The wolves flew into an uproar that bordered on frenzy. Howls, growls, and snarls disturbed the peaceful meadow, and Noah even saw a few shadows appear in the windows of the lodge, investigating the commotion. Sylvie just smiled down at him and ignored the chaos her words had brought.
Rowan and Alder were the only wolves who did not partake in the pandemonium. In a daze, Alder gawked at his alpha. “Your mate? There’s no such thing as a mate from a different species. Our inherent magic would never deem another race worthy of resonating with. Plus, with the malicious curse that has been inflicted upon you, it isn’t possible for you to mate with anyone.”
Sylvie shifted in an instant, and Alder shifted a split second behind her. He was too late, however, as Sylvie clamped her jaws around his front paw. He whined and whimpered as her fangs dug deep into his flesh and bone. In a blur of speed, he shook his paw, trying to dislodge Sylvie’s jaws. His futile attempts did nothing to displace the enraged alpha, who had a death grip on his foreleg. Instead, his attempts scattered out large splotches of blood across the purple flowers in the meadow. Why did the world insist on defiling the beauty it contained?
Rowan stood by with his arms crossed and watched the attack on his son, but other than a brief shimmer, he held his position. Finally, Sylvie released Alder from her jaws of death and shifted back into her human form. Blood smeared her mouth, and her disheveled hair gave her a savage look. She returned to stand next to Rowan as if nothing had happened. Alder shifted back and held his bloody arm to his chest with narrowed eyes. Soft whimpers and growls escaped the warrior’s mouth. The rest of the wolves were practically bowing at the dominance displayed by their alpha.
Sylvie smiled at Alder, displaying his own blood that stained her teeth. “My curse won’t allow me to mate with a wolf; that is true. But it seems the vile Unseelie Prince who cursed me never considered that a human might be my fated mate.” Sylvie roared a laugh that blanketed the entire meadow. “One tiny insignificant detail overlooked, and the Prince who spent so much time and magic on my curse has been thwarted by a lowly human!”
Noah cleared his throat above the murmuring wolves, who were reacting to the shocking declaration. “This is no accident, honored wolf pack. My family has been immune to magic for generations upon generations. No mere Unseelie Prince’s curse could hold sway over me.”
The pack of wolves exchanged uneasy looks and their murmuring grew louder. “Yes, now you realize the grave error you have committed upon the human race. You have stolen one of their blessed sons, and they will not suffer this insult idly. You have brought fire and ash upon your wondrous forest, the likes of which will be calamitous.” Noah paused to let his words sink in. “That is, unless…”
Some of the younger wolves snorted with derision at him, but their voice, tinged with fear, betrayed their nervousness as they called out, “Unless what, human?”
Noah breathed out a long sigh and spread his arms in helplessness. He was just as powerless as the wolves in staying humanity’s hand of vengeance. “You must release me and grant me safe passage back to my territory. It is the only way to forestall the retribution of humanity.”
Rowan stared at Noah in serene apathy, not bothered one bit by his words. Most of the other older wolves scoffed or narrowed their eyes, but the younger ones broke out in hushed whispers. The whispers ranged from personally escorting him home to killing him and eating the body.
Noah was enjoying the sight of his machinations causing discord within the pack when something cuffed him upside the head. He stumbled forward and grabbed at his ear which was now incessantly ringing. A headache was already beginning to form as he whirled around to face his attacker with his cane raised.
There Sylvie stood with her hands on her hips. Her body betrayed no signs of her sneak attack on him. She beamed at him with a bloody smile, but Noah could spot no amusement or joy in her glowing silver eyes. His anger at the attack fizzled out and now, he was back peddling toward the wolf who had suggested to kill and eat him. He had to seek sanctuary from more imminent dangers.
Sylvie stalked him as he backpedaled and her eyes lit up when he stumbled over a hidden rock buried amongst the flowers. She halted her pursuit of him when she arrived in the center of the circle that the wolves had formed.
“His fellow humans in the caravan abandoned this one with no hesitation. He is not important to them, and they will not risk one human life for his liberation.” She returned her attention to Noah. “In fact, I doubt that there is a single human in his entire settlement that awaits his return.”
Noah averted his eyes, not out of submission, but shame. He gripped his cane in unwillingness. But how could he argue with her?
“No human is immune to fae magic. None even have close to the resistances that wolves are born with. If the curse was strong enough to affect me for so many years, it is an oversight by the Prince that has finally allowed me to find my mate, not any mystical powers the human claims to possess.”
