The Wolves of Ossory

18. The Wolves of Ossory

Maeve

I cried in horror as I watched my sister disappear over the ledge, springing forward to go after her.

"Maeve, NO! The ground's to unstable!" Grady yelled, pulling me back as the ground continued to fall away.

"ALMA! ALMA HOLD ON!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. I heard howling in the distance and Aila perked up in my head.

We have to move! Give me control! She commanded and I fell to my knees, letting her have the light. She shifted easily, commanding Grady to stay and deal with the strange wolves.

Aila jumped over the ledge, sliding down sideways and scaling the side of the cliff skillfully. She found a steep decent to the waters edge. The tide was trying to come in, water rising with every passing moment.

They've got me Maeve! Get Alma and get home! Grady growled through our link.

Aila howled, anger pulsing through her veins. She charged into the waters, fighting against the current and swimming to the stone. Luckily, the rock had a few foot holds and she propelled up the rock.

Aila pulled herself over the ledge, panting heavily. She whimpered, nuzzling our unconscious sister. We could hear her faint heartbeat. Luckily it was stable, but very, very weak. Her head was bleeding, her leg pointing the wrong direction.

We have to move her very carefully, and quickly. I noted frantically. Aila grunted in agreement, lifting Alma up by the waistband of her shorts and draping her over our back. Her arm dangled and Aila bit down on it gently, holding tight as we dove back into the water.

Swimming with the extra weight on our back proved to be challenging, especially with the ocean fighting us every breath.

Come on! You can make it! I encouraged my wolf, trying to give her the strength to keep going.

She made it to the shore, coughing and puking up water. Glancing up at the climb ahead of us, she whined, grabbing back on to Almas arm and beginning the trek up the rocky terrain.

There were many times she slipped, having to start again and I could feel herself wearing out. The rocks were laced with something that pulled our strength away, fatigue entering her bones and muscles.

She made it to the platform Alma had dropped from and collapsed. releasing control back to me and retreating to the back of my mind.

Thank you, Aila. I'll take it from here. I gratefully thanked my strong wolf, allowing her to recover. I could feel the rocks draining me already, so I threw Alma over my back and began clawing my way back up the cliff. My arms and legs were screaming at me to give up, pleading to stop and rest but I tried to ignore the pain, pushing myself to my limits. The sharp stones pierced my naked skin, tearing into my flesh as if it were butter.

I felt the mossy ground finally, securing my footing and hauling Alma up and over. Sweat poured off my face. Almost there, come on Maeve. I told myself, gasping for air.

I put both of my palms on the solf ground above me, throwing myself over the ledge and crawling a good enough distance to ensure I wouldn't fall back down, dragging Alma with me.

I gave myself a moment to regain my strength, already feeling better being away from those damn rocks. I stared at the sky above me, watching how the sun was beginning to set. Where were we?

A set of bright blue eyes bore down on me suddenly, blocking my view of the sky.

"Welcome to Ossory!" He said before bringing his foot down square on my face, knocking me out.

I opened my eyes, feeling a headache creeping in. There were torches lit on the trees around us as night had fallen. Alma laid on the ground, a woman standing over her, trying to bring her to consciousness. Grady was badly beaten and tied up to a tree across from me, seemingly unconscious as well. I tried to move, realizing I was bound.

Aila, are you there? I called to my wolf.

Present! I'm feeling a lot better, ready for whatever! She chirped right away.

I broke through the ropes tying me down, surprising the man who stomped my lights out and causing the woman to snap her head up, growling.

He rushed to me, grabbing my neck and pinning me to the tree, my legs dangling freely above the ground.

"You've a lot of fight in you, little red," he said to me in an accent I wasn't familiar with.

"You have no idea!" I spat at him, bringing my legs up and wrapping them around his arm, squeezing hard and hearing his shoulder dislocate. His hold on me weakend and I dropped, bringing him down with me and propelling him over my head and into the forest behind me with my legs.

I quickly sprang to my feet, ready to charge the woman standing over my sister. She took a fighting stance, claws coming out of her hand. Aila pushed forward, our eyes glowing green and surprising the woman.

A wolf growled from behind me and I whipped around as the dark brownish red wolf sunk it's teeth into my shoulder. I cried out, feeling the weight of the wolf take me down.

"Shift!" Aila and I growled to him, using our royal aura. The wolf jumped off, shaking his head and pawing at his nose before snapping his jaws at us, readying for another attack.

"I said shift!" we commanded, more power omitting from us now. The wolf cowered and shifted into the man from before. I glanced at the woman, seeing her standing in place as if frozen, her eyes wide.

"Who the hell are you!" the man yelled at me.

"I think I should be asking the questions here! Release my Beta immediately and send for help. My sister is injured and needs medical assistance." I glowered at the man, daring him to object.

"Cormac! Do as she says!" the woman commanded, also seeming to have a thick foreign accent.

Cormac obeyed, untying Grady and letting his limp body drop to the forest floor. I rushed to him, making sure he was okay. His wounds were healing just fine, just a few bruises here and there.

"Your sister will be fine," the woman said to me, her eyes staying on me as Cormac shifted and ran off to find help, I was assuming.

"What the hell were you thinking, attacking royalty?!" I hissed at her.

"Pardon? You trespassed. You are lucky our Lord linked us to not kill ye," she growled back, glaring at me.

