Puissant: Deceit (Puissant - Book 1)

Puissant: Deceit

  Copyright 2016 Katherine J. Sinclair

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Chapter 1

  Blood and dirt stained the crystal clear waters as nine men washed themselves clean. The spring hunt had brought in enough meat to fill the bellies of the entire village for a month, bring joy to even the most experienced man, especially after the long, harsh winter.

  While the men bathed, the women prepared a feast the entire village would enjoy. They had gathered a variety of fruits and vegetables, some of which had been planted in the autumn in anticipation of the winter thaw.

  As their parents worked, the young children played in the puddles and mounds of snow that hadn’t thawed yet. Everyone seemed to know their place and went about their tasks without question or argument.

  It wasn't the lack of sun light, as the sun dipped below the horizon or the cooling of the water that soothed the men's aching muscles but the smell of a feast that drew the men from the water. They dressed in clothing left by mothers and wives but the young women were forbidden from seeing any man bathe, although that never stopped some of the curious young ladies from hiding amongst the trees.

  “What are you doing?” Gabriel growled at his younger sister, as he walked passed the tree she and her friend had been hiding behind.

  “We were waiting for you” Iris answered innocently, knowing she was in trouble but if she were to be caught y anyone, she’d prefer it were Gabriel to catch her.

  “Iris we all know that’s a load of crap” Gabriel growled, as he continued through the trees that separated the village from the river. “Shouldn’t you two be helping mother?”

  “No, she sent us to clean up” Iris answered matter of factly, glancing at her friend Lena.

  “Then shouldn’t you be doing that?” Gabriel questioned, deepening the frown that had already formed on his face.

  “Gabriel please don’t tell dad” Iris begged, looking like she was on the verge of crying since that seemed to always work with him.

  "Why were you two watching us anyway?" Gabriel hissed.

  “We were told that if we watched, we would know how to please our future husbands” Lena answered, dropping her head as soon as she caught a glimpse of how angry Gabriel looked.

  “Lena who has the seer paired you with?” Gabriel asked, trying to keep as much anger from his voice as he could.

  “Sam” Lena answered, her voice barely audible.

  “And how do you think Sam would feel if he knew what you were doing?” Gabriel asked, with more anger building up in his eyes. “Was his hunt not good enough for you?”

  “It was” Lena whispered, her heartbeat wildly in her chest and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

  “Sam will provide well for you, so why don’t you go and ask him how to please him because watching us bathe won’t please him” Gabriel growled before picking up the pace and leaving the two girls behind him as he entered the busy village they called home.

  Anger fuelled Gabriel’s movements as he quickly passed several huts to the one he had built last summer for himself. After his solo hunt he was given permission to build a home for himself and his future wife but he still hadn’t gone to the seer to find out who he would be paired with. He had made every excuse not to and the fact that none of the women had complained about missing a partner, didn’t help his cause either.

  While it was common to be paired with a member of another tribe, he was concerned that he wouldn’t be paired with anyone. His heart told him he would be paired but doubt still floated through his thoughts and the fact that he had just caught Lena watching them bathe made him angry that the girls would even feel the need to watch them. He believed that everyone belonged to someone and that they should remain true to their future partner.

  As Gabriel entered his hut, he rammed his fist into timber wall in an attempt to calm himself down. He knew he shouldn’t be so angry about something that didn’t involve him. Although, he also knew that he had built up anger over the fact that he had avoided learning his own fate because he feared having no one to provide for.

  Gabriel didn’t notice the blood running down his fingers or the pain pulsing through his hand, as he began to pace the small but private space he called his own. His mind was quick to forget Lena and what she had done, she made him angry but she wasn’t his problem. Instead he started thinking about the hunt he had just returned from. They had all done well but he wanted to do better, he knew that if he could pushed himself to be faster and stronger, he could have come home with more. He wasn’t the strongest or the fastest, those titles belonged to his eldest brother Tiria and everyone loved him for it.

