Bound by Fate (War of the Five Fangs Book 1)

by Asher North

  “Beg and cry all you want, I’m not giving up,” Rhys said and ran off into the darkness, the near-frozen grass crunching under his paws. He didn’t care if Kaster went to his father because he knew Juno wouldn’t have enough time to form a search party before Rhys caught up with the Rangers.

  I should’ve known better than to make friends with Kaster, he thought as he ran, full speed, toward the Homeward Path. It was reckless and Rhys knew it, but he needed to track down a Ranger’s scent so he could follow them and the best way to do that was to go where they would no doubt be starting their search. As he approached the trail, a flood of scents overtook him, wolves both known and unknown. A dark, spiced scent in particular caught his interest.

  Black Claws, he thought, holding his mouth open to better process the fragrance. He’d never smelled one of their wolves before but now that he had it was unmistakable. It smelled like trouble, the kind of trouble that Rhys should’ve known to avoid. Instead, he ran toward it, staying far enough away from the main path to make sure the Rangers wouldn’t pick up on his own scent, which he knew would be stronger than anything else in the open woods.

  Within minutes Rhys found them, the entire group, which he thought was odd. Rhys had never gone on a mission with the Rangers before, but he assumed they were smarter than to put all of their numbers in one easy-to-strike area. Crouching down into the long, dark grass, he watched as the Rangers paced and sniffed the ground around them. He had no idea what they were looking for, but he wouldn’t give up until he’d found out.

  Maybe they’re setting a trap, he thought. It was exactly what he would’ve done if he were one of them. The Black Claws were arrogant enough to fall for it but the strategy didn’t make much sense. The Silver Fang Rangers weren’t meant to fight. They were supposed to track and hunt, and each of the wolves in current party had bodies that were trained exactly for that purpose—lean, fast, and camouflaged. So what were they trying to do?

  “What the hell are you doing here?” a voice asked, making Rhys jolt and whirl with fangs bared. It was Eleo, the captain of the Rangers and Kaster’s father. He’d snuck up on Rhys while he spied on the other wolves. Maybe it wasn’t the Black Claws they laid a trap for after all, Rhys thought as he drank in Eleo’s details with his nose, his heart sinking into his chest.

  “Eleo, I can explain, I—”

  “Save it for your father, I’m sure you’ll need it,” Eleo interrupted. “You could’ve gotten yourself and the rest of us killed. Juno will have my head for this.”

  “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking, I just heard what you said to my father and I thought that—”

  “Fantastic, so that makes twice you've spied on me in one night. Maybe you’re better suited to the Rangers than any of us thought,” Eleo said. Rhys knew the words were supposed to hurt him but instead he found them encouraging.

  “See, even you understand. I’m not like the other Omegas, I have a purpose, a reason to be out here with the best of our Alphas," Rhys said.

  “The only purpose you have is to make all of our lives infinitely more difficult,” Eleo sighed. “What am I going to do with you now? I can’t send you back, not alone, and I can’t afford to send any of my wolves to escort you.”

  “Then let me stay. You know my nose is better suited for this than any of the wolves you have with you now,” Rhys said, his heart hammering in his chest. “I heard you say it. Let me do something, anything other than sitting on my paws in that forsaken cave.”

  “And deal with your father’s wrath when we get back? I don’t think so.”

  “I won’t tell if you don’t,” Rhys said and Eleo let out a laugh, low and incredulous but a laugh nonetheless. “Please, Eleo. You won’t be sorry you did. I don’t know what you’re looking for but I know I can help you find it.” Eleo sighed and looked away, and Rhys saw the cogs turning inside his mind.

  “Your father can never know I agreed to this,” he said at last and it took every bit of self-control Rhys had not to jump in victory.

  “He won’t, at least not from me,” Rhys said. “Thank you, Eleo, thank you.”

