by B N Miles
Cam clenched his jaw. He had wanted to get a sense of how the wolf camp was positioned and where the divisions between packs were. In his mind, he would be able to see them clearly, but the woods were obscuring his view.
His gaze drifted further north, up along the ridge to where it turned and widened out. He saw more fires, and for the first time spotted the wooden palisades of the Human camp. They were high up in the mountains, higher than Cam expected. The wooden stakes were shoved deep into the rocky mountain soil, and every tree within fifty yards of their position had been levelled and logged, making an open killing zone for their archers. The wolves were camped right up against that edge, right up to where the forest began again.
“There aren’t any wolves up here,” Cam said. “There aren’t any along the ridgeline. Why are they all down in the forest?”
“Arrows,” Miuri said. “If they come up too close and stay in the open, Sirrin said he’s been hitting them with as many arrows as he can. He marches the archers out, lets them loose, then they run back into cover. Since the wolves have no armor or shields, the arrows do a lot of damage.”
Cam grunted and frowned. “So there’s a way for them to get out,” he said. “Follow the ridgeline, stay close to the mountains. Make the wolves come uphill.”
She shrugged. “That could work. But they’re still outnumbered two to one.”
“True.” Cam scanned the forest again. “Lots of trees down there,” he said.
“That’s right. It’s a forest.”
He shot her a look then turned back to the wolf camp, trying to discern something of use while his mind worked in circles.
“When was the last time it rained?” Cam asked.
Miuri pressed her foot down on the dry underbrush. “A few days,” she said.
Cam grunted. “Might be dry down there,” he said. “Fire might spread through all those tents.”
Miuri drifted closer toward the ridgeline, careful not to leave the safety of the trees. Cam watched the sunlight drift down through the branches and scatter across her body. She seemed to shimmer between shadow and light, almost as if she was shifting between the two. Cam stared, transfixed by her beauty, and she turned back to him with a smile, her braids swaying in the soft breeze.
“You know, my darling shaman, you just might be right,” she said. “I bet you could burn this entire forest down if you tried.”
Cam let out a breath. “Imagine the Need after that.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” she said. “That’s what your girlfriends are for.”
Cam’s smile slipped onto his lips as he moved forward and joined her at the edge of the tree line. They stood there, exposed to the forest below, but still covered by the shadows. It was a small risk, but he couldn’t help himself. He pulled her against him, and she laughed as his hands grabbed her hips and he kissed her, tasting the honey and salty sweet of her lips. He drank her in, his beautiful Elf Princess, and he dug his fingers in tighter, pressing into her leather armor.
But a noise behind them ended the moment. He turned and stepped away from her, hand on the hilt of his sword. She stepped up beside him, tense, body lithe and ready.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Something moving.”
“Where?” He tilted his head, listening.
Miuri’s ears twitched and she nodded to their left, through a thick copse of bushes and tangled trees.
“Three of them,” she said.
Cam slid his sword from its sheath as a wolf burst from the underbrush with a growl, throwing its white and gray body at Cam.
25
The wolf slammed into Cam, knocking him back. He brought up his sword just in time to shove its edge against the beast’s mouth. It slobbered in his fist, the hot stink of its breath like rancid meat, like maggots crawled between its teeth. He recoiled as it tried to rip his sword from his hand, the blade digging into its gums and lips. Blood welled up, dripping down onto Cam’s mouth and down his torso.
He kicked and roared and tried to reach for his magic, but he was panicking. He couldn’t find the calm he needed, couldn’t reach that cowl of blackness that would allow him to touch the priori. He wiggled his body as the animal roared, but it abruptly whined and staggered sideways, stumbling off Cam and running into the trunk of a tree.
Cam rolled to his feet. Miuri stood with her blade in her hand, the edge dripping blood. The beast snarled as two more wolves came from the bushes, inching their way forward.
Cam faced them. “Finish that one,” he said and took three deep, calming breaths. The injured wolf pushed itself to its feet and shook its head as if to clear it.
“Gladly,” Miuri said, and rushed forward.
Cam lost sight of their fight and only caught glimpses in his peripheral vision. He saw Miuri move lightning quick, green and brown and gold flashes of striking beauty and deadly accuracy. The wolf growled and snapped at her, but she danced away as the two other wolves began to circle Cam.
He reached for the magic and found it, just at his fingertips. The calm descended and his heart began to slow. He took another deep breath and a smile came to his lips as he thought about the pleasure of burning these wolves to cinders.
But he hesitated. The packs down in the valley might not notice this fight, if they were lucky, but they certainly would notice if Cam started spouting fire. That would give their position away and alert the other wolves to their existence. Cam snarled and bit back against the power, pushing it away without drawing any into himself.
He was close, just inches away from sucking it all in, and once he began to let the pleasure and the power flow into his veins, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop it. He knew he’d burn them all, burn everything around him, and when they were all gone, he’d turn on the valley below.
His hands gripped the blade and he stepped forward as Miuri finished off her prey. He glanced over as she thrust her blade into its chest, wrenching it back with a flourish. Thick globs of blood scattered across the ground and the underbrush.
