The steady clacking of the train as it ran down the tracks gradually awakened the great white beast. His drowsy amber eyes swept the room and took in a sight that made his heart thud.
His woman was lying on the nearby couch sleeping peacefully with his nephew curled up beside her, his blond head buried into her chest. They looked warm enough, with a thick quilt thrown around their bodies.
Immediately below them, on the floor, was the dark form of a vampire. He was lying supine on a thin blanket looking stiff and corpselike, with nothing covering him.
Of course, Cedric knew the vampire was merely resting. Any slight hostile movement against the woman and child, and Vander would instantly respond with a quick and painful death.
The fire from the pot belly stove in the railcar had died down to embers but it was at least warm enough so that he was not seeing his own breath in the hazy air.
Cedric closed his eyes with a weary sigh.
Thank heavens the vampire had done what he had asked him to do. Vander had found Talia and Devin and brought them back safe and sound.
But he was lying next to her as if he was her lover, protecting her from harm.
Cedric's fangs bared as he softly growled to himself. What the hell could he do, even if Vander turned into her lover?
Cedric was lucky he could even open his eyes at the moment. He knew how close he was to dying out there, with all the werebears around him.
To give Talia enough space to run into the forest with Devin, Cedric had tackled four large werebears. He had managed to kill three of them but the fourth one had jumped him and ripped his chest apart.
If it hadn't been for Andre coming to his rescue, he would have been torn to pieces by the last werebear.
That had been a huge surprise.
The man he thought was trying to displace him had actually fought the last werebear off and carried him back inside.
Andre was probably also the one who fought off the remaining werebears.
Meanwhile, his brother Cecil had been worse than useless.
Cedric had seen neither hide nor hair of the man who was supposed to be the Alpha and King of Faria. Cecil had most likely been hiding somewhere to escape from the werebears.
No wonder Andre had felt the need to take over as Alpha. Cecil was not only inept, he was also a coward!
He had been leaning on Cedric all those years to maintain his position, but once Cedric had left to search for Viviene, Cecil had completely been overwhelmed by the responsibilities and demands of the position.
Cedric heaved another sigh and turned his focus inward, concentrating on the muscles of his torso. He began moving each group of muscles and testing them for proper movement.
It hurt like hell, but at least he was able to move them.
He winced as he assessed the damage that had been done to his body. The werebears had gouged out his chest, ripped into organs, and broken his ribcage.
Even before he had been carried into Cecil's railcar, his body had already begun to heal itself, but the damage was so extensive it would have taken awhile to heal.
Thank the heavens for his woman who knew how to wield the magic of healing. Cedric could feel Talia's ministration, her careful tending and mending of his torn ligaments and muscles.
It was helping his natural abilities to more quickly and easily recover. His bones had knitted properly and his skin was growing back to their original properties.
She had done such a good job, there wasn't even going to be scars or any signs of trauma.
Cedric felt grateful teardrops slip from his eyes. She had cared for him and cleaned him, even changed the linens around him so that he wasn't lying in his own blood and gore.
He owed her his life, not once but twice.
As the train continued to power through the wintry icy snow, Cedric cast his thoughts back on the situation with the werebears.
There were only about twenty werebears, but they had all concentrated on his railcar, leaving the rest of the train relatively untouched.
He heaved a sigh as he remembered their eyes. The werebears were crazed, as if they were rabid, and they attacked without regard to what would happen to themselves.
It was obvious that they had been mind-controlled and someone powerful was behind all of this. Their aim was Cedric himself and anyone around him. It was the only explanation for their targeted strike.
"So you're finally awake." Vander's deep voice drifted up from where he was lying. "How are you feeling?"
"Like road kill." Cedric gasped.
Vander chuckled, not unkindly. He rose from his supine position on the floor and went to a cupboard.
"I know you're not well, but would you like a drink? It would give you a much needed boost of energy."
Cedric shot a dubious look at Vander. "What kind of a drink? Water isn't going to do much good for me right now."
Vander smirked and shook a bottle of amber whiskey at him.
"How much is something this hard worth to you?"
"Hmm." Cedric closed his eyes and tried to quell the nausea from his stomach.
"Right now, I don't know if I can take much down, to be honest."
"You need this. You've been hurt very badly." Vander poured a small amount into two rock glasses and came closer to his bedside.
"The tiny woman," he gestured with his head at Talia, "spent hours caring for you before she passed out on the sofa."
He stuffed a pillow behind Cedric's head to elevate his upper body and handed the rock glass over to him.
"She is a very capable woman. She would do very well here in our world." Vander mulled as Cedric took careful sips of the cognac.
He wasn't sure how well his stomach would react to such a strong drink and was taking it as slowly as he could.
Seeing nothing untoward happening, Cedric tossed the rest of the drink down and handed the rock glass back to Vander.
"I'm glad you were able to find her and bring her back safely."
Vander nodded. "I followed the boy's scent and found her hiding inside one of the dwarven hideouts with a deer and a couple of fawns."
Cedric took a deep breath. So Vander hadn't marked her yet.
"No, I haven't marked her." Vander sniffed, correctly following Cedric's thoughts. "I'm not so hard up as a man that I have to fight for a woman, no matter how desirable she is."
Cedric narrowed his eyes. "Aren't you already engaged?"
"In the same manner that you are, yes." Vander's eyes sparkled with amusement as he handed another shot of whiskey to Cedric.
"You know, your brother is warming himself with Evelyn at this very moment."
Cedric sneered. "Good for him. A man like him has needs that must be fulfilled, and those needs are simple enough that even a rabid dog can satisfy those urges."
Vander laughed. "Meanwhile, you and I must make do with shots of whiskey, eh?"
Cedric shook his head and gazed gently upon the woman lying on the sofa nearby. "I'm too wounded and she's exhausted."
He turned back to Vander. "You have nobody at the moment, but I'm sure your tastes run at a higher level than Evelyn Larabee."
Vander sneered. "That woman is not on any sort of level that I would even consider."
"And what of your fiancée? Is she on a level you would consider?"
Vander shook his head. "She's slightly less nauseating than Evelyn, but that's not saying much."
He and Cedric looked at each other and laughed.
"Why haven't you gotten married yet?"
"For the same reason you're still technically single." Vander shrugged.
"We both cannot stand our fiancées but we're stuck with them until we can find a way to disengage our engagements without having our kingdoms in an uproar."
Cedric turned away. "I will nullify my engagement as soon as we reach Faria."
"You will not find it to be so easy to do." Vander drawled. "Powerful factions abound in the heart of Faria. You had better watch your step."
"I know my kingdom very well," Cedric sniffed. "Chaos will reign for a time, after I have chopped off the engagement and yank out the invasive roots, but I would rather go through the chaos than be tied to that rabid female, Evelyn Larabee."
"Brave words for a man who can barely sit up enough to drink a stiff shot of whiskey."
Cedric laughed. "By the time we reach Faria, I will be back on my feet and completely healed."
Vander nodded. The insane speed of healing that werewolves underwent was legendary. Even he could not heal that quickly.
"Cheers." He raised his drink and clinked glasses with Cedric. "Here's to rapid healing and broken engagements."