Chapter 175
It was a glorious beast.
Reyland’s mouth fell open.
The wolf stopped three feet in front of him.
On his knees, Reyland’s head came to the beast’s jaw. That’s how large the creature was.
It snorted. Reyland felt its warm breath on his face.
Everything in him wanted to fall backward away from this silent, giant beast; instead, his hands moved forward.
He reached out to cup the animal’s large head in his hands but stopped inches from its face.
The wolf sniffed his left hand, then his right, then stepped forward and licked Reyland’s face with a large, hot tongue.
Reyland shut his eyes and chuckled within his chest.
The wolf stepped back and stared at him.
It seemed to incline its head to the side, and Reyland broke out in a wide smile, even as his mind raced and his hands shook.
“Na…sha…?” Reyland whispered hoarsely.
The wolf nosed Reyland’s face and licked him again.
Reyland laughed low and deep.
“Nakshar!” he exclaimed quietly.
“It is great to meet you, brother!” Reyland whispered.
The light grey wolf, Nakshar, fell on Reyland, quashing him with his weight.
Reyalnd laughed, rolling on the forest floor with his brother, his life partner, his other half – his wolf.
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Reyland’s eyes opened slowly.
Soulful grey eyes came into focus.
A low voice rang in his ears.
“Welcome back, my prince,” Jackson whispered.
Reyland blinked at him.
He felt a warm hand in his and knew it was his guardian’s.
It was daylight.
The sun was still rising, but it was morning now.
Reyland’s lips twitched. His mouth and throat were dry. He blinked slowly, and Jackson shook his head very slightly.
Reyland stayed still.
The Gamma was smiling.
As he stared down at Reyland, his eyes filled. A trembling breath escaped his lips.
Reyland blinked.
He knew what his guardian was not saying, what he could not say.
He knew there was another in the room.
He knew the Gamma did not want to call any attention to his waking.
So, he held his guardian’s gaze silently.
Both men shared things no one else needed to know.
Reyland had given his life for Jackson.
Jackson had struggled back to Lightmoon to give that life back to Reyland.
That struggle had almost cost him the very life Reyland had offered, and still very well could.
And now, Reyland was back, where he didn’t want to be, where he had tried to escape.
Both shifters shared an understanding, and a pain, that no one else ever would.
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Eventually, Reyland closed his eyes, falling back into a deep sleep.
The next time he opened his them, there were many bodies in the room.
Jackson was gone. The other presence was also gone.
Everyone now was from Bloodrayne.
Reyland knew they were Bloodrayne, even though they bore no markings.
He ‘recognized’ them from the earlier hours of the morning. These were the four wolves who had treated his wounds, who had opened his chest.
Marian!
Reyland’s mind called out.
How he had not gone to her in his travels that morning, he did not know. But his heart, the heart her blood was flowing in, skipped a beat, and all four Bloodrayne shifters swarmed to his bed.
Four strangers’ eyes stared down at him.
He stared back at them, holding his breath.
Then, one of them spoke.
He appeared to be the oldest.
“Sire!” the old shifter breathed, “can you hear me? Do you see me?”
Reyland still could not speak. He blinked.
The old shifter gasped quietly as the other three drew closer.
“Can you…feel my hand?”
A dry, small hand was in Reyland’s left hand.
Reyland blinked.
All shifters breathed a sigh of relief. Smiles lit up each face as they pressed each other’s arms excitedly, still staying very quiet.
“Wriggle your toes, Sire,” one of the other shifters whispered.
Reyland obeyed.
All four sighed deeply; two even jumped up and down for a second.
“What do we do?” another whispered to the old shifter.
Before he could respond, Reyland entered all their minds.
“Marian. Where is Marian?” he asked urgently.
All shifters backed away from Reyland and fell to their knees.
Reyland strained his neck to keep the old shifter in his sights.
In the mind link that had formed – an impossible feat for those who did not share a blood bond either of mates or of pack members – the old shifter, Jorak, responded.
“In the next room, Sire,” Jorak replied respectfully.
“Why do you call me Sire?” Reyland asked hesitantly.
“Because you are the Lycan King, Sire,” Jorak breathed.
“I…what?” Reyland gasped.
“The Alpha King, your grandfather, can explain everything,” Jorak replied steadily.
Reyland attempted to sit up.
“Please, Sire, do not move yet. Let us give you one more dose of the medicine, then we will assist you,” the old shifter said urgently.
Reyland lay back, and all four shifters got to their feet.
The old shifter was handed a small earthen bottle. He added a few crushed grains and ground leaves, shook the contents forcefully, then moved to Reyland.
Jorak bowed lightly, then placed the container against Reyland’s lips.
Reyland drank the liquid.
After a moment, he was assisted to sit up while one of the other shifters figured out how to raise the back of the hospital bed.
As he struggled up, the door slid open.
No sooner had the door been opened than Alpha Dax held Reyland in his arms. Behind the Alpha, still at the doorway, the Luna, Zara, and his two younger brothers stood.
The Bloodrayne shifters left the room silently.
Dax buried his face in his son’s shoulder while Reyland held his father as tightly as he could, whispering incessantly to his father as his wide shoulders shook.
Dax wept.
For the first time in very many years.
He held his son with a firmness and a quiet fervor that spoke more volumes than any words he could have spoken.
Reyland opened damp eyes and stared at his Luna, his mother.
She blew him a kiss with both her hands and hugged herself. Reyland blinked at her, tears spilling down his face.
His gaze shifted to Zara, whose arms were around Luna Diane’s and her own son.
She was crying silently.
Reyland blinked at her, too.
She nodded excitedly at him.
His eyes drifted to his younger brothers.
Their young, white faces stared blankly back at their brother, their eyes wide with shock.
Neither of his younger brothers had seen him in his new form. And now, all their parents were crying, their eldest brother was crying; the young pups were, rightfully, confused.
Reyland winked at each of them.
The older of the two smiled shyly; the younger just stared. They were fifteen and thirteen years old, respectively.
Reyland patted his father’s back, drawing his gaze from his family, as he whispered more words to his father.
No one could hear what was said.
When Dax pulled back, his face was dry.
Reyland smiled weakly at his father as the Alpha stroked his cheek and pressed his shoulders and arms.
Then, Dax stood.