  Gabriel's envy of Tiria didn’t just stop with his brothers hunting skills, Tiria had been paired with Arika. In his opinion, she was the most beautiful woman he had laid his eyes on and had hoped that he would be paired with her. His heart had been broken when they married in the autumn and we're now expecting their first child, another thing to add to his apprehension.

  By the time Gabriel had calmed down and decided to leave his hut, there was nothing but the sparkling stars and a sliver of the moon to light his way. He knew the village better than he knew himself, he had helped to build many of the huts and kept more secrets than he should have but while he loved it there, he also felt the call of the wild. He knew that if he could spend some time away, he might forget Arika and build the courage he needed to visit the seer.

  The village was alive with people sitting around a large fire eating and talking amongst themselves. Some people danced in the fire light, their shadows cast across the open centre of the village and into the surrounding trees, adding to the spectacle. It was a wonderful sight but Gabriel was no longer in the mood for celebrating, he was hungry and planned on eating his fill before returning to his hut.

  As Gabriel sat down next to his younger brother Kaiden, he looked over at Iris’ broad smile and groaned. She wasn't much younger than Kaiden but being the youngest of the four, she was the most immature and in Gabriel’s opinion, she was the most spoiled.

  “What did she do this time?” Kaiden asked, with a laugh.

  “You don’t want to know” Gabriel groaned, grabbing some meat from a timber plater with a pile of meat resting near the fire. “You hunted well, when will you be doing your solo hunt?”

  “I’m leaving tomorrow morning” Kaiden answered, smiling almost as broadly as Iris was.

  “Don’t we have enough food?” Gabriel pointed out before biting into a tender piece of meat that seemed to just melt in his mouth.

  “Yeah but I want to know who I’m going to be paired with” Kaiden sighed and looked at Gabriel curiously. “So when are you going to visit the seer?”

  “Don’t you start with me” Gabriel groaned, frowning at Kaiden.

  “Why are you waiting, are you afraid she’s ugly?” Kaiden laughed.

  "Why would her appearance matter?” Gabriel snapped, afraid that Kaiden might be right.

  “Calm down Gabriel, I was joking” Kaiden growled, narrowing his eyes at his older brother. “What are you going to do with yourself now that we have enough food for a month?”

  “There is plenty of work to be done here” Gabriel answered, looking around to see Arika talking to Tiria as he rubbed the small pump forming in her abdomen. “I thin
k it’s time I went to bed.”

  “You just got here” Kaiden pointed out, looking at Gabriel as if he was acting strange. “You should have some wine and relax.”

  “Good luck on your hunt tomorrow Kaiden” Gabriel said, as he grabbed some bread and more meat before standing up. “Just don't do anything stupid out there and come home safely.”

  “Thanks Gabriel, I knew you cared” Kaiden called out, as Gabriel walked away.

  To acknowledge his brother, Gabriel waved at him but didn’t turn, instead he headed into the darkness that surrounded the numerous huts. Most of the villagers had spent more time than they should have together during the winter and Gabriel looked forward to some time to himself. He was tired of listening to the girls talk about who they might be paired with and his mother trying to convince him of seeing the seer.

  The moment Gabriel could see his hut, he regretted leaving the feast. He wasn’t in the mood for entertaining and hardened his already hardened face.

  “What do you want Ava?” Gabriel growled, as he approached her. Her slender frame was draped against the timber frame of his hut, her long scarlet locks hung over her shoulder and her flawless skin glistened in the dim light. She was beautiful, there was no denying it but she had already been paired and although he had lost his life two summers ago, Gabriel wasn’t interested in giving into the temptations she offered, he didn’t think it would be fare to whoever he would be paired with.

  “You look tense Gabriel, why don’t you let me help you with that” Ava purred, as she took a step closer and began running her finger down his firm chest.

  “Not tonight Ava” Gabriel groaned, loving how her gentle touch made him feel but he still didn’t want her.

