T. A. Chase

Wednesday’s Work in Progress…

Okay…so I finished Dream Part five yesterday. Yay! Now I can get working on my coast guard story, Always Ready. I know I shared a snippet of it with you a while ago, but I’m really hoping to get it finished by the end of the week. We’ll have to see how that goes. Also, I have to work on Blindsided, the 4th book in our Sports series. 🙂

Instead I thought I’d share a snippet from a story titled Lyva’s Chance. It’s the first in a four book series that I’m trying to find the time to write…lol. Goodness knows when that will be. 🙂 It takes place in a world where vampyres and lycans are known to exist, plus there are other things in the world worse than those two species. 🙂 Now I wrote this a while ago, so when I get around to finishing it, I’ll have to go back through and clean it up.

Lyva’s Chance copyright c. 2013 T.A. Chase

Excerpt:

The half-breed growled and maybe that small act of defiance in the face of certain death made me do what I did. Maybe it was because I saw a little of myself in the outcast. More than likely it was because I was fucking tired of listening to them piss and moan about what was happening. They were going to take their anger out on a weakened creature.

Pushing away from the wall, I placed myself between Oliver and the injured wolf.  The Alpha bared his teeth at me and snarled.  I didn’t posture or try to act tough.  I stood calm and solid on my feet.  I didn’t invite an attack, but I wasn’t going to back down if one came my way.

“This is why they’ve herded us into camps. This is why they think they’re better than us. We prove our animal nature each time we turn on our own. If you wish to kill, you must wait until he heals.”

“Who are you to stand between an Alpha and his prey,” Oliver growled.

“I’m no one.”

I wasn’t going to tell them the truth. Whirling, I scooped the breed over my shoulder and stalked from the building.  The speed of my departure must have shocked them because no one came after us.  I carried the younger lycan through the camp, keeping to the shadows. The guards never bothered me.  I used my power to conceal our presence from them.

I made it to my den without incident. My den was a cave in the side of the mountain that created a natural barrier for the camp.  I guess the mortals figured none of us would try to climb the sheer rock face. They were right about that but there were caves with tunnels winding through the mountains leading out of the camp to freedom.  I’d investigated them all.  Escape routes were planned for when I needed to leave.

I laid the breed down on my bed.  As I stripped what was left of his clothes off, I called to my sister.

“Larissa, I can feel you. Come and help me.”

The kid groaned as I eased a piece of fabric from a deep wound.

“What lost cause have you decided to champion now, dear brother?” Larissa’s pale hand dropped on my shoulder.

“Draw some water and purify it. There is a spring in the cave behind this one. Go through that tunnel.” I gestured with my head towards the back of my den.  While I gave her orders, I catalogued his wounds.

Most lycan healed quickly, but it was possible the young man’s half-mortal blood slowed the healing process. Larissa knelt beside me with a bowl of water and some towels.

“Can you start washing the blood off? I need to see if there is any internal damage.”

Larissa nodded. Surprise jolted through me. My sister wasn’t shallow or unfeeling, but she was fastidious. She didn’t like getting her hands dirty.

I caught the gaze of the injured man. His green eyes were hazy with pain. Yet I could see he understood what was going on.

“I must enter your body to see if there is any damage internally. Unless you can tell me,” I explained.

A slight negative move of his head told me he couldn’t. Placing my hands on his chest, I closed my eyes. I hated healing. Leaving my body and entering another scared me on a deep level. A level I’d never told anyone about. I feared I would never return to my own body.

I sank into the bone and flesh of the lycan beneath my hands. Racing through his body, I found bruises and tears, but no life threatening damage. A darkness hung over the part I called the soul. I didn’t see that part of people very often when I healed them. None of the injuries were ones I felt the need to heal.  Time would take care of them all. I pulled away slowly, leaving just a little energy behind to help his body.

Opening my eyes, I saw his widen.  Mine must have been glowing.  Larissa finished cleaning his body as I started to bandage his wounds. His gaze slid from me to my sister.  A gasp burst from his lips and he cringed away.

“She won’t hurt you.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “Sleep and heal.”

