The Royal Wolves

A Wolf and a Bear

* * * Florence’s POV * * *

My feet must have circled this holding cell for what must be at least two hundred laps, as my mind feels with the possibilities of the legend. And what those possibilities mean for this war if my conversation doesn’t go to plan.

‘I just can’t believe that it’s true. It can’t be,’ I exclaim once again to Kate.

‘So you have said at least a hundred times. Maybe even two hundred times. I’m sure I’ve heard it with each lap of this cell. You need to conserve your energy,’ Kate replies, frustration evident in her tone.

‘You’re right. I’m sorry. I just. It can’t be real. When was this? Where has he been? Why has he appeared now? Why does Francesco seem familiar? There’s just too many questions running through my brain,’ my words fly through our link.

‘Well why don’t we ask him?’

‘He’s out cold. Duhhhh,’ I mentally throw my hand in his direction and tilt my head so that we can both see him still laid where he landed after being sedated.

‘We could try to link him,’ Kate suggests with a shrug of her massive shoulders.

‘Did you miss the part where we aren’t from the same pack?’ I ask.

‘Did you miss the part where he’s a blessed creature,’ she counters.

‘Point noted. It’s worth a try,’ I concede.

On reflex, I relax my mind and allow Kate’s conscious to surge forwards as her presence reaches out around us, resting for the presence of another mind. We meet nothing. ‘I told you,’ I tell her.

‘Shhh. If he’s unconscious his mind won’t be reaching out, it’ll be within his head. I’m just treading cautiously, I don’t want to startle them if they’re beginning to reach out,’ she tells me as though I’m a young girl again, learning the ways of wolves.

Admitting defeat, I again relax as Kate presses our mind forward. Eventually we reach Chad’s mind, its clouded in darkness. Heavy black clouds swirl around the grey.

‘Hello. Can you hear me?’ Kate says gently.

No response.

‘My name is Kate. My human is Florence. We’re in the cell next to you. Can you hear me?’ She again speaks gently.

No response. The black clouds continue to swirl.

‘Geeze, how much did they load him with? His wold should have burned through some of it by now. Surely?’ I comment to myself.

‘Shhhh,’ Kate hisses at me, then turns her attention back to the mind our unconscious co-prisoner.

‘Hello. My name is Kate. Chad…. Can you hear me?’ She uses his name, still speaking softly.

Again, no response.

‘Chadwick?’ She questions. ‘Please find your way through the darkness. It’s a sedative. Please hear me,’ she pleads with him.

‘Chadwick?’ She tries again, but the black clouds continue to swirl, unaffected by her voice.

‘Hal? Are you there?’ She speaks to the wolf and sighs when she is met with the same silence.

A sharp flicker of light makes us gasp, and just as quickly it disappears and there’s nothing but swirling black clouds again.

‘Try again,’ I encourage Kate.

‘Hal? I know you can hear me. My name is Kate. I’m a friend,’ she waits for a response and receives none.

‘Hal of the Crescent Moon Pack. Hal the blessed Copper Wolf, you better help your human fight through this darkness and speak to me,’ she demands with fire in her belly.

There’s multiple flashes of light, striking through the darkness and then a voice sounds, ‘Uhhh. What did they give us?’ he asks groggily, his voice deep and worn.

‘A sedative. Probably laced with wolfsbane. You took a few hits. They saw your fur and the werebear King seemed to panic and demand that you were sedated,’ Kate explains.

‘Fuckers. So my legends is still known,’ he sighs.

‘Ask him my questions,’ I tell Kate impatiently and fire them at her again. Before she can respond, we’re both distracted by the sound of Hal laughing.

‘I remember when Chad was this age. The impatience and constant questions, I thought I missed it. But I really don’t,’ he laughs deeply.

‘But it gets better?’ Kate asks in jest and rolls her eyes.

‘Yes and no. You will miss the youth and innocence. You’ll miss the care free. But in that loss comes something deeper. A deep rooted connection, contentment, a friend for life, the other half to your soul. Being a wolf is truly a blessing. Cherish it young ones,’ Hal says fondly, as a figure begins to appear within the darkness. ‘I can fight through this. And while I do, I will answer your questions, young Erin. For it is a long time since I last conversed with another being and I miss it.’

‘Thank you,’ Kate and I speak as one.

‘Answer one, yes it is real. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Answer two, it was almost 350 years ago. It’s hard to believe that it has been so long,’ Hal answers and then groans as the figure becomes more prominent and stretches its limbs. Copper fur beginning to glow and light the darkness.

‘Answer three, after almost two hundred years of constant conflict, watching all those we knew pass away of old age, we succumbed to a mental darkness and withdrew from the world. You see, one of those we watched pass away was my last surviving relative. A grandchild I should never have had the honour of meeting should my life have ran its natural course,’ Hal sighs sadly and shakes his head.

‘I’m so sorry for you’re loss,’ Kate tells him.

‘Thank you. As for Francesco, you will have to show me your memories, faces of people you know or have come across. Stick to people of magical origins for now.’

We do as Hal asks, or at least Kate does and she plays a montage of the male wizards we have come across in our years. We only get to around 20, and Hal starts chuckling. “That old devil hasn’t changed a bit. Shorter hair, a very slightly aged face. But he looks just like that day 350 years ago,’ he tells us as he puts Frank’s face back in our minds.

‘Holy s**t. Our Frank is your Frank,’ Kate gasps as she realises that Frank must be around 500 years old.

‘Wizards are canny folk. Their magic has ways of keeping them young, why they would want to I don’t know. At this point, it has become more of a curse to not pass into the Moon Goddess’s eternal meadow,’ Hal admits to us.

‘How did you come to be here?’ Kate asks him.

‘I’m guessing Frank. He has a way with birds. An eagle swooped into the cave we were residing in, a letter rolled up into a holder on its leg. Explaining I am once again needed and to please this time show up. I had a chance of heart and camped out while I made my mind up. That’s when these fuckers jumped me and here I am.’ He smiles to us.

‘Thank you, Hal.’

‘Now, young ones. Please tell me how you came to be here, whilst pregnant.’

‘Are you open to some visions? We’ve been receiving premonitions that will explain it all to you.’ Kate asks.

‘Of course.’

Hal’s presence becomes stronger in our mind as Kate speeds through our visions, our decision to end the war or at least pause it while we spoke to the werebear King.

‘Well I’ll be damned. A wolf and a bear?’ Hal gasps and his massive wolf actually looks shocked.