their year mates. All of them could read and write which almost all cubs could do by five and were well on their way to completing their compulsory Were education, at least what they could complete before their sixteenth birthdays. They were required to have memorised two books before they turned nine, Were and Other history volume one and two, which was a complete unbiased account of history. They had those books already memorised and were only waiting to take the test to prove it. They had to get every question right in order to pass. After that test there was no real book lessons; more social lessons, learning their place in the pack and how to control the beast within. She just didn't understand why Temperance never used her mind to think things through, never reasoned out her actions before acting like she did when she worked on her school problems. **** Tarval cornered Sage the next day in one of the inner hallways of the keep, the air being cooled by stones. It was a little too cold during the early morning but during the afternoon, the temperature was perfect. "I need your help. Dominic is taking a party to the markets and I need help finding Alanna a gift." She studied him for a moment as they made their way out of the deeper parts of the inner keep; she was still trying to find out what was going on between them. "Why?" "Because I want to get her a gift but I don't know what. Besides you and Dominic, I haven't bought birthday gifts for anyone else." He explained slowly. "But why do you feel compelled to buy Alanna a gift?" She asked getting curious. He and Alanna had been spending a lot of time together lately. "Because she's a friend and I want to get her a gift." He responded honestly, leaving out the part of not being able to get her out of his mind or that the mere mention of her name had his heart skipping beats. She couldn't fault his reasoning. "I'm going to be looking for my own gift for her, so I can't help you. All you have to do is look until you find something that screams Alanna." They started to walk along the open hallways of the outer keep. The keep was literally carved into the cliff side with miles of hallways that both received light and didn't. The keep was separated into two halves, the outer keep; where the rooms and halls were affected by the heat or received direct sunlight and the inner keep; where the sun and heat could not reach. "But what if I get the wrong gift and she doesn't like it?" He asked, not wanting to disappoint her. "Then she doesn't like it but if you choose a gift with your heart, she would never not like it." She replied. Alanna joined them moments later. "Hey, your da said he's taking us to the markets." She wrapped an arm around her sister. "How am I going to get there and it better not involve a flight stretcher." "No, we'll use a flight harness, like a fireman's chair." Sage answered. "Cool. I was hoping to get you a gift but I don't have any money." Alanna admitted. Dominic joined them silently while Alanna was talking. He handed a pouch to Sage then offered another to Alanna. Alanna gave him a confused look. "I give Sage an allowance, but only when she's training hard. I decided to do the same for you. You both have been training hard so I put a little extra in." He smiled at her. She smiled and put the money bag around her neck and into her shirt where pickpockets would have trouble getting to without her knowing. "We leave in an hour so go put on your good clothes." He informed them. "Good clothes?" Alanna asked, alarmed. All she had was training clothes and normal everyday clothes. "Yes, good clothes... normally house armour. It prevents misunderstandings." Tarval explained. "But I don't have house armour." She frowned. Dominic chuckled. "Yes, you do. I had some made for you. I..." he hesitated for a moment as he didn't know how to explain how he felt about her. "I... you're Sage's sister, I... I think of you as family." She smiled and on an impulse hugged him. Dominic smiled and hugged her back, pleased that she trusted him enough to touch him so causally. Tarval watched, surprised and a little jealous of Dominic as that was where he wanted to be. He wanted her in his arms but he also knew that outside of their lessons, she rarely touched him or got too close. This was a big thing for her and he shouldn't get worked up over it. But that doesn't stop him from feeling jealous. Dominic released her, "come on, the smithy should have finished putting it in your room." He pulled Alanna towards her room. Alanna followed him into her room, her jaw dropped at the finely made silver mail that hung on a rack. Sage nudged her and picked up the breast plate. It was made of polished steel and carefully etched with Dominic's crest: a phoenix in flight, etched onto the phoenix's chest was the same symbol that started in Amy's hair line and covered the back of her neck, the marks she had had since visiting the king's men. Dominic had seen it a few times when she would put her hair up and the very complexity had him believing it was a family crest. It was highlighted in the brightest green enamel the blacksmith could find but it sadly lacked the glowing quality of Amy's marks. "Jewel will help you into it, she's had plenty of practice." Dominic explained and left with Tarval and Sage. Alanna ran her fingers over the mail. Jewel smiled and waited for Alanna. "Does everyone have armour like this?" She asked, still in awe at the sight that met her eyes. Jewel shook her head. "No, only the Warlord's family. Most just have studded leather and a breast plate with their affiliation over their heart. Some of Dominic's sergeants have elaborate armour but those breast plates have been given to them by Dominic and therefore are a mark of honour." Alanna blushed as her fingers brushed over the breast plate. After hearing what Jewel had said she felt all bashful about the armour. She didn't feel worthy of it, hadn't earned it through acts of bravery, and she wasn't exactly a member of the warlords family even if he considered her so. "Come on, we have to get you dressed." Jewel started to tug off Alanna's clothes. Alanna sighed and let Jewel do her job. At first Alanna had been highly embarrassed when the woman started to insist in helping her get dressed, at first when she needed the help to keep from tearing her wounds open but after, it just made no sense to her. Jewel, however, would not take no for an answer and Alanna could do nothing but surrender to her will grudgingly. Jewel got Alanna out of her normal clothes of shirt and breeches. Underneath, she wore a breast band and loincloth which also now doubled as her bathing suit. "Okay, pull the mail pants on. They are lined with cotton so they won't chafe or pinch." Jewel instructed as she pulled the mail shirt off the rack and put it on the bed so she could get it ready to be put on. Alanna pulled on her mail breeches but the moment she released them they fell down. She pulled them up again but found no fastenings to keep them up or at least none she understood. Jewel chuckled and put the shirt down. She walked forward and reached around Alanna, grabbing the suspenders she brought them up and over her shoulders and attached them to the front. "These attach here and then you pull these." She pulled on the straps pulling the opening tight around her waist. "And tie them off. See now they don't fall down. They are made too big for a reason, well several, comfort is one, strength is another. Hold still let me get the shirt." Jewel lifted the mail shirt up over her head, her arms went into the sleeves. Jewel tugged the shirt down. The sides were flapped front and backed so that they over lapped over the venerable sides she tied the back flaps first then the front. "Now touch your toes and jump, see how you move." Alanna did as she said as Jewel got the front and back plate ready. Normally there wasn't a back plate, merely a spine guard as wings were hampered by a full back plate, but because Alanna didn't have wings they had improvised the back plate. Alanna frowned as she walked forward her eyes focused on the raised marks that lined the back plate, recognising them. "Those lines look like my scars." Jewel nodded. "The blacksmiths asked me about them one day. I sketched them and they put them there." She saw Alanna's confused look, not understanding why they would even think to put her scars on the back plate. "Alanna, you don't know just how famous you are." "But I haven't done anything." She stated. She had done nothing to warrant being famous in her eyes. Jewel rolled her eyes and continued her argument, "People see you and they bow, they don't even do that for Dominic. When you talk to them, they think of it as an honour and a rare privilege. That little boy who you showed a different way to stand with his fighting style has just been offered more private lessons. Mark my words, he'll become a sergeant." "All I did was show a little interest in a different fighting technique." She protested weakly. "But your opinion matters. You showed interest in him and that made others notice him and see his potential." Jewel countered. "Now, be still and let me get these on." She lifted the back plate and placed it on Alanna's back. "Hold these." She instructed sliding loops of leather into her waiting fingers. On closer inspection the back plate wasn't one continuous piece of metal. It was in fact, made up of more than a dozen panels that over-lapped and were joined together. If Alanna moved the armour would move with her; the breast plate was the same. The breast plate was connected and buckled together. Both plates hugged the body to the point of being a second skin. "Move... see how you feel in it." "Can't breathe." Alanna complained breathlessly. Jewel glared at her playfully and unbuckled the plates, she had only just realised that she hadn't told Alanna to take a deep breath. "Deep breath Alanna and hold it until I say otherwise." Alanna took in a deep breath and held it as Jewel buckled the plates back together; the more she wore the armour, the sooner it would be easier just to buckle to the used hole. "Okay. Now move." Alanna twisted her body and bent to test her ability to move. "Good, now sit so I can get at your hair." Alanna sat as Jewel clipped shoulder guards on. Jewel undid the plat and quickly brushed Alanna's long black hair. She then started to braid her hair, adding smaller plats to one bigger one. "Arms out." Alanna held her arms out and Jewel tied wrist guards to her wrists, tucking the mail beneath it. Jewel then slid on metal plated boots that had shin guards. "Now stand." Alanna stood and bent her body again, testing her mobility, she noticed that the armour wasn't all that heavy but she knew these were strong enough to withstand battle. Sage walked in dressed similarly, she eyed her sister over and smiled. "Going all native, I wish I had a camera." Alanna glared at her sister playfully. "Come on... and don't forget your money." Sage urged as Jewel tied several sashes around her waist. Alanna tapped the hip pouch Jewel had put the money into. Jewel had a cloth and was quickly buffing her finger prints off the metal. "Jewel, enough! You're worst than our mother." Sage cracked up laughing as they left the room. Dominic was waiting and smiled at Alanna. "That looks good on you." he commented. "I feel like a fool. Is all this armour really necessary?" She retorted which made him laugh and nod. Alanna tuned as she heard footsteps behind her as Tarval joined them. She felt her breath catch as she looked Tarval over. He didn't wear polished steel like Dominic, Sage and herself as the silver metal was reserved for Nephalim to wear. He wore enamelled black armour that had a matt finish so that it didn't reflect light and in battle didn't show up blood. His crest, four shining white feathers, that were placed in a fan-like pattern across his chest were the only different colour on him. Even the sashes tied to his waist were black. The breadth of his shoulders and broadness of his chest was only emphasised by the black armour and chain mail, making him look larger and much more menacing: she could see why early humans had called them the devil's angels. Freedom of Flight Ch. 04 Her throat went dry as he took a deep breath and the perfect fitting armour moved with him, muscles flexed as he shifted his feet creating new patterns in his chain mail. Her wolf was clear in her mind, her ears were down, her tall wavered slightly before she dropped to the ground and rolled over, bearing her throat and belly to him and his subconscious power over her. She blinked and jerked her eyes up to see his face, hoping to distract her body from following her wolf's prompting at dropping down and rolling over. As she looked into his face, her eyes locked with his sparkling green eyes that were fixed on her, making her swallow nervously. This was the first time she had ever seen him in anything other than a pair of brown breeches and a white cotton shirt. His slightly long hair was in its usual disarray but she could see her fingers running through it as he kissed her. She blinked and let her eyes quickly scan other parts of him; he was every woman's dark fantasy of a fairy tale black knight, all muscle and power. His eyes were lures, lures of promises of delightful sin. It made her want to quiver as her pulse increased to race her blood through her veins. She took a deep, much needed breath, not realising she had stopped and the pebbles of her nipples rubbed against the cotton covered mail through her breast band, causing delightful pangs to shoot through her body, liquid heat started to pool between her legs. She could imagine him throwing her over his shoulder and whisking her away to a tower where he would hold her captive to his sexual needs. Her Wolf groaned at her thought, she wanted all that and more, much more. Sage noticed her sister's reaction and glanced to Tarval who was essentially her grandfather then back at her sister. She then turned to her father whose eyes sparkled as he too had noticed Alanna's reaction. "So are we going?" Tarval asked trying to keep from grabbing her and whisking her away. He had a feeling that she may have wanted that but that it would have scared her. Alanna had to look away as he stood next to her. "Yes." Dominic answered but he was also conflicted. On one hand, he was all happy that Tarval had found someone that he could love but on the other, he wasn't sure how he felt about it being Alanna. He felt all protective of her and didn't want to see her hurt although he knew Tarval would never hurt her and that maybe she was just what he needed and vice versa. He would just have to wait and see. "Wait... Alanna doesn't have a sword." Tarval's sharp eyes had noticed that she lacked a weapon. Normally he wouldn't make a fuss but she was dressed in full armour, which meant she was a warrior and in this world a warrior had to have a sword, although he knew full well that she didn't need one to protect herself. The bruises on his body were proof of that. "Damn... she's only got practice swords." Sage reminded her father. Dominic frowned. "She can borrow Bianca's sword, I'll get the smithy to make her one when we get back." He disappeared into his room for a moment and returned. He offered the sword to Alanna who took it with astonishment and honour; she knew how much trust he placed in her to hand over something that had belonged to the love of his life. "I will make sure if I use it I will not damage it." She swore. Dominic sighed sadly with a little shake of his head. "Perhaps it is time to let her go..." Alanna tilted her head. "Why? She'll want it when she come backs." Dominic stared at her blankly. "Were believe in reincarnation. She will be reborn to be with you again, you can give her back her sword then, and one day, like you and Sage, she will be immortal and you will never fear that you will lose her again." Alanna explained. He turned to Sage, hope in his eyes, "Sage?" "Da, I could have told you but you wouldn't have believed me. Besides, you haven't been ready for this, giving Alanna ma's sword meant you were ready to hear that she was coming back." Tarval smirked at Alanna then clapped his son on the back. "We best be going, Dominic." Dominic nodded but his thoughts remained fixated on what Alanna had told him. His beloved Bianca was coming back to him, that she would always come back to him. There was a noticeable spring to his step as he walked off. ~*~*~*~*~ Foot note: I used some terms to describe Non-human groupings that Alanna was aware of, here is an explanation of those terms in the context of this story. Ambush:Is a pure pride of tigers with no other species of Were or Non-humans present. Clown:Is a pure group of Song birds with no other species of Were or Non-humans present. Strike:Is a pure group of raptors with no other species of Were or Non-humans present. Flock:Is a mixed group of Were and or Non-humans with a Bird type Were as Alpha. Coven:Is a group of Were and or Non-humans with a Elemental or Fae as the leader. Tribe:Is a pure group of Vampires with no other species of Were or Non-humans present. Pack:Is a group of Were and or Non-humans with a K9 type Were as Alpha. Pride:Is a group of Were and or Non-humans with a Feline type Were as Alpha. Flight:Is a pure group of Centaurs with no other species of Were or Non-humanspresent. Drove:Is a mixed group of Were and or Non-humans with a Centaur as the leader. Pod:Is a mixed group of water type Were and water type Non-humans. Skulk:Is a pure group of Foxes with no other species of Were or Non-humans present. Kennel:Is a mixed group of Were and Non-humans with a Fox as Alpha. Freedom of Flight Ch. 05 Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy. Hi guys, Sorry about the delay with this chapter, life threw a delightful spanner in the works which made me and my editor grind to a halt for two weeks, moving home, computer problems, work... and I can keep listing if you like. I hope you enjoy this chapter, also a whle ago when I first posed the S'ephalim, Nephalim and Gephalim an artist set me a link to one of his pictures that he did a while ago and it's a good representation of a S'ephalim. Message me if you want the link. Again sorry for the delay, after this chapter there are two more to Freedom of Flight then we go onto Bound by Pride. SO don't forget to comment and vote, all feedback is welcome. * Alanna glanced around the markets in awe. It was like a massive swap meet and food market rolled into one. Tarval chuckled and leant down to talk into her ear so that she could hear him over the bustle. "This is the square," he gently grabbed her shoulders and directed her to an alleyway. "Jewellers and smiths," he turned her again to a different alley. "Fresh produce," another turn to a new alley, "Cloth merchants and tailors. Wood carvers, hot food and entertainment." He said turning her to the other three alleyways. Dominic also leant down to talk into her other ear, although not as close as Tarval. "The bells toll hourly. Meet us at the hot food alley at fourth toll." Alanna nodded. Both men released her and let her find her way through the mass of people. She quickly decided where to head to first and then made her way to the smiths. Alanna glanced at jewellers but saw nothing that took her fancy. She crossed to the other side, bumping past people who were busy chatting or looking away. Alanna paused as she glanced down between two buildings as she walked and saw a small gathering but shrugged it off and kept on looking. She stopped when she spied a well-made locket. She stepped up behind another and looked at it; the merchant stepped forward and offered for her to look at the locket. Alanna examined it and then opened it; the two hearts broke away from a middle fixture, which allowed four pictures to be placed within. "How much?" She asked, looking up from the locket. The merchant eyed her critically, trying to place her crest but he didn't recognise it although he had his suspicions as to who the woman was before him. "What is your house, lass?" "Phoenix, Dominic is my Un…" "Alanna." he correctly guessed. He felt honoured that she had stopped here and people were gathering and taking notice of the armoured woman with no wings more so of the crisscross pattern that covered her back plate. "12 dhunts." A woman leant over. "17, merchant and not a dhunt less." She said with a glare, knowing what he was doing, deliberately undercutting his price to ensure that Alanna bought something here, that THE Alanna Brave-Heart, as she had been dubbed, thought his wares were good and that would attract more business for him. Alanna span around, her eyes focused on a gold breastplate with four black feathers. She glanced up. "Michelle?" She guessed as she remembered what Sage had told her about her grandparents. "Hello, Alanna. Turn around and pay for your locket." She told her playfully, indicating that Alanna should just pretend for now that they knew each other. Alanna nodded and turned around. "First, what's a…" "Here… there are people waiting." Michelle interrupted while handing the amount over, the locket and chain was put in a velvet bag and given to Alanna. Michelle quickly guided her away and