Wolves of War

Blain

After we ate, Asai took me around the head of the army. Even though we are moving forward, it’s still pretty much set up in a way that a solider can either hope in and out of a water cart or in and out of a medical cart. This way, the army can continuously move forward and not have to stop.

“If a large army of this size stops for any length of time, it’s hard to get it moving again. Segments can end up either taking too long to begin their march or later segments might be in too much of a rush. When we move, we don’t stop until dusk.” Asai explained.

“Your majesty…Princess”

“Hey Jora”, I greeted the blue and white officer.

“The captains have arrived for their briefing”

Asai nodded “Come, let me introduce you to them.”

Asai led me to his moving carriage, which I have to admit is a lot more impressive than mine. I don’t think I have ever been in Asai’s carriage, we have always met up in mine. Asai scooped me up into his arms and jumped in. Keylyn jumped in behind him and Jora took up the rear.

Twelve wolves in various levels of wolfish-ness stood at attention. Asai went through their names quite quickly. There were too many captains to remember, so I only committed to memory the names of the few who wore blue and white colors. Toward the end of the row, Asai stopped at an officer with a familiar face. This face was so familiar that I was shocked to even see it. For a moment I thought that maybe I was seeing things, but the moment we made eye contact I knew.

“How?” I asked whilst shaking my head.

Asai raised an eyebrow at me.

Relief on his face in the man in question broke rank and ran up to me. Unable to control my excitement, I ran into his arms and held onto him tightly.

“But how are you here?” I asked.

“Your friend is a lot more powerful than she let’s on.” He said

“My friend?” I asked.

“There better be a good reason as to why you are hugging another man in front of me” Asai stated, a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

“I am sure there is a reason as to why he is here. But that is a story for a private audience.” I said, hoping Asai got the hint.

Asai understood immediately and dismissed the other soldiers. I erected a privacy barrier so that no one could hear our conversations. Being in a carriage, the walls are a lot thinner. Some nosey person could still walk alongside us and listen in to our conversation. The privacy barrier will keep all conversations inside the barrier. The moment someone tries to listen in, I will be alerted and that person can be apprehended and questioned.

“Prince Asai, this is Blain Greenwood. He is from my world, a member of my pack.”

Asai eyed Blain suspiciously. He slowly approached Blain, eyeing him up and down as if he was a threat. Blain took a precautionary step backwards, pulling me with him. Seeing the issue, I pushed Blain’s hands off of my waist, then stood in between the two wolves.

“Asai?” I asked carefully.

The Wolf prince looked down at me, then back at Blain. He repeated this action a few times before speaking.

“Where you courting her?” Asai asked Blain.

“Hey?” I exclaimed, shocked that Asai would ask that.

“He jumped into a black hole after you without a second thought.” Asai argued, “If he is going to be pinning around you that’s not good for neither mine nor your image. We’ve accepted that your time here is limited, but you’re still a part of my house, my den.”

Asai stressed this last part. I winched, realizing what he was getting at. The Queen would do anything, say anything to discredit Asai. A rumor that a soldier in the army is disrupting the order of Asai’s house would not be good for Asai’s social image. He is already seen as an inhuman beast in his wolf form and a womanizer in his human one. Neither of those images foster good relations with the people. You would think he’d have better public approval since he is the one out here winning wars and protecting everyone's way of life.

Blain stood up a little straighter. He nodded his head in answer to Asai’s question. “We were on a date when that black hole came to swallow her up.”

“No we were not” I said quickly. “It was an outing with friends.”

“A date” Blain insisted

Asai held up his hand “What about the girl who held open the black hole long enough for you to jump in?”

Blain shrugs his shoulders. “She jumped in after I did, but she didn’t come out on my side.”

My heart seized “Clarity is here?”

Blain nods his head.

