The Wild Hunt Page 3

  "I apologize for sleeping so late."

  Cadeyrn shook his head. "You were tired. I do not begrudge you your rest." He came up close and laid a hand on Eadric's hip. "Come, you must dress before coming down to eat."

  "Dress?" Eadric followed Cadeyrn back into the den. Cadeyrn reached to a pile of clothes in the corner.

  "Yes," Cadeyrn said, coming back with a cloth in hand. "I know wolfshifters are accustomed to going nude, but I cannot have my courted walk around showing his privates to the whole clan."

  Eadric frowned, but he didn't protest as Cadeyrn draped the cloth over him. It wasn't pants, like what Cadeyrn wore. It was a single piece of cloth that fell over his shoulders and reached down to his ankles. It hung loosely around his legs, though it was a bit tight at his hips and torso. He pulled at it.

  "It is a robe," Cadeyrn said. "It is the loosest cloth I could find."

  "I do not think I like it," Eadric said truthfully.

  Cadeyrn frowned and ran a hand over Eadric's arms. "I do apologize for that, but it would look ill upon me if I let you out of the den without something to cover you."

  Eadric sighed. He understood protocol, though he didn't understand why this specific protocol existed among the fae. "I understand."

  Cadeyrn graced him with a smile. He held out his hand. Eadric looked at it, confused. Cadeyrn reached forward and grabbed Eadric's hand. He wrapped their fingers together.

  Eadric was a wolfshifter, he was quite accustomed to casual physical contact, but no one had ever held his hand for any reason other than to help him up from the ground or to tug him in a direction. Cadeyrn seemed to hold his hand purely to hold it.

  "Ready?"

  Eadric nodded. He was as ready as he'd ever be. He followed Cadeyrn out the den's opening and down the wooden slope. The wind was faster at this height than it had been in the valley and it felt thinner, like Eadric needed to take deeper breaths to get the same amount of air. The fae dwelling was not too far up the mountain, only just above its base. Any farther up and no trees would be able to grow, especially the massive ones that the fae had made their dens out of. Eadric wondered what sort of fae magic had encouraged these trees to grow to such great height and width.

  They walked down to the circular clearing that made the center of the large trees. There was a roaring bonfire in the middle of the clearing and several fallen tree trunks that fae sat on while they talked and ate. Eadric saw one of the fae sitting upon a stump singing a tale to the fae children, who sat on the ground in front of him. He smiled at the sight. Some things were the same in both cultures.

  "Oh," Eadric said, remembering. "Today is Yule."

  Cadeyrn looked over at him, an amused smile on his face. "It is. A happy Yule day to you, Eadric."

  "You as well," Eadric murmured, blushing lightly.

  Cadeyrn swiped a thumb across his cheeks, his smile widening. "Food?"

  "Please."

  They grabbed food from a table set up by a cooking fire. The fae tending to it was female. She had one small tattoo on her left arm, a spiral, and another on her right arm. Eadric asked the significance of them as they found a seat and began to eat.

  "Her left tattoo says that she is claimed. Her mate's symbol is the spiral."

  Eadric looked at the length of tattoos on Cadeyrn's right arm. "What is your symbol, then?"

  Cadeyrn pointed to his bicep, where the tattoos were dark bands that circled his arm. "These signify my rank in the clan. The number of bands signifies how highly one is stationed. Our queen has ten, the largest number."

  "Queen?" Eadric asked as he counted out nine bands on Cadeyrn's arm.

  "Lady Boudicca."

  "Your alpha chief."

  "Yes, our queen."

  Eadric nodded, filing away the new word. "So you are a high alpha?"

  Cadeyrn frowned in thought. "I suppose. I do not know how the rank exactly transfers in your pack."

  Eadric shrugged. "What do the tattoos below the bands mean?"

  "This is the sigil of the Gwrtheyrn clan," he said, showing Eadric the strange cross and swirl markings. "All fae born in the clan receive it when they come of age."

  Eadric remembered it being the same tattoo as the earlier female had on her right arm. Cadeyrn had just one more tattoo below that one. "This is your symbol?"

