«I don’t know. This Fae once loved a human. And she is falling in love with you.»

He smiled and cupped her cheek. «So what do we do about it?»

«Let me finish my task. Then if I am still alive, I will return to you.»

Niall saw it then, her certainty she wouldn’t live through whatever her brother had in mind. She knew she might have to sacrifice her life to save his children.

Niall drew her close. He vowed to himself, then and there, to protect her. He’d make himself trust her, whatever she was planning, because Alanna knew how to get his cubs free and he didn’t. But he wouldn’t let her pay with her life. Niall would protect her like a Shifter would his mate — damn it, she was his mate now.

If they survived this, he’d seek another clan leader and beg him to complete the bond, under the sun and the moon, in the eyes of the Goddess. His own clan leader was long dead, which meant that Niall was, in fact, a clan leader — of the very small clan of himself and his sons, he thought with a grin. But he couldn’t mate bond himself.

One thing at a time.

«I’m not letting you go, yet,» Niall said softly. He kissed her lips. «Not quite yet.»

Alanna pulled him into a deeper kiss. Niall took the sword with him as he led her to the cottage and made love to her again in the light of the rising sun.

When Niall awoke in the bed an hour later, Alanna was gone. Entirely gone — he didn’t catch her scent in the cottage at all. Her silken robes were no longer hanging on the peg next to his crude tunic, and the sword he’d laid next to the bed had vanished.

Niall rose, naked, and shifted into his Fae-cat form.

Several thousand years before, the Fae had taken the best of every wildcat in existence and bred the Fae-cat, larger and stronger than any natural beast. Fae-cats had the strength of lions, the ferocity of tigers, the speed of cheetahs, the stealth of panthers. Niall bounded down from the loft and out into the dense fog that had rolled in from the sea.

Alanna wasn’t in the forge. He picked up her scent on the path that led to the gently sloping mountain above the village, towards the circle of standing stones even the most sceptical of the villagers liked to avoid. Mists rolled between the stones when Niall reached them. The mists smelled all wrong; instead of salt and fish like the heavy fog over the village, these mists exuded an acrid smell overlaid with the sharp scent of mint.

An entrance to Faerie. Niall regarded it with foreboding before he realized that Alanna’s scent was quickly fading. His sons were in there, and now Alanna. Without further thought, Niall leaped into the mists between two of the stones and heard something snick closed behind him.

Six

Alanna found her brother hunting, but this wasn’t unusual. Kieran spent most of his time hunting, or rather, having his men chase animals towards him so that he could shoot them.

Kieran was every inch a Fae prince as he stood in the fog-soaked clearing wearing a white kid tunic, soft boots and fur-trimmed cloak, with his white-blond hair held back by a diamond diadem. Two men at arms flanked him: one carrying his bow, the other, his quiver of arrows.

As Alanna approached, Kieran took the bow and nocked an arrow, sighting into the woods opposite her. In a few seconds a wolf charged out of the fog, streaking for the heavy undergrowth on Alanna’s side of the clearing. The wolf was larger than most, its blue-white eyes intelligent.

The wolf saw Alanna and veered at the last minute. Kieran’s arrow, which had left the bow, bounced off a boulder where the wolf had been a second before.

Kieran shoved his bow back at his armsman and growled. «Damn you, Alanna. I’ve been tracking that wolf all night.»

«Have you?» More likely his trackers had found the wolf for him. «That wasn’t a natural wolf,» she said. «It was a Fae-wolf. A Shifter.»

«Bloody animal. Any Shifter in my realm is fair game.»

That was true. Any Shifter who ventured here had to be crazy, which meant the Lupine had probably been captured or lured in somehow. She didn’t know enough to tell whether it were male or female, and she wondered if Kieran had stolen its cubs too. She hoped it found its way back to the standing stones and out.

Kieran’s hungry gaze went to the sword, the Lupine forgotten, and he snapped his fingers. Alanna walked to him, handing over the sword with a little curtsy.

«Lovely.» Kieran hefted the blade, testing its balance. «This is perfect.»

«What are you going to use it for?» Alanna asked him.

«Simple, dear sister. To defeat Shifters.»

Niall had accused Alanna of knowing what Kieran’s spells were for, and she did, but she didn’t understand exactly what Kieran meant to do with them.

«Defeat them?» she asked. «It’s not a good weapon for killing, the Shifter said. Not sturdy enough, even with the spells.»

Kieran kept his gaze on the etched blade. «You know that I am named for our grandfather, who was killed by a horde of Lupine Shifters. Demons in animal skins. With this sword, I shall avenge him.»

«How?» Alanna asked. «The Shifters who killed him died long ago. Shifters are short-lived, you know; they last only three or four centuries at most.»

Kieran gave her a pitying look. «You are simplistic, my sister. I don’t need to find the descendants, I have the Shifters themselves. I have their bones.»

He waved his hand and mists lifted from the other side of the clearing. Low mounds, a dozen of them, lay side by side, overgrown with green.

Alanna’s eyes widened. «Where are those?»

«My loyal men tracked down the graves of each of the Lupines who slaughtered our grandfather. I had their remains brought here and reburied. I’ve been collecting them for a long time.»

«Why?»

«For this day.» Kieran raised the sword again. «Did you not understand the spells I gave you? You are a fine mage, my dear, and the only one who wasn’t afraid to go to the human world. Surely you will have worked it out.»

Alanna nodded. «You wanted to make a soul-stealer.»

«Ah, so you have not lost every bit of your intelligence after all. No, I cannot kill the Shifters who murdered our grandfather. But, if I capture their souls and make them do my bidding, they will be miserable for eternity.»