  “Kaster always said you were trouble. I should’ve listened,” Eleo said and the elation that Rhys felt dampened a bit, if only for a moment, when he thought of the last look he’d seen on Kaster’s face before he tore off into the darkness. He owed Kaster an apology. Still, he hadn’t told a lie; if his father found out that he was here tonight, it wouldn’t be from his lips, it would be from Kaster’s, though he doubted Kaster would do that. “If your nose is so damn good then let’s see what it can do,” Eleo said.

  “What do you need? I’ve already smelled some Black Claws. I think it’s maybe four or five of them but I can’t really tell,” Rhys said, and Eleo’s eyes narrowed.

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “North, I think,” Rhys said, sniffing at the air again to confirm it. “Yeah, to the north, maybe in the Whisperwood.”

  “That’s more than we’ve been able to find so far, so maybe you’re on to something after all,” Eleo said. “Come with me. If you’re going to be part of the search then the other wolves need to know so they don’t catch your scent and get the wrong idea.” Rhys swallowed at the words. For a while he’d forgotten about his heat and the scent he was no doubt giving off. Maybe that’s why the Rangers weren’t able to find what they were looking for, he thought. Maybe I’ve been throwing their noses off.

  “What are you guys looking for anyway?” he asked as they walked together. Eleo was silent for a moment, as if he didn’t really want to share more with Rhys than was necessary.

  “This path may not be exclusive to our pack to use,” he said at last. “But if the Black Claws have been walking it, it’s only to bait us into doing something rash, something Sayer and his supporters no doubt want to give them. A few nights ago we found the body of a Packless wolf placed on the Path,” Eleo said and Rhys’s blood turned cold. Would the Black Claws really take to outright murder? “We’re not sure, but we think it’s the Black Claws trying to provoke us. The oddest part is that the body went missing. We need to find it.”

  “Then you've definitely got the right wolf,” Rhys said and though he tried to hide it, the smile on Eleo’s face was obvious to Rhys.

  “Maybe so,” he said.

  Rhys followed Eleo through a patch of brush and couldn’t bring himself to meet the eyes of his pack mates when he and Eleo came to a halt before the three of them: Aric Eastpaw, Madeus Goldmont, and Dayne Wideplain. Though he couldn’t prove it, Rhys’s father suspected that only Madeus supported him while the others favored Sayer. The Rangers didn’t speak but they didn’t have to. Everything Rhys needed to know about what they thought of his presence was written on their faces and in the curls of their lips as he approached.

  “Calm down,” Eleo ordered. “I know this is the last wolf you wanted to see tonight but the idiot followed us out here of his own will so maybe he’s not as helpless as we all thought he was.” A few wolves growled while others turned away and went back to their work. “Since he’s here, I thought we might as well put his skills to use,” Eleo continued but none of the wolves paid him any mind. “Suit yourselves,” he sighed before turning to Rhys. “We’re going off of the faint scent I’m sure you’ve already picked up on. So, go on, show me what you’ve got, pup.”

  Rhys closed his eyes and honed in on the scent he’d picked up before that reeked of clove and cinnamon, spicy and alluring and dangerous all at once. The scent was unmistakably Black Claw and it didn’t take long for it to fill his nostrils.

  “This way,” he said and darted off into the bramble, heading for the outer Whisperwood, the ring of dense forest that surrounded the sacred Aurora Falls, without waiting for his pack mates. He knew they’d catch up eventually. Through thorns and branches he weaved, almost oblivious to the sharp ends that clawed at his fur, until he came out of the forest and halted.

  Some two hundred feet in front of him, a wolf lay on the ground by the
lip overlooking the Falls—but didn’t it was the wolf they were looking for. For starters, though the wolf didn’t move, Rhys was almost sure he saw it breathing.

  “A casualty of the Black Claw initiation ritual,” Eleo whispered in his ear. Rhys hadn’t heard him catch up but it didn’t surprise him. Eleo was nearly as good a tracker as Rhys was and he’d had years of training in stealth.

  “An initiation into what, death?” Rhys said. “Are the rest of the Rangers coming?”

  “They’re not far behind,” Eleo said.

  “Good, I have a feeling we’re going to need their help,” Rhys said.

