Winter's Pack (The Cursed Book 2)

by Lou Grimes

  “I have something better for you than a cat,” Ian promised, nodding as if to point out the epic factor to it all.

  “I can’t wait,” Louvette goaded. She turned to Arsen. “See you in the middle, hopefully.” She leaned over to place a modest peck on Arsen’s lips.

  “Be safe, Winter,” he replied, returning the kiss.

  Louvette and Ian drove the forest road for a while.

  She couldn’t take the silence anymore. Louvette leaned forward, crossing her arms on the front seat.

  “Why am I being dropped off in this particular spot, and how were the other spots chosen?” Louvette questioned.

  “The coordinates where your grandfather’s body was found were written in the police report,” Ian said as tactfully as he could.

  “Oh. That does make sense,” Louvette said, sliding down.

  “This is you,” Ian announced when the rental truck’s brakes squealed from overuse.

  “Thank you, Ian,” she said, staring off for a few seconds. No matter how much she had thought she was, she wasn’t prepared for this. Nevertheless, she forced herself out of the car and turned to grab Ian’s gear for her. She was handed the same walkie talkie, another kid’s radio specifically picked out for her, and a compass.

  Her special radio was a blend of a radio and a game where the child pulls the lever and some domestic animal goes Moo.

  “Thanks,” Louvette said, not sure of the insult that came with her radio.

  “I figured you might be able to learn something in the forest while you’re waiting on me to get to the location,” Ian teased.

  “I’m going to kill you,” she said, muttering. “I have better things to do than sit here and have you harass me.”

  Walking through the forest, she continued until someone traveling the road couldn’t see her.

  She stared down at the high-end metallic walkie talkie in her hand, turning it on. The trouble was she didn’t know when to turn everything on, if she even could. The compass was the one thing that didn’t run on batteries, so the last thing she would want was to turn them on too early and end up having dead, useless equipment.

  Louvette started to knock the radio onto her hand, but thought better of treating it as such. After a few minutes of debating, she soon decided on the best course of action to take. She sat down in the forest and waited.

  Besides, the thought of waiting in a beautiful forest wasn’t something terrible or tedious before she was a Lupine, but it was more not so now.

  Inhaling the deep green bouquet that only the Earth produced was calming on so many different levels. Her mental state felt more stable. Before, her mind had been anxious. The fast fluttering heartbeats were now a steady drum.

  A bright blue flash of light lit up in her hands. She turned over the walkie talkie to discover it was on now.

  “Can you hear me, Louvette?” a familiar voice asked. She held down the button on top.

  “Yes, Ian. I can. I was getting a little worried about contacting each other. I couldn’t turn the stupid thing on,” she said.

  “It comes on when the master walkie talkie is activated. A failsafe I set up to keep someone from stealing it and communicating with us using it,” Ian explained. “Arsen is already on the line,” he added.

  “Hey, Winter,” Arsen said.

  “Hey, Firefly,” Louvette teased cheerfully.

  “Now, I have everything ready on my end. I just need you two to turn on your radios,” Ian instructed them.

  Louvette grabbed the kid’s radio that had been sitting beside her. She clicked her radio on, but decided to have a bit of fun.

  “Bahhhh,” the toy called after she had pulled the lever.

  “Did I just hear a goat?” Arsen asked out of bewilderment.

  “Louvette’s radio is on.” Ian’s amused voice came through.

  “Mine is on too,” Arsen added.

  “Great, now give me a few minutes,” Ian said before his radio went silent.

  “Why didn’t I have a cool one?” Arsen asked Louvette.

  “Because you’re not cool like me,” she teased.

  “You’re right, I’m cooler,” Arsen responded.

  “Not cool enough to let him do his hacking thing to help people,” she hinted.

  “The bad people often look like the good people,” Arsen explained.

  “Can’t build a wall around everyone you love, Firefly,” she said. Her bracelet practically burned on her arm as if the wolfsbane was exposed against her skin. Though she knew the bracelet was a tracker, she still wore it every time she left the house because Arsen had no clue she had found out. She was waiting for the opportune time.

