Author: Kailan Counahan

This is what is currently written for Elu’s Story. I’ll update it as more gets written and will eventually break it into chapters.

“You can’t honestly expect me to believe that,” my best friend said. “You don’t have plans! You never have plans Elu. Let me set you up with my friend. She thinks you’re hot.”

I laughed, “If you mean Cara, your ex, I’m good. Even if it’s not Cara, I’m still good.” 

Sun huffed, “But Cara-”

“Cara’s a lesbian, Sun!” I said with a laugh, “Last time I checked, I’m a man.”

“Cara’s fluid. When we dated, she thought she was a lesbian, but she’s since discovered she’s more pansexual than anything.” I sighed, “One date?”

I shook my head, “No, Sun. I’m not interested and I know better than to lead someone on by giving them hope with one date.”

Sun rolled her eyes, “Fine. Do you actually have plans?”

“I do. There’s a hiring lecture in the art department for the art historian position. Apparently she’s an expert in Native and early American art.” I looked over at her, “You want to join?”

She scrunched her nose, “Not my cup of tea. Let me know if she’s cute.”

Checking my phone, I cursed, “I’ve got class.” I grabbed what was left of my lunch and threw it in a nearby trash can. “Let me know if you change your mind about the lecture. See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” she said with a smile and a wave. 

As wind flirted across my arms, I caught the barest hint of my mate in the breeze. I looked around me, but the quad was filled with students and professors. My dragon, Nahele, let out a frustrated huff. This had been happening all semester and he and I were sick of it. “She should’ve scented us by now too. Where is she?” He asked me, pacing back and forth in my mind. 

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s human so she doesn’t know,” I responded, trying to calm him. 

We breathed in, but the scent was gone. “She doesn’t smell human.”

“We’ve only caught her scent on the breeze or through contact with others, you can’t tell from that.”

He didn’t respond, just growled low as he continued to pace. I let out a sigh and rolled my shoulders, trying to get rid of my frustration. Nahele finally settled down halfway through teaching my class, allowing my body to fully relax into the lesson. 

“There’s a lecture in the art department in about an hour. It’s being given by an expert in Native and early American art. I highly recommend you guys go, especially if you are part of the art department, as it should be interesting. Remember to turn your papers in by midnight Friday,” I told my students as they packed their bags. 

I inhaled slightly as one of my graduate students, Jesenia, came up, Nahele lifted his head in my mind as I did, catching the slightest hint of my mate on her. “Dr. Jokela you’re coming to the lecture right?”

I gave her a smile, “I am.”

She beamed, “Great! You’re going to love it. Alma is a good friend from undergrad.” I held the door open for her as we walked out of the classroom, “I was helping her prep this morning, and her lecture is right up your alley.”

My back straightened a little as Nahele began pacing excitedly. “I always enjoy art history lectures. How is it that you and she went to undergrad together but you’re just in grad school now?”

She held up her left hand showing me her ring, “I got married at the end of undergrad instead of going straight into anything else. Alma’s always been singularly focused on her studies.” 

“Ah. I can relate,” I said with a smile.

She feigned shock, but with a devilish grin. “You? No!” 

I chuckled, “Okay wiseass.” 

She snorted, “I’ll see you in a bit. Be sure to show up early, there’s not a lot of seating in the lecture hall, and Alma’s a department favorite with the students.”

“See you in a bit,” I said with a smile as we parted ways. 

As soon as my eyes landed on her, I froze. My heart raced, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Nahele pushed me to go to her, to take her in our arms, but I couldn’t move, I could only take her in and watch as she spoke animatedly with Jesenia. She was tall and lean with golden brown skin and long black curly hair pulled up into a bun. Jesenia’s eyes locked on mine, and she gave me a big smile and waved me over to them. 

I smiled and made my way down to them. “Dr. Jokela, Alma. Alma, Dr. Jokela.”

I took Alma’s offered hand happily reveling in the electricity that raced up my arm from our joined hands. “It’s nice to meet you Dr. Jokela. Jesenia has told me a lot about you.”

