Sitting on a couch in the manor, with a chess board between them, Blair and Alder were enjoying the evening.

Alder certainly liked to put on a show of being in deep thought, but she still couldn’t tell if he actually planned his moves out or just picked something at random.

He reached out, moving a white pawn.

Safe, if boring. The score was currently 2-1 in her favor. She smiled at Alder, and he scowled. “Don’t give me that smug look. I’ll have you know I’m a master at this game. I’m just holding back my power!”

Blair chuckled. The man didn’t care if he lost, the weirdo.

She took a deep breath, the subtle scent of pine that always seemed to hang in the air here calming her.

She reached out to her knight, then froze.

A chill ran down her neck, and her gut told her to look right. She wasn’t sure why. She couldn’t smell or hear anything in that direction, but she still turned.

Alder was already staring at the child.

He was around eight or nine, with short brown hair and watery blue eyes. He wore a simple blue shirt and jeans, and he looked up at Alder like the man could solve all the problems in the world.

Blair saw pain, sadness, and weariness flash over Alder’s face before it settled into a gentle smile.

He stood up from his chair and crouched, putting himself at eye level with the kid.

“Hey, do you need some help?” His voice was soft, steady.

The kid nodded but didn’t speak.

“Do you know what you need?”

Another nod.

“Can you tell me?” He shook his head.

“Can you show me?”

The child paused, then nodded.

Alder’s gentle smile didn’t falter. “Are you ready to go now?”

Once again, the child nodded.

Alder rose to his feet and gestured. “Lead the way.”

Blair rose to her feet with them, and they started for the door.

Blair’s phone rang, the tone sounding out in three sharp beeps.

She froze. That was her mother's emergency ringtone. She whipped her phone out and answered. “Speaking.”

Her mother's cold voice sounded in her ear. “You and your Pack need to leave for Portland immediately.”

Blair didn’t argue or hesitate. She knew that tone. This wasn’t some petty game. This was the Alpha of the Northwoods Pack speaking.

“What can you tell me,“ she asked as she moved to the door.

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“The Barrow King has forces around three different cities in the northwest and two in the southeast. No one place has a truly worrying amount, but the fact that we don’t know how many or who he has on his side is worrying. Each city has an artifact of power or some piece of magic that can synchronize with his power.”

“He could go for any of them or none of them and attack somewhere completely separate. We don’t know, so we are hedging our bets. We need your Pack to help bolster Portland’s defenses.“

Blair grunted. “Understood. I’ll gather the others immediately.” She paused, looking over her shoulder at the spectral child.

“I want to leave a few people behind to watch over Alder and the town.“

Her mother didn’t hesitate. “No.“

Blair ground her teeth, the edges of her vision turning red for a beat. She forced herself to breathe deep.

It was getting harder. A week ago, that response would have been easier to bite down, and it wouldn’t have been so intense.

“He-“ Blair started before her mother cut her off.

“I understand your concern.“ Adele said, a shocking amount of understanding voice. “I have come to an understanding with the clans. If any ‘rogue elements’ snatch the Telss while we are away, the clans are bound by their word, both to me and as members of the Pact, to help us retrieve the Telss.”

Her voice darkened. “And if I find any evidence that suggests they were directly involved, then I will declare war.”

Blair blinked down at the phone. Her mother wouldn’t want to declare war, and she certainly wouldn’t do it for Alder’s sake. She’d do it out of principle.

If the clans disrespected her like that, went back on their word, and snatched someone who was under their protection, she really would go to war. To do anything else would be to look weak.

And the clans knew it.

It would almost certainly destroy the Northwoods Pack, and they would definitely lose if all the Clans joined together, not that they would.

But even in that case, the loss of life would be devastating, and it wasn’t like the Barrow King would stand aside as that happened.

If the woman had really laid her cards out on the table like that, then the clans probably wouldn’t try something… Not unless they were sure they could get away with it.

“…The town?”

“It won’t be abandoned. The Pact will still have people here, just not many. But the town won’t be a target. It’s the people the Barrow King was after before, not the town.”

Blair ground her teeth. She didn’t want to leave Alder unprotected, but she knew her mother wasn’t moving on this.

She took a deep breath. She couldn’t take him with them, not if the city would be attacked. Staying was safer, but it meant she couldn’t help if something happened.

It was out of her control.

Blair squeezed her eyes shut as she centered herself. Instincts clashed, twisted one way, then the other. Her guts twisted as if she were on a roller coaster before finally settling.

Then she turned to Alder. “We have to go to Portland.”

Alder nodded slowly. “Okay…let me just finish up here and-“

“No,” Blair cut him off, and her next words stung in her throat. “The Pack and I. You have to stay here.”

There was a brief flash of pain on Alder’s face, but it vanished in a heartbeat, replaced with contemplation. “There’s going to be fighting.”

“Maybe.”

The small ghost looked between Blair and Alder but, aside from that, remained silent.

Alder sighed. “Okay, I understand.”

Blair stared at him. Well, that was easy… apparently she’d let the thought show on her face since Alder chuckled.

“If I thought there would be a large group of spirits or something, I’d come regardless of what you said. But otherwise, I’d only going to get in the way. Maybe even get someone killed covering for me.”

Blair opened her mouth, then closed it.

She admired how Alder could completely cut his pride out of a situation.

He didn’t fool himself or feel the need to bullshit. He knew his limits perfectly well, even if she could tell he wasn’t happy about it.

“…I’m going to get ready.” She said. The words hung in the air, and they felt inadequate.

Her stomach kept twisting as she marched through the door.