Hey guys! Sorry this is mad late / but I hope it reads better than the last chapter did *Vomit emoji* I'm in the midst of fixing it in between continuing Essence's edit, and plotting part two of Empire's sequel, officially titled From Your Time. And if you haven't, go check out part one of the sequel, From Your Shadow! It's a one shot, just to ease into the theme, but it's good (at least, I think so haha).

But anyway, please enjoy Invitation! Kinda short, but whatevs. *shrugs* And thank you for your patience! _ *social distancing hugs*

Zelda's lips parted. "I. . . I hadn't thought of that," she admitted, shocked at herself. It seemed such an obvious concern, now that it was in the open. She felt like an idiot for not considering it.

Howler's hand tightened around hers. She knew she should remove it, in the den of his alpha, in home wolf territory as they were, but something inside, some instinct, told her not to. He seemed to crave her touch now, and she craved him just as viscerally, and she knew exactly what had caused it.

When she'd healed him.

She still got butterflies in her gut when she thought of that. The look in his eyes, so vulnerable, his voice when he begged her to heal him. The unbearable pain in her heart as he told her about being abandoned. The feel of him so close, so warm and firm . . . she felt tied to him, somehow. There was some thing inside her, some kind of tether, holding her close, demanding his proximity. His voice. His touch. His everything, if she let her mind go that far. It scared her and thrilled her at the same time, feeling so inexplicably dependent on someone.

But that was all pushed to the back of her mind as she looked at him. That vulnerable expression and softness from the night in the jungle was the opposite of how he looked now: angry, shocked, confused. Clearly, he had not thought of Impa's question any more than Zelda had.

Zelda forced herself to focus. She didn't know what to say, though, and in a few moments, it didn't matter, anyway.

"Well, now, this is interesting."

The five of them whirled, facing the owner of the voice. Howler pushed his way in front of Zelda, a low snarl slipping from his lips. A dark shape detached itself from the ceiling shadows, landing on the wood on silent feet. It rose, and in the firelight they saw only white hair and vivid red eyes.

Just like Impa, was Zelda's first thought. Could he be a fellow tribe member, then? She darted a glance at the wolf alpha, but her expression was stone-cold. Hard as marble.

Swallowing, Zelda faced the stranger, trying to catch his scent. It was hard, in her human form, but she would know one part of it anywhere.

Blood.

A growl slipped from her as she pushed Howler's arm down. "Who are you?"

The stranger laughed, a dark thing. "You don't need to know that. I'm not here for a formal introduction, anyway."

"Then get out," Howler snarled. Zelda laid a hand on his back worriedly; he was trembling. Her own soul shivered in response.

The stranger smiled. "Not before I do what I came here for. A message only," he added, as the wolves tensed.

His smile grew until his fangs were visible, and a light that Zelda didn't like entered his eyes. "You are formally invited to a gala in Karusa Valley Manor, in honor of the Thieves' new patriarch. It will be held on the full moon, in one week, as the sun sets. Do not be late."

Before anyone could move, before they could say a damn thing, the stranger dropped from the ceiling and dashed out of the nest--but Howler had shifted and was a half-step behind him. Shocked howls and yips followed their path as Zelda burst out of the nest after them, shocks of fire ripping down her soul.

She scanned the clearing and saw a bushy tail disappear into the woods and leaped, ready to shift, but two sets of hands latched onto her and pulled her down.

"Let me go!" Zelda screamed, unable to explain the utter fear in her heart. She writhed, but Mania's grip was too strong and with a few uttered words, vines erupted from the ground and wrapped Zelda up tight.

She stumbled, falling into Sunset's waiting arms. "He'll be back," Sunset cut her off, stemming the curses about to flow from Zelda's mouth. "He's not stupid--he won't get himself killed just yet."

It was no appeasement to Zelda, no balm to the searing pain in her, but--but she was making a scene, and she'd frightened the pups. They crouched behind their parents' legs, watching her with wide, chocolate brown eyes, and the adult wolves glared at ehr, growling softly, and so she forced herself to take calming breaths.

She was trembling. Zelda opened her eyes, nodding to Mania and Sunset, and they slowly released her. She was still afraid, though, and her gaze scanned the trees Howler had disappeared into. He'd just left her. Shrugging off Mania's hand, she stalked away to a quiet corner of the clearing, ignoring the stares of the wolves and the way they cluttered around Impa, asking all at once what happened, who was the shadow, where did Howler go. Zelda sat on the cool moss, nestled into the thick, tangled roots of the tree, and tried to calm down.

Why was she so scared? As if the answer was so hard to find. She knew something had changed when she healed him. She got jitters when he came close, his voice sent shivers down her spine, when he smiled his canines showed a little. His skin was peppered with small scars, and he had a light in his eyes that had pissed her off when she'd first met him, but now made her glad she was with him. He was focused and diligent, keeping them on track. And he was different, too.

