Chapter 83: New Friends

Jude POV

Hand in hand, Jude and Ravyn ventured out on the hunt. Both of them could smell food wafting through the palace. After an enthusiastic marathon lovemaking session, Jude's belly and his wolf badly needed a good meal. Some kind soul had delivered tea and coffee to their room while they were either sleeping or mating. In either state, Jude wouldn't have noticed if the castle was under attack. 

Now, he felt clear-headed and alert to everything around him. He passed Cornelius, the unicorn, happily trotting through the palace with one of the little princesses clinging to his back. King Odo's and Queen Giselberthe's daughters were three and five years old, and lively. Ravyn waved at them, smiling.

"I've never been in the royal palace," she said. "I've never been invited. It's charming." Hastily, she added, "It has nothing on Faolan Castle, though."

Jude chuckled. "True. But this is splendid."

He noticed pictures of famous musicians, and musical-inspired sculptures. Soft chamber music was piped through the palace. He should really try that at Faolan Castle during relaxed family moments and when entertaining house guests and important visitors.

He tugged at the loose-fitting tunic and trousers. A lot of their clothing had been left with Duffy's wagon, and they'd lost a lot of their gear in the tower collapse, but the royal family thoughtfully provided spares. "Will Duffy get his wagon back?" he asked.

Ravyn smiled. "Oh, I'm sure he will. I wouldn't be surprised if he coaxed the king's soldiers to help him retrieve it at the inn where he left it."

Jude growled, appreciating the gnome's resilience. "He's got an open invitation to trade in Silverpaw territory for as long as he wants."

Ravyn smiled. "He'll be thrilled to hear that. I think he's been adopted by the Crestas."

"And he's even made peace with Daxius," Jude commented, sniffing the hallway and following the delicious, mouth-watering scent of food. 

"Naturally. He's not entirely crusty and hard-bitten. He's met enough people in his travels to know when someone deserves a second chance."

Jude's eyes darkened. "Speaking of which, I take it Hades is still under guard?"

Ravyn nodded. "In the Healing Wing. Would your stomach object if we checked on him?"

"I think I could make it behave. Now, all I have to do is get my nose to smell medicine instead of food. This place is huge."

He followed the scent down a flight of stairs and along a blue-painted hallway–a healing color, which made him suspect that he and Ravyn were close to the Healing Wing. Down the hallway, he spotted a set of wooden double doors carved with medical symbols. A sign in Common and other languages read, "Healing Wing." As if anyone with a working nose couldn't guess that for themselves. Still, he was dealing with humans and others who didn't have such keen senses.

Inside the Healing Wing, Ravyn and Jude followed the castle healer to a private room where Melisande and Marieke both lay side by side on healing beds. Daxius bustled in-between the beds, his attention more on Marieke than on Melisande/Hades.

He wasn't alone. A male mage with waves of black hair, a handsome chiseled face, startling blue eyes, and a warrior look about him concentrated, spreading a fiery glow in the room. A pretty and pregnant female mage with elaborately braided golden hair and green eyes, wearing a simple, loose, elegant pink gown, stood quietly, in deep concentration. 

Immediately, Jude's attention went to the man.

He smelled a shifter. Not full-blooded, but a shifter nonetheless. Not only that, an Alpha.

How could that be? The man was dressed in a rich silver-gray suit suited to a human noble–but then again, Jude looked fairly well-to-do himself in his outfit. 

Jude growled low to get the man to respond.

Immediately, he sensed a wave of hostility and fear. 

"It's alright, Lord Blackthorn," Daxius said clearly. "You don't have to hide who you are. Not here. My former wife, Ravyn, is the Evenhide Pack Mother, and this is her mate, Alpha Jude Faolan of the Silverpaw Pack--you were with them on Abandonnado Island."

Lord Blackthorn's eyes flared golden. "Yes. I was shocked that we were working with shifters--Evenhide and Silverpaw, no less."

"And the Crimsontail Shadows Pack," Jude added. "We're here with the blessing of the king. He knows about shifters now. He and his inner circle."

"The king is wise, Talon," the woman said.

