The Alpha's Mother-In-Law's Forbidden Love (The Cresta Chronicles)

Jude POV

What a relief to be himself again and not pretend in front of Melisande. 

Jude shrugged off the strange feelings of Melisande's lab. The best way he could describe it was feeling constantly on edge and in the middle of a lightning storm. 

Daxius' turquoise eyes were wide. "You've been pretending?"

"Oh yes." Jude grinned defiantly. "I'll have to apologize to Lilia. I couldn't stop Melisande from giving her that potion, but it wasn't poisonous … and I'm in the hole with Dane. Not to mention Ravyn–I masked the bond."

Daxius' eyes widened. "You can do that?"

"We don't particularly enjoy it, but yes," Jude admitted. "I could still feel her, though."

Daxius shook his head, marveling at the deception. "She just might forgive you, given such a feat, tricking Melisande."

Marieke smiled, as bright as sunshine. "Thank the Goddess Brigid that someone did! I've hated obeying her, but she left me little choice." She bit her lip. "Although when she first approached me, she was kind. Well, not kind, exactly, but she seemed to understand my loneliness. She seemed to sympathize."

Melisande had to be the loneliest and most miserable person Jude had ever met, not counting Hades Ombra. No family, as far as he could see. No friends. No lover, let alone a mate. She seemed to live for pure power and control over others.

And if she were influenced by the Dark Goddess, that would make perfect sense. 

"She could never understand what drives you, Marieke," he said. "The fear of losing love and companionship after so many years without it. She uses that, but she has no idea what it feels like. How painful it is."

Marieke's eyes opened wide. "Yes! Thank the gods you understand."

"I do, because I know how precious it is." His eyes flicked to Daxius. "And I've come to appreciate that Daxius is a good man. I don't blame you for fighting to protect him. But you must know that he's the kind of person willing to stand up to evil."

Daxius looked at Jude, his eyes filled with deep admiration and respect. "Surprisingly, I think Ravyn might halfway agree with you now."

Marieke smiled slightly. "I know he doesn't like to be controlled, or dictated to."

"Would you, after so many years?" Daxius grumbled.

Her cheeks pinkened. "I don't even like it now, after only a little taste of it. We don't have room to delve into my history, but I did grow up near the shifter lands. I was aware of all of you because my parents were hunters … we saw wolves change in the Battlecona Woods."

Blushing, Jude shook his head. "That's rather embarrassing–we never knew you were there!"

"My family were nomads for generations," she commented wryly. "Our last name is Wind, and that's what we were–like the wayward wind. The forest was our home. So, you're probably wondering how I ended up marooned on an island–away from my family, away from my forest. That's a long story for another time. But the point is that I don't mind being in nature–I prefer it. It's the loneliness I couldn't stand–I don't have anyone now. My family was killed when I was a child."

Jude tensed. "Please, tell me shifters weren't responsible."

Marieke nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so–we weren't as good at stealth as I thought."

Chills ran down Jude's spine, barely cooling his blood. "Which pack were they from? I hope for Goddess' sake that they weren't from Silverpaw."

"I don't know," Marieke admitted. "They were very well-fed wolves, healthy, cared-for."

"From a pack, then," Jude growled. "Rogues are usually rough-looking. They'll pay for what they've done, Marieke. That's a promise. Our people don't take kindly to shifters killing humans. Dane and I will personally get justice for you. Although you haven't met Dane's brother Jiro, he's an Alpha too, and even more ruthless when it comes to punishing crimes like this. He'll help us track down the culprits. Frankly, it's a wonder that you didn't want us dead."

He would find the shifters responsible and punish them. 

Marieke trembled. "You didn't kill my family. That was decades ago. You would have been a baby, probably. And Dane wouldn't even have been born."

He couldn't understand her lack of hatred, and he was grateful to the Goddess for it. If humans had killed Emer, he might have broken every shifter law and a lifetime of beliefs to avenge her death.

Some part of her must have resented the shifters, and Melisande would have used that. Still, she was willing to help them now, because of Daxius. 

The wizard looked guilty. "I should have guessed–your pain is a tool for Melisande."

Marieke shook her head, her eyes flashing at the very idea. "I told her I forgave the shifters–being stranded here in nature, you have a lot of time to think. And you begin to understand life."

A smile tugged at Jude's lips. "You're an unusual person, Marieke. More proof that Daxius has excellent taste in females."

Blushing, she said, "Thank you. And if I despised all shifters, you and Dane would quickly change that view. I'm grateful to you for bringing back Daxius."

"Grateful enough to help us escape Melisande?" Jude asked, touching her shoulder lightly.

