Natalia’s P. O. V
The next day began before the birds started chirping their wakeup call.
By the time I’d started my day, the others were up and about. Leaving my room after a shower and dressing, I found Hailey meditating on a mat in the living room, the rest of the world blocked out by her wireless earphones and closed eyes.
Kaesha was seated at the dining table, absent mindedly munching on cereal as she read her spell book that levitated before her.
Retrieving some breakfast for myself, I stationed myself opposite her and commented on Timothy’s absence from the house.
“He’s just a few paces into the forest, using his gift.” Kaesha informed between mouthfuls.
She appeared to be making good on her offer to keep werewolves out of Pine Ridge, scanning her book for what I assumed was a suitable boundary spell. Meanwhile, Hailey had shifted from meditation to some rather advanced looking yoga, her breathing soothingly deep and even. Not being used in combat, I was sure Timothy’s gift also had a soothing effect on him.
‘They seem to be preparing their minds for the full moon.’ Candy commented.
I nodded.
I knew all the theory of normal and full moon shifts. Full moons were compulsory, our wolves took over, and so on and so forth… but never having experienced them myself, I didn’t get how stilling minds tied into it all.
Even back at the pack, I had noticed all their little full moon rituals. Quite a few drank themselves into stupor, others went missing, while some of the more level headed ones did menial things like meditate or go for long jogs that spanned the entire day. Full moon rituals had been mentioned in passing during our classes, but their full detail and significance remained unexplained.
Deciding to ask Hailey about it after we returned home, I finished the rest of my breakfast and opted to stay out of the others’ way by going for a run. There wasn’t much I could do before the full moon began.
With nothing to do, the rest of the day dragged on slowly. After my extended run, I returned to find Hailey in the same position in the living room, holding an entirely new yoga position. Kaesha had moved her study outside, no longer simply reading, but now experimenting on a small scale.
After another shower, I strolled outside. Following his scent, I tracked Timothy.
He sat cross legged in a small clearing, a few miniature, disjointed and twisting trees scattered around him. Remaining an imperceivable distance away, I scaled a tree and relaxed in its branches.
He wasn’t doing much, just making the trees move this way and that. Once in a while, they would wiggle and twist, dancing to a beat unknown.
Watching him like this, playing around with his gift, devoid of his defensive rage, he looked like a simple, peaceful werewolf. A serene, happy life surrounded by a pack that loved him - that’s what the Lightwoods had ripped him from, condemning him to a life on the run instead. And now, having possibly found his mate and a potential chance at happiness, he appeared wholefully uninterested.
All to further Clark’s crazed power agenda.
And the Pine Rivers… desolate, sparse and perpetually agitated. What I was sure was a once thriving, lively pack was now a shell of whatever it had been.
‘How on earth are we going to help them?’
‘We could start by helping them rebuild their buildings.’ Candy offered.
It was a good idea, but they needed so much more than we could offer. Sure, we had a versatile, psychic witch, a seer-werewolf Alpha, and a gifted werewolf… But I couldn’t ask Kaesha to exert the energy it would require to help them rebuild, and I couldn’t expect Timothy to risk exposing himself by using his gift for a deed that would most likely spread. And Hailey had yet to share the specifics of her visions. Plus, I doubted they tied into things like this.
And God knew there wasn’t much I could do myself.
“Why the hell have you been watching me for so damn long?” The snark was undeniable.
Looking back at the clearing, I found Timothy staring me down.
I grinned at him, “You’re just so mesmerising…”
His eyeroll was so exaggerated, I half expected them not to return, “Would you like some company up there or do you prefer this creepy, stalkerish way of life?”
I gestured to the space around me.
In a few seconds, he was in the tree next to mine, moving the branches for maximum comfort.
“How long have you known I was here?”
“Since you stepped past there.” He pointed to an area not too far behind us, “You’re pretty damn undetectable, but the trees are my feelers.”
That was interesting, “So it goes beyond simple dendrokinesis?”
He stroked the tree he was nestled in, “Sometimes, the living wood has a way of… communicating with me.” This gaze trailed off, drawn to a memory.
