Chapter 02
1850 Words
Ten pairs of feet padded softly against the forest floor as we moved forward. Now, with the chaos behind us, I could truly take in the forest’s serene beauty. It embraced us, calm and alive, a symphony of green stretching in every direction—from the vibrant grass beneath our feet to the lush canopy above, accented by bursts of color from exotic flowers.
Yet there was a quiet edge beneath this serenity. Something didn't feel right. The forest's colours were vivid, yet fleeting like nature was holding its own breath.
Even the creatures that gave the forest life in languages only they understood seemed to call out in hesitant voices. As if cautious of whether to call or not.
Beneath all the forest had to offer—its lush beauty, its vibrant life—there was a lingering discomfort. One that had nothing to do with ten predators walking through.
It was as though the forest, in all its might, was braced in a silent tension.
I let out a silent sigh. I could feel it too, the unease.
Everyone had shifted back from their wolf forms. The men walked shirtless, while the two women wore long shirts that fell almost to their knees. All of us were barefoot, feeling the cool earth beneath us.
My gaze drifted to Jaeda, cradled in my brother’s tattooed arms. She clung tightly to him, and he held her just as firmly, unwilling to let go. Her damp hair clung to her face, shining faintly in the sun’s light
As if feeling my gaze, she looked at me and gave me a smile that I mirrored.
After my newly found mate had finally released me, whilst still closely on my tail though, I had helped put at bay the unnatural wildness that had overcome her, it had taken a while to calm her and even now, I could still feel the curious gaze of the other wolves lingering on me.
Darius and the others had cornered Jaeda against a tree. She snarled and snapped at them, her movements frenzied and erratic.
Still unsure of what to do, I moved closer.
"I need to get to her. Can you hold her down?" I told Darius through the mind link.
He crouched lower, growling at his mate to draw her attention. Her white, unfocused eyes shifted toward him. Darius feinted a bite, prompting her to lunge at him, but he sidestepped her with practiced ease and leapt onto her back.
Landing on her, Darius pinned Jaeda down. Even with his size, it was a struggle. She thrashed violently against him, refusing to relent. Jaisen's wolf had materialized beside me, staring at his sisters like he could will her back to her right mind.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and crouched in front of her. I could feel the frenzy radiating from Jaeda—the disorientation, the madness of Lysbane clawing at her mind. Her body trembled, muscles rigid with tension. Her chest heaved with erratic breaths, as though she were fighting something unseen.
Carefully, I extended a hand toward her. It was a risk; she hadn’t stopped growling and snapping, even under Darius’s firm hold. A low growl of protest rumbled behind me—likely from my mate—but I pushed it aside, focusing solely on Jaeda.
"Focus," I murmured softly. "I’m here. You’re here. You can hear me. Fight this."
Her thrashing slowed slightly, and I took the chance to place my hand on her head.
A strange sensation swept through me, as though some unknown force was guiding me. Some, magic coursed from my hand into her, an instinctual flow I couldn’t entirely comprehend. The madness didn’t relent right away, but I concentrated harder, pulling at the chaotic energy that was consuming her.
Jaeda’s body stiffened. Her wild eyes flared again, and with a sudden burst of strength, she lashed out.
I was pulled back sharply, and Jaisen was between Jaeda and I, shielding me from her attack. But then Jaeda froze, her body shaking as though caught in a war between herself and the madness.
Come on, Jaeda," I urged, my voice steady despite my pounding heart.
She let out a low howl of pain, a sound that cut through the air and seemed to wound Darius as much as it did her. Slowly, her erratic movements ebbed, her breathing became steadier, and her gaze grew less wild.
Finally, she blinked, and her brown eyes surfaced in a confused gaze that locked onto mine. For a moment, she didn’t seem to recognize me, her body still trembling under the residual effects of the madness. A weak, pained moan escaped her, like that of a lost cub.
I stepped forward again, cupping her snout gently. It was damp beneath my hands, her breaths coming in short gasps.
"You’re safe," I assured her, keeping my voice calm and my touch steady.
Gradually, her claws retracted, and her breathing evened out. The storm within her finally settled, and the fog of madness lifted. With a quiet whimper, she began to shift back, her human form disappearing beneath the protective cover of Darius’s furred body.
I exhaled deeply, relief washing over me. She was exhausted but whole again.