  “Their help with what?” Eleo asked.

  “Carrying this wolf back to the den,” Rhys said.

  “That’s the last thing we’re going to be doing here tonight,” Eleo said.

  “Look, Eleo, he’s still breathing,” Rhys said. He couldn’t explain it to Eleo any better than he could explain it to himself but there was something about the wounded wolf that caught his attention. Maybe it was pity, maybe it was empathy, but whatever it was, Rhys wanted to help him.

  “The Black Claws don’t tolerate weakness, not even in their Omegas,” Eleo whispered. “We need to stay out of sight and scent. This wolf might be bait meant to lure us out. If his pack brothers know we’re here, they’ll almost certainly come after us and we don’t have the strength nor the numbers to fight them. Besides, there’s nothing we can do. If it’s not a trap and the Black Claws truly want him dead, they’ll make sure he ends up that way. It’s not our place to intervene,” Eleo said.

  “They’re savages,” Rhys said, incredulous. He couldn’t believe they’d murder their own pack members for sport. That could’ve been me if I’d been born into a different pack, Rhys realized and a chill trickled down his spine, making the fur at the base of his skull stand on end.

  “Yes they are. Remember that the next time you decide to sneak out in the dark to help us track them,” Eleo said. Rhys’s faced burned with embarrassment but he couldn’t bring himself to look away from the wounded wolf.

  “I have to help him,” Rhys said. “We have to help him.”

  “No,” Eleo said, his voice dark and full of command. “We have to leave him be.”

  “We’re the Silver Fangs, the peace and justice of the realm. This doesn’t seem like peace or justice to me,” Rhys said.

  “Sometimes justice is blind,” Eleo said.

  “Blind or just scared?” Rhys asked.

  “Rhys, you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re in heat, you’re out of your senses,” Eleo said.

  “No, I think it’s you who’s out of his senses,” Rhys said. “You’d really leave a wolf to die?”

  “A Black Claw, yes, absolutely,” Eleo said. “I’m sorry, Rhys, but we can’t help him,” Eleo said. “He has the smell of death on him. It’s too late and besides that, you know we can’t bring a Black Claw home with us. The other wolves would kill us out of principle. It would be just the sort of the thing Sayer and his like would seize on. If you want to be banished from the pack, that’s your prerogative, but I won’t be joining you,” Eleo said.

  Rhys stole one last desperate glance at the wounded wolf before he followed Eleo back to the Whisperwood. They returned to the Silver Fang den together, and Eleo promised he wouldn’t say anything to Rhys’s father if Rhys promised never to do something stupid like this again. Rhys had no choice but to agree so he did and slunk off to his sleeping quarters to sulk.

  “Rhys,” a voice whispered and Rhys froze. He turned to find Kaster peeking out of his own sleeping quarters. Rhys went to him.

  “Why are you still awake?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep. I was worried about you,” Kaster said.

  “Why would you be worried? Didn't you rat me out?”

  “No, I wouldn’t do that,” Kaster said. “Not really. I swear, I didn’t say anything to Juno.” Rhys knew he was telling the truth. “What happened out there?” he asked and Rhys sighed.

  “It’s a long story.”

  “I’m wide awake and probably won’t get any sleep once the sun comes up,” Kaster said, and Rhys laughed. It wasn’t like Kaster to be so interested in something like this. Usually he tried to avoid conflict and drama as much as possible. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from him after all, Rhys thought.

  “We found the Black Claws. Well, one of them anyway,” Rhys said and Kaster’s eyes went wide.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We found a downed wolf. Eleo said it was a casualty some sort of initiation ritual, whatever the hell that is,” Rhys said.

  “Wait, you don’t know about the Black Claw Alpha Order?” Kaster asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You need to read more,” Kaster said and Rhys chuckled. “The Black Claw Alpha Order is their elite fighting unit. They’re deadly.”

  “Yeah, that much was obvious after seeing what they did to one of their own wolves,” Rhys said.

  “Did they kill him?”

