Mistress of Blood and Fur

Chapter 34 - Vision

Onyx

The days that follow the moonlit run are strange. It’s almost funereal, as those who have been left behind realize the gravity of our situation. At the same time, it’s almost celebratory for some. Josie claims a man called Victor, and they will be going through the mating ritual during the next full moon. We think that the loud applause can’t be matched, until everyone finds out that Justine is expecting a child.

“We need a wolf doctor to stay with us,” my father declares, joy replacing the brooding sadness that seems to have taken over his face for the last few days.

“I can help with the birth,” Domino declares. “I have delivered pups so many times.”

“We need to be more vigilant,” Tamar says, worry making her voice tremble. “We know that they are watching us. After the missing girl, we had a couple wearing black going up Opium Hills and hastily leaving. Several young wolves left.”

“Dennington will be doing something whether we are careful or not,” I mutter, but I guess it’s loud enough for most of those near me in the hall to hear.

“The ones who stayed behind are willing to die for the pack,” Victor says, which is an unfortunate declaration since he’s just been betrothed. Josie doesn’t look like she’s affected. She seems to know what she’s here for, and doesn’t have expectations beyond that. Her face is serene. Her friend Elaine looks more ecstatic for her. Elaine is the oldest among the would-be brides, and I wonder when she’s going to make a decision. I can only understand her delay if she’s meaning to choose either Fox or Dash. Our group, after all, has been banned from the mating rituals for another full moon. We have a shapeshifter to watch and to eventually destroy before any more of her kind comes for a deadly visit.

Not only are most pack members acting in a weird see-saw motion between joy and grief, but Grace has been mostly subdued lately. After the moonlight run, she has been quieter. She often softens more easily around Fox, but I haven’ t seen her talking earnestly with him as I would have expected. Meanwhile, Fox seems to think he’s Sarah’s bodyguard while Dash comes and goes. The guys seem to be leaving us alone, and a part of me feels sad about it but I know they must move on. They need to find a bride or go back to their old lives.

Except, returning to our old lives has become more complicated. Our little clique has been involved in the most mess in this pack. Some of the guys are merely waiting to be picked or just having fun being wolves before they lie to themselves again and believe themselves fully human.

Fuck.

Did I just think that?

I was the one who never wanted to be back here, and now I think setting aside my wolf side is lying to myself?

“It is,” Blaze says wisely. I can almost imagine the damned wolf nodding its head. Madness. A human will take the whole werewolf thing as madness, something we think up in our heads, until they see us running and leaping in the woods, all fur, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth.

“Magic is simmering in the pack,” Domino suddenly declares, her eyes scanning us all. “Someone has been using magic. No, I’m not talking about spell book magic.”

I hear Fox clearing his throat from a few feet away. Suddenly, he feels like his throat is drying up like the Sahara. I chuckle, especially since another possible culprit, Sarah Dennington – as she should have introduced herself – is another possible culprit.

“What kind of magic,” my father asks.

“Something unexpected. It was a transaction in a vision,” she says, and her eyes seems to zero in on me. No. Wait. I believe she’s looking at her grand-niece with a little like conviction. She seems to believe that it was Grace who released some kind of magical energy. “The full moon had made it even stronger.”

“A vision? From a hybrid, Domino? That’s going beyond the five senses. Even if that’s the case. how is that a problem? It may help the pack if our members have more powers. We are in the middle of a mess right now. We have humans and shapeshifters planning to annihilate us. They’re just biding their time.”

“We may also have werewolves as enemies, Alpha Kele.”

The voice is soft but strong. I knew from the moment Domino looked at Grace that she believed her to be the magic caster, but she just confirmed it herself with her own words. In the corner of my eye, I see Sarah widen her eyes while Carlotta looks like she’s going to puke. What the hell is going on with the brides?

“Explain, Grace,’ my father demands, after giving Domino a quick glance. Oh, he knows now, too, and I feel a little hurt that she didn’t think to tell me about what she saw that night.

