Rise of the Underdogs: Jasper

Shadow Storm

Travelling by magic wasn’t just disorienting. It was the single most terrifying thing I’d ever done.

The sensation of being transported through magical means left me feeling unsettled and completely out of my element. The unfamiliar process was unlike anything I had previously experienced, amplifying my apprehension. Each moment of the journey was filled with fear, making the experience not only confusing but also overwhelmingly frightening.

I never once faltered, which apparently elicited a belly laugh so loud it startled my wolf. Henry actually enjoyed my steadfastness. Something that I prided myself on after years of dealing with being the eldest of six kids.

Once the journey was complete, it became apparent just how remarkable and unsettling the magic truly was. What should have been a week-long trek had been accomplished in a matter of hours, defying all expectations and sense of normalcy. The abrupt conclusion left everyone reeling, struggling to process both the speed and the nature of their travel.

As the magical energies settled, those among us who shared a bond with a wolf experienced an involuntary transformation. The magical signatures compelled an immediate shift into our wolf forms, catching us entirely off guard. There was no warning. Just the sudden, irresistible urge to change. Rather than giving in to the instinct to bolt into the unknown as our wolf spirits demanded, Levi, River, and I made a conscious choice to stay grounded.

We circled the youngest of us, herding them until ancient memory took over on its own. Three shifted white wolves laid ourselves down beside Akita in a circle. Each nose chasing a brothers tail, while she and the twins sank to the ground and held hands, searching for steadiness amid the chaos. Together, we found a semblance of calm, supporting one another through the disorienting aftermath of magical travel.

When Clara caught sight of our formation, her response was immediate and filled with emotion. She gasped audibly, the sound sharp against the backdrop of swirling magical mists. Turning to Henry, she called his name, her voice carrying a sense of urgency and surprise.

Henry, upon hearing Clara, glanced over his shoulder. His tone was casual, yet there was an underlying acknowledgement of the significance of our actions. He walked over in human form, an admirable feat that took visible effort, and stooped beside us. Reaching out, he scratched me behind the ear, making a clicking noise with his tongue before retreating back to his Mate’s side.

“Well, then. The older lads certainly show who’s worth more o’ their time,” he remarked, making it clear that our decision to protect the younger members had not gone unnoticed.

Amidst the thick, swirling mists through which we travelled, Phil’s whisper cut through the uncertainty. Though his words were spoken softly, they echoed loudly in the strange environment.

“Three central, three protectors,” he said, summing up the arrangement and the roles each of us had assumed within the group. “The trinity of return.”

My head snapped up to look at him, and he lowered himself to my level.

“I knew your mother personally,” he said softly. “She was a dear friend, and I will miss her sorely, but you and your siblings are safe here, Jasper. She told me once that you six would often gravitate into a spiral around each other without realizing it. Aurilla called it the ‘Trinity of Return’. When the first three guard the heart, spirit, and land. Is that what you’re doing?”

Dipping my head in a known gesture of acceptance, I lowered my chin to his hand. Letting my dark eyes slide closed, I felt his thumb caress the side of my jaw.

“You’re safe now, guys. We’ll take care of everything you need,” Phillip murmured. “School, work – everything will be covered. You’ll even have your own house if that’s what it takes, but you gotta do a solid for the rest of us. Integrate, train, and remain with Shadow Storm until you come of age. If enough of your home pack is located, Henry and I will try to rebuild what was lost, but we’re not making promises we may or may not be able to keep.”

Six sets of eyes turned to him, all ranging from bored to concerned to hopeful. All of us, however, understood that we’d found sanctuary.

When the magic stopped, we found ourselves seated outside a massively huge house that looked like it was built over the last decade or two. A great lawn of soft, short-cut green grass greeted us coupled with a generous view of a snowcapped mountain range. There was a circular driveway, paved only with gravel, and a massive tree in the center that was surrounded by raised flower beds that still held traces of thawing snow.

Piles of white powder speckled with mud and rocks bordered the buildings, pathways, and the road leading off into the distant city while paths marked by stepping stones criss-crossed throughout the territory, leading into the wooded outskirts where family homes stood. Modernized buildings with electricity and other commodities stretched as far into the distance as we could see, stopping just before the densest forest where fully-shifted wolves patrolled the perimeter.