Ravyn smiled warmly at the woman. "Are you this Alpha's lady, his Luna?"

The woman's eyes widened. "Yes. Lady Kelara Blackthorn. There are MORE shifter packs?" she asked.

A dark smile touched Lord Blackthorn's face. "Oh, yes. Many more. I just didn't tell you about all of them. Revealing that you were mated to a wolf shifter and have a shifter pup as a stepson was enough of a shock."

"He's my son, period," Lady Blackthorn said in a strong voice that made Jude howl his approval. She patted her heavily pregnant belly. "As much my child as this little pup."

Charmed, Ravyn reached over and took her hand. "You didn't know you were mated to a shifter? That would be a shock."

Although Hades and Marieke were his focus, Jude couldn't help his fascination with this shifter-human love story. "How did you keep it from her?"

Baring his teeth, Lord Blackthorn growled, "Have a care, ALPHA. I never sought to deceive my mate in the least."

"I was fairly innocent," Lady Blackthorn confessed, her smell soothing. "I didn't even notice the claiming bite or his mate possessiveness."

Jude gave a bark of laughter. "You thought all men, and all lords, were like that?"

Ravyn swatted him. "Don't wave raw meat under his nose."

Sheepishly, Jude smiled. "Sorry, Alpha. You do have Alpha blood. The name is Jude." He extended his hand.

After a moment, Lord Blackthorn took it. "Talon."

"A very strong Alpha name," Jude praised. 

Daxius pushed past them, impatient. "If you two want to go after each other, do it somewhere other than around Marieke and Hades."

Talon's dark brows wrinkled in confusion. "Hades?"

Ravyn sighed. "Long story. Probably about as long as the tale of how you managed to hide being a shifter from your mate–and I assume the kingdom."

But she looked distracted, her face full of concern for Daxius.

* * * * *

Ravyn POV

Poor Daxius. He clearly had been keeping watch over Marieke and Hades/Melisande while the rest of them either slept or made love. 

Doll-like and quiet, Marieke lay still in the bed. Her pale face made her dark raven hair pop more strikingly. A lot of dark energy still clung to her, keeping her in its claws. 

Ravyn angled her head at Talon. "You used a fire spell?"

"Healing Flame," he said.

"You're an elemental mage?" she asked.

With a proud nod, he answered, "Yes."

"A shifter wizard," Jude said, surprised. 

He shrugged. "I'm a mage first. My shifter or Lycan blood has been so mixed with human blood over the years that I'm not a full wolf. The original ancestor on my father's side was at least a century ago."

Jude muttered, "Maybe it was a Sinsworth."

Talon's black eyebrows shot up, surprised. "It was a Sinsworth. That name appears in the family history."

Ravyn felt a chill, despite the warmth of the Healing Wing and the Healing Flame spell she had boosted with her own magic. The Healing Flame, a classic fire elemental spell wielded by elemental mages, would cleanse and burn away negative energy and disease. It was a temperamental spell, but Talon's hands crafted it deftly. And none of that mattered based on what she'd just discovered.

"You're a Sinsworth?" she asked, pushing the fire spell onto Marieke and sensing the curse starting to disappear. 

He nodded, looking relieved to be able to talk about his ancestry. "My ancestor was a Sinsworth who mated with a human. I've lived as a human, and our family has kept our shifter blood a secret."

Ravyn felt compassion for him. To hide part of himself … why had he not moved to the shifter lands? "Well, you don't have to do that among us–or the king and queen. You have a family in the Sinsworths." Ravyn nodded at Hades. "Melisande Bracknell–"

"I know who she is," Talon said curtly. 

His mate, Kelara, elbowed him, with fire in her eyes. "Try to be a little less growly."

Jude smirked. "He's an Alpha. It comes with the job. Speaking of jobs, Daxius, you should get some rest. Ravyn and I have rested plenty. We'll look after Marieke–she's family, too."

With relief, Daxius told Jude and Ravyn, "Do everything you can for her." His eyes shifted to Melisande's sleeping form. "And, even though you're getting to know our new friends, don't take your eyes off Hades here for a second."