Nahele grumbled as I released her hand, “It’s nice to meet you too. Please call me Elu, Dr. Davenport.”

She waved me off, “Call me Alma, Elu please. You don’t happen to know Kachina Jokela do you?”

My head tilted to one side, confused, “I do. She’s my mom. How do you know her?”

Her face lit up, “She helped in my research. You’ll see in the lecture, but she was instrumental in my dissertation. She’s so knowledgeable about your ancestry.”

“That explains where you get your passion for Native history. You’ve never mentioned your mom being an expert or near enough in Native history,” Jesenia said. 

“She’s an expert in our history, not necessarily Native history. My great-great grandmother was tasked with ensuring our history was passed down and not erased. She passed the responsibility down to her daughter, who passed it to her son, who passed it to my mom, who passed it to me.” I smiled, “She’s definitely the reason I’m so interested in it though.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the department head started, looking at Alma before her eyes landed on me, “Elu! It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s great to see you too, Elaine,” I said with a warm smile. 

“How are those dishes I made you holding up?” 

“They’re great. I still get compliments on them. I’ll send you a text later because I’d like to talk to you about some for my mom.”

“Yes, send me a text later and we’ll go over the details.” She gave Jesenia and I a smile, “We need to get started if you two will find a seat.”

“Of course. It was good to see you.” I gave Alma an encouraging smile, “You’re going to do great.”

Jesenia gave her a hug and whispered a few words of encouragement before sitting down in the front row. I looked at the seats behind me, smiling when my eyes landed on my clan mate, Kai Tsosie, and the open seat next to him. He smirked as our eyes met, “I figured I’d find you here,” he linked me. 

“Why were you looking for me?” I linked back as I sat down next to him at the end of the row. 

He gave a barely perceptible shrug, “Just wanted to check in. See how you are.”

I barely held back an eye roll, “I’m fine Mom.”

He coughed to cover his laugh, “Hey you can have me, or someone who would have their head stuck up your ass. Personally I would prefer someone like me if I were in your position.”

Although my mom might’ve sent a clan member with me even if I weren’t her son and second in line, I knew the only reason she sent Kai, one of our best warriors, was because I was her son and second in line. It wasn’t uncommon for clan members to be paired with a warrior if they left the territory’s capital, but it was rare that my parents sent our best warriors with clan members as they were needed on the borders and in the capital. Those warriors were essential especially right now as Bree Landis, Queen of the Falls Acid Dragon Clan, was pushing the boundaries of our territory. 

An old man walked past, seeming to find a seat up front in the packed lecture hall, but as Elaine finished introducing Alma, she sat down in what appeared to be the last available seat. As the man turned around, cursing quietly under his breath at his luck, I stood in his way. “You can have my seat,” I whispered to him, gesturing to the seat in case he was hard of hearing.

He smiled brightly at me and shook my hand, “Thank you, young man,” he whispered.

“I’ll see you after the talk,” I linked to Kai.

“We both know you’ll be nowhere to be found after this thing is over, fucker,” he linked back.

I stifled a laugh as I found a spot against the wall I could lean on through the lecture. The smile was still on my face as Alma began her lecture. Nahele and I watched in awe of our mate as she lectured on the art of my ancestors, mainly my great grandma. She was clear and concise, but most importantly she was entertaining. She had a clear love for my great grandma and her art. “Imagine how she’ll feel once she finds out shimásání is still alive and well,” Nahele said as he sat at attention watching our mate as she walked back and forth.

“I can’t wait to see her face when she meets her,” I responded. 

Students and guests were peppering Alma with questions, each one she answered intelligently with a smile. She was in the middle of an answer when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was and was met with a badge. “Let’s talk outside,” a middle aged, lean white man whispered. 

I looked back at Alma, whose eyes were on me, before going outside with the man. Nahele growled loudly in protest, not wanting to leave our mate after just finding her. Outside I was met with another, heavier set, man and a familiar face, “Constable Yazzie.”

She gave me a tight smile, “Elu.”

I looked between them, “What can I do for you?”