A moment passed, then, abruptly, he rolled his eyes, “Alright, alright! Yeesh, calm the fuck down.” His glare returned to me, “You had something on your mind. They want you to share.”
I blinked at him, then looked out in the general direction of Pine River, “I was just thinking of how many lives Clark has destroyed, and wondering how we could possibly help this pack.”
“So our great leader doesn’t have it all figured out.” He drawled.
I shot him a look.
He raised his hands in defence, “You want them on your side in the long run, right? In your wild ambitions to make the very resourceful, very powerful, Lightwood Pack pay.”
I nodded, “Right, but, beyond that, I want them to heal. My wolf suggested helping them repair their buildings, but I can’t ask you and Kaesha to do that.”
“You’re going to be our Alpha some time in the future, right?”
I nodded, “That’s the idea, I guess.”
His gaze hardened in a scowl, “Idea? You guess? If we’re going to destroy those fucking bastards, we need someone with more conviction than ‘I guess’. I’m not risking getting caught by them for some weak ass ideas with no indication that they’ll turn into actual fucking actions.”
My back straightened and I maintained his glare, “I will rip them apart and you will get your turn at them.”
“Good.” He softened, just the slightest bit, “So, to that end, ask me of anything and, as long as I get to amputate and torture Clark Lightwood myself, I will comply.”
“As long as you leave enough life in him for him to feel getting disemboweled and castrated afterwards.”
He smirked, “Sure. It’ll be a good bonding experience.” His wicked grin faded, “On another note, as Alpha, you’re going to have to ask some less pleasant things of your members. As long as you think things out, your intentions remain focused and you care for your pack, you should be fine.”
I raised a brow at him, “That’s some surprisingly good advice from someone who hasn’t had steady interpersonal interactions for three years.”
He scoffed, “Don’t get too comfortable with it.” Then he got up to leave, unfurling the branches and leaping down the tree.
He didn’t return to his spot, but, rather, moved a little deeper into the forest.
Taking that as my cue, I vacated my tree and returned to the house. The full mood didn’t start for another few hours and Kaesha was still outside, apparently taking a break from her work.
She appeared to be having her lunch, so I decided to wait till she returned her plate to the kitchen.
“Hey, Kaesha. Could I bother you for a minute?” I called as she finished washing up.
She turned, wiping her hands on a towel, “Sure, Ava. What’s up?”
“I have a favour to ask. Well, two favours, really.”
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She joined me on one of the couches, “Shoot.”
“I need to be undetectable tonight. I’m going to be moving around the forest and I’ll be able to stay out of sight, but I don’t want any Werewolf to pick up on my scent.”
She thought for a moment, “Well, if I can make myself smell like a Werewolf, I should be able to change or erase someone’s scent. But why will you be moving around? You could just stay here with me after Timmy’s gone. Or I could teleport you to their main house if you really want to go there.”
“I know, but I want to observe the pack members. Maybe there will be a time that they’re out of their territory and we can do something to help.”
“Okay, what about the second favour?”
“Well, I also need you to agree to it. My wolf had the idea of repairing their buildings as a way to help. But only you and Timothy have the ability to do that quickly and without detection. I know it’ll take a lot of magic to do something like that and remain imperceivable. I’ll be with you so you can channel me but it’s still a lot to ask.”
“Of course I’ll help, Ava. They’ve lost so much, it’s the least we can do.” She waved a hand and her Spellbook floated towards her from the kitchen table, hovering open before her, “But, I don’t know the original state of their buildings, so the restorative spell I used on the Sienna may not be the fastest way to get it done. Plus, when will we be able to get into their territory?”
“This full moon is going to last for two nights. At the Lightwood Pack, most of the members would stay in wolf form during the day if the moon lasted for more than one night.” Those were the days I got the most breathing room, with my tormentors being gone the entire day, unless they decided to make a game out of hunting me during the full moon. If they didn’t, they were always more than ready to make up for the time gap when they felt particularly wicked. “This pack is on edge though, so we’ll need to be careful.”