His concern was aways for her first, his gaze searching for her, asking her opinion. His behavior at Running Wind had only cemented that. He flew into a frenzy whenever Zelda was threatened or insulted, like when he'd attacked Dampe and whoever that tiny wolf had been. He even snarled at her father, before they'd left.

He joked with her, walked with her, and even when he was with Mania or Sunset, he twisted his head to find Zelda, or she felt his gaze searing the back of her head. But it didn't end there.

He was always touching her: pulling her along, holding her hand, trailing his fingers up her arm, just to tease her. She pretended that she hated it, before Running Wind, but now she let him, even walked closer just to give him the opportunity. It gave her goosebumps. And sometimes, when they laid down for the night, she would wake up in the middle of the night and feel his fingers in her hair, as if he couldn't bear to be without some contact with her.

His constant need for contact had annoyed her at first, but now, after everything they'd gone through--now, in his tribe, with his family, she craved it more than ever. She wanted him near her, his fingers tangled in hers, his lips by her ear, whispering like they had been all day.

Zelda felt tears crawling up her throat and savagely pushed them down. She was being silly. He would come back. He wouldn't leave her--or Sunset, or even Mania. He still had to report to Impa, and--

The grass before her was scuffed, and she jerked her head up. Zelda blinked, meeting the gaze of the child standing in front of her. "Y-Yes?"

The child regarded her. Two more appeared behind him, peering at her shyly. "Are you Howler's friend?"

Zelda felt herself relax slightly. "Yes, I am." In a sense.

"Are you his girlfriend?" a second child pressed. Zelda fought down her blush.

"No, I am not."

A third child sniffed at her. "You're lying," she pronounced. "I can smell him on you. And Howler never touches females."

What could that mean? Had he . . .

Her mind ran through wolf behavior when around females, all in a flash, and almost immediately she came across something that made her shiver violently.

He couldn't possibly have . . . but what else could it be?

Her cheeks heated, and Zelda felt a smile worming its way onto her face. "I suppose children know best," she sighed, pretending defeat, ignoring the fluttering of her heart, the chills of heat running up and down her soul, up that tether inside her. And the longer she thought about it, the more she could feel it inside, shifting, until with a click she could feel in every cell, it locked into place, sending waves of warmth through her. A sigh slipped from her lips before she could stop it, and her eyelids fluttered.

The children giggled, pressing a little closer. Zelda could see the parents hovering, watching her closely.

"You're in his nest," the first child said matter-of-factly. "Do you like it?"

Zelda smiled. It was impossible not to. "Yes, I do. The moss is very soft."

"He stole it," the girl said, and the three of them laughed again. "Took it from Sunset's nest in Haze of Shadows."

Of course he had. Zelda felt her smile grow. "Has he stolen anything else?"

The three looked at one another, then back at her, before huddling together and whispering fiercely. A few times one of them would glance back at her before whispering again. It was getting increasingly difficult to smother her snickers.

Suddenly they turned and looked at her straight on. "You mean you don't know?"

It was an effort not to blush. She fought it down, grasping at some sense of composure, and said, "Enlighten me."

The three kids looked at one another, and Zelda began to feel worried--but then they dissolved into a fit of giggles, holding onto one another. "We'll let him tell you," the second boy said, and the three of them ran off--just as Howler himself appeared.

He watched them run past, laughing wildly, and turned to Zelda, who'd gone positively still. "Should I be concerned with what they were saying--woah!"

Zelda slammed into him, eliciting a soft grunt. Then his chest shuddered and his arms went around her, crushing her to him. She buried her face in his shoulder, feeling as though it was impossible to get close enough. Somehow it made the tether in her burn even hotter, made her crave him even more. And with the way he was holding her, like he was feeling the very same, she knew, somehow, that what she suspected of him, what those kids had been teasing about, was true.

The realization made her eyes burn, and she held him to her even tighter, muffling the involuntary sharp breath in his shoulder.

"Spitfire," he breathed, and it made her shiver. "What's wrong?"

Nothing. Everything. Part of her wanted to lift her head and sarcastically tell him, Oh, nothing, I just realized that I've fallen in love with a wolf but I can't be with him. I've realized he's imprinted on me, and I think I just accepted it. Right. That was sure to go over well.

And even worse, he didn't know.

Zelda knew that had they been in their anima forms, he'd have scented it on her plain as day. But as a human, even with heightened senses, they couldn't scent everything.

So Zelda had a decision to make. Either she could tell him now, in front of his whole tribe and make those kids' day, or she could keep quiet. She could bury it deep inside, try to forget about it, about him, and mate within her own tribe. Maybe with Misko. He'd been trying to get her attentions for years.

