by DJ Phoenix
“On one of my rounds I noticed a wolf watching her from afar. I knew he wasn’t a Clear Creek wolf, because he was doused in some strange scent. I hadn’t made myself known to Cynthia yet, but I tried to warn her. Thankfully, she picked up her things and made her way to the diner in town. I went back to follow the mystery wolf once she was safe inside, but he was gone. I have been looking for him, but he’s nowhere to be found; all I have been able to find is remnants of the strange scent around the woods.
“I am also here to help her with her magic. Because she is half Fae, her magic is dormant, just like her wolf, but when the bonding magic descends over you two tomorrow, it will be released. And before you ask, there is no way to know what will happen, but I will be here to help contain it.”
Luke let out an exasperated breath, then had stood to pace. “Okay, so I have been feeling that something is coming. I don’t know what, but now that we know some wolf has been stalking Cynthia, it is safe to say someone is out there attempting to get to her. Tomorrow is an important day, and I want it to run as safely as possible. Adam, you are welcome into our territory as my mate’s cousin. Dan, increase surveillance all around the woods and the cabin. I want guards at all times around the perimeter. Aside from us here and Jack’s family, no one enters this home if I haven’t authorized it. Now, let’s get some sleep, and we will continue to figure out why Cynthia’s parents kept all this from their daughters after the bonding ceremony.”
Cynthia stood in what had become her bedroom; a floor-length mirror reflected back an wrap-around, emerald-green gown that reached her ankles. The finest silk she had ever seen or had the pleasure of touching covered her otherwise naked body as gold thread decorated the seams. An intricate pattern of a wolf in a forest made out of the same gold thread began where the seams crossed at her cleavage, ran down the front, and fanned out, covering the expanse of the gown from her waist down. A wide, gold-colored silk band that tied into a bow behind her back held the gown in place at her waist. Long, bell-shaped sleeves of the same green silk covered her arms to the tip of her fingers. Her hair had been intricately braided and tied with a golden silk cord. Her bare face stared back at her, and she marveled at the natural rose color she saw on her cheeks and the healthy glow she saw on her skin.
Lucy had arrived early that morning and had shooed Luke out of the house. With a sigh, Cynthia had hugged and kissed her mate goodbye, feeling assured as he had tried to persuade Lucy to let him stay. She knew she shouldn’t feel that way, but she couldn’t help it; she didn’t like being away from Luke, and knowing he felt the same soothed her.
Luke had begrudgingly allowed Lucy to push him out the door, and as soon as the door had been locked, the older she-wolf had turned to Cynthia. An odd-looking, earth-colored bar of soap that had no scent was suddenly in Cynthia’s hand, and Lucy was stirring her toward the stairs. Lucy had been kindly firm, letting her know she was to wash her hair and body with the homemade soap and nothing else. Then Lucy had handed her a garment bag and told her she was to wear its content and nothing else, not even shoes. She smiled, wiggling her pedicured toes peeking out from beneath the hem. She had stopped to get a pedicure the day before, figuring if she had to be barefoot, at least her toes should look pretty.
To say she was a mass of nerves was putting it lightly. According to what Lucy had explained, the first part of the ceremony involved Luke going on a hunt for what would be the main course of the meal tonight; in the meantime, Cynthia was to prepare for the ceremony. To make things easier on Cynthia, Lucy had graciously explained that the hunt was mostly harmless and there were seldom any injuries or fatalities. That bit of information had put Cynthia’s stomach in knots for the past two hours, her mind working on overdrive wondering just what kind of animals Luke was hunting and how many he would need to hunt to feed a whole pack? He would probably be exhausted by the time the ceremony began.
Some of the women in the pack would prepare and cook the meat, and stay behind to prepare the feast while the pack went on their first run with the newly bonded Alpha couple.
Luke
His paws hit the forest floor running. This was the day he had been anticipating since his mate had walked into Jack’s diner. The gods would bless their union today, marking the start of a new life for them. He grinned, or as close to a grin as a wolf could make.
Matt ran by his side, his four close behind, along with a dozen other males from the pack. They were to be witness that he was capable of providing for his mate and future cubs. Cubs, that thought made his tongue hang out to one side of his snout in his wolf’s version of a goofy grin. He could see it in his mind’s eye—his mate swollen with his cub, Cynthia rocking a baby in her arms, her fiery hair a rumpled mess of curls as she awoke to feed their newborn in the middle of the night.
He pushed his legs harder as the scent of prey reached his snout. When he came upon the spot where he was sure he’d find what he was looking for, he slowed and came to a predatory crouch, making sure he stayed downwind. Just beyond the cover of the brush he was currently under, he could smell several deer.
The others stayed behind as they gave him space and time to make his kill. This was his test, and they would not interfere. He slowly approached the clearing where the deer herd grazed. He searched for those furthest from the herd and chose his kill. He would need to kill a large buck to have enough meat to feed the whole pack.
He lunged with as much force as he could muster, hitting the buck on its side and making him fall. He landed on the buck’s belly, simultaneously latching onto its neck. The buck thrashed and kicked, but he held on, squeezing his jaws shut to cut off its air supply. Blood trickled down his throat and, in a few seconds, he felt the buck begin to weaken. When his canines were buried deep in the buck’s throat, blood pouring freely, he tore out its neck.
