Werewolf Mage Box Set 1

by Harry Nix

  Alex collapsed amongst the furs and then shuffled out of the way as Juno poked him to move off one of the mats. She pressed up against him for warmth and then April slid down between her and Nia, pulling furs over her until all that remained was a tiny bit of pink hair sticking out.

  Alex looked up at the roof of the cave and saw tiny stalactites that must've grown a millennia ago when there had been water here.

  “Stop moving, go to sleep,” Juno said, her voice a little slurred. She shuffled closer to Alex.

  He could smell smoke in her hair from the fires around the camp and the scent of boar and spiced vodka. The room was spinning from all that he’d drunk so he didn't answer but made a huffing noise before closing his eyes and spinning off into the darkness.

  17

  “Oh goddess that tastes terrible. It's like vomit and old fish had a baby,” Juno said, gulping down April's concoction before passing the cup to Alex. He took a mouthful, grimacing at the taste of it but was wise enough to stay silent. He passed the cup to Nia.

  “Ugh, that's like ass and sadness got stuffed in a trash can and left out in the sun for a week,” the werewolf complained after taking a drink and passing the cup back to April.

  “Well if you don't like it, maybe next time don't drink so much of the free alcohol,” April said with a sniff. She swallowed a mouthful and Alex saw her wrinkle her nose as she tried to keep a straight face.

  According to Nia's estimate they were about an hour away from the Greenacre pack where they would meet the Alpha and Emissary, Jasper Greenacre. After last night they’d all woken up much worse for wear with hangovers that apparently even purify could barely touch.

  They’d had a briefing with Julius, who was bright eyed and bushy tailed despite being dragged off deeply drunk by his multiple wives last night. He’d warned them the Greenacre pack wouldn't be as welcoming as his pack. There would certainly be food and they were there to see the emissary and so technically under a kind of protection, but he told Alex that some of the werewolves would attempt to goad him into fighting so they could use the excuse to attempt to kill him or his mates.

  “We’re still attempting to fit a new culture over a violent one,” Julius had explained to him.

  Alex had tried to absorb it all with his aching head and bones. After eating breakfast, which was cold roasted boar, they'd set off until April had gotten tired of their complaining. They’d stopped while she’d gone off into the wildness, returning with the bunch of random ingredients that she quickly cooked over a small fire with a few other things pulled from her bag. The resulting concoction was disgusting but quite effective.

  Alex felt the last cobwebs falling away and the dull persistent ache finally evaporate, although there was still the slight feeling that his brain had been a vise all day.

  “Okay, let’s get going,” Nia said.

  “No thank you April for getting rid of our hangovers?” April said.

  “Thank you, April,” Juno and Nia chimed together, a little sarcastically.

  Seeing that April was about to say something to them, Alex reached out and touched her on the arm. “Thanks for that. I really mean it,” he said to her.

  April's expression turned from anger to sudden shyness. She mumbled something that was possibly okay and continued packing her bag.

  This time when Alex shifted to his wolf form, April got on his back and Juno sat on Nia, the little witch giving him a sly sideways glance.

  Alex tried to keep the idea of April out of his mind, but it was hard when she was sitting on his back. She was wearing a short dress and just like when Juno had been riding on him, he was aware that only a thin layer of fabric separated her from him.

  She wasn’t rolling hips back and forth like Juno had, however she still sometimes moved her hands in his fur, the touch of them electric.

  Alex tried to keep his mind on what was to come. As with Julius there'd be a traditional challenge from Jasper. He was emissary, the conduit of the werewolves to speak with the mages, vampires, and witches.

  Whether he truly was this was still up for debate, as Julius had explained. Many of the werewolves simply refused to delve into such political things, trusting only in their tooth and claw. The emissary was the result of many years of hard work attempting to unify the packs at least in some sense so they could have a singular voice instead of many.