But she knew it wouldn't happen. She could never forget Howler. It was like being asked to swallow a rock: impossible, and who would want to, anyway?

Why would she ever willingly forget the way his blue eyes crinkled right before he cracked a stupid joke, or the way they flared when he was fighting, or the way his voice sent shovers down her spine? Who would forget the way he was: fierce, capable, determined, funny, smart, irritating, protective--stupidly, sinfully, infuriatingly handsome?

Zelda felt ill just thinking about it. Her soul pulled in the most uncomfortable way, and her heart pounded with fear. Howler noticed, as he did everything with her.

His hand went to her hair, stroking it slowly. "What's wrong?" he repeated, softly.

"I'm scared."

Howler stiffened. The words had been involuntary, but they were true. She was scared: scared of the monkeys, scared of the gala in a week, scared that she would lose everyone she loved to some crazed, vengeful anima. Scared of the virus.

But she was most scared to lose Howler.

It was a crude sort of irony, she considered, lifting her head from his shoulder, bracing herself to lie to his face. She'd be losing him, but it would be in a more painful way than if he was dead. He'd be alive, but he'd never be hers.

"I'm scared of the virus," Zelda croaked, feeling her soul twist at the lie. Why did it hurt so much to speak a simple fib?

Howler eyed her closely, swallowing. "Me too. But . . . I think we have to go to the gala."

Zelda nodded, stepping back as Mania and Sunset approached. They'd been speaking with Impa, and now the alpha called the tribe's attention.

"Black Sage thinks we should leave now if we want to make it to the island," Mania said, and for a moment Zelda thought to herself, puzzling something out.

She turned to Howler, who was nodding to himself. "You've never told me I--the alpha's call sign. You always used her name."

Howler blinked at her, numb to the frustrated snarl Sunset gave and her hand slapping his arm. "Idiot," she muttered.

"Did--did I?"

Zelda raised a brow. "Uh, yeah. You did. Do you do that with everyone?"

Howler didn't answer; his gaze was turned inward, his cheeks draining of some color. His lips parted in what Zelda assumed was surprise. She thought she heard him murmur something like, "Oh, shit," but it was so soft, she couldn't be sure.

"Well, now she's really gonna kill you," Sunset said cheerfully, winking at Zelda, who cleared her throat, face flushing. "After we find out what's going on at the manor, anyway."

"Where is it?" Mania asked, feeling rather left out.

"It's an island off the northeastern coast," Howler supplied, still a bit distracted. "It's an old place. Abandoned for years, just a bunch of ruins. I didn't know any tribes had set up there."

"And who're the Thieves?" Sunset asked, scowling.

Zelda glanced at Mania quickly, blood chilling. His grave expression confirmed it. If the forest tribes didn't know of the Thieves, then--
Howler had caught their glance. "What?"

Zelda spoke first. "Neither of you have heard of these Thieves before now?"

Both Sunset and Howler shook their heads. "Then they must be new," Zelda pressed.

Howler blinked at her, eyes narrowing. "The ones behind this."

"It's a possibility," Mania said. "It doesn't confirm anything. But it's enough to be cautious when we go to the island. If we've received an invitation, the four of us specifically, then they know about our mission to figure out what's happening, and they'll be watching out for us on the way."

"They could also be working with the monkeys," Zelda added. "If that tribe didn't leave the jungle before, then these Thieves could be who's been killing anima in the monkeys' stead."

"You four have a lot to think about," Black Sage said, appearing behind them. She laid her hands on Sunset and Mania's shoulders. "The road will be a long one; use that time to prepare."

"Wait," Howler said, stilling Zelda and the rest. Impa didn't react, as if she could tell what Howler was about to ask.

"There was someone missing at that meeting," he said, cocking his head in a purely wolfish motion. "I couldn't remember who at the time, but it just hit me. Where were the Lightpaws?"

Impa stared at him, her mouth a thin line. Zelda glanced at Sunset, who mouthed, wolf tribe, west. Mania watched the two wolves, his gaze flicking around the clearing, watching the wolves that gathered, tucking pups behind legs, pulling children away.

Impa spoke, her voice hard, "I don't know. We have not heard from Impaz's tribe in four days."

Listening to Avril Lavigne and Taylor Swift while writing this and I can feel a moodhit me like BAM anyways here're the review replies.

To Queen Emily the Diligent: good to know *sighs in relief*

To StJames1: yeah it was bad but I was on a time crunch. Not to worry, the revised version will be up soon.

Also who doesn't want an emo, bitchy dampe? I 100000000% do bc he strikes me as a hard-rocker emo dude. I mean, he works in a graveyard. Like, major emo vibes.

And yes your ranting helped a lot hahaha. *finger guns* no prob. And—how did you know?