  “All right guys, now follow the beep,” Ian returned and said.

  “That’s it?” Louvette said, expecting more information.

  “Yea, you’re going the right direction when the beep gets stronger,” he added.

  “Hopefully, I’m heading your way,” Arsen replied.

  “Me too,” Louvette said.

  Louvette followed the beeping. At times, she would get off. She was headed towards the west for the most part. She clambered through heavy brush, trees, and rocks.

  “Did anyone’s beeping suddenly disappear?” Louvette asked through her walkie talkie.

  There was nothing; radio silence. She tried a few more times, judging something was interfering with the service.

  Louvette focused her wolf eyes on her surroundings to figure out why she was getting nothing. Her eyes zeroed in on something peculiar in the forest.

  The strange object was a giant old metal bunker similar to a bomb shelter in the middle of the woods. Trees had fallen on it, so one might walk right past it and never be conscious of it. Weeds were growing all over it, with nature reclaiming it as its own.

  Nature wasn’t the only thing protecting the bunker. A hazy glowing ring of something floated around in the air, surrounding it unevenly. The impulse to touch was strong. At first, she grazed her fingertips against the hazy ring. Something buzzed around her finger. Following not losing a finger from touching it, Louvette pushed her entire hand through the ring. She walked right through it. Still nothing happened. She waited for a trap, but was relieved when there was none.

  There were signs that someone was living in the bunker. A blanket was strung up to keep rain or excess sunlight out. An old metal bucket was near, most likely used to collect rainwater from the way it was strategically placed right below a break in the trees. There were odd items strewn about as if they were yard ornaments.

  No one was home right now, yet it had been lived in recently.

  She moved the blanket off to the side to peek inside. The sense of invading someone’s privacy took over and she almost withdrew. It pulled on her heart strings to see someone might live in these conditions. She dug into her bag and pulled out her food and water. She left it protected from animals or the elements inside the makeshift bunk house so the food wouldn’t get ruined. She didn’t care if something went wrong. Her wolf could hunt if she needed to survive. This person most likely starved every day.

  Leaving the bunker, she headed on to walk toward the west. It wasn’t long before she heard two people crunching through the forest toward her.

  “Why weren’t you responding? I was getting worried, Louvette,” Arsen’s voice came through the radio before he got to her.

  “I think my equipment malfunctioned,” she said.

  “My equipment doesn’t malfunction,” Ian told her in a slightly offended tone.

  “I tried to call y’all and nothing happened about a half a mile back,” Louvette repeated. Ian took her radio and walkie talkies from her, fine tuning it for her.

  “If there was any malfunction, it was on your end,” Ian said again.

  “I’m not trying to lay blame on anything, but I couldn’t call or receive anything for a while. I’ll prove it to you,” Louvette said, becoming more cross each minute.

  Walking through the forest, she realized she coul
d see while using her human eyes. A light orange glow was spreading across the sky. The sun was starting to rise, so she let her wolf eyes rest. It would be perfect to show the disbelievers.

  She marched back in the direction she had come with some befuddled ducklings following her.

  “This is so cool,” Ian said when they came upon the bunker. He pulled out his satellite phone. His fingers started flying across the keypad as the device started lighting up and beeping.

  The hazy ring was still in place as odd as ever.

  “What is really going on?” he said.

  “Who’s the malfunction now?” Louvette pestered.

  “The ring must be magic. I think the magic is reflecting the signals off of it so you can’t receive them in the area around the bunker,” he pondered.

  “Guess we know why we didn’t find the phone,” Arsen concluded.

  “Maybe the bunker was left over from a war or was the start of something,” Ian murmured, scoping out the place.

  “Is anyone in there?” Arsen asked, catching sight of the makeshift survival items like the rainwater bucker.

  “There wasn’t earlier,” she clarified.

  Ian and Arsen moved forward for a better view of the place.