towards a small alley between two buildings. Alanna couldn't help herself as she looked up and stared. Michelle's long white blonde hair hung in loose curls. Her eyes were such a deep blue, they looked like sapphires. Her nose was straight and pointed; her jaw slightly rounded with high cheekbones and perfectly arched eyebrows. She now understood how early humans could have been so humbled, she was both a woman and not, because she was more than a woman… she was… an angel. Michelle's full lips curved up in a smirk, she was used to this reaction. She had almost laughed at Bianca's bowled-over look. Alanna blinked, realizing that she was gawking like a teenager and blushed. "Sorry, I…" "Don't mention it. You should have seen Bianca... that was funny." Michelle answered with a grin. "Are all S'ephalim so tall?" Alanna asked, still slightly gawking. Michelle nodded and gave a careless shrug. "Yes, we all stand over seven feet tall. It is how we were made." "You paid for the locket?" Alanna questioned. She nodded. "I did not want the merchant to know you did not understand our currency. Besides, he had a small crowd gathered behind you waiting to buy. Now, let me quickly run through our currency, a bharunt is a copper coin," Michelle pulled the coin out. "Twelve make a dhunt, the silver coins. Most of the time merchants will talk in dhunts because they are more common than the khunts, gold coin. Five dhunts to a khunt." Alanna grabbed out her money and after making a swift calculation put three khunts and two dhunts into Michelle's hand. "Thank you. No one explained the currency to me… they just gave it to me." She grumbled. Michelle chuckled. That sounded like Dominic and Tarval. "So what's the locket for?" "It's for Sage's birthday gift," Alanna pulled it out. "Look… it opens into three panels and four pictures can go in so her biological parents and her adopted can both be kept close to her heart." Michelle smiled at the thoughtfulness of the gift. "I'm here to check up on Sage's gift. Want to join me?" Alanna nodded and joined her as together they left the small alleyway between buildings. "I'm surprised Dominic isn't escorting you around." Michelle commented. Letting Alanna loose and unsupervised in a world and culture she only partially understood could be dangerous… at least for the ones she accidentally annoyed and who went to fight her not knowing that she could kill them with only her hands. "He is picking up his own gifts; one for me, one for Sage. Our birthdays are a day apart." Alanna explained. Michelle nodded and made note of it. She would pay attention to Alanna for a while to figure out what to get her. She had gone to all of Sage's birthdays since her first. Bianca had insisted in her coming to be introduced to her 'granddaughter', not understanding that both Michelle and Tarval had just been a means to an end and that although they had given birth to Dominic and that Tarval had raised him, they didn't consider him theirs. He belonged to the god. However, that didn't stop Michelle from forming a bond with Sage and wanting to watch her grow into the woman she was becoming and now she wouldn't miss this party for anything in the world. She may not consider Dominic to be her son but she did consider him a very close friend, a friendship that had grown over the years as Dominic came to her asking for her advice concerning his daughter. Michelle walked her further back towards the blacksmiths. She stepped up to a stall and smiled as a winged woman walked forward. "This is Gabrielle. She is a master smith and makes magnificent weapons although she never learnt to wield them." Michelle introduced. Gabrielle smiled then bowed to Alanna. "Greetings, Alanna. Give me a second, Michelle, and I'll get that dagger you commissioned." Alanna turned to Michelle in surprised, "Does everyone know my name?" She asked with a wrinkled forehead. Gabrielle chuckled. "Of course! Your capture has been talked about non-stop … or rather, your release. More so the lines that mark the back plate you wear. The men who carried you out swear you stood up and walked from that cell." Gabrielle said, disbelief evident in the way she said it. "I did." Alanna responded simply. "I got up, took perhaps a dozen steps then collapsed." She grimaced, remembering the pain she had gone through. Both women's jaws dropped in surprise. A dozen steps after the lashing she received most couldn't even walk after five. Everyone heard of what had happened by now, and since the story had been retold and embellished so many times that, no one knew what to believe any more so most of them were sceptical of what had happened that day. Gabrielle stepped away musingly for a moment and returned with a wooden box. She put it down and flicked the catches; she then opened the box, revealing a beautiful dagger with a phoenix handle. The blade seemed to be spraying like flames from the mouth of the phoenix, its spread wings acted as hand guards and the body made up the handle. "Wow… may I?" Alanna asked reverently. Gabrielle nodded. Alanna hefted the blade up, she hummed the weight was perfect. She started a drill her mother had taught her. She flicked the dagger over her fingers and across her hand. When she was done with the drill, she kept the dagger in her hand, testing its balance. "She's sweet." Alanna murmured appreciatively. Gabrielle looked at Alanna, surprised. "Who taught you how to do that?" She had never seen anyone do that… ever. Just watching Alanna do it had been a revelation, Alanna made using a dagger, handling that weapon into an art. "My ma." She answered as she started the drill again at speed, the dagger moving so fast they could barely make out its movements. "She didn't expect me to master it," she said when the dagger came to a stop balanced on a finger. "She expects it of no one as it is not an easy thing to do. But when I did it without even really trying, she took me aside and told me what grandma told her." She carefully returned the dagger. "What did she say?" Gabrielle asked, wondering what kind of insight her mother had. Alanna smiled softly. "Some are born to the blade, it is an extension of who they are; some choose the blade because they have no desire to die; and others die by the blade as it conquers them. Like her, I was born to the blade." Michelle was very interested in the conversation, wondering what Amy thought about Sage's almost unnatural way with the blade, "What does your ma say about Sage then?" Alanna didn't have to think about that since her mother had the same conversation with Sage, "Sage was also was born to the blade, it's why she is so lethal with a sword. Our sister Electra is also born to the blade but to a different degree: she can't beat either Sage or me. Ma is still uncertain as to where the triplets fall and so far none of us can beat ma." Gabrielle hesitated for a moment but then smiled. "Wait, I have something to show you." She walked to the back of her stall hurriedly and returned carrying a long box. Michelle quickly picked up her gift for Sage and watched as Gabrielle opened the box and removed the velvet cover, revealing a magnificent sword. Alanna's fingers itched to touch the sword: it was a long double-edged broad sword with a howling wolf holding the blade in place. "Go on." Gabrielle encouraged. Alanna carefully lifted the sword and stepped into the cleared area to test it. Her whole body quivered as the sword cut the air. Gabrielle felt chills creep up her spine, she didn't know why a year ago she felt compelled to make this sword but she made it anyway. When she had finished, tingles had gone up her spine. A week later, she had made another sword, one that she hoped she would never meet the wielder for but she knew she would. She just hoped the wielder was a good person. Today, when she met Alanna, she had felt this sword was meant for her. The shivers that went up her spine when Alanna started to wielded it confirmed her assumption. Alanna gently returned the sword to its case and sighed regretfully. Such a fine weapon would cost her a fortune. "She's magnificent." Alanna closed the case reluctantly. "Don't you want to buy her?" Michelle asked. "More than anything in the world but such workmanship means she is beyond my means." Alanna walked away to keep from being tempted by the blade which seemed to call out to her, that seemed to be made for her. Gabrielle watched her go, she felt sad that Alanna didn't feel that the sword, which was obviously hers, wasn't within her means. Michelle watched Alanna go and start to investigate another stall. She suddenly turned back to Gabrielle determinedly. "How much?" "My standing price, twenty five khunts." Gabrielle stated hoping that Alanna would be able to buy the sword from her soon enough, she wouldn't sell it to anyone but her. "Twenty five? Gabrielle this is some of your best work. I paid twenty five [just] for Sage's dagger." Michelle protested. "Twenty five." Gabrielle responded firmly. "Thirty and not a Khunt less, Gabrielle." "Twenty five, and she is meant for Alanna so I'm not selling her to you." Gabrielle responded, picking up the box to take it away and stow with her things so that her assistant didn't accidentally sell it when she got back. "Gabrielle, I'm buying it for her birthday gift. Take the thirty." Michelle argued. Gabrielle nodded and offered Michelle a fist, which Michelle knocked with her own. "Deal done, you can settle later." "Make sure her crest and name are on the box and the same with Sage's." Gabrielle nodded, she knew the drill. "You better go find her. Tell her the price you worked me down to and that you asked me to keep it aside until she had worked up the price it might make her happy." Michelle nodded and went off to find Alanna. She found her watching a smith working. "I managed to beat her down to twenty five khunts and she has agreed to keep it aside until you've saved the price." Alanna smiled. "Sweet." She then frowned, noticing something else. "What's down there?" She asked as she pointed to a ringed structure which she could hear cheers coming from. "The pit where the 'gladiators' compete for prizes." Michelle explained. She didn't actually like the pit, it seemed barbaric to her but she accepted that it was a part of their society. "Can we go see?" Michelle nodded, "of course." They walked off in the general direction of the pit. Alanna veered off when she noticed a group of men who were goading a shackled and hobbled Santaur. Alanna had yet to meet one but there was no mistaking that this man was a Santaur. He was a prime example of his kind; long graceful legs that led to a powerful but lean body of a giant red deer. His human half was just as handsome as his deer half, broad powerful chest with long powerful arms. His neck was wide and strong to support his head and rack of antlers. He was perhaps only seven feet tall from head to hoof but he looked taller than that as the massive rack that sprouted from his skull made him appear bigger. It easily could be five feet wide with sharpened points which made them deadly weapons. A Gephalim approached with a saw to cut the rack from his head. At that point, Alanna stormed forward and grabbed the hand that held the saw. She watched, as a woman who had wanted to rush forward was yanked back and held still, preventing her from racing to his aid. She was dressed simply in a cotton dress with a sash, which went, across from her right shoulder to left hip. Her hair fell in a long dark plait that went to her knees and complimented her coffee and cream skin tone; her honey brown eyes were fixed on the Santaur both with love and with fear. "Why is this Santaur shackled?" She asked, clearly disapproving with what she saw. The Gephalim glared at her. "Because I said so." Alanna glared at him, "Because you said so is not a good enough reason." He glared back at her, not used to being questioned by anyone, let alone an insignificant woman but he could not ignore her as others were gathering and seemed to agree with her. "He attempted to steal something from my house…" "What did he try to steal?" Alanna asked, though she was sure the woman they were restraining was what he was trying to take. The fact they had to restrain her meant she was going willingly with him. "None of your business, he is mine to do with as I please and he will earn me good money when I sell him to the gladiators." He sneered. "Hold him still I want his rack before he is killed." He barked at several of the men with him. Several watching Santaur stomped their feet, not happy but unable to step in, having a rack forcefully removed was a big dishonour for their kind. However, they could not meddle in the affairs of Da'Vaila even if it included a member of their own race. "I will wager everything in my purse that I can kick your arse." Alanna declared knowing that he would never back down from such an open challenge. He was beginning to look amused as his eyes roamed over her. "And what do you want of me if I loose…" he cracked up laughing at the thought of losing to the tiny human girl. "The Santaur." His laughter stopped. "Depends on what is in your purse." Alanna handed it to Michelle knowing he would never trust her word. Michelle quickly counted. "Twenty khunts." Michelle declared. He continued laughing again. "Easiest money I have ever made." He declared. "Double or nothing then." Alanna said, surprising him. "My purse and my breast plate for the Santaur and the woman your men are restraining." She declared. His eyes went wide, for few ever wagered their breastplates; they were marks of honour. However, the man who had the breastplates of others and had won them in fair battle would rise in status. "Done little one. Any restrictions?" "On you… no… me… yes." She took off her sword and gave it to Michelle, startling the woman. Alanna drew her dagger. "I'm ready." He and his men cracked up laughing as they thought it was a big joke and smirked at each other. He stepped forward and drew his blade, confidence abound. Alanna waited as he went to lunge and she was off. She stepped under his guard and around him. As he moved to keep up with her, she jumped using her free hand to grab a wing and pressed her dagger to his throat. Her legs wrapped firmly around his hips just in case. Everyone stared in surprise, they knew of no one who could move that fast… not to mention win that fast. "I win." Alanna declared, just to make sure he wasn't going to do anything dishonourable. "Yes." He admitted, not even panting… it was over so fast! "Who are you?" he demanded as she released him. "Alanna." She answered while she sheathed her dagger, surprised that this man hadn't figured out who she was. "Where did you learn to move like that, to fight like that?" He asked clearly shaken at the ease with which she had beaten him. "My mother. It's the quick or the dead with her." "The what?" He asked, perplexed. "The quick and the dead. There are the two types of warriors, the quick and the dead. Against me you are in the dead category, against your own you are in the quick category." She explained. He nodded. "Release her." He ordered. The woman was marched forward and pushed to Alanna. Alanna used her dagger to cut the sash from the woman's body, which declared which house she was a part of. Alanna quickly took off one of the sashes Jewel had tied around her waist and offered it to the woman who had a choice to make, put on the sash Alanna was offering her or become a nomad. She glanced to the man she loved, the wilds were not safe, and being a nomad was not an easy life style, she knew she had only one choice, so she quickly tied it on. It was simply not safe to wander without showing some form of allegiance to one of the houses. Freedom of Flight Ch. 05 The Santaur was forced forward and his chains were given to Alanna. "The key." She asked expectantly while holding out her hand. The Gephalim frowned but was handing her the key anyway. The Santaur tried to rear, to lash out at them both but the hobble only allowed him to partially get up so he tried to slam his antlers down on Alanna but he struck a shield. Several men went to grab him. "STOP WHERE YOU ARE." Dominic's voice boomed suddenly. Alanna smiled and released her shield. "I'm not going to hurt you; I want to release you so stand still." The woman slid before Alanna and the man she loved, pressing her hands to his chest. She unsteadily tiptoed to soothe him, speaking softly, telling him that she wasn't going to leave him and that he needed to trust Alanna and to trust Dominic. She stepped back and nodded to Alanna when she felt that he was calm. Alanna stepped forward, reached up with the key now that the Santaur seemed calmer, and used it on the lock that connected a crude metal collar around his neck. She tossed it on the ground and undid the shackles at his wrists and finally with Michelle's help, she managed to get the hobbling harness from around his legs, flank, back, and withers off. He held his arms open and his lady ran into his arm and pressed her face to his body. Alanna smiled at the scene before her, "You are free to return to your herd." Alanna told him as he watched her, surprised. "He has no herd." Dominic answered for him. Alanna turned to him and he nodded. "Lord Dominic is correct. I was kicked out of my herd for falling in love with a human and choosing her to be my mate." He answered with a little bow, a sign of gratitude to Alanna for freeing him and the love of his life. Dominic frowned. "I'll talk to Mather about letting you pass through his land. I might even be able to get you running rights in his lands." "Pardon?" He asked with widened eyes. "Since your lady is now a part of my house, I assume you wish to be with her." Dominic answered, as he indicated at her sash around her waist. "I don't…" He started to say as he didn't understand. Dominic sighed. "Love isn't something I mess with. Make your home at my keep, I'll talk to Mather." Michelle smiled. "You are such a softy." Dominic glared playfully at the woman who had given birth to him and who had become one of his closest friends. "No, I'm not. Bianca just opened my eyes a little and Alanna and Sage forcing them wider." He turned to the Santaur who was hugging his mate. "Gather whatever you own…" "I have nothing, my lord." The woman answered, for even if she had owned anything she wouldn't have gone to get it. That was her old life and she was looking forward to her new life with the man she loved. "Okay…" Dominic grabbed some money out of his pouch and gave it to her. "Buy what you need from the markets for your new life." Dominic went to leave but turned back. "Forgive me, I haven't even asked for your names." "I am Byson." The Santaur said with a bow. "I am Xen." The woman said gently. "Byson, Xen, be at my merchants by the sixth toll. Enjoy the markets." He told them. They nodded and left holding hands and smiling at each other. The woman paused and turned back to Alanna and Dominic, she bowed deeply to her new lord, thanking both of them silently for her new life. Michelle handed Alanna her sword and her purse. "You're a curious woman." She commented. "Curious good or curious bad?" Alanna enquired. "Just curious." Michelle shrugged. Dominic smiled. "I still have some serious shopping to do. Still can't figure out what to get for Sage, any luck Alanna?" Alanna nodded, "I got her a locket." Dominic frowned, "Why?" He question. A locket was a girly item and Sage, even when her mother was alive, couldn't stand girly things. Alanna glanced around to ensure her sister was nowhere near and before pulling the locket out. She showed it to him and opened it. He instantly saw what she had when she had brought it: enough for both sets of parents to be in. For his daughter it would still be girly but it was a sentimental kind of girly that she would value greatly. "Even if it is girly, she'll wear it." Dominic declared. "Okay, I'm off again. Remember the eatery at the fourth bell." He reminded before dashing off, not even stopping to chat to Michelle. Alanna rolled her eyes at his back. Michelle chuckled. Alanna quickly returned the gift to a pocket. She made sure her sword was sitting right then frowned. "What toll is it?" "Middle second. Why?" "Great, just what am I meant to do for next hour and a half?" Alanna complained with her forehead creasing. Michelle chuckled. "Come; let me guide you around the markets." Michelle offered. "Okay, but I am only allowing myself five khunts to spend. When is the next market day?" She asked as they started to walk again. "Markets are held every two weeks on rest day. The markets are going to be next at Phoenix keep." Michelle answered while looking around. "So… three days after the birthday feast..." Alanna said to herself, trying to learn how time worked here. "Yes." Freedom of Flight Ch. 06 Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy. Hi everyone, Here is the next chapter, yay, I hope you enjoy it. Just a reminder that there is one more chapter of Freedom of Flight after this. A big thanks to my editor and to you the reader for being so patient with me. Remember that all feedback is welcome. Also I would like to point out a word that comes up later in the story, the first time it comes up I've put an * next