*Two nights after the events of the previous chapter*

*5/10/90*

On the night of the first patrol into Scar's territory, Rose went to the Temple. Her head bowed as she walked down the aisle leading through the pews. This was normal, so no one was likely to guess that her posture was due less to reverence and more to guilt and confusion. When she reached the four altars, she knelt. Only then to look up at the four oil paintings of the Maidens. Four smiling, gentle faces regarded her the way they always have. Mentally, Rose smacked herself for being so silly as to anticipate anything else. Part of her expected to see the faces in disapproval. “Things like that don’t happen,” she reminded herself.

But then, if that was true, the Maidens could very well be mad at her. "Their portraits wouldn't change, but the real ones could be very angry," Rose shivered at the thought.

There was no going back at this point. She was already in too deep. She had repeatedly spared the lives of werewolves and even conversed with them. Worse still was the ugly flare of rage that had risen in her chest when she saw the closeness between Ellora and Coraline. That could only mean one thing: She is now forced to accept that her once innocent baby sister was in love with a werewolf. Her shoulders shook. "I know you don't hold all the answers," she thought. "But would you be able to help me?"

"Rose?"

Rose jumped a little. When she looked up, she knew that some of her inner conflicts were reflected in the orange-haired priestess's eyes. There was no helping it. "Hello, priestess."

"What is wrong?" The priestess regarded Rose. While kneeling before the Maidens one at a time was acceptable, people often only approached just one due to how much closer they seemed to their mortals. Approaching all at once was when they were at their lowest point. In search of guidance that a single Maiden couldn't offer. Rose never knelt before all four altars before.

Knowing it would do no good to lie, Rose elected to tell a half-truth. "My feelings concerning Coraline and Mom have not gotten better."

The priestess nodded, kneeling next to Rose. "Is it continued grief?"

Rose opened and closed her mouth a few times before shaking her head. She wanted to pour her heart out to the priestess. She couldn't do that, though. If the priestess knew what was happening, she would be duty-bound to turn her over to Kenny. Rose couldn't even vent partially because there was too much of a risk that she'd say too much accidentally.

When it became clear that Rose wouldn't tell her, the priestess sighed. "If you can't confide in me, I hope you can find comfort in the Maidens. Tell them all that's troubling you if no one else. They will listen, as will I if you decide to come to me.”

Rose nodded, her lip trembling as she forced a smile. "Thank you, priestess," she bowed to the portraits before standing up. "I…will be going on a patrol tonight. Would you give me a blessing before I leave?"

"Of course." Immediately, the priestess raised her hand and did the Sign of the Five-Pointed Star, representing the Summerland and the four Maidens in the points below. "In the name of the Maidens, I bless you as you go forth in their name. May Spring grant you vitality, Summer grant you joy, Fall grant you bounty, and may Winter grant you wisdom. May their watchful eyes see that you remain on their path. So may it be.”

Warm tears streamed down Rose's cheeks as she left the Temple. She adjusted her axe on her back, remembering when she had come so close to plunging its pointed tip through Coraline's heart. That memory alone almost made her throw her weapon away, but she quickly regained control of her emotions.

"That's enough of that," she scolded herself, taking a large gulp from her flask. "You have work to do tonight. Mom needs you." Having a task to accomplish helped immensely with forcing her worried thoughts away. It was almost better than anything the Temple or alcohol could do.

~o0o~

Hunter was on high alert as the group went through the forest. The past few days had almost been enough to make him forget that danger lurked between the trees. Now, he had to forget about Coraline and Ellora and remind himself that the werewolves they would meet tonight, if any, would gladly kill them if given a chance.

"Unless we're lucky and run into mom," he thought. That would be nice but wouldn't happen. If speculation was to be believed, Scar would have her at the center of the territory, potentially trapped somewhere, hidden from view. The mental image of Emma being held in a dirty cave with a grinning wolf looming over her made Hunter shudder, and he tried to think about something else.

Instead, he fingered the scraps of cloth in his pocket. They were a newer part of the plan that Garrett came up with. Over the course of the day, Garrett painted the clan's symbol on dozens of old clothes and gave them out to everyone. If they were scattered around during the patrol, they might be taken by the wind to the inner parts of the territory. The werewolves wouldn't know their meaning, but if Emma saw them, she might figure out that the others were looking for her.

They paused as they reached the border. Ellora described in detail the path they would take to skirt the western side bordering Ember's land. After figuring the other parts out, it was up to them.

Garrett knelt down, examining the ground. "There are lots of tracks," he narrowed his eyes as he tried to see some of the trees. "Further in, there are claw marks on the bark."

They walked a few miles in, Hunter's sword arm shaking whenever a bush rustled. The ghostly howls of the nightly air only sent chills up everyone's spines. He looked at the trees occasionally, noticing claw marks on most of them. When they stopped again, he listened for any sign of approaching werewolves or Shadows. Then something occurred to him. "Can we really expect any weak spots here? Won't this border be heavily marked since it's right next to another pack's territory?"