Stepping back, I bumped into a muscled wall of fur. Turning and looking up, I found him—my mate—standing silently behind me. He looked down at me, even as a wolf, his expression was curious.
I glanced at him as he walked ahead of us, his movements fluid and purposeful. I suddenly wondered what he thought of me. We had been seen as intruders infringing on the borders of his pack. But I knew we weren’t in trouble. We weren’t rogues, and we hadn’t exactly been inside his territory—not fully. That might have been a problem for Darius.
Still, the unified scent of our pack marked us, an unusual number of members for a pack but a pack nonetheless.
After shifting from his wolf form had his human form being revealed. A contrast between the two as he had a lean build and was tall. One feature common to wolven men was their unnatural height. She-wolves were also tall but the heights weren't always comparable and I'm not a wolf.
Alphas had the tendency of being very tall in both forms. He towered over me with broad chest probably two of mine combined or not since I hadn't quite the assets.
My mate was all lean biceps and muscles, tan skin that complimented his dark mop of hair same color as his wolf's fur and cloudy blue - green eyes. He was beautiful.
"Alpha Nixon of Silver Crest pack" he introduced himself after transforming and my breath caught at the intensity of his voice. Did all mates feel like this?
"Alpha Darius" my brother said rather lamely and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
There was a rather expectant silence as it seemed like he would continue.
"Of the Red Claw pack"
Everyone turned to look at me after my input. Jaeda smiled, it was the name we had considered for a while now.
Darius explained that we were from the farther north after which Nixon had asked us to follow them although my brother didn't quite agree.
"We've had large numbers of stragglers come down to this area, my pack is one the few rendering assistance and I think you could use some " he explained in a lightly gruff voice glancing at me as he spoke.
My brothers mate had linked hands with him and I saw her eyes connect with his in a mind link
Whatever argument they could have had, Nixon didn't look like he was ready to let his mate wander of with a pack of no settlement and Darius was not ready to abandon me either.
Weighing our odds, we were hardly familiar with snowy grasslands, we hadn't had proper rest in days owing to the recent numerous attacks. Presently, we had no destination in mind so yes, we could use some assistance.
Anyone could feel the tension between both alphas. Both never stopped stealing narrowed glances at each other. Although Darius was bulkier in size, both were of similar heights. And the powerful aura emanating from them wasn't to be disregarded.
I could only wonder how it would seem in a room of alphas
"You came across Lysbane didn't you?" One of the men asked as we walked on
Jaisen nodded affirmatively
"We didn't know that it was common around here" Maia said
"It's not" he said stiffly as he shared a look with Nixon who said nothing.
"It's not common to our lands but, a lot of things have been.... surfacing since that attacks"
The man said
His black curly hair was let down to frame his face after his shift.
"What other strange thing has been seen?" Jaisen asked and curly hair looked forward, saying
"We're not absolutely certain, but we need to be on higher alert now" his darkly keen eyes meeting mine, like I was another strange thing on the list. I looked away from him trying not to let him unnerve me.
"The lysbane is potent, even if we don't know what to expect next, we should watch where we step" Nixon added with an air of finality and I was moving closer to him before I became conscious of myself.
There was a spike in my heart when I noticed him slowing down for me. A small grin sprawled itself on my face
The main entrance to the pack was soon in sight. We had entered the packs territory a while ago but now we were entering the main pack. I stopped almost afraid of going further. Actually, I was quite afraid. I didn't know if I should.
The entrances I've made into many other packs we've passed have resulted into visions I couldn't bring myself to remember. I simply locked them away, well that's what I try to do. I'm not the average Lycan, lycans don't see visions and there were a lot of things I could do that no Lycan should be able to.
I didn't want to step into this pack and have another horrid vision filling my mind.
"Ari" a voice called and I was brought out of my thoughts to look at everyone staring at me. My mates was the most intense. He took a step closer and asked
"Is everything okay" his deep voice instantly sent a rush of calmness through me and I felt the tension ease.
I nodded gently. I could feel my packs eyes on me, they knew why I didn't want to enter and I had no intention of worrying them.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, expecting an instant rush of visions but there was none instead I felt the softness of the grass beneath my feet.
Taking another step and getting the same result, I sent them all a warm smile and we began moving again.
Well, that's a good start
- Writer