She nodded, the pages of her Spellbook flipping erraticaly in one direction, then the other, “Okay, so, I’ll need a spell to cloak us from being sensed as we cross their territory, one to repair the buildings… something that can work with Timothy’s gift. Another to keep you undetectable this night, or do you need it for tomorrow night as well? I need to summon some tools for this…” She murmured.
Abruptly, the satchel she’d carried when she helped me with Killdrain appeared on the coffee table before us. It opened and some herbs and stones floated out of it and towards her. The Spellbook moved aside as she examined each of the items briefly before it moved for the next in line.
“Kaesha…?” I called
“Hmm?”
“Kaesha!”
She looked up at me, the objects pausing in the air around her.
I offered her a grateful smile, “You don’t need to handle all this on your own. Let me help, I can’t perform any magic but you can give me something to do.”
She thought for a moment, “Well… I completed the formula for the barrier spell to keep Timmy and Hailey in the forest. I just need their DNA, something from the forest and something to anchor the spell to.”
“Alright,” I got to my feet, “I’ll go get them. We can take these things one at a time.”
I left, making my way to Hailey’s room. Knocking, I entered at her call.
She sat cross legged atop her bed, “Hey, Ari. What’s up?”
“Kaesha is helping with a few spells and I’m getting some materials for her. She needs some DNA from you and Timothy to keep you in the forest this full moon.”
“Sure, no problem.” She plucked a strand of blonde hair, handing it to me, “Anything I can do to help?”
“It’s fine. You and Timothy have the next two nights ahead of you.”
“Okay, but tell me if you need anything.”
I nodded and left.
“Where should I put it?” I asked Kaesha upon returning.
A small wooden bowl floated out of the satchel. I placed the strand in it and ventured out to find Timothy. He was in another clearing, just focusing on a single sapling this time.
“Either you really like me today or I’m gonna have to start sleeping with one eye open.” He quipped as I entered the clearing.
I laughed, “No such thing. I’m here on Kaesha’s behalf this time. She needs your DNA for a spell.”
“What spell?”
“A spell to keep you, Hailey and I from wandering into the town. She mentioned it yesterday at lunch.”
He raised a brow, “She was serious about that?”
I nodded, “She agreed to help with assisting Pine River as well, so she’s got a lot to do.”
He plucked off a short, curly hair, “Don’t use it for any weird ass shit.”
I grinned.
On my way back, I picked a pine cone off the forest floor and took it back to Kaesha.
She looked up at me as I dropped the items, “Hey, Ava. I was thinking that I could start on the repairs before sunrise tomorrow, so we can get farther with them before Timmy joins us.”
“Well, that’s a good idea, but will you have enough energy for it tonight?”
“I’ll go to sleep once these are done and you can wait a few hours before calling me.”
“If you say so… Let’s get these done so you can sleep. What do you need for the anchor?”
“Something that’ll only last till the day after tomorrow. Try catching a couple of mayflies. If we have enough of them and their eggs, we should be able to use them to hold the spell. But they have to be a lot, or they won’t be strong enough as an anchor.”
That’s how the final few hours went. I finished retrieving the things for the barrier and moved on to the cloaking spell for me, then she decided to it to the spell to keep us undetectable later. I handed her the last of the items just as Hailey emerged, tugging lightly at her clothes.
Kaesha followed us outside, setting the things up for the barrier spell, “I guess it’s time. Thanks for your help, Ava.”
“I’m the one asking for the favour. Thank you for helping. You should get some rest, I’ll call you when it’s time to sneak into their territory.”
She nodded.
Hailey had already stalked into the forest and Timothy had been in there all day. Silently, Kaesha performed the spell then placed the jars of mayflies on the porch.
“Some of them may die before tomorrow night but they should be enough to hold till the full moon ends.”
“Just get some rest. Goodnight, Kaesha.”
She yawned, “Night, Ava.”
Turning back to the forest, I twisted the makeshift bracelet, ‘Here goes nothing, Candy.’
‘You can’t get caught, Nat. Stay on guard.’
I nodded, moving into the forest. Some yards in, I found Hailey’s clothes stashed in a bush. Werewolves had started shifting and I needed to get to my first watchpoint. As I reached my first cluster of trees, several howls weaved through the forest.
