Noah awoke sometime after dawn to the chirping melodies of the birds who called the enchanted forest home. He twisted his torso from side to side in an attempt to relieve the pain in his back from sleeping on the cold wooden floor. His drooped eyes, heavy with sleep, glanced over to Sylvie’s bed, finding it empty.

His stomach growled in angry protest, an audible reminder that he had not eaten since the battle yesterday morning. He shook his hat to smooth the abuse it had endured serving as his pillow, and hefted his cane in his hand, testing its weight. The amalgamation of metals and wood was too heavy to be of use in battle unless he activated the enchantment on its side, but his style would take a drastic hit without it.

Reaching into his trench coat pocket, he revealed a small metal box that housed his other cane blades. He had discarded his original silver blade for iron after the battle broke out, but he always carried a spare for each material. He screwed the silver blade on tightly and felt much more at ease with an effective weapon to protect himself with.

Lightly testing the cabin door handle, he found it, once again, unlocked. He gently pushed at the door, making sure that no creaks or sudden movement would alert any potential wolves to his presence. Poking his head through the threshold, he looked back and forth to check for any obvious dangers. He examined the giant trees of the forest, but couldn’t pinpoint any movement or oddities amongst them. Only the birds fluttering from branch to branch in the canopy broke the stillness of the morning. Checkered rays of sunlight filtered between the leaves, warming his chilled skin.

With a moan of pleasure, he basked in the warmth until his stomach, gurgling in displeasure at his slow pace, forced him forward. Sylvie had forbidden him from wandering about the territory and speaking to the wolves, but honestly, he couldn’t care less. She should have brought him food if she wanted him to remain in the cottage; even prisoners needed to eat.

He tried to recall the path Sylvie guided him along last night and set off into the forest according to his memories. As he trekked over the soft soils of the forest, he found himself constantly distracted by the steady hum of the swaying trees in the brisk wind. After walking for a few minutes, he emerged into the giant meadow containing the fallen tree that the wolves used as a communal lodge. Smoke rose from multiple points along its length, which he hoped signified breakfast was being served. He took a step toward the lodge before stumbling to an abrupt stop.

“They cook their meat, right?” he whispered to himself. Suddenly not sure of the horrors he was going to be subjected to in the lodge, he hesitated. However, his stomach pains had worsened, and he could no longer deny them. If he needed to eat a live rabbit to ease his hunger, then that was a horror he might just be seduced by.

He crossed the meadow at a steady pace, softly brushing through the purple flowers that reached his waist. Bees, birds, and butterflies darted from flower to flower, getting their fill of the sweet nectar offered in exchange for spreading the flowers’ pollen.

The closer he got to the lodge, the more entranced by its majesty he became. It truly was a titan of the forest. Five of him stacked on top of one another would still not hit the roof of the massive trunk, and that was only the half that rested above ground. Large wooden panels with hinges had been carved out of the trunk every hundred feet or so. He assumed it served the purpose of allowing the wolves to push open the door with their shoulders as opposed to having to shift to open a handle.

He came to a swinging wooden door and took a deep breath while gripping his cane for comfort. Steadying himself, he pushed open the door and encountered a severe blow to his pride. It barely budged, only moving a few inches before slamming shut once again. He stared at the wooden door in shock, a bright red flush growing from his neck to his ears. Placing his cane on the ground, he furiously rubbed his hands together. This time, he wouldn’t play around. The pride of humanity rested on his shoulders.

He placed his hand on the wood once again and put every ounce of strength he had into pushing it open. His legs strained, his arms shook, and his cheeks puffed up. A bead of sweat even rolled down his cheek. The swinging door opened foot by excruciating foot, rewarding him for his efforts. He finally was able to open the door wide enough for him to slip in and prop it open with his shoulder so that he could pick up his cane. His overextended arm strained toward the cane with his fingertips tantalizingly close to the metal rod. He gave one last lunge and his finger curled around it. Slipping into the lodge, he let the heavy wooden door slam shut before it could crush him.

Gasping for breath, he laid his forehead against the wood, trying to calm his heart rate. How much stronger were these shifters than humans? He could barely open their doors.

He caught his breath after a few moments and turned around to get his first good look at the heart of the Baleful Fiend Pack. He froze as long tables, full of pack members, were all staring in his direction. Some were curious, some were considering him, and some were full-on growling and snapping at him. He rearranged his hat, ensuring it was perfectly placed, and twirled his cane around.

“Good day, gentle…wolfs and lady wolfs.” He bent into a deep bow and tipped his hat at the angry wolves. “I know that most of you fought for me yesterday. Risked your very lives to defend me, in fact.” Most of the wolves scoffed, turning their noses at him.

