Chapter 4 - Elias
The sun beamed down from a cloudless sky, baking the ground beneath my paws. The desert spread out below us, cacti and other succulents dotting the landscape as far as we could see from on top of the rock formation.
Well, not quite. In one area, toward the base of the mountain we were currently on, a lush green patch of earth and dozens of buildings marked Silver Falls.
And, to the south of it by a couple of miles was an area that just yesterday had looked almost identical to the rest of the landscape.
Now it looked like a tornado had torn through it, pulling up cacti, destroying the trails and the land.
I let out a growl, fur bristling as I looked around. The sand wraith had attacked again.
I had only seen it the one time. A swirling form of shadow and sand with glowing eyes that seemed to peer out at you from any angle you approached it.
The sight had chilled my bones when I had glimpsed it.
You could practically see right through it.
How the hell were you supposed to attack a tempest of sand?
I turned to the large brown wolf next to me. Sam’s eyes looked back. I flicked my tail in a signal. The other wolf ducked his head in concession and followed after me.
It took far less time than it would any normal human—or any normal wolf, for that matter—to reach the base of the outlook and charge through the desert to the edge of our territory, where the patch of destruction waited for us.
Sand was everywhere. Not surprising in the desert, but cacti and other shrubbery had been ripped out of the earth and lay strewn about.
One of the mesas, its geological layers defined on its side by strong lines of various colors in the rock, had been broken in two, a large crevice cutting through it that hadn’t been there before.
It was unmistakably the work of the wraith.
It seemed to be getting stronger. It had started coming more frequently, too, and we weren’t sure why.
Reports were coming in more regularly of sightings.
So far, the two patrols that had come across it hadn’t been able to so much as touch it.
As much as I hated to admit it, we were out of our depth.
Worry for the town rippled through me as I padded through the area, checking on the devastation spread out all around me. The stench of burning sand assaulted my snout, making it nearly impossible to smell anything else. I had caught the smell at other locations the wraith had hit.
Sam plodded up next to me, and we patrolled the area, taking note of the devastation. It was a few miles from the center of town. Too close for comfort. We wandered, searching for any clues that might give us more information about the wraith. But there was nothing.
After finally admitting defeat, I shifted back to human, cracking my neck as I rolled my shoulders, getting used to my human form again. It always felt strange for the first few seconds. I slipped into the pair of pants in my bag before going to join Sam, who was waiting off to the side.
“What do you think?” Sam asked.
“I think the wraith is getting bolder,” I growled. “And stronger. Has anyone been able to even hurt it yet?”
“Not yet. I have a theory, but it’s a weird one.”
“I’m all ears right now.”
Sam scratched his chin, eyes sweeping the area. “Last time someone saw it, it was by the river. It wouldn’t cross.”
“You think it’s afraid of water?” I asked, not bothering to hide my skepticism.
“I think that it’s had no issue attacking us in the past, so there must have been something different there. Water is the obvious answer.”
I didn’t answer, but I nodded, chewing the idea over. “It’s worth looking into,” I said. “Granted, trying to look into it is a bit tricky when we don’t even know where the thing is going to strike next. But it’s a start.”
“I’ve got other news,” Sam said, uncharacteristically somber. I stiffened, turning to look at him. “Arabella’s kid, Darren? He shifted last night.” His eyes met mine. “He’s five.”
I let out a growl as I stared off at the destruction. “The kids are starting to shift early,” I snarled.
In times of peril, when our pack was in some form of danger or another, some part of our wolf form would activate early, and kids, who normally shifted for the first time around ten or so, would start their transitions earlier.
Too early. The first time shifting wasn’t easy.
It was painful and confusing, especially without the proper guidance. Darren was the third one so far.
“We need to take care of this before it gets any worse,” I said, rubbing my face. “The problem is finding out how the hell to stop it.”
“And no one’s found any leads on that?” Sam asked, looking out toward the town.
“No. I’ve got a couple of men researching it, and I know the elders are searching through ancient texts about it, but no one has come up with anything definitive yet.”
“And the Oracle?”
“She’s been casting bones or looking in her crystal ball or whatever it is she does,” I said.
The Oracle was secretive by nature, and no one actually knew her process or how she received prophecies, only that she had special insight.
“But if she’s learned anything, then she’s keeping it to herself. ”
“She would do that?”
I shrugged. Sweat and dirt clung to my skin, drying into a thin crust as the sun continued to beat down mercilessly.