The wolf lunged at him as soon as he was distracted. He backpedaled, swiped at its face, and was about to counterattack when the third wolf threw itself at the second.
Cam stood in dumbfounded shock as the wolves tore at each other. He lost track of the fight as they tumbled, snapping and snarling. One wolf ripped and clawed at the other, tearing deep welts in its skin. The wolf that had attacked was a little smaller, gray and white and black, with a long stripe down its back. The other one, larger and heavier, seemed taken aback as the smaller wolf fought like a mad beast.
Miuri joined him and they stood together. She seemed just as shocked as he was, but the fight soon ended when the smaller one batted the larger wolf’s muzzle aside then clamped its jaws tight on its throat. The smaller wolf twisted its jaws and tore the larger wolf’s throat out, blood spouting and covering its fur in thick red and black gouts.
Cam took a step forward as the wolf spit out its adversary’s throat. Two wolves lay dead on the ground while the third didn’t move. It stood there panting, covered in blood, its yellow eyes watching Cam with a wary uncertainty.
“Felin?” he asked. “Felin, is that you?”
The wolf let out a snort then lowered its head. It stayed like that for a moment until its body began to twist.
Cam watched the animal shift and change. Its fur sucked into its skin, its bones snapped, thinned, elongated, flattened. He watched as the wolf turned into his beautiful girlfriend, her pale skin glistening with blood and gore in the afternoon sun, her body naked and gorgeous. Her dark hair was matted against her head and a little wicked smile came to her lips.
“I thought you might not recognize me,” she said.
“I didn’t at first,” Cam said. “How did you find us?”
“Chance,” she admitted. “I was on patrol with these two when they spotted you standing there and watching the valley.”
Miuri said something in Elvish, and Cam guessed it was a
curse. “I was being foolish,” she said.
Felin shrugged. “Doesn’t matter now.”
Cam felt his heart swell as he took a few steps toward Felin. “I’m so happy you’re okay,” he said.
She tilted her head and had that strange flat expression he remembered from when they first met.
“You were worried about me,” she said.
“Of course I was,” Cam said. He stopped a foot away from her and wanted to reach out, but she only tilted her head. “Miuri and Key were too. You should’ve seen Key, she was almost sick with it.”
That seemed to get through to her. She bit her lip and stepped forward. Cam pulled her against him, ignoring the blood that covered her face and hair. He held her tight and Miuri join them a moment later. They stood as a small group, huddled together, and Cam felt like he’d come so close to disaster.
If he had slipped and drew in his power, he was sure he would’ve killed Felin.
There was no doubt in his mind. He didn’t know she was one of the wolves, didn’t know her wolf form enough to tell her apart from the others. He knew he’d have to rectify that sooner rather than later, because that was too close. He would’ve burned her to death and never known that he had been the one to kill her.
He hadn’t, though. He had to tell himself that. He’d come close, but in the end, he’d been able to control himself.
“I need to clean myself up,” Felin said.
Cam laughed. “You’re filthy,” he said.
“Yet still pretty,” Miuri added. “Blood soaked or not.”
Felin smiled. “There’s a spring nearby,” she said. “Not far from here. I’ll go bathe and meet you all back at camp.”
“Wait,” Cam said, but Felin slipped from his grip and walked off. “Felin, we can all go.”
But she disappeared into the underbrush, running wild and naked.
Miuri let out a breath. “That girl’s going to have to get civilized all over again,” she said.
Cam shook his head. “She’ll be back,” he said. “Come on. We’d better get moving in case one of the wolves in the valley noticed us.”
Miuri nodded, her expression grim, and they headed deeper into the woods and angled back toward camp.
26
Cam and Miuri returned to camp, gathered up Felin’s clothes, and waited at the edge of a clearing for her to return. After a few tense minutes, a wolf prowled out from the underbrush, stopped a few feet away from them, and began to shift.
Felin emerged from the wolf body, her skin shining in the afternoon sun. She smiled at them and stretched.
“Clean,” she said.
Cam smiled and handed over her clothes. “As much as I’d rather you stayed naked, we should talk to the others,” he said.
She accepted them and began to dress. When she was finished, they walked back to camp together. Key sat up as soon as she saw Felin, then jumped to her feet and ran over.
“I was so worried,” Key said and threw herself at the wolf girl. Cam laughed, a little surprised at Key’s reaction. Felin seemed just as shocked, but she hugged Key back.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I just went for a little walk.”
Key snorted and held Felin at arm’s length. “Next time you decide to go off like that, you’d better come talk to me first.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Felin grinned at her then shot Cam a look.
“All right,” Cam said. “Come on. Let’s find Theus and Dagan. We need to talk.”
Key released Felin and Cam stood for a moment, looking at his three girlfriends. A flood of relief came over him now that they were all back together again.
They walked across the camp and pulled Dagan and Theus aside. They crouched out of earshot of the other warriors.
“What did you find out there?” Theus asked.
“Miuri and I scouted the valley,” Cam said. “It was hard to get a sense of the camp’s layout. The wolves are scattered all throughout the forest. But Felin got a closer look.”
