We all jump about a mile high when the voice invades from the far right, startling us into standing and poised aggression because none of us even sensed her. It’s weird, but even with our sense of smell, hearing, instincts, and awareness, none of us picked her up last night or this morning. She’s like a freaking ghost. Just swans in undetected and scares us shitless with that sudden voice that comes at you like a flying dagger.
We stand and pull together in front of the now glowing low embers of the fire, rattled, hearts elevated in beat, and look around expectantly for her ‘guest’ with high suspicion, but she appears to be alone.
“Aren’t you missing someone?” I point out, eyeing up the fact she’s still in the same clothes as last night, but despite hiking through dirt and forest, she’s immaculately clean and has no sign of fatigue on her at all if she was up all night. I wonder if Meadow is right, and witches can wear some outer mask to conceal the real them. She’s too neat to have been out all-night walking around in this horrid landscape and damp air.
“No. He’s here. Waiting by the road…. Where we’re going now. So, chop, chop, ma wee darlings. Did you eat?” she asks in that merry brogue of hers and noses around looking for evidence of food which causes her to frown when she sees nothing.
“We were about to get our supplies, and you showed up,” Meadow responds drily, still an edge to her voice, and Leyanne nods with a slight shrug of one shoulder.
“Guess you can eat on the journey. We have to go. He doesn’t like waiting. So come along, wee pets. No time like the present.” She gestures behind us to the path we came from last night, and Carmen is the first to get up and move. Glad to finally be leaving this place.
“I, for one, will be happy to get back in that truck and out of here.” She adds in passing, and I catch up behind her to resume our single-file trail. Finding security in being between my two femmes, especially now I know what I carry. Leyanne moves to walk behind us as the birds hitch up and follow, flocking in from God knows where and it seems like the sky is suddenly full of caws and cries and the battering of wings.
“I don’t know. It has its positives. Quaint, peaceful. No humans for another few miles in any direction. Seems perfect to me. No one nosing in or getting in your way.” Leyanne smiles cheerily, being strangely upbeat and annoyingly merry as if we’re all just out for a summer walk at dawn in the ugliest of landscapes. This witch is too weird for this time of the day, and I hook Meadow’s hand in mine to feel more secure now that we’re moving. Instinctively I reach out, catching Carmen’s from behind, sliding my fingers into hers. She stiffens at the contact, hesitantly glancing back at me before returning the grip without argument and loosely holding onto my hand. I can feel her awkwardness, her uncertainty, the alien feel of another femme wolf having this kind of contact, and I’m sad that touch is not familiar between her own pack sisters. It makes me wonder if it ever was. Has she always been so alone?
“You said turning was a no for me, right?” I turn back and glance at Leyanne, dismissing Carmen’s posture, asking a question I have been going over all night. I have to clarify a few things. I’ve turned recently, and yet I am still pregnant, even though she said it had to do with the age of the babies.
“Right. Many hybrids were lost with just one turn. The perfection of your DNA is also your biggest flaw when it comes to species breeding. When your body identifies it as something drawing from your health, it fixes it.”
I guess in the earliest days, they are so tiny and unformed that my wolf gifts ignore their presence until they start to make you sick. I know that pure wolf pups somehow can withstand turning, and I guess the impurity of a mixed child is its other species is the one who can’t stand up to it.
“Right, Ummm…. my gifts, my abilities. In human form, I can still use them, though, right? They won’t hurt them?” I ask tightly, raising my brow as worry wriggles into my brain. Needing boundaries and guidelines to keep them safe, and I wonder how many times I have carelessly used them these past weeks while I didn’t know. How close have I been to losing them before they were given a chance at life?
“Yes, fine, although…. some report that abilities and such may weaken and worsen as things progress. Your body focuses on the new life and stupidly leaves you more vulnerable. I think it's nature’s way of ensuring the weaker hybrids don’t get out of the womb. So many obstacles to ensure failure. Only the strongest make it, so I’m not shocked that Sierra gave birth to the future Santo Alpha.”
“You’re saying she might lose them, even if she doesn’t turn?” Meadow spins her head on Leyanne, homing in on the details and ignoring her other words, much as I do, and gets an infuriating shrug in return. We gawp at her, and my brain goes into chaotic overdrive as nerves flood me and make me feel instantly sick.
“Not if she’s careful. Limit her need to protect herself. Relies on her pack to shield her, her mate, if he wasn’t cursed. Sierra got through. I’m sure you will too. Colton was a strong baby, and I don’t doubt his offspring will be the same. Look at you; your mother didn’t have half of your ability and still carried you to term. Be calm, Luna, and have faith in your fates.” Leyanne yanks a passing branch, snapping off a twig to swipe at long grass as we walk, and she seems so utterly casual and relaxed, like she isn’t telling me the possibility I may still lose my children.
“You knew my mother?” I’m distracted by her words, my head pulling away from the topic at hand for my sanity and, like always, thirsting for more of what I lost in my past. Anything I can ever learn about my mother from before it’s like a drug for me. Always needing more of it as the memories of her fade with time. So few beyond our pack knew of her, and so few of the remaining ones could recall her. Many of the valley forgot the Whyte pack as it was completely wiped out.