The reassurance from their alpha eradicated the wolves’ nervousness. Turning to Noah, they growled with narrowed eyes. A few even shimmered, the precursor to a shift, before they were able to get their emotions back under control.
Rowan returned to Sylvie’s side, dwarfing her with his height, and said, “Alpha, we must call the pack together to discuss this. Our hearts and minds must be in accordance if we are to accept this human into our ranks.”
Sylvie nodded and shifted without warning into a giant pitch-black wolf. The size of their wolf and human form did not seem to be related as far as Noah could tell. Sylvie was the second or third biggest wolf he had seen, but she was much shorter than most of the human forms he had come across. The black wolf let out a bounding howl that left Noah scrambling to cover his ears.
Answering howls could be heard close and far, and the monstrous wolf snorted. Sylvie shifted back into her human form, looking quite pleased with the response to her calls. “The meeting has been called. I will lock Noah up in his pris…I mean, show Noah to his accommodations.”
Rowan examined Sylvie for a long moment before giving her a curt nod. He shifted instantly, and the other wolves followed his lead. The warrior wolves sprinted off toward the lodge in a blur to prepare for the pack meeting.
For the first time, Noah and Sylvie only had themselves for company. He tried to start a conversation, but Sylvie cut him off with a glare. “Do not speak human. I have tired of your lies and the discord you seek to spread within my ranks. You may be my mate, but the pack comes first, and I will rip out your throat in an instant if I deem you are a danger to the pack.”
Noah snapped his mouth shut at that. It seemed he had reached the limit of how far he could push Sylvie for now. She waited a moment to see how foolish he actually was, and when he remained silent, grabbed his arm and guided him away from the lodge. She pulled him a short distance, leading him from the lodge to a giant tree that had a cabin attached to the trunk.
The rear of the cabin disappeared within the trunk, and Noah guessed the cabin was bigger than it appeared from the front. Their footsteps were silent as they glided atop spongy mosses and soft grasses. As they approached the mahogany-colored cottage, softly illuminated by a fae globe inserted above the door, he wondered what type of horrors such an innocuous-looking prison would hold.
Sylvie flung open the door with such force that it slammed into the inside wall of the cottage, causing him to jump. He peered into the cottage, not making any moves to enter when a powerful force threw him to his hands and knees upon the wooden floor slats.
He picked up his fallen cowboy hat and placed it on his head as he regained his feet, using his cane for support. Once again, he threw his still-damp shirt over his shoulder. The cabin was just as simple as his home in Greenwood. It had a fireplace, a table and chairs, a wardrobe, and a few trunks for personal belongings. Near the hearth stood a cupboard with a few wooden cups and dishes which were covered in dust from disuse.
The only actual difference from his home was the enormous bed that took up most of the space. It must have been designed to fit either of her forms and would have no trouble accommodating both him and Sylvie.
After he surveyed the cabin, and after he noted the two windows that didn’t have locks, he turned back around to face Sylvie. He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what he was supposed to do now.
“This is my personal cabin. For the foreseeable future, you will stay here. You are not allowed to roam outside of this cabin without a guard. You are not allowed to touch anything. You are not allowed to speak to any of the wolves. I will be back in a few hours after the pack meeting,” said Sylvie as she turned, already halfway out the door.
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“But I…” Noah tried to argue.
Sylvie let out a growl as her head whipped around to pin him with her glowing silver eyes. Her raven hair draped over her right shoulder from the momentum of her spin. “I am the Alpha! You will obey my commands, human.”
Noah’s eyes hardened and he smirked at the woman. This time, she had pushed him too far.
“I am not a wolf. You are not my alpha. And, most importantly, …” His voice rose and rose until he was shouting. “I am a free man. I will bow my head to no human, no vampire, no fae, and certainly no shifter!”
Sylvie narrowed her eyes at his outburst. “We will see, my mate. We will see,” she whispered before slamming the door shut and locking him inside.
As soon as Sylvie left, Noah explored the small cottage that would serve as his prison. He first checked the windows and was relieved when they creaked open with a small amount of effort. He scoffed at the lack of security the wolves deployed. Sylvie didn’t seem to understand the concept of disobeying orders.
Still, this place didn’t completely confine him, and his rising claustrophobia subsided. He walked to the bed, his boots and cane thumping on the wooden floor, and sat on the soft hay mattress covered in woolen blankets.
