THE PACKLESS WOLF
2267 Words
They attacked.
Kael disappeared beneath fur and claws.
"Kael!"
Aria rushed forward.
A wolf suddenly flew from the pile.
It crashed into a tree.
Then another.
Kael rose.
Blood covered his face.
His silver-white hair hung over his eyes.
One wolf bit into his shoulder.
Kael reached back, grabbed it, and threw it over his body.
The creature hit the ground.
What neither Aria nor Kael noticed was the movement between the trees.
Several figures had stopped at the edge of the clearing.
Damon stood at the front of the Silverfang search party.
His sword was already drawn.
Behind him were six warriors.
And Lena.
Damon had been following Aria's scent when the sounds of fighting led them away from the trail.
Now...
None of them moved.
A Lost wolf charged the silver-haired stranger.
Kael turned.
His hand closed around the creature's throat in midair.
Lena's lips parted.
The wolf's claws tore across Kael's arm.
He didn't even flinch.
Kael twisted his body and hurled the creature across the clearing.
It struck the earth and rolled violently through the mud.
"What the hell...?" one of the warriors whispered.
Damon said nothing.
His eyes narrowed.
Another Lost attacked.
Kael ducked beneath its claws.
His fist drove into the creature's ribs.
A sickening c***k echoed through the clearing.
The wolf collapsed.
Lena stared.
She had seen Damon fight.
She had watched Silverfang's strongest warriors train.
She had even witnessed two Alphas tear into each other during a territorial dispute.
But this...
The stranger wasn't fighting like a werewolf.
Werewolves fought with aggression.
Strength.
Instinct.
This man fought as though he already knew what his opponents would do before they did it.
Every step had purpose.
Every strike landed exactly where he wanted it.
And he was doing it in human form.
"Who is he?" Lena whispered.
Damon heard her.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Quiet."
Lena barely noticed.
Her eyes remained fixed on Kael.
The final Lost charged.
Kael stepped aside.
His hand caught the loose iron collar around its neck.
He pulled.
The creature crashed onto its back.
Kael's foot came down beside its skull.
The wolf froze.
He could kill it.
Everyone watching knew it.
For a moment, man and beast stared at one another.
"Enough," Kael said.
The wolf whimpered.
Kael slowly removed his foot.
"Go."
The creature scrambled away.
The others hesitated.
Kael straightened.
His wounds were already disappearing.
"Go."
The word carried through the forest.
The remaining Lost backed away.
One by one, they vanished between the trees.
Silence returned.
Lena's heart pounded.
She didn't understand the reaction.
But her wolf did.
Strength.
Not the loud, desperate kind young males displayed during mating seasons.
This was different.
The stranger hadn't roared.
He hadn't shifted.
He hadn't even killed his opponents.
Yet every beast in the clearing had run from him.
Her gaze moved slowly over him.
Silver-white hair.
Broad shoulders.
Blood streaking skin that was already repairing itself.
For the first time since they began searching for Aria...
Lena completely forgot why they were in the forest.
Damon glanced at her.
He noticed.
But said nothing.
Kael exhaled.
Then his knees buckled.
Aria caught his arm.
"Whoa!"
"I am fine."
"No, you're not. Sit down."
"No."
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"I am not stubborn."
"You fought nine Lost wolves with your bare hands!"
Kael looked at her.
"Eight."
Aria blinked.
"What?"
"There were eight."
She stared at him.
"That is what you took from that sentence?"
Kael opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
His head turned slightly.
Directly toward the trees.
His expression changed.
"We are not alone."
Aria's heart dropped.
"More Lost?"
"No."
Kael stared into the shadows.
"People."
Damon realized there was no longer a reason to hide.
He stepped from between the trees.
"Aria."
Her blood turned cold.
She knew that voice.
Of course she did.
Aria slowly turned.
Damon stood at the edge of the clearing.
For a second...
She couldn't breathe.
The forest disappeared.
She saw the Alpha Hall again.
The watching faces.
The whispers.
Damon standing before her as he rejected her in front of everyone.
Her chest tightened.
Aria immediately released Kael's arm.
Then she hated herself for doing it.
Why had she done that?
Damon's eyes briefly dropped to the space between them.
Aria looked away.
"Hi."
The word escaped before she could stop it.
Her eyes widened.
Hi?
After everything he had done...
That was what she said?
Damon frowned slightly.
"Hi?"
Aria wanted the earth to open and swallow her.
"I didn't mean—"
She stopped.
Somehow that was worse.