“Not personally, but I know of her. I was quite shocked to piece you and her together last night. But then, I shouldn’t be. They always lead me to people for reasons. And nothing is ever a coincidence.”
“You mean the fates?” Carmen queries with a suspicious eyebrow raised and a glance back at her, and I’m wondering the same thing. I thought witches had gods or some other belief system. Something like a moon goddess, given Leyanne, seems to have at least three pendants on with moonstones and symbols of phases of the moon.
“I mean the higher power. You call them fates; some call them gods… I call them guides. Voices in the wind, nudges in your gut, itching palms, and footsteps that lead you other ways. They send me where I need to go; sometimes, it pays off. I’m in the right place at the right time, and it all comes together. Like now.” She looks at me for a long second, a smirk nudging her mouth as though she’s gazing with meaning, and I break eye contact, feeling uncomfy.
“That’s what you meant last night. Why ever you were here, it links to us somehow?” I wish she would open up and speak, stop these dumb riddles and sassy little expressions. Tell us, but I get the feeling she isn’t going to.
“It does. And soon, you will know how. Now speed up a little. I want to get there before he has to go back. He’s a busy man and not famed for patience…. None of them ever are.” She swipes at Meadow’s butt with her branch to slap her onward and gets a snarl, and an amber glow under ferocious brows aimed her way. It doesn’t phase her in the slightest, and she lifts her hands and makes a little ‘forward’ motion with her fingertips while smiling like the Cheshire cat. I think Meadow is close to eating her as she growls under her breath and jilts me into a faster walk with a harsh nudge.
“Who is HE exactly?” Meadow is impatient and fiery, and I can tell this way of communication, and the smart-ass facial expressions, are annoying her.
“Someone you’re going to hate on sight, but trust me, you’re not going to act on it. Not if you want to live. I’ll make sure of it. I can assure you, though, that he comes with no intention of harm. You have to trust the witch, I guess.” That low and smug tone, the brows smoothing out to an almost catlike look that reminds me of Hollywood villains, and I swallow hard.
The three of us throw glances at one another, more questions coming with her so-called answers, and a feeling of dread rises between us.
“Why do I feel we’re not going to like this.” Carmen butts in.
“Because you’re not. But needs must, and this whole thing is bigger than you three. Now hush, more walk, less talk. I need some headspace to figure some things out, as I did not sleep one wink last night. Ma head’s weary. Now shhhhh… get going.” Leyanne gestures for us to move again, rather bossily. A lot of harsh hand waving and a finger to her lips to silence our chatter. We don’t like it, but we fall obediently back in line and quicken our steps, retracing our path from last night effortlessly as we can pick up our own scent to follow back. A sense of lighter relief that we are going back to our familiar truck and will be turning around and heading home very soon.
It doesn’t take long to see the truck ahead in the clearing where we abandoned its poor self. With a few more feet to cross, we come out at it where we left it last night, and Meadow unlocks it before jumping in to reverse out of the ditch we almost got it stuck in. With less weight aboard, she maneuvers it easily and pulls it back up to sit on the road that brought us here.
“Not you.” Leyanne catches my upper arm quickly as Carmen rounds the truck to get in, and I was about to follow. Flinching in startled surprise and turning to eye her up and meeting a deadpan look that gives me no clue why. “You’re with me for now.” She gestures back along the main route to our left, and only then do I spot a large foreboding pair of four-by-fours. Both black with tinted-out windows, parked about a hundred yards further along the road. They give me a weird vibe, and an internal shiver runs through the length of my body.
“Um, I don’t think so. She stays with us.” Meadow leans out of her now-open window and throws Leyanne a challenging glare which only gets an amused smirk. She moves as if to say she will get back out of the truck and physically take me.
“If I wanted to harm any of you, you would never have made it out of this truck last night. Please don’t underestimate me. Be a good wee doggy, sit tight, shut up, and do as you’re told. Don’t make me get the muzzle.” Her words are almost icy and cold in deliverance, despite that catty sarcasm, and I throw Meadow a look that’s meant to calm her worry rather than escalate this into a fight that I know will happen.
“I’ll be fine. Just stay close. If I need you, I’ll link. I still have abilities, you know.” And I know that metal is no match for a piercing wolf’s claws should they need to physically rip through the cars sitting yonder. In the blink of an eye, Meadow would plow through a vehicle to get to me if I needed her. We are strong and vicious, and Meadow is one of our worst.
I have nothing to fear, even if my powers may weaken as we speak. I still have enough to hold my own and get myself out of anything that might happen.
Meadow tenses and Carmen glares at Leyanne from her seat as she settles herself in and locks her eyes on the two of us. She may not have ever liked me, but I’m a wolf from her pack, her Luna, and our protective instinct for one another against another species is built-in, whether we want it or not. She is giving me some serious vibes that Meds wouldn’t be the only one tearing open a metal box to free me.