  “Do y’all know what the ring is besides magic?” she asked as the two just stepped right through it. They didn’t hesitate, so either Louvette was the only one who could see the ring or they knew exactly what it was.

  “Yeah, the ring is a ward against human eyes. Wards are common in witches and magic users, but I don’t see any witches living this drab a lifestyle,” Ian said, poking at the ward.

  Something snarled within a second of them parting the blanket that hung on the walls.

  A tiny green woman with silver twinkling wings stood before them. Her eyes lacked pupils. They were emitting a dark green glow. The hair twisted in a loose bun was akin to wild vines. Colorful crystals were woven through her vine-like hair. Copper tattoo symbols wrapped around her body. Her clothes were fashioned from forest brush.

  “What is it?” Louvette asked in a whisper.

  “She is a Forest Fae,” Arsen answered out of the corner of his mouth. Its reaching ears twitched toward each of them as they spoke.

  Louvette had believed her wolf was one of the things closest to nature, but this being was even closer than her own. If Arsen hadn’t told her exactly what she was, Louvette might have mistaken her for Mother Nature herself.

  “Have you ever fought a Fae before?” Louvette asked them when the Fae’s wings flicked back similar to an annoyed old horse’s.

  “No, but they are master enchanters,” Arsen warned.

  They all braced themselves, ready for whatever was to come. Every one of their fight or flight reactions were activated.

  However, the Fae’s eyes focused on something behind them. Louvette hadn’t believed it was possible for the Fae’s eyes to widen any more, but they did. They were as round as saucers with a kind of reverence in them.

  Louvette glanced at what the Fae was staring at. She relaxed slightly when she saw the food she had left in the Fae’s hiding hole.

  Louvette grabbed the food slowly. The Fae’s eyes focused on the food in her hands, not even at her at all.

  “Here, you can have this,” she said, moving the food toward her, making no sudden movements. She set the snacks down, then stepped back to the guys. The nature Fae paused, her intelligent eyes flicking between them.

  The Fae spread her wings and fluttered them until she was in front of the food. She snatched all the containers up and started digging through them. She dropped the crackers after they crunched noisily from her abuse of the bag.

  “I don’t think she can talk, Louvette. It seems like she’s been out here awhile,” Arsen said sadly. The Fae blinked at Arsen, then flung one of the bags at him, sending him a glare.

  “Hey!” he said, narrowing avoiding a snack bag in the face.

  “I can speak, but I wasn’t sure you were worthy enough to talk to,” the Fae said dryly. Her voice was just what someone might expect a forest goddess to have. It was loud, but balanced and calming, similar to the sounds of the earth. It echoed around them as if it came from the trees, the dirt, and the sky.

  “Worthy?” Arsen questioned cockily.

  “I’m still not sure,” the Fae muttered, glaring off into the forest stubbornly.

  “What’s your name? I’m Louvette Blackwood,” Louvette said. The Fae’s head focused on her alone. The way her neck moved was far from human, twisting the same as a praying mantises would have. At first, she didn’t speak.

  “I have many names, but they are impossible for a low level being to pronounce. You can call me Floralen,” she offered.

  “We aren’t low level,” Ian protested. He was obviously offended. Louvette had chosen to ignore the comment. There was a large chance she didn’t know any better, living in the forest for however long she already had.

  “You are as low level as magic beings get. The stronger your animals grow, the weaker your magic is. You’re nothing but watered-down blood witches. If the Curse had never happened, you’d be reading crystal balls in a gypsy tent at the fair,” Floralen claimed.

  “Why are you here alone?” Louvette asked, redirecting her back to a more productive conversation that didn’t involve a head of insults. If she could help her, Louvette would.

  “I’m here because I was exiled by my own father, King Floren, from the Erther World,” Floralen answered after a split second of hesitation.

  “Why were you exiled?” Louvette wondered.

