by Harry Nix
They broke apart and went back to the table. Over on the far side in the darkness Juno was shooting golden sparks up from her hands, making shapes in the air like a home-made firework show. Strangely enough, the same werewolves who scowled at him for using magic seemed completely fine with Juno doing it. The only answer Alex could get was: “It’s a witch, it's different, plus they’re on our side,” as Nia had said.
He'd seen April on and off through the night, coming and going and talking with all sorts of people. Sometimes she played with the children and at one point was in a drinking game, holding her own until the gigantic werewolf opposing her fell off his chair and slipped under the table.
Alex sat down and ate more of the delicious boar, wondering exactly how much meat a single boar had on it. There must've been a large number killed to feed all the werewolves tonight.
As he ate and drank and the night spun on, the sun vanishing and a million stars twinkling above, Alex felt joy and relaxation growing in his soul. It was only after meeting Nia that he’d realized he’d felt out of place his whole life. No doubt it was the fact he’d been a werewolf and hadn’t known, saved only from going mad due to some mysterious spell.
Out here, distant from Baxter, amongst the dirt, sitting on cut logs and eating salted boar Alex felt like he was back with Jane, his adopted mother.
He was home.
Although he was well and truly drunk as he looked around he could see the dynamics of the pack at work. Julius was the Alpha, the undisputed ruler of the pack, but then various other men and women obviously held high roles in the pack in a sort of unspoken division of labor and responsibility.
Julius was currently down at one of the smaller tables that was crowded with children, in his hybrid form, squinting at a chess set in the near darkness. He was playing a young boy and kept making silly voices for each of the pieces as they played, the children laughing and shouting in glee. One of his wives stood beside him, Alex couldn't remember her name, with a hand on his back, helping keep Julius upright, the Alpha werewolf having drunk deeply of the spiced vodka.
Alex kept drinking and eating, the night becoming a blur. At one point he was dancing with Juno and then later Nia and he wasn't quite sure what he'd been doing in between. Eventually he found himself getting dragged into the large cave system with Juno and Nia under each arm, April following behind, slightly staggering herself. They found a small cave, the floor of which had been covered with polished wood boards, bear furs and some padded mats.
Nia shifted into a wolf form and Alex followed along, feeling the pull of her body and blood. That had been one of the surprises of meeting a werewolf pack – when anyone shifted, he could feel it. The children were like the light tickle of a feather when they shifted. The more adults who shifted at once, the stronger the pull.
At one point in the evening Alex had raced a group of ten werewolves around the camp. When they’d shifted to start the race he’d found himself in wolf form, involuntarily, the power of the pack pulling him along. He’d done his best to keep up, finishing somewhere in the middle of the pack, but still wasn't as fast or confident in his wolf form as the werewolves who'd grown up that way.
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 territory, 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