He looked back to where he knew Matt and the others were hiding and gave them a nod. The group would be on alert as he dragged the large buck back to the pack clearing. There were always animals in the forest that would try to encroach on another’s kill. The other forest animals weren’t really a threat, but it would be a nuisance to have to scare them off as they dragged a two-hundred-plus pound kill through the forest.
He was busy dragging the buck when a new scent reached his snout. He tensed and stopped, dropping the buck on the ground. His hackles raised and a growl rose in his chest. The others surrounded him, everyone looking into the forest; they smelled it, too.
He heard Matt’s voice first. “Luke, that’s the same scent I found before but couldn’t find who it belonged to.”
Evan’s voice came next. They had shifted. “Some of us should continue on with the buck and the rest could follow the scent.”
Luke hated that he had to go on with the buck instead of leading the hunt to find whatever was leaving this scent, but it was part of the ceremony, and he wouldn’t mess it up for Cynthia. He shifted. “Matt, you and James take half the males and find whatever is leaving this scent. Evan and Dan, you two and the rest of the males follow me.” With that said, Luke shifted back to his wolf and picked up the buck to continue his trek down the mountain toward home.
Two miles later, half of the hunting party reached the pack house clearing. Margaret was yelling orders at some of the pack males that were helping her set up for the ceremony. He could see some of the women were busy making preparations for the meal, and a few teenage cubs were gathered by the fire pit.
The buck was dragged away to be skinned and prepared for cooking as the group shifted. They all grabbed sweats that had been left out in a box for them. After pulling the garment on, Luke took a good look at his backyard. It had been so long since the pack had gathered here. The last time it had been his father in the Alpha position. He shook his head, clearing his mind from thoughts of his father. He had mourned his loss for a long time, and now was a time of celebration. He had returned from the hunt with enough meat to feed the whole pack, and in a few hours he’d be back in the forest with his
mate running by his side, so long as there was no danger around.
Luke checked that Margaret had all she needed and explained what they’d come across on their way back. He left instructions to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, and set guards around the entire perimeter of the property, leaving Dan and Evan in charge. He went back into the edge of the forest, pulled off his sweats, and shifted. He went back to where the group had split and followed his pack’s scent to their current location. Once he knew the threat was taken care of, he would run to his cabin to shower.
The smell was faint as he ran through the woods toward his pack mates. It was as if the scent had been left behind days ago, yet he knew it wasn’t there yesterday, or one of his men patrolling the mountain would have caught it. When he reached the males, he shifted so they could all communicate.
“What have you found?”
As his beta, and the one leading the hunt, Matt answered. “Unfortunately, not much. Whatever left that scent behind is gone. The scent ends here. We searched the other side of the road, and there’s no scent over there. It must have been someone that had a car waiting here. That’s the only way the scent could have ended so abruptly.”
Luke rubbed his neck and let out a frustrated breath. “So, someone has been traipsing through our territory and not one of us noticed.” His statement made the males bristle. Technically, he had in a few words deemed them incompetent. It was in their wolf’s nature to protect. They were territorial, and this situation was grating on all of them. This could be a threat to their cubs and their women, and the wolf inside snarled and clawed, attempting to be let free, to continue the hunt until the threat was found and eliminated.
James was staring at the lonely narrow dirt road. “It has to be someone that knows these mountains. This is an old road, and it’s not even on any map. Our pack created it to access the emergency cabins. Not even townsfolk know about it. The entrance is well hidden, you have to know what you’re looking for to find it.”
“You’re right. But we would recognize any of our pack mates’ scents. This is completely different to anything my wolf has ever smelled, and it’s fading fast.” Luke’s voice was straining with his wolf so close to the surface.
“Almost like someone found a way to mask their real scent.” Joe’s voice rang through the group.
“And made the scent left behind different and evasive,” Matt countered.
Luke set his glowing eyes on Jack. “Have you ever come across any species that could mask their scent in any way?”
Jack looked pensive for a moment. “No. I’ve never known anyone that can mask their scent like this. Even if someone drenched themselves in some kind of perfume, our wolf would still detect their personal scent.”
Luke was beyond frustrated. This was an important day for him and Cynthia, and he had some unknown person who could very well be a threat to his mate and pack somewhere on their territory. To top it off, he had no clue how to find said threat. His wolf pushed forward and looked at each of the males gathered. They all bared their neck and averted holding his dominant stare, not wanting to challenge the already agitated wolf. “We have a couple hours before the ceremony. Matt, take two males and check in town for any new check ins at the motel and hotel. Also check the bed and breakfast. Joe, Jack, you two check the resort and surrounding emergency cabins. James, take two males and check any Airbnb’s in town and surrounding our territory. If they are staying anywhere in town, we’ll find them. Look for any extended stays as well as anyone that arrived within the last three weeks. Meet at my cabin in hour half.” With that said, everyone shifted and headed in their separate directions. Luke took the long way to his cabin, wanting to make one last sweep of the surrounding woods before he went to get ready for the ceremony.