to it to make it stand out. The word is torque (second definition if you look it up,) pronounced as tawk or torc and is a decorative metal collar or armband worn by the ancient Gauls and Britons. Have Fun ; ) Chapter 6 Alanna woke up and sighed as she stretched her lean and tanned body. She smiled while getting up for it was only a day before her birthday and she was starting to get all excited but at the same time she was starting to feel home sick. She missed her parents, siblings and friends. She sighed a little sadly this time and quickly got dressed. She quickly undid the plait to brush her hair before she put it back into a plait, which kept her long black hair out of the way. Once her hair was taken care of, she continued with her morning stretches. When she was ready, she went to her door and opened it just as Tarval was about to knock. He smirked at her and stepped aside to let her out. "So a run and some light battle practice?" He asked as they started to walk, totally unsurprised by each other's presence as this was a part of their daily ritual. Jewel raced into Alanna's room to tidy and got out her clothes for the feast tonight. Dominic, since Sage's birth, had always held a grand feast for his people to celebrate the birth of his daughter and this year was no different. "Yep, then a swim." She added before jumping aside to let people barrel by. "Is it always this crazy before a feast?" "Yes." He grabbed her around the waist, sending tingles down his spine and her to repress a gasp in surprise and pleasure at the intimate way he pressed her body to his. He picked her up, took several steps out onto an open walkway and jumped. His wings opened and they glided until they touched down. He then released her, albeit reluctantly. She stepped away slowly and smiled softly. "Thanks." Sage joined them moments later. "It's a mad house in there," she grumbled and they promptly started their run. * Dominic glared at E'lisa. "Must you insist on involving me in every decision? I told you anything you want will be fine." E'lisa went pale as she noticed a disturbance behind Dominic. She grabbed Dominic's sword and tossed it to him. He caught the sword automatically and turned as he drew. He watched the portal form and a woman walked through. Dominic smiled in recognition and welcome while he sheathed his sword. "Amy." He said, surprised and pleased that she was here. He then watched as Wolfgang, Bastion, Keira, the triplets, Rhiannon and Vivian walked through. "Dominic." She said happily and offered her hands to him. He went to lift them to his nose but remembered just how tiny she was in comparison to himself and bent his knees, bringing his nose to her hands. "I know why you're here." Dominic said as he smiled. "The girls' birthdays start tomorrow and we are having a feast tonight to celebrate. I had to move it back a day as we can't have a feast then a day of work only to have the markets the next day." He continued quickly. Wolfgang smiled and gripped Dominic's hand. "How are you coping with them both?" He asked humour tinting his voice. "Well, in fact... I only get ganged up on at dinner. They spend the day tormenting Tarval." He replied with a smug grin. Vivian cracked up laughing. "Poor Tarval." Rhiannon snorted in amusement. "So where are my girls?" Amy asked, looking around. Dominic frowned, "Either in the training grounds teaching my men to be humble or teaching Tarval to swim in the lake." He thought for a moment. "I would try the lake as they promised me they wouldn't train hard this week so that they aren't bruised or bloody at the feast." Dominic turned to E'lisa. "Ensure rooms are prepared and take the triplets to the crèche." E'lisa nodded. "Follow me." Dominic offered after the triplets were ordered to behave and to follow E'lisa and that they would be playing with year mates. Dominic took them out of the keep and through the town towards the natural outer wall. "Yep, there they are... and ganging up on poor Tarval again." Sage was climbing the wall to bomb into the water as Alanna and Tarval wrestled in the shallower water. Amy watched and smiled at Alanna's antics. Wolfgang watched bemused as never had he seen Alanna so relaxed with a man before. In the mean time, unaware of their audience, Tarval managed to wrap his arms around Alanna, pinning her arms to her body. She tried to wriggle free but he tightened his grip, locking his arms around her back. She glared at him as he grinned smugly. She saw red and on an impulse, lunged forward to sink her teeth into his skin. She curbed the behaviour just barely and butted her head against his firm chest instead. She felt a moment of panic as she tried to reason out why she had just tried to bite him. She understood that she was attracted to him, that he was... her mate, but biting was a serious thing for a Were. Any kind of bite left its mark. Most were classed as harmless but she knew she had wanted to bite deep to taste blood, to lick it from her teeth. A flood of desire had liquid heat pooling between her legs. She felt her legs shake as her nipples hardened, wanting attention. Her heart started to thud quickly, she wanted something... anything to make the ache her body felt go away. A panicked thought entered her mind: her body wanted sex... it demanded for him to make love to her. She wanted to fly out of his arms to run away, even though she had talked herself into letting this man close but sex was pain so why did she want to go willingly through that kind of pain again? She thought for several moments, hoping an answer would come but none came. Her wolf kept interrupting her thoughts with images of Tarval, naked... of him sliding into her body and her groaning as she moved back to meet his thrusts. Her Wolf's thoughts only made Alanna's panic worsen for the thought of sex has always been associated with Gus and pain... pain that was too much to remember. While all this was happening within her, Tarval didn't notice her moment of panic but he knew he had her. He had to fight his body's reaction to her being pressed against him because all he wanted was to kiss and stroke her body. However, he resolutely shoved those thoughts aside knowing that he couldn't act on it yet. "Yield?" He asked, trying to inject humour into his question as she squirmed. She nodded quickly, not trusting her voice. He shifted his grip and thrust her away from him just in case she decided to attack again. She watched him for several moments; the heat in her body died as she took a deep breath and resolved not to get into a situation where the heat and confusing demands and thoughts would come back. Her wolf growled at her, not liking that resolve but she shoved her back deeper into her mind. At that moment, Alanna's eyes spotted her mother. "MA." She yelled in surprise, "SAGE, MA'S HERE!" She yelled to Sage as she raced out of the water and into her mother's arms. Amy smiled and hugged her tightly; not caring about the fact Alanna was wet. Her hands couldn't help but feel the raised flesh of healed scars considering all Alanna wore was a loincloth and breast band. Amy controlled her desire to growl and roar her rage with the greatest of her will power. Amy pulled back and spun Alanna around to see the scars with her own eyes. Wolfgang couldn't help himself, his snarl was pure, undiluted rage. Sage landed next to Alanna and waited for him to calm before she hugged him or she could suffer a broken back. Tarval approached carefully as he had witnessed Bianca all riled up once when Sage was young and had been deliberately hurt. She had nearly taken her own handmaid's head off. He knew that Amy and Wolfgang couldn't help but react with anger at what had happened to their daughter. Dominic was the same with Sage and he knew if he ever had a daughter, he would be just as protective of her. Amy's fingers gently traced the scars, wishing she had been present to prevent her daughter's injuries. Wolfgang grabbed Alanna and held her tightly. Tarval approached to get a towel. Wolfgang growled, he wanted the stranger nowhere near his daughter, he didn't care that Alanna seemed to like him, he just wanted to keep her safe. Alanna hugged her father back tightly, glad they were both here. Her father's fingers traced the raised scars on her back much like her mother had and it didn't bother her that much as she had come to accept all the scars on her body as being a part of what made her the woman she is now. As a Were, she had no true qualms with nudity although she had learnt a form of modesty simply to keep people from staring. "Wolfgang, let her go." Amy told him gently, he glanced at her but released Alanna anyway. Amy was right; he needed to let her go in all ways. She was a grown woman now and some things just can't be helped. Nevertheless, he darn well will do better to protect her the next time... if there was a next time. The contradiction of his thoughts didn't register in Amy's mind through their bond. Alanna and Sage started to walk the group back towards the keep. Wolfgang didn't go with them, wanting to channel some of his anger at a new target as his eyes locked with Tarval's. Here is where his increased protecting would begin, he thought with relish and a little hope that Tarval would want to make this physical so he could slam his fists into someone. Wolfgang approached Tarval who stood his ground, not backing down from him. Wolfgang was an intimidating person in his world but in Sogol, Tarval was. He was taller than Wolfgang by at least a foot with another foot in width at the shoulders. Both were built on strong lines and were probably equals in a battle situation. Tarval picked up a towel and ran it through his black locks to dry it a little then ran the towel down his body, doing his best to ignore Wolfgang's hostility. Getting into a fight with the love-of-his-life's father is not the best move one make. "You break her heart... I'll break your leg; you hurt her once and what I will do to you will make death seem like a welcome release." Wolfgang growled and then waited for Tarval's reaction, hoping Tarval would take offence and swing at him. Tarval kept his face smooth and his manner relaxed, he could see the mad need in Wolfgang, a need to protect his child from harm. He could kind of understand as he too felt a strong need to protect Alanna so he wasn't offended by Wolfgang's threats, nor was he cowed by those threats. He couldn't hurt her; his whole being shied away from it or he would have done more by now to show her just how much he liked and is attracted to her. "I will never hurt her," he told Wolfgang sincerely, looking right into his blue eyes. Wolfgang watched him, waiting but as Tarval was not showing any aggression, he could do nothing. He spun around on his heel and followed his family back to the keep, leaving Tarval alone with his thoughts and a clear image of Wolfgang putting himself between him and his family. * Amy hit Wolfgang hard when they were safely in their rooms and alone. "Don't you ever threaten Tarval again?" She told him sternly. He gave her an innocent frown as if he didn't know what she was talking about. She glared at him, their eyes locked until he turned away. "Do you know how happy I am that not only is she relaxed around him, she trusts him, Wolfgang. He isn't family, well... not quite but damn, Wolfgang, the only man she lets play like that with her is you." She paced. "I won't see her hurt again." He growled. "You can't live her life. If she gets hurt, she gets hurt. We have to let her go, let her live, let her fail if she does. If you try to keep her from her life, you will lose her. Not only will you lose her but she will hate you for it too." She turned and stormed into the bathroom. * Tarval watched Alanna escape onto a balcony. She had slowly, stealthily made her way out, trying not to bring notice onto herself. All night he had watched her avoid him and he was curious as to why. Did she know about what her father had said and was trying not to anger him? Or was it something else? All he knew was that something had spooked her concerning him. Was she beginning to notice his feelings for her? He thought for a moment. He had watched possessively as prospective suitors came, trying to court the woman, he loved. Moreover, each time she turned them down, a burst of primal heat filled him each and every time he watched suitors leave disappointed. He still had time to convince her. He thought about joining her but he saw Wolfgang chatting to Mather and knew if he was seen going to join her, Wolfgang might get violent. Amy stepped up beside him and nudged him to get his attention. He leant down as she was at least a good three and a half feet shorter than he was. "Go on, go keep her company." "Wolf-" He started to say. "I have already dealt with him about that threat so go on. But... a word of advice." She offered. "I know... slow." He said appreciatively. She smiled in amusement, "No... force! All she knew is bad so you will have to force her into letting you show her good. And you better be good!" She added with a hint of warning. "But slowly." He added, as he hadn't thought of forcing Alanna into allowing him to kiss her. "Maybe tomorrow you should come to me. I can explain things she will not." After saying her piece, she walked off to keep Wolfgang busy. He slipped out onto the balcony and walked up to Alanna. She sighed, hoping it wasn't another man who wanted to try to get into her pants even though technically she wasn't wearing any pants tonight. She turned reluctantly and smiled; a little pleased that it was Tarval who was coming to join her, as being alone was very lonely. All thoughts of avoiding him fled her mind as he walked over to join her. For the moment, she just knew he was good company and would keep others away from her. He smiled and leant on the balustrade next to her, his eyes roamed over the green dress which hugged her body, enhancing her green eyes, tanned skin, long lean body and a good deal of cleavage which was hard to ignore. He had truly been balled over when he saw her walk down the grand staircase into the grand ballroom. If he hadn't already been completely in love with her before, he would have fallen for her at that moment. "Not enjoying your party?" He asked with a smile in his brilliant blue eyes. She snorted, "I don't like big parties... I never have." He smirked. She took a deep breath. "Sorry about my father, he had no right to say those things to you." "You heard that?" He asked surprised. "I'm Were, I hear lots of things. Besides, ma heard it and she was so furious she was broadcasting when she was telling him off." They stood in a silent but comfortable companionship for long minutes just looking at the night's sky. "Do you know why your father said those things?" He asked curious as to how much she had guessed about his feelings for her. She turned around to meet his eyes and leant back against the balustrade. "Yes." He gave her a playful glare. "And?" She took a deep breath, considering his question. She could admit everything and tell him to back off ... or she could just tell him and see where the dice landed. Her wolf was all for the second idea and in a moment of recklessness she made her decision. "And... I know you like me and that you would like to go beyond friends but that you are content with just being friends because you like my company." She explained in a rush. He smiled, appreciating her honesty. "How long have you known?" "Not long." He started to tenderly stroke her cheek but she shied away gently, not quite ready to go further. "I don't want to hurt you and I won't." He promised gently before he stroked her cheek again. She allowed it this time although she had to fight to stop herself from quivering. Her wolf was delighted in her mind, on her back wriggling with joy. "Let's go for a swim." She said impulsively. His whole body tensed up at her words as he looked out over the black lake. "Alanna... the reason I had never learnt to swim... I fear deep water." He rushed out, hoping she wouldn't think him weak for admitting such a silly fear. She didn't hesitate with her answer. "The reason I never go deeply into the keep... I fear enclosed spaces. I had da take the doors off my bathroom and my walk-in wardrobe because I couldn't go in without having a panic attack." She turned to him, "but you are braver than I am. You, at least, have tried to overcome your fear while... I let mine rule me." He shook his head and rested a hand on her shoulder, "Not true. You are the strongest, bravest person I know." She smiled gently at his compliment when her ears picked up the door opening and groaned silently as one of her suitors walked out to find her. He glanced back, seeing what she had and made a quick decision: it would either cement their relationship or completely destroy it. Nevertheless, he had to try. He shifted his body, quickly pinning her beneath him as his lips descended onto hers. She tried to push him away but he didn't budge, his hand fisted into her hair, tilted her head back and deepened the kiss. He was being aggressive but at the same time, gentle. His lips were firm against hers but weren't to the point of bruising. He knew the moment she stopped fighting him and started to relax to his kiss that Amy had been right: he had to force her as long as he didn't hurt her or advance his seduction too quickly he wouldn't lose her. The person who had come out looking for Alanna left disappointedly to leave Tarval to his seduction. He gently broke his kiss and took a deep breath. Her tongue darted out to taste her lips; his kiss had been firm but gentle, caring but most definitely passionate. She had been surprised by his actions for one moment he was stroking her face and the next he had her pinned and was kissing the life out of her. He smirked as he tilted her head back and brushed his lips against hers: it was a feather light brush, which had her pushing up to bring more contact. He slid a hand into her dark wavy hair that she was wearing out for a change. Her hair felt like silk in his hands and he wondered for a moment what her hair would feel like as it ran against his chest as she kissed a path down to his maleness. However, for now, he obliged her by pressing his lips firmly to hers. His tongue darted out to run against the seam of her lips. She didn't grant him entrance so he backed off but his lips didn't leave hers. Her hands fisted into his white shirt, not knowing if she wanted to push him away or pull him closer. Her body was reacting again to his presence as her breathing quickened to go along with her heart beat; it felt like it was on fire. The hands that held her felt like brands, staking claim to her back and sides. He tried again, gently running his tongue over the seam of her lips, but again she refused him entrance. He broke the kiss. Freedom of Flight Ch. 06 "I will not hurt you, let me in... you might like it." He whispered in short breaths before capturing her lips again. Her body tingled and started to ache at the promise, his tongue touched her lips again and this time she opened her mouth slightly. His tongue slid in and brushed against hers gently. She groaned gently as he tasted her, his tongue returned and he needed little prompting to get her to taste his mouth as he had done hers. She quivered beneath him as his tongue slid back into her mouth to explore her teeth and mouth, his hand stroked her jaw and through her loose hair all the while. He gently broke the kiss, "I have wanted to do that since I met you." He confessed, his desire-laden eyes searched hers as she considered whether or not she should be afraid of his confession or be delighted instead. Her wolf was pushing for delighted as she ran around in circles, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she panted. She didn't want to think about it too deeply and gave into her instincts, which were screaming for more. She tugged on his shirt urgently and tiptoed to bring their lips back together. He willingly obliged and rested both of his hands on her hips as he bent down to be on better terms with her. He broke the kiss again; "Trust me?" He asked tenderly. She nodded with no hesitation and he lifted her and sat her on the balustrade, one arm hooked around her body to keep her from falling back. He stepped between her legs nudging them apart so that he could hold her more closely. He leant down and started to suck and nibble on her lips. SMELL HIM! Her wolf demanded. She was still after a decent go at his scent but her human had always been too shy to ask him as his scent clung to his skin and never left him. If she wanted to get a good smell of it, she had to press her nose against his skin. His scent would be strongest in three places: his under arms, his neck and his groin... which left her really with one option. She gently broke the teasing kiss and panted, "Tarval..." She felt herself going red and wondered again how much he knew of Were culture. Asking to smell someone was personal as most only did it when searching for their mates or to recognise the scents of those closest to them. "Yes?" He prompted, also panting gently. "Can... can... can I smell you?" She requested her voice almost a whisper. He frowned and dipped his head