But before Theo turned, he grabbed Caspian’s arm and looked intently at him.
“You’re harboring witches here, they must not practice magic.” His eyes were yellow and sharp as he addressed his young nephew. “The Shadow Lord draws his strength from nearby magic,” he explained.
Caspian nodded with understanding. As his pack united and their wolf forms ran into the forest, he hurriedly returned home, struggling to repress his own desire to turn.
***
“Caspian, what is going on?” Allegra demanded as he burst through the door. She and Iris were gathered by the dwindling fire, warming themselves but she stood up on his return.
“The witches are attacking our village,” Caspian explained breathlessly. “I have to go and fight with everyone else.”
“The witches are here?” Allegra’s eyes widened with fear. If the witches got past the wolves, they’d try and burn her again for sure.
“No, they sent the Shadow Lord.”
“Shadow Lord? What’s that?” She shot Iris a quizzical look but her friend merely shook her head, as oblivious as she was about the beast.
“Some smoke demon,” Caspian explained hurriedly. “But it draws it strength from magic so you cannot practice anything while you are here. Okay?”
“Okay, yes, of course,” Allegra replied. Caspian turned to leave but she pulled him back to her, drawing him close so she could kiss him passionately upon his lips.
“Be safe,” she whispered to him as they parted.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised.
“I love you,” Allegra uttered sincerely.
“No need for goodbyes, I’ll be back soon,” Caspian said cheekily, flashing her a devilish grin and an accompanying wink.
He ran out through the door and morphed into his wolf form before he’d reached the center of town.
Allegra watched him leave, finding something terrifyingly beautiful about the beast he became.
“So what are we supposed to do? Just sit here and wait?” Iris asked incredulously.
“What else can we do?” Allegra came and sat back down by her friend. “I can’t believe the witches are attacking.”
“I can,” Iris stated darkly.
“What? How can you say that?”
“You didn’t see what Caspian did. He killed so many witches, Allegra. Tore them limb from limb. He took many lives to preserve one. I can understand their anger.”
“They shouldn’t have tried to burn me in the first place!” Allegra stated defensively. “If our coven were as peaceful as they claim to be, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
The fire in the hearth had almost died and the room became cold. Iris raised her hand to reignite the flames with magic but Allegra swiftly stopped her.
“No!” She held her friend’s hand in a vice-like grip as it wavered above the dying embers. “We must not practice magic!”
“But we’ll freeze,” Iris objected.
“We’ll wrap ourselves in these.” She grabbed some spare blankets from a nearby chair. “You heard what Caspian said, we cannot use magic.”
“I refuse to freeze to death,” Iris declared, though she began to wrap herself in a blanket.
“You won’t have to,” Allegra told her curtly. “He’ll be back soon. I know he will.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” Allegra nodded with certainty.
“I suppose he’s used to fighting for you,” Iris stated sarcastically but Allegra was too distracted with worry to notice the barbed comment.
***
Thirty wolves sprinted across the forest floor, running directly toward the great shadowy form that loomed above them.
Trees were sent crashing to the ground as the Shadow Lord pushed his way toward the wolf village.
Caspian ran as fast as his four legs could go, and he soon caught up with his pack. The Shadow Lord was immense in size. In his human form, Caspian would have feared him but as a wolf he feared nothing.
Like tiny angry gnats, the wolves began to surge against the Shadow Lord, diving and snarling into the smoke, separating it as much as they could.
The Shadow Lord roared and swiped down with a heavy, angry hand, crushing two wolves who squealed out in pain and swiftly returned to their human form.
But the other wolves continued to attack undeterred. They rushed through the smoke, biting and snapping with sharp, glistening teeth.
Caspian ran back and forth through a smoke-filled leg again and again and eventually he dispersed the smoke enough that the Shadow Lord lost one of his legs and came tumbling awkwardly to the ground.
The sound of the monster crashing made a sound that carried far and wide across the forest. Now that the Shadow Lord was lower, the wolves could target his head and torso in their frenzied attack.
They continued to jump and dart through the gathered smoke, barking and yapping ferociously.
The Shadow Lord lunged a few times with his arm, injuring several more wolves but there were too many for him to take on and they began to overpower him. First they broke up his other leg, which left him stranded, then they commenced breaking up his chest.
Caspian bit angrily into the smoke, ignoring its acrid taste and focusing only on destroying the foul creature.
Eventually the Shadow Lord was all but destroyed and his final components drifted away on the breeze as though they were nothing more than discarded ash from a fire. The wolves who were still standing collected together, panting heavily, their tongues hanging out of their mouths. The wounded were already in their human forms, and they began returning to the village.
***
It was several hours later when Caspian awoke on the forest floor naked and muddied. Young wolves could not turn back willingly like older, more mature wolves could. The sun was high in the sky above him, though the air remained cool. Inhaling deeply, he checked for any lingering scent of smoke but the air smelt clean if slightly bloodied.
Stretching awkwardly, Caspian tried to alleviate the tension in his limbs. He always ached after turning, again, this was something that would alter with time and experience. He located his village through scent and began to head back, eager to hear the outcome of the battle and be with his beloved Allegra once more.