“Constable Yazzie says you’re the best tracker in the area,” I shrugged, “We got a missing girl from the rez and we need you to help us track her and her abductor down.”

My brow furrowed slightly as my eyes passed over the woman’s name, Odina Nez, in the file he handed me, “Why are you involved detective…”

“FBI Special Agent Jordan.” He gestured to the other guy, “This is Detective Byers. We’ve been investigating the murders of several indigenous people here and in other parts of the state. Yaz called us when she got a report of a missing woman.”

“What’s the likelihood of her still being alive?”

I handed him the file back, “Pretty good. He doesn’t know we have a pretty good idea of where he is, and he likes to take his time with his victims.” 

I nodded, “Let me grab my things and we can go. Do you have any of her things?”

“We have the clothes she had in her hotel room, why?”

“I’d like to see her clothes to get a feel for what fabrics I might be looking for on the trail,” I lied easily. “Raven, how are you holding up?” I asked Constable Yazzie in Navajo. 

She sighed, “Not well.”

“We’ll find her,” I said, giving her a small reassuring smile. 

I took a deep breath as I stepped into the station. “The clothes we recovered from her vehicle are over here,” Detective Byers said. 

“Can I take them out of the bags?” 

“Why?” Agent Jordan asked, crossing his arms. 

“I’m assuming you guys have had search parties out for her? Say someone snagged a shirt on a tree, but it’s completely different from what this girl would’ve worn but you didn’t let me have a proper look at it or get an actual feel for it, so we end up following the path of a searcher rather than that of our missing girl.”

His mistrust settled deeper into the lines of his weathered face. I gave Raven a pleading look, “Special Agent Jordan, Dr. Jokela is the best tracker in the area. He’s the best because he is thorough. This is him covering all of his bases and making sure he does the job right. You can either allow him to work the way he needs to to be the best, or you can keep wasting time increasing the chances this monster will kill yet another person.”

A scowl spread across his face, “Fine. But you have to wear gloves.”

As soon as the bag was open, the smell of fall leaves on a sunny afternoon washed over me causing my blood to run cold. “He has a clanmate,” Nahele stated, “We’ll make him pay when we find him.”

“No. We’re here to find her, not kill him. It has to go through the normal human procedures,” I responded, causing him to grumble. 

“Elu?” A familiar voice sounded behind me. 

I turned to see two of my clanmates, Odina’s parents, standing before me. “Jack. Mireilla.”

Mireilla buried her head in my chest. “Please find Odina, my Prince,” she said through mind link. 

I gave her a tight, reassuring squeeze, “I’m on it Mireilla.”

“They’re your people?” Raven asked in Navajo.

I looked at her from over Mireilla’s head, and nodded. I let Mireilla go and embraced Jack, “Do you think hunters are back?” Jack linked.

“Amaya would’ve sent out an alert, and as far as I’m aware, she hasn’t sent anything out.” I pulled back and gave him a pat on the arm, “I’ll find Odina. Don’t worry.”

“How do you all know each other?” Special Agent Jordan asked. 

“They’re family friends.”

“Why didn’t you mention knowing the victim?” Detective Byers asked, crossing his arms and walking closer to me. 

“I haven’t seen Odina since she was a kid. She looks a lot different now. Odina and Nez are both relatively common names on the rez too so I couldn’t be sure when I saw her name it was actually her.” I turned back to her clothing and began acting like I was inspecting it. “When are we leaving?” I asked, rebagging the clothes. 

“It’ll be dark soon. Can you track by flashlight?” Agent Jordan asked. 

“It’s a little harder, but not an issue.”

My footfalls barely sounded on the forest floor as I followed Odina’s distinctive smell. Loud crunching sounded behind me, causing me to roll my eyes. “You guys are going to let this guy know we’re here before we know where he is,” I whispered to both Jordan and Byers. 

“Sorry we’re not all Indians with experience walking silently through the forest,” Byers grunted. 

I stopped, “I’m not Indian. I’m Dine’, or Native.”

He sneered, waving me off, “Boys, we don’t have time for this,” Raven interrupted anything Byers was going to say, pushing me gently. 