  "Yes, it is my personal mark." The tattoo was a circle with a bold line going through the center. Three lines stretched from the circle, looking a bit like whiskers. "All dominant fae receive a personal mark."

  "If I accept your courtship, I would be given it?" Eadric guessed.

  Cadeyrn nodded. He reached forward and traced the mark on Eadric's left arm. "There."

  Eadric's skin tingled as Cadeyrn's hand left. He quickly finished his bird leg, sucking the marrow out of the center before throwing the husks of the bone in the fire. Cadeyrn also finished his meal and stood. Eadric followed him. There wasn't any snow on the ground so near to the bonfire, but the air was still cold. Eadric found his manskin warmer with the robe over it than he would have expected. He supposed clothes had some use.

  Cadeyrn stopped by where a group of children were playing. He went to his knees easily as several of the children cried his name and ran forward. He easily wrestled them to the ground, smiling at their laughter.

  Eadric smiled, too, though he was confused by the behavior. He sank to his knees next to Cadeyrn.

  "Are you the wolf that Cadeyrn is courting?" one of the children asked. Her hair was shoulder length and so blond it seemed almost white.

  "Wolfshifter," Eadric corrected gently. "I am."

  The girl smiled. "Can you show us?"

  "Please!" several more children begged.

  Eadric looked at Cadeyrn. He shrugged. "I know it is as much a part of you as this form. You are free to shift whenever you feel the need."

  Eadric smiled brightly. He tucked his arms inside the robe, so his legs wouldn't get caught, and shifted. His wolfskin was dwarfed by the cloth. He shook it off and stood. The children all stared at him. He let his tongue loll out and wagged his tail to show he was friendly.

  "Can I touch him?" the pale-haired girl asked Cadeyrn.

  "He can understand you even like this," Cadeyrn said. "It is his choice."

  Eadric stepped forward and nudged his nose against the girl's arm. She giggled and ran hesitant fingers through his fur. He wagged his tail harder. That seemed to be all that was needed, for all the sudden he was mauled by children on all sides. He yipped and shook them off him. They followed him as he bounded away. He dropped his front legs and wagged his tail.

  They played for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. Cadeyrn joined in, as did several other fae. Eadric was careful not to hurt the children, though he wasn't quite so careful with the adults that attempted to wrestle him. He didn't let himself be pinned long by any of them, and none of the adults tried too hard. Eadric thought the glare Cadeyrn leveled them with when they grabbed him by the scruff was a good detergent.

  Eadric was confused why the dominant fae were spending time with the children. Not just Cadeyrn, but several of the others who joined had personal markings and bands on their right arm. In the pack, alphas and betas spent very little time with the pups until they were closer to being of-age. Even Eadric's father had mostly ignored him and Oswald--leaving them to their mother--until a few years before they were to come of age. It was just the way things worked.

  Apparently not in the fae clan. Though it was possible this was a specific Yule day treat and not the usual way of things. Well, Eadric at least would be able to play with the children all he wanted. He was an acknowledged submissive in this clan, for all that he did not plan on being submissive to anyone who wasn't Cadeyrn and perhaps Boudicca.

  The children seemed sad when Cadeyrn said it was time for them to go and get ready for the Yule feast. Eadric licked a couple of them in the face to cheer them up. The pale-haired girl hugged him tight before leaving with several of the submissive fae to
get cleaned up.

  Eadric turned to his potential mate. The fae picked up the discarded robe and threw it over one shoulder. Eadric took that as permission to stay in his wolfskin a little longer. He followed Cadeyrn up the wooden ramp to the small den.

  Cadeyrn set the robe in a separate clothes pile from the one he'd grabbed it from. Judging by the smell that was for the unclean clothes. Eadric wondered who cleaned them, if maybe he was going to be expected to. He hoped not. He wouldn't know where to start.

  Eadric shifted to ask. Cadeyrn reached for him as soon as he was in manskin and kissed him hard on the lips.

  Eadric moaned into it. Cadeyrn pressed a hand to his lower back, drawing him closer. Eadric widened his legs, allowing one of Cadeyrn's thighs to come in and press against his hardening cock.