closer to hers, "Pardon?" "Can I smell you?" She repeated a little louder. "Why?" He was baffled. Of all the things she could have asked, she asked to smell him. At this point in time too! "Your scent had always intrigued me but I've never managed to get a real good smell of it." She said trying to side step the minefield of mating and knowing your mate by their scent. He smiled in understanding, "Of course." He indulged her, thinking that it must be a Were thing. He hesitated as he didn't know what to do, "How do you want to do this?" "Lean down a little... I can get your scent from your neck." She was glad he couldn't smell her, as he would then know that she was aroused merely at the thought of smelling him. He did as she asked and she leant in, pressing her nose against his skin and inhaled deeply which resulted in liquid fire immediately racing through her body. If she didn't already know he was likely to be her mate, his scent was a deal sealer. It was everything she had been looking for and everything she hadn't known she wanted. He was spice, rain, and ozone, an irresistible mix to her sensitive nose. She ran her nose up his skin wondering if it got any better, gently brushing her lips against his throat as she went. He felt his member start to harden and slowly pulled away to avoid giving her cause for flight. She growled gently and tried to pull him back instead. He turned his head and captured her lips again, hoping to tamper the desire running through him. He gently broke the kiss and smiled, knowing that she had almost made up her mind. "So, does this make us... more than friends?" he asked teasingly. She blushed and pressed her head to his chest to cover her blush. Both his arms wrapped around her loosely, surprised at how much he was enjoying just holding her and having her hold him back... even with a raging hard-on that he knew wasn't going to be appeased just yet. "I like this." He told her. She smiled and glanced up, "So do I." She said softly. He returned her smile and leant down to whisper in her ear, "Can I smell you?" She was stunned but nodded and tilted her head to the side to give him unhampered access. He used his fingers to brush her hair from her neck before he ran his lips over her neck, her eyes went wide but he found a sensitive spot below her ear that had her closing her eyes and moaning. He exploited her sensitivity to that particular spot for many moments before finally breaking away. "We better head in before people start to talk." He said reluctantly, not wanting to leave here but he knew if they didn't stop now, he would push her too far. He stepped back, his hands on her hips to help her down and helped her right her dress than offered his arm to her, which she took. Her wolf was pacing as they went back to the party; she wanted to stay out here with him. In fact, she wanted him in her den doing much more than kissing. She wanted to shift and howl in fierce joy. She had found him... he was THE one. **** Alanna knew she was dreaming. She and Tarval were dancing in a grand ballroom with her resting her head against his chest and with closed eyes. Her wolf appeared in her mind. She was on her back with her neck and belly exposed in trust to this man. He tilted her head up and slowly lowered his head to kiss her; she arched her head up wanting his passionate embrace. The pleasant dream suddenly shifted. Gone was Tarval and the ballroom, gone was the comfort. She was back in the one place she knew she could never be, Roberto had torched the place then tore it down before finally turning it into a park. She looked at herself but again she was a child of no more than ten years. She heard the heavy fall of steps and glanced around the room. This wasn't just a dream; it was a memory. It was almost bare except for the bed. The bed he used to rape her... again and again and again. She ran to a window and gave it a powerful shove. Gus stormed into the room, a nearly empty bottle of rum in one hand. 'So... little bitch trying to get away from me again. Come here!' he slurred drunkenly. She shook her head even though she knew it would enrage him. All thoughts that this was just a dream and she could stop it fled her mind, as he lunged at her, his hand wrapped around her throat. She panicked and tried to kick and scream her self-free. Her nails dug into his face, leaving deep furrows. He roared and backhanded her sending her on a one-way trip to the floor. 'Stupid cunt.' he grabbed her by the hair and cruelly dragged her from the room as she twisted and struggled, not caring about her hair and what pain she was feeling... but perhaps that is precisely the point. 'No... not the box.' She cried out fearfully. He paused and turned evil eyes on her. 'You don't want to box, huh?' She sobbed and nodded. He released her hair. 'Assume the position then,' he demanded. She watched him, knowing that even if she let him do what he wanted, she would still end up in the box. She had denied him but her punishment would be less severe. She felt herself move onto her hands and knees even though she didn't want to. Gus chuckled. 'You belong to me.' He slid his belt free and started to beat her with it. She tried not to cry as the leather strap struck her. 'SAY IT.' He roared as his hits landed harder. 'You.' She cried. 'Not good enough...Who do you belong to?' He paused in his beating. Tarval's face flashed before her eyes. She didn't respond as her mind started to tick over. Gus knelt behind her, he jammed two fingers into her dry, tight bottom. 'You better answer, girl. Who do you belong to...?' he asked with a twisted look on his face as he lined his rigid member up to take her tight womanhood. 'I belong to...' she started to say, four white feathers appeared before her and in desperation, she reached out and grabbed them as she felt Gus press against her. The feathers glowed brightly and everything went white. Alanna's eyes snapped open. "Tarval!" She yelled into the room as her whole body was wracked with shivers. Tears poured down her face as she came completely out of the dream. She sobbed into her hands and quivered. Just once, she would like to sleep without a cursed nightmare, without reliving some painful memory. Just once without the aide of sleeping pills or draughts. She pulled Bounce close and quivered as she tried to get back to sleep, hoping she wouldn't have another nightmare that night. **** Sage crept up to Alanna's bed and pounced on her. "Wake up, oldie. I want presents!" "Go annoy, ma." Alanna complained and tried to push Sage off her as she hid her face beneath her pillows. Between the party last night and the nightmare, she felt as if she had gotten no sleep at all. "Ma said I can't open my gifts until you're up! Besides, everyone is waiting for you." She complained. Alanna pulled her head out from under the pillow and frowned at Sage with bleary eyes, "What time is it?" "Tenth toll, sleepy head." "I didn't leave the party until second toll after midnight." She complained and tried to pull her blankets up to block out the light. Sage jerked the blankets from her hands and tugged them off Alanna then jumped off the bed and tried to lift the mattress and dump it on the ground. Alanna scrambled off the bed while grumbling, "I'm up, you little monster!" Jewel chuckled from her spot at the door. Alanna rolled her eyes and went to her bathroom to wash her face and change out of her sleeping clothes into breeches and a shirt. She yawned as she sat on a chair and pulled on socks and boots. Sage grabbed Alanna's arm and dragged her from the room the second she finished. Sage dragged Alanna into Dominic's study and true to her words, everyone was gathered and waiting. Amy glared at Sage, "I told you to let her sleep." Sage shrugged, unabashed and her mother rolled her eye at her daughter. "Since she's here, we may as well get on with the gifts." Dominic slid in. Amy nodded in agreement. Alanna sat with a sigh and was jumped by Serenity. "Happy birthday from us." She told her older sister. Alanna smiled and took the small gift. "Thanks, tiddly-peeks." They smiled and waited for Alanna to open the gift, their blue eyes watching her intently with their heads tilted to the side. Serenity then jumped into Sage's lap, her black shoulder length hair falling freely and gave her the other gift. Alanna smiled at the small-carved wolf. It was carved out of a beautiful green-grey stone that looked like a kind of marble. She ran her fingers over the details; the wolf was a she-wolf with a single cub at her feet. The little cub had little wings that hugged its small body. Her eyes turned to Thais, his blue eyes sparkled but he didn't say a word, the girls would have found the marble or created it but he would have carved it. She doubted that she would have noticed the cub's wings had her fingers not picked up the gentle lines that marked their outline. Sage smiled when she saw the sword with wings carved out of white and grey marble. "You guys are too cute." They grinned, happy that their sister appreciated their effort. "Our turn." Wolfgang tossed a small box to Alanna and another larger box to Sage. Alanna pulled the ribbon from the box and flicked it open: inside was a key and chain. "A car?" She guessed excitedly. Wolfgang smiled and nodded, "A silver Volvo XE." "Awesome." Sage tore her gift open and frowned. She had been hoping for keys as well but what she got was a new iphone and she had been pestering them for one. She smiled and fiddled with it but she put it back in its box so it could go back, she would play with it when she got home. She tried to hide her disappointment. Next year. Amy told her and she brightened up. Tarval stood and offered one of the gifts in his hands to her. He stood by and watched as Sage tore open the box and smiled as she pulled out the chain mail-belt with phoenix belt buckle. "Awesome, it'll go with my sword." She turned. "Thanks, Tarval." He smiled and offered the other box to Alanna. "You didn't have to." She said as she took the offered box. "But I wanted to." He smiled at her and waited. Especially after last night, he was actually glad he had found her such a great gift. She smiled and flicked the catches open before lifting the lid, her jaw dropped as her eyes traced the solid gold torque*. It was big enough to survive the change in either form. Her fingers gently traced the wolf heads: in their opened jaws were blue diamonds that had been cut into faceted balls. "Are you going to show us?" Michelle demanded, curious as to what Tarval would get her. Alanna glanced at Tarval then back at his gift, "want a hand to put it on?" he asked. Amy stood and walked over to see why Alanna was stunned. She glanced into the box and smiled before returning to her seat. Wolfgang sent her a probing thought but she refused to answer. Alanna nodded and Tarval smiled as he lifted the torque. There were collective gasps from the people who had not seen it as it was a beautiful piece of jewellery. He undid the lock, which allowed the torque to hinge open to allow it to put on easily. She gathered her hair up and he slid the torque in place and clipped the lock, locking it in place. She let her hair go and smiled up at Tarval as her long plait fell back in place. Wolfgang glanced to Amy as he realised the double meaning attached to the gift. It was a beautiful gift, without a doubt, but it was also akin to a collar like what he and Amy wore a symbol of love and commitment. Amy smiled softly and glanced to him then back to their daughter choosing to ignore the other meaning. "Thank you." Alanna offered quietly, also understanding its importance. "My pleasure." He returned to his seat with a big, contented smile on his face. Michelle stood to give out her gifts. **** Amy crept into Alanna's room and crawled in next to her daughter. Alanna mumbled incoherently and wrapped her arms around her mother's body. The party had been two nights ago. Last night they had stayed up and played card games, laughing and having fun like they would have if they were home. Alanna opened her eyes and stretched lazily. Today was a rest day and she didn't have to get out of bed if she didn't want to. Amy smiled. "This is the first time we've been alone since the party." She started and waited a moment before continuing. "So what did you and Tarval get up to out on the balcony?" Alanna rolled her eyes, sensing a mother-daughter talk coming on. "We kissed ma... you know we did." "Want to talk?" Amy asked, knowing her daughter's thoughts would be troubled. "No... I'm just afraid..." Amy stroked Alanna's ear. "He would never hurt you." Alanna nodded, that she knew. She hadn't been able to get straight to sleep after her nightmare, she had stayed up thinking. Wondering why Tarval's crest had appeared in her dream, why had it helped in getting out of it. She had come to the conclusion that he might be able to stop the nightmares: her wolf was right he was the one. "Ma, he's the one." Amy smiled and kissed her temple. "I thought he might be. You wanted to bite him at the lake and like I told you, the wolf is never wrong." She reminded her. Alanna closed her eyes and breathed, deeply happy to just have her mother with her for a while. Amy stroked the torque that Alanna still wore. Amy had a feeling that Alanna would never take it off, not for the rest of time, "he has great taste." Alanna blushed, "I didn't expect a gift, let alone this." "He really cares about you." Alanna nodded with a small smile on her face. "So what are we doing today?" Amy asked, although she was content where she was. She had been anxious to see if Alanna was okay. Dominic had been getting Remus to deliver letters weekly but much could be hidden in letters, she had no fear that Sage would have sailed through the whole ordeal leaving only physical scars. However, Alanna was different; she might not admit it to anyone but she was fragile, her constant nightmares meant she was still not completely over what had happened to her. Like all three women, she was still healing and no one knew if they would ever fully recover. "The markets are here today, we can go explore." Alanna answered after thinking. "That sounds like fun." There was a gentle knock. "Enter." Alanna called out. Wolfgang popped his head in and smiled. He walked in and closed the door before joining them in the bed. He snuggled up to Alanna and wrapped his arms around her. He brushed his lips against her temple. There was another knock. "Enter." Dominic walked in and smiled. "Thought this is where I might find you if you weren't in your rooms. The markets are being opened early this week. You have to eat quickly before getting into your good clothes." "Good clothes?" Amy asked. Alanna nodded and got to her feet and walked over to a rack covered with cloth. She removed the cloth. "Good clothes often meant house clothes, the clothes that show your affiliation." Amy got up and went to inspect the rack and the clothes on display. Her hands gently stroked the breastplate in surprise. "I had armour made for you and Wolfgang, Keira has a mail sash as does Bastion. Vivian and Rhiannon have their own sashes." Dominic explained. "Then we better go eat." Amy started to walk out. Alanna had already pulled on pants and shoes, she walked into another room and tugged off her sleeping shirt and scooped up her breast band. She walked out minutes later tucking her shirt in. Amy, Wolfgang and Dominic were gone. Jewel was already at work making her bed. "One hour Alanna then be back. Everything should be ready then." Alanna nodded. She left the room and walked down into the great hall. Her parents were eating quickly as they had been told to go back in half a rotation to get dressed. She sat and served herself. Tarval sat next to her and leant over to gently brush his lips against her temple. She smiled up at him in response. "Morning," she greeted. "How did you sleep?" He asked while taking the seat next to her. "One nightmare." "Good or bad?" He wanted to know... as if there was such a thing as a good nightmare. "Bad but not bad, bad." She started to play with her food, not wanting to explain why her nightmare hadn't been bad. His crest had popped up again, only a lot sooner than it had the time before. He rested a hand on her back and rubbed it gently. She turned to him in response and pressed her face to his shoulder. She had made a few decisions last night while she waited for sleep to reclaim her: the first was to relax around him even further. He gently kissed the top of her head, sensing her need for reassurance. "Eat your breakfast." He ordered playfully. She gave a wary smile then lifted her head as she turned away from him and started to eat. Amy smirked at her daughter then quickly finished her juice. She stood and nudged Wolfgang to his feet. He quickly loaded a piece of toast with jam and followed her while eating it. Alanna finished eating her breakfast. Tarval had finished before her but had waited for her, wanting to spend some time with her. "Want to go for a walk before you have to go get dressed?" He invited. She nodded. They stood and walked out of the hall and down one of the many galleries. Suddenly, he pulled her into an alcove and tilted her head up to kiss her deeply like he had wanted to do every time he saw her since the feast. At first, she stiffened in shock but quickly realised that this was what she needed as well so she moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, tip toeing so she would be taller. He slid his hands gently down her back to her behind. She broke the kiss as he was doing something new but he squeezed her firmly then lifted her up. She smiled when they were finally eye to eye which was a mean feat for them as they stood at such different heights. Freedom of Flight Ch. 06 His blue eyes sparkled in amusement, his lips captured hers again. She moaned as he pressed her against a wall, his tongue duelled with hers. The fingers of one of her hands burrowed into his dark hair while the other stroked his jaw. He slid a hand under her to hold her up though it seemed effortless; her thighs gripped his hips. His free hand stroked her thigh and hip. She broke the kiss and panted, "Tarval, I have to go get dressed." He smiled while transferring his hand from her hip to her face, brushing it gently. "I know, but I just want to spend time with you. I want so many things." She shivered; fear and desire warred in her. "Slowly." She told him. He nodded, he knew. He gently let her slide down his body. He also knew he had to tell her how much she meant to him. Before he released her, he leant down to whisper in her ear, "I love you." He kissed her temple and let her go, knowing his admission might frighten her. He smiled when she lingered and he noticed that she wasn't surprised by his admission. That seemed like a good... no excellent sign. He rested a hand on the small of her back and they walked off together. He escorted her to her room then turned to go to his own. "Tarval..." She began, clearly deciding that she had to respond to his confession. He turned and pressed a finger to her lips. "Think about it, Alanna. No need to rush things. I just wanted you to know that I love you and that I will never hurt you for if I did, it would be as if I am hurting myself." He turned and left quickly, leaving her no chance to respond. Jewel opened the door and pulled Alanna in. "You have a good man there." She said having heard their conversation as she had been waiting near the door for Alanna to return. "I know." She said as she stripped then quickly pulled on the mail pants looping the suspenders over her shoulders before pulling the drawstring tight. She then held her hands out to slide into the mail shirt. "You were going to tell him weren't you?" Jewel asked as she pulled the mail shirt on over Alanna's head. Alanna didn't need to ask what Jewel was talking about; she knew Alanna was going to say those three special words to him. "Yes." Alanna pulled her hair out of the shirt as Jewel quickly tied the strings. Alanna quickly preformed the movements to ensure freedom. Jewel quickly grabbed the back plate; Alanna held it in place as she grabbed the breastplate and hooked it together. "It's going a lot quicker then the last time." "You know what to do this time and I am a lot more confident with your armour." Jewel answered. Alanna sat on the stool as Jewel grabbed the shoulder guards and clipped them on. Alanna slid on her wrist guards. Jewel quickly tightened the guards after she tucked the mail in. Alanna jammed her feet into her boots; Jewel tied them quickly then grabbed her sashes and tied them around her waist. Alanna grabbed the sword she had been given for her birthday, clipped it onto the belt Jewel and Travis had gotten her and the dagger Dominic had found and buckled it on. She had been surprised when Michelle handed her the box that contained the sword Gabrielle had made. When she opened it, she was stunned to see the sword with the howling wolf, the one that made her tingle when she touched it. She had been so surprised that she nearly forgot to thank Michelle for her gift before racing to show the sword to her mother. Jewel quickly polished the metal to remove her fingerprints. "Done." Jewel stepped back to check her