Dax watched as the silver wolf with familiar golden eyes sped off into the forest like the wind. Had he seen that wolf or was he dreaming? He had tracked Aura this far, and he found her clothes wrapped up in that bush where the wolf had emerged from. Dax searched the area around him for any signs of Aura or a struggle, but nothing offered any other solutions for what he had seen or where Aura might be. He stood still staring in the direction the wolf had taken, thinking of the wild woman who had captured his heart. Could that beast have been Aura? Dax couldn’t just stay there. He needed answers, and that silver wolf was his only clue. Inhaling deeply, he took off after the silver wolf that he could no longer see. He prayed for strength to the God that he was sure was playing with him.

Two hours later…

Dax had wandered through the forest lost with no sign of the silver wolf. He sat down on a rock next to the creek flowing quietly. The whole forest had been quiet in his opinion. No birds had chirped, no branches rustled in the wind nor did any animal make a peep. This whole day has been weird. He had finally kissed Aura and made up with her. Three weeks of silence from her had been unbearable for him. Dax should have been careful with his words that night, knowing Jalen was an elf. He was stressed from the sudden royal visit after just getting Aura back. It’s been two months since he met the wild woman in the valley of the Lost, and she had been on his mind every day. He walked further into a clearing when he heard growling and magic blasts in the distance. Dax huffed as he worked up the strength to run again. He wasn’t sure what he might find if he followed the sounds of battle, but he hoped to have answers.

Dax came upon a bloody battle where wolves were tearing apart what looked to be hunters from the Grim Guild. They had frequented the area around the Village of Lilies lately, looking for beast shifters. Dax was not fond of beast shifters, but he didn't like how they were hunted for sport to only end up as slaves or worse dead. He regretted permitting them to search the surrounding area as he watched the scene in front of him. Magic blasts shot through the air like fireworks during a kingdom celebration. Blood and bodies were in disarray. Dax was no stranger to such a graphic battlefield.

Dax watched as the hunters fell at the fangs of seven wolves left standing against the remaining third of the hunter’s party. He wasn’t sure which side he should be rooting for, so he stayed back from the battle. Rhys was there wielding her famous ax, slicing through magic and limbs as if it were a dance. He wondered if this was how all great battles looked to onlookers with strong stomachs. The metallic blood smell and burnt wood scent filled the air as another hunter fell to the paws of a silver wolf. The silver wolf was faster than the others. She would see an opening and slide in to tear a hunter’s arm clean off. He thought the wolves must have incredible strength with the way he watched the silver wolf crush the throat of a hunter. The silver coat of the wolf seemed to darken with each attack.

Dax had never fought a wolf let alone a beast shifter, which he believed these wolves to be. When he faced a beast shifter, it was a giant bear that was threatening a traveling family. He thought they were all vicious from the stories he had heard of beast shifters destroying villages in a single day. There was a myth that beast shifters could curse other races to become a shifter with a single bite, and that’s why after the last war and years of hunting the beast shifters were still here. The myth called the cursed men werewolves because the rumors were always about wolves biting unsuspecting people as revenge for being hunted for three centuries. The more Dax thought about the myth and rumors, he began to wonder if it could be true. It was the only explanation for Aura’s disappearance and the silver wolf’s sudden appearance. “That must be why she was hiding in the valley of the Lost...and why she was being chased…” He muttered quietly to himself. Things finally made sense to him. “No wonder she would support such a radical queen and be here in this fight against hunters. They were hunting her!” His voice had gotten too loud, distracting the blue-tinted wolf and hunter. Dax watched as the blue-tinted wolf was slain with wicked wind magic. The blue-tinted wolf was lifted and dropped down to a sword stuck in a tree. Blood gushed from the wolf’s slit throat, causing the largest wolf to howl in pain.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Dax suddenly felt full of guilt. “Shit. Shit. Dumbass.” He whispered under his breath. He didn’t understand what he had done, but he knew that he caused that blue wolf’s death. He stayed tucked behind the trunk of the tree, processing what had just happened.

It wasn’t long before he was called to look back at the battle by the screaming. Dax peered out from behind the tree to be sure Rhys was all right. What he saw was a flash of silver ripping apart every hunter limb by limb. Hunters were bleeding out left and right as the silver wolf pounced on the last hunter, which had cornered the largest wolf. Without any hesitation, the silver wolf crushed the hunter’s neck. All the hunters were dead. Dax was proud of the silver wolf, which was near collapse. Rhys bent down and spoke to a powerful-looking, brown wolf. Only a moment passed when the brown wolf seemed to give a nod. The wolves gathered their dead and quickly followed the largest wolf into the forest.

Dax left his hiding place and approached Rhys, trying not to step on the dead. “Rhys,” Dax whispered, trying not to spook her. She had started moving one of the dead bodies. “Rhys,” he said louder.

Rhys jumped and squealed in surprise. She turned around to find Dax covered in leaves and tree sap. Part of her wanted to laugh, but she pushed it aside when panic filled her over the scene they were standing in. “Captain Dax,” she cleared her throat, trying to rid her voice of panic. “What are you doing out here?”

“I think I should be asking what happened here,” Dax replied.

“I am not entirely sure, but I just came upon this slaughtered field of,” she looked at the mess of blood and guts. “...Bodies…” she forced herself to say. “And, I thought I should put these poor people to rest.”

“Rhys, I watched you and a pack of wolves demolish these hunters.” Dax countered. “I just want to understand what happened here. What am I looking at here?” He walked around gesturing to the area.

Rhys began to fidget. She thought she would just bury the bodies with her magic and call this day done. Why was today a secret discovery day? “Dax, what you saw is exactly what it was. Hunters came after these wolves, and I helped them end the conflict.”

“They weren’t just wolves, were they? You defended a group of beast shifters.” He prodded further though he already suspected as much.

“Yes, I helped the beast shifters. What of it? It’s not against the law.” Rhys fired back at him. He doesn’t know who she was helping, and Jalen didn’t want anyone to know. “If you will excuse me, Captain, I have some bodies to lay to rest.” Rhys reached down and dragged the body behind her to another nearby.

Dax shook his head at the injured dwarf woman slowly dragging one body to another. He watched her struggle to continue her mission to bury the bodies, limbs, and weapons. He sighed as he heard each body go thunk, thunk, thunk along the ground. Dax started pulling body parts to Rhys’ pile. “This will go faster if I help.” He said as Rhys stared at him. She thanked him as they worked.

It took most of the day, however, Rhys and Dax gathered every piece of evidence of the battle into one gigantic pile. “Now what?” Dax asked as Rhys was bent over trying to catch her breath.

She held out a finger, signaling him to wait for her. After a few moments, she composed herself and held her ax in her hand. Rhys summoned her magic, causing her ax to glow bright gold. She slammed the glowing ax onto the ground. The ground split under the giant pile and a chasm opened. All the evidence of the battle fell into the chasm, which closed as quickly as it formed. Rhys stumbled onto the ground, leaving Dax dumbstruck.

“I am truly in awe, or perhaps bewildered with your magic,” Dax said, sitting next to Rhys.

Rhys huffed a few times. “I have… a feeling… you have more...questions.”

“More like theories. Who knows? Maybe, you will be bewildered by my theories.” Dax joked.

“We’ll see, Captain. Just get me home.” Rhys answered.

“Sure,” Dax said as he scooped up the mighty dwarf woman. Today was full of surprises, but he was still in the dark on so many things. Would he ever see Aura again or had he lost his first love?