  Cadeyrn pulled back. His purple eyes were dark with lust. "I want you."

  Eadric leaned forward to kiss Cadeyrn again. The fae let him, before gently grabbing him by the chin and pushing him back.

  "Is there something wrong?" Eadric asked. Among wolfshifters, there was very little mounting and marking until the official mating, but potential mates often explored such avenues together.

  Cadeyrn shook his head. "I do not want you to bind yourself to me before you are ready." He rested their foreheads together such that their breaths mingled. "Allowing sex is how you would accept this courtship, accept becoming my mate."

  "Oh." Eadric pulled back. His body was still hot, but he knew he didn't want to go down that path yet. "I see."

  Cadeyrn gave him a small smile. "I will never push you. I just hope that one day you will accept." He looked away. It was a starkly submissive gesture to come from such a dominant male. "Though I will understand if one day you realize you cannot find it in yourself to leave your pack permanently."

  "I have no answers for you yet," Eadric said.

  Cadeyrn nodded. He straightened up. "We will have an early meal for Yule. Many of the clan have hunted tirelessly for the past days to gather the food for it."

  Eadric was hungry after playing with the children for so long. He followed as Cadeyrn grabbed two sets of clothes and headed back down the ramp. Cadeyrn looked at him, flicking his eyes down to Eadric's cock, so Eadric shifted to his wolfskin before leaving the den. They walked to a nearby mountain stream. Cadeyrn set aside the clothes and stripped his pants off.

  Eadric took in the sight of his potential mate's long legs and pink cock. The fae was larger than he'd expected. He wondered how the fae could comfortably fit that in his pants. Cadeyrn saw him looking and smirked.

  Huffing a bit, Eadric shifted back to manskin. He wasn't ashamed of his own cock. It was fairly short, but it was thick. Had he been dominant, his submissive mate would have had no room to complain. But he was submissive and just the thought of Cadeyrn's long cock pulsing inside him had his own cock stiffening.

  Eadric jumped into the stream. The cold water deflated his cock rapidly. Cadeyrn came in after him. There were pieces of ice floating down the stream, but apparently the speed at which it ran had kept it from freezing over completely. Eadric knew this stream ran down into one of the lakes in the valley, which had frozen over.

  The water was too cold to stay in long. They spent only moments wiping the grime off their bodies before they both scrambled back to the grass. Cadeyrn handed Eadric another robe. This one was made of a softer material and was more colorful that the last. Eadric supposed it was a special robe for Yule day. He put it on, glad for the warmth it provided.

  Cadeyrn put on a robe himself. It was similar to Eadric's. Eadric found himself a bit disappointed that it covered the fae's chest. He brushed the feeling aside as Cadeyrn wrapped an arm around his waist and led him back to the dwelling.

  There were several fae already seated around the bonfire while more continued to join. Cadeyrn led him to a seat on the same log as Boudicca and a red-haired male. The male had Boudicca's mark on his left arm--her submissive mate then.

  The redhead smiled at Eadric and Eadric hesitantly smiled back. Cadeyrn still had an arm wrapped around his waist and he pressed into it uncertainly as quite a number of fae stared in his direction.

  They were served food a moment later. It was laid out on a wooden platter that was set before the log for the four to share. Cooked poultry, venison, and several different types of berries were arranged across it. Eadric rarely ate berries--wolfshifters survived off meat and water--but he occasionally let the sweet juice serve as a treat. Nothing said treat like it being Yule.

  He waited until the other three had grabbed their first choice of food before grabbing his. He was sure he was the lowest ranked on this log, but just being on the same log as Boudicca said something about Cadeyrn's status in the clan. Eadric wondered if they were related. Boudicca and her mate didn't look old enough to have a child Cadeyrn's age, but perhaps he was her brother.

  Several fae began to strike strange instruments. They made music, like what one could produce from their mouth but even longer. Eadric was fascinated immediately. "They are lutes," Cadeyrn whispered into his ear. "There will be a performance honoring Yule as we feast."

  Fae began to dance around the fire. Their movements were strange and choreographed to the tune. A young female fae joined her voice in with the music and began a tale.