Sending a little more energy into him, I pushed him to rest.

There wasn’t much fight left in him. With a soft whimper, he fell asleep. I motioned for Larissa to follow me as I moved closer to the front of the den.

“What happened to him, brother?” Larissa sank with effortless grace to sit beside me. I hunkered down and stared out into the darkened camp.

“The mortal guards caught him and roughened him up. They dropped him at the building where the Alphas were meeting.  Oliver was going to finish the job and kill him.  He’s a half-breed. Mortal father and lycan mother.  It seems neither side wants him.” Nothing moved in the waning hours of the night.

The mortal guards feared the dark. Stranger creatures than lycan haunted the shadows.  Turning to look at Larissa, I acknowledged that I was one of those creatures.

Larissa was my half-sister if anyone wanted to get technical.  I was a half-breed.  Only my mother was vampyre and my father was lycan.  Larissa’s mother fell in love with my father and somehow God allowed their union to bear fruit.

Larissa’s pale eyes studied me. “Are you sympathizing with him?”

I didn’t want to answer her. “How did you get in here?”

“You’re dodging the question. There are no walls capable of keeping me out just as these walls can’t keep you in. I’ve never understood why you choose to stay here with these animals.”  Larissa waved an elegant hand towards a slinking shadow.

My eyesight was far keener than a normal lycan.  The shadow sharpened into a mortal guard making his way from where some of the females lived.  I shook my head. Danger can drive a man to do things he might not otherwise do.  Time would show the guard what messing with the lycan females could do to a human.

“Who is the animal?”

“Stop. Both are animals. They kill their weak and destroy any who are different.” Anger burned in her eyes.

“Vampyres do the same, Larissa.  Every species on this planet feed off pain and weakness.” I sighed.

It was an old argument we had.  Larissa grew up in our mother’s Enclave where those who were different were welcomed.  Freaks were given the chance to flourish. I applauded their openness and ability to love. I grew up in my father’s world. The lycan scorned differences. The strongest always ruled and the weak swallowed their pride or died.

Weakness never found a place in me and I could never swallow my pride.  Outcast and lone wolf, I lived as I chose. When I got lonely, I’d head for my mother’s home. There was always someone willing to spend time with a surly wolf.

“I stay here because I know something important is going to happen. All my visions tell me I need to be here.” I flexed my hand. The bones had knitted back together after the guards broke it, but it still ached on nights like this. The pain served as a barometer for the tension in the camp.

“Do you stay because of him?”  She gestured to the sleeping form behind me.

Shrugging, I admitted, “I don’t know, sister dear.  I have never seen his face in my visions.  I’ll know soon enough. When the geas holding me here releases, I’ll leave.”

“Good. Mother and your father are worried about you. Have you fed tonight?” Larissa stood.

I gained my feet as well.  “Tell Mother and Father I’m fine.  My reason for being here will be over soon and I’ll join you at the Enclave.” I hugged her. “I ate earlier.”

“Not that rotten crap the mortals give the others?” Worry crept into her voice.

“No, I left the camp. I brought down a deer.  Good thing I did. The boy won’t be able to stomach the shit they give us.” I pointed to the back where the tunnel to the larger cave was. “I keep it back there in case the guards come while I’m gone.”

Dawn painted the sky the faintest pink.  “You should go.”

Larissa smiled.  “Watch your back, brother. I think it’s a dangerous game you play. If you need anything, you know how to find me.” She brushed a kiss over my cheek and disappeared.

As the sun peeked over the horizons, I set my safe guards.  I’d be warned if someone approached the den.  I checked my guest. He seemed to be sleeping deeply so I covered him with my blankets.

Stepping back, I let the change take me over.  Settling into my wolf form was like coming home. I was most myself as an animal. I curled up between the cot and den opening. If someone managed to get past my traps, they wouldn’t be able to get past me.

Sleep was a long time coming for me.

Filed under: Always Ready,Blindsided,Every Shattered Dream,Excerpts,For Every Dream that Shattered,International Men of Sports,Lyva's Chance,Total e-Bound,Wednesday WiPs,writing | |6 Comments