Brianna immediately opened her journal and started jotting down notes. “This is just so fascinating! Scar's pack may have begun using a writing system from how these claw marks are aligned in specific patterns. Oh, this discovery is just so exciting I could bur-” She is cut off when Rose’s hand slapped over her mouth.

"Hunter is right. And Brianna may very well be onto something.” Garrett said thoughtfully.

“In that case," Jade said promptly. "Patrols on this border should focus on how long the wolves take to arrive here. After all, getting Emma out on this side would be better."

Mason groaned. "Why do we have to find all this out? We've been hunting here for years. Hasn't anyone else figured stuff like that out?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Not really," Rose reminded the large boy. "Normally, we just hunt down what we can find and kill them. Tracking stuff like that isn’t usually a thing.”

Garrett's brows furrowed. "But…even animals have a pattern of behavior," he shook his head slowly. "We've blindly followed so many things, haven't we?"

Rose shifted uncomfortably, her thoughts shifting to the Temples. "What even do we believe anymore? So many things are different from how we thought they were…." She remembered all the times she knelt before the altars and shook her head. "The Maidens will forgive me if I'm wrong and commend me if I'm right. I have to believe that much."

They skirted the rest of the border, dropping cloths at intervals and watching how recent some claw marks were compared to others. As they reached the end of the border, they heard several approaching werewolves. They readied their battle stances. The air was charged. Then, from two different places, a total of five werewolves burst out of the brush.

The first one lunged for Garrett, jaws open and claws ready to carve up their target. Garrett nimbly jumped to the side, slashing at the creature's flank and torso with Gravitas Glaive’s blades. Before the wolf could retaliate, the effects of his staff's blades took effect. Its flank began to rise into the air while its torse slammed flat against the forest floor. The wolf cried in pain and flailed its limbs around in panic before its spine was pulled in two. A few short moments afterward, the effects of the gravity Stone-infused blades went off, and the wolf’s corpse fell to the ground like an old rag doll.

Jade used her magic to throw all kinds of debris at the werewolves. Dead trees, large rocks, thorn bushes, the dead wolf, even poison ivy.

Hunter swung his sword in a series of quick, darting motions he learned over the years. The result left a wolf bleeding severely from several electrified wounds. It rushed forward, lashing out with its claws. Hunter felt them clink against his armor as he tried to back away.

A cry rang out from where Mason and Rose were. A wolf had a tight grip on Rose's fortunately armored arm. The teeth sank into the hard leather armor while Rose tried hacking at it, and Mason mercilessly beat its head. Even then, it took Brianna shooting it to finally get the creature to loosen its grip.

The remaining wolves exchanged glances before two of them retreated. The third, the one Hunter injured, tried to run but collapsed after less than a yard. It fell to the side, panting loudly as blood gushed from its front.

Rose strode toward it, Emberforge raised, only to stop at Hunter's shout.

"Wait!" He ran over to Rose, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What if we took it prisoner and questioned it?"

"Are you crazy?!" Rose gaped at Hunter. "We can't capture a live werewolf! The people at home will kill it before we can ask anything. We'll be suspected of not killing it immediately like we should!"

"What if we took it to Ellora?" Hunter suggested. "She could take it to her pack as a prisoner. That could help her standing with the others, and it'll be secure."

"What if it gets loose? It'd go back to Scar and tell him that Huntsmen are working with wolves from Ember's pack," Rose shook her head. "No. It's better to kill it here and now.” She turned toward the werewolf. It was still lying on its side. One eye was turned toward her. As she stepped closer, it raised one of its paws feebly. It was an easy kill. This werewolf was an enemy. Yet, Rose faltered, her mind returning to the last time she raised her axe against a vulnerable werewolf. Against her better judgment, she looked at the eye that was fixed on her. In the moon's glow, she saw it was dark brown, the pupil barely visible. It blinked, and the creature let out a whine. It was larger than Coraline, but… The fearful look on its face seemed to pierce Rose's soul. As she looked at it, she felt her determination to kill fading. A strange, alien sense of peace flooded her, and she lowered her hand, frowning in puzzlement.

Hunter stepped toward the creature. "We're going to bind you. Will you come quietly if we let you live?"

The creature nodded its head rapidly. A loud whine punctuated its consent.

Jade sighed. "If we're gonna do it, let's do it quickly. We don't want his friends coming back with reinforcements."

After binding the muzzle and wrists of the wounded werewolf, Hunter reached into his bag and withdrew some medicine meant to stop bleeding. He wished he could use a healing Stone on the creature but didn't know if that was a good idea, so he decided to play it safe. After he rubbed the medicine on some of the wounds and used cloth bandages to bind the worst of them, he stepped back. “Okay. Stand up.”

Whimpering, the werewolf stood on its hind legs. Now that the battle was over, the group realized this was a small wolf. It was about as tall as they were. Its human form was either small or just weak in general. It didn't even try to snarl at them or show its fangs through its rope-wrapped muzzle.

