28
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A V R I L
As I hurried to the heart of the territory, I struggled to believe the news my beta had just shared with me. Another awakening, so soon after we found Oliver? We would often go months, or even years, between receiving signs from the Banyan leading us to a new fledgling. Still, there could be no doubt when the proof was right there on my forearm, my mark glowing brightly.
I found my friends standing under the sacred tree, their faces marked with the same disbelief. When they saw me, they stepped aside, leaving a clear path to the Banyan. I drew in a deep breath, willing my thoughts to quiet, and closed my eyes to focus. Slowly, I reached out, my fingers brushing the bark as they followed the glowing lines on its surface.
The Banyan’s clues were rarely straightforward. Sometimes, they came as little more than an unsettling feeling - a vague hunch about the lost Ashen Wolf’s whereabouts. Other times, they were sharper, leading me to a specific location. But on rare occasions, the tree’s magic was flawlessly clear, revealing every detail of the new awakening.
This time, the message was so vivid I could not only determine exactly where the fledgling was, but actually see it with my own eyes.
My heart skipped a beat as I tore my hand away from the Banyan, a startled gasp pushing through my lips.
My eyes had barely burst open when Rhea questioned, “What did it show you?”
As I opened my mouth to reply, I stopped myself. My beta, gamma, and delta weren’t the only ones watching me with apprehensive curiosity. The entire pack had gathered around, their ears pricked for any news I might share. To avoid stirring a commotion, I needed to be discreet.
Shifting my attention back to my team and Koen, I told them, “To my office. Now.”
They asked no further questions. Wordlessly, they fell in step behind me as I led them into the pack house and up the stairs. Once we were secured inside the soundproof room, I prepared myself to reveal everything.
I might be the only one who could decipher the Banyan’s signs, but I needed their insight now more than ever to figure out our next move.
“How bad is it?” Rhea pressed.
“Really bad,” I confessed. There was no use in sugarcoating the situation for them. “Probably the worst we’ve ever had.”
“Were the signs unclear?” Elijah asked, worry in his voice.
“Could you not figure out where the fledgling is?” Theo urged, his eyes darkened with concern.
“No, I know exactly where he is,” I affirmed, reluctantly announcing. “He’s in the Blood Rose Pack.”
That alone had them widening their eyes in shock. An Ashen Wolf awakening within a pack of regular werewolves was always cause for alarm. From the moment they shifted for the first time, the countdown began. We had to find and rescue them before their mark was complete, otherwise risking exposure of our existence to the world.
In this case, the situation was even more fraught.
As expectant eyes lingered on me, I disclosed, “The Banyan showed me a vision of the moment he shifted.” A mix of curiosity, shock, and weariness washed over my friends’ expressions. Before I was bombarded with more questions, I finally spilled, “I saw how startled everyone was by his appearance. They started making fun of him.”
By the time Ashen Wolves turned eighteen and shifted for the first time, their wolves were never fully mature. They awakened as teenagers, with awkward features like oversized floppy ears, huge paws, and shedding pup fluff. Over the next year or so, they continued to grow, learning to harness their powers as their bodies adjusted to their magical strength.
“That doesn’t sound too bad. Until his mark is complete, won’t they just assume his wolf is still a youngster?” Koen offered, ever the optimist. “Although animal counterparts who aren’t fully grown by their first shift are rare, I believed that explanation when you gave it about Kea,” he added, recalling the time he’d questioned me about her changed appearance back at Whispering Hills, before I told him the truth.
“They could,” I agreed before dropping the bomb. “But as the pack members were picking on him, one of them shifted and lunged at him. Even though he didn’t use his powers - likely because he doesn’t know about them - he still overpowered the guy,” I explained, worry heavy in my voice. “He overpowered the beta’s son.”
Loaded silence followed, the tension thick in the air, until my beta broke it. “What happened next?”
“I don’t know. That’s where the vision ended,” I admitted reluctantly.
“Okay. Let’s try not to panic,” Elijah chimed in, though the apprehension in his voice betrayed his words. “We won’t know for sure if his true nature has been discovered until we get to Blood Rose. Either way, we need to act fast - if they don’t know yet, it’s only a matter of time before they do.”
Grim seriousness weighed on my voice as I observed, “But there’s a chance they already found out, and we must be ready to deal with the consequences.” I paused briefly. “We should go in full force, just in case.”
My words were few, but my beta understood them clearly. “I’ll hurry up and start preparing our warriors.”
“I’ll organize the supplies,” Rhea stepped up.
“With your excuse, Alpha, I’ll head off to analyze the best strategies we could use in both scenarios,” Elijah offered.
I nodded at the three of them. “Go. We must leave as soon as possible.”
Once my friends were gone, I turned to Koen. Hesitation instantly flooded me. From the confusion on his face, I could tell that - unlike my team - he hadn’t fully understood my plans. I knew how he felt about bloodshed, which made me reluctant, but if we were to make this work, I needed to be honest with him.
