Not All Heroes Are Guiltless

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Hurry along now! We will find this creature soon!” The young blonde hair man laughs as he kicks his horse forward. I want to protest, but my mate got us a job as this noble son’s bodyguard for one of the ancient bloodlines' rite of passage.

For the last week, we have been tracking a beast through a hot savannah. It’s supposed to be four men tall with three horns from his head. The stories these desert people tell of it almost make it sound more like a myth than an actual living creature. But this young mage thinks the horn can be used as a material for enchantments, and if he can cast a strong enough enchantment onto it, then he will become heir and have access to his families businesses and treasury.

The youth is very immature. He is also loud, so if this creature did exist it’s probably running as fast away as possible. I glance at the back or the hunting squad and see my mate squatting to the side of a lower-leveled watering hole.

As I move closer, I can see the same almost glow on a spot in front of him from when I watched him hunt the elk. Much like the indications I could see when he’s in wolf form. Then a smell? A visible scent trail heading into some tall leaves on the other side of the low pond through broken reeds. I know this is information my more experienced hunter of a mate is giving to me, and I press my lips almost hesitant to let anyone else know. I’d rather not find this creature at all and just waste our time searching until the youth gives up.

“Lord Gurald!” My mate yells out, and it catches the youths attention. I roll my eyes in agitation. My mate shakes a quick no before yelling again. “Look here! Is this the track you are looking for?”

My gut drops in disappointment when the youth rush over to the track. “Yes, yes. Exactly what we are looking for, and it's fresh too.”

My mate positions himself in the line of the smell, and I stopped puzzled at the motion until I noticed the youth ended up tracking the opposite direction. I almost wanted to giggle aloud, but the headstrong youth ran away from his objective, and my mate isn’t even correcting him. Even when he’s the one who found the track initially.

My mate follows him, and I whisper softly, knowing he will hear me easily, “Shouldn’t we say something?”

“No. The creature isn’t something I would want to tangle with. The royal lions would be furious if it is harmed. I would have thought that when he made his announcement about his quest, their agents would talk him out of it. We only volunteered to deter him away.” He whispers back, and I nod my head. With a victorious smile on my face.

Chasing the trifling youth, we tread farther into tall grasses taller than me. I have to use all my wolves' senses to hear and smell everyone around me, and then I hear it. A low rumble almost like a housecat purr. I stop and hold still. Petrified of the lurking predator hidden in the grass.

My wolf is anxious and trying to find the location of the threat, but I can’t even find its heartbeat. A sharp whisper from my mate alerts me quickly, “To the left, watch out for its claws they are usually poisonous.”

My breath hitches, and I unlatch my sword and unsheathe it at the same time I hear a feminine scream as a large cat body pounces onto another guard in our party. I rush to protect them, but my mate is there before me. He draws its attention away from the injured man and backs into a small clearing.

The cat pounces through the air and lands behind my mate and goes to kick him with its hind feet. My mate dodges it expertly and wheels around, ready to take it head on.

I start to feel dizzy and lightheaded when a flame burns through me. Pain brings me to my knees as I grapple with the grass to keep from falling. I stoop on the ground, watching my mate fighting against a cat with elongated canines, sharp claws, and black midnight fur with grey dots. It's showing no mercy for him, and he’s excellently dodging. Just like normal, I still haven’t landed a hit since he started training me.

A loud roar vibrates the ground at the same time my wolf howls. The burning sensation lessens as I realize I now have white fur. I bark happily and rush to join my mate. I barrel into the cat, and she twists and tries to nick me quickly. She bounces back and then remains frozen. I stand in front of my mate, trying to stop my tail from wagging from my excitement of finally transforming into a wolf after so many failed attempts.

The cat screams out another roar, which would have terrified me a year ago, but now I hold my confidence. The cat looks at me and no longer seems worried about fighting us, and it makes my wolf suspicious.

“Canata, we meant you no grievances. We heard about the young lord’s plight and chose to escort him to ensure his failure.” My mate steps in front of me with his sword put away.

A shimmer of light and then a young woman with dark brown hair and tan skin is standing in the cat’s place naked and basking in the notion a male is looking at her, “Dark one? I guess I owe you one. I feared I was too late when the news arrived. I think your party is scattered and probably will not reconvene.”

“Good.” My mate says with almost a bow. “Forgive us for any grievances.”

The cat lifts her head up and laughs jolly with her hand over her exposed abdomen, “I would hate to mention you are moving around with another lupine so close to the marked territory. I will forgive that grievance if you don’t mention the assistance you have given the crown. Thank you, Dark One. Now leave before your bad luck rubs off on me.”

She turns back to the high grasses and disappears, and even with my physical wolf features to increase my abilities, I am unable to decipher where she is or if she is out of our perception. My mate turns to me and brushes my white hair. “Now that she’s trailing the others now is our chance to sneak a peek at one of their gods. I have never been given this chance before.”

My wolf wags her tail excitedly. Our mate shifts into his jet-black wolf and leads the way back towards the watering hole. He’s able to find a shortcut, and I can see the vivid scent trail almost like it was lit up by an ethereal glow. We travel through the weeds, and he starts to move slower and lowers on his hunches. I follow suit when a creature turns towards us with three large horns pointing directly towards us.

It’s a majestic bull with sharp pointed horns. It easily weighs the same as the merchant ship. Even my mate comparative to its size would only reach its knee if he was closer. The beast eyes are dark black with red flames deep within, and I’m almost unnerved. The same creepy feeling of the wolves in the meadow reminds me of this beast. It’s not supposed to be a part of this world. It must have its own home just like the wolf gods.

The bull huffs and stomps its feet, and my mate stands up straight and walks over to it slowly but with steps to show he means no harm. I walk right behind his left flank, and the bull doesn’t even flinch. He gazes at the two of us for what feels like ages before he starts kicking up a storm. My mate jumps in front of me, almost in a protective stance. The bull scratches his horn in the dirt, and I see a necklace wrapped around one of his horns. He holds still, and my mate nudges me softly. We walk up to him, and the largest beast carefully places the necklace around my neck.

I lowered my head to him to sign I’m grateful for the gift. He almost doesn’t even acknowledge the gratitude as he turns and saunters away through higher grass.

My mate licks my side and nudges me. I watch the form of a god move away from me for a bit before following my mate. It’s almost nightfall when we find a hidden den among some low brush. My mate enters first and transforms back into his cloaked human form to search along the thatch walls. I transform as well and am shocked when the cloak enfolds from midair.

I quickly find the necklace still around my neck, and my mouth drops when I can recognize the medallion emblem. The symbol is the same as my mother’s crest, except this one has another symbol underlaying it from underneath.

“Do you know what this symbol is supposed to be?” I ask out loud.

“It’s a spirit tether. The shamans in this area use it to help them relocate their physical forms when they travel through the spirit world.” He says without looking at me.

“He offered it to help me?” I say puzzled as I pull my legs closer to me.

“Appears that way. Looks like a lion has been using this den lately. There is still some fresh wine.” He says, handing me a flask to drink from.

“How did you know about this place?” I say, shifting to be closer to him. He instantly wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly.

“The cats and wolves are similar. We both have secret stashes of supplies in case something happens after we shift. I will admit the initial design of the cloak was to keep from running around naked in areas outside of the forest.” He says, mumbling into my hair.

“I’m sure that was inconvenient. Are we going to meet up with the young lord tomorrow?" I ask him, and he just scoffs and shakes his head. His fingers trace circles on my arm. I can almost feel his mind shifting through his options in decision.

“We are going to head further north. There is a place where that medallion could possibly work best." He says, settling me down in his arms to rest.