Lena stepped into the clearing behind Damon.
"Aria!"
She rushed forward.
For half a second, Aria almost relaxed.
Then she remembered.
Damon.
The rejection.
Lena's strange absence before the ceremony.
The scent she'd tried so hard not to recognize.
Aria stiffened when Lena hugged her.
"I'm so glad you're alive," Lena said.
Aria's arms remained at her sides.
"Yeah."
Lena slowly pulled away.
Her smile faltered.
"Aria?"
"I'm fine."
The answer came too quickly.
Damon approached.
"We searched all night."
Aria looked at him.
Then immediately wished she hadn't.
His face was still too familiar.
For years, she'd imagined looking at that face every morning.
Now she didn't know where to put her eyes.
"Okay."
Damon stared at her.
"Okay?"
Aria mentally screamed.
Why couldn't she speak normally?
Kael watched the exchange in silence.
His eyes moved from Aria...
To Damon.
Then to Lena.
He understood very little about the situation.
But he understood discomfort.
And Aria looked as though she would rather return to the collapsing temple.
Damon finally looked past her.
His attention settled on Kael.
The stranger stood several feet away.
Blood stained what remained of his clothing.
The wounds Damon had watched the Lost tear into him were almost completely gone.
Damon's grip tightened slightly around his sword.
"Who the hell are you?"
Kael looked at Aria.
Aria looked at Kael.
For one terrible second, she remembered exactly who she was standing beside.
A man claiming to be a thousand-year-old Lycan King.
Kael turned back to Damon.
His expression became perfectly calm.
"I found her."
Aria blinked.
Damon frowned.
"What?"
Kael gestured toward Aria.
"In the woods."
Aria stared at him.
Kael continued.
"She was lost."
Her mouth slowly fell open.
This man had awakened from a thousand-year imprisonment less than a day ago.
And apparently...
He had already learned how to lie.
Kael glanced at her.
Their eyes met.
His expression didn't change.
But the message was obvious.
Play along.
Aria swallowed.
"Yes."
Everyone looked at her.
She smiled awkwardly.
"I was... lost."
Damon frowned.
"In Silverfang territory?"
Aria's smile disappeared.
Of course.
She had lived here her entire life.
Kael looked at her.
Aria looked at him.
Neither had thought this through.
"I was emotionally lost."
Silence.
One Silverfang warrior coughed.
Aria closed her eyes.
She wanted to die.
Kael stared at her.
Even his ancient kingly composure seemed briefly challenged.
Damon slowly shook his head.
"And you are?"
Kael answered.
"A werewolf."
Aria nearly choked.
Lena stepped closer.
Her eyes moved over Kael again.
This time, Aria noticed.
The lingering stare.
The slight change in Lena's breathing.
The interest she wasn't even trying particularly hard to hide.
Aria knew that look.
She had seen it before.
Damon narrowed his eyes.
"What pack?"
Kael hesitated.
Barely.
"Stormvale."
Silence.
Every Silverfang warrior stared at him.
Aria closed her eyes.
She had never heard of Stormvale.
Judging by Damon's expression...
Neither had he.
Kael slowly looked at her.
For the first time since meeting him, Aria saw something dangerously close to uncertainty in the ancient Lycan King's eyes.
Aria smiled nervously.
"Long story."
Damon's eyes narrowed.
Aria swallowed.
A very long story.
And somehow...
She had just become part of Kael's lie.
A very long story.
And somehow...
Aria had just become part of Kael's lie.
Silence settled over the clearing.
Damon studied the stranger from head to toe.
His clothes were unlike anything he'd ever seen.
They were torn almost beyond recognition, stained with mud and blood.
Yet the man stood as though he hadn't just fought off nearly a dozen Lost by himself.
"You said your pack is called Stormvale."
Kael nodded once.
"It is."
"I've never heard of it."
"It is... very old."
Aria quickly covered a cough.
Very old?
That was certainly one way to describe a pack that had disappeared a thousand years ago.
Damon folded his arms.
"So where is it?"
Kael answered without hesitation.
"It no longer exists."
That, at least, wasn't a lie.
Damon's expression softened slightly.
"So you're alone."
"I am."
Lena looked at Kael again.
"Then you don't have a territory?"
"No."
"No Alpha?"
"No."
"No family?"
For the first time since meeting him...
Kael hesitated.
"They are..."
His silver eyes drifted toward the forest behind him.
"...gone."
Something about the way he said it made everyone fall silent.
Even Aria felt a pang of guilt.
It wasn't a lie.
