Crack!
The snap of a twig breaking resounded through the nearby trees and into the night shadows. The nearby individual froze, holding their breath and counting to ten in their mind before daring to slowly look up and around. The white-tailed buck they had been tracking for well over 30 minutes was about 100 feet away, head up and alert. He was magnificent, probably 3 to 4 years old with wide branching antlers. It was so close. Bow in hand, an arrow was nocked and they aimed at the deer. Breathe in, loose, breathe out. Breathe in, loose-
Another shuffle, this time from the other side. The buck spooked, and the hunter scrambled to aim, loosing an arrow in the deer's direction. An audible thud told them the arrow had hit a tree somewhere in the distance. The deer was gone. Scanning the forest, there was no movement in the immediate trees, but that didn't mean something wasn't out there. It could be as minor as a squirrel, or as large as a bear.
Damn it!
The individual slung their bow back over their shoulder and began making their way out of the forest. The temperature was beginning to cool, and the incoming morning fog would hide their prey from them. Making their way to an abandoned cabin on the edge of the forest, they stopped at the edge of a tree line as a howl rose through the trees. Turning, they watched as a large shaggy shadow slipped between trees in the distance. And while the wolf or bear might not be hunting them directly, staying out in the wild too long and becoming the next meal was not on the list of goals for tonight.
They made their way inside the cabin, closing and securing the door behind them. The windows were already closed and the curtains were drawn tight. Taking off their cloak, the individual shook out their hair and clothes, placing the cloak on a hook by the door. They moved to the fireplace and quickly got a fire going, the light flaring to life and revealing short blonde hair, a youthful face with bright blue eyes, and a petite female form.
The young woman grabbed some jerky, made from a previous hunt's catch, and began eating. She made a mental note of the dangerously low supplies. If she got unlucky again, she'd have to come up with food another way. It's not that she was a particularly bad hunter; moreover, it seemed like the forest itself had come alive the past few nights, with predators and prey alike on the move. It was expected from the wolves, who were using the light of the near-full moon to hunt, but the others were unusual.
Eating and contemplating, another 30 or so minutes passed before she shrugged it off. It didn't have anything to do with her. She had problems of her own coming up to worry about. With anxiety and dread creeping into the back of her mind, she dragged herself to the only bed in the cabin. She placed her bow and quiver against the nearby wall. As the fire warmed the air, she let the smoky scent calm her and eventually fell into a restless sleep.
Outside, a pair of large yellow eyes watched the cabin with interest before slipping away into the dark.
Running back into the trees, it stuck its nose to the ground and inhaled, picking up the scent of the pack. It followed the scent back to a clearing where other wolves were gathered around, lounging either alone or in pairs while they waited for forward scouts to return. The wolf padded up to an even larger wolf, grey and black. It gave a small bow that was acknowledged by the larger one with a nod. It watched as the other wolf suddenly transformed in front of him, leaving in its place a man in a skin-tight shirt and leggings. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties, with short dark spiky hair and a beard. His skin was dark, a moderate brown from exposure to the sun. His face was lined and heavy, though whether due to stress or age was uncertain.
The male spoke up, addressing the wolf. "Change, Kaden, and share with me your thoughts."
The wolf immediately shifted into its human form. A young man in equally tight clothes stood in its place. His hair was long and black, with bright brown eyes and the start of a stubble of beard. His skin was not as dark as the male's, but not sun-free either. He bowed in respect before looking at the male. "I'm sorry, Father, but I've seen Evelyn again. She was out hunting, and I had to make sure she was safe."
His father looked down at him sternly. "She has consumed you as of late. You know she is human. She knows nothing of our world, let alone that you exist. You should leave her be."
"I wish I could, Father, but the wolf is straining within me. It has become nearly impossible to keep control of him. She is the only thing keeping him in check. There has to be something there. Besides, she turns twenty tomorrow. The bond could still appear."
The older male sighed. "You know that deep down we will support your decision, Kaden. We just want to make sure you are thinking this through. With there being no signs, you could be pining after a woman who is not your mate. It would destroy you if you found your mate later."
Kaden nodded. He'd already thought of that. Like their non-shifting cousins, the pack only accepted the taking of a single mate, one that was kept for life. While magic had drastically extended their life spans, the practice remained as a show of honor towards each other and their wolf nature. "I've already given it thought, Father. I'm certain."
His father stepped forward, cupping his face in his calloused hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaden saw a group of wolves returning to the clearing. "We hope you are right. Selene will not lead you astray; reach out to her if you need guidance."
The pair together turned to the wolves who had approached, shifting into their human forms. "What news do you have?" asked the older male.