I grumbled a bit, but got back to tracking Odina. As we got closer I could smell the overwhelming scent of snapdragon oil. My blood ran cold. Hunters had all been killed or imprisoned. “Hunters have Odina. Human police are involved. Once we get her, you might want to be here to make sure she doesn’t heal too quickly at the hospital,” I mind linked to my mom. 

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she linked back quickly. 

“We’re close,” I whispered. All three of them pulled their guns from their holsters. 

“Dr. Jokela, you should hang back,” Special Agent Jordan said quietly. 

I nodded, “I will once we’re closer.” 

As the tree line ended, a cabin came into view. “Yaz. you stay with Jokela. Byers and I are going to check the perimeter.”

Just as they broke through the underbrush to start their check, the man we were here for stepped out of the cabin, knife in hand. Jordan raised his gun and shouted, “Mitchell Ward you’re under arrest for the murder of five people. Put the knife down and your hands in the air.”

Mitchell froze and darted into the underbrush. Jordan and Byers took off after him as Nahele pushed me to go into the cabin and help Odina. I took a step forward, but Raven grabbed my arm, “Wait until they have him then you can go into the cabin for Odina.”

A low growl from Nahele escaped before I could stop it, “I can take care of myself, especially against a human. I need to go make sure Odina is okay.”

She pursed her lips, “Fine. I’ll watch the door.”

“Thank you,” I whispered as I rushed into the cabin. The inside of the cabin was a bare box with just a small cot, desk with a myriad of different oils, metals, and books strewn about, cooler, and wood burning stove. Odina was curled into a ball in the corner with iron chains around her ankles and likely her wrists though I couldn’t see from the door. I made my way to her, and stifled a growl as she flinched at the sound of my boots, “Odina. It’s me, Elu.”

She picked her head up, “Elu? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to rescue you,” I pulled a thin iron ring out of my pocket and slipped it onto her finger. “Human police are involved. This ring will keep you from healing too quickly, but won’t keep your dragon suppressed as much as these chains.” I used metal bending to fit the ring to her finger. 

“Yaz! He’s doubling back to the cabin. Cut him off,” Jordan sounded over Raven’s radio. 

“See if you can get her free, but don’t take her out of here until we have him,” Raven said before she ran out of the cabin. 

I allowed Nahele to come close to the surface as I reached out to the small particles of earth in the iron chains around Odina’s wrists. Nahele and I strained fighting against the power of the thick iron; until finally they broke open and fell to the floor. She fell to the floor after attempting to take a step toward the desk. I gently picked her up, steadying her as we walked to the cot near the desk. 

“Do you see my bag anywhere?” She asked as she settled on the cot. “It’s light blue with pink stripes and black shoulder straps.”

I dug through the piles of stuff by the desk until finally I came up with her bag. “What was he doing?” 

She shook her head, “He kept rambling about a cure. He said I would thank him once ‘it’ was out of me.”

Nahele growled in my head, “Once he cured you what was his plan?”

“He didn’t say. He just kept rambling about the cure. He’s crazy.”

I turned to the desk and started looking through the stacks of paper and junk. I took photos of everything I could so I could look through them later. I was almost done when the hunter burst through the door, causing Odina to scream. “Ah, another animal looking for the cure.”

I started a video on my phone and slid it into my pocket, “What is the cure? What am I in for?”

He smiled widely as his eyes glowed madly, “Let me show you.” He recited an incantation I wasn’t familiar with but was rebuffed by a talisman I made years ago with my own magic to protect me from anything harmful. 

“How is it you’re human yet you can do magic?”

He threw another incantation at me which was again rebuffed, “Why isn’t this working?” He mumbled under his breath, “There was a sorcerer we captured long ago that taught us this and he said it would work on every type of animal including sorcerers if we chose to continue to capture them.”

“Why would he teach you these things?”

“I’m sorry. Until I figure out why the magic isn’t working, I have to give you oil.” He walked over to the desk and started rummaging through the drawers, eventually pulling out a vial and syringe. 

“Wait before you give me that, has this cure ever worked?”