“He is a member of our pack just as much as any of us, a few of you passionately declared.” The growls grew louder. “Although the battle is only half won, as I am only a Guest of the Pack, don’t fret, my friends. There will come a day that I, Noah, will repay your kindness as soon as I get access to the coffers through my mate.”

He stood up from his bow and returned his hat to his head. He examined the massive space that served as the gathering place for the pack. Every surface was a smooth wood, treated with either chemicals or magic. Giant hearths remained barren and dark, with no usefulness in the summer heat. Long wooden tables covered a quarter of the gigantic trunk, each filled with dozens of wolves. Woolen blankets were piled towards the roots of the tree, providing the wolves with a place to curl up and sleep with the comfort of their pack mates.

Looking behind him, he discovered the entire reason for his journey - a long table loaded with more meats than he had ever seen. Even a few vegetables and fruit, mostly untouched by the wolves, added to the delectable spread. Multiple fires raged in the area of the trunk that served as the kitchen. The cooks rattled pans and pots atop metal grates heated by roaring flames.

Holes carved into the side wall of the trunk impossibly sucked up the billowing smoke and displaced it outside into the forest. Narrowing his eyes, he discovered glowing fae enchantments beneath the holes. His eyes widened in shock that the pack would allow a fae so deep within their territory to enchant the wood.

The last quarter of the trunk, toward the branches and leaves, remained bare: no tables, no chairs, and no blankets. He could just make out a small raised platform that might have been used as a makeshift stage. The infamous pack meetings he had heard so much about must have been held there. Eyeing the area that would decide his fate as a prisoner, he noticed the wooden floor of the trunk had claw marks gouged into it, resembling deep scars.

When and where the pack decided to use their human forms was a complete mystery to him. They were shifters in the truest sense of the word, not humans and not animals, but a strange combination of both that permeated every aspect of their culture.

He approached the buffet-style table and grabbed a wooden plate along with a few crudely carved wooden forks. His eyes lit up, and he had to wipe away drool as he gazed longingly at the food that would satiate his rumbling stomach.

An ancient wolf with bushy grey hair and a deeply wrinkled face ordered the kitchen hands about with dictatorial control. She had a hideous scar that appeared to be from a single slash of a sword or claw. It began just below her hairline, ran down over her eye, and ended at her cheek. The eye was closed and Noah assumed it would never open again. Half blind, she snapped her gaze to him as he started piling the juicy meats, dripping with rendered fat, onto his plate. His hand hovered above the food as her hardened gaze made him question his welcome.

He turned his most charming smile on the old wolf. “Hello, honored elder. In my brief stay in your territory, I have felt the touch of your wisdom percolating throughout the pack.”

The wizened old wolf snorted and smacked her cane against the floor. The crack reverberated off of the walls, causing the wolves at the tables to pause their meals. His eyes lit up, food forgotten, as he inspected her cane. Another cane enthusiast? He was the only person he knew who used a cane as their primary weapon. His excitement waned as he noticed it was an ordinary walking cane, used out of necessity, not as a weapon of violence.

“I am too old to rouse the necessary energy to spread prejudice and hate against your kind, human. I will judge you upon the strength of your spirit, not upon your lack of ability to shift. However, I will commit vile atrocities in the name of safeguarding my pack. Do not test my willingness to bring horror down upon you.”

She then nodded at the food and turned her back on him, already shouting commands at the poor kitchen aids under her employ. After a brief hesitation, he loaded up his plate with succulent meat and fresh vegetables. Next to the food, a small wooden basin attached to the floor of the lodge glowed with fae enchantment symbols. Whistling at the amount of magic that must have coursed through this inconspicuous basin, he inspected the symbols which were carved in meticulous precision.

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Peering over the rim, he saw crystal clear water filled to the brim, only a drop or two from overflowing. He dipped a wooden cup into the water, noticeably dropping the water level, and watched in amazement as the basin filled to the brim with water once more. It must have tapped into a well or underground spring, with the enchantments suctioning the never-ending water into the basin.

All the while, he could feel the searing gazes of dozens of wolves upon his back. His shoulders sagged under the weight of their stares. He turned around with his wooden tray and scanned the audience, hoping to spot Sylvie. His scan turned up empty, as he couldn’t locate her. His mate had literally thrown him to the wolves with no support.

“Mr. Human! Mr. Human! Over here!” Noah zeroed in on the source of the noise, only to see Luna with her arm stretched up into the air as high as it would go. Silas was trying to lower her arm while nervously looking around at the other pack members.

Adorned with his most dazzling smile, he headed toward the siblings. He sat down with his tray, loudly announcing to the other wolves at the tables, “Thank you, Luna. You get first pick from the coffers.”