  It was late in the afternoon when they realized they were being shadowed. Shortly thereafter a man on the back of a wolf stepped out from between the trees. His name was Eric and the wolf Alara, his mate, and they were to follow him. Eric was wearing traditional mage robes.

  Alex did so, puzzled as to why a mage would be living with a werewolf pack. Julius’ pack was all werewolves, which Nia had explained was slightly strange given that usually there was a witch or two.

  In his wolf form, Alex couldn't talk easily and so he stayed silent, although he tempted to cast analyze on the mage or on the few rings he was wearing. He only held back because he might be caught doing so.

  Still he kept a close watch on him, looking for a single flicker of a spell screen. So far as he could tell there hadn’t been one, but then again Juno was still tying his shoelaces together without him catching it.

  They emerged out of the forest into a clearing that led down the hill into what looked like essentially a quaint village and farmland community. Alex could immediately see it was more organized and better kept than Julius camp.

  The cabins weren't merely flimsy things flung together in a desperate attempt to hold some land, but actual proper houses. There was a large building that verged on being a mansion and even some paved paths. There were werewolves everywhere, some in human form and others in hybrid form. There were no naked dirty children, although Alex did see some wolf cubs playing in the distance. He spotted chickens and a werewolf hanging clothes on a line. It was all very domestic and appeared peaceful.

  They continued down the hill behind Eric and Alara, finally stopping at the edge of the village proper in a patch of dirt that appeared set up for the traditional challenge.

  A crowd of werewolves gathered. Jasper, the Alpha, was unmistakable. In his hybrid form he stood almost nine feet tall. He was slender but not gangly, moving with ease. He appeared to be in his early thirties, although it was hard for Alex to tell as he was in his hybrid state.

  They went through the ritual, Jasper scratching the line on the ground, Alex stomping his foot on it, the rush, the roar and then Jasper pulled Alex across the line.

  Unlike with Julius’ pack, this welcome was cold and Alex felt it was almost hostile from the looks he was getting around him.

  He occasionally heard growls from some of the werewolves they passed, low frequencies of contempt that rose the hackles on his neck. He could feel it grating on him as he followed Jasper towards the main building with Nia and Juno by his sides and April following close behind. Part of him wanted to leap at some of the passing werewolves, to smash their faces down to the ground and hold them by the backs of the neck until they submitted.

  Alex kept breathing and focusing on the goal. Although he wanted to gather werewolves to strike back at Corvus he'd accepted that he would try to use the emissary first, at least partially to please Nia’s father Julius.

  He wasn't quite sure what answer Jasper was meant to get from the mages. An explanation of why he’d been targeted? Did that mean they’d stop simply because he politely asked them to?

  Still he'd agreed to try, and getting a better grasp on werewolf politics might be useful in the long-term, Howey’s conversation about hearts and minds still floating around the back of his head.

  The Greenacre pack had apparently accepted the new culture Julius and others were trying to bring in and if they were this cold and hostile, what would other wilder packs be like? Nia had explained that sometimes the challenge could get out of control and break into open warfare. Other packs simply killed on sight, behaving like wild animals and refusing to let anyone into their ter
ritory, even to speak.

  As they approached the main building, Alex took note of how much better established this place was. There wasn't any cave with werewolves sleeping on dirt floor. He did spot an obstacle course but even that looked new and better than Julius’.

  They went into the main building, following behind Jasper, with more werewolves falling in behind them, some still letting out that almost sub-audible growl.

  Jasper eventually led them to a cold room that felt as impersonal as an office. There was a long polished wood table and padded chairs. He directed them to sit on one side while he, Eric and others sat on the other. Alex felt like he was getting divorced or sued or maybe both.

  The contrast from last night couldn't have been more stark. He'd sat on rough wooden logs warmed by roaring fires eating boar meat with his fingers while children laughed and played and adults drank, sung and had fun.