Five men bowed to him, as one in front spoke up. His body sparked with residual lightning as the magic around him faded. The others too, showed remnants of their power. "Alpha, we have confirmation. The Count himself, and possibly some of his lower lords. They will all be at the fortress tomorrow for the Count's selection of his new bride. The place reeks of old blood, but it is unlikely that The Sire is there. If he were, the smell should be much stronger."
Kaden's nose turned at the mention of blood. Vampires were never good. They followed no rules, preying on whatever they could, and usually destroyed the populations they infested, turning them as they went and creating more vampires. They were like cockroaches. You could never kill them all. Just the ones within reach, he thought to himself.
The older man nodded. "So, it is as we thought. We will need to be smart, quick, and precise if we are to assault the fort. Good work, Gabriel. Take your men and relax for the night. You've earned it. We will have an even harder fight ahead of us, and you should be ready."
The men bowed again and quickly left. Kaden looked at his father. "How are we supposed to assault a fort head-on? We won't even get close before the defenses rally against us."
The older man looked down at him. "I'll be calling in a favor with some old friends of mine. Don't you worry about it. You just stay alive, my son."
"The same goes for you," Kaden replied. "No heroics. I don't want to lose you."
The older man looked at him before smiling. "We will be here as long as Selene allows it," he stated. "Leave us while I finalize our attack."
Kaden nodded, stepping back and away. He shifted back to his wolf form, the spirit inside him restless. He circled the pack members that were here, making sure to check on everyone, before picking a spot in the clearing and bedding down in some lush moss. It was going to be a long two days. He allowed thoughts of a particular female form to fill his mind.
She is ours, said the wolf in his mind. Kaden smiled. I hope so.
Evelyn woke with the sunrise, grabbed her gear, and headed back into town. The air was chilly, though it wouldn't be for long. Normally she would take her time coming back, enjoying the fresh air, the sun's rays as they pushed over the horizon, the fog that hugged the ground as the dew began to evaporate into the air. She sighed, aware that today was not that day.
Today was the day Count Vasian would descend from his high-towered fortress and pick for himself a new bride. No one knew for sure what had happened to his previous consorts, but rumor said that he disposed of them if he grew tired of them. This was to be his…fourth? Fifth? Every woman between the ages of twenty and twenty-five was to look and dress their best, and the families would line the main street that corkscrewed through town away from the castle. The Count and his court would ride by, choosing a handful of women to return with them. Most saw it as an opportunity, a way to raise their standing in society and do better for themselves. Evelyn wanted nothing to do with it, but participation wasn't optional.
She caught the outer drawbridge just as it met the ground, joining the traveling merchants as they made their way into the town and passing the farmers on their way out to work their fields.
Termarth itself wasn't a very large town but was growing. Termarth Keep sat at the center, sitting atop a large hill. It was surrounded by its small moat and accessed via its own set of drawbridges. From there, an inner ring was made up of cookhouses, medical houses, and an orphanage. A middle ring housed all of the trades, from blacksmiths and farriers to weavers and cobblers. The outer ring supported farmers, herbalists, and marketers selling their wares. The outer walls were surrounded by a larger moat, with two main gates that led in and out on the northwest and southwest sides. The town was thought to sit on a strategic corner of the Ascola River, which snaked down from the Gibris Highlands to the north and wound around the town's east side, heading south to meet the sea. The forest to the west was neglected by the townsfolk, who believed that those who wandered inside vanished, never to be heard from again. Evelyn, of course, proved that theory wrong, but she would never tell them that. She didn't need any competition on her hunting grounds.
She made her way through the town, using side streets and more direct roads into the city to avoid the main road traffic. Coming into the middle ring, she trudged up the hill towards her home on the south side. As she expected, her father was outside waiting for her, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. He saw her too.
"Evelyn!" he called as she drew close. "Foolish girl, don't you know what today is?!"
She sighed. "I haven't forgotten, Father, it's why I'm here now. I'm aware of what is expected of me."
He glared at her. "You have ONE HOUR to wash and get ready; you'd better get to it."
She nodded, passing him and crossing the threshold into their simple home. It was a small single-story two-bedroom home with a living space and a rudimentary kitchen, and all manner of leathers and tools strewn about.
"How was the hunt?" her father asked from behind her.
She shook her head. "Nothing, again. I'm telling you; the forest has been weird lately. A lot more active and noisier than I've ever seen it. If I don't catch anything tonight, I'll bring the rest of the jerky home and figure out a way to buy food." She moved to her room, keeping the door open a bit. She gathered up her best dress, a simple pale white long-sleeve, and a blue sash that almost matched her eyes.
