Chapter 4
Colt
Trudging back to where my pack had been hiding, I could only think of the celestial creature I had seen earlier. I couldn’t shake her from my thoughts. So pale and perfect, almost glowing in the starlight. Beyond beautiful, her angular visage and shining horn promised humanity that her human form was even more stunning than her beast. Everything about her, from her smell to her mere posture, captivated me. And I had tried to hurt her.
Resorting to solitude once more, I didn’t bother checking in with the dragons. They could handle themselves. I went straight south through Dalesbloom territory and then considered deviating, stalling so that I wouldn’t have to explain myself to my father. I would have to return eventually, though. Best to just get it over with.
By sunrise, I’d followed the scents of my packmates to a region close to where all three territories met. In the center of Dalesbloom territory, close to the southern borders but north of the junction of Grandbay and Eastpeak territory, the mountains became jagged and steep. A treacherous canyon carved its way beneath a mountainside that then rose above the rest of Gunnison National Forest. There was only a single road leading here, and it was rarely traveled, if ever. Strangely, all wolves’ sense of smell became muddled in this area. Wolf shifters had no use of their noses here due to the abandoned silver mine, the effects of which were extensive and concentrated, even with most of the ore having been mined out of the mountain long ago. The lingering presence of the silver was so intense that it robbed a wolf of its ability to smell—so, even though it was dangerously close to Eastpeak and Grandbay, this deserted mine was the perfect place for us to hide.
I made the laborious climb up the mountain, passing vegetation until it thinned into stone. At the top of the ridge, one might expect a lush valley nestled between the mountains—instead, it was a barren pit circled by ledges, like an open mouth, littered with piles of slumping gravel dotted by weeds. Obsidian reptiles lay sprawled in the rising sun, refusing to hide themselves here, while wolves and humans prowled in an idle patrol. They all looked up at me, a dark speck on the edge of the mine. Everyone was on guard, and everyone was hungry since we couldn’t hunt while we were in hiding. Had I been a stranger, I would have been swarmed. Instead, they watched me descend into the mine and head toward a gaping cavern.
All the recent activity there had kicked up dust and dirt that made my throat dry. I skulked into the darkness, my readjusting eyes catching sight of several more shifters within, sleeping, eating, reading by flashlight, playing cards—anything to pass the time while they were forced to be away from their homes. Keeping my eyes looking ahead, I went deeper into the mine, to an alcove where I kept my belongings: my bag full of clothes, a couple of books, a handgun, and my shoes. I still had to go to work Monday through Friday at the insurance brokerage firm I was hired at last year, but it was getting increasingly more difficult to hide my fatigue and pretend I wasn’t risking my life every day in this secret war. Fortunately, today was Sunday. I could rest today.
After shifting back into human form, I dressed myself in jeans and a black sweater. I felt dirty. The only access to a shower I had was the camper one of my packmates had parked on the road leading up to the mine, but I would take advantage of that later. First, I had to speak to my father.
He wasn’t too much deeper in the mine. I didn’t even need a flashlight; throughout the tunnel, my packmates had set lanterns that spewed dull yellow light across the rock walls. Turning a corner, I saw long shadows ripple across the cavern and heard voices dimming into silence. Finally, I met the eyes of my father, David Hexen, who was with his new Beta, Garrett Roydon. My father relaxed when he saw it was me, and he turned his attention back to Garrett, continuing with what he’d been saying before.
“Since Mythguard are searching along the eastern edge, we should be able to send a hunting party to the western part of the territory tonight. I don’t want them to come back unless it’s with at least two deer,” said David. “And I need you to go to the train station at 6 p.m. and pick up a pallet from the freight dock. It will be under the name Brandon Gillam. You’ll have to sign for it, which I’ve already pre-approved.”
Garrett folded his arms. “The station’s in Eastpeak. I won’t risk running into Mythguard or any of Everett’s wolves, will I?”
“Wear a hat and sunglasses,” my father replied irritably.
“Right.” Garrett turned away, catching my eye briefly before leaving the cavern via a different tunnel.
As the Beta’s footsteps faded away, I approached my father. I was wary of getting too close—his rage might cause him to lash out at me, leaving me with a scar to go with the one Gavin had given me across my nose. David looked more tired than all of us, with bags under his eyes, hair uncombed, beard scraggly, and body odor creeping out from under his stained dress shirt. He frowned at me. “What is it, Colt?”
I stood before him with my hands at my sides. Did I really want to confess to what I had seen last night? Well, if I didn’t say anything, the dragons would.
“I found something last night,” I began, meeting my father’s gaze. His expression was unchanged: constant disappointment and underlying anger. With a slow inhale, I continued. “The dragons were hunting a wolf shifter on our northeastern border.”