over. Alanna went to get up but Jewel pressed her hands against her shoulders to keep her seated. "I know only a little of your story Alanna, but here is a little of mine. Before I became affiliated with Dominic's house I was a travelling merchant with my family, a nomad with no affiliation. I was thirteen when my parents' caravan was attacked and they were killed on their way to this Keep. I was taken and I was gang-raped for several days." Jewel hesitated for a moment. "Dominic and his men rescued me but I was a broken woman; they held fears for me. All but one." "Travis." Alanna slid in. Jewel nodded with a small smile for the man she loved. "Anyway, this was when Bianca still lived with us. He went to her and begged her to help me. Bianca explained she had no experience dealing with abused women but she would try. Slowly, I got better with Travis always there protecting me. He waited years, wanting me to be okay before he confessed his feelings. Eventually I got fed up with waiting and went to him in the middle of the night." She walked around Alanna and saw a knot in the plait she had put in last night. She sighed and quickly got to work on the plait. "I know our stories aren't the same but Tarval would hack his own heart out before hurting you. Do not fear him or his love because he will wait eternity just to spend one moment with you." In a few deft tugs, the plait was fixed and the thong back in place. Alanna glanced up instinctively and frowned, "How long have you been there?" She asked her mother as Jewel buffed her fingerprints from the shoulder guards. "Long enough." Amy sat on the bed, looking like a warrior queen all dressed and ready to kill. She was dressed almost exactly the same as her daughter except her plates were trimmed with gold, her collar ran down her breast plate between the rise where her breasts were outlined and her hair was left loose to brush her shoulders and frame her delicate face. "Dominic said I could borrow Brianna's sword but he said you have it so I came to get it but I didn't want to interrupt." Jewel went to the weapon rack, picked up Bianca's sword, and walked it over to Amy. She stood and put the sword on completing her outfit. "Let's go." Amy said as she walked out the door. Jewel frowned wondering why Amy was saying nothing about what she had said to Alanna, as it was technically not her place to give advice to her daughter. Alanna caught and read that look correctly as she came to stand next her, "Ma's, just like that. Besides, she wants to see me settle down and doesn't mind when others try to help aid her cause. To be happy and to find the one who can make me happy." Jewel smiled as she watched Alanna about to leave, "Perhaps you've already found him... hmmm?" She commented as she went to follow Alanna out. Alanna paused for a moment before she blushed and smiled. "I think you're right." She said as Jewel and her started to part ways. ~*~*~*~*~ Foot Note: as mentioned above before the story, I would like to point out a word that comes up in the story, the first time it comes up I've put an * next to it to make it stand out. The word is torque (second definition,) pronounced as tawk or torc and is a decorative metal collar or armband worn by the ancient Gauls and Britons. Freedom of Flight Ch. 07 Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy. Hi everyone, Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out, it's a nice long one, which I hope will make a lot of you happy. I would like to thank all those who sent feedback or who posted it. I would like to point to one particular posted piece of feedback from Chapter 3 listed as con-fus-ed. I don't really address the problems with immortals in Freedom of flight but with Bound by pride and Guarded heart. I hope you stick with the series and that your confusion leaves eventually, the main immortal characters in the first three stories are almost all very young and haven't lived a few hundred years of this kind of life style, in the next two stories much older immortals come in and I'll leave it there or I'll give too much away. As always a big thankyou to you the reader and my editor for your support and all feedback is welcome. Have fun Alanna tossed in her bed, not being able to sleep. She kicked the covers off and took a deep breath. Her mind kept dwelling on what Jewel had told her that morning. She never would have guessed that Jewel had been abused judging from what she saw when Jewel was with other men and with Travis. No fear or defensiveness, she thought, bemused and a little envious, wishing she could be that uninhibited. She also longed for the day she could laugh and joke with the men who watched her practise her craft avidly, hoping to learn how she fought, but she simply couldn't let her guard down for that. She sat up and rubbed her face wondering why she couldn't sleep. Part of the reason she knew was she couldn't seem to get pass Jewel's story but that wasn't the major reason; she knew her wolf had a hand in this as well. She closed her eyes and focused for a moment. Her wolf responded to the silent call and padded forward in her mind. They both appeared in the darkness, the place were woman and beast fought for supremacy of the body in which both inhabited. It was also the place were both minds could talk to each other. She barred her teeth at her human, her hackles up, she was not happy at her human half. What's wrong, why won't you let me sleep? She asked the wolf. She didn't respond... she just growled. Alanna watched her wolf, confused, what's wrong? Do you want to run? We are going for one tomorrow, she said trying to pacify her wolf. She cocked her head for a moment then lunged and landed on her human. Alanna didn't fight or struggle against her wolf; there was no need. She just wanted to make her human side understand. The Wolf growled and filled her mind with mating and Tarval, telling her that she was done waiting for her human side to get comfortable. She wanted to claim him NOW before someone else tried to take him. As a human, Alanna was normally timid around others but that was because she still had ingrained fears. However, the wolf was never timid when it came to her own needs... not since she was freed and allowed to thrive. She wanted Tarval, her human wanted Tarval, she didn't understand emotional scars and why her human side was taking so long to claim their mate. The wolf released her and backed away into her darkness, having made her point to her human self as Alanna opened her eyes. Her green eyes scanned the room for a moment before deciding on the course of action. Then she got off her bed and left her room. She walked silently down the hall, taking the right turns to get to where she wanted to go. She didn't bother to knock, just gently opened the door and was glad it wasn't locked. She closed the door behind her gently, making almost no sound and locked it with a soft click. She approached the bed quietly, taking a deep breath to calm herself and slid her nightshirt off, letting it fall to the ground. Fear raced through her as she contemplated what she was about to do. She, however, felt her body stir, her heart quicken and heat pool beneath her skin. Guess my body has already decided for me, she thought wryly. She lifted the covers and slipped in before she lost her nerve and ran from the room naked. Tarval felt the movement of the bed and he instantly went on alert, his hand brushed a glowing crystal set into the bed head that shed gentle light around the room. He blinked, for a moment wondering if he was still dreaming. I am not seeing what I think I'm seeing... am I? He thought to himself with a little shake of his head. His vision leant forward and gently brushed her lips against his, assuring him AND his body that this vision was... indeed... very real. He still was not entirely convinced that he WASN'T dreaming, afraid that she'll disappear right up until he pulled her naked body to his. He felt like he was on fire, a fire he felt burning beneath her skin that was fuelling his own. His heart thundered heavily in his chest as his member started to rise. He broke the kiss and whispered, "Alanna..." She pulled him back before he could say anything else. He tried to resist but he had already been aroused by his dream and having her in his arms, making his dream real, was making him desperate to have her. The kiss became demanding as he slid his hands over her body, wishing he had a thousand hands so that he could feel everything all at once; a thousand tongues so that he could taste all of her. He broke the kiss and quickly started to nuzzle at her throat, trying desperately to tamper the mad want coursing through his veins. His hand slid down her chest, with his lips following closely. When he reached his first destination, he gave a brief salutation to the twin globes of flesh before he gently sucked a pert nipple between his lips. She gasped in surprise and desire as the fire within burned hotter, surprise because she had never known his lips could generate such pleasure. Her gasp was misinterpreted as fear, and what felt like ice cold fluid was instantly injected into his veins stopping his desire in its tracks. He pulled away as he remembered what she had been through. He rubbed his face to distract himself from the sight she made in his bed, the one place he had wanted her when he realised he loved her. Frustrated with himself and the situation as well as trying to regain some measure of control, he asked, "Why are you in my bed naked, Alanna?" She wanted to jump in with a snide comment but she didn't, knowing it might push him further away and that was the one thing she didn't want to happen tonight. She wanted him closer to her than anything else in the universe, as close as he was with her just moments ago, as close as her beast. She grasped for a way to show him what she wanted but she had no idea on how to seduce him, having freely chosen to deny her own sexuality. She quickly remembered her mother. Her mother had given her everything she needed in life, including this; she had given her daughter her memories. One of those memories filled her mind, a memory of her mother seducing her willing mate. She just hoped Tarval was as willing as her father was. Her hand slid down softly, barely stirring the blankets to make her intentions known. She let her hand stroke his manhood, tracing the semi flaccid member with fingers that slightly trembled. She was alarmed at his size and wondered how the hell he was going to fit. Her wolf however, was clearly delighted in her mind; it would keep his seed within her as well as a knot would. His breath hitched as she gently stroked his manhood, feeling life surge back into it, chasing the cold from his veins. What more of a blatant invitation should she give him? He told himself. She was naked... in his bed... in the middle of the night AND stroking his rapidly hardening member. Having completely analysed the situation, he whispered her name softly again before taking her lips again with a fierceness that should have scared her but didn't. He plundered her mouth for long minutes, their tongues sliding against each other as they mimicked the actions that their bodies soon would be doing, as he crushed her body to his. Then suddenly, he tore his lips from hers, fighting for control. He didn't want to just take her even if she was willing. He wanted to show her pleasure, wanting her to crave his touch after tonight and not think of this as one big mistake. She protested his action with a groan, wanting him back. He smirked and started to kiss and nibble at her throat, trying to slow things down. His hands roamed against her silky skin. He cupped and moulded a breast gently and stopped kissing her long enough to gauge her reaction. He glanced down and groaned as he watched the firm mound that was just big enough to fill his large hand. He leant down and sucked the irresistible light brown nipple into his mouth again, gently pressing his teeth against the tender nub. He felt her tense even when she tried to curb her reaction before it became obvious. He pulled away, a little alarmed, and studied the breast he had started to worship; faint scars that were almost gone were present and explained her reaction. She had been bitten hard, painfully, in punishment for not complying or simply because whoever did it liked to inflict pain. All of a sudden he wanted to rage at the man or men who had done this to her but he knew she didn't need or want that, not now, not ever. She needed his love, his understanding not his anger. "Relax." He told her gently before gently sucking the nipple back into the warm confines of his mouth, followed by a little biting and twisting. In response to this new onslaught, she moaned and fisted her hands in the sheets, her body aching to encourage his mouth further. She cried out in objection when he released the nipple and gasped when he transferred his ravishment to the other proud nipple. She felt as if a knot was tightening within her core with every suck, nibble, and pinch he applied to her nipples. She rubbed her thighs together and squirmed beneath him. He released the object of his attention and continued his trail down her body with his tongue. She tensed for a moment, as she didn't know what he was doing but relaxed as his tongue lazily circled her navel. He pushed her legs open gently at the same time and settled between them. He glanced up at her as he felt her gentle quiver. "Trust me." He murmured. She met his eyes; in them, she could see desire and want but even more important than that, she could see his love, a love that promised not to hurt her. This was the deciding factor so she nodded without hesitation; for the first time in her life, she trusted a man completely. He smiled tenderly at her for a moment before he shifted further down. She quivered as she felt him part her sex, exposing herself to his attention. He waited a moment, wanting her to relax before he tasted her. It took several moments but her muscles finally relaxed and her breathing evened out. He leant in and started licking her, starting from her core and making sure he struck every place of pleasure he knew was there before flicking against the nerve rich bundle that jutted out proudly for him. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he struck that spot, her fingers instinctively finding purchase in his hair. He knew it wasn't to push him away; it was to keep him close; even if she didn't know what she wanted, her body and her instincts darn well did. His lips fastened on that bundle, that button of pleasure and sucked and nibbled and licked until she was groaning and pushing up in time to his tongues' antics. So intense was her pleasure that she didn't seem to notice when he started to pump one finger into her, slowly opening her for his body, or even when he added the second or the third. Her fingers scrunched in his hair, pulling painfully as she felt him find a place, which made her jerk. She panted and cried out as the knot started to twist within her womb, growing and tightening with each suck and bite. He angled his fingers to stimulate her further, now that he knew he was in the right area; her cries of pleasure and want were music to his ears. His member throbbed in desperate need, wanting to be within her but he ignored it; tonight was for her and no matter how painful his body felt for denying himself, he would. She cried out as the knot within her exploded, unravelling with a force that made her entire body quake with exquisite after shocks and her thighs locked around his head, keeping her where she wanted him as the spasms rocked through her. She released him a few moments later when she finally came down from her high. She didn't get a chance to savour the experience... the bliss that left her breathless and feeling boneless. He didn't back off to let her catch her breath, just kept going, pushing her higher, getting her into the height of her passion, to need him within her for completion. He removed his fingers and brought them to his lips to lick her essence from them. He watched her watch him, her tongue darting out to taste her lips. Thinking that he knew what she wanted, he offered his fingers to her and her tongue darted out to taste herself. He found the sight to be exceedingly erotic, more so when she slipped his middle finger into her mouth and sucked deeply on it... with her eyes seductively locked with his. He groaned. "More," she demanded, wanting more of the delicious pleasure he had shown her. Nodding almost desperately at her, he crawled up her body to get into position to make love with her. He watched the rosy hint of her release tinged her skin, her green eyes sparkling. He was pleased with the sated look in her eyes, which he had put there. "I know something better than my fingers," he told her softly, knowing that he might push her away. "What?" she asked seductively but with a slight tinge of nervousness as well. He grabbed her right wrist and directed her hand to touch his swollen member. He then released her wrist, wanting to see what she would do; if she pulled away then he would continue to do what he had already done and take care of his needs later when she was asleep. However, if she didn't pull away... he'll know that this is it; she's finally ready for him. After a moment of hesitation, he felt her hand wrap around him and he groaned aloud at the green light. Although her fingers could not completely surround him, her pressure was firm but not painful, moving slowly over him, her eyes watched his, looking to see if she was doing anything wrong or hurting him. When she got to the head, she slid back down then back up, feeling something warm and liquid spill onto her hand. She pulled away to see a dribble of his desire on her skin. He waited with baited breath to see what she would do next. She looked at him inquisitively then brought her hand to her lips and licked it from her skin. If he thought he was on fire before, it was NOTHING to watching her lick his essence from her skin. His blood ran as hot as lava; it was only the memory of her treatment, which stopped him from jumping her. However, this didn't mean that he couldn't do other things... his lips were on hers before she had a chance to truly savour his taste. She moaned at his slightly rough treatment, while his body moved until he was cradled between her thighs, his shaft resting between their bodies, leaking his desire on her stomach. His body pressed hers deeply into the soft feather mattress, his tongue continued to tease hers. She squirmed beneath him, wanting him within her NOW. She broke his kiss and stroked the lines of his face, "I trust you... I love you," she rushed out before capturing his face between her hands and kissed him. Her kiss started slowly, gently like the love she had felt blossoming for him but she quickly built the intensity to show him she was finally ready for him, for his love and his body to join hers in an act as old as time. He growled and shifted his weight, taking hold of his throbbing shaft and moved it to her entrance, slowly pressing against her, letting his weight slowly slide him into her. Their eyes locked; him looking for any sign of fear or discomfort, her looking into his eyes was to look into his soul. She felt for her wolf to bring her forward but her wolf was nowhere obvious to her. She had given her human side the shove she needed to be here and now it was all up to her. Her wolf would not stop or interfere with this; she had to feel his love uncorrupted by the wolf's point of view. Sex was a means to an end for her, it allowed her to reproduce and it gave her pleasure. She grew attached to her mate but only because he was a good choice to father her children. Her human side, however, needed love, not being able to live like the she-wolf. She needed closeness and love and she needed it without her interference. She would come through later to mate but the first time was for her human. He felt himself sliding deeper into her, wondering when he would come across the barrier that guarded her womb and would stop him from completely joining their bodies. He met none as he rolled his hips to press the last of himself within her. He felt a rush of primal heat enter his veins; they fitted like two pieces of one puzzle, completely without even trying. It almost affirmed his choice... not that it would have mattered if only half of him had fitted within her. She was his and nothing was going to change that. He held still within her, letting her adjust. He watched her for a moment, her green eyes were closed, but not in pain... in rapture, her head tilted back, exposing the long column of her throat with mouth open slightly. She let out a small contented sigh as her body started to adjust to his size. He leaned down and captured her lips, being gentle as well as intense. He was waiting for her, waiting for her to make her needs known but until then he just kept kissing her, letting her passion build. In response, she moaned and rolled her hips, wanting his movements, needing them. Getting the message and with sweat dripping from his forehead due to the leashing of his desire, he slowly started to move, keeping his thrusts short and