  “No but they might as well have. I wanted to help him, bring him back here and heal him up, but Eleo forbid it,” Rhys said.

  “He was right to. If Sayer and the other wolves found out you’d brought a Black Claw into their own den, I don’t even want to think about what might’ve happened,” Kaster said.

  “So it’s better that we just left an innocent wolf to die alone in the Whisperwood?” Rhys asked.

  “It’s better than starting a war,” Kaster said.

  “Now you sound like my father,” Rhys said and Kaster eyed him.

  “War's not something to joke about, Rhys,” he said.

  “I know, I’m not joking about it. I just can’t stop thinking about that wolf. I hope he’s OK. This is all so stupid,” Rhys said. “I don’t care about some dusty history between our packs. Kaster, that that wolf’s pack attacked him, tried to murder him, and we left him out there to die.”

  “Did you ever stop to think there might be a reason for that?” Kaster asked.

  “Why they’d be trying to kill one of their own wolves? Yeah, of course I have. I can’t come up with any good reason. We could’ve helped him. We could’ve brought him somewhere safe. Maybe not here to the den but somewhere nearby. We could’ve sent Healers to take care of him. We could’ve sent you,” Rhys said.

  “I’m no Healer,” Kaster said. “Not yet anyway.”

  “You’re close enough,” Rhys said. “Wait a second…”

  “No way, Rhys. No way,” Kaster said, his eyes wide as he realized where Rhys was going.

  “We have to help him, Kaster,” Rhys said.

  “You’re joking, right?”

  “No, I’m not joking. I know you’re not done with your Healer training yet but you’re the best chance he’s got,” Rhys said.

  “No way. If you think I’m going to sneak out with you, your second time tonight, to help you take care of a Black Claw, then you really have lost your mind,” Kaster said.

  “As an aspiring Healer, how can you sleep or live with yourself knowing you could’ve saved a wolf who honestly seemed like he was a victim, and you let him die instead?” Rhys asked. “I can’t do it. I won’t do it. Even if you won’t come with me, I’m going back out there,” he continued and without another word he crept back down the stone stairs of the den.

  “Rhys,” Kaster hissed after him, trying not to draw any attention to either of them. “Rhys!” he said again and Rhys chuckled to himself when he heard Kaster’s footsteps padding along behind him.

  “You owe me big time,” Kaster said when he caught up.

  Damon

  I’m going to die here, Damon thought, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. He’d jolted awake in the darkness without any idea how long he’d been out and found he was alone with nothing but the sound of the Falls and the insects chirping in the grass.

  “I was starting to wonder if you’d ever come to,” a voice said, jolting him. In agon
y, he rolled to his side to find his father and brother sitting beside him.

  “Why?” Damon croaked, his throat raw. He didn’t remember anything of what happened to him, other than the blow to the face one of his pack mates had dealt him.

  “I’ve been asking myself the same question,” Aeton said. “Why I was cursed with you as my heir, why I didn’t send you away sooner, why I didn’t have the heart to drown you when you were a runt of a pup the way all the others said I should have.” Despite his pain, a chill ran through Damon. He’d always known his father held little, if any, love for him but he would never have guessed it was this bad.

  “Then why not kill me now?” Damon asked. Part of him wished that he would—at least it would end the agony—and maybe then Thane could take his rightful place as heir to the pack. That was obviously what they both wanted, and as Damon looked up at the burning hatred in his father’s eyes, he knew that he would never have a life after this anyway.

  “That’s another question I’ve been asking myself. It would’ve been so much easier if one of the initiates had done it for me, and I’d hoped that Zander or Caius might be the one to do it, but here we are,” Aeton said.

  “Then let me go,” Damon said and his father smirked while Thane tensed, eyeing both of them carefully.

  “That can’t happen either,” Aeton said. “Thane’s succession will never be solid if I send you away. He’ll spend all of his days in fear that you’ll one day grow the courage to challenge him for the pack.”

  “I won’t. I don’t want it, I never did,” Damon said, being honest with his father for the first time in years. “Banish me from the pack. You’ll never see me again.”