Not really.
His people were gone.
Or at least...
Gone from this world.
Damon finally sheathed his sword.
"Whatever happened, you saved one of my pack members."
Kael inclined his head politely.
"I merely did what anyone should."
Aria looked sideways at him.
That wasn't entirely true.
Most people would have run from the Lost.
Kael had stepped in front of them without a second thought.
Lena suddenly smiled.
"Alpha."
Damon looked at her.
"He saved Aria's life."
"He did."
"And he doesn't have a pack."
Damon remained silent.
Lena continued.
"It wouldn't be right to leave him out here alone."
One of the warriors nodded.
"The Lost have been getting bolder these past few months."
"He's right."
Another agreed.
"If we leave him here, they'll just come back."
Damon looked around at his warriors.
Then back at Kael.
"You could stay with Silverfang for a while."
Aria looked at Damon in surprise.
He wasn't smiling.
He wasn't particularly warm either.
It sounded more like duty than kindness.
Kael considered the offer.
Living among werewolves...
It wasn't ideal.
But wandering the wilderness while weakened was worse.
More importantly...
If he intended to understand the world that had replaced his own...
There was no better place to begin.
"I accept."
Lena's smile widened ever so slightly.
Aria noticed.
Something about it unsettled her.
---
The journey back to Silverfang was unusually quiet.
The warriors walked ahead, keeping watch.
Damon led the group.
Aria and Kael followed several steps behind.
"You lied surprisingly well."
Kael glanced at her.
"I omitted certain truths."
"You invented an entire pack."
"I required a name."
"You picked one that disappeared a thousand years ago."
"It was memorable."
Aria pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You do realize that doesn't help?"
"It helped me remember it."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then laughed despite herself.
"You really have no idea how this world works, do you?"
"No."
"You're going to get us both in trouble."
"Our situation already appears... troublesome."
"I can't even argue with that."
For the first time since leaving the temple...
The walk didn't feel so heavy.
---
Ahead of them...
Lena slowed her pace until she was walking beside Damon.
"You've been quiet."
"I'm thinking."
"What about?"
Damon's eyes remained on the path.
"That man."
Lena smiled faintly.
"He handled the Lost well."
"He handled them too well."
Lena didn't answer.
Damon continued.
"Did you notice the way he fought?"
"He never shifted."
"And?"
"No werewolf I've ever seen fights like that."
Lena looked back toward Kael.
He was listening to Aria talk, though he clearly understood only half of what she was saying.
A faint smile touched Lena's lips.
"Maybe he was trained differently."
"Maybe."
Damon wasn't convinced.
---
As the trees began to thin...
Kael stopped walking.
Aria looked back.
"What is it?"
Kael stared ahead.
Beyond the forest stood Silverfang.
Wooden walls.
Stone watchtowers.
Homes built around a massive hall.
Smoke rose peacefully into the evening sky.
He remained perfectly still.
"A village..."
Aria blinked.
"You've never seen one?"
"I have."
He answered quietly.
"...Just not this one."
The gates slowly opened.
Villagers began gathering as the search party returned.
Relief spread through the crowd.
"Aria's back!"
"She's alive!"
Several people hurried forward.
Aria smiled awkwardly and waved.
Then she heard the whispers.
"Who's the stranger?"
"Is he injured?"
"Did he fight the Lost?"
"Look at all that blood..."
Kael noticed the curious stares.
He leaned slightly toward Aria.
"They ask many questions."
"They'll ask even more once they know you."
"I hope not."
Aria laughed.
"Oh, trust me..."
"They will."
---
As they stepped through the gates...
Kael felt it.
So faint that he almost thought he'd imagined it.
A pulse.
Warm.
Ancient.
His footsteps slowed.
His eyes shifted toward the center of the settlement.
Something...
Was calling to him.
Not with words.
With power.
Old.
Sleeping.
Waiting.
Kael's heartbeat quickened.
Impossible.
His power had been divided.
One half had remained with the prison.
The other...
No.
It couldn't be.
Not here.
Not after all this time.
"Kael?"
Aria's voice broke his thoughts.
He looked at her.
"You stopped."
"...I thought I heard something."
She looked around.
"I don't hear anything."
Kael gave one last glance toward the heart of Silverfang.
Neither did he.
Not with his ears.
Whatever had just reached out to him...
It was something far older.
And somewhere beneath the Alpha's home...
The second Crimson Eye answered the return of its king.
Neither of them knew it.
But after a thousand years...
The pair had begun calling to each other once more.
- Writer