gentle, wanting to build on her pleasure. She broke his kiss and groaned, rolling her hips up to meet his grinding thrusts. His lips moved to her throat. She gasped as he varied his movements; her head lurched forward and sunk her teeth into his chest, not hard enough to break skin but enough to leave a good bruise. She wrapped her legs around his hips, wanting him closer to her. His feathers brushed against her thighs and her arms went around him to hold her to him. She felt drunk as she licked a bead of sweat from his chest, his scent filling her nose, drunk on everything that was he as the sweet pleasure built slowly between them. He growled, as he couldn't fight the need in him any longer. He slowly started to speed his thrusts, lengthening them as well. He was pleased that she was there for him, her need as great as his was. He groaned with her as their bodies slapped together lustfully. She panted against his chest, her arms stroked and scratched at his back. He groaned and varied his thrust, pressing deeply just that little further into her and bumped against the entrance to her womb. She gasped as that was a different sensation and entirely pleasurable. "Sorry." He told her, mistakenly reading her gasp as a protest and pulled back to not thrust as deep. "No... again." She demanded. He did as she asked but this time when he bumped against her cervix, she moaned. He smiled, pleased with himself and continued to thrust into her, every now and again he would thrust that much deeper. She moaned as she felt her climax build, making her tense and then it exploded out to fill her body with pleasurable shockwaves that made her whole body quiver and quake, her groaning against his chest. He gritted his teeth as her tight core rippled against him, his body wanted release but he wanted to coax one more climax from her before he finally let go. Freedom of Flight Ch. 07 He didn't stop his movements, pushing her further into an even stronger moment of bliss. She shivered but didn't try to stop him, on the contrary, her body started to press up to each of his thrust, encouraging him further as he felt his climax build. Her lips pressed against his throat and she bit down again but again she couldn't break his skin. Reaching their pinnacles, this time they exploded together, each yelling out the others name. He let more of his weight press against her body and rested his forehead against hers, panting quickly as his member surged within her. Her hands stroked his body with a smile of sated desire lingering on her face. He started to move to get off her but her legs tightened, wanting to keep him close. Understanding her need for closeness, he rolled them onto their sides as a second option and watched her drift to sleep. He smiled, pleased with the turn of events and closed his eyes to join her in sleep, knowing that tonight he would not dream, as his dreams had come true. * The wolf yawned as she took over her human body. She was pleased with how things had gone tonight. She felt the needs of her body and gently slipped from his arms. A quick scan of the room confirmed it was similar to her own and she walked into the bathroom to take care of her needs. She walked out and stretched, feeling the delightful ache between her legs. She walked to the bed and watched her mate even though he did not bear her mark. She growled to herself for the oversight but she knew her human had to do this on her own. This was for her; she would claim him for them both. She didn't want to scare or startle Tarval so she kept her body human. Her eyes, however, had turned golden, her teeth sharpened and claws lengthened. No more or she would scare him... at least no more until much later... later he would meet her in all her wolf-en glory but until then, little steps. Wolves have always been smart and cunning... strategists even and she knew she had to have a strategy for introducing herself to her mate. She crawled onto the bed predatorily and into the blankets. She paused when he mumbled then moved again, she waited for him to settle before pressing her lips to the hollow of his throat as she settled beside him. His eyes snapped open, his arms instinctively wrapping around her and pulling her to his body. She liked the show of strength; he would be a good protector of their pups. Approvingly, her tongue ran up his neck and throat in long lazy swipes, drawing a chuckle from him. He caught her jaw and brought their lips together. She let him kiss her, drawing on her human memories to respond to him. She slid a hand down his body, tracing muscles as she went until she got to his rapidly growing member. Her hand quickly wrapped around it, started to stroke, backwards, and forwards. He tore his lips from hers and commented, "More?... You're going to be the death of me." He told her, sounding serious although his member disagreed and was now at full attention, seeking the warm channel it called home. She grinned in reaction and licked his lips, his chin, and his throat in a downward motion. When she got to his chest, he knew what she was going to do. His hands quickly wrapped around her biceps and pulled her back up, preventing her exploration. "If you do that, we won't be able to have fun together." He told her. He actually didn't want her to pleasure him that way... at least not right now. He wanted to show her the delights first and slowly ease her into a sharing relationship where they could both give and take. She stopped her actions and rested her head against his chest. He moaned and rolled her over, pinning her beneath him. He groaned as he pressed her back down to the bed, his hips cradled between her thighs. He attacked her lips, her nails gently raked against his back as her tongue fought his for dominance in the pleasurable caress. He snaked a hand between their bodies, glad when his questing fingers met her warm moist womanhood. He felt around carefully, making sure she would be wet enough for them to join their bodies at this moment. She reached down, grabbed his staff and directed it to where she needed and wanted it. Apparently, his little mate is a bit insistent but he was more than happy to oblige. She growled pleasurably as he slid into her, his groan echoing hers as her warmth started to envelope him. He then began to thrust, wanting to be completely within her; her nails raked against his skin, making him burn. He heard her growl; it was soft, seductive almost. He watched her eyes and frowned when he noticed they had changed colour. He dismissed it, thinking that he would get an explanation in morning when the mad want to fill her womb with his seed had hopefully burned down to a simmer. He ran his lips down her neck to suck and nibble at her throat as he moved in and out of her. She focused her eyes on his neck, even as she felt her body begin to tense. She picked the spot, which would show her bite to world, proclaiming him as belonging to her. She growled as she felt her climax build within her, glad that she couldn't turn him. She only had to bite him, mark him as hers. He grunted as he felt her grip his tightly with both her hips and her womanhood, knowing that she was getting close so sped up his thrusts to be there with her at the end. She picked her spot and lunged forward, sinking her teeth into his neck, feeling his blood coat her teeth as she came around him, grunting into his neck and biting just that little harder. He gasped in pain, but it was too late to stop his climax from exploding through his body to bathe her womb with his seed. He held still for several moments, feeling the sharp pain in his neck where her teeth still were, "Alanna?" he panted, concerned. She released him and licked at the bite, sealing and cleaning the wound. She didn't talk but just pressed her face to his chest and drifted back to sleep in sated bliss. He glared at her for a moment, wondering how she could just fall to sleep like that. He sighed and left it for the morning; he would not disturb her rest. He rolled them both onto their sides and stroked her skin as he waited for sleep to take him. He would deal with the bite wound in the morning. * Alanna moaned and stretched as she slowly woke. For the first time in years, she awoke feeling rested, having slept deeply without a single nightmare. She moved closer to the body near her, flinging a leg over him and pressing her face to the firmly muscled chest to fall back asleep. Tarval was awake and waiting for her. He wanted to go and tend to the bite mark but he didn't want to leave her side. He leant down to her ear and whispered, "Alanna." She pulled away from his chest, looked up, and smiled at him. "We need to talk..." "Hold that thought." She tossed back the blankets and ran naked across his room to his bathroom. He stood, a little frustrated at her delaying tactic even if she had to answer the call of nature and walked over to a mirror to inspect the bite she had inflicted the night before. It had scabbed over but didn't look to be infected. She walked out of the bathroom and stretched luxuriously while he watched through the mirror and felt desire rise up in him. He turned and smiled a joyously as he walked over and scooped her up to kiss her passionately. As he laid her down on the bed, she gently broke the kiss. "You said we have to talk. Talk first... sex later," she promised. He smiled ruefully at her reminder and kissed her throat. He then crawled up the bed, grabbing a special pillow, which would allow him to lie on his back without hurting his wings. When he was comfortable, he gestured her to come closer as she was ogling over his naked body. She crawled up and snuggled against his side, her head on his chest. "Not that I'm complaining, but why did you come into my room last night?" He asked, starting the session. "I was ready..." she replied as her voice trailed off in embarrassment, her green eyes suddenly focusing on his chest instead of his piercing blue eyes. His heart clenched as he realised what she meant and the trust she had placed on him. She had finally trusted him with her body, her heart and her soul, and this alone almost brought tears to his eyes. After everything she had been through, she still chose to trust him, and so quickly. He thought it might have taken months to get to where he was now. He alone would either redeem the entire male sex or destroy her faith in everything her mother had been trying to do to get her over her childhood. "And?" He asked wanting to know how she viewed last night, was it the best night of her night or the biggest mistake? She smiled, turning her head back to meet his eyes, "no regrets." He smiled, relieved, as though a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He obviously did something right last night. He stroked her face tenderly and several loose strands of silky, black hair that had come free from its plait sometime in the night. "Why did you bite me last night?" He asked curiously, it being his second most important question. She frowned and shook her head, as she answered, "No, I didn't." He tilted his head aside and showed the wound to her. She pushed herself up his body and closer to his neck to see what he was talking about. Her fingers trembled as she traced the wound. "Do you know what this is?" She asked quietly. "A bite mark?" She sighed and moved so that she was straddling his stomach. "How much do you know about Were culture?" He shrugged, "Only what I've been able to gleam off of you, Sage and Dominic plus the little I learnt when Bianca was around... So not nearly enough." She sighed and traced her fingers over the mark, keeping her eyes on his neck, "Amongst Were, this bite mark means you're claimed by me; that you're mine and if anyone wants to take you from me, they will have to fight me for you. It marks you as my mate and is almost as strong a tie as a binding ceremony." She took a deep breath but her eyes remained firmly on the bite and refused to rise to meet his, to see his reaction to the meaning of her bite. She herself didn't completely know how she felt about it... how could he? His large hand reached up and cupped her jaw, her eyes shot to his and searched them for anger or fury at what she had done, but neither emotion was in his eyes. "So... do I have to bite you back?" She looked into his eyes for a moment, judging his sincerity. After a few moments, she smiled sunnily, happy that he's truly accepting this so well. "If you want to." She offered. He returned her smiled and stated musingly, "So... I'm your mate..." She nodded; feeling her heart clinch at the thought, this man... this caring and loving man was all hers. A warm happy feeling filled her body. She pressed her nose to his chest and took a deep breath, the warm feeling within her intensified. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, when the kiss broke, he broke out in a warm smile, which she returned, "I like that... I also like the sound of a binding ceremony. I want to be tied to you in every way I can," he told her. He didn't care how their lives were bound together as long as they were, so that the universe would know that she was his and he was hers. "I still don't remember biting you hard enough to do that." Her brows crinkled together in an effort to remember. He frowned and tried to help, "would it have anything to do with the fact that you wouldn't talk and your eyes were golden?" That definitely rang a bell and she sighed, it did explain everything. "Yes. You've always wanted to meet my wolf half and last night you did. She bit you to tie us together. She's been the one who's been egging me on to let you closer!" He grinned at the thought that it was her beast, which had helped get them together, "next time I see her, I'll have to thank her." She lowered her upper body onto his chest, tucking her head under his chin and holding him close, just being together was a great thing for both of them as it sunk in that they were really together now. Suddenly something occurred to him while they were enjoying the silence. "So does that mean..." Yes, we can talk to each other mentally... but you knew that part already. The bite forges the bond and although you cannot be turned into a Were, you can take on Were characteristics. Sage is Dominic's daughter and he is your son even though you never acknowledge it. That is why she can talk to you mind- to-mind but we never could. But Dominic says you used a blood bond spell to keep Markus at bay. He reminded her. Pleased that he seemed to remember many things about her, she answered, yes, but only a small amount of Sage's blood came in contact with mine, enough to forge a bond to her but sadly not enough to forge a bond with her father or you. He smiled and nuzzled her throat soothingly. I kind of like that. Sage is your sister, she will always be a part of you but you are mine. I am yours and you are mine. He felt his desire come back to the forefront of his mind with her admission. He was aching with a renewed need to sate his desire within his mate's body after the temporary diversion. She could feel him getting hard and wanting against her thigh. She reached back to start teasing the throbbing member. "So is this for me?" She asked teasingly as she ran her fingertips gently up his staff and back down again. He quivered. "Gods, yes." He breathed his passion clear in his hoarse voice. She smiled a pure feline smile of confidence... even though she's wolf not a feline. "So... what do you want?" He pulled her close to him, tilting her chin up so that he could attack her lips. "This is what I want." He said then proceeded to kiss her passionately, pulling her deeper into a spiralling vortex of passion and need with him, one hand slid around her back, down over her firm backside and between her legs to feel her readiness. He stroked her entire body, finding all those places he had discovered last night. Just as simple as that, her juices quickly flowed. She was on fire and he was the only remedy to cool her down. He groaned and moved his hands to her hips. He lifted her up and slowly impaled her on his maleness, nearly crazed for her feminine heat. He sighed in satisfaction as she groaned in need. He lifted a hand and stroked her jaw. He sat up and kissed her deeply; he rocked his hips up as he cupped her hips and pulled her down to meet his thrusts. She captured his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down lightly. He got up, knelt then gently laid her on her back; all the while, he remained connected to her body, a testament to his strength. His lips travelled over her face and neck as he slowly started to roll his hips. She gasped and nibbled at his ear in retaliation, as it was the only place she could reach. There was a knock on the door. He ignored the door and continued to slowly make love to his mate. Another more demanding knock sounded on the door. "Tarval, Alanna's missing." Dominic called through the door. He pushed himself up stilling his movements but keeping himself buried deep within her. "No... She's not," he yelled. "Bugger off." She snorted as she could hear Dominic's chuckle of understanding. Tarval captured her lips again, wanting to have her complete attention and started moving again, this time more demandingly within her. She moaned aloud and tried to raise her hips to meet his thrusts. He moved his lips down her neck to her shoulder then made his decision; his teeth bit down. She panted and growled in elation as his teeth broke the skin, coating his teeth with her blood. His lips moved back to hers as she moaned and duelled her tongue with his. She quickly nipped his lip, letting their blood mingle in their mouths. Her body tightened as the pleasure built. "Please." She gasped then licked her lips that were coated with blood not wanting to waste his life's essence and letting her beast have its taste. He made a very masculine chuckle and sped up his thrusts up further. Her hands slid around his body and stroked his wings, causing him to nearly cum on the spot for never had he known that his wing could be so sensitive. She panted against his ear as her body started to tingle, nearly reaching her climax, "Tar..." She began to cry out his name as she came. He groaned and held her tightly as his seed mingled within her. After a few more thrusts, he sighed contentedly and rested against her with deep satisfaction. "Roll over." She ordered, after getting some of her breath back. He sighed ruefully, rolled onto his back, and slid the pillow back between his wings. He would never refuse her within reason and as long as they get to cuddle, he didn't really care. Besides, he knew he was heavy and didn't want to make her uncomfortable. She shifted and he slid free from her body, he sighed a little in disappointment, as he had wanted to stay within her. She pulled the blankets up and cuddled up to him resting her head on his chest. He dragged her up so that she rested on top of him as he wanted her close, needed her close. She rubbed her face against his chest. She liked this, his arms holding her protectively and lovingly. "That's better." He made sure the blankets were secure and covering their lower halves. He stroked her back as she drifted to sleep, listening to his steady heartbeat. His fingers undid the plait, which held her black hair back. It slid from his fingers and brushed his skin like a silk sheet. He was glad to see it surround her for the first time; he didn't consider the party to be the first time as her hair had been styled and restrained by pins even thought it had been left loose. He smiled as he listened to her sleep. His door clicked and opened, Dominic glanced in and couldn't help but grin, then his expression quickly changed as he stepped aside to let Wolfgang and Amy in. Tarval didn't bother to move or wake her; he would never disturb her rest. Wolfgang clenched his fists but Amy turned and gave him a warning glare. She dragged Wolfgang from the room after making sure that all was well with her daughter. Dominic gave Tarval an apologetic look before closing his door and locking it. Leaving Alanna and Tarval to their mischief. * Wolfgang wanted to hurt someone. He really wanted to go back to that room and pummel Tarval into a pulp for daring to touch his daughter... for daring to sleep with her. Amy watched him as he paced in their room. "Will you calm down?" She demanded, completely at ease with what she had seen. She was actually closer to being ecstatic with what she had seen; pleased that Alanna had found someone she could trust that way. "Calm down? Doesn't this seem a little sudden to you?" He ranted. "Wolfgang, they have been working up to this for two months. You had me in the same period. Why are you fussing?" She pointed out. He gave her an exasperated look, "'Cause she's my daughter." "She's an adult, Wolfgang. You cannot keep her from her life. If you gave him a chance, you would see that Tarval loves her, that he respects her. He is a good man." She stood and pointed to the bed. "Sit." She ordered him and of course, he obeyed. "I know you feel all protective over Alanna... I'm protective too... but," she paused for a moment, trying to put her thoughts into words then started again. "My father told me something when I turned twenty one, shortly before both my parents