“Relax, puppies. I’m only taking her for a short walk. She’ll be back before you even miss her. Go chew on something.” Leyanne tugs my arm with a rather bossy pull and gestures towards the vehicles ahead, but as soon as we start moving towards them, they fire up their engines and head our way. As though they have been observing and waiting for the signal of us moving. My heart begins to hammer like a drum, my gut telling me I should be on alert, and my body becomes instantly clammy.
They’re American luxury cars, but filthy, as though they have been driving through terrain like this for hours on end and are not accustomed to it at all. As they approach at speed, they stop right in front of us, kicking up dust mere feet from our truck so that Meadow doesn’t have to go anywhere. Close enough to see what’s happening right where we are, and it settles some of my nerves, giving me a sense of protection that she won’t be far. Neither of them will.
The first car door is opened by a driver jumping out quickly, dressed completely in dark clothes, with gloves and a hood pulled firmly over his head, so you get zero sense of his appearance. I freeze in paled-faced horror as his scent wafts this way at my approach, and I almost choke on the sheer strength of its familiarity.
“What the fuck?” I gasp in shock and recoil against Leyanne’s hold as it computes through my head why I know that smell so well and what exactly he is. My inner alarm bells going off, and I start to pull away, fear enveloping me and knowing we were right to doubt this witch.
“I said you wouldn’t like it, but you came to me for help, and that’s what I’m doing. So, get in the car and don’t make a scene. I’m not in the mood for forcing pregnant wolves to heel.” She commands in a biting hiss, but I throw a hesitant look back at Meadow, crying visually for her, and she catches my fear and despair. Her eyes glow instantly as she rips herself out of the driver's seat in an instant. Doors kicked open as both make their way to save me.
“No. Don’t interfere!” Leyanne snaps and turns almost as quickly, and with a raised hand slamming an invisible power their way, she seems to hold Meadow and then Carmen still and powerless with very little effort. She even seems to inhibit their ability to turn, and the snarls turn to whimpers as she gives them a warning squeeze. They struggle facially, but it’s like their bodies are bound and tied, lifted a foot from the ground. They can only shake and growl as their eyes turn amber and their teeth elongate.
A gift so like mine, only I can feel it coming from her in powerful waves, crackling the air and turning the sky dark over my head. It tells me she has ten times what I inherited in terms of power, and she’s terrifyingly capable of using it. She’s barely trying, and both my femmes are held still before she tucks them back in the truck, pushes them to sit where they were, and slams the doors. She seals them tight with magic with only a slight movement of graceful fingers and a deadlock glare. Meadow and Carmen start to fight to try and get out, pulling out claws to cut their way out, but it’s futile. She has each in some bubble that makes it impossible for them to do anything. Their claws can’t get through it, the invisible shield, and they’re trapped where they are.
I glare back at her, my heart hitching, my eyes turning red as fury rushes through my body as she drops her hand and leaves them that way. I pull myself upright. Rounding at her and not concealing my anger and mistrust when she’s brought me to the feet of the enemy and bound my protection.
“You said I should never trust anyone, even you. Was it a forewarning that you would stab me in the back as soon as you felt like it?” I point out and back away slowly, cautious and on full alert, claws growing despite my brain telling me not to turn. She straightens her cloak and reaches for me but only smiles and shrugs.
“And you shouldn’t, but darling, as I already pointed out, if I wanted to harm you, I would have done it already. I’m not the type to let vampires do my dirty work when it can be so much fun to do it yourself. He’s not a threat… none of them are, and you need to get in that car and learn something new today. If you want my help with your mate and your little fog problem, I need yours. This is why I was here …. survival of all species sometimes means wars shouldn’t continue. I had a task, it’s in that car waiting for my answer… and you’re it. So, if you please?” She gestures towards them, but I step another foot back away from her, bristling and poised in pounce mode.
“What are you talking about? So many fucking riddles with you! You’re trying to end the vampire war, or is that another lie?” I glare at her, stiff and ready to fight, but my stupid fuzzy head still asks her for answers I shouldn’t believe. Leyanne seems completely relaxed, maybe a tad irritated, but she patiently stands, then shrugs.
“Not directly, and when did I lie, ma wee pet? I try never to pick a side or get involved, but sometimes I need to. One species is as important as another, and if the balance is destroyed, it affects all of us. It’s been decades of unrest, and frankly, I’m tired of it. I’ve no time to stand here and deal with a tantrum, so move, or I’ll carry you too.” She reaches out, catches my arm, yanks me towards her, and shoves me a little more aggressively in the direction she wants. I stumble towards the open door, distracted by her aggressive behavior and the seemingly patient driver, who motionlessly stares at the ground as he comes back into view. I bristle as I approach, my inner wolf aching to be freed when surrounded by the stench of his kind. My senses tell me to turn and run, but I hold it. Thinking of my babies, knowing she will do to me what she did to my femmes, and cursing that now, of all times, I would put myself in this situation without the ability to turn or hold my own against her.
If they hurt me, I can’t heal, and I don’t know if I truly believe this witch. She told us not to trust anyone, and now I wish I had listened to her own damn words!