Marieke shuddered at his touch, looking humbled. "Yes. I've gained her trust. Daxius knows now that she approached me before he left for the shifter lands. She became a friend, at least that's what I thought. It's hard to read her."

"You're far too kind," Jude growled. "Melisande doesn't have any friends."

Daxius nodded. "Even being briefly involved with each other when we were students didn't make her hesitate to use me as a means to an end–whatever that end is. She says she wants to destroy the shifters, but who knows what her real goal is?"

Marieke grimaced, smelling dissatisfied. "That's a good question. She has to know that a war with the shifters would be devastating, and she might lose. From what Daxius has told me, the witches don't want a war, either."

"How could we find out what she's up to?" Jude questioned, his logical mind running through the possibilities. "Marieke, do you know where she keeps her private papers and journals?"

Marieke nodded, still trembling. "She allows me into her study at times. It's usually locked, and she used to spend hours there."

"Does she also keep secrets in the lab, perhaps?" Daxius asked.

Marieke's eyes widened. "That lab is stuffed full of so many objects and has so many cabinets. And Melisande always thinks people are plotting against her. She makes the shifters here write out copies of her spells, because she worries about her secrets being lost."

Now, she smelled determined and hopeful, like a sunny morning. 

Jude beamed. "Thank you, Marieke. We need you to search those rooms–take Daxius if you have to. I'll tend to Ravyn, Dane, and Lilia."

Daxius' dark brows arched. "Who put you in charge?"

Jude stared at him, unblinking. "I'm an Alpha."

"And Marieke and I know more about magic than you've forgotten," Daxius shot back.

The man was bold. No wonder Jude liked him. 

"Alright then, you and Marieke are in charge of this effort. What are your orders?" He folded his arms expectantly.

Daxius hesitated for only a moment before he decided, "We'll follow your plan. You take care of our family while Marieke and I search for the key to stopping Melisande's wicked schemes."

Jude shook his hands, feeling Daxius' firm grip. "Deal."

He pulled Marieke and Daxius out of the torture chamber and said, loud enough for anyone one floor down to hear, "Alright, you two. You've been slacking off. The master wants to see you. You know the place. Now go, or your witch and wizard powers will be worthless!"

Feeling lighter than since he woke up staring above him at Melisande's stern, severe, beautiful face, he headed back to Ravyn's prison cell. Melisande might not call it that, but it might as well be a dungeon. On the way, he encountered some of the rogues running frantically. "HUMANS," one of the rogues cried out. "They killed us!"

Humans?

Jude ran to one of the windows and looked down to see a ghastly sight. Dead, broken human bodies in armor lay beside slain wolves. From up here, they looked like dolls. 

How did humans come to this island? Marieke had been abandoned here for years. And those suits of armor looked like royal armor, as far as he could tell. Or they could be knights serving some lord or other. The salty-sweet smell of human blood was unmistakable.

These rogues would start something terrible and ugly between the shifters and the witches. The royals of Lugdunum wouldn't just accept the slaughter of their loyal soldiers! What rulers in their right mind would? Jude certainly wouldn't. 

His dark thoughts were interrupted by a ripple in the air, moving toward the tower. A strange wave that he'd seen repeatedly after spending so much time with witches. Could there be human royal or lordly mages here? Maybe those mages knew about the shifters the way most enchanters did?

Or did he dare hope that the witches and wizards in their family had come to their rescue?

Melisande yanked his arm and spun him around to face her. "Well, don't just stand there like a simpleton! There may be more soldiers and mages on the island. I want you to go and search the battlefield for survivors, and scout the area around the tower."

She didn't even care about the deaths of the soldiers in the kingdom she lived in!

Jude tensed. "I should see to the prisoners, my master."

Her cold eyes narrowed. They'd changed somehow. They'd turned gold. "They're fine. I can post guards inside. Now, go."

He couldn't resist. If he did, Melisande would either suspect something or punish him–and his family. Besides, he felt curious.

How had the royal guards managed to make it to Melisande's tower? How had they even known to come here? Marieke had lived here for years without seeing a soul. 

 "As my master commands," he said. "Actually … there may still be mages out there. I have a little power from Ravyn, but she's not in the best shape right now. If my master would accompany me?"

It was a risk–especially if they did encounter an army, or worse, the other Crestas.

But it would keep Melisande away from her study, the lab, and most importantly, from his family.

She squinted, her eyes probing him for any sign of deception. "Very well. I think you'll be of great service to me, beyond what you've already done. Let's go."

For Ravyn, his family, and his pack, he could endure anything.