And…that was it. That was all that warranted exploration in this cabin. He avoided the wardrobe and trunks for now, uneasy at the thought of Sylvie discovering his snooping. The walls and tables held no personal effects of any kind. There was no displayed memorabilia, no indications of a hobby, and nothing to give him any clue of what type of person Sylvie was. If he didn’t know otherwise, this could have been the home of any of the dozens of random wolves he had passed in the forest.
He donned his damp shirt and collapsed fully onto the bed, snuggling into the soft blanket. In a valiant effort, he fought his exhaustion but ultimately succumbed to the sweet temptation of slumber.
He awoke sometime later with the sun not yet having risen. He did a cursory examination of the cabin and concluded Sylvie had not returned from the lodge while he was asleep. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he decided it was time to test the security of this territory. He needed to gather as much information as he could.
He pulled himself off the bed with the help of his cane like he was some elderly invalid. Once his legs steadied, he strode over to the windows with a confident gait. Pushing the glass open with a soft creak, he was about to climb through when he paused and cocked his head. He headed back to the only door in the cabin, inspecting the handle. “Not even she could be this dumb, right?”
Holding his breath, he pulled the handle down inch by inch. The door swung open without resistance, and he chuckled while rubbing his hands together. He’d be out of their territory by the time the pack meeting ended.
He strolled through the front door with his hat perfectly straightened and twirling his cane. Being cautious not to alert any sensitive wolf ears to his movements, he closed the door with a soft click. He crouched down, straining his ears for any guards, but heard nothing. Keeping his crouch, he waddled his way from the cabin back toward the entrance of the territory. It would take him a few hours, but he should be able to leave by the time the sun rose.
He had not made it twenty feet before he heard a growl that instantly caused him to freeze. Out of the blackness of the forest, two wolves appeared. With pinned-back ears, they bared their fangs at him with drool dripping down onto the ground. Their fur bristled and stood up straight; all signs of an impending attack. Noah froze and put up his hands, hoping to placate the wolves.
“Um, I was searching for the outhouse?” he questioned his own lie and the wolves’ growling grew even deeper. He examined the wolves, who couldn’t even respond to him in a language he could understand.
These wolves weren’t as big as the warriors that had entered the battle against the Unseelie. One of them was barely larger than a normal wolf and was a pale blonde, almost white. The other wolf was much bigger but had the gangly build and awkwardness that only a teenager not yet comfortable in their body could possess. Its fur was also a darker blonde than the smaller wolf and appeared to be almost golden. Noah changed his tactics immediately.
“Listen, kids. I understand the Alpha trusted you with guarding me, but she wouldn’t take kindly to you hurting her mate,” he said in his most stern voice. The wolves whimpered and their ears stood back up like normal.
“There, there, that’s better. I promise I mean you no harm. The Alpha assigned me the task of searching for clues as to why the Unseelie were so close to pack territory. It is our duty to inspect the remnants of the battlefield from yesterday.”
He made a show of rubbing his chin, deep in thought. Then, he lowered his voice and leaned in as if he was sharing a secret with them. “She thought long and hard about who would be best at keeping me safe and escorting me to the battlefield. And she picked you two! Above all others. I was shocked, but she insisted that no other wolves held her trust as deeply as you two.”
The smaller of the two wolves began wagging its tail and prancing around with small hops. The larger of the two wolves snorted and, after a brief shimmer, a teenage boy and a young girl were standing in front of him.
“Dammit Luna, we are supposed to be guarding the human. You can’t lose your focus just because he gives you a bit of praise.” The teenage boy had shaggy, dirty blonde hair that fell over his ice-blue eyes. He must have been around sixteen or seventeen, just like Noah had suspected.
Noah turned to the younger of the two wolves to see a ten-year-old girl looking up at him with big, green eyes and pale blonde hair that flirted with white. Her hair was styled into pigtails and held back by ribbons of twine. Did hair color determine the color of the wolf’s fur?
Clasping her little hands in front of her, the young girl asked, “Did the Alpha really pick the two of us over everyone else in the pack?” Her lip trembled, and she asked Noah with such hope and optimism that the last of his conscience prickled him.
“Yes, that’s right. She needed her two best warriors to guard her mate, but also needed scouts who knew the woods well enough to escort me to the battlefield.”