He nodded and smiled proudly, “Oh yes. Yes, many years ago, we cured a girl. We took her as a baby, hoping to have someone we could send inside to destroy the groups of animals, but that never happened. We cured her instead. It was very intense and the sorcerer said she might not survive it, but in the end she did and she was so happy to be cured.” 

Nahele growled and began to pace in my mind. “Where is she now?”

His brow furrowed, “I don’t know.”

“Why are you here on your own?”

The furrow on his brown deepened, “I don’t know. We split up but I don’t know why.” He looked at me with burning, wild eyes, “We’re better together. We should be together.”

“So where are they?”

He looked down at the vial in his hand and seemed to be deciding something. “We should be together. Curing the animals,” he whispered to himself.

“What happens when you can’t cure us?”

His head snapped up so that his eyes were locked on mine. “We put you out of your misery.” He stuck the needle back into the vial and filled it completely. 

I grunted as he muttered an incantation which gripped my body starting at my feet and growing up my legs like vines. I raised my arm to grab his wrist as his hand came toward me with the needle, but the spell took me over. Odina struggled to her feet and tried to stop him, but he hit her with a spell that flung her body across the room. My eyes rolled back in my head and Nahele roared in my head as the oil burned its way through my veins. The last things I heard before I passed out were a gunshot and Odina screaming.

Amaya’s POV

“Gentlemen. Please come in,” Tayen said as Special Agent Jordan and Detective Byers walked into her office. 

“Special Agent in Charge Tsosie,” Jordan said, giving Tayen a sharp nod. “What’s this about? Who is this?” He gestured to me. 

“This is Amaya Wardwell, the owner and operator of the private contractor company called Storm Industries.” I smirked at the quickening heart rate of Jordan, taking Byers’ offered hand. After a moment, Jordan offered his hand as well. “I’ve called you both in here to reiterate the importance of keeping what you saw to yourself.”

“And you’ve called an assassin with one of the highest kill counts the United States Armed Forces has ever seen to make sure we know if we speak about it?” Jordan asked, causing Byers’ eyebrows to shoot up on his head. 

I laughed, “No. Tayan asked me here because I am relatively high up with our people, so damage control falls to me.” 

“‘Relatively high up’ is a bit of an understatement,” Tayan said under her breath. 

“Why isn’t Constable Yazzie here?” Byers asked gruffly. 

“Most Natives, if they aren’t like us, know about us,” I answered. 

“Aren’t like you? What are you then?” 

“There are supernatural beings out there. We are shifters. I can’t speak on what type, but there are several different kinds of shifters. Tayen, Odina, and myself are a part of the most powerful type. The man Raven killed was what we call a hunter. A human that seeks to kill supernatural people because we’re different.” I sighed, “The reason it’s important you keep what you saw Odina do in the cabin to yourself is because you’ll be looked at as insane, but also it protects us from people who would seek to do harm to us for being different.” 

“What happens if we don’t keep quiet?” Jordan asked calmly, although his racing heart rate betrayed his fear.

“Through none of my doing, you will become a pariah and be viewed as psychotic. Your family and friends won’t know what to do with you other than to check you into a psychiatric facility. All of the cases you worked so hard on will be looked over again, possibly allowing very dangerous people back out on the street.” I looked them both over, “This is as much to protect you both as it is to protect my people. Nothing has to change. You can continue to live your lives as you have up to this point. You can choose to ignore the knowledge you now have about the existence of supernatural beings. In fact that would probably be the wisest way to go about it.

Alma’s POV

As we neared the hospital room, I could hear a familiar voice speaking in Navajo to someone and then in English. I knocked on the door before opening it to reveal Kachina fussing over Elu’s comatose body. 

She looked up as we walked in, “Alma? What on earth are you doing here?” 

I gave her a shy smile, “My friend, Jesenia, and I heard about Elu and wanted to come check on him.”

She gave a tight hug, “It’s good to see you.” She released me and offered a hand to Jesenia, “Elu has told me a lot about you. He says you’re one of the brightest graduate students he’s had in a while.”