  “Then when?” she pouted, noticing how much she was affecting him.

  Sighing, Gabriel pushed her hand away and shook his head at her. He then moved passed her on his way into his hut, their arms brushing against each other, sending a wave of warmth through his body. He didn’t look at her, even though he wanted to, instead he went inside and stood in the centre of his hut, listening to her footsteps as she walked away, her disappointment evident in her laboured steps.

  Once Ava’s footsteps faded into the distance, Gabriel let out the breath he had been holding and dropped down onto the furs that made up his bed. He couldn’t believe how much she had affected him and scolded himself for even enjoying it for the mere seconds he had.

  As he laid there staring at the ceiling, he vowed that he would go and see the seer. He wanted to know but before he fell asleep, doubt crept through his body and embedded itself in his mind.

  Like many times before, Gabriel found himself standing on a beach looking out at an ocean he had only ever seen in his dreams. The falling sun lit up the water, making it look like the most precious golden gem. The sound of the waves crashing at his feet was soothing and was just what he needed to calm his unsettled soul but his heart still ached for something he wasn’t sure he could ever have.

  Staring into the waves he knew it wouldn’t be long before her blurry image would present itself. The shadow of a girl he yearned for and although he couldn’t see her clearly, his heart told him she was the one. Before Tiria’s marriage, he had thought she had to be Arika but now he wasn’t sure who she was and wasn’t sure if he had to courage to find out.

  The sun had almost dropped behind the horizon and he had almost given up on seeing her when her shadow started dancing across the waves. His heart picked up in speed and although he wanted to go to her, his feet would not move, it was as if the sand had an iron grip on his feet and although he knew from past experiences that he couldn’t move, he still tried.

  As he stood there watching her, he tried to take in as much of her as he could, from her beautiful, soft feminine curves to the way her hair gently blew in the breeze. He wanted to commit as much about her to memory as possible, even though he knew everything about her that she was going to allow him to.

  Panic hit him hard as he noticed the light disappearing from the day, he knew that once there was no more light, she would disappear. He had no idea when he would dream of her again, it had been almost two months since he had seen her and he wished he had more time but the last of the light disappeared, taking her with it.

  Falling to his knees, Gabriel looked out at the dark ocean and wondered why he had seen her when he couldn't have her. He wasn’t sure if he could take it any longer, he wanted to look upon her face and see the details he couldn’t, even a name would help but all he had was a shadow and that was becoming a tease more than anything.

  As he continued to look out at the ocean, he waited for his heart to calm down before he slowly stood up. He had no idea why he was still in that particular dream but as he turned to look at the darkness behind him and saw the shadow of a woman standing just out of reach staring at him.

  “Who are you?” Gabriel asked but she didn't answer. Instead she stood there as if she was a statue, a very beautiful statue.

  Gabriel stood there staring at her, he had never seen a shadow there before but there was something different about this shadow. It wasn't the girl from the ocean, he could feel that in his heart, in fact he couldn't feel anything at all.

  “The key is in the water” she finally said, her voice was like silk but before he could react to her words, Gabriel suddenly found himself gasping as he sat straight up in bed.

  Looking around his still dark hut, Gabriel orientated himself and caught his breath before laying back down. He felt confused about what had just happened in his dream, no one had spoken to him in that dream before and now he wanted to know why, in fact more than ever he wanted some answers to his many questions.

  He couldn’t hear the soft sounds of his fellow villagers celebrating a good hunt anymore, indicating it was either really late or very early. Sighing, he stared at the dark ceiling above him and tried to work out what the woman was talking about, he even tried to work out who she was and why she had suddenly turned up but in the end he couldn’t even guess the answers he was seeking, she had given him nothing except six words.

  Groaning in frustration, Gabriel convinced himself that nothing he had dreamt of meant anything, even though deep down he knew it did. He then cleared his mind and eventually fell asleep for the second time that night.