With stars in her eyes, the young girl nodded her head vigorously. “Yep, we know where it is. Come on, follow me.” She shifted again into her wolf form and beckoned with her paw for him to follow.
With a roll of his eyes, the teenage wolf popped his sister on her snout. “Luna, he is obviously lying. The Alpha tasked us with guarding him because all the warrior wolves are at the lodge for the pack meeting.”
Luna’s eyes widened and she shifted back into her human form. Her bottom lip trembled and tears filled her eyes. “Were you lying to us, Mr. Human?”
She choked back sobs, and tears wet her cheeks. Noah felt a strange pain in his chest and grabbed at his heart, his eyes filling with tears.
“Oh no, please stop crying, little one. The Alpha asked me to test your discipline and you passed. I told her you wouldn’t fall for any tricks. Let’s go back to the cabin so you can guard me properly.” He couldn’t do it. Luna reminded him of Negative 3, and she was breaking his heart.
Together, they returned to the cabin, and upon opening the door, he hesitated at the threshold. He looked back at the two wolves, who remained in their human forms. “Why don’t you two come in the cabin so that we can acquaint ourselves? It will be much more interesting than prowling those boring woods all night long.”
Firming his stance, the teenage boy put his hands behind his back in some kind of military stance. “The Alpha tasked us with guarding you from outside the home. We will not stray from the Alpha’s ord—"
“Yay! Come on Silas,” Luna cut him off, throwing her hands in the air. She pranced through the door in the blink of an eye, and Noah promised himself that he would stand between the girl and a master vampire if need be.
Silas’s eyes widened and he threw his hands up in the air in disgust at his sister’s lack of discipline. “Or not. Or we could do the exact opposite and intrude on the Alpha’s cabin. What could go wrong?”
Silas moved even faster than Luna and followed her into the cabin. Stopping just inside the door, he waited for Noah to follow them inside. Noah followed them through the door, and Silas took a seat at the wooden table while Luna was jumping up and down on Sylvie’s bed.
The little girl shifted into her wolf form and scratched at the bundle of blankets on the bed. She pushed the blankets with her nose until she had carved out a small nest for herself to lay in. Noah took in the bizarre sight from his position by the door and wondered how many humans had seen a shifter make a nest for themselves. He cleared his thoughts and got down to business. It was his best chance for intelligence gathering, after all.
“So, the pack is inside the lodge? What are they discussing?” he casually asked, while joining Silas at the table.
Silas jumped up from his chair in a blur, sending it flying across the floor. “We do not discuss pack business with outsiders, especially-”
“They are debating on whether you can stay. There’s never been a non-wolf mate before,” Luna interrupted helpfully while resting her head on her hands and kicking her feet in the air. When did she even shift?
“Dammit Luna. You couldn’t keep a secret to save your life.” Silas started rubbing his temples in a calming circular pattern.
Luna stuck her tongue out at her brother. “Come on, Silas. Mr. Human isn’t a bad guy. He’s the Alpha’s mate.”
Noah took that chance to chime in. “I’m not a bad guy at all. In fact, I came from far away to trade with your pack. We were under the impression that a middle-aged male was alpha. What happened to him?” He picked at his felt hat, appearing disinterested.
“That was the Alpha’s father. He passed away around a year ago,” Luna disclosed with no hesitation.
“Does the alpha position normally pass down to next of kin in a wolf pack?” Noah followed up.
“Well…” Luna began before Silas slammed his fist down on the table, putting a large crack into it. Luna’s eyes went wide and she finally learned to hold her tongue.
“That is pack business outsider. If the pack determines you can stay and become a member, you will become privy to such information,” Silas said as he moved toward the window. “Luna let’s go. We need to get back on guard duty before the Alpha discovers we left our post.” He paused and glanced back at Noah. “Although, she might find out anyway if her ‘mate’ squeals on us.”
Luna whipped around to look at Noah. She held her hands clasped in front of her and her lips trembled. “You won’t tattle on us, will you, Mr. Human?” Her eyes had some kind of magic in them because it hurt his heart to stare directly at them.
“It’ll be our little secret.” He mimed zipping his lips shut. “Also, you can just leave through the door-”
She threw up her hands in a cheer. “Yay! Thanks, Mr. Human. Don’t try to escape again tonight or we will have to eat you.” She hopped out the window in a blur. Noah was getting whiplash from the girl’s mood swings and struggled to keep up with the conversation. Silas followed her out and pushed the window closed, effectively trapping him in a lockless prison.