Chapter 12
Effie Harlow
“This feels really nice, I promise,” I told Caedmon as I knelt on the bank of a freshwater river, gently splashing my face in hopes it’d wake me up a bit.
Both of us had walked down the base of the mountain in search of the river Dakota found earlier this morning.
While he and the others had woken up early, Julian possibly not even going to bed, Caedmon and I had slept in.
So they were packing up while I took a moment to brush my teeth and get ready for the day.
It was actually a really peaceful moment, between the bright sunlight sparkling down through the trees nearby, to Caedmon’s comforting presence right next to me.
Although he was staring at me with such concern that I wondered if his face was going to get stuck that way, his brow permanently furrowed.
It had crossed my mind that maybe he’d been upset about Julian and me last night. I knew it was a silly thought because everyone was acting extremely normal…but it did cross my mind. Instead of letting the concern build, though, I’d simply asked him what was wrong and he immediately told me.
Caedmon was upset because I didn’t have warm water to freshen up with.
I know. I hadn’t been able to stop smiling at his sweet concern, and while I appreciated that he even thought about that, I wanted to assure him that I was perfectly fine.
Not only was this water crystal clear, but it felt refreshing after sleeping on the cave floor most of the night, and well…
everything Julian and I had done near the entrance to the cave…
The storm itself had carried through most of the night before completely disappearing as if it had never existed in the first place. If it wasn’t for the puddles of water and broken branches that we’d found on our way down here, I would have wondered if I’d imagined it.
“I don’t like not having access to the normal resources I usually do,” he grumbled.
“Hopefully finding this ‘garden’ won’t be nearly as bad as he made it out to be, and then we can leave.
Besides, with the six of us there’s no way it’ll be able to present illusions that at least one of us won’t be able to see through. ”
I nodded in agreement, but before I could add my own thoughts on the matter, the soft clomp of horse hooves announced the arrival of the rest of our group.
I stood up as Caedmon wrapped an arm around me, brushing his lips over the top of my head before going to help the others tie up the horses.
I loved how casually yet intimately Caedmon now touched me.
“Why are we tying them up?” I asked curiously.
“I scouted the path ahead, and it’s narrow,” Julian explained. “Figured this would be a good area for them—it’s off the path, in the shade, and has fresh water.”
“Plus, we have no idea what we’re going to face,” Ryder added. “I’d rather not risk them getting in the way.”
Or have them possibly get hurt. They’d been nervous during the storm last night, but now they appeared to be relaxed, one of them even sitting down to enjoy the shaded spot.
Aiding in the efforts to make them comfortable, I pulled some apples and carrots that the castle staff had packed and fed each of the four horses, feeling far better at the prospect of leaving them for a few hours.
I didn’t think it would be more than that, at least…
“Alright,” I said, patting my horse on the head.
“I think we’re good—I promise to be back as soon as we can.
” She made a noise that sounded like she understood before our group of six left the river and began up the base of the mountain again, Julian leading the way towards a trail.
I stopped only momentarily in front of our cave, my attention snagged by what I had assumed would be a gorgeous sight—the foothills the mountain overlooked.
“It really is beautiful here,” I said softly. “I hope we can come back after this.” Next time for more of a vacation.
“It’s a lot different than I expected,” Tore admitted, gently leading me forward where the others were waiting on the path.
It wound upwards through the forest, disappearing into the darkness of the trees.
Stepping through the arched branches at the head of the trail felt like entering a different, more sinister world, the creepiness enhanced by the faintest scent of magic coming off the trees. Like the air itself was charged.
“I’m glad we left the horses,” Caedmon murmured, and I had to agree. My wolf eyed the path cautiously, making me want to put on a brave face for both of us.
Julian and Ryder led the way as Caedmon walked next to me, fingers intertwined with mine, while Dakota and Tore walked behind us in quiet but tense conversation.
At first I tried to listen in, but as we walked through the heavily vegetated area my attention shifted to the space around us, realizing that this may have been one of the only times I’d been in a true forest before.
It wasn’t exactly common in the urban sprawl I’d grown up in—and the Whitepaw Pack rarely left their lands.