The laughter of kids, the hum of pack activity, and the cries, growls, and clashes told us that people trained daily and enjoyed their lives here. The air was clean, crisp, and alive. Things I never thought I’d feel again after running from death itself.

Akita grasped my hand, dragging my attention to her. I lowered myself, letting her scramble onto my back as her knees locked around my hips and her hands gripped my shoulders. Her nails dug in, signalling that she felt out of place in this strange new place.

“Are you okay?” I asked, keeping my tone as light as possible.

“There’s,” she breathed, fear making her literally quake in her boots. “There’s a black wolf staring at us.”

I set my jaw, “I will protect you with my last breath if I have to. Be at ease, little sister.”

Some pups ran past, their varying backgrounds visible as a line of Omegas arrived at the fading magical circle. The leader, an older woman with gentle eyes and a kind smile, stepped forward.

“My King, welcome home. I trust you and the Luna Queen had a good trip?” She asked, reaching to take Clara’s fur-lined cloak. Folding it over her arm, she stepped back to let the royal couple pass.

“Where’s me son? Tha’ brat ought to be ‘ere te greet me n’ his stepmother proper like,” Henry grunted in what I now understood (thanks to Phillip’s explanation) as his English-Irish mannerisms.

Clara sighed, rolling her eyes. “Gracia, how were the last two days since we left? Any news? Visitors?”

“Prince Neil and Beta Colton were a bit of a handful, Your Highness,” the woman stated.

Walking three steps behind, the Omega carried herself like someone accustomed to being at the Alpha’s beck and call. Yet, her poise, clothing, and bearing all suggested that she was treated well for her station as a servant.

Then again, even Mother showed respect to the lowest rank. Maybe it was just a general rule throughout the clans or packs, but it showed that, even here, all were in tune with the rhythm of the world.

Gracia continued, her step unfaltering even as her voice cracked with humour. “I was forced to call in Princes Kaden and Dreson Cage to help keep them focused. No visitors, but there was rumour of white wolves travelling in the coastal areas and along the Range.”

“My Godson’s ‘ere is he?” Henry asked, a deep laugh escaping him. “Serves Neil an’ Colt right, it does. Shouldn’t be pullin’ stunts with the Cage brothers around.”

“Absolutely, Sire. Colt locked Dre in the basement again, but Kaden let him out. Neil chased Kaden up a tree, only to almost have his furry behind set on fire. Dreson set off firecrackers under Colton’s bed here in the packhouse. And Kaden gathered all the pups and ganged up on the older three in a water balloon battle. All four are currently in the entertainment room. Their exact words were ‘don’t bother us except for snacks’ because they were ‘committing mass murder against hoards of Koopa’s’.”

Phillip broke into a strangled laugh that said this was a common occurrence in the pack. That it wasn’t strange at all how the Alpha Prince getting set on fire and chasing someone up a tree was normal rather than chaotic mischief brought to light. “Those boys are always up to something, aren’t they? Ever since childhood, those four have stuck together like paper and glue.”

A low growl emanated from somewhere, and I looked at the massive black wolf making it’s way over to the group. Another wolf, smaller and obviously a rank of Omega, trotted behind, darting ahead and nipping at the black wolf randomly until it bopped its nose against the smaller wolf’s side. Behind them, two other boys were laughing hysterically.

“Colt, stop irritating Neil before he decides you’re not worth the Beta position,” the older boy in human form said, his mouth twitching as he struggled to find solidarity amidst the madness.

The smallest boy, one with humour-filled blue eyes and dark brown skin that seemed to shimmer with magical cadence, spoke next. “Oh, they’re new. Hey, Uncle Henry! Welcome back!”

“Ye six don’t have te bend the knee, understood?” Henry asked, his voice edged with darkness. “Neil, enough. Ye’ll act befittin’ yer station in life, else I’ll tan yer hide till ye cannae sit yer arse down for a while.”

The black wolf, whom I now knew was Prince Neil, snarled slightly before giving the wolf version of a bow. His eyes locked on mine, shifting to every face until he saw my sister. Then I saw it.

Echoing back at us was the look of loss in his deep brown eyes. A resonance so profound that, even in silence, it felt as though he understood our pain.