Alanna studied the mounds, which looked vulnerable and sad. «But the Shifters have been dead so long. Their souls will be gone — won’t they?»

«Not these Shifters. Our grandfather cursed them as he died.»

«Cursed them?»

Kieran gave her a disparaging look. «You are ignorant, Alanna. He cursed their souls to cleave to their dead bones. No going to the happy Summerland to chase rabbits for these Shifters.»

Alanna hid her revulsion. Even Fae had souls that dissolved when they reached the end of their long lives. The Fae then drifted, content, free of the constraints of the body, which also dissolved. To tie a soul to a cold, dark grave seemed to her the height of barbarity.

«Aren’t they miserable already?»

«Perhaps, perhaps not. But if I have their souls, they will become aware of their suffering. I will make certain of it.»

Alanna shrugged, pretending not to care. She had to make Kieran think she sided with him until the very last minute.

«Well, whatever you intend do with the dogs’ souls, the sword maker kept his end of the bargain, to my surprise. I will take his sons back to the human world.»

Kieran gave her another disgusted look. «I don’t bargain with Shifters.» He snapped his fingers. «You. Bring the Shifter’s get.»

Two attendants disappeared and returned holding the squirming Fae-cat cubs. The cubs were wrapped in nets, both attendants cursing as they dropped the bundles to the ground.

One of the attendants put his hands on his hips, panting. «They refuse to shift back to human form.»

Alanna knelt next to the net-wrapped cubs, keeping herself out of reach of their flailing claws. «Your father sends his love,» she whispered so the attendants wouldn’t hear. «He says to tell you he’s proud of you.»

Both small cats eyed her in suspicion, but they quieted.

Kieran strode to them. «Let us test the blade on them, shall we?»

Alanna rose quickly. «You said it wasn’t a killing blade.»

«No, but it will likely do some damage; they are small, and I imagine their souls will be. cute.»

Alanna tried to grab Kieran’s arm, but before she could, a huge Fae-cat tore through the clearing and leaped at him.

Niall.

He’d followed her. Alanna watched in panic as the men-at-arms and attendants fought him off. Kieran would kill Niall for certain.

Niall fought hard, but there were ten Fae to one Shifter and, after a few minutes of struggle, Niall was overwhelmed. The men-at-arms bound him in another net, and Niall went insane, fighting and clawing the ropes, foam and blood flecking his mouth.

Kieran approached Niall, rage on his face. «I’ll test the blade on its maker instead.»

Alanna clenched her hands in fear, but Niall raged and fought so hard through the net that Kieran couldn’t get near him. The men-at-arms advised their prince to abandon the attempt.

«Tell him to shift back,» Kieran shouted at Alanna. «He shifts back or I kill his cubs.»

«Why would he listen to me?» Alanna folded her arms. «I’m Fae. He was foul as foul can be the whole time. I hope you’re happy. Shifters disgust me.»

Niall roared, the sound filling the clearing. His children fought and yowled, encouraged by their father’s wrath.

«Fine,» Kieran said. «I’ll shoot the bastard, instead. Good target practice.»

Alanna touched his arm, trying to make her tone cool. «Why don’t you show the Shifter smith what the sword was made for?»

Kieran stopped, then a feral smile creased his face. «Sister, you will make a fine Fae yet. Watch, Shifter. Let me show you how I can reach into the past and hurt your kind in the present.»

The Prince walked to the closest mound, flicking back his cloak. He lifted the sword and drove it point down straight through the mound.

Light flashed up the length of the sword, and a shower of dirt shot from the grave. In the midst, a swirl of smoke changed into the misty shape of a Fae-wolf. Kieran laughed. He went to the next mound, and the next, releasing the essences of the Lupines, who floated insubstantially over the places where their bones had been buried.

Kieran flourished the sword, its silver blade flashing. «Behold the souls of those who slew my grandfather.» He turned to them, and opened his arms. «You will surrender to me, and do what I bid. You will kill the Shifter Feline and his cubs.»

The figures whirled around him. Alanna held her breath, fingers at her mouth. This was not what she’d expected to happen. She’d changed the spells so that the wolves would disperse, their souls free for all eternity, not bound. Instead they lingered, like wolves gathering around prey.

Prey.

«Kieran!» Alanna shouted. «Drop the sword. Run!»

Kieran ignored her. He swept the sword blade through the ghostlike creatures. «Obey, wraiths. Now you are mine.»

The wolves circled him, their eyes glowing yellow through the mist. As one, they attacked. Kieran cried out as the pack swept down on him in wild glee, and then he began to scream.

Niall shifted to human form, watching in amazement as the insubstantial wolves ripped into Kieran. They were mist and smoke — they shouldn’t be able to touch him — and yet the wolves rapidly tore the Prince apart. His pristine white cloak turned scarlet, and his men-at-arms and attendants fled.

The sword flew from Kieran’s hand, as though it propelled itself, and landed at Niall’s feet. Kieran screamed again. His bloody body turned in on itself and crumpled to dust.

The wolves padded in a circle around the Prince’s remains, then they lifted their heads and howled. It was a faint whisper of a howl, eerie and hollow, but it held a note of triumph.

The wolves shifted into a dozen men with broad shoulders and flowing hair, with the light blue eyes common to Lupines. They gave Niall and Alanna a collective look of acknowledgment, shifted back into wolves, and vanished. Wisps of smoke spun high into the sky and faded away.

Alanna caught up the sword, sliced swiftly through the net binding Niall, and helped him out of it. She moved to cut the ropes binding Piers and Marcus. Both cubs shifted into boys, running to Niall and throwing their arms around him. Tears streamed down Niall’s face as he knelt and gathered them in.