Although there was one time…
“If you can’t behave, we’re leaving.” Theresa yanked my ear, bending over to whisper her demand, though it felt like the sound echoed through the trees in the forest preserve, broadcasting her anger. “Now go play with the other brats.”
As soon as she let go I scampered away, not wanting to make her mad.
Or more mad. Although in the few weeks I’d been with her, it felt like I was always doing exactly that.
Glancing back, I saw her watching me with a narrowed gaze before she lit a cigarette and turned her back to talk to her friends, effectively dismissing me.
Which left me to interact with the other kids.
I hesitated before approaching the two girls, and the minute I came within a few steps of them they both offered me scowls.
I think they were sisters, but I was still trying to figure out how everyone was related here.
They all looked so similar. Maybe the reason they didn’t like me was because I looked different from everyone else.
“What?” the first demanded, looking me over dismissively.
“Theresa wanted me to come over here and talk to kids my age,” I said softly.
The other girl’s gaze moved over my shoulder before something seemed to occur to her. “She’s married to Alpha’s brother, right?”
“Yeah.”
The two of them exchanged a cautious but knowing glance. “Okay, cool. You can hang out with us.”
I wasn’t dumb. I knew they only wanted to hang out with me so that they wouldn’t get in trouble from Alpha, and for the first thirty minutes I thought maybe it would be fine, that maybe I could deal with that. We’d even gone on a walk down one of the paths…
Which is when they ditched me.
I hadn’t even bothered calling out their names after the first few times.
The forest had gone quiet around me, and it had taken me nearly an hour to find my way back on my own.
I could’ve gotten back faster if I shifted, but I was scared to—fenrir wolves didn’t fully shift, so it would only alienate me further.
When I’d found Theresa, exhausted from my hike, she hadn’t even noticed I’d been missing. I should’ve seen the writing on the wall, because that had been one of the lesser forms of mistreatment I’d suffered…
“Little wolf.” Dakota appeared on my side, stopping my movement and capturing my jaw between his rough hands. “You good?”
I blinked and realized that the world around us had grown substantially darker, and silent, leaving me feeling confused as I stared up into his dark eyes, trying to figure out why he looked so upset. Then it hit me.
“I keep forgetting you can see my memories.”
“We can all see them,” Ryder said, his eyes filled with darkness. “Far more clearly than before, probably because you’ve completed all five mating bonds.”
Julian offered me a heated look, but I could see sadness lurking in his eyes. The memory had really upset him, and I got that. Sometimes the simplest of memories were filled with the most sadness.
“Let’s keep walking.” I looked around and inhaled, trying to steady myself. “How long have we been traveling?”
“Fifteen minutes at most, but there’s a sign up ahead.”
Peeking around Dakota, I spotted the moss-covered wooden sign Ryder was talking about.
It stood between a split in the path, one of the forks wide and the other much narrower.
Oddly enough, the sign pointed towards the more narrow path—the path looking less worn than the other.
I looked up at Ryder, who had followed behind me, his eyes filled with caution.
He hesitated, suggesting, “We could split up.” But I shook my head.
“It clearly wants us to go this way,” Dakota said. “Illusion or trick, or whatever, it doesn’t matter—if we go down the other and there’s nothing, we’ll just have to backtrack. Better to face it head on.”
“He’s right,” I said softly. “Let’s just handle this.”
And I would try to hide my nerves.
As we traveled down the small path, I stayed next to Ryder, Dakota and Tore taking the front and Julian and Caedmon taking the rear, making me feel insulated.
The path continued to get narrower up ahead, to the point where we had to walk one by one, and while I didn’t notice anything particularly odd or dangerous—not even sensing any unusual surge of magic—I couldn’t help but feel on edge.
Then we broke into a clearing.
“What is it?” I asked, stepping through Ryder and Dakota to get a better view.
In the center stood a medieval stone tower nearly four stories tall.
The sunlight cast a glow on it, and while it appeared abandoned, no one in sight, the landscaping around it was neat and trim. Like someone was maintaining the space.
“A military post?” Ryder offered. “It’s clearly abandoned, but the sign near it says something about the military—although it’s faded, so it’s hard to tell.”