"Oh I am sure to be having many choice words with this 'Lord of yours," I shot back, feeling Aila trying to push through again.

This woman took a step towards me, pointing at me dangerously.

"I'll not have you disrespect our Lord, no matter how royal you be!" she hissed.

Alma made a small groan from behind her and we both whipped our heads toward her, rushing to my sisters side. I growled at the woman lowly, not trusting her to be near.

"Easy, easy there love," she cooed gently. I c****d my head at her. She locked eyes with me for a moment before helping Alma sit up.

"You had a good fall there, your highness. You're lucky your sister got to you before we did. Can't have promised you to have such a good outcome," the woman chuckled.

"Maeve?" Alma croaked, opening her eyes and looking for me.

"Hey, Al. I'm here." I pulled her into a tight hug. She winced and I let go a bit.

"Whose this wench?" she asked groggily, giggling a bit.

"My name is Ophelia, Duchess to Lord Haven," the woman bowed to Alma.

I felt slighted; she had not addressed me as such.

Cormac reappeared, flanked by two others who rushed to aide Alma, lifting her and walking back through the woods. Cormac handed me two robes he had brought for Grady and I, and I quickly put it on.

"Sorry for our encounter earlier. We have a certain creed we live by. Lord Haven can explain more," Cormac extended his hand to me and I took it hesitantly.

Grady was starting to wake up and I helped him to his feet.

"Ask questions later, let's go." I whispered to him. He grumbled slightly, eyeing Cormac with dislike.

"Sorry about that too, brother. You put up a good fight, if it's any consolation," Cormac clapped his shoulder, causing him to wince a little.

We followed Opheilia and the other two warriors, keeping in step with Cormac and Grady.

"So, excuse my ignorance, who are you?" Cormac started, trying to be friendly.

"I am princess Maeve. That is princess Alma. We came here by mistake," I huffed, not in the mood to make small talk. Cormac burst out laughing.

"You? A princess?! Her, absolutely. But your fighting skills and the fact that you scaled our Hell Cliffs with her on your back? No way you are a princess. No one returns from that cliff. You are a fighter," he mused, admiring me a bit too much for my liking.

"Maeve is a wonderful leader actually," Grady defended me, growling.

"I never said she wasn't. She just doesn't fit the stereotypical princess," Cormac responded unbothered.

"Oh sorry. I forgot, I am suppose to be the damsel in distress. Oh please, please help me, you big strong man! What would I do without you?" I pouted, batting my eyes at him.

Grady howled and Cormac rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. Usually you are prime and poised, never breaking a nail," he explained. "Someone like Alma." he jerked his thumb towards my sister.

"She is a lot tougher than she seems," I glared at him.

"Clearly, she did survive falling off that cliff. You are both very different than I would've thought," Cormac responded, and after that we walked in silence, the only sound was our feet against the forest floor.

Finally, the path became cobblestone and we exited the forest, a beautiful castle, even in the dark of night, greeting us beyond. Lights glowed from all over, a row of rounded ferns separating the garden area we strolled through from the stone pad leading to the castle doors.

"Your sister will be sent to the medical wing. We retieved your bags and had them put up in the rooms you will be staying in. We may welcome you to our home, but know that we will be watching you," Ophelia said, turning to face me with defiance in her eyes.

"Understood," I met her head on, matching her tone evenly.

"I'll show you your rooms," Cormac cleared his throat, breaking the tension.

We followed him after I told Alma I would see her soon. My body ached all over, still trying to catch up from all the poison we encountered.

The room was dimly lit, a red shaggy rug sitting in front of a fireplace and a recliner placed next to it. The bed was a four post queen mattress, a red and black down comforter made up on top. My merlin sack was placed on the blanket and I quickly opened it up, stepping inside to ensure I had some privacy.

Fable had mentioned it was soundproof and I needed to call home. I reached for my left earring but nothing happened. I tried again with no luck then tried them both, trying to portal home. Nothing. It was as if magic couldn't reach this place. I started to panic a bit, not knowing how to plan my next move and not knowing where we were. What the hell was Ossory?! I never heard of such a land!

I stepped out of the sack, making sure to bring some clothes out with me as I needed to shower desperately. I peaked outside my bedroom door, not sensing anyone around. Aila couldn't hear or smell anyone either.

I crept out, hoping I could remember the way we got here, I thought I had seen a study or library of sorts and I was determined to find a map and figure out how we got here and where we were.

I tiptoed down the hallway, thankful that the warriors brought some robes for me and Grady. Wearing something from this place masked my scent just slightly.

Hearing a door opening behind me, I quickened my pace, rounding the corner and scampering down the stairs. I remembered this passageway. I was close to the ground floor.

I was in eyesight of the study doors now and made a run for it, opening the door and turning quickly, shutting it behind me. I let out a breath and turned back around, hitting something very solid that let out a grunt.

The new smell engulfed my senses, my toes curling unintentionally as the smell of vanilla and fresh rain suffocated me. I looked at the hard surface, my eyes slowly traveling up this rock hard body, dressed in a red flowing shirt that came to a torn v, string holding it together slightly, brown curly hair peaking out at me.

My eyes traveled up further, seeing his chiseled square jaw with dark brown red hair growing from it, neatly trimmed. His lips full and pulled into a small frown, a small pointed nose angled down towards me and his eyes, a deep, ambery brown pool.

"Excuse me, lass, I believe you to be lost,"