  “Because of my fascination and love for this human world. Despite the fact that you are substandard, I still love all things human. I have the most adoration for your snacks,” Floralen said, beaming. Her smile was the epitome of the sun managing to break through the storm clouds for the first time in weeks, when all the plants rejoiced.

  Louvette tried to use her Gift on Floralen, even though she knew better. The desire to see this place and to understand how other supernatural beings saw the Lupine was too tempting. The moment Louvette reached the barrier of Floralen’s mind, it was nothing she had seen before.

  Thick dark green vines covered a gorgeous gold fence. The vines themselves had black thorns and purple flowers rising out of them. Louvette mentally put her hand forward and a thorn nicked her.

  An alarm system might as well have gone off because the vines began to expand and twist until more layers stood before her.

  Louvette stepped back and a voice floated through the gates.

  “Nice try. You might have more of a future than just reading crystal balls,” Floralen’s voice spoke in her head, rattling her mental balance enough that Louvette retreated back to her own mind.

  Floralen continued as if it had never happened. Louvette blew out air, alleviating the pain quietly.

  “Why be out here alone though? Why not live among humans?” Louvette questioned.

  “I lived amongst humans for hundreds of years as soon as I was exiled, but failed to realize my father added another year to my banishment for every year I lived with humans,” Floralen answered. “I’m now halfway through my 1,000-year banishment,” she added.

  “A 1,000-year banishment? That’s harsh. Is there anything else we can do to help you?” Louvette wondered.

  “Stay away from me, so that you don’t prolong my return to the Fae Court,” Floralen responded.

  “She’s living here for a reason, Louvette. If she chose to, she could live in town. She clearly doesn’t want to anymore,” Arsen said.

  The Fae glared at Arsen. She seemed to hate Louvette’s traveling companions, so she was unsure why she didn’t hate Louvette.

  “Why are you being nice to me?” Louvette asked.

  “You were nice to me first,” Floralen pointed out, holding her candy bar out as proof. “I remember each human that has showed me kindness in the years of my exile. The little human child that was camping who shared her snacks me. The traveling
man who gave me everything he had. His name was Blackwood as well,” Floralen continued.

  “What?” Louvette asked.

  “A couple human months ago, an older man passed through here in a hurry. He gave me all he had and then left, hoping to return. I had hoped for his return, too. The earth told me he would not return, so I ate all of his snacks,” she told them, her eyes reminiscing as if that one act of kindness was the most important thing in her everlasting life span. The tips of her ears wilted, as did Louvette’s heart.

  Arsen, Ian, and Louvette all shared a loaded glance. This would explain why Thomas hadn’t found the phone and why they hadn’t, either.

  “Floralen, he was my grandfather. Someone murdered him. Do you still have anything he gave you that wasn’t food?” Louvette asked gently.

  “I have everything. Follow me,” she said. Floralen flew off, disappearing into the bunker.

  The three of them were hesitant because the size of the bunker was only big enough for about one person to stand up and move around in comfortably. They would be pushing it with two mature Lupine guys, an average size young woman, and a Fae all in it, but they did as instructed.

  Once they pushed past the bunker, they found themselves in one large master dirt room that had tunnel paths everywhere. All manner of items lined the walls. All manner of human items, from swords and spears of older days to laptops and guns. The artifacts that covered the system would fill thousands of museums.

  The crazy thing was the walls of the cavern had roots curling around all over the place. They were taking over some of the older artifacts Floralen had saved.

  “Are you sure she isn’t an ant?” Ian muttered to Arsen.

  “Oh! How I wish I was,” she said, appearing behind them. They all turned to see her, holding a hiking bag.

  She placed the bag in Louvette’s hands, staring deep into her eyes.

  Arsen placed a hand over Louvette’s, stopping her. His crazy eyes were needing to tell her something without Floralen getting what it was. Louvette was clueless, unfortunately. His hiding was to no avail because Floralen was more cognizant than Louvette as to what Arsen was conveying.

  “Calm down, Wolf. A gift for a gift. The earth wants her to have it. No strings attached,” Floralen promised.