died. Parents give only two truly important gifts to their children in their lifetime. Those gifts are roots and wings. Wings so that they can leave and live their own lives and roots so that they always know their way home." She waited for him to catch up, confident that he would not disappoint her. Freedom of Flight Ch. 07 He looked at her for a moment. "Let her go." "Let her live, Wolfgang. If your father had tried to control your life, what would you have done? What did Isaiah do?" He snorted; his brother had left the pack and went to another to train for his cooking degree. He could see that if he tried to control her life, she would come here and never come home. "Get to know Tarval... he is a good man. Alanna never would have let him close if he had a bad bone in his body." She sat in his lap. "Be glad, Wolfgang, for after everything she's been through, she still spent the night with a man and mated him. You succeeded in restoring her faith in men... you. Not me." "Great. Next you'll be taking me into Dave..." She snorted in amusement. She wondered why men are usually so dense in such situations. "Electra is far more interested in the fairer sex." He blinked in surprise. "How do you know that?" "I know many things. And I know Electra is gay not because of what happened to her but because that is her natural tendency." He pressed his face to her neck, taking a deep breath letting her scent was over him, calming the anger he still felt towards Tarval. Sage knocked, then immediately popped her head in. "Are the rumours true? Is Alanna sleeping with Tarval?" She asked, excited as she bounced into the room. Amy smiled. "Who have you been listening to?" Sage beamed innocently at her and shrugged, "Servant gossip. Is it true?" "You have a brother." Wolfgang clarified. Sage grinned, pleased for her sister and her newfound happiness. * Alanna had on one of Tarval's shirts. He had rolled up the sleeves so that she could use her hands but the shirt swam around her much smaller frame and covered her to her knees but flapped at her back where his wings went. She hovered near the door, waiting. Jewel had tracked her down, to ask if she needed anything and Alanna quickly blurted out clothes, red in embarrassment. She didn't feel confident enough to leave in her nightgown and even less confident to leave in Tarval's clothes. After waiting for a while, she finally heard the knock on the door. She opened the door and Jewel rushed in with an armful of clothes, the door slammed close behind her. Jewel smirked as Tarval walked out wrapped in a towel, water still dripping down his body. "Morning, my lord." She said as she put the clothes on the bed, not in the least bit surprised or bothered by the scene. He smiled and opened a drawer to pull out clothes. Then he suddenly left his clothes and grabbed Alanna around the hips, bringing his chin to rest on her shoulder. "My room or your room, which one do you like better?" He asked before he nuzzled at her throat, thinking that it would be some time before he was able to keep his hands off her for any prolonged periods of time... if ever. "I don't... understand." She squirmed in his arms, as he was still a little wet. "I never want to sleep without you again. So pick a room." He invited as he nibbled at her ear. She took a moment before answering, distracted by his nibbling. "I... prefer my room. It gets morning light so it's cool in the evenings." He grinned; pleased that she was accepting everything that was happening to her so well. He spun her around and kissed her deeply. "Then your room becomes our room." He declared as he released her and went to get dressed. Jewel smiled at the exchange and left to get help to move Tarval's things into Alanna's... their room. Alanna dressed quickly, knowing that she had to face her parents and she'd rather do it sooner rather than later as she knew her father's anger would simmer until it boiled over. She wanted to get to her father before he had a chance to hurt Tarval. He brushed her hair for her, running his fingers through the dark silky smooth strands before he turned it all into a plait. "Come on, we have to face your parents." He told her with a hint of nervousness in his voice, he explained that her parents had walked in on them but had left without making a big fuss. She had been slightly on edge ever since and wouldn't be calm until she had spoken to her father. "I just hope your ma doesn't use the sword she got from Gabrielle." She smirked. "She would never. She likes you." She told him honestly, before she went grim, "Da, you have to be careful of." He nodded in agreement at the last sentence. There was something about Wolfgang that was easily read: I will break you if you piss me off. He wrapped his arms around his love. "Will you come to earth to be with me?" She asked, curiously. "I will follow you to the ends of the universe." He answered with no hesitation. She smiled happily and took his hand as they left the room and walked together down the hall. Sage intercepted them and turned them around to warn, "I wouldn't if I were you two. Da is still a little aggressive... but ma is trying to calm him down." They let Sage steer them away, not relishing the confrontation that would take place soon... but later is better then sooner in this case. She took them to Dominic's study where Michelle and Dominic were waiting. Dominic smiled and shook Tarval's hand. He then moved Tarval's collar to expose the bite mark. "That will scar well," he commented approvingly. Tarval nodded, proud of his scar, "Scared the crap out of me when she bit me." He pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist. She smiled but she wasn't ashamed. She couldn't remember hurting him or biting him so she didn't care that she had scared him. On the other hand, there was a sense of elation and pride at Dominic's comment about her bite and Tarval's reaction to it. Dominic smirked, "But by the looks of it, she stayed human. Bianca shifted beneath me into her hybrid form then took a chunk out of my shoulder." He moved his shirt to expose the recessed scar that was there. Michelle approached and hugged the new couple, "When are you going to make it official?" "Alanna talked of a binding ceremony, so when we go to earth." He turned to her in confirmation and she nodded. Michelle smiled, "Okay. When you do this binding ceremony, you had better invite me. Then I will perform our wedding ceremony, and you'll be bound by both our laws." Alanna nodded, not really caring about being bound by mere laws: she was his and he was hers and nothing was going to change that. No law or piece of paper would stop them from being together. Although she knew that she wanted their relationship to be acknowledged as being mates, she also knew that her mother and father would feel put out if they didn't do the binding ceremony. **** Tarval grabbed Alanna around the waist and nuzzled at her throat. She paused in the middle of the hallway and smiled as his lips ran up her neck to nibble on her left an ear lobe. He removed his lips from her skin when he remembered why he had hunted her down and smiled, "Hey, I want to show you something." She turned and returned his smile. They had been mates for a week now and she could barely remember what it was like not to have his scent all around her. "What?" "Come with me," he took her hand and tugged her after him. She frowned but followed him anyway. She didn't recognise where they were going but when the temperature dropped she dug her heals in and tried to go back the way she had come from. She released his hand in her panic state. The walls seemed to be moving towards her so she got on the ground to keep the closing walls from her. Tarval wrapped his arms around her and walked her a few steps back; the walls moved back to where they had always been. He sat and held her to him, offering her comfort. "Calm..." he said soothingly into her ear, all the while stroking her back. She breathed deeply and tried to fight back her fear. She pressed her face to his chest as she quivered. When she finally calmed down, she hit him. "Don't ever do that again!" He pulled her tightly to his chest and kissed her forehead, "Can't make that promise." "You will..." He interrupted her with a shake of his head, "No... I'm trying to help you just like you helped me. When Michelle learnt of my fear, she told me this: you can let your fear rule you, or you can rule your fear. I let mine rule me until you walked into my life... I will not let yours rule you any longer." Tears forced their way out of her eyes as she pressed her face to his chest and cried. She couldn't stop the tears, as his determination to get her over her fear was in its own way the nicest thing anyone had tried to do for her. "Shh..." he continued as he tilted her head up and rubbed the tears away with his thumbs. "I don't want to hurt you but I see you hurting and I want it to stop." Then he stood, pulling her to her feet. "Close your eyes." With glittering eyes, she did as he asked and felt him stretching out her arms, "What do your hands feel?" he asked softly into her ear. "Nothing." "Open your eyes and take ten steps forward." He wrapped an arm around her waist, silently telling her that he would be with her every step of the way. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, quivered then shook her head while looking up at him; she couldn't take those steps. He understood her reluctance but persistently went on, looking deep into those green eyes. "Close your eyes keep your arms out and trust me." She closed her eyes again and he slowly forced her to walk forward. When they had taken those ten steps, he stopped her. "Okay, open your eyes." She took several slow deep breaths before she opened her eyes. The walls started to move in on her, she tried to back away but he held her tightly. "Close your eyes and tell me what your hands feel." He told her whilst remaining calm as he could feel her panic through their bond, hoping that his calmness would rub off on her. She panted gently and waiting for the encroaching walls to touch her hands and she realised something; they never did. "Nothing." She opened her eyes in wonder and glanced around. He kissed her neck in praise, "your ma told me that she believed your fear wasn't a true phobia. She told me of a great battle you all fought, and you in tunnels narrower than this one. You didn't freak out then." "I was in a battle situation..." "You lived in a room smaller than our bathing room when you first went to live with her yet you didn't freak out." He reminded her. "I was catatonic; I had not long been released from a life style that would have killed me if I was mortal." She turned to him. Knowing that she needed more convincing, he nudged her forward and went to Plan B. "Okay then, let's go." She walked a few paces then stopped and turned to him. She was not going to be tricked a second time. Once was quiet enough! "Where are you dragging me?" He smiled because she looked like a disgruntled little wolf... HIS little wolf, "I want to show you something." He turned her around and kept pushing her forward before deciding to answer her question. "You're going deep into the Keep." She turned back again to glare at him. "I get that... please stop reminding me!" "But you asked?" He told her innocently. "I wanted to know our destination, not the route of how we get there. I'm trying not to think about what we are doing." She told him starting to get frustrated. He grinned, pleased that she wasn't going to fight him too much. "Your mother was right then. You don't have a true phobia, only a fear of being caged again." She pulled a face as he took her hand and dragged her to where he wanted to go. He stopped at the first of many wall tiles. He pulled her into his arms and nuzzled at her neck as she looked at the scene before them. "This is the creation of the Da'Vaila." "What is?" She asked in awe of what was before her. He smiled, pleased that his plan is working. "We call this hall the Hall of Renderings. These are Renders, a representation of our history. Every important event in our history is on these walls. This hall goes on for almost a mile. The tiles alternate and start here." He looped his arm through hers and spent the next two hours summing up almost all of the tiles. They got to the last four where a man was working on the last one. He turned and smiled, "My lord, I am just completing the last tile." Tarval smiled and turned her to one of the recently completed tiles. She jerked in surprise as she came face to face with a rendering of her own back, torn and bloody with scraps of her skin hanging free; her image took up a large part of the tile. Twelve sets of bloody footprints marked the bottom edge of the tile. In the background of the picture, there was a burry scene of her and Tarval fencing in the right hand side and in the left was a beautiful black wolf with one eye green and one golden. The wolf was muzzled, chained and locked in a cage but there was something in the way she stood, something that made the chains, the cage even the muzzle look like it wasn't enough to hold her. "We paint the past of the person in the top left hand corner. It is left behind but still is on that persons' mind. In the right, an event that defines them; in the middle, the bridge that brings the two events together." Tarval said softly into her ear. "But... I didn't do anything." She argued with a hint of tears in her eyes. This was all just a little too much for her at the moment, what with Tarval trying to get her over her fear and now this. She felt as if her world was being set on its head. He had been telling her of the battles and peace treaties that had been Rendered but she didn't feel worthy of having a render, she had done nothing to warrant it. Sage's birth was on these walls but she was the warlord's daughter... a female Nephalim. Of course, her birth would be marked on these walls. But she had done nothing except walk from a cell, nothing grand or worthy of being worked into their history. He kissed her neck again, soothingly this time, "You would be surprised at what you have done. They seem insignificant to you but to us they are significant. You ARE special and what you did IS worthy of a place on these walls. You were just treated so badly as a child that whenever someone tells you that you don't believe them." He gently turned her to the next tile. It was a render of her standing protectively before a shackled Santaur, a dagger in her hand, her breastplate gleaming and a deadly look coming from her eyes. "Mather asked to have this one done and Dominic agreed. See, most would have done nothing; they would have let him be de-crowned, the ultimate insult for a Santaur. Most treat Santuars as nothing more than intelligent animals, unworthy of rank or consideration in our world." "Why?" She asked. Granted she had little experience with Santaurs but they seemed decent enough people that didn't warrant that kind of discrimination. "Call it arrogance," he answered, "call it fear, I don't truly know why. All I know is that it has been that way since our creation. Some, like Dominic, Michelle and I, don't treat them like that: they are not merely intelligent animals: they are a race of creatures with a history and culture as complex as you Were." "Okay... but you don't consider us Were as animals... Why?" She asked. He thought for several moments then shrugged, "I'm not too sure but I think it might have something to do with how our people met. When we met, it was a small war band of Nephalim and Weres didn't turn and run; you attacked and we fought and when we called a stop to the fighting so we could tend our injured, you changed and we learnt to respect you. You spoke a language we could understand; you were fighters. When we met Santaurs, they ran." "But that is a survival instinct bred into them, to run from something they don't understand. Centaurs run but they are evil warriors." She argued. He nodded, "I know but that is the closest reason I have as to why Santaurs have no rank here, because when we met them they didn't fight us, they refused to. We are a race of Warriors, even the S'ephalim and those who do not fight... back when man was young and we were at out busiest, were considered weak by us, unworthy. Sadly as the times have moved on we as a people have yet to evolve from that mind set but maybe one day we will, and it will right the wrong we have done to them." He turned his head back to the tile bringing her attention back to it. "You had never met one before, had no treaties to defend and you had no knowledge of him or his kind but you stopped him from being de-crowned... you treated him with respect that most refuse to do and you freed him. You wagered your breastplate so that he could have the mate he desired... breastplates are like badges of honour, you wagered your honour for him for no other reason then because it was the right thing to do." "But..." She said as she digested his words. "I was just acting as I was raised, as Amy raised me. To not judge a person by their race but by the person they are and that no one deserved to be treated like that simply because they are different." He sighed deciding to change tracts. "Okay... so you standing up for him meant little to you, it was just something you would have done no matter what. But it was big for us as a people, WILL be big for us as a people. That's why it's there, that's why it was Rendered, because on your world what you did is common place but here... here, what you did may just change us for the better. You... an outsider showed us our ways were wrong by standing before him. Common for you but radical for us." He finished. He watched her frown as she thought, he didn't know if he had gotten through to her about just how much of a shockwave had rippled through the markets after what she had done. That people were beginning to talk about what had previously been something that was ignored; they were beginning to question the old ways and only by questioning those ways will there be changes. He turned her to the second last tile. This one was a family portrait, Amy and Wolfgang next to Dominic and a ghostly version of Bianca. He stood in the picture with an arm wrapped possessively around her waist. Sage stood in the picture also, standing as close to her ghostly mother as possible; all were dressed in full house clothes. At their feet was a massive black and grey wolf with white boots on each of her feet, sun glasses covered her eyes, which made her look comical, as well as three cubs sitting next to her: two Sabre cubs and one wolf. "Our strange family has had a profound effect on both our worlds." "I'm afraid to look at the last one." She told him with just a tinge of humour, having a better reign on her emotions. He smiled and turned her as the man stepped back uttering the last spell to make the tile indestructible. It was a very simple rendering: it was them caught in a passionate embrace. He smirked and hugged her tighter while he made his confession. "I think Dominic asked for this one to be done. I've been searching for you since I was created. Finding you is truly a highlight in my history. It might only be matched by two events: our binding ceremony, and maybe holding our first child." Alanna looked at him with joy, and then made a little confession of her own. "Thais... he can see the future... the statue I was given for my birthday... he carved it... it's me... close to my body is a cub, on her back were wings..." **** Tarval blinked for a moment, trying to figure out why he was jolted awake. Alanna popped into his field of vision. He quickly wrapped his arms around her. One month they had been together and he still couldn't get over the fact that she was his. He pulled her down and kissed her. She smiled. "Guess what?" "What?" He asked. "The portal is open. Dominic says we have to go home, if we don't we won't be able to leave." Freedom of Flight Ch. 07 "Give me a moment, I'll come with you." Tarval threw back the covers and went to get dressed. They had spoken about this several times, he knew she had to go home when the natural portals opened, to remove the markers which would trap her here if she didn't go through. She told him she didn't mind being trapped here with him but he reminded her of her family and friends and he would never try to keep her from those she loved. He had told her even more times that he would come to, that he wasn't leaving her alone in her world and she had told him of all the things she would show him when he got there... starting with her bedroom. "Wait! Dominic has suggested that you should stay here and when I get home, I should get ma to come and get you. No markers means we can stay on earth as long as we like and ma can bring us back for as long as we like. Take your time... pack lightly. I'll be back." She kissed him deeply before leaving. She paused at the door and turned to him. "Don't be long." He told her, as he knew that the moment he couldn't sense her through their bond he would start getting anxious. "I love you." She told him before quickly shutting the door. She walked down the hall to join Sage. Dominic was waiting beside the portal. "Don't take too long