She took them to the washroom, stripped down, and began scrubbing, removing as much of the dirt and grime as she could. Head to toe took about ten minutes. She soaked her hair next, using some wild herbs to add scent and appear as fresh as possible. Drying off, she slipped into the dress and tied the sash simply around her waist. She squeezed a towel through her hair and began putting it into her familiar 3-strand braid, which she laid on her shoulder. Lastly, she found a pair of simple unworn slippers back in her room and put them on. She walked back into the living space, approaching her father. "How'd I do?"
He looked her up and down. "Well, you certainly don't look like you spend your nights being feral in the forest."
"Ugh, not even a 'you look good' from you?"
He laughed and walked up to her, hugging her. "You're my daughter. You don't look good, you look gorgeous." His smile faltered a bit. "You look like your mother, every bit as stunning as she was."
Evelyn hugged him tightly. Her mother was a sore spot for him, and he rarely spoke of her, so coming from him that was the highest praise she could ever ask for. He had told her that her mother died in childbirth, leaving him heartbroken with the task of raising a girl alone. There was nothing of her mother in the house to know her by except for his memory, when he chose to share it. "Thank you."
He nodded, releasing her. "Are you sure you've put together everything you want to present to Count Vasian and his nobles?"
"It's not going to get much better than this."
"Then wait there, I have one last thing for you."
Evelyn stood there, her interest piqued as her father retreated to his room. He returned a few minutes later, something clenched in a closed fist. He opened it in front of her, revealing his prize. A white crescent moon surrounded by a silver lining sat on a fine silver chain. Too small to be a necklace, she realized it was a choker. He unclasped it and wrapped it around her neck closing it behind her. As he released it, it settled into place, feeling like it was made for her specifically.
"It's all I have, but…I think she would rather it go to her daughter. After all, you turn twenty today. You're an adult now. Happy birthday, Evelyn."
Tears filled her eyes as she gently traced the crescent moon at her throat. "It's beautiful. You've kept this all this time?"
"I didn't want it getting lost or stolen while you were a child. And later…so much time had passed I thought you might not care. But it is rightfully yours."
A horn sounded from atop the hill. Nearby doors and windows began opening as the town began assembling for the event.
Her father looked at her. "I know you don't want to do this, but…we don't have a choice this time. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best." He moved to the front door and opened it. She could see he was shaking.
Taking a deep breath, she walked past him out the door. He closed it and stood behind her as she moved up to the edge of the street. Up and down the corkscrew street, other girls were also lining up. She stood as tall as her 5-foot stature would allow.
Multiple horns in fanfare this time signified the beginning of the procession. Knowing that it would take time for the parade to make it through the inner ring, she passed some time admiring the other girls on either side of her. She knew that she was nowhere near the standard of beauty that most men looked for. The girls around her were taller, skinnier, and carried themselves with confidence. Their dresses varied from simple like hers to elegant and expensive. She was shorter than most and carried weight that she could not get rid of in her hips and thighs. However, she did beat most of them by being well-endowed in her chest and buttocks, which was unusual for an individual of her size. She was well aware that some of the taller girls envied her for that. She didn't know if it came from her mother and had many a time wished as a growing child that she had less, but there wasn't much to be done about it.
As the sound of hooves approached, Evelyn looked down, staring at the cobblestone of the street. The Count and his court had arrived.
As the first rays of the sun crept through the trees, Kaden woke. He looked around groggily, stood up, and stretched, pushing his front paws into the earth. The pack was slowly waking, with fires being relit and food being cooked over them in preparation for the day's first meal. His brother Christian was up, in his human form, surrounded by a group of five or six men. He couldn't hear them, even with his enhanced wolf hearing, but he could guess from their movements that Christian was going over last-minute details with his group about tomorrow's attack. All of the men in the pack were capable fighters, Gabriel saw to that. But Kaden knew that there were only a select few Christian trusted to fight with him and cover his back, and they were a terrorizing unit in action.
On his left, his father was speaking in hushed tones with a figure he had not seen or smelled before. Tall and slender with long blonde hair like his mother's, the figure exuded an unnatural grace and strength that no wolf had ever achieved. And they smelled of magic as if it was a part of their very being.
Kaden approached his father, curious. He shifted into his human form and waited, not interrupting.
His father turned to him and nodded, looking back at the other figure. "Estelar, this is my son Kaden. Kaden, this is Estelar, Knight of the Summer Court and emissary of the elves."
Estelar bowed to Kaden. "Your son gets his looks from Layla, Anderson, but he has your strength. It is a pleasure to meet you Kaden Landry, son of Anderson, prince of the Silvertooth pack."
