Hunger Untamed (Feral Warriors #5)(21)

Goddess, they'd hurt one another in so many ways.

And he was about to hurt her all over again.

She leaned toward him, gritting her teeth. "Don't do this, Kougar. Let me go."

He met her gaze, his eyes like flint, then turned away.

"Damn you." She clenched her hands into fists, watching as others filed into the room, recognizing none of them from the old days. Jag and the redhead entered first, followed by a bald Feral with what appeared to be a snake earring hanging from one lobe and a viper's head armband curving around his upper arm.

As a tall, dark-haired woman walked in, grief and battle in her eyes, the chief greeted her, compassion in his voice. "Delaney."

The woman gave a nod. "Lyon."

All took their seats around the table, each eyeing her with avid curiosity. Was it so unusual for them to bring a stranger into their midst?

"Where are the others?" she asked Kougar softly.

"Paenther's the only one not here."

Goddess, no wonder they were so desperate to retrieve the two from the spirit trap. He'd said their numbers had dwindled, but the evidence was shocking. Five Feral Warriors in this room when once there had been more than two dozen.

"The Wind?"

"Dead. His son is one of those in the spirit trap."

The breath went out of her with the unwelcome ache at the losses he'd suffered. "I'm sorry."

When everyone had taken a seat, the chief, Lyon, turned to Kougar. "The Shaman is on his way, as you requested." His amber gaze flicked to Ariana, then back again. "What's this about?"

Kougar remained still and silent for ten long seconds before reaching up to stroke his beard once, twice. His hand returned to his chair's arm while those around him watched. And waited.

Finally, he spoke, his voice low, yet as rich and hard as mahogany. "This is Ariana, Queen of the Ilinas."

Gasps and other sounds of disbelief erupted like scattershot around the room, half a dozen gazes spearing her, staking her to her chair.

Kougar turned to her, his eyes like flint. "My mate."

As quickly as the noise erupted, it receded as if Kougar's words had sucked the room dry of sound, turning the space silent as a morgue. The only sound was her heart pounding in her ears.

Every eye widened, every jaw dropped, the silence growing thicker, heavier, until it bruised her skin, until it pressed against her rib cage and threatened to crush her lungs.

Still, they stared.

"Holy shit," Jag exclaimed, shattering the awful tension. "You're married?"

And suddenly everyone was talking at once.

"The Ilinas have been extinct . . ."

"Did you know?"

"Is she the only survivor?"

"Silence!" Lyon took control. Though the talking stopped, the room was anything but quiet as the Ferals leaned forward, their expressions confused, wary, excited.

Kougar's voice slid into the void. "A millennium ago, the Ilinas were attacked by a sorcerer's magic, a poison that killed many of them." Quickly and succinctly, he relayed what little she'd told him.

When he was done, Jag shook his shaggy head, his expression ripe with disbelief. "You've known all along the Ilinas were alive?"

"No." The word was hard, clipped. "Like everyone else, I thought they were dead. I only learned the truth twenty-one years ago."

"The mating bond . . . ?" The scarred man's words were low, his tone pained.

Kougar met his gaze. "Severed, Wulfe."

The sympathetic tightening of the other Feral's eyes stabbed Ariana with guilt.

"That shouldn't be possible."

"She's Ilina." Kougar's tone said they were worse than dirt.

"You left Harpers Ferry to find her," Lyon said. "You think she can help us save Tighe and Hawke."

"I did."

The brunette's eyes widened as they locked on her. "Dear God."

By the fragile hope in the woman's desperate eyes, Ariana knew one of those Ferals was her mate.

Ariana sighed, hating to deliver the blow. "I can't help them."

The woman surged to her feet, her expression turning battle-hard. "You have to."

A warm tingle teased the back of Ariana's neck, a feeling as familiar as the beat of her heart. No. The scent of pine wafted on the air, the scent of the Crystal Realm.

Kougar must have smelled it, too, for he shot to his feet. "Attack!"

Even as he roared the word, the room exploded with the flash of steel, the splatter of blood, and the roar of fury and pain.

Melisande and half a dozen mist warriors took form around the room, stabbing the Ferals with their knives, flinging painful energy. Attacking without provocation though Ariana doubted Melisande saw it that way. Brielle had no doubt felt Ariana's agitation. Her fear. And Melisande had led the cavalry to the rescue.

But if Feral blood spilled, Ilina blood would soon follow.

And Feral blood was spilling.

Kougar pulled his knives and started swinging even before the six mist warriors turned fully solid and launched their attack.

Led by Melisande, the Ilinas were out for blood, aiming for hearts and heads as the Ferals drew blades to parry the attack. Vhyper took a knife to the shoulder, moving an instant before Melisande's blade pierced his heart. Lyon took a knife to the back, but it didn't seem to slow him down.