“During the moonlight run, I saw a wolf and he’s as large as Blaze, Onyx’s wolf. His smell is different, as if he doesn’t belong to the pack. Here right now in the hall, I can’t smell him and I know that all of us are here.”

“All of us,” my father confirms, nodding his head thoughtfully, a thumb on his chin. “So, what happened to the wolf? Where is he from?”

“I don’t know. In my head, I asked him why he was there in the forest, and he responded by saying that he’s here for revenge.”

“Revenge?” Domino asks, her eyebrows pinched together. Her lips have gone a little pale, and I see Tamar holding her bicep for comfort. “It can’t be.”

“Revenge against what?” My father’s words may suggest he’s at a loss, but I’ve seen some hints of recognition in his eyes, as well as in Domino’s and Tamar’s. They know who it is.

“I believe the rest of the pack deserves to know who this wolf is,” I say in a loud voice. Grace has been digging deep into me with her eyes, but I’m not looking at her. I still don’t know why she chose not to say anything at all. A hint would have been good. She avoided me. Even today, I waited for her to hold my arm and stay beside me. Close to me. She didn’t.

“We can’t be sure, Onyx,” Domino says. “But it can be a rogue wolf we knew from decades ago. He should be around his late seventies to early eighties now. What could he be doing here?”

“What was the revenge about?”

“You see, Onyx, he was banished and left to die in the Elunia Mountains. That was around two decades ago. The only reason he wasn’t executed outright was because of his position as an Alpha and the fact he and a few other Alphas, including your grandfather and Grace’s grandfather, my father didn’t want his blood in their hands.”

The Elunia Mountains seem like a more cruel punishment in my humble f*****g opinion. If they had beheaded this unknown Alpha, he would have rested in peace faster. The mountains could either kill you with beasts or with madness. They’re miles away from here, but if someone is angry enough, they can travel from there to here along a steady route with plenty of trees for shelter in between. Now, if we’re dealing with ghosts, that would be something else. The thing is, even though I’ve been dealing with witches, wolves, and other shifters all my life, I don’t believe in ghosts. What’s dead is dead.

“That’s madness, man,” a guy named Raul complains. “We have Dennington against us. We have a shapeshifter somewhere in Onyx’s cabin. Then, you’re telling me we have someone who may end us coming from the forests?”

“It’s the way it is, Raul,” Carlotta says, surprising me. She’s usually bored when in these meetings, and she hasn’t made a move to pick a mate. What is she really here for?

**

At lunch time, Grace finally speaks to me. She apologizes, taking my hand in her much smaller ones.

“I’m so sorry, Onyx. My mouth couldn’t say anything about the wolf for days. It’s like I’ve been spelled. Then, during the meeting, my tongue seemed to have loosened. It’s like I can only say the words if there is a large audience. It’s almost like I’m meant to deliver the message.”

“Mm.”

I’m still a little annoyed, but I can’t see why Grace will lie to me. She has no reason. I am mad for her, and I believe that she is the same with me. I want to believe it so, anyway.

“Onyx,” she whines a little, but her grip on my hand strengthens. She’s using but soft and hard forces on me. She knows she can twirl me around her little finger.

“Okay. Well, you can make it up to me,” I say.

“Sure,” she says, exhaling sharply, Her toe touches my knee from under the table. Before it goes further up, I touch it gently and push it away. As much as I want that, I’m thinking of something else right now. She frowns a little and pulls her hands away from mine to cross it over her heaving chest.

“I need to watch Carlotta.”

Her eyes flash.

“…and Sarah.”

The anger becomes curiosity, but I know she’s now on board. We need to talk to Fox and Dash, as well. Carlotta or Sarah knows more about the vision than they’re letting on. A female scent shifted after Grace delivered her little message, and I would have known if it was her whose scent betrayed a little fear and, damn it, some excitement, too.