As they walked, they realized they would need to find a place to keep the beast until they could meet Ellora. Someone would also have to guard it. Garrett and Jade volunteered. They didn't have many friends outside the clan and would not be missed as fast.

Hunter suggested keeping the prisoner in the woods bordering the Albino District. "We know there won't be as many guards there," he muttered dryly.

It was almost sunrise as they reached a decent spot far from town. Garrett and Jade watched as the others left before turning to look at their prisoner.

"Hey!" Jade realized. "We'll probably be the first people in a long time to see a de-transformation. This is kinda cool!"

Garrett said nothing but reached into his bag, withdrawing a coat. "Just in case it gets cold after turning back."

Jade rolled her eyes at him. "I swear, you bring extra clothes no matter where we go.”

"And extra bandages, rations, and water," Garrett added. "It's good to be prepared."

As the sun came up, their dull-eyed werewolf prisoner shuddered. It looked like ripples were running through its brown fur. The shudders intensified, its feet and hands flexed, and its muzzle shortened.

"Jade, hold its wrists!" Garrett said as the fur started to disappear. "They'll shrink when it turns back!"

Jade used her magic to hold its arms steady. The ropes fell from its shaking wrists as more and more fur disappeared as if being sucked back into the skin. The beast tried to claw at her a few times, and she grimaced, strengthening her magical grip while holding the beast at arm's length from Garrett, who held its ankles. While claws didn't usually turn people, blood did. The beast has some of its own blood on its paws.

The sound of bones cracking made both humans wince. It looked incredibly painful as the beast shifted and changed from a wolf to an average-sized young man. As the rope fell from his face, he opened his mouth to yell, only to have a handful of cloth bandages shoved in. He glared daggers at Garrett as Jade quickly re-bound his wrists and ankles.

Garrett pointed his staff at the werewolf. "I know you don't want to die or wouldn't have been so willing to follow us. If you call for help, you'll be dead long before it can arrive. We have some questions for you, and you will answer them. Understand?"

The man huffed through the cloth gag but nodded. He was a tan-skinned individual with dull brown hair and dark brown eyes. Now that he wasn't writhing and twitching, it was easy to see the red bite mark on his left shoulder.

"So, he's a turned werewolf," Garrett thought of Coraline. Would this werewolf be just as outgoing and friendly? That would certainly be nice. Bending down, he withdrew the cloth from the man's mouth, relieved when he didn't yell or tried to bite a finger. "I'm Garrett. That's Jade. What's your name?"

The werewolf let out another resigned sigh, squinting a little as he looked up. "I'm Steven. What do you humans want with me?"

~o0o~

Ellora and Coraline sat outside the den, watching the sunset, feeling thick coils of tension within their stomachs.

"I hate this," Coraline muttered, kicking at the dirt. "I want to help. I can't stand waiting like this. What if something goes wrong?"

"We have no other choice," Ellora said. Her voice was calm, but her mind was on Hunter. The gentle-eyed, cheerful young man wasn't just her fantasy human anymore, but her real-life friend. The thought of Scar's wolves tearing him apart as they had her parents was already too horrible to bear.

"Ellora. Coraline. Come here," Ember's voice broke both women from their thoughts. They turned to look at the leader, who stood over them. Like most werewolves in the pack, she wore no clothes. Ellora and Coraline were considered odd for wearing theirs. Ellora felt that her charge's comfort was more important than what others thought.

"There will be a hunt tonight. You have been trained enough. I want you running with me," these last words were directed at Coraline.

"O-Oh!" Coraline quickly stood up. "Okay."

Ember's eyes flashed, and she tilted her head, her mouth becoming a fine line.

Ellora hurriedly stood as well. "She means 'Yes, Leader.' Don't you, Coraline?" She gave Coraline a pleading look.

Coraline paled as she realized her error. "Oh, sorry! Um, yes, Leader. I, uh, await your orders."

Ember's look softened, if minutely. "Very good. Be ready to transform. We leave immediately," she turned and walked away.

Coraline's shoulders slumped. "She's scary…." She glanced up at Ellora. "Is it normal for new werewolves to run with the leader?”

"Not usually," Ellora was frowning at Ember's retreating back. "Inexperienced hunters usually stay in the middle of the pack, where they can observe without interfering.”

"Do you think it's because I'm an alpha?" Coraline asked. "She saw me use the stare on Lightning."

"That could be it," Ellora allowed. "There aren't many alphas in the pack," her heart sank as she spoke. She wasn't sure if she was just being affected by Bandit and Scarlet's conspiracy theories. She wondered if Ember was hoping to bring Coraline over to her side so that she wouldn't potentially help Ellora overtake the pack.

She quickly shook herself. "No, that's silly. She just wants to get Coraline accustomed to giving commands. She knows that I'm adept already. Besides, now that Coraline is trained, she must have a relationship with our leader.” With those calming thoughts, Ellora pushed her mind away from worries about Hunter, Ember, and Coraline. She instead focused on the transformation and the thrill of the following hunt.