“Koen, I…need to tell you something,” I began, avoiding looking into his eyes, still unsure where to start. In the end, I decided for the classic - rip it off just like a Band-aid. “Depending on what we find at Blood Rose Pack, there’s a chance we might need to slay the entire pack. If they manage to get to the bottom of the truth before we can rescue the fledgling, we can’t risk leaving them alive. They would tell the other packs and it’d be our end.”
Koen listened to my explanation quietly. I could sense his eyes searching for mine, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I was too afraid of how he would react. He would never be fine with this - he had made that clear. All I could hope for was that he would understand my reasons.
Every second felt like an hour until I heard him sigh. “I had a feeling you would resort to that,” he acknowledged, and I waited for any signs of reproval in his voice. But none came. Instead, he reached for my hands, taking me by surprise. At last, I looked up at him. “I trust your decision as a leader, Avril. Just promise me you will try everything else before starting a bloodbath.”
“I promise,” I obliged sincerely.
He bobbed his head in agreement. “If you let me, there’s one thing I wanted to do. It might help avoid desperate measures.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “What?”
“Let me call an alpha I’ve known for a long time,” he offered, to my utter confusion. “We were allies until he ended our arrangement after the attacks on Whispering Hills grew more frequent. There’s no bad blood between us, though. He has connections with Blood Rose, so he might have some insight into what’s happening there now.”
Despite my uncertainty, I gave in. “Okay.” What harm was there in trying? “You can use the landline,” I said, rushing to the phone resting on my desk. The magical barriers surrounding our pack made it impossible for anyone to trace the call back to our territory, so there was no risk of our location being revealed.
At my invitation, Koen sat on my chair, uneasy as his fingers hovered over the phone. I stayed quiet, leaning against the desk, watching him with a mix of curiosity and nervousness. When the landline’s hum filled the silence as he dialed, my wolf stirred restlessly, honing her heightened hearing as I readied myself to catch every word of the conversation.
The line clicked, and a deep, gruff voice answered. “Hello? Who is this?”
Koen’s jaw tightened as he gripped the receiver. “Alpha Gerard,” he greeted, glancing at me as he announced. “This is Alpha Koen.”
“Alpha Koen of Whispering Hills Pack?!” The leader’s disbelief was palpable in his tone. “That can’t be. Whispering Hills was destroyed. The Elders searched for any trace of you, but there was no luck - no one could find your body.” His shock and bewilderment were evident.
I caught the subtle wince from Koen, a flicker of pain in his eyes as the tragedy of his pack was dragged back into focus. But he quickly masked it, his expression steeling as he continued to listen.
“But there’s no denying it - this is your voice,” the leader finally acknowledged. “How are you still alive?”
The question made me stiffen. Koen was an influential alpha, and he had gone missing after his pack was slain. I should have known questions would be asked when he revealed his identity, but I was too overwhelmed with the current problem at hand to even consider it.
I was taken aback by how well-prepared Koen was to have to cover up the inconsistencies regarding his disappearance.
“I was injured. Badly,” Koen interjected, his voice calm but edged with fatigue. “After I defeated Grayson there was no pack left. Whispering Hills was gone, and so was Opal Moon. I didn’t have anywhere to go, so a friend... she brought me to her pack and helped me heal. That’s why it’s taken me so long to reach out.”
The line went silent for a beat before Gerard muttered, “Damn.” Then, louder, he added, “Well, it’s good to know you’re still kicking. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Actually, yes,” Koen promptly replied, eager to change the subject before he was caught in his lies. “I have matters to discuss with Alpha Brent of Blood Rose Pack. I tried reaching out to him, but got no response,” he stated so confidently I almost believed him.
“Alpha Brent, huh? Funny you’d mention him,” Gerard mused, making the job easier for us as he proceeded to tell, “I just got off the phone with him. He was distressed about something.”
“Distressed?” Koen pressed, his tone sharpening, and I leaned closer instinctively.
“Yeah, he mentioned an omega who’d just had their first shift,” he went on. “Said something was...wrong. Brent didn’t get into details, but he sounded shaken, said he was planning to involve the Elders.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced at Koen. He met my eyes briefly, his lips pressed into a stern line. Terror stirred inside us both.
That wasn’t good.
Oblivious to our reaction, Gerard concluded, “Seems he had his hands full at the moment. That’s probably why he hasn’t gotten back to you yet.”
It took Koen a few seconds to recompose himself to reply, “Thanks for the info. I’ll wait and call him again in a couple of days.”
“Sounds good,” the leader uttered. Just as Koen started putting the phone down, we caught the man’s voice again, his tone softer now. “And, Koen... it’s good to know you’re still out there. Take care.”
Koen hung up without a word and turned to me, his shoulders rigid with tension. Although it seemed like my kind’s secret hadn’t been exposed yet, we now knew it was only a matter of time before the truth came out. There was no room for error - we needed to get to Blood Rose Pack before the Elders did.
With that in mind, I finally declared, “We can’t afford to lose any more time. We have to leave. Now. ”