Chapter 9
1469 Words
#Rowan
The forest was too quiet.
I didn’t trust it.
We moved in formation..silent, swift, the sound of boots and paws muffled by pine needles and damp earth. Alec trotted beside me, flanked by Mira, Jackson, and two of the younger enforcers, eyes sharp and shoulders tense.
We’d found the tracks just after dawn, deep claw marks along the northern ridge, snapped branches, blood in the moss. Not one of ours. Not any of the packs nearby, either.
Rogues. Again. And getting bolder.
They didn’t used to come this close. Not unless they were desperate, or they were sent.
I didn’t like either option.
“Third incident in two weeks” Mira mind linked behind me. “They’re testing us.”
I nodded. “Or looking for something.”
Alec let out a low growl as he mind-linked. “They’ll find claws in their throats if they push further.”
I didn’t respond. Not because I disagreed. But because I was already thinking three steps ahead.
We needed protection.
Not just warriors and watch shifts. We needed something more.
Magic.
Which meant Moira.
Which meant Harper.
I exhaled through my nose, like that might somehow steady me. It didn’t.
We didn’t waste time. By the time the sun was burning through the treetops, we were ready, Alec, Jackson, Mira, and two younger enforcers: Kai and Elise.
We shifted before leaving the ridge.
The snap and stretch of bone were familiar. The burn of transformation grounding. My vision sharpened, senses snapping into place as I took my wolf form.. Massive, black-furred, streaked faintly with silver down my shoulders and across my muzzle. The others gave me space.
Instinctive.
Jackson’s wolf stood like a boulder beside me, huge and slate-grey, flecked with ash. His eyes were cold steel, steady. Solid. The kind of wolf that ends fights by showing up.
Alec shifted next, smaller than the rest but all wiry muscle and speed, his reddish-bronze coat catching the early light. His tail flicked constantly. Impatient. Impish.
Mira emerged sleek and lethal, her coat pitch-black except for a white streak along her spine that marked her like a blade. Her ears never stopped twitching, listening, calculating. She moved like a shadow.
Kai was sandy-brown, still awkward in his limbs. Not fully grown into the role, but eager. Loyal. He loped along with careful energy, always watching Jackson for cues.
And Elise, silver-grey and fast, darted between trees with fierce purpose. She was small but sharp-eyed. A streak of white on her chest stood out against her coat. She was all edge and intent, scrappy and silent unless spoken to.
We ran silent and swift through the trees.. Seven shadows moving as one. And as we neared the border of Moira’s land, we slowed, paws crunching softly against the underbrush.
We shifted back at the edge of the woods. No sense walking into witch territory in fur. The land here held different rules. Even wolves needed to tread lightly. Getting dressed in the pant’s and large shirts that we carried with us, one of the inconveniences that us shifters have to deal with.
Nudity is not something that us werewolves care too much about, however, humans tend to find it uncomfortable.
When we reached the edge of her clearing, the air changed.
It always did here.. subtle shifts in scent and silence, like the forest paused to listen.
“You stay outside, Elise, to keep a lookout” I ordered
I could sense she wasn’t happy about being excluded, but we all have our jobs.. She is young and will get over it.
Once inside, Moira poured tea like we weren’t dealing with potential death. Alec accepted his with a grin. Mira didn’t touch hers.
I didn’t sit.
“I need a border spell,” I said. “Something with teeth. Something that warns us the second something crosses into our land.”
Moira raised an eyebrow. “And here I thought you didn’t trust witchcraft.”
“I trust you.”
Her eyes flicked to mine. “But not her.”
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
Harper’s presence complicated everything. Not because she was dangerous.
But because she wasn’t.
Not yet.
And that was the problem.
“She’s not ready,” Moira said quietly. “Not for this. But I can create something temporary. A layered alert line. You’ll need to place talismans along the border.”
“We’ll do it,” Jackson said. “Where do we start?”
Moira turned, retrieving a box of small carved stones. “Here. Each one needs blood to bind it.”
Of course it did. Always with the blood.
“Yours or Alec’s will do,” she added. “You’re both tied to the territory.”
I nodded and took one, slicing my palm with a claw. The blood absorbed into the stone instantly, the rune glowing faintly for a second before fading.
“How long will it last?” I asked.
“A week,” she said. “Unless someone tampers with it. Then you’ll feel it.”
But just as soon as we had started packing them away… she walked into the kitchen.
Harper.
She looked like she'd just rolled out of bed, which she probably had. Boxer shorts. A singlet top with a faded logo. Hair wild and sticking up in angles that defined chaotic energy. Her green eyes were still soft from sleep until she spotted us.
All conversation died.
She blinked, froze, clearly realising she’d just walked into what looked like a tactical meeting in witchy central while half-dressed. I could see the exact moment the regret hit her.
Moira, without missing a beat, handed her a mug that read: ‘Ray of bloody sunshine.’ “Good morning, sweetheart. Here’s your coffee.”
Harper took it like a lifeline, “Cheers”
“Did I miss the part where breakfast became a tactical briefing?” she asked, taking a sip and raising an eyebrow. “Or is this the werewolf version of brunch?”
Alec coughed into his hand to hide a laugh.
“Love the outfit,” he said. “Very ‘feral chic.’”
I am glad they get along so well, but for some reason, it kind of irritated me at the same time.. I have never had that feeling before, and I instantly pushed it out of my head.
“Thanks. I was going for ‘accidental hostage meets sleep-deprived ballerina,’” I shot back. “Nailed it, yeah?”
“Ten out of ten.”
Moira cleared her throat. “Pack business,” she said, giving her a funny look.
She nodded and then backed out of the room..
And then like nothing had happened, we moved on.
We wrapped up relatively quickly after sitting and explaining the situation to Moira. Jackson took the rest of the stones and left with Mira and the others to start placing them. Alec lingered.
“Gonna say hi to Harper?” he asked with that infuriating smirk.
“No.”
“She’s probably out in the garden"
“Ok?.."
He laughed softly. “You’re terrible at pretending you’re not interested.”
“I’m not.”
He gave me a look, then clapped me on the shoulder. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”
As we stepped out of the cottage, and spotted Harper.
She knelt beside one of the garden beds, hands deep in the soil, hair a wild halo of deep auburn that caught the light like fire. She didn’t notice us at first. Her sleeves were rolled up, green smudges on her arms, a small pile of weeds beside her like trophies.
She looked… different.
Focused. Grounded.
Like she belonged here.
Which was ridiculous.
Alec leaned closer, voice low. “Should we come back later, or… interrupt the forest nymph mid-mood swing?”
I didn’t dignify that with an answer.
Harper looked up. Saw us.
Her expression shuttered immediately, shoulders straightening, sarcasm locked and loaded behind her eyes.
Of course.
I didn’t say anything. Neither did she.
But for a second, we just stared at each other.
Her green eyes were unreadable. Guarded. But not scared.
The earth around her seemed to lean in.
She belonged here. More than I wanted her to.
I turned away before I said something stupid.
I quickly shifted back into Roco and as the wind shifted.
The scent of blood was on it. Distant, faint. But wrong.
The rogues weren’t done yet.
And this time, I wasn’t sure they were only after territory.
She is beautiful Roco my wolf, voiced in my head
What? No Roco lets just go I replied
I glanced up and she was sitting straight, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open.
Roco and I turned around and ran out after the crew.
- Writer