Kaden fumbled for a moment, bowing in return. It was not often someone used his full name and title. "The honor is mine, Ser Estelar. What brings you to us here, away from your kin?"
Estelar looked back to Anderson. "Your father requests our aid in your mission to assault Termarth Keep. Normally my kin would likely turn down such a request, but if vampires truly have infected the keep, then our aid should be natural. Magical beings should not control the non-magical world, particularly those as foul as vampires." He looked around the clearing. "Expect my platoon to arrive this afternoon. We will have ten transporters to get you in and out of the walls. Twenty men inside to scour the keep and make sure they are all eliminated, and twenty men outside to deal with any runners. We have our own weapons and food, so do not worry about our needs."
"Even the Summer Court approves? This must be a big deal," Kaden commented with surprise.
"Less…approves, and more like…doesn't know," Estelar replied with a grin. "The humans say it's better to ask forgiveness than permission, right? Besides, I owe Anderson a favor for saving my life a long time ago. I would gladly fight alongside your pack."
Kaden grinned back. So, the elf wasn't all rules and decorum. He opened his mouth to reply when a familiar scent met his nose. One of his pack mates was near, and his excitement turned to dread. He looked to his father with eyes pleading for help, but Anderson was already shaking his head. He too knew what was coming, and according to wolf pack laws, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Excuse me, Ser Estelar, I have a packmate I must deal with," Kaden said with another bow.
"Of course, Prince Kaden."
Kaden walked away from them around the edge of the clearing. This was about to get frustrating at best, and ugly at the worst.
A few moments later, a brown female wolf came trotting out of the trees towards him. He turned his back to it, not wanting to give her any encouragement. "You shouldn't be here, Sophia. This is not a place for women."
A moment later, a feminine voice replied. "You know that's not why you're upset, Kaden. You know I can fight."
"It is not your duty."
"That doesn't mean I can't."
He turned, towering over her. At 5 foot 10 inches, he had her beat by at least five inches. His brown eyes glowed a bit as his wolf partly came through, and embers began to form around his hands. "Every man in the pack must fight and protect. To keep you safe, for the good of the pack, yourself, and your future mate. We cannot fight efficiently if we have to also worry about your safety. Not even my mother is here, and she is equal in strength to the Alpha. Go home, female."
"What, so I'm not allowed to check on my mate?" Sophia asked with a huff.
Ah, there it is.
"For the last time, we are not mates. There is no bond between us, no mate mark on our skin. Nothing to show that we should be mated."
"Not yet," she countered with an undertone of hope. "It could still happen."
"Do you want it so badly that you would stoop so low as to disrespect yourself and your future mate? And in the process disrespect me and my mate?" Kaden growled through gritted teeth. Wisps of blue flame danced around his closed fists. "I don't care what you believe. We are both past the age of maturity. If it were to happen for us, it should've occurred already."
Arms wrapped around him from behind, hands sliding up his chest seductively. "Please, Kaden, let's just give it-"
Kaden roared, grabbing the female's arms and peeling them off of him. Keeping a hold of them, he twisted her around and used the momentum to knock her off balance. He pinned her to the ground as he snarled in her ear. He wasn't hurting her physically; it would go against his nature to do so. Females were precious and protected in the pack. But he wasn't just any wolf, either, and he would make sure she knew her place. He was aware that he was attracting attention from some of the others around him but didn't care. They knew exactly what he was doing. He leaned over her pinned form. His flames danced around them, licking her skin where his skin met hers.
"Do. Not. Touch. Me. Again." He wasn't entirely sure if that was the man or his wolf. Both were equally through with this female. "Know your place, wolf, and leave me alone. This is your last warning." He waited, knowing that the wolf inside her would have no choice but to submit to his dominance. A few seconds passed before she bowed her head in submission, admitting defeat. He released her, turned his back to her, and shifted back to the wolf. He needed to be rid of this frustration. It was time to go hunt something.
He took off running, not paying attention to where he was going. He pushed his wolf form as much as he could, being mindful to not overdo it before tomorrow's assault. The wind waved through his fur, bringing scents and sounds to him. A rabbit running away through the underbrush. An owl in the branches somewhere above him. A nearby creek bubbled as it sent water on its way. Nature was perfect, and he felt at home.
It did not surprise him when he ended up back at the same cabin that he had visited the night before. The fire was out, but the smell of burning wood remained. He sniffed around, easily picking up Evelyn's scent in and around the cabin. It was weird to put words to it, but to him, she smelled of lavender. And like lavender itself, it calmed him down. A whiff of beaver wafted across his nose, and he turned to it. It would make for an easy meal. He took off, the wolf within honing his senses. It was time to kill.