“Yay!” Luna clapped her hands and bounced in her seat. “Did you hear that, Silas? We get first pick of the coffee that the humans grow.”

Silas facepalmed, his hand not quite blocking his flushed face. He intently stared down at his own tray, mumbling to himself about his parents having no self-restraint in the bedroom.

Noah began to eat with wild abandon. The juices from the meat dribbled down his chin, but he didn’t even pause his feast to wipe them away. He didn’t know what kind of animal he was eating and he didn’t care. It was delicious.

He examined the wolves at the other tables as he choked down his food. He couldn’t help but look at a table that included the monstrously sized Rowan. On Rowan’s right sat Alder, and Noah scoffed in jealousy at how handsome the young man was. He had blemish-free, dark brown skin and soothing dark brown eyes.

Noah firmly believed that he must have stolen his lashes off of a female due to their length. His eyes roamed over Alder’s firm jaw, with a few days of stubble darkening his cheeks and chin. The top of his head only reached Rowan’s neck, so he must have been around 6’6” or taller, and he filled out that frame with powerful, rippled muscles.

“Stupid magical races,” Noah whispered to himself. He took solace in the fact that if every member of the pack was that beautiful, then Alder wasn’t unique like Noah and his average features. Rubbing the day-old stubble on his face, he promised himself he would shave as soon as he could. According to his books, a gentleman did not let his beard grow wild.

Noah averted his eyes from Alder and tapped into the fountain of knowledge of the pack, whispering to the young girl beside him, “Hey Luna, what is the deal with Rowan? He doesn’t seem thrilled with Sylvie’s decisions lately.”

Luna’s eyes grew wide and she leaned in to whisper back, cupping her hands around his ear and her mouth, “He’s the First Beta. Second only to the Alpha. He was the First Beta for her father, Ajax, too.”

Luna removed her hands from his ear, leaning in with her own ear inches from his ribs. Smiling down at the young girl, he cupped his hands around her ear and whispered, “If he was the First Beta for Sylvie’s father, why didn’t he take over as alpha when her father died?”

Luna just stared at him as he awaited her response. She beckoned with her hand, and he leaned down so that she could whisper into his ear once more. “Her father bypassed pack law and bequeathed his alpha powers directly to his daughter. Only a powerful alpha can willingly pass their alpha powers onto someone of their choosing. It is not the normal chain of succession in most packs. Many in the pack believe Rowan should be alpha and that Sylvie has cheated her way into power. Although, that may change, now that she found her mate.”

He raised his brow in surprise as he somehow entered the arena of pack politics. “What does finding her mate have to do with being qualified as an alpha?”

Silas broke in, glancing nervously around to make sure they weren’t being overheard by the other tables, “You need to show that you can grow the pack as the Alpha. It’s the number one thing that the pack must have faith in. Before you, Sylvie had a curse that prevented her from having a mate and an heir. There was a lot of tension and discontent about her remaining as alpha in recent months.”

Luna shifted impatiently in her seat as she waited for Silas to finish. Her pigtails swung back and forth as she vibrated with nervous energy. “That’s not even the main issue, Silas. You always leave the juiciest gossip out.”

Silas widened his eyes. “Don’t you dare. He is not a pack member yet, Luna.”

Noah glanced at Luna, who was clenching her little fists into a ball.

“It’s okay if you don’t know Luna,” he said, patting her shoulder to console her lack of knowledge. She turned red and looked to be in physical pain.

“I’ll just have to find another young pup who actually knows about pack business. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Silas attempted to ruin his bait, saying, “Luna, don’t listen to his schemes. He is not pack and does not need to know our embarrassments.”

Luna burst out of her seat with a scary look on her face. She was practically drooling as she partook in her chosen vice. Gossip.

“Some wolves believed the curse transformed Sylvie. They figured that if she couldn’t mate like a wolf, the Unseelie Prince’s magic must have twisted her into more fae than wolf.” Luna sat back down, out of breath and panting. She had the satisfied look of an alcoholic who had taken their first sip of fae wine for the night.

Silas stood up, sliding his chair back. He pointed a shaky finger at his sister with a flushed face. “You…You need help, Luna.” Luna didn’t even hear his words, and Noah ignored them.

Noah clicked his tongue. Sylvie was facing more challenges in the pack than he knew. The excitement in her eyes when she looked at him made perfect sense now. He would have to watch this veteran warrior, Rowan. The easiest way for him to take over the pack and become alpha would be to kill Noah. He risked his life for the silliest things, but he wasn’t about to die as a pawn in shifter politics. He glanced back over to the table where the First Beta sat.

“Then what about Alder? Is he third in command?” he asked.