Jesenia blushed, “It’s nice to meet you.”

A tall, beautiful, and fairly pregnant woman stood from where she was sitting beside Elu’s bed, “Amaya, this is Alma and Jesenia. Alma is an expert in Native American and early American art and Jesenia is Elu’s grad student. Girls this is Amaya, Elu’s,” my heart sank, thinking she was going to say girlfriend or wife, “cousin.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and held out my hand, “It’s nice to meet you both,” she said as she took my hand. My body erupted in pain as her hand touched mine, causing me to grunt. She steadied me as I swayed slightly from the pain, “Are you okay?”

I nodded and closed my eyes. Amaya’s hands guided me to the chair she had occupied just a moment ago, “It’ll pass in just a minute,” I managed to choke out through the blinding pain. Amaya’s hands were replaced with Kachina’s warm hands. She whispered something that sounded like Navajo but I couldn’t be sure. Warmth spread from her hands through my body, causing the blinding pain to subside to a dull ache. I let out a shaky breath, “Thank you,” I said so quietly I barely heard myself. My brow furrowed. Why was I thanking Kachina? 

She gave me a peck on my forehead before standing back up and walking to the other side of Elu’s bed. I wasn’t able to question it as two tall, handsome men walked in carrying a couple bags of food. As soon as the smell wafted over to me, my stomach growled. They looked at Jesenia and me for the first time, “Sorry I didn’t realize we needed more plates.”

Kachina quickly introduced Amaya’s husband, Fox, and Elu’s best friend, Kai, to us. “Could you go back to the cafeteria and grab two more plates?”

“You got it,” Kai said as he started to leave.

“No need. We just wanted to come by and check on Dr. Jokela,” Jesenia said with a smile, “We’re heading out soon.”

“It’s no problem. I’m happy to go back down,” he said as he walked out the door without a glance back at us.

“No really, I’ve got to get back to grading papers,” I said, trailing off as I stood watching Kai leave the room.

“You can’t grade papers on an empty stomach,” Kachina chided. “Stay and have something to eat. Your papers will still be there once you’re done.”

Fox handed Amaya and Kachina their containers before looking over at Jesenia and me. “There’s a grilled chicken sandwich with chips in this one, and an herb chicken breast with broccoli and scalloped potatoes in this one.”

“We couldn’t eat your food. Really we’re fine,” I said but flushed when my stomach objected to my statement by growling loudly again.

“It’s okay,” Fox said with a smile, setting the two containers in front of me. “Seriously. I’ll eat whatever Kai brings back.”

“Kai’s bringing something back for himself and Fox; if the two of you want those, that is,” Kachina said. “He’s not expecting to have a sandwich when he gets back.”

“Are you sure?” Jesenia asked.

“Absolutely. Notice he didn’t even ask what you guys wanted before he left? He’s probably just getting a second order of the same thing.” Kachina reassured us. 

Jesenia and I ended up splitting both plates as Fox disappeared for a moment before returning with a chair for Jesenia and Amaya, who didn’t sit down immediately. “Babe please sit down. You’re not even supposed to be out of bed.”

Amaya rolled her eyes, “Just because Lavi put me on bed rest, doesn’t mean I’m supposed to stay confined to bed at all hours of the day, my love. She just doesn’t want me walking or standing for a long period of time.”

“Will you please sit? If not for yourself and the baby, for my sanity?”

She sighed heavily, “I’ve been sitting most of the morning, love, I need to stand for a little while. My feet are swelling.”

Kachina started laughing when Fox glowered at her. “Fox leave her alone. She can stand for a little while longer, and if anything happens at least we’re in a hospital.”

Amaya looked pointedly at Kachina, “See Kachina says it’s fine. Don’t make me call Lavi so she can tell you the same thing.”

Fox snorted, “Please do, love. Lavi will be shocked to find you left the house after she explicitly told you not to.”

Amaya laughed, “Oh right. As if that was ever going to stick.”

He gave her an exasperated look before kissing her temple and gently pushing her into the chair. “Here you go Fox,” Kai said as he reentered the room with another bag.