  Now there was a chill in the air. Jasper kept licking his lips as though there was some bad taste in his mouth he couldn't get rid of. Other werewolves were openly glaring at them. Only Eric and Alara seemed neutral, Alara gently resting her hand on Eric’s.

  “Alex Lowe, I am Jasper Greenacre, Alpha of this pack and Emissary of the werewolves. I have only agreed to have this meaning at the urging of Julius, who had done many great things for our species, but I must warn you I have also heard many disturbing things, mage deaths and the like. Please begin,” he said in a cold voice.

  Alex looked across at the werewolves facing him and the mage. The four of them were certainly outnumbered even if they didn’t include the werewolves outside the room who would undoubtedly come bursting in if something happened. It was clear he was meant to feel intimidated.

  He’d debated with himself exactly how to approach this moment. Julius had advised to simply tell the truth: that he'd been hunted for some unknown reason, but Alex wasn't sure if that was going to make enough of an impression, so he decided to go with plan B.

  Alex slipped off the single protection ring and very deliberately dropped it on the table. Feeling a bit like a stage magician he held up his hands to show that he wore no other rings.

  He stood up, pushed the chair back and then cast flame shield, juicing it with a little bit of the sex magic that he still had left. Instead of a faint fire around him, he glowed a deep orange, the room lighting up as the flames burst out around Alex. Jasper frowned at the magic but Eric gave a slight smile. Alex let the flames burn for a moment before canceling the spell. He sat down and slipped his protection ring back on.

  “As I understand it, I’m one-of-a-kind: the one and only werewolf mage. I don’t know if this is why I have been targeted for death by Corvus and the Xavo necromancers and whomever else decided to blow up my apartment building. But I come to you, Jasper, emissary of the werewolves, so you may speak to the mages. I am seeking answers. I am seeking names. I am seeking an end to this immediately,” Alex said.

  Jasper sat back and crossed his arms and Alex immediately sensed that this was a futile task.

  “I've heard the rumors there was a werewolf doing magic but what proof do you have that Corvus is behind it, or any other enclave?”

  Alex explained how they'd captured a mage, drugging him before he'd given the name Corvus as his employer.

  “And what happened to that mage?” Jasper asked.

  “He is now fertilizing my vegetable garden because he didn't want to give an answer,” April said, speaking for the first time.

  Alex saw Jasper glance at her with an expression of distaste on his face that was quickly smoothed away.

  Eric cleared his throat.

  “May I ask how you are sure it was Corvus he was working for? Perhaps that was a trick to set you against Corvus,” he said.

  “There is no way he would be able to lie, not with what I gave him and then what I did to him,” April said.

  “Perhaps, but maybe one should not be so confident. After all, many would be happy to see the werewolves go to war against Corvus. How do you know some vampire isn't meddling, trying to get you to go on the warpath?” Eric asked.

  Alex had to admit that Eric had a point. Apart from the mage who’d only said one word and then died what evidence against Corvus did they really have?

  Sure they'd been attacked at their meeting with Henry but as April had seen, he’d attempted to save Alex from whomever the mage attackers were.

  Alex suddenly remembered Julius’ room with maps and papers. Piece by piece over the decades, the werewolves had lost their territory. There were countless property transfer records, disappearances and most recently, the kidnappings. Although the meddling of the mages and vampires couldn't always be directly pinned upon them, the result was undeniable. They always won, taking whatever they wanted, no matter how long it took.

  “Perhaps I can concede your point that it may not be Corvus. You can still speak to them about it. Speak to the other enclaves to discover who hired those mercenaries that came after my mates and me. Nia was attacked in broad daylight. One of my neighbors was murdered and brought back from the dead by Xavo necromancers, infused with such terrible strength that she tore my hand off as she was attempting to kill me. A gigantic blood golem made from werewolf blood tried to kill us. It is likely a hundred werewolves were taken to fuel it. I have only one clue, from the mouth of a dead mercenary, blaming Corvus and so I want to follow that clue. If there is no satisfactory answer from the enclaves that we're going to go direct to Corvus themselves,” Alex said.