Carefully, quietly but quickly, I climbed up the nearest tree. Seconds later, a small group of wolves raced past, competing with playful shoves and tugs. As they moved out of sight, I counted four of them.
I glanced up. The moon shone gently, but the clouds remained stagnant, no breeze to carry them across the sky. There would be no natural rustle of leaves to mask my movements.
It took a while for me to reach the end of the first thicket. A few wolves were in the area, playing, hunting and one particular pair focused on mating. Each time a group would pass, I stiffened in my place, waiting till they were well out of earshot.
I still had about four more clusters of trees till I reached their territory. After that, my memory told me there weren’t as many trees in close proximity to their houses and it would be harder to stay out of sight.
Some time into the second half of the trip, I reached an area where Timothy and Hailey’s scents hung heavily in the air. Looking down, I spotted the two of them, seemingly communicating with each other.
Both wolves were seated, Hailey’s in a somewhat calm, regal manner, and Timothy’s, slightly more antsy. Their faces, ears and tails moved in time to their messages, whimpers, growls and barks acting as accompanying points.
‘They’re talking about Timothy and Hailey.’ Candy offered.
Part of me wanted to stay and see how the conversation went…
Shaking my head, I looked away and continued forward. There was work to be done and the direction of their relationship was none of my business, my own traumas associated with rejections and views on mates aside.
I stopped in the trees closest to the border, listening and sniffing the air for any wolves. It was their territory, so, of course there were some wolves about, not necessarily on guard, but still alert enough to notice me if I wasn’t careful.
The forestry that would offer the most coverage beyond these trees were some bushes. I stayed where I was, plotting my movements in my head before springing into action.
I made my way to the branch with the least leaves and propelled myself from there, using as much power in my legs as I could muster. That got me pretty far, crossing the border and over the heads of a lot of the wolves. I pushed off one of the larger saplings, directing myself to land in a soft bed of grass. Without skipping a beat, I found my way to the nearest bush, moving around it on the opposite side of a strolling wolf till I could go straight to the next one while remaining out of sight.
‘On your feet and out of sight.’ I repeated to myself.
Soon, there was no forestry to hide behind, but there were also no wolves further ahead, from what I could tell.
They didn’t have that many buildings, just their main house, the one where Robert had been in and one other one. There were a lot of charred ruins of smaller houses scattered about. I could hear the collective, soft breathing of the children coming from a room in the far back of the main house. There seemed to be one or two awake, probably the older kids tasked with caring for the children while the teens and adults spent the full moon in wolf form.
Staying on the far side of the building, I managed to get enough purchase to make my way to the roof. Up there, I could count eleven small ruins and four larger ones of varying sizes. One of the larger ones seemed to have some construction going on but the frame of the building wasn’t even halfway done.
‘Do we start with the smaller houses or the bigger ones first?’ Candy mused.
‘Majority of the appear to be living in the main house, so repairing the smaller ones first could help decongest their conditions, but the bigger ones could have been schools or training halls, which are useful.’
‘Right, but they’ve probably been teaching their kids in the main house and they can train outside or in the forest. Giving them back their homes would make things more manageable.’
‘So smaller houses it is. We can start with the ones out of view of where the children are.’
Checking the time, I found it was about half an hour to midnight. Even if some werewolves wanted to shift back, they wouldn’t be able to do so till around five in the morning. It had been little over two hours since I left, but I knew Kaesha could use some more hours of rest.
Staying low on the roof, I waited another two and a half hours.
‘I don’t want to talk while I’m here if I can avoid it. I hope you got enough sleep, if not, you don’t have to come. There are eleven small buildings and four larger ones. We can start with the smaller ones.’ I texted her.
I dialled her number and waited till she picked up, then I hung up. Seconds later, I got a reply, saying that she’d teleport near the entrance of the main house and would be here soon. I climbed off the roof and waited near the entrance for her.
Ten minutes later, the air shifted and she appeared next to me, her satchel slung across her shoulder.
“Which one first?” She whispered.