in getting back to get him." He warned before he kissed her forehead goodbye. "I won't! Talk to you when I come back to get my things." She turned and jumped through the portal. "Bye Da, I love you." Sage told her father before jumping through after her sister. The portal closed behind her. Alanna caught Sage as she burst through, landing in a quiet, colder sac with neat little houses surrounded by neat little picket fences. Alanna turned to the stunned people. "Trust me, travelling by portal is rough." She smiled. "Do you have any money?" Sage asked. "Nope. Looks like we're hoofing it." Alanna looked around. "Where are we?" "Portals always open within a mile of the last portal. So somewhere in the northern suburbs... maybe?" Alanna rolled her eyes. She walked up to a telephone booth and reversed charged a call to her mother. "Find out what street we're on." She told her sister while the phone began to ring. Sage rolled her eyes and jogged down the street to get to the street sign. "Alanna?" "Ma, just a sec. Waiting for Sage to figure out where the portal punched through." Sage jogged back. "Norris Avenue." "Norris avenue in... somewhere, by the looks of it, in the northern suburbs." She explained. "Okay, we have five cars in the area. Stay where you are. If you haven't been picked up in half an hour, call." Amy replied. "Okay, talk to you soon." She hung up. "You realize that the longer this takes, the more agitated your mate will become?" Sage said as she rested her lean body against the phone booth, tucking her white and black streaked hair behind her ears. "I know but I have no choice in the matter." Alanna leant on the other side. "They act like they've never seen a woman with wings before." She said as she rolled her eyes then turned and glared at the group who had gathered to stare. "Back off, Sage." At that moment, a black SUV pulled to a stop. The window went down and Dan, one of their parent's enforcers, popped his head out. "Hey sweet things, need a ride?" Sage jumped up from her position. "Dan the man." She raced to the car. "Wings, why didn't you just fly home?" He asked as Alanna raced to join her sister. "Because I'm not allowed to fly unless it's an emergency." She told him, pulling a face as she climbed into the passengers' side. She grabbed a phone to call her mother. Alanna hopped in. "What about you, sweetness? What have you been up to?" He asked Alanna. "She's married, Dan." Sage told him while calling her mother. "Lucky bastard." He said half-jokingly with a raised eyebrow as he drove off. Alanna smiled and leant back. She had mixed feelings about being back. She was glad she was home but at the same time, she missed her mate. She missed his presence in her mind. "Hey ma, we've been picked up by Dan and we'll be there soon." Sage said, she listened as her mother said good and hung up. Sage shrugged off her mother's behaviour and glanced back to her sister as she closed the phone and noticing her face, turned to Dan. "Can this hunk of a junk go any faster? Alanna's only been mated a month." He glanced into the rear vision mirror, able to read Alanna's face as well. "We can go faster." He said as he put the pedal down further, understanding that new mates were often edgy about being away from their mate. "Are they official yet?" He asked Sage. "No." He swore and sped up further. "Why didn't you bring him or her with you?" He complained to Alanna. "Markers. If he came through a portal, he would have to go through the next one that opened and then they are separated again. Ma can do her own portals that don't leave markers." Sage grabbed the handle and held on before reminding him. "You're breaking the speed limit." "Shit." He swore as a police car flashed him. He pulled over and pulled out his wallet. Enforcers had been granted special privileges about three years ago; they were basically classed as Were cops but it had made human law enforcement resentful but they didn't know it was a hundred times harder to become an enforcer then it was to become a cop. The officer walked up. "Any reason as to why you were speeding?" He asked as he got his pad ready. Dan flashed his enforcer's badge. "Oh, a Were rent-a-cop. You were still speeding." He said as he took the wallet. "Yes, I was speeding because the Senator wants her daughters secured as they were kidnapped and taken off-world where they were rescued. The FBI also wants to speak with them and they just came back from being off-world." Dan explained with exasperation. "I am allowed to speed within reason." "And the reason is?" The officer asked, with a pleased if not sinister smirk on his face, he didn't really care about the excuse he was still going to be issuing a fine. "The reason is, they were kidnapped and it is likely it will happen again as the men who had helped are still free and Alanna was their payment for helping. Now, either help me get them to a secure location or fuck off." Dan snatched back his wallet and waited for the officer to make up his mind, having had enough of his bullshit. He grabbed a pad and pen and wrote down the officers badge number; if something happened to the Alpha's daughters because of this jerk he was not taking the blame. "Fine, I'll escort you but if this is just some hoax, I'm still fining you." He said, his smirk gone. He raced back to his car, but was sure it was a bluff. He pulled out before Dan and turned his lights on. Sage reached under his seat and pulled out Dan's own flashing light. Dan grabbed it out of Sage's hand, put it on the roof, and turned it on. He was still not used to having the flashing light, which had been granted to enforcers and cursed himself for not putting it up sooner; it might have stopped the stupid officer from questioning him. He followed the cop car into the city. They pulled to a stop in front of the Were relations building. A group of heavily armed FBI agents were waiting, as was a security detail. They raced forward to surround the SUV. Alanna and Sage got out and walked into the building, leaving Dan to give the officer an I-told-you-so look. They were bundled into the elevators with two FBI and two Enforcers. They walked down the hall and into their mother's office. Amy smiled as she saw them. "Ma, we have to get..." Alanna squealed in surprise as strong arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her in the air. Tarval's lips brushed her neck. "Your ma came and got me the moment she knew you were picked up." He said into her ear as he put her back on her feet. She turned in his arms and hugged him tight, glad to be back in his arms. She hadn't liked the fidgety feeling she got when she was away from her mate at all. Amy smiled at them then sighed. "I'm sorry, girls, you will have to have a security detail from now onwards." "Ma." They both whined at her with pleading looks. "No... this is non negotiable, the secret service have been hounding me since you were taken. I finally agreed but on my terms. So no secret service or FBI: Enforcers are your security. Between Wolfgang and Shia, we have put together two teams of two guards." She gestured to the two teams. Both teams were dressed casually to fit in with the girls' lives. "I will protect my mate." Tarval pulled Alanna tighter to his body. "They are not needed." Amy smiled at the maleness of the statement, Wolfgang had used pretty much the same argument until he realised that their work would take them away from each other. "I know you want to protect her but this world is very different to the world you know and you will need help. Plus, you need a licence to carry a sword and that will take a few weeks to organise." "What about Electra? Does she get a detail?" Sage snapped like a petulant child who knows that there is no getting around this no matter how much she complained or tried to ditch her detail. "Electra is FBI," Amy responded. Alanna rested her head against his chest before turning to her mother. "How is Electra doing?" "She tracked the man who had died down to Vegas. She has, however, had to put that case on hold. In fact, we are going to have a houseguest so be nice. I have to go get her." Amy vanished. Tarval's lips brushed Alanna's neck. Alanna groaned gently. He smirked and moved his lips to hers. He kissed her thoroughly, holding her tight to his body. Sage turned to one of the enforcers. "I can't wait for them to become official." He chuckled for several moments before he tensed up, he could hear footsteps approaching them, fast. He frowned, as there was something weird about the sounds... "Lana, Lana, Lana." Serenity raced to her sister as her siblings raced to Sage, with the owners of the footsteps identified, the bodyguards relaxed and smiled indulgently at the cubs as they raced to their siblings. Alanna broke the kiss and scooped up Serenity. "Hey, Ren. What are you doing here?" "Da." She declared and turned to the door where Wolfgang stood. He smiled at them as he walked in. "Just came to tell Amy I'm taking the cub's home." He explained before giving each of his daughters a hug and Tarval an approving clap on the shoulder. He had mellowed somewhat towards Tarval over the last month and was actually pleased to see that he was here already. "Ma went to pick up a guest." Sage explained as she held Temperance and Thais up side down. "Okay, can you tell her instead?" He requested. They nodded. "Come on, runts." He said, using his nickname for the group. Sage let her two go, as did Alanna. They ran to their father and he scooped them up comfortably, having done it a million times already, one in each arm and one on his back. He walked out of the room that way, his 'runts' a wonderful additional weight that he did not even take notice. Tarval scooped Alanna up and sat her in his lap as they waited for Amy to return with their guest. Freedom of Flight There was a roar of outrage from his assembled men. "We leave in an hour, prepare." Dominic ordered, his voice booming through the hall. His men jumped to their feet, ignoring their meals as the bells started to toll, warning those who were away from the Keep or dining with their families that the Lord was going to battle and they were needed. All around the Keep the message was spread, Markus had the Princess. Blacksmiths and tradesmen dropped what they were doing and dusted off their rarely used armour. They would defend the Keep and guard the retreat while the main army is away. Dominic tried to stand still as a servant strapped his armour on. She didn't fumble, having helped the Lord with his armour so many times but never had she seen him furious like he was now. She understood why. Sage was Dominic's world, she was a small piece of his beloved. He had lost his soul mate, but he couldn't lose Sage, not her as well. It didn't matter to him that she was the only female Nephalim ever to be born in their entire history, to him she was his child, his precious little gem, the little piece of Bianca he had left was in danger. "My lord." She said gently. "Yes E'lisa." He said gently, trying to find his calm as he knew he shouldn't go into a fight angry. "My lord, it is okay to be furious." She told him. He shook his head. "No… not until she is safe and I have Markus in my hands." He walked off. "Make it slow, my lord." She called to his back. He smiled and continued to walk down to the quadrangle where his men were assembled and waiting. He was surprised at the sheer number who had gathered. He glanced up at the Keep's protective walls. The Keep itself was built into a cliff face which added as a natural defensive quality. A large ledge was sectioned off into farming and craft areas, a stone wall and imposing watch towers guarded the keep as did the shear drop into a craggy gorge. Every man of fighting age stood before him, ready to take on Lord Markus and his army to get their princess back. He was surprised as three other Nephalim lords and two Gephalim lords, with their men, joined their ranks. They had their own reasons to want Markus taken down but for whatever reasons it may be, together they had a greater chance of success. * Sage came back to herself with a smirk. My father is readying his men. Two hours, Alanna, and we'll be safe. Alanna sighed then frowned. "I thought Nephalim had white wings. The ones who grabbed us had black." Sage rolled her eyes. "White interspaced with grey," Sage corrected her. "They are Gephalim, war mongers. There are four kinds of Da'Vaila. To put it simply, we are like just like humans and with humans there are different races. S'ephalim, Nephalim, Gephalim and Dephalim. S'ephalim have pure white wings. They don't fight because they are the messengers of the gods. Gephalim have pure black wings and are war mongers. The gods created the S'ephalim and Gephalim, and to keep control of them and to control their numbers, they created the S'ephalim female and the Gephalim male and kept the two species apart." Sage took a deep breath before continuing. "The gods however, became jaded. The S'ephalim could not fight, they were pure goodness and the Gephalim killed indiscriminately. So they picked one special S'ephalim and one special Gephalim and brought them together, hoping that they could produce a child who had the compassion and broad understanding of the S'ephalim but who would be able to become blood thirsty and fight like the Gephalim." "And the Nephalim were born." Alanna concluded. Sage nodded. "The gods kept the S'ephalim and the Gephalim together until they had sired twelve sons, no daughters and they became the twelve War Lords. Seeing that their plan worked, they took the essence of the twelve Lords and impregnated a whole heap of human women, who all gave birth to Nephalim sons." Sage concluded. "What's a Dephalim then?" Sage blushed although Alanna couldn't see it. "We don't talk about them often, they... the gods..." she hesitated and took a deep breath before starting again, "Dephalim are the wingless sons and daughters, it's rare only happening every now and then. They had the powers of the race they were sired by but they were wingless so they... well, a few of them pretended to be gods... and the gods didn't take kindly to that and... slaughtered them... erm... well de-create is a better term for what they did." "De-create?" Alanna question. "Um... well... the best way to describe de-creation is... it is the exact reverse of creation. Tarval says it wasn't pretty, he watched as a man literally dissolved before his eyes, everything broken apart at the molecular level, some even had their souls de-created, never to be put back together again. Ma talks about one sometimes, he was ancient and I was named after him. He was so wise but he never knew he was Dephalim and that was where his powers came from. He was different to the other Dephalim but the gods still decreated him." "What happens if one was born tomorrow?" Alanna asked. "Since the slaughter... no Dephalim has lived long after conception, always miscarried. The gods don't let them live, they could be the purest of souls but the gods have decreed their existence to be an affront and therefore have decreed their nullification to the universe. They cannot reverse their decision so there are no Dephalim anymore." "But your acknowledgement of them means they exist." Alanna argued. "We acknowledge them because their folly could easily become our folly. We have the story of their fate drilled into us the moment our powers become active. Just because we are useful to the gods does not mean they will not turn on us." Alanna thought about that carefully, it was a cautionary tale for the god-like creatures the gods had created, that prevented anyone trying to rise above the status they were given at birth. She shivered as an unpleasant thought crossed her mind, she knew the chaos a false god could wreak. She could see Markus doing something like that but he knew what awaited him if he did. After a moment of silent reflection, they heard the door open, they could hear the anger in Markus's voice. "Stupid, do I have to tell you how to scratch your balls? Put them in the Nephalim cage." He yelled. "My lord… the Santaur is…" The guard had started to say. "Move him." Markus growled and stormed off. A loop connected to a pole looped around Alanna's foot and jerked them out. Alanna only just kept a cry of fear from passing her lips, she knew how much their captors would get off if they knew she was afraid. They were dragged to their feet and held as far apart from each other as their bound hands allowed. The man holding Alanna cupped her jaw and tilted her head up. Alanna wasn't short at five nine but she was thoroughly intimidated by the eight foot tall Gephalim. He eyed her over and smirked. The hand that cupped her jaw slid down her body. She stood rigid, enduring his treatment, not even tensing her muscles as his hand ran over them. She knew what would happen if she fought him, if she fought any of them, she had endured many beatings for refusing Gus's touch. His eyes never once left hers. He watched the snapping fury in her eyes, he smiled. "I will have fun with you little one. I just won the bidding rights for you." He told her. Alanna felt the creeping cold of fear fill her, all the time thinking that this man had bought her, he was going to use and abuse her. He pressed Alanna against the wall. Alanna went to strike out but he caught her forearm in his large hand and gripped it tightly until a gentle crack was heard. He watched as she didn't even flinch as he broke her arm, he smiled in twisted amusement and kissed her firmly. Sage surged forward and slammed into the man pressing her sister to the wall. "Leave her alone, you prick." She pulled Alanna back to her. Sage felt a batten dug into her side. Her free hand lashed out, smacking the man who had hit her, across his face. Alanna kicked the man who had been kissing her as hard as she could, between his spread legs. He yelled and curled over his violated parts. A third guard came out of nowhere and slapped Alanna across the cheek. Alanna turned with the blow, her shoulder striking the wall and dropped to a knee, the blow had cracked her cheekbone and broken the skin. Sage spun around, kicking the third guard with enough strength to send the guard flying back. Alanna pulled herself to her feet, her ears still ringing from the blow and her vision still fuzzy. She blinked for a few moments, trying to get her eyes to focus. Twelve guards appeared bearing nerve whips. Markus glared at the three men of his who could not handle two mere women. He then glared at the two women in question and his glare slowly turned into a smirk. If they had been men, he would have considered them to be worthy adversaries, but as women, they were merely a nuisance that needed to be taught their place in a man's world. "Twelve lashes each then get them into the cell." He walked up to Sage. "Three more hours and the magicians will have cut through the spell that binds you." He turned to his men. "Backs only…" He finished his order as he walked off. His men chuckled and forced Sage and Alanna into an antechamber. Shackles hung from the ceiling, one man moved the placement of a pair of shackles so they were closer. A pair of shackles was locked around Alanna's wrists after she was lifted off the ground so her wrists could reach the shackles. Chains bound her feet in place to keep her from twisting around. Sage was chained up the same way next to her, both of them surrendering to their fate for the moment, knowing that there is no way to escape this. Wing binders were locked around Sage's wings and buckled forward so her back was exposed and not protected by her wings. The men loosened their whips; they would get to lash each woman once. The nerve whip was a painful device, it was designed to inflict intense pain. Not only will it tear the flesh but it set every nerve in the body on fire. To inflict the most pain, each lash was done after the edge of the nerve fire had worn off, some five minutes after the lash. They didn't allow the nerve fire to die completely, only to dull to a degree. Each lash would increase the effect of the nerve fire, making each lash more painful than the last. A man stepped forward and used a dagger to cut the back of Alanna's shirt off, meaning that nothing would get between the bite of the whip and her skin. He stepped back and smirked at his friends, his eyes had caught the faint scars of previous beatings across her back. "She has tasted a whip before." He told them. "And I really wanted to hear her scream." Another complained loudly. Sage… whatever you do, do not make a sound, it's what they want. Now, you need to relax all of your muscles and keep them relaxed. If you don't, it'll hurt even more. Alanna coached as Sage's shirt was cut from her back. The exercise ma taught us, the one on how to detach the mind from the body? Sage asked. Yes. Alanna told her, she was hanging limp in the chains. She turned her head and her eyes focused on her linked hand with Sage. One snorted in amusement, "Oh, she'll still sing, there is a big difference between a whip, and a nerve whip." Many chuckled in evil delight. "And we'll just have to make sure this whip bites deep." A man said as he readied his whip, his friends smirked and readied their whips; they were in for some fun.