  “You will do no such thing. I'm sure Julius spoke to you about us being a civilization. A civilization does civilized things. We will investigate and if there are guilty parties to be found they will be appropriately punished,” Jasper said.

  Juno made a scoffing noise, the little witch glaring at Jasper and no longer holding her tongue. Alex could tell Nia wasn't happy either, not the way her tail was slowly moving. April's face had gone flat except for a tiny flicker of muscle in her jaw as she gritted her teeth. Alex felt the same way. He knew a brush-off when he saw it.

  He gained a sudden clarity about what Julius had been talking about yesterday about the seats at the table.

  “There are many missing werewolves, maybe even a hundred and we actually did fight the blood golem that came to kill us, along with many weredogs. I have been tracked and hunted the moment the spell hiding me broke,” Alex said, frustrated.

  “What spell?” Eric asked, leaning forward.

  Alex realized in his rising anger that he had misspoken, letting out something he didn't necessarily want them to know, but it was too late now to take it back. He decided to continue on. After all, you couldn’t win hearts and minds if no one knew about you.

  “It appears there was a spell on me from when I was a child until almost my 25th birthday that not only protected me from going insane from not shifting, but also kept me safe from those who would harm me,” he said

  “Who would cast such a spell?” Eric asked.

  Alex shook his head. “I don't know.”

  “It must've been someone who loved you very much,” Alara said, the werewolf speaking for the first time.

  They lapsed into silence then, before Alex decided to try again.

  “Let me tell you about more of the attacks,” he said.

  He talked about the mages that had pursued them to the abandoned factory, leaving aside that he’d somehow cast shield into their spell, screwing it up and incinerating them, leaving nothing behind. Juno, Nia and eventually April joined in as well, each giving their experiences of what had occurred.

  April spent some time describing how she’d used her magic to tear the mage apart on her land and feed his body to the soil, keeping her gaze on Eric the entire time. Although her voice was calm, there was still a hint of a threat in it. Eric seemed unperturbed, however.

  He occasionally asked a question, continuing to dig at the idea that perhaps it wasn't Corvus who was after them but a third party manipulating events to make it appear so.
<
br />   Any time Jasper asked questions it was essentially to dismiss things, to minimize what had happened.

  The day wore on and soon it was approaching the evening. Eventually they were finished, Jasper declaring that he would get in contact with the enclaves and the other members to discuss what they'd heard. He expected to have an answer soon.

  From there, the four of them went on to a very unenjoyable meal. The food itself was fine, but there was no merriment. Jasper was absent as were Eric and Alara and after quickly eating they were directed to one of the cabins set on the outskirts of the village.

  Once inside, Juno cast a spell that came and went in a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh and stomping her foot.

  “Well, this place isn't bugged so we can talk freely and the first thing I want to say is the hell with that guy. Stupid emissary. He’s an ass and not going to help us,” she said.

  “I agree. Talking to him was a waste of time,” April said with sudden venom.

  Alex nodded, looking around the cabin. There were three bedrooms, each with a queen-size bed, a bathroom with a shower, and a deep claw foot bath that looked expensive. The lounge and kitchen were joined together to form one large room. The fridge was stocked with food, none of which was poisoned according to analyze.

  “I have to agree. I think that was almost totally useless. Nia, I think your dad's awesome but this whole civilization on top of violent culture thing isn’t going to work if Jasper is in charge of talking to the mages,” he said.

  Nia sighed as she flopped down on the sofa.

  “I know what you mean but on the other hand, look at this place and what's outside. This is like an actual village. I grew up in the dirt. There are packs out there that live in poverty, spending most of the time as wolves because they don't own a shred of clothing. I think Jasper is a grade A dick but between him and my dad and others there have been some wins, so I don't know. I mean, we have just one dead mercenary who said Corvus. That mage might be right that someone is trying to start a war.”