***
Agatha’s expression darkened as she listened intently to the voices carried on the wind. A breeze danced about her, grabbing at her long gray mane and pulling it in various directions.
“What happened?” Marion whispered fearfully from beside her.
Agatha ignored her as she continued to listen.
Some of the gathered elders grew restless as they waited. The sun was now high in the sky yet the air did not smell as though fresh blood had been spilled.
“Was the Shadow Lord successful?” Marion asked, keeping her voice low.
Agatha sighed and the wind around her died down. “No,” she announced. “He was not.”
Grumbles of discontent echoed throughout the group. Agatha raised a hand to her temple and tried to think.
“How could the Shadow Lord not have vanquished the wolves?” one witch demanded angrily. “The Shadow Lord is a great, ancient power!”
Some of the other elders began to make agreeable noises, convinced that it was impossible that their summoned beast should fail.
“The wolves are also infused with ancient power,” Agatha explained wearily. “When they turn, they draw upon such power, making them an adequate adversary for our Shadow Lord. But it seems that this time they had the upper hand, this time we lacked the element of surprise.”
“So what do we do?” Marion pressed.
Agatha closed her eyes and tried to clear her thoughts. With a clear mind, a course of action would present itself.
“We must do something!” a warlock raged.
“But if the wolves defeated the Shadow Lord then what can we do?” another cried.
“They’ll come for us!” a witch fretted fearfully. “They’ll come fo
r us, and they will kill us all!”
“Silence!” Agatha cried in her most booming voice. The nervous chatter instantly ceased, and her gathered minions looked at her expectantly.
“I cannot think whilst you chatter incessantly.” She rubbed at her temple, feeling the strain of her thoughts pulling behind her eyes.
“People are just scared,” Marion explained carefully. “The Shadow Lord has never failed before.”
“Yes, he has,” Agatha announced sourly. “There are few of us who remember, but the Shadow Lord has failed us in times gone by. That is why the wolves still live and breathe. They defeated him once, I should have known that they could do it again. A good memory is not an attribute reserved only for witches and warlocks.”
“We don’t have much time!” one warlock declared, trying to incite panic in the group.
Agatha raised a handle to silence him and shot him a piercing look. He immediately fell silent.
“I will lock myself away to meditate upon a solution,” she told the group. No one dared to challenge her decision, Agatha was the most powerful witch amongst them.
“Before the sun rises upon a new day, I shall have found the answers we seek.”
Some of the elders looked disappointed with her solution, worried even, but they remained mute.
“Meet me here tomorrow at dawn,” Agatha ordered them. “Then I will have the answers we seek.”
***
“Oh, thank goodness you’re all right!” Allegra flung herself around Caspian the moment he came through the wooden door to his small home. She held him tightly, not wanting to let go. He buried his face in her deep red hair and inhaled, savoring her feminine scent.
Iris looked over from her position, wrapped in a blanket by the fire, and widened her eyes in horror. “Put some clothes on, for heaven’s sake!” she shrieked.
Blushing, Caspian pulled away from Allegra. He’d returned from the forest with only a handful of leaves to cover his modesty.
“Okay, yeah, I should get dressed,” he admitted shyly.
“And maybe take a bath,” Allegra suggested, smiling. His skin was covered in blood and dirt.
“Yeah, okay.” He kissed his beloved on the lips before heading upstairs to wash and dress.
“Looks like the Shadow Lord was beaten,” Iris noted dryly once Caspian was beyond earshot.
“I knew he would do it.” Allegra beamed proudly.
“But what now? Do you think the witches will let this go? Will they not strike again, but with more force, more potency?”
“Iris, I don’t know,” Allegra sighed. “You need to stop worrying. We are safe for now, that’s all that matters.”
“Yes, but for how long?” Iris challenged, raising a blonde eyebrow. “Storm clouds are gathering for war, and we might well have placed ourselves on the wrong side.”
***
Half an hour later, Caspian emerged downstairs in new clothes and with fresh, clean skin and damp hair.
“So what happened?” Allegra asked keenly. “Out in the woods, however did you defeat the Shadow Lord?”
“We just turned,” Caspian explained, joining the two girls by the fire, which was now burning brightly, creating a pleasant, cozy warmth throughout the home.
“In our wolf form, we repeatedly attacked the smoke and eventually it all dissolved away.”
“Wow,” Allegra cooed proudly, leaning against him. “You’re so brave.”
“Did many wolves die?” Iris asked coldly.
“No.” Caspian smiled. “I saw Theo when I walked back and he said some were injured but nothing too severe. Besides, our wolf blood helps us heal quickly.”
Iris stiffened and felt the room suddenly become cold so she pulled a blanket back to her and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“I’m glad no one was too badly hurt.” Allegra smiled.
“I’m not,” Iris spat.
Caspian glanced at her, confused.
“Allegra, you didn’t see what happened back at the coven. You didn’t see the carnage, the blood, the flat-out murder. Caspian killed dozens of witches and warlocks. He tore them apart as though they were made of paper. He—”
“He did what he had to do,” Allegra interrupted. “He saved me.”
