Chapter 14 #3
I began shifting even as I shot to my feet.
I flew as hard as I could towards the Howl Inn, berating myself for not thinking of it first. The Lycan packs of Wolfmoon Mountains indeed intimately knew every corner of its forests, valleys, and mountain range.
But the radius of the battle we fought was so large, how would they ever be able to pinpoint something so small in a short enough period of time? And yet, there were no other options.
More importantly, the Weaver never spoke in vain. Every word my mother spoke always had a purpose. That she allowed herself to be struck by the Covenant to set me on the right path further reinforced that she believed this course of action could yield the outcome I prayed for.
If only I had heeded her words better. How many times did she tell me that I had friends?
But how could I even claim him as such? After Amara was healed, I left like a thief in the night and never openly contacted them afterwards.
In my obsession with her, I kept tabs on them from the shadows.
Did they ever even think of me? Had their gratitude for my assistance dimmed over the last year?
After what felt like much too long, I landed outside the Howl Inn, a popular establishment where the main pack of the region usually hung out. It was also where tourists and hunters would come to hire a Lycan guide to escort them on their adventures in the mountains.
In my haste, I nearly kicked the heavy doors open.
The animated voices within instantly stopped, close to seventy pairs of eyes turned to look at me.
A single look sufficed to recognize them all as Lycans.
Although mostly human in appearance, they all had pointy wolf ears, the unusual eye colors typical of wolves, and patches of fur running down the length of their shoulders and upper arms, mainly for the males.
Their surprise almost instantly shifted into threatening stances, both males and females in attendance jumping to their feet from the tables they’d been sitting at.
“Demon!” a male shouted, his fangs and claws descending. “What have you done to the woman?!”
Many growls resounded in the room as all the others also began partially shifting.
“I’m not your enemy!” I said in a loud voice while trying not to appear menacing. “I need help for her!”
“It’s a trick,” a different male hissed. “He’s trying to lure us into a trap to devour us.”
My chest constricted at the growing hostility. There would be no reasoning with these people. If I stayed any longer, they would attack. Although I could easily take them all out, any violence against them would shatter any hope of earning their assistance to save my beloved.
“Lyall?” a familiar voice called out in a surprised tone.
I jerked my head towards the back of the room, where I saw Amara swiftly descending the stairs into the main hall. Hope exploded in my heart as she hurried towards me with an air of concern.
“Amara, stand back!” the first male said in a worried voice.
She waved him off in an appeasing fashion. “It’s okay, Ulric. Lyall is a friend. He’s the one who flew me back from the plateau and who led Remus back to his safe room after he turned me. We’re both alive thanks to him.”
Everyone gasped, their eyes widening in surprise as they stared at me in shock. All aggression bled out of them, their fangs and claws receding.
“That was him?!” the man she named Ulric asked.
“Yes,” she replied as she closed the distance between us, pausing only long enough to gesture at a teenage boy who was standing near the counter on the left side of the room. “Please, get Remus.”
He gave her a stiff nod, cast one last curious look my way and then rushed out of the room through the door leading into the kitchen.
“Lyall, what is it? What happened to the woman?”
“She’s my mate. She’s dying. We need help, Amara,” I said in a pleading tone.
“Of course, my friend. Anything for you,” she replied as if it was self-evident.
My heart soared and a wave of affection swelled within me for her. Yes, now that my mother had made me aware of it, I could see and even feel the angelic aura emanating from her. No wonder she had touched me so deeply.
I gave them a quick rundown of what happened, the silence thick enough to cut with a knife as they intently drank each of my words.
Halfway through my explanation, Remus barged into the inn through the main door, the teenage boy in tow.
To my relief, he didn’t interrupt or ask me to start over, content to finish listening to what I had to say.
“I don’t know where the Amulet is. The Djarins fell all over the forests. For all I know, the one who took it might have dropped it long before it even died.”
“So it was you being attacked during the insanity that took place over our forests!” Remus exclaimed. “We already have scouts out and about, assessing if any of those corpses could be harmful to our local flora and fauna. If it fell in our forests, the packs will find it.”
“It could be anywhere,” I said, dejected. “It may even have fallen in the Haunted Woods. But Eleni will die if she is not reunited with the Amulet very soon. She will not make it through the night, maybe not even past the next few hours,” I said.
“Remus and I can safely scout the Haunted Woods,” Amara said in a reassuring tone.
Indeed, both Remus and Amara could taint their blood with the most vicious poison that would instantly kill any creature dumb enough to bite them.
The Haunted Woods were a cursed area of the Wolfmoon Mountains and were infested with foul creatures, mainly mystifiers who lured their prey by making them believe they were in a safe place even as they ate them alive.
But they all steered clear of the couple, allowing them to travel unimpeded through that dangerous area.
“More of us can scout the area if you travel with us,” Remus added. “They fear you even more than they fear my mate and I.”
My jaw dropped. My brain was so addled by worry for Eleni that I didn’t even remember how I had used that very fact to kidnap Amara the first time we met.
Monsters recognized each other. And the mystifiers in the Haunted Woods recognized in me the superior predator.
They ran for cover the minute they sensed my presence.
“Excellent point,” I said, gratitude filling my voice.
“What does the medallion look like? And does it have a particular scent?” Remus asked.