“If she thought staying quiet was the right move for town, then I wouldn’t put it past her,” I said, scratching my chin. “There’s also the chance that she’s just preoccupied with other things.”
“Like the ceremony?” Sam asked with a knowing smirk. “I doubt she’s the only one preoccupied with that.”
“Rachel spoke with Emma yesterday,” I said. “She said she seemed a bit on edge about the whole thing, but more or less accepting of it. But I’m sure it’s still going to take her some adjusting.”
“I doubt she’s the only one who’s still getting used to the situation,” Sam remarked, still eyeing me.
“The pack and the elders will just have to deal with it,” I snarled. “If they—”
“I’m not talking about the pack or the elders,” Sam said as a smirk began to spread across his face. “And I don’t think you think that’s who I’m talking about, anyway.”
“Don’t know who else you might be talking about in that case,” I growled, earning me an amused snort and a shake of his head.
Sam rolled his eyes. “I swear, you are one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever known. Since you’re deliberately sidestepping my not-so-subtle prods, I guess I’ll just ask flat out: how are you feeling?”
“Annoyed,” I growled. “This sand wraith has been causing nothing but a pain in the ass for who knows how long, and we’re no closer to figuring out where it’s holed up or how to stop it.”
Sam bobbed his head back and forth. “I meant about the mating ceremony, but sand wraith works, too.”
I frowned as I turned to look at Sam. After a moment, I shrugged.
“What do you want me to say?” I asked.
Rolling his eyes and slowing to a stop, Sam faced me, arms folded as he raised one eyebrow.
“You found out a couple of weeks ago that not only do you have a fated mate destined to be your luna, but you also have to mate her in less than a month of finding this out. And that’s not including the fact that she’s someone we’ve known since we were kids, and someone who ran away from the pack.
And also happens to have a daughter. Not one of those pieces of information caused you to feel anything about the whole situation? ”
I didn’t answer, not right away. I did legitimately give the question merit. But the truth was, in my opinion, it didn’t matter what I thought or how I felt. It was going to happen whether I was ecstatic or miserable. Why dwell on it more than that?
After a moment of debate, I let out a breath. “If you must know, it’s been a bit of a blur. It wasn’t like I expected to have to take a luna this quickly. Let alone one I didn’t have any say in. But that’s not my choice, is it? I have to follow pack tradition and do what’s right for my people.”
Sam scratched his chin as he continued to eye me with an annoying shrewdness. “You just never really struck me as the marrying type. You’ve always been more focused on the pack and its well-being than anything else.”
“Sure,” I replied. “And that’s exactly why I’m going through with this ceremony, whether I like how it’s playing out.”
“You’re not upset that you didn’t get a say? It’s fine if you are. Emma definitely is.”
“It’s my duty as pack alpha,” I said. “That’s all. I never expected to be able to take whatever mate I chose.”
“And the bit where the Oracle told you that you and Emma were fated mates?” Sam asked.
I didn’t answer for a long moment. I hadn’t given myself time to think much about that bit, not with everything else going on. But in the end, it didn’t matter one way or the other, so why think too hard about it?
“It’s just background noise,” I said dismissively. “If we’re fated mates, then I guess we are, whatever the hell that means. It doesn’t change anything.”
“So you don’t care about the fated mates bit?” he asked with raised eyebrows.
I shook my head. “Of course not. I’m not even sure I’ve ever believed in that crap.”
Even as I said the words, my wolf snarled in disagreement, a gut reaction to my response that caused me to take the briefest pause.
I couldn’t deny the fact that he reacted to Emma differently from any other female.
Any other woman I’d slept with, I had enjoyed fooling around with her, but that was all.
I thought back to that party in the desert when I’d been drunk. My wolf had been the one to tug me towards Emma, the one who had wanted her. I had, too, but I never would have acted on it if it hadn’t been for my wolf.
What if my wolf had sensed something that I hadn’t?
It wasn’t just my wolf, though. On a deeper level, I could sense some refusal of that statement.
Something told me there was more to my connection with Emma than just prophecy.
But that was bogus. Fated mates weren’t a thing.
I was doing this for the good of the pack.
Strange feelings, or whatever they were, didn’t factor into it.
I’d probably feel the same regardless of who the Oracle had stated.
“In the end, the mating bond will cement that connection,” I said. “It would happen whether we’re fated or not.”
“I don’t know,” Sam said. “I think it’s worth thinking about.”
I shot him a death glare that seemed to bounce right off him. He gave a roguish grin.
“Come on,” I snarled, jerking my head back toward town. “We’ve seen everything there is to see here.”