I begin to panic. Clarity is not like me. Her power does not physically manifest like mine does. Her power is mostly mental; she can see things and sense things that no one else can see or sense. She can also act as an empath. She can take away pain or make you relive your worst nightmare just with a look or a touch. She would be the closest thing to a dream walker. While she cannot jump into your mind, she can emit certain signals to slowly change the thought process. Clarity is also 100% human in a shifter world where humans are virtually extinct and desired. She has been here in this world for over 6 months. She could be dead for all we know, or worse.

“This just gets better and better” I mumbled to myself.

“Where did you find yourself after jumping into the hole?” Asai asked Blain.

“At a spring in a small farming community”, Blain answered. “The story is… a little girl found me sleeping in the water. The villagers thought I was dead but I was literally just sleeping and had been asleep for a while. I actually woke up a couple weeks ago.”

“You were asleep this entire time?” I questioned Blain.

“Yeah, the family was super patient and fed me liquid meals. I was then drafted into the army for this war and thought that this would be a perfect way to search for you.”

“It’s getting late” Asai said. “Go tend to your duties while Talia and I have a discussion about this.”

Blain nods his head and bows his head slightly in our direction before hoping out of the carriage. The painful look Blain had on his face the moment he heard that I was a part of Asai’s den broke my heart. It almost feels like I betrayed him, but I didn’t harbor any romantic feelings for Blain. Still, I felt horrible. The truth is, if I hadn’t met Asai, I probably would eventually have accepted Blain’s advances. It’s not like I had suitors lined up for me to pick one. Blain was the only wolf who showed interest in me. He sacrificed his time to come after me and, for all his effort, he finds me with another man. I can’t imagine the pain he might be feeling right now.

“This is not good” I said, shaking my head at Asai.

“Take a deep breath” Asai said, pulling me in for a hug.

He lifted me off my feet, holding me gently to his chest. Listening to the steady beat of Asai’s heart and the rhythm of his breathing brought me down from the verge of my panic attack. I pressed my face into his chest, inhaling his scent, allowing his strength and confidence to fill and steady me.

Keylyn clears his throat. “I don’t want to be insensitive, but the question must be asked.”

I raised my head off of Asai’s chest to look at Keylyn. “What question?”

“There is still one witch in this world unaccounted for. There are reports of her residing with Clan Draco at the moment. With Salamander as the new ruling fire deity, the witch is working to help Clan Draco claim the throne.”

I shake my head “Clarity’s power is of the mind. She is incapable of spells that physically manifest.”

“You mean like growing things from the earth?” Keylyn asks

I smiled and nodded my head.

“That doesn’t sound like a very dangerous witch” Asai said.

“She could be if she wanted to. For example, she could convince you to kill yourself.”

Asai did a double take: “What!”

“She wouldn’t do that” I laughed, patting his head.

“She could handle herself in my world. But in this one where the majority of the population are shifters, her powers won’t help much.”

“Why do you say that?” Keylyn asked.

A shifter essentially has two minds. “She would have to take control of both minds in order for her powers to work. Taking control of one mind will only cause the other to react.”

“So if she were to take control of my human mind…”

“Your wolf mind would take control without your logical mind. You’d basically be an animal.”

“That’s plenty dangerous”, Asai commented. “The only thing that makes wolf shifters different from bear shifters is that we have more self control when in our beast form. Bear shifters barely have that, which is why it’s easy to set them off. A wolf without his logical mind would go on a rampage.”

My eyes widened. I didn’t think of that. “But Clarity is not like that. She usually keeps her powers on the down low. What concerns me more is that she is 100% human. She is not like me. There is not even a drop of shifter blood in her. The people here would smell that in a heartbeat.”

Asai nods his head in understanding “Keylyn, begin a general search. Blain and Talia both emerged from springs. Find out what farm town Blain appeared at and find similar environments that Clarity could have popped out at.”

“As you say, my lord,” Keylyn bowed.

“I’m sorry for putting more concerns on your shoulders” I said to Asai.

Asai looked down at me and he nudged my forehead with his nose.

I looked up at Asai and sighed as I combed my fingers through his fur. “Thank You.”

Asai smiled down at me but his eyes looked dangerous.