  Eadric listened as the story of the Gwrtheyrn clan was told in song while the dancers acted along. The clan was old, far older than the Eoforwine pack, and while Eadric had heard a version of this tale before he'd never heard or seen it like this. He was enthralled by the figures dancing in the firelight and the sounds flitting over the silent crowd.

  As the song finished, another fae took the place of the girl and began a new song. The dancers changed, allowing the first set to rest and eat. This tale was of the first Yule in a time when the stars sang to the fae and told them about love and family.

  Cadeyrn's arm was tight around him and his body warm. Eadric's heartbeat was steady in his chest, but his breath caught as he glanced at Cadeyrn and saw the fae looking back at him. Cadeyrn gently kissed his lips, before turning back to the performers. Eadric took in the sight of his potential mate's face for a moment longer before he, too, was caught back in the dancers' spell.

  By the time the performances finished, Eadric's stomach was full and his body singing with delight and contentment. He'd never had such a strange, but wonderful Yule before.

  Cadeyrn led the way back up to their den that night and stripped down to a loose pair of shorts. He curled up on the bed and beckoned Eadric to join him. Eadric stripped of his robe, gently laying it down so as not to rip the soft fabric. He shifted into his wolfskin and curled up on the furs. Cadeyrn's body curled around him.

  Eadric let himself be lulled to sleep with the sound of Cadeyrn's breathing and the feeling of their bodies pressed together.

  * * * *

  The day after Yule, Eadric jogged the last stretch of land to his pack's clearing. He shifted into manskin and walked down the side of the hill.

  Several pack members cried out upon seeing him and rushed forward to brush against him. He smiled at them, accepting the caresses, but it was his family he sought. The others seemed to understand and pulled back to give him a path to his father, brother, and mother.

  His mother wrapped him in a tight hug as soon as he approached her. He hugged back, burying his head into her shoulder for a moment. When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. "Eadric," she murmured.

  "I am sorry for leaving without talking to you," he said. "I hope you did not worry too badly."

  She shook her head. "Your father explained."

  "Are you back for good?" Oswald asked. "Or just visiting?"

  "Just visiting," Eadric said. He felt his cheeks redden. "The clan has been very welcoming."

  "And your potential mate?" his father questioned.

  Eadric nodded. Cadeyrn had been more so than the rest, but he didn't think he had to say that aloud.

  His mother hugged him again,
before pulling him away from his father and brother to talk about his potential mate. It was a stark difference from how things had been before the Wild Hunt. Everyone had thought Eadric a beta, a dominant, but now that he was a submissive he would be expected to spend more time with his submissive parent when he was visiting.

  Eadric found he didn't mind too terribly. He loved his mother, with her quick words and her subtle wisdom. She made his father a better chief and his father knew it. They were a perfect love match--the kind of pairing Eadric had always wanted.

  I wonder if Cadeyrn and I could become as close as my parents.

  Eadric spent most of the day with his pack. He made sure to take time to talk to Paega, who'd been upset that he hadn't returned two nights before. Paega was excited though once he heard the reason for it and asked insistent questions about the fae, joined in by the other curious pups.

  Eadric answered what he could, what he'd learned from the two days he'd spent with the clan. He knew that his brother was not so subtly listening in. He turned to Oswald as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

  Oswald pulled him close. It wasn't quite a hug, but it was comforting nonetheless. "I never thought you would submit to anyone."

  "Does it bother you?"

  Oswald shook his head. "You always were an odd one." He grinned to show the words weren't meant to be hurtful. "Are you happy?"

  "For now."

  "And you will return as soon as you stop feeling this way," Oswald demanded.

  Eadric didn't take demands well, but he nodded because his brother was right. He wouldn't stay if he stopped liking it, if the negatives began to outweigh the positives. To do so wouldn't be fair to himself, or to Cadeyrn.

  Eadric pressed a hand to his brother's chest. "I will come visit more." He left then, so he could return to the fae clan before supper.

  Cadeyrn met him in the den as he shifted from wolfskin to manskin. The fae wrapped his arms around him from behind and kissed him on the neck. Eadric tilted his head to the side to show his acceptance of it and to give Cadeyrn more room.