I immediately shared a vision with all the Lycans in the room, including all the scents I had perceived surrounding it, including Eleni’s natural aroma, and the smell of the magic used to imbue it. All of their eyes went out of focus, and their nostrils flared.
“This is perfect,” Ulric said approvingly to me before glancing at his companions. “This male saved our brother and sister. A blood debt is owed. Summon the packs. We ride now.”
My chest constricted when, as one, they all started stripping.
The elders gathered the clothes, making neat piles on the tables at the back of the room.
A few people ran out, heedless of their nudity, some of them shifting into their wolf forms even as they exited the inn.
Countless voices howled outside. Seconds later, more voices in the distance responded.
Having finished stripping as well, Remus squeezed my shoulder.
“We will find that amulet and save your mate, like you saved mine. Come, friend. Time is of the essence,” he said with an encouraging smile.
He took Amara’s hand—who was now also naked next to him—and led her outside.
I followed in their wake, overwhelmed with emotion, when I saw some of the Lycans getting on to flying mounts, some on horses, and others shifting into their giant wolf forms. They immediately started running like an army of ants swarming the forest.
Remus and Amara both got onto the flying mounts brought to them by the same teenage boy who had fetched him earlier.
Six other people tagged along as we took flight.
The sight that greeted me from a bird’s eye view took my breath away.
The wolves were everywhere, the other packs from every corner of the mountain joining forces as they rushed into the various forests.
Here they were, helping a stranger they otherwise deemed a demon, simply because I had chosen to spare Remus when I could have acted selfishly instead to keep his woman for myself.
Pharos’s voice telling me I had been making good choices and to stay the course that night replayed in my head.
Mother had also known. All along, she’d been setting up these countless scenarios, pushing me towards the path with this potentially helpful outcome.
How often had she told me that all would come in due time?
Now, it finally made sense. My mother had played the long game, plotting and strategizing around the Covenant and my self-sabotaging ways to give me a chance at happiness.
Despite the fear twisting my insides, a wave of love filled my heart for my mother. She wasn’t big on hugs or physical displays of affection. But her love language was even more potent once you realized the lengths she went to for those she cared about.
Remus and his companions left their flying mounts right at the beginning of the Haunted Woods as those creatures would never venture into that cursed place.
The Lycans shifted into their wolf forms—which easily stood the same height as an adult human from front paws to ears—and ran into the dark area.
I flew overhead, keeping any foul beast away from them.
It was like watching a search party as they moved in an almost perfect line, although with greater distance between them thanks to their acute sense of smell.
However, as time stretched, despair soon started clouding the renewed hope the Lycans’ enthusiastic assistance had stirred in me.
Even with so many of them scouring the entire mountain, how would we ever find it in time?
The Haunted Woods by itself would have required at least three times as many scouts to cover its entire surface in a timely fashion.
After well over an hour, multiple voices suddenly resonated far to the east. As one, Remus and his companions started running in that direction.
In the distance, a single howl responded from the various corners of the mountain as if in acknowledgment.
Heart pounding, I dashed towards the main chorus of voices still howling, acting like a beacon for others to follow.
We exited the Haunted Woods and traveled a little less than another kilometer before I spotted the cluster of wolves waiting.
Tears pricked my eyes as I began my descent.
Long before I touched the ground, Eleni’s feverish body began cooling down, the clamminess of her skin fading, and its grayish tinges vanishing.
Ulric stood proudly in his human form, surrounded by his companions, half of whom were still on all fours as giant wolves.
He raised the necklace in a victorious gesture with a broad grin.
I landed a couple of feet in front of him, lowering Eleni towards him even as I shifted out of my Gharlakan form.
The Lycan immediately clasped the necklace around her neck.
Even still sheltered in the illusion I had created for her, Eleni heaved a deep sigh, her body relaxing completely as the Amulet settled on her chest.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I said to Ulric, while squeezing Eleni in my arms with almost bruising force.
I hated how emotional I was acting before so many strangers. And yet, I also didn’t care. Disaster had been averted in a way I never thought possible.
“There is no need to thank us,” Ulric said gently. “The day you saved Amara and Remus, you became a part of our pack. You will always find shelter and succor among us.”
I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, words failing me. In my 251 years of existence, I had never found myself in this situation where I was openly welcome.
A female spared me from responding as she approached us with folded fabric in her hands. She extended it towards me.
“Here is a fresh dress for your mate,” she said with a smile. “She shouldn’t stand before the goddess in torn rags.”
One glance at my Eleni’s outfit confirmed her statements. The Djarins had indeed shredded her uniform in their effort to rip off the necklace.
“Thank you,” I said again before glancing at the small crowd gathered around us. “All of you. I will never forget what you have done for us this day.”
Those in human form smiled, the others emitted a chuffing sound in acknowledgement.
“Come back to see us when you’re done caring for your mate,” Ulric said in a serious tone.
I gave him an inquisitive look.
“The attack wasn’t random. We found wards specifically targeting both of you, although most of them were aimed at her.
Whoever set this up knew you were going to the temple and tried to stop you.
Those wards were at least ten days old. Our shamans have disabled them.
A few of us will continue scouting to see if we find any others.
And there are a few more things you might want to see,” Ulric explained.
“But mend your woman first. She is waning.”
“Very well, thank you. I will return,” I said, shifting again before soaring in the early night sky.