“But at what cost?” Iris demanded, raising her voice. “He slaughtered innocent witches! Of course the witches are going to retaliate. How could they not?”
“None of those witches were innocent, Iris. They were all eager to see me burn,” Allegra said scornfully.
“We were them once!” Iris cried. “How you so easily forget! We were those young naïve witches who believed in the choosing ceremony, who believed in the coven. We would have done anything for our coven, you know that.”
“What’s done is done,” Caspian stated, placing an arm around Allegra and holding her tightly to him. “Allegra is safe, that’s what matters.”
“You brought war to the Vale of Glendora!” Iris got to her feet, unable to conceal her mounting rage.
“The witches brought war upon themselves!” Caspian replied heatedly.
“You killed my people! You killed my mother!” Iris was shaking as tears began running down her cheeks.
Caspian was stunned into silence as Allegra released herself from his grip and ran to embrace Iris, who fell against her, now sobbing.
“I…” Caspian looked at the wooden floor in shame. “I had no idea.”
“Of course you didn’t!” Iris yelled through her tears. “You were a beast, killing anyone and anything that stood in your way. You are a monster.”
Caspian flinched at the word. Werewolves worked hard to prove that they weren’t savage monsters, but in his fit of anger he’d been unable to control his emotions and his actions and he’d truly been a dark, dangerous force to deal with.
“I’m sorry,” he admitted, knowing that the word wasn’t nearly enough, but it was all he had to offer.
Iris lifted her head to look at him, her eyes red and her cheeks soaked with her tears. “You killed my mother, and you incited war in our land.”
“Iris, he had no choice,” Allegra told her friend calmly. “If he’d not acted, I’d have been burned alive and the elders would continue torturing witches and controlling them. In saving me, he set us both free.”
“Besides, it’s what you wanted,” Caspian told her.
“What?” Iris glared at him as her nostrils flared.
“You came to me, told me about Allegra’s plight. You were desperate for me to save her, even though you were aware of the dangers. I’m a werewolf. You knew what I was capable of, yet still you asked me to intervene.”
Iris pushed Allegra away and maneuvered herself toward the door. “I don’t have to listen to this!” she cried. “Are you saying I wanted my mother killed?”
“No!” Caspian raised his hands defensively. “I’m saying you wanted the coven to pay for what they had done. You wanted them to suffer.”
Iris’ shoulders dropped slightly as the accepted the truth in the statement.
“But I didn’t want this,” she said meekly. “I didn’t want war.”
“No one did,” Allegra said softly as she came over to her friend and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. “But war is what we got, and now we need to stand strong and weather the impending storm.”
Caspian looked away from the girls and into the flames. He couldn’t remember what happened in the coven that night when he attacked. He just remembered feeling full of impossible rage as though he might burst. He knew he’d do anything to save Allegra. He didn’t even stop to consider the implications of his actions. All that mattered was saving her.
“The coven does need to pay,” Iris said quietly.
Allegra tightened her grip on her friend, supporting her words.
“They were going to burn you.” Iris turned and glanced at her tearfully. “I…I couldn’t have let them do that. But Caspian is right, I asked him to help, knowing what he was capable of. But
that means that I’m responsible for my mother—” Her voice crumbled as a fresh wave of despair washed over her.
“No, you did what was necessary; you never knew your mother would be in danger. You can’t think like that.”
“I’m truly sorry,” Caspian said sincerely, looking away from the flames. “I didn’t mean to hurt your mother, or any of those other witches. I just wanted to save Allegra.”
“And I’m glad you did,” Iris admitted as she tried to wipe the tears from her face. “But I’m not glad that your actions started a war. I fear that much more blood will be spilled before there is peace in the vale again.”
“Perhaps, but not ours,” Allegra said confidently. “We are safe here.” She shot Caspian a questioning glance.
“Of course you’re safe here!” he enthused, reassuring both women. “My pack will protect you, don’t you worry about that!”
“But don’t they hate us?” Iris sniffed. “After all, we are witches and our two kinds are now at war.”
“Wolves don’t think like that,” Caspian explained. “You are a part of the pack now so we honor you as though you are our own.”
Iris smiled slightly at this. She liked to think that she was being protected. The thought of war terrified her. She never again wanted to see the carnage and brutality she witnessed that night in the coven. She placed a hand upon the door and opened it, letting cool air dance around and steal some of the warmth created by the fire.
“Where are you going?” Allegra asked anxiously.
“I feel like practicing some spells, if that’s okay?” Iris looked to Caspian for approval, and he nodded. With the Shadow Lord destroyed, they were free to practice magic without attracting any danger.
“I wondered if perhaps my mother might try and call to me from the other side. I’ve never down a fallen call spell but I might attempt it, see how I get on.”
“Want me to come with you?” Allegra offered, pulling on her shawl.
Wolf Tainted Union: The Complete Collection - 6-Book Bundle (Books 1-6) - A Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance Page 9