He turned to look at Felin and she nodded. She crouched down next to Cam and picked up a small stick from the ground. She brushed off some leaves to uncover clear dirt.
“The camp is set up like this,” she said, and began to draw separate rectangles. She drew four on top and four on the bottom. “And the army is camped up here.” She drew a big circle at the very top. “Each one of these is a different pack.” She poked each of the rectangles with the stick for emphasis. “The four in the front are bigger packs, and the four in the back are slightly smaller. Each pack has its own leader, culture, and goals, and things are tense down there. But they all have one common enemy, and that’s the army. From what I could tell, they’re going to stay in that valley until every single Human in that army is dead, no matter what.”
“How do you know all that?” Dagan asked, his eyes narrowed at her.
“I went into their camp,” she said.
He sat back and looked surprised. “How?” he asked.
“They didn’t notice one more naked girl walking around,” she said. “I was careful, didn’t talk to many people, and it was easy to get a sense of their camp before getting out of there again.”
Dagan let out a breath and shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something then closed it again. Cam got the sense that he didn’t believe Felin’s story, and Cam couldn’t blame him. Without knowing that Felin was a Werewolf, the idea that she could strip naked and walk right into their camp was ludicrous.
But that wasn’t so far from the truth. Dagan didn’t know that after she stripped naked, she turned into a wolf.
“These gaps between the packs,” Cam said, trying to change the subject. “Are there gaps down there as well?”
Felin nodded. “They have lanes between the camps set up,” she said. “And one wide lane down the middle.” She ran her stick through the gaps between the rectangles, emphasizing the space. “There isn’t much pack fighting going on right now, but they’re keeping space between each other to try and keep it to a minimum.”
“The wolves fight amongst themselves?” Theus asked. “I thought they all just… obeyed.”
Felin raised an eyebrow. “Obeyed who?”
Theus shook his head. “I have no clue. I just thought someone was in charge.”
“It’s not like that,” Felin said. “The packs are all independent of each other, and no pack is better than any other. Not officially, at least. The stronger packs get better positioning and better jobs than the weaker packs, but that’s only natural. The strong defeat the weak, that’s just how the world works.”
Theus let out a little grunt and frowned down at her crude drawing. “So, there are eight separate packs down there, and none of them get along,” he said. “How are they even staying together?”
“Common enemy,” Felin said. “They want to destroy the army more than they want to fight each other.”
“But they still want to fight each other,” Cam said. “And that leaves them weak.”
“I think so,” Felin said.
“Is there any single pack that’s more aggressive than the others?” Cam asked. “Or are there any two packs that are close to fighting?”
Felin frowned then poked the top right pack and the top left pack. They were separated by two packs in the middle.
“These two hate each other the most,” she said. “And they’re the two biggest.”
Cam looked at Miuri, and he could tell she was already working something out in her head. She stroked her chin and frowned down at the dirt.
“I still don’t see how you could know any of this,” Dagan said. “Even if you did walk through their camp.”
“Wolves gossip just like you Humans do,” Felin said.
Dagan raised an eyebrow. “Us Humans?” he asked.
Felin grimaced. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m not sure that I do.” Dagan looked at Cam. “What’s going on here?”
Cam stood still and looked at Miuri again.
Her face was tense, but she locked eyes with Cam and gave him a slight nod. He winced and looked to Felin then shook his head.
“Dagan, stay calm,” he said.
“Stay calm? She infiltrated the wolf camp and is talking like she’s one of them. And now you’re all giving each other these meaningful looks. What the hell is happening here?”
“I’m sure it’s not a big deal,” Theus said. “Right, Cam? Easy explanation?”
“Felin is a Werewolf,” Cam said.
Theus groaned and covered his face with his hand. “Not what I meant,” he said.
Dagan stood up and took a few steps away from Felin, his eyes wide. Cam moved toward the Elder, his hands held out. Felin stayed where she was, crouched down by her drawing, not moving a muscle. But her eyes were tense and she looked between Theus and Dagan with a wary edge.
“Dagan,” Cam said. “Stay calm. Felin is on our side.”
“On our side? She’s a gods damned Werewolf,” he said. “She’s the enemy. What are you doing, Camrus? How could you?”
“Dagan,” Cam said, his voice edged. Anger began to swirl up through him. He knew they couldn’t hide Felin’s identity from Dagan and the other leaders forever, but he didn’t expect Dagan to react like this. “She helped us during the march to the Mansion. Over and over again, she helped. You knew about her then, and you were willing to accept that aid. She’s done nothing but prove she wants to make things right with us.”
Dagan stared at Cam for a long moment before rubbing his face with both hands. “She’s the one that warned us,” he said. “Back then, she’s the one that told us they were going to attack. I should’ve realized it when you had her join, but I was just so distracted.”
“It’s okay,” Cam said. “I know it’s strange, but believe me, Dagan. She’s on our side.”
He looked up at the sky for a long moment before dropping his hands to his sides. “Urspirit accept me,” he said then shook his head. “All right. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but if you trust this wolf, Cam, then I’ll trust her too. Or at least I’ll try to.”