Luna glanced up from her tray, her mouth covered in food. She spoke through her full mouth, “Um, no. There isn’t a set position for third in the pack. He represents the younger generation of warriors and carries much sway in the pack. Before the curse, he and Sylvie were inseparable. The pack used to believe that Alder and Sylvie would become mates, with Alder assuming the role of alpha.”

Noah narrowed his eyes at this Alder. Another wolf who had plenty of reasons to want him dead. Danger was on all sides of him, it seemed.

As he returned his attention to his own table, he couldn’t help but notice that the siblings were isolated from the other wolves at the table.

“Where are your parents? Do they make you eat breakfast by yourselves?” he asked with a frown. Their heads dropped and their shoulders sagged at his words.

“A vampire killed our mommy and daddy five years ago. We are orphans now, but it’s okay, we have each other and that’s all we need,” Luna said with a determined look on her face and biting her lip. Cursing the unfairness of the world, he placed a hand on Luna’s shoulder. Every time he looked up, another life was destroyed by the Vampires. How much longer could he suffer their existence?

“I’m sorry to hear that Luna, but you’re correct. You and Silas will be just fine. I mean, I was an orphan just like you, and look how I turned out,” he said while puffing his chest out. Luna glanced over at him with a mouth full of food and conducted a head-to-toe inspection. Her eyes focused on his trousers before moving up to his ruffled shirt and trench coat. They flickered to his cane before moving up to the tattoos that covered his neck. Finally, she inspected his cowboy hat, and he dazzled her with a smile full of irresistible charm, tipping his hat to her.

Her lip began to tremble, and her eyes filled up with tears. Heart sinking, Noah dropped his smile in an instant. Her lip trembled even more violently, and finally, she broke out in choking sobs. Tears ran freely down her face and great heaves shook her shoulders. In a daze, he stared at the young girl whose hopes and dreams had been crushed by his mere existence.

Silas rushed to hug his sister, comforting her with soft strokes of her hair. “It’s okay, Luna. We will figure this cruel world out together.”

“Now hold on a minute. I’ve done alright for myself-” Noah began, intent on defending his life to the young siblings.

“You didn’t have to be so mean, Noah. She’s only a pup,” Silas chastised, his own eyes filling with tears as he conducted his own inspection of Noah. Grabbing his chest in pain, Noah spent the next five minutes forced to listen to the siblings comfort themselves about their apparent hopeless and nightmarish futures.

After finishing his meal and a depressing bout of introspection, he decided to explore the forest for a time. With no knowledge of Sylvie’s whereabouts, he had to entertain himself. Since she hadn’t explicitly stated any rules or warnings on where he could go, he treated it as if he had complete freedom.

Twirling his cane and whistling a complex tune, he merrily walked through the trees. He was quite ecstatic that the wolves hadn’t considered the cane a threat and confiscated it.

He frowned. Now that he thought about it, maybe he should feel insulted by the slight. After losing his direction and meandering through the trees, he turned around, surprised to find two pack members not far behind him. He had heard nothing to indicate their presence.

The wolves kept a satisfactory distance from Noah, and he assumed these were guards rather than would-be assassins. He scowled at them. He didn’t do well when his freedom was infringed upon. A flash of the caverns appeared in his mind, and he was unable to advance past the thought. He gripped his cane, grimacing as the obsessive thoughts refused to release him from the prison of his past. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and finally was able to release his tension.

Continuing his trek through the forest, he passed cabins similar to the one he had slept in last night and others that were high in the trees. Each time he came across a pack member, the door was summarily slammed shut with a growl. He went from an invisible unknown that no one cared about in Greenwood to the most well-known person in the territory, whom everyone wanted to kill. Uncertain which was worse, he shook his head, sighing at his twisted fate. He backtracked directly toward his guards, who stiffened at his approach.

“Hi, gentleman. I think I’ll be okay on my own if you want to tend to something of more importance.”

One guard shook his head. “The Alpha ordered us to guard you. We will stay with you until told otherwise.”

Noah exclaimed, with a hand over his chest in exasperation, “But I’m giving you permission. I discussed this with the Alpha last night, and she agreed I could handle myself. You are relieved from duty, my good men. Consider that an order from the mate of the Alpha.”

The second guard narrowed his eyes and spat to the side. “You are not the Alpha. You are not a wolf. You are no one. Any of our young pups could take your life in an instant, and I won’t acknowledge orders from such a weak being.”

Noah shook his head with a sigh. It seemed his usual charm, resistible by none, had finally met its match in the Baleful Fiend Pack. With nowhere else to go, he returned to Sylvie’s cabin, waiting for his mate to deem him important enough to check in on him.