The gravel rustled harshly under their feet. Ansuya was wearing boots tonight. He vaguely wondered where they had come from. They had conservative heels, about one to two inches in length, which didn’t make a sound when she stepped. It was like she was so light, no weight dropped down on the gravel to shift or disturb it where she stepped. It was just one more thing that the elder was capable of doing.
Ansuya turned to look at them. “We have to move away from this place.” She gestured toward the Inn. “Tonight, we travel through the Whyte Plain.”
A frozen cord snapped tight around William’s stomach and he had to force air into his lungs. Of all the things that he knew would happen eventually, this was the one thing that made him wish for one more day. Of course, it would still be there tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. He knew that he had to deal with this sooner or later. He just really wished that it could be a little later than tonight.
Ansuya continued, “We will move away from the population, five miles will be sufficient.” She looked at the two wolves, “Alexiares, you will lead us through the trees.” She turned back toward the young pack. “I expect you all to keep up and remain silent.” She leaned in close to them and lowered her voice. “The blood of ancient warriors and gods flow in your veins, do not disappoint them.” She turned around to unfasten the leash around Alexiares’s neck.
“Wait, just a moment.” Charles said suddenly. Ansuya stood up and looked at the young tracker. Unperturbed Charles asked Katherine, “Take that thing off of her, please?” She glanced over at William. He had no idea what was going on. After a moment she bent down and took the leash off the wolf standing at her side.
Charles took a deep breath and walked over to Aceso, gently brushing past Katherine. Aceso stood there; her head was neither raised nor lowered. There was a vacant, apathetic look in her eyes that made William silently scream at her. They were going to the Whyte Plain! How dare she simply stand there and sulk. They needed her now and she was turning her back on them. He knew that wasn’t true but it certainly looked that way.
Charles looked over at William and nodded. William cocked his head to the side in a questioning glance. If Charles expected him to know what it was he was planning on doing he was mistaken. William had no idea what his friend was doing or what he had in mind.
Charles knelt down in front of their wolf born alpha. Aceso seemed to look through him. Charles looked at her and took a deep breath, “Aceso, I appreciate everything you have done for me in the past few months, and for the rest of the pack. You have lost nothing in my eyes. The wolf I see now is the same wolf that saved my life the last time we traveled to the Whyte Plain. I see the same benevolent female that spoke for me when I was unable to speak for myself. You are still the brave warrior who gave me the chance to bring myself back from the oblivion that was promised to me. You are and will always be, my Alpha.”
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William’s head jerked up as he heard those words. His eyes met with Katherine and there was an equally shocked expression there as well. He heard a slight huff from behind him as Nicolas scoffed at the whole thing. William looked down at Aceso. Even she looked a little shocked by what had just happened. It was good to see life behind her golden eyes again, even if it was in the form of shock and confusion.
Ignoring all that was going on around him, Charles bowed low in front of the black wolf, “Aceso, from now on I call you my Alpha. I will bend my will to yours; lend my strength to your cause. I bend my neck for no man, but I will bend it for you.”
Aceso hesitated. She clearly wasn’t expecting this. Her ears were twitching in various directions and her tail was suddenly restless. She couldn’t look away from the man who was bowing to her. She took a halting step closer towards Charles. Then, all at once Aceso seemed to calm. Her ears stopped twitching; her tail came to rest easily behind her. A fierce look sprang up in her eyes and she gently rested her jaw on his lowered head.
William felt a slight tug on his brain as she did so. He looked over at Katherine who was staring at him. William nodded and shot his eyes at Charles. She cocked her head to the side not understanding. William tapped his head and gestured toward Charles. Katherine’s eyes widened and she nodded in understanding. The four of them were a pack now. They would be able to feel each other’s presence and be able to tell in what direction each of them were, regardless of distance separating them. They would now share in each other’s stamina and energy as well. The pack had just gotten stronger and Charles had sealed Aceso as rightful alpha of their pack.
Aceso lifted her head and allowed Charles to look up at her. He smiled at her and Aceso seemed to be gaining strength by the minute. In one pivotal act, that he suspected Charles had been planning for some time, Charles had reaffirmed Aceso’s belief in herself and the pack that followed her. The added side effect of the pack being stronger because of it was just a bonus. Charles slowly stood up and backed away from his alpha.
Aceso turned around and marched forward to stand beside Alexiares. Ansuya had a peculiar look on her face, one that William couldn’t hope to read. It wasn’t a blank ‘poker face’ but it also wasn’t a face that one could say held any emotions at all. It was almost like a flowing mosaic, just when he thought that he could pick out something that he might be able to read as an emotion it shifted and faded into something else that was equally unreadable.
Ansuya finally turned around. Alexiares and Aceso bolted out from the gravel lot and Ansuya kicked off into a full sprint. In seconds the three of them were gone. The four young human born that were left in the lot looked at each other blinking. William shrugged, “I guess that means we’re leaving.” Without any more hesitation he pushed off into a sprint as well.
He blasted through the brush at incredible speeds. He had never felt this good running before. The cool night air filled his lungs easily as he ran. The brush underfoot was easy enough to navigate. The stars overhead were becoming even more brilliant the farther away they traveled from the small patch of civilization. Running like this reminded him of his forest and the pack that he had left behind. He hoped that the old grey was taking care of them and that they were alright.