It was an hour later when Luke stood in the living room of his cabin, staring at his closest friends and pack mates. Neither had any useful information. The emergency cabins were empty and had no signs of inhabitants. The guests at the resort all checked out. There had been no recent check ins at the one motel in town, and the few staying there were human. The hotel had more people staying there, but had all been human as well. The bed and breakfast in town had one couple staying and they too were human. There were five Airbnb’s in town. Two were vacant, one was being remodeled, another had a human family staying, and the last one had signs of inhabitants but the person was nowhere in sight, which didn’t really matter because the scent around the home was human.
There was no way a human had been traipsing through the woods that deep into the mountain. A human wouldn’t have left such a scent, either. The only explanation he could think of was that the wolf the Fae had seen in town was watching his pack, and somehow hiding in the mountain.
His pack had been in peace with other supernaturals and wolf packs for centuries, there was really no explanation as to why one would be here now—unannounced. Unless it had to do with Cynthia being Fae. Her cousin had specified that their race hadn’t approved of her parents’ bonding, so it was possible the Fae were involved in this.
He could send someone to meet with the Fae and inquire about Cynthia’s mom. But if her parents had been hiding from the Fae, whatever the reason was could pose a threat to his mate. Not knowing made his wolf agitated and the man restless. A growl erupted from his chest, and he let it out, hoping to let out some of his frustration along with it. The men standing around him bared their throats and responded with a howl in support.
Joe spoke first. “I’m thinking this might be that wolf the Fae said was watching Cynthia.” Joe ran a hand through his hair leaving it in disarray. “It’s been more than a couple weeks since that incident she had in town, and we haven’t had any sign of the wolf again, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been here.” Joe’s voice rang like a church bell, leaving them all in silence.
There was really nothing to say.
Luke released a long breath. “Let’s head back. I don’t want to be late to my own bonding ceremony. Everyone stay alert and spread out to cover the gathering area. We have to be ready in case whoever this is decides to make an appearance. Dan, if hell breaks loose out there, you and Amy take the cubs to safety. Make your way into my home office, the third brick down from the right side of the fireplace releases a door, that tunnel leads to a safe house. Margaret knows the safe house and keeps it clean and well stocked. You’ll all be safe there until you hear from one of us. The rest of us will face whatever we must. Jack, if it gets to be too much, take the elders through the tunnel in the family room that leads to the resort grounds, and stay in that cabin until you hear from one of us. If we must, we’ll take the tunnel to the pack offices and reach out to you all from there.”
“What if the office building has been compromised? Anyone that knows about us would have figured out our connection to that building.” Evan was clenching and unclenching his hands and bouncing on the ball of his feet like a boxer, sure sign he was anticipating a good fight.
“You’re right, we’ll take the tunnel to the bar instead. Now, let’s go.” Luke grabbed his keys. Locking the front door, he jumped into Matt’s truck.
Chapter 25
Cynthia
Someone cleared their throat, bringing Cynthia out of her thoughts. Lucy had left her to go check that things were ready, and she had been blindingly staring at the mirror. “You know, if you keep staring at it like that, you might end up putting yourself inside it and, though it would be funny, I’d have to figure out a way to get you out before your mate ripped me to shreds.”
Cynthia turned around and wrapped her arms around her cousin. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so scared of what will happen when the bonding magic is cast upon me. I don’t want to hurt anyone. What if I can’t control my Fae magic?”
“Shhhhh, it will be fine. I will be right here to help contain it if it is too much for you.” Adam stretched out his arms, extricating her from his frame. Holding her shoulders at arm’s length, he said, “You must clear
your mind and focus. Focus on your body and what you feel happening as the magic descends. Take hold of the magic and distribute it evenly through your being. Absorb it into your blood and allow it to flow through every inch of your body. Fae magic lives inside of us, it’s in our very cells. That is the difference between us and those that learn magic. They must acquire it from the evil that roams this earth while we produce it ourselves. Once you do that, it will be fine. The magic will find where it belongs and it will settle. You and everyone else attending the ceremony will be fine.”
“Okay, I can do this. I have to. I won’t hurt anyone. But, just in case, can you do anything … you know, to keep everyone safe when the whole magic thing kicks in?”
“Hmmm ...” Adam released her and started pacing. “As you wish. I will create a shield over everyone. Think of it as a dome of sorts.”
Adam stopped pacing when he met with Cynthia’s concerned gaze. She stood in front of him, ringing her hands. “I know everyone has been on alert trying to find that wolf you saw in town. And no one has been able to find any sign of him, no trail, nothing.” Cynthia ran a trembling hand down her face and crossed her arms around herself. “Maybe we should postpone the bonding ceremony. I don’t want anyone to get hurt; if I can do something about it, then I should. It’s the right thing to do.”
“No! You need to complete the bond. That’s the only way to get your magic to surface. We don’t know what’s coming, and it’s imperative you be able to defend yourself. You will walk out there and complete the bond, that will give us an advantage against whoever this wolf is.”
“Okay, I know you’re right. I have to do this. Now, go be a bird and stay close. I have twenty minutes till I have to get down there, and I want to practice my focusing skills.”