“And?”
“She wasn’t just any wolf shifter.”
David’s eyes narrowed to slits. He took a step closer, his presence imposing. I wanted to back up, but I held my ground before my father. “Do we know her?”
“In a way.” My fists balled up. “I believe she’s Muriel Vale’s daughter. She’s a white wolf with a unicorn horn.”
My father’s eyes widened at that. His brows rose up over his forehead before his nose wrinkled in a look of snide amusement. “Is that so?”
I nodded.
“You’re telling me that not only do we have Muriel Vale in our possession, but we have her daughter—a shifter possessing another unicorn horn—right on our doorstep? Things are turning out far better than I anticipated,” David said slowly.
He wasn’t as shocked as I thought he’d be. I would have argued that things weren’t exactly turning out great, but all that mattered to my father was getting our hands on a unicorn horn, so I supposed “far better than anticipated” was subjective.
“And you say you found her?”
“I came across her after she’d escaped the dragons. She was in the creek.”
“And?”
David was expecting me to tell him I’d caught her. I averted my eyes when I responded. “She fled before I could get too close.”
I didn’t see it, but I heard his frustration in a grunt. “Idiot boy.” The insult stung me. Then, he laughed dully under his breath. “No matter. I expected Kiara would follow her mother here. Now that I know she’s within reach, we can be more tactical about capturing her.”
“She’s more dangerous than you’d think,” I warned. “She impaled a dragon and killed him. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about it when the Inkscales return.”
“Did she?” he laughed. “A unicorn hybrid, slaughtering my dragons?”
They aren’t your dragons, I wanted to tell him.
David’s laughter continued, gaining body and strength. “That’s funny. I suppose we’d better catch her quickly before she poisons herself, trying to fight back.”
“I can search for her again this evening,” I offered.
“Yes. You will. But I want you to go with the Inkscales,” my father said. “I can’t have you getting impaled, too.”
“Okay.”
David had begun pacing, rubbing his beard and turning his attention to some papers strewn on a folding table that had been set up in the room. The lantern light passed over him from different angles, highlighting his grubby appearance. He was a far cry from the polished man he used to be, just a couple of months ago. Machinations were unfolding in his mind—I could see it happening. But when he erratically came toward me, I didn’t expect him to reach out and grab my jaw, pulling me closer. “You are not to say anything about Kiara’s presence to anyone,” he growled. “Do you understand?”
“Lothair’s going to find out from the dragons,” I said.
“I’m not worried about Lothair. I’m more worried about the mutts in Grandbay and Eastpeak.”
My stomach soured. “You don’t still think I’m trying to talk to Aislin and Billie…”
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” snarled David. He threw my head to the side, wrenching my body.
Staggering, I forced myself to stand upright and refrained from rubbing my jaw, where I could still feel the intensity of my father’s grip. “I’m not in contact with them. After what happened at the Mundy house, they have no reason to trust anything I say. Why would I waste my time on them?”
“Because you’re a sentimental fool, Colt. Don’t think I don’t know my own son.”
“I want nothing to do with them.”
David scoffed. “Good. You know what will happen if I catch you communicating with them.”
He would kill me. It wasn’t the first time he’d threatened me.
When my father marched over to me again, my body stiffened, expecting another strike. But he placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Let’s save time and inform Lothair of what you saw, shall we?”
I nodded and followed David down a tunnel, going deeper into the mine. My father had become so unpredictable that any rapid movement he made could be coming from a violent place. My trust in him had withered long ago, but if I wanted to keep living and uphold the Hexen legacy, I had to do as he said. I had to abandon Billie and Aislin. And, for the sake of proving myself strong enough, I would hunt this Kiara girl and deliver her to my father.
The tunnel opened back up into another large room. Before the mine had been converted into a largescale industrial operation, it had been excavated by hand, and this room was the furthest they had gone in search of silver ore. Veins of gleaming white metal still striated through the stone. Illuminated by lanterns were five people, four of whom—including one heavily pregnant, blond woman—were standing and talking quietly among themselves. The fifth person was a silver-haired woman sitting on the rocky ground; around her wrists were handcuffs that were attached to a thick cable, which was fastened to metal hooks driven into the rock.
Muriel raised her eyes, her skin scuffed with dirt and bruises. She looked right at me, like she already knew what had transpired.
David sneered. “Seems you’ll have company soon, unicorn.”
Her gaze shifted to my father. Then, she paled, realizing what he meant. “No…”
Lothair and Sibyelle withdrew from their conversation with the others to join David and me as we approached Muriel.
“Yes,” gloated David. “Your daughter Kiara has arrived in Dalesbloom.”